“If you’re okay with it, I won’t stop you. But I… I just want you to be happy.”
“Shizuku… does that mean—”
“Ah! Don’t get the wrong idea! I mean as your childhood friend, okay? Nothing more!”
She let out a deep sigh.
How oblivious had I been in my younger days?
There’s no way someone would care that much just because we were childhood friends.
Shizuku must have… felt something more for me—
* * *
It wasn’t long after that when Tooru called me out.
“Senpai, I like you! Please go out with me!”
Tooru’s shy expression and upturned gaze were disarming.
She looked so fragile and endearing, like a small, helpless animal, exuding a cuteness that almost felt arrogant in its confidence.
Even though I knew she had been doing who-knows-what behind my back, I felt a twinge of anger.
But looking back now, I realize I was also at fault for falling for her charms.
Still, this time, I’d reject her harshly.
That much revenge was fair, wasn’t it?
“Hey, Tooru.”
“Yes!”
“I’ve heard rumors that you’re pretty wild with guys. Is that true?”
“Oh, that? Senpai, you don’t believe those ridiculous rumors, do you?”
“Of course not. They’re probably just jealous of how popular you are.”
“Exactly! You’re so perceptive, Senpai!”
I didn’t deny her popularity—she really was popular, after all.
“Then there’s no problem, right? Forget the rumors and just go out with me—”
“But you’ve done much worse, haven’t you?”
I said it with a sneer.
In that instant, the atmosphere around Tooru changed completely.
She was no longer the small, harmless animal.
She was a predator, baring her fangs.
“What makes you think you understand anything?”
Her voice dropped by an octave.
Though she was still smiling, her eyes weren’t.
The pressure radiating from her small frame was enough to make me flinch, but I couldn’t back down now.
“I know everything. About your so-called childhood friend, too.”
“…”
“Relax. I’m not going to tell anyone.”
“And I’m supposed to trust that?”
“Why not? I’m not interested in you, after all.”
“Ahaha… ahahahahaha!”
Her laughter was unhinged, sending a chill down my spine.
Even I couldn’t keep my composure as my face twisted in discomfort.
“You’ve got some nerve, Senpai. Acting all cold now, but not long ago, you were drooling over me.”
“Yeah, well, let’s just say I’ve woken up from that dream.”
“You should’ve just stayed asleep and died.”
She wasn’t even trying to hide her true nature anymore.
Every word she spoke dripped with venom.
“That side of you suits you better.”
“Why, thank you. Can I leave now?”
“Go ahead. But one last thing.”
“What is it?”
“If you keep this up, you’ll destroy yourself someday.”
“That’s none of your business, Senpai.”
“Fair enough.”
Without another word, Tooru turned and walked away.
For the first time in years, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest.
I’d fallen for someone truly dangerous.
But I was grateful to have realized it before the wedding.
If I hadn’t, an even greater despair would have awaited me.
This was for the best.
Just then, I got a message.
“Hey, Kei. Want to grab a drink together soon?”
It was from Shizuku.
An invitation for just the two of us.
That hadn’t happened the last time.
Shizuku, who had truly cared about me all along…
I wanted to get to know her better.
Even if it wasn’t love yet, I’d been given a chance to start over.
* * *
“Wait, you’re leaving me now?!”
“Shut up, Tooru. It was just a physical relationship, wasn’t it?”
In a cramped apartment, I grabbed his shoulder as he tried to leave.
“You said you’d marry me! That’s why I dropped out of college and started working!”
“Oh, that? I’ll pay you back when I win big at horse racing or the slots. Someday.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me…”
Laughing, he left without looking back.
My body collapsed like a ragdoll.
Why? Why is everything falling apart?
* * *
“You’ll destroy yourself someday.”
My former Senpai’s words echoed in my mind.
At the time, I thought he was just another gullible man.
There were plenty of men willing to spoil me.
I lived off of their generosity.
But now, in my late twenties, they’d all stopped looking my way.
“What… what am I supposed to do now?”
Even my last hope—my childhood friend—had abandoned me.
How was I supposed to live from here on out?
* * *
“Hey, Kei. Are you sure you’re happy with me?”
“Why are you asking me that now?”
“Well…”
“Don’t worry. The only one I love is you, Shizuku.”
“Hehe… I see.”
Shizuku, dressed in her wedding gown, was breathtakingly beautiful—so much so that I was at a loss for words.
In front of many of our old clubmates, we exchanged vows and sealed them with a kiss.
Among the guests, Tooru was nowhere to be seen.
Even after all that had happened, she hadn’t changed. She kept preying on men who seemed like easy targets, and eventually, she stopped showing up at university altogether.
No one knows what became of her after that.
“I love you so much, Kei.”
“I love you too, Shizuku.”
This time, I had finally found true happiness in marriage.
[The End]
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