Chapter 47 Yumi's Past

  All her life, Yumi had been surrounded by people who cared for her, yet she realized she had never truly formed a close bond with any male.

  She didn’t remember much, but her grandmother had always told her that her father was a good man—a kind, caring man who had protected both Yumi and her mother. Sadly, he died young.

  One day, he left for work as usual, but he never came back. The next day, her mother and grandmother received the tragic news—he had been hit by a truck while returning home. The driver had lost control of the vehicle. He didn’t stand a chance.

  What made it even more heartbreaking was that he had been so happy that day—he had just received an opportunity to represent Japan in the Olympics. But fate was cruel. Yumi had been just a baby, too young to remember him.

  Luckily for her, her grandmother stepped in to help raise her while her mother worked. Yumi grew up happy, cared for by the two.

  One day, when she was seven years old, she stumbled upon something hidden away in a closet among her father’s old belongings. A bow.

  “Wow! What’s this?” she exclaimed, eyes wide with amazement. She gripped it excitedly, mimicking the motions she had seen in anime. “Phesh, phesh!” she giggled, pretending to shoot arrows.

  From the kitchen, where she was cooking, her grandmother turned at the sound of Yumi’s excitement. The moment she laid eyes on the bow, a nostalgic smile spread across her lips.

  “That was your father’s,” she said warmly. “Akio’s bow. He used to practice archery all the time. Back in high school, he won several awards and was even about to go to the Olympics.”

  Yumi’s eyes sparkled with wonder. “Wow! So Daddy was like a superhero? He could’ve fought bad guys, just like in anime, if he wanted?”

  Her grandmother chuckled, stepping closer.

  Yumi hugged the bow to her chest, determination shining in her young eyes. “Grandma, I want to be like Daddy! I want to learn how to shoot!”

  Her grandmother’s smile grew wider, filled with pride and bittersweet memories.

  “I’m back, Mother! Yumi!”

  The front door opened, and Yumi’s mother, Haruka, stepped inside, still dressed in her work clothes. She looked exhausted but smiled the moment she saw her daughter.

  “Look, Mommy! I’m going to become an archer! just like daddy!” Yumi exclaimed, enthusiastically holding up the bow.

  Haruka’s eyes wavered. She turned away for a brief moment, pressing her lips together as tears threatened to spill. But when she turned back, her face held a warm, encouraging smile.

  “Alright,” she said gently. “This weekend, we’ll find you a teacher.”

  “Yay!” Yumi cheered, jumping excitedly.

  “But,” her grandmother interjected with a knowing smile, “you have to keep getting good grades. If you want to go to a good school with an archery program, you’ll need to work hard.”

  Yumi puffed out her chest confidently. “I will! I promise!”

  Life continued as it always had, filled with love, laughter, and Yumi’s growing passion for archery. But fate had other plans.

  As the years passed, Yumi’s mother seemed to grow more and more tired. The exhaustion clung to her, weighing her down like an invisible force. Then, one day, when Yumi—now eleven years old—returned home from archery practice, she found her mother collapsed at the front entrance of their house.

  “Mommy!” she cried out in panic. “Grandma! Help!”

  Aiko, her grandmother, rushed to the door, her heart nearly stopping at the sight of her daughter-in-law lying motionless on the ground.

  At the hospital, Haruka slowly regained consciousness. Yumi and Aiko sat by her bedside, their faces filled with worry.

  “Mommy, are you okay?” Yumi sobbed, clutching her mother’s hand tightly.

  Haruka smiled weakly, gently brushing Yumi’s cheek. “I’m sorry, sweetheart… I must have been too tired from work. But I’m fine now.”

  Her voice was warm, but her body was frail.

  “Go home and rest, Yumi. You too, Mother. Don’t worry—I’ll be better tomorrow.”

  The next day, the doctors delivered the devastating truth: Haruka had been silently battling advanced terminal cancer. The disease had progressed too far for treatment.

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  Yet, she chose to keep this knowledge from Yumi. Instead, after being discharged from the hospital, she spent her remaining days at home, cherishing every moment with her daughter as her frail body slowly withered away.

  One month later, Yumi’s cries echoed through the house.

  At just eleven years old, she had lost her mother.

  Aiko held her tightly, her own tears falling freely as she tried to soothe the heartbroken child.

  “Don’t worry, Yumi,” she whispered, voice trembling. “We’ll be okay. Your mommy is with your daddy now. They’re watching over you from heaven.”

  For Aiko, it was a cruel twist of fate. She had raised her son alone as a single mother. Then, her daughter-in-law had to do the same. And now, little Yumi was left without parents.

  She vowed then and there—no matter what happened, she would protect Yumi. She wouldn’t let her suffer alone.

  Yumi tried to live a respectable life, honoring the memory of her parents, but it was far from easy. She faced many challenges, and her grandmother had to work tirelessly to support them both. To make ends meet, Aiko opened a small food stand just outside their home.

  At twelve years old, Yumi helped her grandmother dutifully, balancing household responsibilities with her studies. Despite the hardships, she never complained, always doing her best to help.

  One evening, as she wiped down the food stall, her grandmother gently spoke.

  “Little Yumi, you don’t have to help me anymore,” Aiko said with a kind smile. “You should focus on your studies and archery. Remember? Didn’t you say you wanted to become an archer like your father?”

  Yumi hesitated, gripping the rag in her hands. “But Grandma…”

  Aiko patted her head reassuringly. “It’s alright. I’ll manage on my own.”

  Reluctantly, Yumi nodded. From that day on, she focused entirely on school and archery.

  Despite her efforts, Yumi wasn’t able to get into her preferred middle school. Her grades had dropped after losing her parents, and she had withdrawn from others, barely speaking to her friends.

  As she adjusted to this new stage in life, another set of problems arose.

  Her body began to change—her curves became more pronounced, but her height remained the same. The boys in her school took notice, openly ogling her and making crude remarks behind her back.

  "Look at those big titties... I'd love to grope them."

  Little by little, Yumi became more withdrawn.

  She had almost no friends, but she tried to focus on her studies, pouring herself into schoolwork and archery. But by her second year of middle school, at thirteen years old, things only got worse.

  Her body continued to develop—her chest and hips growing even more, while she remained small in stature. This made her an easy target.

  A group of girls in Yumi’s grade had begun to bully her.

  It started with whispers and quiet laughter behind her back. “She thinks she’s pretty.” “She’s just a fat cow.”

  Then came the cruel messages, scrawled onto her desk in thick marker. Ugly cow. Her school shoes would sometimes vanish without explanation. Where are my shoes? she thought anxiously, glancing around the hallway, her heart pounding.

  Some of the boys in her class tried to step in. “Hey, stop that! What are you doing to her? You’re just jealous because she’s prettier than you.” But their interference only seemed to make things worse, fueling the girls’ resentment.

  “I’m fine,” Yumi would always say, forcing a smile, her voice growing quieter with each passing day. But inside, she felt herself shrinking—becoming smaller, more invisible.

  Even at home, she never told her grandmother about the bullying. She didn’t want to add to her worries.

  She had already lost so much—she refused to become a burden to the only family she had left.

  When she finally finished middle school, Yumi was determined to start anew. She set her sights on getting into her dream high school, one with a strong archery program— the same school her father had once attended. She hoped for a fresh beginning and a chance to follow in his footsteps. But once again, things didn’t go as planned. She failed to get accepted.

  Seeing Yumi’s disappointment, her grandmother, Aiko, tried to comfort her.

  “Don’t worry, little Yumi,” she said with a warm smile. “I’ll enroll you in a special archery club. You’ll learn from the best! If you work hard, you could even make it to the Olympics one day.”

  But Yumi knew the truth. They didn’t have the money for expensive training, and she didn’t want to put any more strain on her grandmother.

  So she forced a smile and shook her head. “It’s okay, Grandma. As long as I can practice on my own, everything will be fine.”

  Now attending Ashikawa High School, a school neither prestigious nor terrible—just average—Yumi was determined to change her life.

  Standing outside the entrance, she adjusted her glasses, lightly slapped her cheeks, and took a deep breath.

  “I’m ready,” she whispered to herself. “This year is going to be different. I’ll make friends, I’ll get good grades, and I’ll make Grandma proud.”

  She stepped inside with newfound confidence.

  But the moment she entered the classroom, she felt it—every single boy’s eyes locked onto her.

  Their gazes roamed her body, filled with an uncomfortable hunger.

  Like a pack of wolves, they immediately swarmed around her.

  “Hey, what’s your name?”

  “Where do you live?”

  “Do you have a boyfriend?”

  The questions came from all directions, but none of them were truly interested in her as a person. Their eyes spoke louder than their words—lingering, ogling, undressing her with their stares.

  Yumi froze. She had no idea how to handle this kind of attention.

  Already a withdrawn person, she instinctively shut down, closing herself off from them.

  Despite her efforts to blend in, Yumi couldn’t escape the unwanted attention from boys. She tried everything—wearing loose clothes, layering a sweater over her uniform—but it didn’t help. Their stares never stopped.

  One afternoon, while eating lunch on a bench outside near the school field, a tall, handsome boy approached her.

  “Please read this.”

  He bent forward slightly, his eyes closed, and presented a neatly folded letter.

  Yumi blinked, stunned. She hesitantly took the letter from his hands, and before she could say a word, he turned and ran off.

  Her jaw hung open in disbelief.

  “What…?”

  Curious, she unfolded the paper and read the message inside.

  My name is Hakuto Kobayashi. I’m a third-year. I have fallen in love with you. Please go out with me.

  Yumi’s face turned bright red.

  “W-What?”

  She recognized him—Hakuto sempai. She had seen him before, playing baseball. He was popular, one of the best athletes in school.

  Her heart pounded. She didn’t know what to think. She had never interacted with him before—could he be different?

  Maybe… maybe we could be friends first, she thought uncertainly.

  But what she didn’t know was that, from a distance, someone had been watching.

  A girl with bleached blonde hair, dressed in a rebellious garyu-style uniform, stood near the fence, a cigarette lazily hanging between her fingers. Her piercing eyes narrowed as she witnessed Hakuto handing Yumi the letter.