Episode 30 

Although she should have her hands full with being bullied herself, she thinks of me first and pours out so much kindness to me.

I’m gradually becoming attracted to her, and I know very well that I should not tell her about my remaining feelings for Sumika.

Even so, Kohime said she wanted to help me.

I felt it was unfair to talk to such a person while hiding my feelings, so I confided my feelings for Sumika to Kohime.

“To Eita san, Sumika san was an irreplaceable memory for him and the best girlfriend he could ever have.”

I was worried that I should have told her how I felt about Sumika, but she smiled and said that Sumika was the best girlfriend I had ever had.

A normal person would only criticize Sumika for making up things that don’t even exist, but I think Kohime is the only one in this world who can consider my feelings and say that.

“…… I don’t know the exact reason why Sumika suddenly fell in love with a guy other than me, her boyfriend, but I know that I myself must have been a part of what made Sumika do that. She’s so popular at school that it’s not an exaggeration to say there’s no one who doesn’t like her, but I’m not good at talking to people and I’m the one in the corner of the class, feeling shy and withdrawn. I felt inferior to Sumika. I avoided Sumika.”

“But that was Eita san’s kind act.”

Kohime didn’t just accept it, but she told me that this was my kindness.

It is true that I was avoiding Sumika because I didn’t want to bother her.

But that’s not the only reason why I was avoiding her……

“There was definitely a part of me that thought it was for Sumika. But one of the reasons I avoided Sumika was because I didn’t have confidence in myself.”

The reason I was avoiding Sumika was not only for her sake, but also for myself.

I don’t have confidence in myself, and I thought that if I were with Sumika, people around me would wonder why should I be the one who’s beside her

I know it was inevitable, but I started to avoid Sumika in order not to be thought of that way.

“Maybe that was the case. But it is also true that Eita san was trying not to cause trouble for Sumika san. I can never forgive Sumika san for not trying to understand Eita san’s feelings and falling in love with another man.”

She neither just denied nor just affirmed Sumika’s feelings, but respected my thoughts and finally told me how she felt.

Such a response from Kohime was probably what I needed the most right now.

From an ordinary person’s perspective, Kohime, who is incomparably kinder than Sumika, would think it’s impossible not to hate Sumika from the bottom of her hearts.

Even so, I have memories of Sumika whom I have spent all my life with since I was a kid, and since it was only after our relationship deteriorated that Sumika became such a person, my feelings for Sumika will not disappear so easily.

Kohime showed me how well she took on such simmering feelings.

“Kohime…….thank you. Really.”

“If you want, why don’t you tell me about your memories with Sumika san? What kind of person was she?”

I don’t understand why Kohime asked me about my memories of Sumika and her personality, but since she wanted me to talk about my memories of her, I pulled out my feelings that I had kept deep in my heart and started talking about her.

“I had known Sumika since we were kids, and when we were kids, we both thought we would definitely get married, and we even mentioned it to each other. When we entered junior high school, some of our friends started dating, and I started dating her as if I was following the trend.”

When I started talking to her about my memories with Sumika, the memories of Sumika came to my mind more vividly than I had expected, and when I told her about them, I felt as if something that had been stuck in my chest was gradually released.

“I was having a lot of fun at first. It was so exciting for me as a junior high school student to come home from school with the person I liked, or to go to the zoo or the aquarium with her on vacations, and I felt comfortable every day. We gave each other gifts on our birthdays, and on our anniversaries we would go out and have expensive dinners…..”

The more I talked, the more memories of my time with Sumika came flooding back, and I started to ramble on to Kohime about things she probably didn’t want to hear.

“It was fun, really fun, really fun. I thought that Sumika liked me, and I liked Sumika, and we were more comfortable together than at any other time, and I thought we would be together forever. And yet–. And yet, why, why……”

The exposure of the story with Sumika to Kohime removed the stuff that had been jammed up, and as if something that had been dammed up overflowed, the tears could not be stopped.

I don’t know why, I don’t want to shed tears in public, but in front of Kohime, I naturally start to cry.

“Eita san, please wait a moment.”

“Eh……?”

With that, Kohime slowly got up from her chair.

As I was following Kokhime, wondering what she was going to do, she picked up a navy box from a wooden rack in the corner of the room and brought it towards me.

I’m sure that was explained to me when I came to Kohime’s house before.

“This is the engagement ring that my father sent to my mother, as I told you before.”

What Kohime brought was the engagement ring that her father, Taketsugu san, had given to her mother.

The moment I saw the box in her hand, I immediately understood that it was the wedding ring she had told ne about, but why did she bring the engagement ring to me?

“Eh, ah. The one you told me about before.”

“I’ll give this to Eita san.”

For a while after Kohime spoke, I couldn’t understand what she was saying.

Of course, I understand the meaning of the words.

If you take the meaning of the words as they are, it means that Taketsugu san will give me the engagement ring that he gave to Kohime’s mother.

…Yeah, I understand the meaning of the words, but I don’t understand why Kohime was trying to give me that engagement ring.

“Eh, what do you mean…”

“Eita san can no longer go out with Sumika san.”

“…..Eh?”

My mouth dropped open at Kohime’s words.

“No matter how good your memories of Sumika san are, no matter how much she has reformed and become a good person, you should never go out with Sumika san who does terrible things to you !”

“Eh, wait, Kohime…..?”

Kohime started crying as she handed me her parents’ engagement ring.

I was momentarily nervous to see Kohime like that, but I guess she was thinking of me and crying for me.

I listened to her words as she spun them for me, trying my best not to miss a word.

“There must be many people who can make Eita san happier than Sumika san !　Among them, you should date the person who makes Eita san the happiest !”

“……Yeah.”

“Eita san is too kind a person. A person who is too kind like Eita san shouldn’t be made unhappy by someone like Sumika san !”

“Yeah.”

“Eita san definitely deserves to be happy ! ! !”

I guess Kohime, who is desperately appealing to me in a loud voice while shedding tears, understands the pain in my heart and is trying to support me.

I want to lead a happy life for myself, but I absolutely must be happy for Kohime’s sake, who thinks of me as if I were her own.

I couldn’t help but love this girl, Kohime, who shed tears for me and wished for my happiness.

“….Yeah. That’s right.”

“That’s why Eita san doesn’t need Sumika san anymore. Sumika san shouldn’t be by Eita san’s side ! Instead, I’m here ! I’ll always be by Eita san’s side ! If Eita san hits a wall, we’ll get over it together, and if Eita san falls and can’t seem to get up, I’ll stay by his side and lend a hand. That’s why…”

After Kohime finished saying something outrageous to me, she took a deep breath to calm down.

“….. If the time comes when you want to give this ring to me someday, please give it to me. Of course it is fine if you go out with another girl, and if that happens, just return the ring to me. Anyway, I will be by your side, Eita san ! It may be impossible for you to feel secure with just this, but please go to school thinking that I will always be by your side, Eita san.”

“–Kohime.”

I’m sure that I will be troubled later on by Kohime’s statement, [If you ever want to give me this ring, give it to me] and the action of giving me the engagement ring.

Anyway, I was so in love with Kohime who gave me the engagement ring that Taketsugu san gave to her deceased mother to cheer me up and to give me courage that I hugged her as quickly as I could, out of character, and for a while after that, I just held her tightly without letting go of her. 

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