"Why… why would you say sothing so cruel?"
"I was just painting a picture of the future. You said you weren't heartbroken, and Kashiwagi's your friend… Okay, okay, I'll stop. Don't look at with those puppy-dog eyes."
No one could switch between a proud heiress and a heartbroken girl like Shiijo Maki.
Takamine had to admit—it was kind of entertaining.
"But seriously, if it's not about romance, what brings you to the student council?"
"Well… of course it's…"
Maki beca evasive.
Even though she was making it obvious, admitting her feelings for Tanuma Tsubasa out loud was clearly still too difficult. Takamine couldn't tell why she was so conflicted.
"So you really don't like Tanuma?"
"Of course not!"
"Really?"
"Do I need to say it twice?" She returned to her haughty tone.
"Alright, my bad for asking twice. In that case, you're good. When they get married, just wish them well and maybe give them a wedding gift… Here, the student council has plenty of tissues."
Her proud façade lasted less than a minute.
"Ugh…"
"Let ask again. Do you like Tanuma?"
"…Yeah…"
"Got it. The student council's job is to help students. Even if the president isn't here, as treasurer, I can step in. Tell what you want, and I'll help."
"You… you'll really help ?"
"Absolutely."
Takamine smiled.
"So, what kind of help do you want? A heartbreak recovery plan?"
"I told you I wasn't dumped!!"
"Eh… But you admitted you like him, and he's dating your classmate, so logically you're pretty thoroughly heartbroken… Fine, I won't say it again."
Seeing her stare daggers at him with tears falling again, Takamine wisely chose to shut up.
After all, he had been heartbroken before. Pressing further now would only shatter her.
"So then…"
Shijo Maki looked at him with watery eyes.
"Do you think… I still have a chance?"
Takamine: "I don't have to think. You definitely don't."
Shiijo Maki: Q-Q
Takamine: "I an—yes, yes, of course! Who knows, maybe those two lovebirds will break up soti soon…"
"I won't allow you to speak of Tanuma like that!"
"I just don't get why you were so desperate to deny liking him in the first place," Takamine said with a wry smile. "Anyway, look for an opportunity. If they ever do break up—"
"They were supposed to break up."
Shijo Maki was visibly irritated.
"Back then, Kashiwagi was actually thinking about ending the relationship because Tanuma confessed and didn't follow up with anything. But then…"
Her expression turned angry.
"Tanuma sohow got so information from the student council and ca back acting unusually proactive. Suddenly, the two of them patched things up and even started going out passionately..."
"So it was the student council… who the hell was so nosy…"
Takamine Rinji was about to say sothing when a mory suddenly resurfaced.
————————————
"I guarantee if you don't do sothing, Kashiwagi-san really is going to break up with you."
————————————
"..."
That might've been sothing he said.
"You rember now? Who was it that stuck their nose into all this?" Shijo Maki asked.
"...Shinomiya Kaguya."
Rinji promptly dumped the bla.
"Shinomiya Kaguya… damn it, so it was soone from the Shinomiya family ssing with again?" Shijo Maki said, furious.
"Exactly, that woman. I've been annoyed with her for a while now."
Rinji wasn't even lying—Kaguya really was involved in that matter.
"Looks like there's no chance of them breaking up now," Shijo Maki sighed.
She couldn't really bring herself to resort to underhanded tactics to break them up.
"Yeah, we'll just have to wait."
"How long?"
"Let think… if things stay the way they are, probably until they get married. After that, maybe you'll get a chance during their midlife crisis… okay, okay, don't cry, that's just speculation."
Shijo Maki: QAQ
"Realistically speaking, if they go to different universities, that would be your best bet. Long-distance relationships open up opportunities."
"I have to wait until college...?"
"That's the optimistic scenario. Long-distance makes breakups more likely, but not guaranteed. And by then, the guy would be of legal age to marry in Japan. He might just register the marriage during college... Shijo-san, you're about to run out of tissues."
"You're a devil! Is tornting really that fun!?"
"Don't accuse like that. I'm just pointing out plausible outcos. And frankly, the odds of those things happening to you are kinda high… okay, hang on a second."
Seeing her already finish one entire box of tissues, Rinji pulled out another one from the nearby cabinet and placed it on the coffee table.
Shijo Maki blew her nose and wiped her tears, sighing softly. "So all of this happened because I didn't confess in ti?"
As they talked, she began to reflect on her own mistakes.
However, she was still talking to Takamine Rinji.
"No, believe on this one—confessing wouldn't have helped. You did the right thing."
"Huh?"
"Think about it. If he didn't like you, would your confession have succeeded?" Rinji asked.
"Probably… not, but how do you know he didn't like …"
"If he liked you, why did he confess to Kashiwagi and not you? Isn't that obvious?"
"..."
"If you had confessed, it would've played out like this: You confess to Tanuma, and he says 'You're a good person, but I only see you as a friend.' Then the next day he confesses to Kashiwagi, and during their relationship, he even says, 'Shijo confessed to but I turned her down. My heart has always belonged to you.' Sothing like that..."
Thud!
Perhaps imagining that scenario too vividly, Shijo Maki collapsed off the sofa, her tears dripping onto the floor as despair twisted her face.
"Shijo-san? Shijo-san, are you okay?"
"I'm fine… just let die..."
"Okay, just don't actually die."
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