After school, as usual, Asaichi Iwanaga was sitting at his desk, gazing out of the window when he heard a voice saying, “I’ve come to settle things.” Turning around, he saw Sakuna standing there.
“Settle things?”
“Yep. Today, I’m settling everything here. Konoe-san is coming now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Actually, Konoe-san has a secret. And I’ve called her here anonymously, using that secret as a reason. I’ll be pretending to be a student consulting the love god.”
“Are you trying to do something like a scam again?”
“I don’t mind stopping, you know? Isn’t it you, Iwanaga-san, who wants a happy ending, even if you have to force it?”
“Well, yeah, I guess so. Ah, sorry. I’ll do it your way.”
“Just sit there quietly, like the usual love god would.”
“Got it.”
He nodded and decided to stay quiet as she had asked. Sakuna was fiddling with her smartphone, and then footsteps were heard from the hallway. With a clatter, the classroom door opened.
It was Konoe Manami who entered.
Konoe shot a challenging, reproachful glance at Sakuna.
“Did Koizuka write the letter?”
“Letter…? What are you talking about?”
Sakuna feigned ignorance.
“I’ve been consulting this love god here… Isn’t that what Konoe-san is here for?”
“I’ve been called… but if it’s not you, I don’t really mind…”
Konoe looked away, arms crossed, standing there as if confused.
“Um, if you don’t mind, could you listen to my… I mean, my friend’s problem?”
“To me?”
“No, well… this love god is a bit suspicious, too.”
Asaichi muttered under his breath, “I’m not doing this because I want to, you know?” but Sakuna fully ignored him.
“If that’s what you prefer, I don’t mind… just for a little while.”
Sakuna bowed and said, “Thank you,” before continuing.
“Actually, I have a friend who, well… has a complex about her appearance.”
Asaichi thought, “She doesn’t have any friends, but she sure can tell lies well.”
“She’s been bullied by boys since elementary school because of her looks. Well, by high school, the open insults stopped, but the trauma from back then still affects her…”
As Sakuna continued, Konoe’s expression grew more clouded.
“Ah, actually, I was heavily bullied in elementary school, too… really, boys are the worst…”
“That must have been tough…”
“Well, I decided to escape to the world of two-dimensional things, but my friend is still attached to the real world. But she says her complex about her appearance is keeping her from falling in love. Do you think there’s any way I can cheer her up?”
“…I think the only thing that can change is her.”
Konoe spoke softly.
“I don’t know your friend, but I was also pretty badly bullied when I was little.”
“Really, Konoe-san? That’s hard to imagine.”
“I was overweight back then. My eyebrows were really thick, too. I was called ugly and fat all the time.”
“I see… so you lost weight and became this beautiful?”
“…Yeah. And makeup helped. I did a lot of research.”
“I think it’s very natural makeup… maybe the base is the key.”
“That’s not it. So, Koizuka’s friend… should at least try, you know?”
“Well, she’s already dieting and trying really hard with makeup. From my perspective, I don’t think she’s ugly, but she’s apparently very self-conscious about certain parts of her appearance.”
“Like what?”
“Her eyes. She has single eyelids, very much the typical Japanese look. She’s been trying with eyelid tape, but it doesn’t seem to be working…”
“Well, maybe she should consider surgery? It’s relatively affordable.”
“She said she’s scared of it.”
“There are non-surgical options, and if you can’t move forward because of your complex, surgery is a real option.”
“Is it? I’m not sure I can recommend it without solid reasons…”
Konoe hesitated for a moment, then sighed before speaking again.
“I’ve done a little bit of tweaking myself…”
“Eh?”
Both Asaichi and Sakuna exclaimed, “Eh?” in unison.
“I told you earlier, right? I was really bullied as a kid. Boys called me ugly and fat… and I became a shut-in because of it.”
Sakuna looked at Konoe seriously and said, “That must have been very painful.”
“Yeah, it was really hard… but there was one kind person who would always stand by me. When I was with that person, I wasn’t bullied. I remember once, that person told me, ‘You’re not ugly.’ But when I looked in the mirror, I thought, ‘No, I’m ugly.’”
Konoe continued with a bitter smile.
“Then, because of my father’s job, I moved to Akita. I was freed from the bullying, but my heart was shattered. Moving didn’t mean I could get back to society… I spent most of my middle school years locked away, only studying.”
“Bullying is so painful… even after it ends, the memories stay, and it continues to hurt.”
“…Yeah. In my case, it gave me a complex about my looks. Just like Koizuka’s friend. I really envied people with double eyelids, like you, Koizuka.”
“Well, mine is from my father’s genes, not my own power…”
“Having double eyelids from your father’s genes is pretty nice! My parents both have single eyelids, so I was stuck with them.”
“Well, my dad has double eyelids, but there’s someone else…”
Asaichi unconsciously muttered, “Eh?” and quickly fell silent.
“Your family’s the same? Mine divorced because of my dad’s affair.”
“My parents haven’t divorced, though. I’m not sure if my mom knows about it… well, she just ignores it. If it weren’t for that, we’d be a pretty ideal family.”
She added with a wry smile, “Well, I’m pretending to have a rebellious phase, so I don’t talk to my dad.”
Konoe laughed lightly, “Yeah, that makes sense.”
“My mom got really angry and after everything, she got a divorce. At that point, I thought, ‘If my parents can do whatever they want, I’ll do whatever I want!’ So, I got surgery and came back with my mom.”
“Ah, so you’re not originally from Akita?”
“Yeah, I’m from Chiba originally. My mom’s family lives in Tokyo, and now we live there.”
Konoe shrugged in exasperation and sat down in the empty seat.
“Wait, have we ever talked about this?”
“No, I’ve never heard you use a dialect, so I thought maybe you were from the Kanto area.”
“Right, I lived in Chiba until I graduated elementary school. Then I moved to Akita for three years of middle school as a shut-in. After that, I came back.”
She continued with a grin.
“When I came back, it was hilarious. Nobody called me ugly anymore, and I was shocked. I couldn’t believe how different the world looked when you’re considered beautiful.”
“…That’s really sad.”
Konoe looked surprised for a moment, then smiled faintly with a hint of sadness.
“Yeah, that’s true. The sadness came first, then anger. Honestly, surgery is a lie, right? I’m not the real me. I felt guilty about that, but then the people who used to call me ugly turned around, and I thought, ‘Well, if they’re going to change, why not fool them?’ After that, it was like I was invincible. The guys were all nice, and even the pretty girls started talking to me. It was like my world had completely changed.”
“So you think my friend should get surgery too?”
Konoe thought for a moment, then smiled bitterly.
“I don’t know…”
She sighed and started her story again.
