The S**ttiest Gyaru in the Class Confessed to Me
Ichika started crying.
“It’s okay. I’ll find the hairpin.”
I couldn’t sit still, and before I knew it, I had said that.
Think about it.
When did the hairpin go missing?
Maybe because she always wears it, it’s so familiar that my memory of it is vague.
…I think it was there when we arrived at Shimoda Station.
So, maybe I lost it on the way here.
“I’ll go check Perry Road.”
“I’ll come too.”
The two of us walked to Shimoda Station while looking for the hairpin. Every now and then, we saw trash on the ground and got their hopes up. But we couldn’t find it.
Maybe it was on the train.
We also went to the ticket window at Shimoda Station, but the hairpin hadn’t been turned in. We asked them to contact us if it was turned in.
Ichika was really depressed, and it was hard to watch. Seeing the sad face of someone you like is so heartbreaking.
“I’ll go check at Nebukawa Station.”
As I headed toward the ticket gate, Ichika grabbed my sleeve.
“You don’t have to go that far.”
Ichika shook her head.
“But…”
You look so sad.
“It’s okay. I don’t wanna be without Sou kun.”
Ichika clenched her fist tightly at her chest.
“…..”
If I had noticed right away that the hairpin was missing, this probably wouldn’t have happened.
I felt sad about my own incompetence.
“…Let’s head back.”
Ichika took my hand, and we started walking back.
Ichika, walking beside me, had her shoulders slumped so low that it was obvious at a glance.
When we returned to the room and sat down, Ikka sat down next to me.
I think there are still a few purple pearls left at home. Maybe making something similar would cheer me up.
“Hey, did you get that hairpin from someone?”
“Yeah, from a friend a long time ago.”
“I see.”
So, making something similar wouldn’t work.
Then, Ichika took my hand and started talking.
“You know my parents are divorced, right?”
“Yeah.”
“After that, my mom remarried once.”
That was news to me. Yotsuba san is divorced twice?
Well, she’s beautiful, so I guess she’s popular.
“Yeah.”
When I nodded, Ichika continued talking.
“The person is really nice. Yeah, really nice…”
“Yeah.”
“I was in middle school, but I thought I should think of him as my real dad, so I told him I liked him. My mom was happy that I was getting along with him.”
“Yeah.”
“Then, that person changed. When we were alone, he started saying he liked me, holding my hand, and trying to kiss me.”
“Yeah.”
That’s…
“I was still a child and didn’t understand what that meant. I thought if I endured it, it would stop soon. But it escalated, and he started touching my chest and doing more…various things.”
“What about Yotsuba san?”
“I couldn’t tell anyone. I couldn’t talk to anyone about it, so I just endured it. But then he crossed the final line… I guess it was my fault. My breasts were getting bigger, and I wasn’t thinking straight. But I never thought that an adult man would see a child like me as an object of desire…”
“Yeah.”
Ichika isn’t at fault.
“I was so sad and scared. It hurt… I reached out to my dad for help. Then my dad saved me.”
“I see…”
So Ichika started contacting her real dad.
“In the end, my dad told my mom about what happened, and my mom divorced him, but…”
“Yeah.”
“The word ‘love’ scares me. ‘I love you’ is twisted, self-centered, insensitive, and pushy. And it makes me think back to that time. If I were to fall in love with someone, and I were to tell that person ‘I love you,’ maybe that person would change like that person did. It’s scary.”
“I see.”
“So, I’m sorry. When I gather the courage, I’ll tell you properly… I really care about Sou kun.”
“Yeah.”
I embraced Ichika’s shoulders.
Her shoulders were trembling.
“That pearl hairpin. It was given to me by a dear friend long ago. My dad and mom turned it into a hairpin. They made it together. When I was feeling down, putting it in my bangs gave me strength. It supported me.”
“Yeah.”
“That’s why, I guess. I was sad when it disappeared. But now, Sou kun is here. I’ve never told anyone outside my family about this, have I?”
That’s why Ichika’s dad hesitated back then.
Ichika, it hurt…how much did you endure…..
Whether she knew how I felt or not, Ichika continued.
“As you can see, I’m dirty. That person took so much from me. There were so many things I wanted to give to Sou kun.”
Tears fell from Ichika’s eyes to her hand, which was clenched tightly.
I don’t know what to do.
I don’t know what to say.
I will never forgive the person who did this to Ichika.
I felt a surge of anger, almost like murderous intent, inside me. This might be the first time in my life I’ve felt such hatred toward someone.
But I’m sure Ichika’s sorrow is.
Many times greater than my own emotions.
If I let my anger get the better of me and do something to that person, that would be nothing but selfishness.
I desperately want to do something for Ichika.
I want to make her feel a little better.
That’s it.
A bracelet.
Maybe that pearl could serve as a hairpin.
“Ichika. This might not be the best timing, but…this is your birthday present. I made it.”
I took a small bag out of my bag and handed it to her, and Ichika took it cautiously.
“…Can I open it?”
Ichika wiped her tears, took a deep breath, and untied the ribbon on the drawstring bag.
“This pearl. It looks like a hairpin.”
Holding the bracelet in her hand, Ichika said that.
“Yeah. I thought it might look like one.”
Ichika tried to move it to her bangs.
Ichika, that’s a bracelet. It’s not a hairpin. I’m sorry.
Ichika wiped away her tears again.
She turned toward me and smiled.
“I’m so happy. Thank you.”
Maigetsu