Welcome, to the Bad End Route - V3 SS 9

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Volume 3, Side Story 9: Bad Selection, Broken Heart ~Unrequited~

 

→ Talk

　 Stay quiet

 

The next day, Hanae came to my house as planned.

Other than the fact the she had a bit more stuff to her than usual, nothing was out of the ordinary.

There was school tomorrow, so it was probably her uniform and stuff.

We were currently studying for the final exam. Hanae, in particular, was frantic, glaring at the textbook without her eyes ever wavering.

 

"Like I thought, English is still..."

"...Oh right, how was your make-up exam for English?"

"...Hmm. Depending on the results of the final exam, I might have two follow-up exams..."

 

Remedial exams, which was said to take place after the finals and the closing ceremony ended.

Hanae already received a red mark on her midterms, so supplemental tests were already a given.

If even those remedial exams didn't go well, her summer vacation was going to be filled with a barrage of even more tests.

 

"Well, we still have some time, so why don't we go take a break?"

"Okay... Then, I'll go prepare drinks. Susumu-kun's is coffee, and Reika-chan...ah."

 

Oh no, I just said that. That was written on Hanae's face, as she tried to cover her mouth.

It was completely natural for Reika to have been here that Hanae couldn’t help but mention her name.

But that wasn't the case now. Let alone her being present here, we might not even be close enough to be friends anymore.

 

"S-sorry."

"..."

 

Timidly, Hanae waited as to how I would react.

It seemed like I was still hung on. I felt darkness fall over my heart in an instant.

 

"Um...did something happen with Reika-chan...?"

"...Why'd you ask."

"Because at school, um...the mood..."

"..."

 

I guess she didn't know that I told her my feelings and got rejected.

Even before that, I was talking to Reika less and less, and we didn't even have our lunch together anymore.

After the confession, the air between us completely changed, and we became strangers.

The atmosphere wasn't something like from a fight, and there were no signs that we had concern over the other.

The mood has been different compared to before she was snatched away. Hanae might have been referring to that.

 

―― Talk

 

"Nothing, really...I just confessed and got dumped."

"C-confessed...? You...confessed? To Reika-chan?"

 

Hanae looked surprised. It seemed like she really didn't know that I did that.

Was it so unimaginable? To convey your feelings to the girl you had always been with.

 

"Yeah, something wrong with that?"

"Rather...you confessed to Reika in this situation...?"

"Tch...shut up, I'm not one to blame."

 

This was what Reika told me as well. Because of what she said, that misunderstanding popped into my head again.

Even I understood the tension between me and Reika at the time.

But after to talking to Reika, I got the idea that she was waiting for me to do something.

Yeah, that's right, I misunderstood!!

 

"S-sorry! I didn't mean it like that."

"Then, what did you mean?! Are you saying I deserved to be rejected?!"

"T-that's not the case at all... But at the time, I saw that Reika-chan only had Jimichi-kun in her eyes ――"

"―― Don't say that name in front of me!"

 

I lost my temper and raised my voice.

It was wrong to let it out on Hanae even though she herself did nothing wrong. I thought that, but I couldn't hold myself back.

If I continued on like this, I would most likely say something unnecessary again. I should cool down a bit.

 

"...Sorry, for shouting at you."

"N-no...I'm sorry, too."

"I'm going back to my room. I'm really sorry for what just happened."

"..."

 

I shouldn't have spoken up so carelessly. What was I even doing, when I couldn't even sort myself out.

It was wrong to lash out on Hanae, and it was wrong to make her look like that.

After I returned to my room in a state of self-loathing, there was knock on the door. Of course, there could only be one person who'd do that.

 

"...Hey, Susumu-kun. Do you want to have lunch...?"

"For now...I'll eat later. Sorry."

"...I understand."

"About earlier, I'm sorry...forget about what happened."

 

I apologized again. Hanae did nothing wrong in this situation, and there was no need to concern her at all.

 

"I was being inconsiderate too, sorry."

"No..."

"...Hey. Susumu-kun, about Reika-chan...do you still like her?"

"..."

 

If you ask me if my feelings for her were gone, I would say they weren't.

But no matter how much I give thought to it, if I couldn't even reach her, what was the point?

We couldn't even be friends anymore. Weren't my chances just equal to zero?

 

"I saw how angry you got. I think you still do."

"...How would I know."

"Then, are you just going to give up?"

 

Giving up, maybe that was the right thing to do. This time, unlike before, I confessed and was rejected.

Unlike with Shigure and Yukinaga-senpai who I misunderstood and hadn’t even taken action, this time I did, even if it still was a misunderstanding.

That was why it didn't work out.

 

"..."

 

However, Reika's smile couldn't help but flash in my mind, and I wasn't able to put into words that I was giving up.

I fell in love with someone for the first time. I didn't know how to let go just because I got rejected.

Besides, it wasn't just my fault that this happened.

If that guy didn't exist, things might have gone differently instead.

 

"...I see. I understand."

"...Eh?"

"Susumu-kun. I'll make lunch for you, so please eat it when you can."

"..."

 

I could tell that Hanae was moving away from the door, away from me.

Maybe because I didn't make it clear, she thought I was still hung up,

 

――――

――

―

 

Some time later, I noticed that I could longer hear noises from below.

Looking at the time, I saw that it had been several hours since I went into my room.

I thought about it a lot, but I still didn't have an answer. If I couldn't find any, then it was probably useless to keep thinking about it.

As those thoughts raced inside my head, I suddenly felt hungry. It would be time for dinner in a few moments, but I wanted to eat something for the time being.

I went downstairs. I looked around the dimly-lit living room for Hanae.

 

"...Hanae? Are you there?"

 

Lights might not have been turned on yet around this time, but it was unusually dark today because of the bad weather.

On the table were some stuffs that might that lunch from earlier, and of course, there wasn’t any note included.

When I went to check the front door, Hanae's shoes weren't there. Did she go shopping or something?

 

Susumu: Hanae? Shopping?

 

I sent a message, but I didn't receive any response.

I waited while eating the food she made for me, but she never wrote back, and when I did try to call her, I couldn't get through.

When it was almost time for dinner, Hanae finally contacted me.

 

Hanae: Sorry for replying late. Can you handle dinner by yourself?

Susumu: You're not staying the night?

Hanae: Yeah.

Susumu: I see...got it.

 

As expected, it might have been because of that earlier, huh. I wondered if she thought that it was better to leave me alone for now or something like that.

However, she then continued in the following messages.

 

Hanae: Also, I don't think I can go to Susumu-kun's house until the final exam is over.

Hanae: Sorry. I have to study, too.

Hanae: I might also participate in Jimichi-kun's study sessions.

 

I thought that this might have been the first time Hanae put herself first without asking my opinion.

It couldn’t be helped if it was for our final exams. I knew his study sessions had a good reputation to them, but I honestly wanted her to stay by my side.

But I couldn't just tell her to not go. I would just be making the same mistake again.

 

Susumu: If it's studying, maybe I could help...

 

So, I sent Hanae those words.

But I never heard back from her.

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