Chapter 4: The Kiss

After declaring that I had a good idea to satisfy Yuki.

It was in the clubroom at dusk.

The cheers of the sports clubs and the music of the brass band drifted in through the open window.

In the midst of that, Yuki and I were talking next to each other on the sofa.

“Are you really okay with anything?”

“Yeah, anything you want, Yuki, is fine.”

I had to conduct a re-experiment for the activity report, and I had entrusted the decision of the experiment’s theme to Yuki.

Sara had decided the theme for the Love-Brain experiment, so entrusting the choice to Yuki now would give her a sense of ‘equality with her rival.’

Yuki was close to Sara, but she also competed with her on things like bust size and other matters. I thought giving her a sense of equality would help her swallow her pride.

“In that case, let’s do that thing! Um… kago, kago… Kago no Tori (Bird in a Cage)?”

“Do you mean False Memory (Kago Kioku)?”

“Yes, that!”

I had talked about False Memory with Sara and Yuki before. It was essentially a memory error.

“I looked up False Memory after you told me about it, and I found an interesting experiment!”

Human memory is fragile and unreliable. False Memory is the creation of a non-existent memory due to that instability. That’s why arguments over ‘I said this’ versus ‘No, you didn’t’ are endless. Both parties genuinely believe they remember it correctly.

There was an experiment to prove this False Memory.

It involved inducing a kind of suggestion to create a memory that didn’t exist. Essentially, it was no different from swinging a five-yen coin to induce hypnosis.

Yuki was proposing that.

“So, why don’t we… create a memory of you and me kissing?”

“No, that’s seriously a bad idea… What if we create that memory and it gets mixed up with our real memories?”

“It’s okay! We can just leave a note saying, ‘The memory of kissing Yuki is a False Memory’!”

“I see. In that case, even if the memories get mixed up, we’ll know it’s a fake memory.”

Did we really kiss, or is it a False Memory? If I ever got confused, I could just look at the note for an instant solution.

Yuki was bad at studying and prone to making mistakes, but she also demonstrated this kind of planning ability. I wondered why she couldn’t apply that planning to her studies…

“S-So, shall we do it?”

Urged by Yuki, I quickly wrote on a piece of memo paper: ‘Kissing Yuki is a False Memory.’

I put it in the inner pocket of my smartphone case so I wouldn’t lose it. It was easy to take out, and since I always had my phone, it would be fine.

“B-But can we really create a memory of kissing?”

“Of course not. It’s not something that can be done so easily.”

“Haha, you’re right~”

“Besides, the probability of creating a False Memory in this experiment is very low. So, there’s no need to worry.”

“Then we can do it without worry!”

At that time, we truly believed that.

But we had no idea that this decision would lead to a terrible situation later on.

◇◇◇

“Yuki, lately… aren’t you getting a little too close to Shinya-kun?”

“Do you think so~? We’re friends, so I think this is normal~”

Sara and Yuki were subtly keeping each other in check with their eyes.

It had been several days since the day I vaguely remembered doing some experiment with Yuki. Yuki’s distance from me was no longer that of a friend, and the two of them had been tense.

The reason I say some experiment is that both Yuki and I had vague memories of that day. I remembered talking about the experiment with Yuki, but the memories before and after that were fuzzy, and I couldn't remember what the experiment was.

I thought I had prepared a safeguard for emergencies, but I had forgotten what that was, too, leading up to today.

But one thing was certain: I had kissed Yuki in the clubroom at dusk, with the setting sun shining through the window. The memories before and after were hazy, but I was sure of the kiss.

And this weekend, the three of us—Sara, Yuki, and I—were going out.

However, it wasn’t going to be a fun outing like before.

Sara probably intended it as a way to keep Yuki in check, and Yuki and I had our own intentions.

Today, Yuki and I had arrived at the meeting place earlier than planned to talk beforehand.

At the monumental clock, the landmark in front of the metropolitan station, Yuki looked around in the hustle and bustle and said,

“Sara doesn’t seem to be here yet.”

Today, Yuki had her hair down in a half-twin style and was wearing a white sailor-collar set-up.

“I’m sorry. I broke our promise.”

“No, I’m the one who should apologize…”

The promise we were worried about was the violation of the Daily Girlfriend vow: ‘No kissing.’

We had deeply regretted the kiss and hadn’t kissed since. The Daily Girlfriend was still ongoing, but Yuki was unsure what to do about her relationship with Sara.

However, having kissed me, she couldn’t stop her feelings. After all, a kiss was special, and we had done that special thing. It was different from the physical contact we had before, which was meant to blur our feelings. We had properly conveyed our affection—we had kissed.

Because of this, Yuki had become more proactive, believing that “Shinya loves me, it’s not just pity,” and she had been spending tense days with Sara.

The trio’s relationship was continuing on thin ice.

But the issue I needed to resolve with Yuki was—

“When and how to tell Sara about the kiss.”

If I kept it hidden, it wouldn’t count as a lie. But continuing my relationship with Sara as if nothing happened would be too dishonest. We had done something a proper couple would do—kiss—not something constrained by the Daily Girlfriend rules.

Yuki agreed with this idea.

But—

“Personally, I wish the three of us could just continue our relationship as is.”

She smiled awkwardly. “Sara’s friendship is important to me, after all.”

“But we kissed, and I got feelings from Shinya that aren’t pity, so I can’t stop loving you. I want to be Shinya’s number one.”

If I told Sara about the kiss with Yuki, our relationship would likely never be the same.

But we needed to find a way to tell her that would hurt Sara as little as possible. We were confirming the steps to take when we reached a pause.

“Did I keep you waiting?”

I turned around at the clear voice, which cut through the city noise, and saw Sara approaching.

Today, Sara was wearing a white summer dress, exuding a fresh, cool feeling. She looked like a scene from a drama, with a sunflower field as the backdrop.

The summer-colored Sara, her face bright red, clung to my arm.

“W-Well then, shall we go right away?”

As expected, Sara was being overtly possessive to keep Yuki in check.

Yuki looked unperturbed, but she must have been anything but calm inside. After all, the person she had kissed was flirting with another girl.

The day started on a precarious balance, and we headed to the movie theater.

We got our tickets at the dim lobby, bought popcorn and juice, and went to the theater.

We sat in the middle row: me on the left, Sara in the middle, and Yuki on the right.

The empty seats were noticeable, perhaps because fewer people were going out due to the recent heat. Thanks to that, we were able to sit together.

“Man, popcorn at the movies is so delicious~”

“It feels special, like a festival.”

“I know, right~”

As she spoke, Yuki glanced at the popcorn Sara was holding.

“Speaking of which, Sara, your popcorn is salted, right? Mine is caramel, so let’s trade a little.”

Yuki was acting completely naturally, as usual. I didn’t think Sara would go along with it, but…

“Yes, let’s do that.”

Sara smiled and fed Yuki popcorn, and Yuki fed Sara.

Yuki was surprised at first, but she seemed to understand Sara’s intention.

Even though things were tense, Sara wasn’t completely certain that Yuki had done anything. So, if Yuki didn’t act suspiciously, Sara would continue as usual.

More than anything, it seemed like a way to pressure Yuki not to make any suspicious moves to maintain this peaceful state.

Yuki seemed to understand this and continued to play her usual self.

“By the way, what was today’s movie about?”

“This, this~”

Yuki, her cheeks stuffed with popcorn like a squirrel, handed Sara the pamphlet.

It was a romance movie, basically about an ex-girlfriend trying to get back together with her ex-boyfriend. But the ex-boyfriend already had a new girlfriend—it was a slightly mature story.

Yes, we were watching a movie that mirrored our situation to gauge Sara’s reaction.

The main purpose of the day was to carefully find a soft landing spot for when and how to confess the kiss.

—In other words, today, we had to take a step toward resolving the trio's relationship.

“That was a pretty messy story, wasn’t it…”

After the movie, we were discussing our thoughts over tea at the attached cafe.

As expected from the trailer, it was quite mature, just as Sara said.

The protagonist openly two-timed, the ex-girlfriend constantly pressured him for sex at every opportunity, and the current girlfriend witnessed it all…

“The protagonist was the worst~ He was two-timing so casually~”

Is she taking a jab at me? I wondered, but Sara’s reaction was what mattered.

“Sara, what do you think about that? The part where the ex-girlfriend makes a move on the guy who already has a new girlfriend!”

“Well,”

Sara maintained her usual poker face. Then, she took a sip of her coffee, seemingly in thought. Both Yuki and I focused our gaze on her, holding our breath with every movement she made.

Our future would change significantly depending on Sara’s answer.

Sara finished her coffee and—

“Honestly, I can’t say that the ex-girlfriend who made the move or the boyfriend who went along with it were good people.”

I flinched at her words.

But Sara continued, saying, “But.”

“If I were the ex-girlfriend, I might still have some lingering feelings for my ex-boyfriend.”

So, she said, she didn’t completely fail to understand the ex-girlfriend’s feelings.

“In other words, I… can’t definitively say whether I like or dislike that movie.”

I had expected Sara, who was so strict about these things because of her father’s infidelity, to cut them off immediately…

The fact that she didn’t instantly reject the idea meant that the possibility of her forgiving the kiss between Yuki and me wasn’t zero.

Perhaps there was a way for things to work out after all.

I felt a sense of slight optimism, but dark clouds began to gather later that day.

The catalyst was Sara flirting with me, partly as a means of keeping Yuki in check.

As we left the cafe, she walked arm-in-arm with me, bought a churro from a food truck and fed it to me—an indirect kiss. And she made sure to show it to Yuki.

Yuki was holding back, but she was clearly unhappy about her ex-boyfriend, whom she had kissed, being so close to another girl.

Then, we arrived at a multi-purpose amusement complex with an arcade and sports facilities.

“Ow, ow…”

I had strained my shoulder while bowling. The ball was heavier than I expected, and it was only natural that the non-athletic me would develop inflammation after throwing it so many times.

As I rested on a bench, Yuki, who had finished her turn, came over.

“Hayasaki-kun, are you okay?”

She said that and started rubbing my shoulder.

Sara, who had also finished her turn and returned, looked at her with a dubious expression.

“Yuki, could you stop touching Shinya-kun…”

“Sorry, sorry. Hayasaki-kun is Sara’s boyfriend, after all.”

“But,” Yuki continued.

“It’s only natural to worry when your friend says they’re in pain, isn’t it?”

“Well, yes, but…”

The usual Sara might not have cared. But because of Yuki’s actions recently, she seemed to be sensitive to every little thing.

But the situation was about to get worse.

“Hayasaki-kun, want to drink this?”

“Oh, thanks.”

I accepted the sports drink Yuki was holding.

But I immediately noticed something. The contents were depleted.

In other words, Yuki had already drunk from it, and if I drank it—

“An indirect kiss is a bit much.”

“Oh, right~ I guess we should skip it~”

Yuki laughed, but it was clearly intentional.

It was a retaliation for the indirect kiss Sara and I had shared with the churro earlier.

Sara’s gaze visibly sharpened, so the move was highly effective.

After that, Yuki continued to provoke Sara: she tried to listen to music with me using only one earphone each, and she was excessively touchy.

And the pattern continued: Sara would complain, and Yuki would deflect.

Yuki should have understood what she needed to do to maintain the current trio’s relationship, but it seemed she couldn’t control her feelings anymore.

I had anticipated this would happen, which was why I had forbidden kissing in the Daily Girlfriend vows…

Nevertheless, we managed to avoid stepping on a major landmine, and it was time to leave the amusement facility. The sun was beginning to set, and the three of us walked through the city crowds, bathed in the dazzling evening light.

In the midst of the crowd, Sara murmured softly.

“I think I finally understand.”

I asked the poker-faced Sara, who was speaking more calmly than usual, with a slight apprehension.

“U-Understand what?”

“The movie we watched earlier.”

She hadn’t been able to express her thoughts clearly right after the movie.

But now, as if she had found a definite answer, she stepped forward and faced us.

With the setting sun behind her, she said sharply,

“If someone made a move on my boyfriend, I would never forgive them.”

After that, Sara left without a word, and the outing ended in a natural disbandment.

The next day, classes ended in the morning, and after school, Yuki and I went to a karaoke place away from the school.

Yuki loved to sing, being a former idol. So, today, she was enjoying karaoke, singing and dancing enthusiastically.

But—

“I’m sorry about yesterday…”

After finishing a song, Yuki sat next to me, her shoulders slumped in dejection.

Since the Daily Girlfriend was still ongoing, today, Monday, was Yuki’s day, but we couldn’t just spend the time playing.

Yuki, who had relieved her stress by singing, said,

“I shouldn’t have been doing things like that, but Sara was showing off so much that I got annoyed…”

“But, you know,” Yuki continued.

“I still want to be your number one, Shinya. I won’t ask to be your real girlfriend, but I won’t give up on that.”

Yuki was still fueled by the momentum of the kiss, and she had her feelings as an ex-girlfriend. But Sara couldn’t overlook those actions.

I was caught in the middle, and our trio’s relationship could collapse at any moment.

“Given Sara’s reaction yesterday, she’s not going to forgive our kiss.”

“Y-Yeah…”

Sara’s rejection yesterday meant we had to rethink our next move. That’s why we were at karaoke today, where we could be alone.

But Sara had firmly stated that she would never forgive anyone who made a move on her boyfriend.

That didn’t leave Yuki and me with many options.

What should our next move be? Was there anything more we could do?

Sensing my anxiety, Yuki gently placed her hand on my cheek and gave me a serene look.

“Don’t worry. Even if telling Sara about the kiss causes trouble, there’s a way to handle it.”

The way she phrased it made it sound like a last resort, a method she wanted to avoid if possible.

What kind of method is that— I was about to ask when.

“Shinya, you seem to have a message on your phone. Are you going to check it?”

Yuki pointed to my phone, which was on the table, where a green notification light was blinking. That was the notification for a messaging app. I had it on silent during the date, so I hadn’t noticed the sound.

Who could be sending me messages? I checked my phone.

It was Sara. Several notifications had come in since a while ago.

“Can we go on a date right now?”

Today was a half-day, and she had said she would finish her violin lesson early. But she had also said she had an errand to run afterward, so a date wasn’t possible.

I read through the accumulated messages.

“My errand was canceled, and I really want to see you, Shinya-kun.”“The meeting place should be the station we went to the other day…”“Shinya-kun?”“You haven’t even read it, is something wrong?”“Did something happen?”“I’m coming over there, so wait for me.”

She’s coming over here, but she doesn’t know where I am, so how—

I realized it right then.

The GPS app I had installed during the Love-Brain experiment. I had completely forgotten about it with everything else that had happened, but Sara seemed to be tracking me with it.

I was about to make a preemptive move to stop Sara when another message came in.

“I’m in front of the family restaurant near the karaoke place.”

That meant she was already quite close.

As I wondered what to do, more messages kept coming from Sara.

“I’m at the intersection now.”“I’m in front of the game center now.”“I’m in front of the beef bowl shop now.”“I’m in front of the outlet store now.”“I’m in front of the yakiniku restaurant now.”

This is like Mary-san!

If Sara came here, it would be over. I decided to take action immediately.

“Yuki, wait for me!”

“You’re going to Sara, aren’t you!”

“How did you know!?”

“That’s the face you make when you’re texting Sara!”

What kind of face is that!?

“But Sara is heading here! It’ll be bad if she finds me alone with you!”

“Today is my day! I want to be with Shinya~!”

“But we’ll be found out!”

“Ugh, please~!”

Yuki clung to my waist, whining.

Where was the reflection from yesterday? I wondered, but even if she understood logically, she couldn’t bear the thought of Sara being prioritized over her.

I managed to calm Yuki down, rushed out of the room, and was about to leave the karaoke place when—

“Oh, Shinya-kun. What a coincidence.”

I ran into Sara right at the karaoke entrance.

And please don’t call the GPS tracking a ‘coincidence.’

I didn’t know what her pride was based on, but she seemed to be pretending she wasn’t using the GPS.

“So, why are you at a karaoke place? You’re not the type to come to a place like this…”

I couldn’t say anything careless while she was already suspicious of my relationship with Yuki.

But there was no way to make an excuse. Answering honestly would, of course, be a disaster. But I couldn’t lie either.

I frantically searched for a clever way to avoid the question, but my mind was blank from the panic.

It was just as I was at a loss for what to do.

“Oh, Hayacchi and Saracchi!”

With a cheerful voice, Nanami Takanashi came from the hallway, holding a cup. She seemed to be at the same karaoke place and had come to refill her drink.

“What’s going on~? A karaoke date for you two~?”

“Hayasaki-kun didn’t reply to my messages, so I was looking for him and ran into him here by chance.”

Please don’t call GPS tracking ‘by chance.’

“I seeee…”

Seeing my panicked expression, Nanami Takanashi seemed to grasp the general situation.

And then, as if a lightbulb had gone off, she said,

“Hayacchi came here to practice for Saracchi.”

“What do you mean?”

“Hayacchi just told me. He wants to go on a karaoke date with Saracchi next time, so he was practicing.”

Nanami Takanashi lied casually. But the problem was what happened next.

“Hayasaki-kun just came out of a room, so you must have a room, right?”

“W-Well, yes, I have a room, but…”

The room where Yuki is!

“Then, let’s go. I don’t care about practice; I want to go with Shinya-kun right now.”

Nanami Takanashi’s defense was well-executed, but it was a bit too much. Sara was suspicious, which was why she wanted to go to the room…

No, no, no, no! That’s bad!

As I guided Sara, who was following right behind me, I quickly texted Yuki: ‘I’m coming to your room with Sara! Hide somewhere!’

Since the hallway was a straight line from the entrance with no escape, the only option was to hide.

But will I make it in time!?

Sweating nervously, I walked down the hallway and arrived at the room.

But I couldn’t bring myself to pull the doorknob.

“What’s wrong?”

“W-Well…”

Urged by Sara, I opened the door and entered the room—only to find no one there.

I sighed in relief, while Sara looked around the room curiously. It seemed this was her first time at karaoke.

“It’s… kind of atmospheric when it’s dimly lit.”

We sat on the L-shaped sofa, with the corner of the table between us. There was a slight distance between us, probably because Sara was nervous in the dim light. Even though we had gotten a little closer recently, she was still a romance novice, and the situation of being alone might be exciting her.

The room was filled with the sound of our voices, the monitor introducing a famous artist’s new song, and the breath hitting my leg… breath?

I slid my gaze under the table to check my feet, and Yuki was perfectly tucked between my legs.

Wait, why is she here!? I was momentarily flustered, but then I thought.

…The corner of the table was the only place to hide in a karaoke room.

Yuki was in a very dangerous spot, but the tabletop was blocking Sara’s view of her because we were sitting with the corner of the table between us.

However, my relief was short-lived. Yuki, jealous, made eye contact with me from under the table.

‘It’s my day! Why do I have to hide!?’

‘I’m sorry! I’ll make it up to you!’

I replied with eye contact.

Yuki still had a sliver of rationality left, as she didn’t jump out.

For now, I decided to focus on Sara to prevent the situation from escalating.

“S-So, should we order something to eat?”

“You can eat and drink at karaoke, too?”

I handed the food menu to Sara.

Sara ordered fries, fried chicken, yakisoba, cheese sticks, and pizza.

Can she eat all that? I wondered, but when the food arrived, she ate it all while taking turns singing.

And then, as we sang and chatted happily.

“I’ve always dreamed of a date just the two of us like this.”

It was true. Until now, it had always been the three of us, or at my house, or in the clubroom. This was the first time we had a proper, date-like outing.

But Yuki was here, and I felt guilty.

“I wondered what it would be like with just the two of us, but…”

“It’s surprisingly okay?”

“No, I’m really nervous. I ate so much to distract myself.”

Is that a coping mechanism?

“Um, I’m nervous for another reason, too…”

Sara fidgeted, looking away.

“I want you to kiss my cheek…”

Her anxiety was clearly caused by Yuki’s actions yesterday.

But Yuki was under the table, making eye contact with me again.

‘You kissed me!’

‘I said I was sorry!’

‘The kiss isn’t the problem!’

Yuki bit my leg, but this was no time for an argument.

“Shinya-kun, is a kiss on the cheek… not okay?”

Since I didn’t answer, Sara asked in a faint voice.

“B-But why so suddenly?”

“Because my real parents used to do that when they were still getting along.”

So, for Sara, it was a symbol of affection.

“I want to do it with Shinya-kun right now. I feel like that.”

A kiss on the cheek was a light expression of affection. It wasn’t a problem in itself.

But I should refuse, considering Yuki. But if I refused the kiss, Sara would be upset. Sara was worried that my feelings might be shifting to Yuki. That’s why she was asking for a kiss to alleviate that fear.

“Just once, please.”

Yuki was the one who wouldn’t be happy about this.

The person she had kissed was about to kiss another girl. It was hard to accept, and she bit my calf repeatedly.

‘It’s my day~ Why are you having a moment with Sara~!’

If I kissed her, Yuki would be hurt. But if I refused, Sara would be hurt.

In that case, the logical choice was to lie and get through it.

If I kissed Sara and told Yuki, “I almost kissed her, but I stopped at the last second,” everything would be fine. I could do it without Yuki seeing me by adjusting the angle.

But the girl I promised never to lie to was right in front of me. My heart ached.

It wasn’t just the days we had built as boyfriend and girlfriend.

The young Ichinomiya-san—Sara—was also looking at me sadly.

In the end, I couldn’t betray her.

I lightly kissed Sara’s cheek. And Sara did the same to mine.

“I’m sorry. I got anxious on my own…”

She smiled wryly, saying, I must have been overthinking things.

Sara, who trusted me so much over a simple kiss, was so pure and so cute. I realized again that she was indeed my first love.

And at the same time, I wondered: Should I keep hiding the kiss with Yuki from this pure-hearted girl?

I knew Sara wouldn’t take it well.

But if I kept hiding it, it would eventually be exposed.

In that case, I shouldn’t waste any more time wondering about the timing or how to tell her. It was better to confess before the wound got any deeper.

“U-Um, Sara.”

“What is it?”

Sara tilted her head.

I had to tell the innocent Sara something cruel.

She might cry.

The situation might become more tragic than I could imagine.

But I didn’t want to keep secrets from Sara anymore.

And I braced myself, about to open my dry mouth.

It was then.

My smartphone played a cheerful notification sound.

I had turned the notification sound on earlier so I wouldn’t miss Sara’s messages.

“Y-You can check it first.”

“S-Sorry.”

Sara must have sensed the atmosphere that I was about to tell her something important.

So, she probably decided it was better to check the notification first to clear my head.

I had the same thought. I quickly took my phone out of my pocket and opened it.

The message was from Watarai, a trivial one.

That wasn’t the problem. The problem was the memo paper sticking out of the inner pocket of my smartphone case. I had opened the case too quickly to check the message, and it had popped out.

I didn’t remember putting a memo paper there, but it felt important, so I opened it and checked.

‘Kissing Yuki is a False Memory.’

The moment I saw it, the details of the False Memory experiment I had forgotten came flooding back. Perhaps because memories are connected like dots, the details of the experiment became clearer and clearer.

And I remembered everything about the experiment.

“I’m sorry, Sara.”

“W-What’s wrong?”

“I had something I wanted to tell you, but… it was a misunderstanding.”

That’s right. It truly was just a misunderstanding—a False Memory.

We mistakenly thought we locked the door, and we got drunk on non-alcoholic beer.

We were truly too suggestible.

Was forgetting the experiment itself a side effect of creating a False Memory? I didn’t know the details…

“W-We managed it somehow…”

Sara, who had calmed down after the kiss on the cheek, said, “That’s a privacy issue,” and deleted the GPS app. However, her calm mind made her remember the kiss, and she yelled, “That was so embarrassing!” and ran out of the room.

That was the Sara who wouldn’t be back for a while.

“W-What happened?”

Yuki, who had crawled out from under the table, sat next to me.

When I showed her the memo paper, she seemed to remember everything, too.

“I-I’m sorry. I seemed to have completely convinced myself it was real because of the experiment.”

Realizing the kiss was a False Memory, Yuki had lost all her former momentum.

“I was so delusional that you liked me, even though it was a False Memory. I caused you so much trouble…”

I could have said, I really do love you, Yuki, right then. But to prevent the situation from escalating further, I couldn’t confess, no matter how much it pained me.

“I became a burden to you again, Shinya.”

“It wasn’t a burden…”

“It was, wasn’t it? Your face looks so exhausted.”

I must have been more tired than I realized.

“A lot has happened recently, and it might be taking a toll. Besides, when I was about to kiss Sara just now, I thought about whether I should lie…”

At that moment, I remembered my promise to Ichinomiya-san—Sara—and my heart ached. It was painful.

“Even you thought about lying, Shinya.”

Yuki’s eyes widened in surprise.

I had thought about lying because I didn’t want to make Sara or Yuki sad. But I couldn’t do that. The promise to my first love, Sara, was the most important thing.

Love is a feeling that makes you want the other person to be happy and not want to see them sad. And that tendency is especially strong with first love. So, breaking that promise was out of the question.

“But it’s my fault, isn’t it? Because I threw a tantrum, wanting to be your number one…”

It was true that if Yuki hadn’t tried to stop me when Sara was heading to the karaoke place, things would have gone more smoothly, and I might not have been pushed to the point of considering a lie.

“Shinya… you don’t want to lie because of your promise to Ichinomiya-san, your first love, right?”