The Beautiful Girl With a Kind Personality and Good Looks, Who Happens to Be My Childhood Friend, Seems to Have Eyes Only for Me
โHey.โ
โMorning.โ
โGood morning, Yuma-kun.โ
When I arrived at our usual meeting spot, Haru and Yamato were already there.
Seems I was a bit late today.
The three of us walked side by side down the familiar path to school.
It should have been just another ordinary morningโnothing special. Yet, deep inside my chest, something felt strangely unsettled.
Until yesterday, I wouldn’t have even considered the source of that unease.
But now, I understand it a little.
When I saw Haru walking beside Yamato, this feeling surfaced inside me.
It wasn’t impatience or irritation.
This was probablyโthe feeling of becoming aware of something I might lose.
My gaze had apparently drifted toward Haru without me realizing it.
โโฆ? What is it?โ
Before I knew it, she was already looking at me.
Even while walking, she met my gaze without hesitationโstill as deft as ever.
โLook where you’re going. You could fall.โ
โHehe, it’s fine. I’m being careful.โ
Seeing her softly smiling profile made my chest ache just a little.
โThe voice we shared briefly before sleep last night flashed through my mind.
The reason wasn’t anything major.
I just wanted to hear her voice. That was all.
โSpeaking of which, Haru, did you finish your homework?โ
โI’m done. โฆYamato-kun, you’re not going to do it again, are you?โ
โโฆCould I just take a quick look?โ
Haru only gave him a glance as he answered with a sigh.
โYou really should do some of it yourself, you know?โ
โI know, butโฆโ
I watched their exchange from a step back.
Her expression didn’t change, but I could tell Haru’s eyes alone had grown slightly colder.
I didn’t know why.
As the three of us approached the school gate, the athletic clubs were conducting their morning greeting campaign. Students clad in matching jerseys raised their voices, bowing to each arriving student.
Standing at the center was Hayase Maho, the basketball club manager known as the leader of the athletic clubs.
โGood morning, Yamato. โฆAnd Asahina-kun, Ayase-san.โ
He gave a light return greeting and tried to walk right past themโat that very moment.
Yamato’s pace quickened ever so slightly.
Ah, thisโฆ He’s trying to skip it.
But a voice with nowhere to hide came flying from behind.
โHey, Yamato. You just gonna walk right by?โ
Yamato’s feet stopped dead in their tracks.
She’d completely seen through his attempt to slip past the sports clubs’ greeting campaign.
The moment he turned around, I didn’t miss the slight twitch in Yamato’s expression.
Ah, he’s caughtโI sensed it instantly. That pause meant one thing: this was gonna be a long conversation.
Sure enough, Yamato stopped, plastered on a polite smile, and started nodding along to Hayase-san’s story. This wasn’t going to end anytime soon. Seeing the conversation was dragging on, I tried to move ahead, but Haru naturally fell into step beside me.
โLooks like that’s going to take a while.โ
โYeah.โ
โCome on, let’s hurry?โ
โYeah.โ
As we passed the shoe lockers and started up the stairs, a girl’s voice called out to Haru.
โAh, Ayase-senpai!โ
Turning around, I saw a girl approaching at a light jog.
Koharu Sakura. A slightly tomboyish junior whose main trait was her energy.
โWhat’s up?โ
โI saw you and thought I’d say hi!โ
After saying that in her bright voice, Koharu turned her gaze to me too.
โYou’re Asahina-senpai, right? This is the first time we’ve really talked.โ
โโฆYeah. Nice to meet you.โ
โYamato-senpai told me. He said Asahina-senpai is really dependable.โ
โOh. I haven’t done anything special, though.โ
โHe said that response alone makes you a total hottie!โ
Seeing Koharu laugh so carefree made me feel a little relieved.
โI should be going soon.โ
โYeah. You too, Koharu-chan.โ
Koharu bowed cheerfully and ran off.
It was endearing how she immediately got scolded by the teacher.
โThat girlโฆ she’s close with Yamato too, huh?โ
When I muttered that absentmindedly, Haru glanced at me for just a moment before smiling gently.
โThey became close because Yamato-kun and Koharu-chan got along well, but I suppose I was the one who brought them together.โ
Honestly, I hadn’t known that.
I distinctly remembered Yamato mentioning that meeting Hayase-san had something to do with Haru accompanying him. But I hadn’t realized Haru was involved with Sakura-san too.
So thenโ
Both Hayase Maho and Koharu meeting Yamato had Haru’s presence behind it.
Thinking about it that way made me feel something hard to put into words.
It seemed like coincidence, yet it wasn’t.
Human connections really are mysterious, and somehow feel fated.
I entered the classroom and took my seat. Soon the teacher came in, and the morning assembly began, almost out of habit. Without pause, we dove straight into the first period class.
Even though class had barely started, some were already face-down on their desks, returning to their dreams. Others were secretly fiddling with their phones on their laps, or whispering pointless chatter with friends in the teacher’s blind spot.
Sleepiness and lethargy filled the classroom. For better or worseโthis was our usual morning.
Amidst it all, I found myself unconsciously following the back of Haru’s head with my eyes as she sat in the front row.
She really changed after entering third year.
And I changed tooโprobably. The feelings I’d kept bottled up threatened to spill over.ใ
(โฆNo good.)
Suddenly, I discreetly pulled my phone from my pocket.
I hadn’t used it much lately, but at times like this, I often scribbled my feelings into a memo app. Not for anyone to see, just to vent.
I opened the app, about to create a new memoโat that very moment.
โโฆ?โ
A memo was already displayed on the screen.
The creation date was two years ago, March 11, 20XX. At least, I had no memory of it.
Only the title stood out, strangely vivid.
‘How to Erase Yamato’
My thoughts froze for an instant.
I didn’t understand the meaning.
But for some reason, I felt I shouldn’t delete it.
At that momentโ
A sharp pain pierced the back of my head.
โโฆ!โ
I involuntarily held my breath.
My vision swayed, and my ears rang.
โYou okay?โ
I barely managed to nod at the voice from the seat beside me.
Even after the pain subsided, the lingering unease deep in my chest wouldn’t fade.
I understood.
I still hadn’t remembered something.
And that somethingโ
It surely had deep connections to Haru, Yamato, and myself.
Maiasa