Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093093152263860/episodes/16818622170980771539
My mind froze.
“Huh?”
And then a stupid voice came out. How pathetic. But more than that, I heard such a sudden remark. It was so unexpected that my heart couldn’t keep up.
“What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
“You’re going to retrain me, right? Then take responsibility until the end.”
“Of course, but…”
“I want a proper title.”
“Title?”
“I want the title of ‘It’s okay to be next to Ryo-kun.’”
Ugh… That’s so unfair. I thought that if I succeeded in training her…
“Asahina…”
“Toka.”
“Ouch! I just said it wrong!”
Asahina squeezed me tightly. I can feel something soft against my back! If I don’t pay attention, I’ll end up calling her Asahina!
“Today? Tomorrow? Or should we start yesterday?”
“What’s wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Because Ryo-kun is so kind… Eventually, someone will definitely realize how wonderful Ryo-kun is. Definitely, lots of people will.”
“I don’t think that’s true…”
“Besides, there are going to be a lot of school events from now on… I want to spend all of them with Ryo-kun…”
Asahina is looking forward to high school life! And it makes me so happy that she’s saying that to me.
But you know, I think it’s the opposite… I think Asahina will have a lot of invitations from now on. Just look at that pile of letters. So, eventually, she and I…
“Asahina”
“Toka”
“I’m sorry… no, wait!”
When I turned around, Asahina’s face was bright red, which surprised me. There were faint tears in the corners of her eyes. But her expression was sparkling in a way that was hard to believe compared to just a moment ago.
“Toka, I have something to say too.”
“Huh?”
“When I get back from shopping, can I tell you properly? So, please give me a little time to prepare myself.”
“Then I’ll wait…”
Asahina walked away from me.
Until now, I’ve been avoiding the issue, but it’s time to face it head-on. Both Asahina’s feelings and my own.
◇
I left Asahina’s house and headed to the usual supermarket. The wind on my skin felt a little gentler than usual. It was good to have a little time to gather my thoughts.
(I’ll show Asahina Toka that she can regain her old… SSR brilliance!)
I was the first to tell her that. At the last cultural festival, I think she had completely regained that brilliance. No, in my opinion, it was even more brilliant than before.
So, is it okay…?
Is it okay to say it now…?
There’s a part of me that feels intimidated by Asahina’s SSR. There’s a part of me that feels like my heart is burning up from getting too close to the sun.
But I still want to be with Asahina. Not the genius child actress, but the clumsy, lazy, lonely Asahina.
When Asahina smiles, I feel motivated to try harder. When she pouts or acts spoiled, I genuinely think, “I want to be on her side.”
If this isn’t love, then what is it?
“Alright!”
There are many things I need to think about from now on, but I want to tell Asahina how I feel. I want to properly respond to the words she has shared with me.
Above all, I don’t want anyone else to take her away from me as she becomes more popular.
So…
—When I return, I will confess my feelings to Asahina.
Of course, there are words like “I want to date you” or “I want to be with you forever,” but first, I want to properly tell her that I like her.
I don’t want to just let Asahina say it all the time; this time, I want to say it myself. As a man, I want to properly express my feelings with words.
Once I’ve decided that, I won’t hesitate! I’ll quickly finish my shopping and head back to Asahina’s place. I can’t wait to see her!
“Excuse me, can I ask you something?”
As I was making up my mind, a woman in a navy blue suit suddenly spoke to me.
“Me…..?”
“Yes, you just came out of Toka’s house, so I was wondering what your relationship is.”
Toka? She called her name very familiarly.
“Excuse me, who are you?”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
The woman handed me a business card.
“…Purple Productions? Purple Pro!?”
The business card had the name of a famous talent agency that even I knew. No, there was a reason I knew it.
“I’m Asahina Toka’s former manager. I’d like to see Toka.”
Purple Pro was the name of the agency Toka belonged to…
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