I Thought She Was the One, but It Turned Out to Be a Fake Confession, so I Decided to Break Up With Her
After enjoying the summer festival food stalls, the time for the fireworks display was fast approaching.
โWhen I was little, I found a secret spot for watching fireworks! A place nobody knows about. Letโs go there!โ
โOkay.โ
Led by Hina, who was still clinging tightly to my left arm as always, we climbed the stairs and made our way through the thicket.
We arrived at an old shrine covered in cobwebs.
The vegetation had grown so wild that if we werenโt careful, weโd end up as mosquito bait.
โThere really isnโt a soul here, is there?โ
โRight?โ
Although it was old and neglected, there were places to sit.
Above all, it was deserted.
It was truly a hidden gem.
If Hina was right, weโd probably have a great view of the fireworks, too.
We sat side by side on the veranda.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Hina slid closer until our thighs were touching.
โI never even thought about this kind of thing when I was a kidโฆ but here, maybe we could do it without anyone finding out?โ
โI havenโt the faintest idea what we could do, though.โ
โReally? Well, then, while Daikiโs focused on the fireworks, maybe Iโll focus on this instead?โ
Ignoring my feigned ignorance, Hinaโs hand gently crept toward the inside of my thigh.
Her fingertips wriggled along it, almost as if tickling me.
I felt like her touch was getting more skillful by the day.
If I let her keep doing whatever she wanted, I really wouldnโt be able to focus on the fireworks anymore.
So I grabbed her hand and interlaced our fingers.
โโฆLetโs just watch the fireworks together for now, and weโll continue later.โ
โEh? Whatโs that supposed to mean? You wanted to do it right here after all, didnโt you, Daiki?โ
Hina flashed that little devilish expression of hers and laughed teasingly.
Itโs just the nature of young men to want to try all sorts of thingsโas long as they can avoid getting the police involved.
Besides, deep down in my heart, there was that dark desire to mess up Hinaโs beautifully arranged yukata.
โSince you provoked me, Hina, even if you cry and say you donโt want to laterโโ
As if to get even, this time I lifted the hem of Hinaโs yukata slightly and boldly ran my fingertips along the soft skin of her inner thigh.
She shuddered violently.
โIโm not stopping until Iโm satisfied.โ
โAh, that just made my heart skip a beatโฆ!โ
โฆSometimes I really donโt understand what makes Hinaโs heart flutter.
Since she usually takes the lead most of the time, maybe it felt fresh for her to be led by me.
โAnyway, letโs just sit back and watch the fireworks for now.โ
โOkay~โ
Without letting go of our intertwined hands, Hina gently leaned her body against my shoulder.
ใโโ
Kotone and Nanami crossed the threshold of the Shimazaki main residence.
Not a single servant followed them.
That fact alone made Kotone feel a sense of freedom.
โThank you so much, Koda san.โ
Kotone bowed her head slightly.
Then Nanami scratched the back of her head, looking a bit embarrassed.
โOh, come onโit feels a bit weird to say this to Kotone ch n right to her face, but honestly, I was a little annoyed with your momโฆโ
โโฆโฆI completely understand.โ
After that, Kotone parted ways with Nanami and headed to the summer festival venue on her own.
Nanami had offered to drive her there, but Kotone politely declined.
Even though sheโd already relied heavily on othersโ help, she felt that at the very least, she had to make it to the summer festival on her own.
(Fujimori-kunโฆ!)
Families, couples, groups of friendsโthe summer festival grounds were packed with people.
Kotone swiveled her head from side to side, desperately scanning the crowd for the figure she believed to be her boyfriend.
Memories of Daiki flashed through her mind like a slideshow.
Then, an image of herselfโthe spitting image of Asamiโoverlapped with those memories.
(Please, Iโll apologizeโฆ!!)
She reacted hypersensitively to the slightest sound, swallowing repeatedly to moisten her parched throat.
Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, and her breathing grew increasingly ragged.
Had she ever felt such anxiety and desperation in her life?
Kotone hadnโt known that the process of regaining what sheโd lost would be this painful.
Kotone suddenly stopped in her tracks and pulled out her cell phone.
(At this point, pride be damnedโฆ!)
She firmly pressed the phone icon next to the name โFujimori-kun.โ
It was the first time Kotone had ever proactively reached out to Daiki.
โ-โฆ!โ
But the ringtone just kept going on and on.
There was absolutely no sign that the call was going through.
Where on earth is he right now, and what is he doing?
As Kotone clutched her phone, a conversation from a passing group pierced her ears.
โSeriously? Fujimori-kun and Honjo-san are dating?โ
โSeriously, seriously. Look at thisโtheyโre totally a couple.โ
They were students from the same high school.
Before she even had time to think, Kotone grabbed them firmly by the shoulders.
โโS-Shimazaki-san?โโ
They looked surprised at the unexpected appearance of someone they hadnโt expected to see.
But unlike usual, Kotone didnโt have the time to care about that.
โWhat do you mean Fujimori-kun and Hina are dating?โ
โHuh? Well, thatโsโฆโ
One of the students timidly showed Kotone the screen of his smartphone.
It was a LINE group chat screen.
A huge number of photos had been uploaded to the group chat.
They were all photos of Daiki and Hina.
Daiki buying Hina a candy apple, the two of them sharing yakisoba, Daiki winning a prize at the shooting gallery and giving it to Hina, Hina showing everyone how to catch goldfish.
The photos showed nothing but scenes of them enjoying the summer festival together, just like a couple.
โS-Shimazaki-san? A-Are you crying? Are you okayโฆ?โ
Before she even realized it, tears were trickling weakly down both of Kotoneโs cheeks.
Throwing all dignity to the wind, Kotone wiped her tears with her sleeve without a care for her appearance and raised her voice like a child.
โIโm not crying!โ
โNo, butโฆโ
โI said Iโm not crying!!โ
A storm of emotions raged within Kotoneโs chest.
Anger, sadness, hatred, misery, loneliness, self-loathing, patheticnessโฆ
The blades of her swirling emotions ultimately pierced her own heart.
(I brought this on myselfโฆ)
She knew that.
But a searing pain deep within her heart was screaming out.
โIโm notโฆ done yet.โ
โShimazakiโฆ?โ
Kotone realized that standing here motionless served no purpose.
Daiki might just be hanging out with Hina as a friend.
Even so, the very fact that he was going on a date with another girl while he had a girlfriend really rubbed her the wrong way.
โWhere was the very last photo taken?โ
โHuh? Umโฆ Probably over there, I think?โ
One of the students pointed toward the back of the area.
Without even saying thank you, Kotone dashed off in that direction.
โThese two came here, right!? Do you know which way they went!?โ
โUh, yeahโฆ I think they probably went that wayโฆ?โ
Kotone showed the photos to the owner of the food stall where Daiki and Hina had stopped, as well as to passersby, asking for information.
In the direction they pointed, there was a set of stairs.
Suddenly, Kotone remembered something Hina had told her when they went to a summer festival together as children.
[I found it! A secret spotโthe best place to watch the fireworks!! Itโs a little hard to get to, though!]
It was almost time for the fireworks to start.
Kotone walked briskly forward, retracing her memories.
Beyond the thicket lay a small, poorly maintained shrine.
A sharp tree branch grazed her cheek, but she kept going without hesitation.
โโฆโฆ!โ
On the veranda of the weathered shrine.
Amid a silence so profound it felt almost cut out of the scene, two figures stood.
Her lavender-colored yukata blended into the darkness of the night, and her blonde hair glinted in the moonlight.
Beside her stood a young man, smiling gently as he held her handโgently, yet firmly, as if to say he would never let go.
Kotone walked toward the two of them as if drawn by a magnet.
โโฆโฆWhat are you doing?โ
Maigetsu