“Why is Yurarin here? Wait, is this real? What do I do… Ah, I need to get her autograph!”
The sudden appearance of a massively popular idol left me completely flustered. Even though I wanted to ask for an autograph, I didn’t have the presence of mind to carry paper or a pen. As I panicked, Yurarin gave me a slightly troubled smile and tilted her head.
“Um, don’t you remember me?”
“Huh? No, I mean, this is our first time meeting, right…?”
While speaking, I looked closely at Yurarin’s face. Fine white hair, flawless skin—a face that seemed a bit reserved for an idol. Still, it was stunningly well-formed, the kind of face I like. She looked familiar somehow, like my first love…
“Ah.”
That’s when it hit me. She looked alike—no, identical. Her hair color was different, but the resemblance was unmistakable. She looked just like my first love, the person I’d been secretly haunted by, thinking I might have been responsible for her death.
“Could it be… Yura-chan…?”
When I called her name, her face lit up with a radiant smile.
“Yep! It’s been a while, Tatsuya-kun! Hey, can we talk for a bit?”
It turned out that Yurarin, the wildly popular idol, was my childhood friend.
◇
After that shocking reunion with my first love, she took me to a nearby karaoke place.
“Um, why karaoke?”
“Sorry. A café might’ve been better, huh? But I have to be careful about being seen right now…”
“Ah, yeah, that makes sense. If a massively popular idol is spotted hanging out with a guy her age, it’d cause a huge stir.”
“Yeah. Karaoke has private rooms and good soundproofing. By the way, why are you using formal speech?”
“Uh, well…”
Sure, the person in front of me was Hamano Yura—my first love and, well, you could call her my childhood friend. But that was four years ago. Now, she’s a world apart from me. And here I was, alone in a karaoke room with someone like her. It made sense I’d be nervous and start using formal speech.
“Come on, just talk to me like you used to. You didn’t even recognize me earlier.”
“Well, you’ve changed so much, Yura-chan. Your hair used to be long and black, and you seemed quieter. Now, you’re so bright and… um…”
“…Cute?”
“Uh, yeah. Really cute.”
“Thanks!”
She smiled, completely unfazed by the compliment, as if she was used to hearing it.
“Actually, I’ve been looking for you this whole time, Tatsuya-kun. Ever since we suddenly parted ways four years ago.”
Her words made my chest tighten painfully. Why was I sitting here, chatting with her like nothing happened?
Four years ago, I touched her hand. The pleasure from the experience point transfer made her collapse. And then she transferred schools. There’s no way she didn’t resent me.
“In our first year of middle school, in the library…”
“I’m sorry!!”
I cut her off with a loud apology, bowing so low my forehead banged against the table.
“Huh? T-Tatsuya-kun?”
“I’m really, really sorry! I didn’t mean any harm! I wasn’t trying to do something awful, I swear! Please believe me!”
“Tatsuya-kun, what are you talking about…?”
“I liked you so much, Yura-chan! I wanted to go out with you! And I did something stupid!”
“Wait, what? Liked? What do you—”
“And then you collapsed! I didn’t know what to do! So I hid behind the bookshelf, and then the teacher came, and I heard the sound of an ambulance…”
At that point, tears started streaming down my face. How dare I, the perpetrator, cry? It was despicable. But remembering that day brought back a flood of emotions—shame, fear, relief that she was alive—and the tears wouldn’t stop.
“Sniff… Yura-chan… I’m so glad you’re alive… I’m so sorry for what happened four years ago…”
“Tatsuya-kun…”
Why had Yura-chan been looking for me? It had to be to pass judgment on me.
What kind of face was she making now? I was too scared to look up.
