Epilogue

​The trees and plants on campus had withered; it was the latter half of December. Since it was the last day of classes for the year, I stepped into the classroom with the mindset of “once I get through today, I’m on vacation!”

​”Good morning!”

​”Ah, Mizuho, ‘mornin’~”

​Because of our majors, neither Koumi nor Masato were in this second-period class.

​I tend to skip classes when I take them alone… so I invited Irie, who’s in the same club and a good friend, to take the same class as me.

​I sat down and took off my small backpack. I needed to get the file with the course materials out.

​”…You seem more energetic lately.”

​”Eh?”

​Irie, who had been watching me rummage through my backpack from the next seat, said that.

​”Really? Maybe it’s because today’s the last day of class for the year!?”

​”Well, that might be part of it… but you’ve looked like you’re having so much fun these past few days.”

​My movements came to a halt.

​If I looked like I was having fun now, the reason was undoubtedly the events of a few days ago.

​”Does it show that much~… I see~”

​”…This is gonna be a long story, isn’t it?”

​The theme park date with Masato was still burned into my mind. I had saved all the photos we took, and even made an album using a social media feature to record those memories forever.

​Above all, that perfect time in the Ferris wheel───

​”Why are you grinning all of a sudden? It’s creepy.”

​”Fuffuffu… you’ll understand someday, little girl…”

​”Wow, that was actually kind of annoying, you know?”

​”Tahaha~! Sorry, sorry!”

​I appreciate Irie because she always tells it to me straight like that.

​Irie let out an exasperated sigh.

​”Well, it’s better than when you were spending every day looking like you were about to fall asleep. Right now, it actually feels like I’m with Mizuho.”

​”I apologize for the great inconvenience I caused back then~!”

​She laughed, calling me shameless. Truly, I owe Irie a debt I can never repay…

​Seeing that Irie had started preparing for class too, I looked toward the front of the large lecture hall. There was still some time before class started.

​…On that day, Masato had responded to our confession with a serious expression, saying, “Please give me a little more time.”

​Of course, it would have been best if he’d said yes on the spot… but we aren’t the only ones around Masato. It’s only natural he couldn’t just decide instantly.

​But if that’s the case, there’s only one thing for me to do while Masato decides.

​I’ll just have to work hard to make Masato love me!

​I’ll appeal to him even more than before! That’s all!

​Because I know what I have to do, and I know my own feelings, I feel refreshed.

​I took a deep breath of the morning-chilled classroom air—and let it out slowly.

​Love is difficult.

​Sometimes, it’s painful.

​—But more than that.

​Because Masato taught me that it’s something happy, fun, and warm.

​Now, I can say with pride that I love “love”!

​───● The Oblivious Boy’s Anguish ●○●

​”Sigh…”

​A deep sigh escaped me.

​It’s always past midnight by the time I get home from my part-time job at the bar. Today was no exception; by the time I’d showered and flopped onto my bed, the clock showed 1:00 AM.

​I rolled onto my stomach and closed my eyes.

​““Will you go out with both of us?””

​”Ugh…”

​That scene was burned into my mind and wouldn’t leave. They were some of the few friends I had at the same university. Of course, I was aware that we were on good terms, and it was a fact that I thought well of both of them.

​To top it off, both were top-tier beauties.

​That was exactly why I never expected them to hit me with their feelings so directly.

​”What am I supposed to do…?”

​The two of them said I didn’t have to answer right away. However, it certainly wasn’t a good thing to keep that answer in limbo forever.

​When I looked it up online, it seemed that it wasn’t unheard of for a man to date two girls nowadays. Apparently, it wasn’t uncommon to have an open relationship after talking it out with the girls.

​Now that I thought about it, I had been seeing more guys walking around with two girls lately. Maybe the three of them were actually dating.

​I rolled over again. A faint moonlight peeked through the window.

​It wasn’t just Koumi and Mizuho.

​There was also Yuka, who looked up to me and wanted me to teach her basketball, but had told me she didn’t want to be treated like a sister.

​And Seira-san, who had taken a liking to me and kept coming to the bar, telling me straight up that she only had eyes for me.

​Then there was Shiori-chan, whom I was tutoring… though it didn’t seem like she had those kinds of feelings. Maybe I should try talking to her next time we meet. She’d probably give me some serious thought while teasing me. She did that with Seira-san too.

​Anyway, everyone was important to me, and I didn’t feel like I could choose just one.

​The thought that choosing one might mean I couldn’t see the others or that we’d drift apart made my heart ache.

​I like everyone. Whether that’s a romantic feeling or not, I have no way to be sure right now.

​…However, I felt that maintaining the status quo without giving an answer would be a cowardly choice.

​I’d love to keep things as they are, if possible. But that would directly lead to stealing away their time. Especially for someone like Yuka, who should be entering the fun part of her life.

​”…I have to decide.”

​Alone in the winter night, I steeled my resolve.

​I wrapped myself in the covers to ward off the chill as my body cooled from the shower.

​—That night, I had a dream.

​“Masato, you’re just kind to everyone, aren’t you?”

​Those were words once spoken to me by the first girl I ever dated.

​Be kind to everyone.

​Because I had been taught that and lived my life believing it, treating someone as “special” was truly difficult for me.

​Even if I do date someone, will I just end up disappointing them again?

​Am I even capable of treating someone as special?

​Those pessimistic thoughts remained even after I woke up, lodged in my heart like a driven wedge.