Source
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After school on Wednesday, I got a message from Mikoto.
“Can we talk for just a little bit today? I’m really struggling with this thing about Sano-kun. If possible, just the two of us. Please don’t tell Miyahara-san.”
The moment I saw that last line, I turned my phone face down.
A few students were still in the classroom. Shiori was sitting by the window, going over her quiz answers. We’d agreed to go home together afterward. Normally, I could have just replied, “I can’t today.” But the way Mikoto phrased it made it hard to just brush it off with a simple refusal.
Please don’t tell Shiori.
That wasn’t just a casual conversation anymore.
“Minato-kun?”
Shiori looked up. She must have noticed that I’d changed.
I hesitated. The nature of Mikoto’s request was probably something that was genuinely troubling her. Maybe Sano had confessed his feelings to her, or maybe she was struggling with how to turn him down. As a friend, there was room for me to help.
But the moment I agreed to meet her in secret, I’d be doing something that would make me feel guilty toward Shiori.
“It’s from Mikoto. She wants to talk to me about Sano. She asked us to meet just the two of us and not tell Shiori.”
Shiori looked down for just a moment. Before she could get angry, her face looked hurt. She quickly composed herself, but just seeing that made me glad I hadn’t kept it a secret.
“What should we do?”
“I’m willing to listen to what she has to say. But I won’t meet with her secretly, just the two of us. I’ll send her back right here.”
I replied right then and there.
“I can’t meet with you without telling Shiori. If it’s just a consultation, I’ll listen—but only after I’ve talked to Shiori and in a public place.”
The message was marked as read immediately.
No reply came.
About ten minutes later, Mikoto appeared at the classroom entrance. Her loosely curled hair was as beautiful as ever, and her expression was bright. But her eyes alone weren’t smiling.
“Segawa-kun, can I talk to you for a second?”
“Here’s fine.”
When I answered that, Mikoto looked at Shiori. Shiori didn’t get up from her seat; she just watched us quietly. Mikoto pursed her lips slightly.
“…You really did tell Miyahara-san, didn’t you?”
“There’s no reason not to.”
“The advice I asked for was pretty personal. I decided to tell you because it’s you, Segawa-kun. It’s not something I can tell just anyone, so I specifically asked to talk to you alone.”
There was a reproachful tone in Mikoto’s voice.
In the past, I think I would have apologized right then and there. “I’m sorry, but Shiori’s here.” I might have phrased it that way and ended up blaming it on Shiori again. But that’s not right.
“If it’s a personal matter, that makes it even harder for me to listen in secret. I don’t want to do love advice from another girl in a way I can’t tell her about.”
Mikoto furrowed her brow.
“Even if you call it love advice, it’s just as friends, right? Segawa, you used to listen to me properly before. You didn’t think I was a hassle; you thought things through with me until the end. That’s why I trusted you.”
“I didn’t mind being trusted, either.”
That was true.
I was happy that Mikoto relied on me. The girl at the center of our class showed her vulnerable side only to me. It felt special, and I almost misinterpreted it more than once. But Mikoto always drew the line in the end. As a boyfriend, I’d be a hassle. As a friend, I’m the best. It’s easy to talk to me because I don’t overthink things.
I’d become the one supporting Mikoto’s love life from this side of the line.
“But maybe what Mikoto really wanted wasn’t just a friend—it was the spot of the guy who understood her best.”
Mikoto’s expression froze.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
“Maybe it is. But when you asked to meet me in secret, that’s what I thought. If you just wanted to talk as friends, you wouldn’t need to hide it from Shiori, right?”
Mikoto tried to say something in response, but couldn’t.
That silence was close to an answer.
She probably didn’t just want to talk to me about Sano. Maybe she wanted to see if I’d still prioritize my own problems, or if I’d protect her secret over Shiori’s.
Mikoto gave a small laugh. It wasn’t her usual bright smile; it was a laugh that forced a smile into shape even as it was crumbling.
“Segawa-kun, you’ve really changed since you started dating Miyahara-san. Before, you used to come to my aid whenever I was in trouble.”
“Back then, I just couldn’t bring myself to say ‘no.’”
“I never intended to use you for my own convenience, Segawa-kun.”
“Even if you didn’t intend to, that’s how it turned out. I accepted that, so I won’t blame it all on you, Mikoto. But we won’t go back to the way things were.”
Shiori quietly stood up. She came to stand beside me but didn’t say a word. Just by being there, she was showing me the side I’d chosen.
Mikoto looked at Shiori, then at me.
“……Sano-kun confessed his feelings to me. I plan to turn him down. But when I thought that if I did, we might not be able to talk like we used to, I got scared.”
That was probably how she really felt.
That’s exactly why my heart ached a little. Mikoto, for her part, was afraid of the distance between her and someone else changing. But it wasn’t right for her to use me to fill that fear.
“I think that’s something you have to decide for yourself, Mikoto. If it’s just the wording of your reply, we can figure it out together right here. But I won’t meet with you secretly, just the two of us.”
Mikoto was silent for a long time.
Eventually, still clutching her phone, she shook her head slightly.
“Okay. I’ll figure it out on my own.”
“Got it.”
“…Segawa-kun, you’re not going to treat me specially anymore, are you?”
“I’ll still value you as a friend. But I won’t prioritize our friendship at the expense of making my girlfriend feel insecure.”
Mikoto’s eyes reddened.
She didn’t cry. Maybe she just couldn’t. She’d always stayed close to me under the guise of “friends.” Since we weren’t lovers, I wouldn’t take responsibility. But I still wanted her to be special to me. That ambiguous position had now vanished completely.
Mikoto simply said, “I see,” and walked out of the classroom.
After her footsteps faded into the hallway, Shiori gently touched my hand.
“Thank you for telling me without holding back.”
“I’m glad I was able to say it, too. If I’d kept it hidden, I probably would’ve ended up hating myself later.”
I put my phone back in my bag.
I won’t be going back to being Mikoto’s confidant. I didn’t want to be the kind of friend who hurts Shiori just to keep someone else’s secret.
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