When school ehe day, Hikaru, having no study session scheduled, prepared to head to the library to find Hiyori. However, just as he stood up with his bag in hand, a familiar voice called out to him.
"Hikaru-kun, you help me with something?" Iose's cheeks were tinged with a faint blush, her tone carrying a hint of embarrassment.
"What kind of help?"
Hikaru g Iose, curious about her sudden request.
"Let's talk outside. There are too many people here." Iose, seeing no obje from him, quickly grabbed her bag aly ushered him out of the .
Ohey reached a quiet er, Iose slowly took a pink envelope from her bag. A heart-shaped sticker sealed it shut.
"Actually... I found this in my shoe locker this m. Someone wants to meet me this afternoon."
As she revealed the letter, she fixed her gaze on Hikaru's face, trying to gauge his rea.
"A fessioer?"
A single gnce was enough for Hikaru to grasp the situation. In these adolest years, such things werely unon.
"Yeah. I don't know what to do. I don't want to hurt her feelings, so I thought I'd ask you for advice."
Notig Hikaru's calm expression, Iose felt a twinge of disappoi. She had hoped to see a flicker of , maybe even jealousy. Yet aside from mild surprise, his demeanor remained posed, as though the letter was of little sequeo him.
"If you don't share those feelings, you should be clear and straightforward. Just reject her directly."
Hikaru's tone carried a sense of matter-of-fact certainty. He had always believed that fessing in su impulsive manner was unwise. Love doesn't simply fall from the sky uhe feelings already exist. In those cases, a fession serve as a catalyst for a mutual e.
But if it was just a shot in the dark—a hopeful gamble—it was about as effective as buying a lottery ticket.
After giving his advice, Hikaru's expression shifted as a sudden realization struck him.
Wait… her?
Did Iose just say she didn't want to hurt 'her' feelings?
In Japahe words for "he" and "she" are distinct. Was a girl fessing to her?
"Being clear about your decision, huh?" Iose repeated softly, as though tasting the words oongue. In truth, she had already made up her mind. This wasn't the first time she'd received a fession from a girl, so she knew what to say.
However, this letter gave her a different idea: she could use it to test Hikaru's rea and see how he felt upon hearing that someone had fessed to her.
Unfortunately, she'd only found disappoi.
Aside from mild surprise, Hikaru's demeanor never ged. It was as if he didn't care at all.
"Yes," Hikaru said with a slight smile. "If you don't feel the same way, it's best to be direct. Only then you truly vey your own feelings."
"Whoever wrote that letter probably made up their mind before sending it. If someone is brave enough to fess, they deserve an ho answer—even if it's a reje."
"..."
Iose fell into thought for a moment before nodding. "I uand. I'll make sure to tell her clearly."
"Anything else you need help with?" Hikaru asked, gng at the time. Hikaru should already be at the library by now.
"No, that's all. Thank you for the advice, Hikaru-kun. I'll remember everything you said today." Iet his eyes, her voice carrying a rare firmness—a resolve she'd never expressed to anyone before.
"Alright. I'm heading to the library then. Bye, Iose-san."
As Hikaru turned and walked away, the pink-haired girl stood still, watg his departing figure.
She softly murmured, "Have I... made up my mind?"
---
Later that day, Iose arrived at the designated meeting spot mentioned iter. She waited for several minutes before spotting a familiar figure approag.
With her short hair and a flower-shaped hair clip, Shiranami Chihiro's face was already flushed with nervousness.
"Iose-san!"
"Chihiro-, you're here." Iose greeted her with a gentle smile, watg her friend approach.
"Um... after reading my letter..." Shiranami hesitated, ay evident in her eyes. "What... what do you think?"
"About that—"
Iose took a deep breath to steady herself, then bowed slightly.
"I'm sorry, Chihiro-. I 't return your feelings. Please... give up on liking me."
"..."
The short-haired girl's expression turned desote, though it was clear she'd braced herself for this response.
"I see... yeah. I kind of expected that."
"Even if I 't respond to your feelings, we'll still be friends. We have so much more of our school life ahead of us together."
Seeing Shiranami's crestfallen look, Iose quickly tried to soften the blow.
"Iose-san... you really do like Hikaru-kun, don't you?"
Shiranami's gaze was direct, her voice trembli certain.
"Eh?!"
The bluntness of the questio a wave of crimson rushing across Iose's cheeks. She instinctively waved her hands in denial. "ould you say that? That's not—"
Her frantic attempt to dodge the question faltered when Shiranami spoke again.
"There's no one else around. 't you be ho with me?"
Despite the heartbreak she felt, Shiranami pushed herself to ask the question. "I just want to know how you really feel about Hikaru-kun. If you wao give up, 't you at least answer me holy?"
"..."
Iose froze. The embarrassment that had ed her moments ago slowly ebbed away. She took a quick look around, firming that the area was deserted.
Her hand instinctively moved to her chest, resting over her heart.
What y beh her palm wasn't an illusion. It was a warmth that had only grown stronger with time.
His subtle expressions, the restrained warmth in his voice, the moments they spent together, the memory of that fleeting instant in his dorm room when she felt a sense of attat she couldn't shake.
The tless fragments of those moments filled her mind, pushing her uainty aside.
The Shiranami's gaze and answered.
"Yes, I like Hikaru-kun. Not the way you like a cssmate, but the way a woman likes a man."
"I want to be with him, as his girlfriend. I want to share every moment of my life with him."
"This is how I feel, Chihiro-. Now you uand, don't you?"
~~~
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