Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/822139836586390776/episodes/822139842554426533
“So I convinced myself their feelings were just coincidence. An illusion. A momentary lapse. I made excuses and looked away.”
I speak with a bitter smile.
“Their feelings for me were more than clear. But then it hits me. What if behind their affection, I see her face? Even though I know it’s impossible, I can’t help but feel scared.”
I look straight at both of them as I say,
“Since we’ve already been intimate, I can’t just pretend it was a coincidence or that it never happened. I won’t look away from the affection you show me… that’s what I decided. Once again, I look forward meeting with you both this week.”
As I bowed my head, both Mei-chan and Risa exclaimed in unison, “Huh?”
“Do you really think this can be resolved in just one week?”
“Huh?”
“So basically, Rai-san, it’s not that you’re afraid of liking someone. What scares you is the suspicion that behind that liking, there might be another face, right?”
I couldn’t deny it.
Mei-chan shrugged her shoulders slightly.
“But that’s not really an unusual thing. Everyone has another side to them.”
For a moment, her gaze sharpened.
“Of course, I have one too. So having a hidden side doesn’t equal lying. Choosing which face to show is only natural as long as you’re alive. The real question is ‘who you show that hidden side to,’ right?”
Mei-chan stood up and took a step closer.
“I didn’t want to be chosen by Rai-san. I chose Rai-san. Even if it was by chance, even if the start was online.”
She smiled softly.
“I’m here by my own choice. If you’re scared of my hidden side, I’ll show you more of myself. Not just the pretty parts, but the obsessions, the jealousy, the troublesome bits too.”
Mei-chan smiled gently.
⸻
Next, Risa spoke.
Unlike Mei, she spoke a little slower, as if searching for words.
“…I…”
She clenched her fingers tightly.
“Honestly, I don’t really understand things like ‘dark side’ or ‘public face’… I don’t have many faces I can show people. The me when I’m drawing and the me when I’m in front of Rai are probably the same.”
She lifted her gaze.
“Even so, I’m scared of being hated, and I’m scared of being abandoned. I understand that Rai is scared.”
Risa took a step forward, one step, but a definite one.
“But… if there is a dark side, then so be it. I don’t mind being suspected. If I can still be with Rai, that’s enough.”
Risa looks straight at me.
“Being told it’s just coincidence hurts far more. Because that would erase every reason I’m here.”
She says it softly, but clearly.
“I like Rai. That’s my choice.”
“I won’t ask you to believe me. But… don’t deny it.”
Risa’s voice trembled.
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