NOVEL NEXT Chapter 87.2
CONTINUATION
In my vision that seemed to be dyed pitch-black, I felt as if a ray of light had pierced through.
‘Yuji… Are you saying that you saw through the only hope I was clinging onto?’
“Because change is something that always comes, whether it’s the state of war, the aging of a beauty, or even yourself. From major events to small occurrences, we encounter continuous change.”
‘That’s right.’
“Is that what it means to ‘live on’?”
“It might be… Oh, by the way, I’ve been a substitute swimmer for the inter-school swimming competition since middle school, but I finally made it as a regular in the butterfly 200m this season. Isn’t that also a change?”
Seeing Yuji smile happily, I thought to myself.
‘Everyone is living, encountering changes of varying degrees and are each carrying different worries.’
“I won’t tell them about your illness, either.”
“…Thank you.”
“To be honest, there’s also a sense of superiority in being the only one who knows this beauty’s secret.”
“However,” Yuji said with a stern face, “As your friend… I think you should tell those two sooner rather than later.”
“Yeah, I know. Thanks, Yuji.”
I gave Yuji a genuine smile, and realized that since meeting him at the convenience store, I had not been able to interact with him as I used to.
I had been putting on a fake smile for Yuji all along.
So finally being able to show Yuji a genuine smile made me feel a little bit happy.
“Agh… this is a fatal wound.”
“What…?”
For some reason, Yuji stumbled for a moment, as if he had a dizzy spell.
“Yuji, are you okay? Could it be heat stroke?”
“Oh, no… there’s no problem. It’s just that… I’m afraid…”
Yuji quickly straightened his posture and assumed his usual stiff upright salute.
“If I was Futsu-kun’s best friend, I would want you to tell me if there was anything troubling you first!”
“Yeah… That’s right, Yuji.”
If Kouya or Yuuki were in trouble, I would want to help them right away.
“I already knew that, but when a classmate tells you directly, it hits differently. It’s like, it resonates in your chest.”
‘What am I saying to Yuji, who was only wearing swimming trunks?’
I could’t help but think that, but I was grateful to my friend who had straight-talked me, a coward who couldn’t even tell his two best friends about his changes, for my sake…
“Oh, Yuji. There’s one thing I want to say too,”
“What is it?”
“Well, you know, we’ve come to the point where we can speak openly to each other like this… ”
‘Hmm, this is really hard to say.’
“Yuji, you mentioned ‘if’ earlier,”
Clearing my throat in a way I would never do normally, trying to ease my embarrassment.
“In my mind, Yuji is already one of my best friends…”
Mumbling and stumbling over my words, Yuji nodded repeatedly, as if trying to chew over what he had just heard.
“Have we also taken a step closer, Futsu-kun?”
“Well…”
“I’ve felt it for a while now. You know how it is with Futsu-kun and those two. There are times when you guys have your own special way of being together.”
Yuji smiled a little wistfully. Kouya, Yuuki and I had been friends since middle school, and there was a certain chemistry that only existed between us.
“It’s not like I was worried or anything. I just thought we had a good relationship…”
For the first time, Yuji turned his gaze away from me and looked out at the view from the balcony.
“I was jealous. Of you three.”
Yuji’s envious gaze on me.
It might have sounded bad, but it actually gave me confidence.
If it’s them, they won’t change easily. I felt a little more sure about how to approach them.
“Thank you so much, Yuji…”
“No, I haven’t done anything.”
Looking at Yuji’s sad profile, I knew this was undoubtedly a serious conversation between the two of us.
However, there were still many problems from the perspective of those around us.
“Did Yuji kidnap a little girl and take her to the school veranda?”
“Hey hey, such a beautiful girl…a foreign child kidnapped!?”
“It’s an incident.”
“It’s an incident.”
“It’s a crime.”
“Should we call the teacher?”
“Isn’t it too late?”
“Isn’t it the duty of friends to intervene before he commits any more crimes?”
“But I don’t want to touch him…”
“Me too…”
“We have no choice but to do it, right!?”
The bystanders were making a fuss in the wrong direction.
‘We have to do something about this…we have to clear up this misunderstanding.’
We had just begun to understand each other, but now Yuji’s school life was coming to an end.
There were more girls now than before.
And among those girls…
There was a particularly shining girl.
Her skin was more beautiful and white than any of the girls in the classroom who were worrying about me.
Her lovely, distinct double-eyelids reminded me of a cat’s eyes.
Her soft, black hair swayed slightly, having grown just a bit since before summer vacation.
That beautiful girl was staring at me.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her, as if I was under a spell.
“Aah…”
There was no mistaking it.
The girl I loved so much, my classmate, Akane Miyanouchi, was there, and I had made a complete fool of myself.
T/N: Hey guys. So I have been translating
this novel for sometime and I find it very interesting. I would really like it if you guys could donate a little to my Patreon . Thank you for reading.