She got in the car and took off her mask.
Through the rear-view mirror Hojo Shione watched Shiratori Kiyoya still standing where he was, the corner of her mouth lifting into a strange smile—nothing like the gentle aura she'd shown moments ago.
Once he was out of sight, she bent down, pulled a pack of ice from the box under the seat, wrapped it in a towel, and pressed it to her eyes.
Half-reclining, she replayed the way he'd been so pained he couldn't speak—and felt a wave of satisfaction.
She had lied to him. Not about "being surrounded by people and unable to get away," but about his aunt Ando Norika "finding out" they'd broken up being some kind of unavoidable accident. If she'd really wanted to deflect, a "busy with work, can't get away" excuse would have been enough.
All she'd done was sound a little down on the phone with Norika—sad, voice catching—and Norika sensed something was off. Shione simply went with the flow, nudged the "problem" onto Kiyoya, then "deliberately slipped up" while explaining. Once she'd said they had broken up, getting his current details was easy.
Maybe she'd really been too gentle with him before. He'd been naive enough to write in that letter, "let's cool off for a while," "don't upset Aunt"… selfish and laughable.
At first, Shione had obediently done as he asked: no contact, don't worry the aunt…
But as time went on, her longing for him didn't fade—it grew heavier.
"Time heals all wounds"? Ridiculous.
She only felt the wound in her heart deepen. Every time she closed her eyes she dreamed sweet dreams about him; when she opened them, the breakup letter sat on the nightstand.
Longing is a sweet pain, like seawater hammering a cliff; with each wave, the brine seeps into the cut and stings until tears flow.
She seemed addicted to the time they'd had; after the split, every day was hard to bear. And the pain she'd endured—he had to taste some of it, too. That's why, after venting the grudge in her chest, she hadn't cried and blamed him or begged to get back together. If it were just punishment by words, wouldn't that be too cheap?
There's no way he's truly stone-hearted—though he's absolutely a jerk. You could see that in how he didn't dare break up face-to-face and slipped her a letter instead. And could he really be so cold that all those memories of care, comfort, and intimacy were an act? If so, he could go win an Oscar and stop wasting time on her.
So tonight he'd toss and turn, wracked with regret—not as much as her back then, but enough. If he suffered too much, she'd feel bad.
Her gaze softened with nostalgia as past days with him surfaced again.
As for his claim that he had a new girlfriend… hateful and infuriating, but she had no interest in who the girl was. In the end, Kiyoya would be hers. Ando Norika, Ando Yosuke, and the friends he'd known were on her side—what room did he have to resist? With what would he fight her?
Even so, that so-called "girlfriend" needed looking into. If she's sick in the head and rotten to the core, just thinking about it is disgusting, even if Shione herself wouldn't hold it against Kiyoya…
After months of torment finally let out, a loose, boneless comfort spread through her. Kiyoya was both her antidote and her poison.
More than tormenting him, though, she wanted to know why that bastard had left without a word. No warning at all—she'd been caught unready. She burned to know the reason, but knew he'd never tell her…
Why?
She pressed the ice harder, feeling the towel's damp cool spread around her eyes.
"I have a girlfriend."
His words seemed to whisper in her ear. A hazy figure flashed through her mind: the kendo prodigy who scored eight straight wins at the Inter-High—Hasegawa Saori.
A spark went off. Shione jerked upright, ripped the towel from her eyes, as if something had clicked…
…
"Shiratori-kun, are you free this Saturday afternoon? The girls all want to meet you…"
That night, his phone lit up on the table. Kiyoya glanced at the screen and ignored it.
He was thinking about two things: Takahashi Mio's training plan, and how to explain the breakup with Hojo Shione to Aunt Norika when he went home in a couple of days.
The first was already set. He'd lined up an artist-training agency, coaches, a custom curriculum, audition prep—the works. Total cost: ¥13,000,000. He had ¥10,000,000 left in the bank, plus upcoming system check-in rewards, skill-upgrade rewards for Mio, and later script appearance bonuses… Aside from the time investment, it was basically zero cost.
Once Mio blew up, the gains could compound for two or three years; she ought to be able to buy a nice place in Tokyo before graduation and hit financial freedom.
All that remained was persuading Mio. That wouldn't be hard. Keep the hints and direct nudges and rewards coming—she'd fall in line.
The headache was going home to face Norika. How to explain—say he'd fallen for someone else? Say they just weren't compatible? She wouldn't accept any of it.
After thinking a while, he decided to stop thinking. He'd play the dead pig unafraid of boiling water and let her scold him—he'd live. It's not like she'd actually hurt him…
Except—
Leaning back on the sofa, he heard again Shione's furious line from today: "Way too much!" Maybe it was a bit much. But love alone doesn't cut it; first you hit financial freedom, then think about the rest. Besides, he'd already told her he was seeing Mio. There's no regret medicine. Even if he regretted it, he wouldn't turn back.
Ding-dong.
As if in answer, a message from Shione appeared:
"Kiyoya, I figured you wouldn't want to go back to Aunt's. I've explained it for you—you don't need to worry."
"…"
He lifted the phone, thinking of a reply—when a call came in.
Caller: Hojo Suzune.
What did she want at this hour?
He glanced at the clock on the wall: 10:30 p.m.
A senior in high school, up this late?
He hung up. She called again immediately.
Maybe it was urgent.
He answered. A pouting voice hit his ear:
"I thought you weren't going to pick up…"
"Brother-in-law, did my sister go see you today?"
"…How do you know? Did she tell you?"
"Do I need her to? One look at that smug face—eyes red from crying but grinning ear to ear. If she didn't go see you, what else would it be?"
Suzune muttered, then explained:
"She went back to Kyoto today. Brought a huge haul home. I thought it was for me, but she lugged most of it right back out. Obviously went to see Aunt…"
"Mm."
Went all the way to Kyoto just to explain? She was really serious about this?
"Oh—brother-in-law."
"What is it?"
"I saw Sis head out again after dinner."
Suzune's voice dipped, like she'd uncovered a major secret.
"She even dressed up and did her makeup. She was definitely going on a date."
"A date?"
He frowned at the word. His first feeling was irritation; then reason kicked in—impossible. If she'd seen him today, that might be plausible, but not after.
"No way. Your sister isn't like that."
"Brooother-in-laaaw, trust me~"
Hearing he didn't believe her, Suzune leaned into the whine.
"She totally was. When she went out, I even heard her say the person's name."
"What name?"
"Sounded like Koji?"
"Koji?"
He repeated it twice under his breath, then narrowed his eyes. "Saori, maybe?"
"Whatever—something like that…"
She pouted. When he didn't answer, she slipped into a syrupy tone:
"Brother-in-law~ I worked so hard keeping an eye on my sister for you. Don't I get a reward?"
"I want to come play in Tokyo, too…"
I want to see you, too…