Chapter 5: ‘Love’ Is So Damn Complicated

───● The Childhood Friend-Type College Girl Makes an Introduction ●○●

A few days have passed since Mizuho was brutally rejected.

Worried she might be feeling down, I came to the university today prepared to treat her to some ice cream on the way home.

But I realized first thing in the morning that my concern was unnecessary.

“And that’s why it was a fated encounter!”

“Mizuho, that’s the fifth time you’ve told that story today~”

“Have you been telling everyone the same thing?”

With a few friends from our club, we were listening to Mizuho’s gushing story (or whatever you want to call it) for the umpteenth time.

She’s been telling it to every friend that comes along since this morning, so I, who has been here from the start, have lost count of how many times I’ve heard it.

“Man, fate really does exist! You never know what life has in store for you!”

“Yeah, yeah. But there’s no guarantee you’ll ever see that guy again, right?”

“Nay, I shall find him! A quest for my beloved, a journey of three thousand leagues! I shall search for him to the ends of the earth! Even to the other side of the planet!”

“Mizuho, do you even know how many meters are in a league?”

“…Eh? …About a hundred?”

Mizuho stuck her tongue out playfully, looking adorable.

She laughed brightly, and her laughter was infectious, making everyone around her laugh, too. Well, I’m glad she’s back to her old self.

Honestly, right after that confession, she was so devastated I could barely look at her. …Then again, it was my fault for going to spy on her…

“Well, we have to go this way for our next class! See ya~!”

“Farewell! Ah, if you find my fated one, I beseech you for information!!”

“There’s no way we can find him with such vague info…”

Mizuho gave a sharp salute to our friends, who just smiled wryly.

Mizuho and I have the same next class.

We walk along the connecting corridor. The sunlight coming through the window feels nice.

Beside me, Mizuho is in high spirits, humming a tune.

“But I’m glad. This is the first time you’ve found someone you seem to be serious about, isn’t it, Mizuho?”

“Indeed, it appears to be so! So this is what it means to fall in love, is it not! Just kidding~!”

“Oh, you…”

I had already heard the whole story ad nauseam this morning.

Apparently, when Mizuho dropped her contact lens, he helped her look for it, and when he found it, he placed it on a handkerchief to give it back to her.

Like a ring?

Honestly, a guy that nice probably already has a girlfriend or two…

But saying that to Mizuho in her current state would be tactless.

“And that is why, my dear Watson…”

“Who are you calling Watson?”

“Details, details! I require your assistance, Watson, in my quest to find my fated one!”

“Fine, but… even if he’s a freshman at our university, there are still like, two thousand candidates.”

According to Mizuho, the pen he dropped was one that our university gave out to this year’s freshmen, so there’s a high probability that he’s a first-year.

I think the total number of new students was a little over ten thousand… and I remember our university having a slightly higher ratio of boys, so that’s probably around two thousand.

Narrowing it down from there is going to be pretty difficult.

And to top it off, Mizuho had lost her contact and was crying, so she barely remembers his face.

I have a feeling our circle of friends alone won’t be enough.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk… if you give up, that’s where the game ends, my friend.”

“Why do I feel like I’m the one being scolded…?”

Mizuho’s expression was confident.

Does she have some secret plan?

“I’m sure I’ll remember him if I see him!! And his hair was slicked back!”

“His hairstyle, huh…”

According to Mizuho, the guy’s hair was slicked back with gel.

It’s certainly rare, I guess?

But it’s not like his hair is like that every day…

“I shall return this handkerchief… and I shall tell him! I am the crane you saved! I have come to repay my debt!”

“Now you’re telling old folktales~”

The handkerchief she’s clutching so dearly is apparently a loan from him. He told her she didn’t have to return it, but Mizuho is determined to meet him and give it back.

Just then.

Ping.

My phone got a notification.

<Masato> ‘lol yeah that’s true’

<Masato> ‘Hey Koumi, are you free to take third period together today?’

Ah… right, third period is a class I’ve been taking with Masato recently.

Up until now, I’ve felt bad for Mizuho, but I’ve been taking it with Masato… but.

(Up until now, I’ve tried to keep my friends away from him because he’s so handsome I was worried they’d fall for him, but… I guess Mizuho is safe now.)

Needless to say, Mizuho, walking happily beside me, is completely absorbed in her so-called fated one.

I always felt a little bad that Masato didn’t seem to have any other friends at the university besides me… so maybe this is a good chance?

“Hey, Mizuho. If you want… want to take the next class with Masato and me?”

“Eh? Really!? Man, I’ve been wanting to meet him and talk to him! Koumi’s boo!”

“He’s not my boyfriend, I told you…! Don’t say anything weird when you meet him, okay?”

“I shall not! I will be a proper ambassador for your good qualities. You can count on me!”

Mizuho thumped her chest.

The fact that she’s completely flat-chested only makes the gesture cuter.

“But why? What is this change of heart, I wonder?”

“Well, I mean, you’re all hot and bothered over this ‘fated one’ of yours right now, right? You need to be that deep in love with someone else to be safe around Masato. He’s so insanely hot you could talk to him for thirty minutes and fall for him.”

“Love can sometimes make a fool of a person…”

“Hey, you just made fun of me, didn’t you?”

Mizuho gave me a look you’d give to someone pitiful.

No, seriously, Masato’s destructive power is off the charts. I don’t know any other boy that perfect.

“Rest assured, my friend. I am currently engrossed in the search for my fated one! I shall be sure to sell your good points to this Masato-kun. Just confess to him already.”

“Sheesh, mind your own business!!”

She really might say something unnecessary. Is this really okay?

For now, I replied to Masato.

<Koumi> ‘Mornin’!’

<Koumi> ‘Yeah, I can! And my best friend is in that class, too, so if you’re okay with it, wanna take it together, the three of us?’

Perhaps because he was on campus, a reply came back immediately, before I even closed my phone.

<Masato> ‘Oh, that’d be great, yes please~’

It came with a sticker of a cat bowing its head in thanks.

Masato being cute even over text is just unfair…

“Masato said he’s cool with it. So let’s take third period together, the three of us.”

“Yay! Time to worship a hottie, namaste namaste…”

“Seriously, don’t joke around too much, okay?”

If the person I like and my best friend can get along, that would make me happy.

I have a feeling my university life is about to get a lot more fun!

■

How incredible, Koumi is actually letting me meet the guy she’s head over heels for!

Koumi’s so cautious, huh. To think she wouldn’t let me meet this Masato-kun guy out of fear I might accidentally fall for him…

Well, that’s just how much she likes him. Yep, yep. I think that’s a good thing!

But rest assured! This one is currently busy gathering information!

You think it’s rash to assume we go to the same university just from a pen? Heh heh. Even if that’s so, as long as I have a clue, I will not give up!

Because wouldn’t it be wonderful to meet him again? Just thinking about it is enough.

I take the handkerchief out of my pocket one more time.

A simple navy blue design, with red and black lines adorning the corner.

I clutched it tightly.

—Someday, someday I will definitely return this handkerchief. And then, I’ll tell him. How I feel.

“Oh, there are still quite a few seats open. Should we grab three?”

“Roger that!”

I carefully fold the handkerchief and put it back in my bag.

Koumi and I secure seats in the back of the classroom.

Securing seats in a university lecture is survival of the fittest…! My apologies to everyone still at lunch… Reality is a cruel mistress. Boo-hoo…

“Masato said he’ll be here in a bit, so I’m gonna go meet him outside the classroom.”

“Hoi-sa! Have a safe trip!”

After seeing Koumi off, I took out the ballpoint pen this time.

“Could he… not be a first-year?”

This should be the first year they’ve handed out pens with this design.

So generally, it’s the first-years who have them, but it’s probably not impossible to get one if you go to the building where the faculty offices are.

Does that mean he could be a year or two… or even three above me?

He did seem older.

Well, honestly, his age doesn’t matter.

I remember that moment.

‘Excuse me! I’m looking for a contact lens!’

‘Alright. Be careful, then.’

‘Oh, and you don’t have to return this handkerchief. See ya!’

I remember that dazzling smile.

(He was so handsome…)

Anyone would fall for him after something like that. I couldn’t see his face very well, it’s true, but his face doesn’t even matter anymore.

After experiencing that kindness and that smile, his looks are irrelevant.

(If only I could have burned the image into my memory… Boo-hoo…)

I slump down onto my desk.

If I hadn’t been crying… no, but if I hadn’t been crying, I wouldn’t have dropped my contact in the first place, and then I wouldn’t have met him… or something.

Just remembering it makes my heart squeeze.

(Yeah. I definitely, absolutely want to meet him again properly. To thank him, and then…)

What will I do when I see him? If I just blurt out ‘I like you,’ he’ll probably think I’m a creep…

Should I start by being friends? That seems like I have ulterior motives.

I just want to thank him.

To tell him that, thanks to him, I was saved from rock bottom.

…Is that a little heavy?

But that’s how grateful I am… and how much I admire him.

So I hope he’ll forgive me for being a little intense.

“Nihehe…”

Oh no. I might be making a weird face.

I’m about to meet Koumi’s ‘favorite,’ and it would be too sad if he thought I was a weirdo!

Maybe he could use his guy network to help me find my fated one… First impressions are important!

About ten minutes before class starts.

Koumi enters the classroom. Behind her is a boy.

Ah, Koumi has the complete ‘girl in love’ look on her face. And wow, I guess he really is handsome…? He’s pretty tall, too.

Just him walking in made the girls around the classroom turn to look.

No wonder Koumi was so worried.

While I was thinking that, Koumi and the boy arrived at my seat.

“Alright! So, this is my best friend, Tonosaki Mizuho! And this is, um… my f-friend, Katasato Masato!”

From behind Koumi.

The handsome boy peeked out.

“Hello! I’ve heard a bit about you from Koumi~ Nice to meet you!”

…Huh?