SCPK 117

Chapter 117.

Fateful Valentine’s Day (③)

Seiya and I sat side by side on a bench in a nearby park.
Just a few minutes ago, I had thought I was the happiest person in the world… though, really, it was all because of me.

“Want a drink?”
“Seiya buying me a canned coffee… that was weird, huh?”
“I’m not buying it. Pay me back 150 yen later.”
“Of course you’d ask for extra—that’s so like you, Seiya.”

I popped open the tab and took a sip of the steaming coffee.
The taste of chocolate still lingered in my mouth… a perfect safety net. I set the paper bag I got from Tsukiyo beside me.

“Ah… I should go look for Tsukiyo…”
“No problem. Mizusato is following her. Just let the two girls talk it out.”
“So that means Seiya and Mizusato were nearby too?”
“Yeah, it was late at night.”
“Sorry.”

The day had changed—it was already Sunday, February 15. I felt genuinely bad for keeping Seiya out this late.

I spoke to him.

“Tell me you saw this coming. Did you know this would happen?”
“Well… I didn’t have absolute certainty. But you held up pretty well.”
“Huh…”
“You really thought Tsukiyo was a patient, pure girl who’d do anything the guy she liked said?”
“That’s… not exactly—”
“She’s nothing like that. She’s strong-willed, selfish, and yet she managed to hold back that much.”
“….”
“I didn’t expect her to snap like that, though.”

Seiya continued.

“Now that things have gone that far, it can’t just go back to normal. Taiyo, it’s time you made up your mind.”
“I….”
“Why are you so stubborn about not being with Tsukiyo? If you gave in, you could finally be in a proper relationship.”
“…I’m not good enough for Tsukiyo. I’ve thought that all along. It’s just my selfishness.”

“Bullshit.”

Seiya fixed me with a straight, unwavering gaze—eyes similar to Tsukiyo’s.

“The Taiyo Yamada I know wouldn’t be so selfish. There’s more to it. Deep down… there’s a real reason why you keep your distance from Tsukiyo.”

I didn’t know… There’s a knot in my heart, but I can’t put it into words. That’s why I end up hurting Tsukiyo.

“Then I’ll ask you straight.”

Seiya looked up at the sky.

“When did you start liking Tsukiyo? There’s no doubt she developed feelings for you after that ‘Late July Incident.’”
“…That’s only been in the last few months. Before that, I only saw her as Seiya’s little sister.”

Seiya’s expression hardened.

“Stop pretending in front of me! Do you think I’m someone you need to be careful around? Huh?”
“….”

Since when had I even hidden my feelings from my best friend? I was shocked at myself.

“I’ll ask again. When did you start liking Tsukiyo?”

I closed my eyes and exhaled.

“It was the summer of first grade. That hot day when I first met Tsukiyo.”

Before summer break in first grade, I became friends with Seiya by chance and ended up going to his house.
There, I met Tsukiyo, who was a third-year middle schooler at the time, and was instantly struck by how cute she was—it felt like my heart was grabbed and shaken.

“So it’s not just the past few months. It’s been about a year and a half, maybe. I’ve liked Tsukiyo for a long, long time.”

In other words, it was love at first sight.

“I’ve seen countless people fall in love at first sight with her. She probably didn’t even notice.”
“So she had figured it out all along, huh?”
“But you didn’t want to get close to her. You didn’t even try to talk until we started going to school together in the mornings.”

I didn’t know what to say… and I didn’t think a crush like that would ever be reciprocated.
I assumed a cute girl like her would have a handsome boyfriend like Seiya.
But I didn’t want her to dislike me, so I kept pretending not to care. Even when I had to wake Seiya in the mornings, I made sure not to get too involved with Tsukiyo.

The term I initially used to call her, “little sister,” wasn’t because it was cute or embarrassing—it was to draw a clear boundary.
I didn’t like Tsukiyo; I only saw her as my friend’s little sister. I kept up that act, hiding the feelings I held deep in my heart.

“The environment around you changed completely after the ‘Late July Incident.’ You remember that, right?”
“Yeah… when Tsukiyo came down with a high fever… that terrible incident. How could I forget?”
“That’s it!”

Seiya’s tone sharpened.

“Why didn’t you tell me first that you almost died and were hospitalized during that incident?”
“….”
“You don’t care about yourself. You assume nobody cares about you either. And you think your low self-worth is natural. Even on your birthday recently—you knew that Tsukiyo and you shared the same birthday, yet you didn’t say a word.”

Had he heard it from Tsukiyo…? No, probably not. Maybe they mentioned it in passing and he remembered.

Seiya continued.

“Taiyo… think back to the ‘Late July Incident.’ Then you’ll understand why you stubbornly keep your distance from Tsukiyo.”

He crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

Was he waiting? I recalled the memories.
Yes… it was shortly after summer break began, on that hot summer day.