[series] Part 3
“Reiko! Kochi, kochi” her friends waved her over, then asked, “You seriously don’t remember Yabu-kun or Inoo-kun?”
“Are they the two who came up to me earlier?”
“Yabai, she doesn’t remember” Reiko took out her phone, wanting to tell them of her plan, but decided not to because as much as she trusts her friends, she can’t risk anything. She put her phone back into her pocket.
After school, Yabu and Inoo caught up with Reiko and her friends. Reiko fell forward a bit when the two boys playfully pushed her, “Reiko!”
“Reiko-san!” Inoo could guess what she was doing and decided to play along, “Inoo Kei desu, yoroshiku onegaishimasu” He bowed; Reiko bowed back, saying “yoroshiku onegaishimasu”
“Kei, what are you doing? She knows you! Does she have amnesia or something?” he looked at Reiko sadly, who was walking away with her friends. When she was far away, Inoo pulled Yabu aside.
“Kou-chan! I think this is the real thing”
“What do you mean ‘the real thing’?”
“I mean, she’s gonna pretend she doesn’t know us, then get to know us again from scratch. She’s not going to listen to anybody but her own feelings. The person she chooses is the one”
Weeks go by and Inoo tries to be a good classmate by giving Reiko some personal space, hoping she’ll want to know more about him if he remained somewhat mysterious. But, she didn’t try to talk to him. On the other hand, Yabu tries to befriend Reiko quickly. He was afraid if he didn’t do anything, she’ll be taken by others.
One day, a rare project was given; it was a boy-girl experiment and the girls get to choose their partner. Since Reiko didn’t know any boys other than her two childhood friends, Yabu and Inoo both thought she was gonna choose one of them. What they didn’t know was that she was able to get close to a certain boy; that boy was the boy who invited Inoo to join his friends that one day a couple months ago. However, since Yabu kept chasing Reiko during that time, he was at a slight disadvantage since he didn’t make new friends.
“Amakusa-san, who do you choose to be your partner for this project?” the teacher asked
“Eeto…” Reiko stood up and glanced around the room. Many of the boys, including Yabu and Inoo, were nervously looking at her hoping she’ll pick him. Yuusuke, the boy she’d gotten closer to over the months, helped Inoo by pointing at Inoo, signaling for Reiko to choose Inoo. She looked at Yuusuke, and he saw that making him stand up while continuing his encouragement for Inoo. Reiko laughed, then pointed at Inoo’s direction, making both Inoo and Yuusuke get their hopes up, “I pick Yuu-I mean, Sakamoto-kun” Yuusuke’s mouth dropped open and he sat back down as the teacher wrote the pair’s names on the board.
“Gomen ne, Kei-kun!” Yuusuke apologized
“Iiyo, thanks for trying” Inoo said
When Yuusuke-kun and Reiko go together the first time to work on the project, the topic they’ve all been avoiding came up when Yuusuke asked Reiko why she didn’t pick Inoo.
“I don’t know him that well” was her answer
“That’s only cause you spent the last couple months with Yabu-kun!”
“Yuusuke-kun, yamete kudasai. You are fully aware of my intention. I need time to myself”
“Then why don’t you just say that? As much as I respect your need to be alone, this is way too ridiculous”
“You shouldn’t even be saying anything. You have no idea what I’ve been through”
“And you have no idea what Kei-kun’s been going through since he knew that you were with Yabu-kun. He’s been hiding his jealousy by avoiding you, Reiko. You’ve been wondering why you never see him anymore and why he ditched you for us? Reiko, he doesn’t want to be hurt, and seeing you with someone else hurts him! He cried himself to sleep every day since you started going out with Yabu-kun until a week after he joined us! Reiko, you need to get your act together and make your decision. Kei-kun has been waiting for the day you let him know you love him. He practiced his confession for a week before he invited you to his house, only to find that you’re already going out with Yabu-kun”
Shocked, Reiko said, “It’s getting late. I need to get going” and left.
Back at home, Reiko reflected on Yuusuke’s words. She knew that she needed to make a decision quickly. The longer she is alone, the more pain that goes along with it.
She stayed up all night trying to figure out what to do. When she finally figured out who she wanted to be with, she called Yuusuke
“Yuusuke-kun, did I wake you?”
“Ne, Reiko, it’s midnight. What do you want?”
“Oh, I was gonna tell you who I’ve decided but I guess that can wait til tomorrow” Before she hung up, she heard Yuusuke’s “Matte!” and said, “Nani?”
“Tell me now, tomorrow there’ll be too many people”
When Reiko told him, Yuusuke promised he’ll help make a plan for how Reiko will approach him, since she doesn’t know how.