Chapter 189
“I like you, senior. Please go out with .”
Ah. I knew this was coming.
What was bound to happen had finally co.
The mont I received Raina’s confession, that was the thought that ran through my head.
No matter how clueless a man was, if a girl ca to visit him at the hospital every single day and dragged him around to the festival alone together, it was impossible not to notice.
“…Senior?”
Raina looked up at , urging for an answer. Her healthy-looking brown skin was flushed red as if from the heat.
Objectively speaking, Raina was a considerable beauty. Most n, in a situation like this, wouldn’t even think of hesitating. To avoid missing this chance, they’d spit out an okay sign as fast as they could.
I was no different.
Instinct began to push . My lips were itching to just blurt out “I like you” in return. With tension, joy, and countless other emotions entangled together, I almost didn’t know what to do.
But in the middle of that numbing cocktail of emotions that paralyzed my thoughts, I ended up recalling an old mory. Over Raina’s face, I could see the face of her—the one I could no longer see.
How could I think of soone else while standing in front of a girl who had just confessed to ? What an impolite man I was.
And yet, thanks to that thought, I slowly regained my composure. I let the impulse pass and began thinking again.
“[Haa…]”
I let out a deep sigh.
Once again, I stared at Raina’s face.
I gathered courage and asked:
“[Why do you like soone like ?]”
“Well…”
“[You don’t really know anything about , do you?]”
I cut her answer short.
Was it because of the image that had just overlapped in my head? Or was it from the self-loathing rising in my chest?
Even though I hadn’t intended it, my voice ca out sharp.
I already knew from experience.
When you spoke to people like that, they usually beca afraid.
My height was nearly as tall as Aaron’s, my face always hidden by a mask, my whole body covered by thick clothes. A “man whose identity was unknown.” If such a man spoke in a pressuring tone, no matter how familiar you were, you would feel small.
But Raina didn’t.
“That’s why I want to know.”
Instead, she stepped closer to , tilting her face up.
It was who lost ground against her boldness. Without realizing it, I stepped back.
“I want to know about you, senior.”
“[There’s nothing good to know.]”
“That’s for to decide.”
Step.
She moved closer again.
And I stepped back again.
But then I was blocked by the wall. There was nowhere else to retreat. My back touched the wall—like a mouse cornered by a predator. The predator was Raina.
Wearing the confidence of a victor, she kept speaking.
“As you’ve already guessed, it started back at the [Showcase], when you saved .”
Back then, despite my body being beaten to a wreck, I had risked my life to save her from Donovan, who nearly killed her. I must barely have had the strength to lift a finger, yet I still saved her.
“Since then, I beca curious. What kind of person are you? Why would you abandon your normal na and instead insist on being called ‘Silence’? What kind of face do you hide beneath that mask…?”
“[You already know. I’m just a Junk Chip addict.]”
“I know you’re not that kind of person. You’re a prude, a stick-in-the-mud. Soone like that wouldn’t bother with sothing like Junk Chips.”
“[A s-stick-in-the-mud?]”
I was flustered at hearing such words co out of her mouth.
Raina chuckled.
“You can think I’m a strange girl if you want.”
“[W-why would you be strange?]”
“It’s fine. I’m aware of it myself.”
She let out a short sigh.
“Other girls wouldn’t act this directly. They’d play a little harder to get. Leave subtle hints, waiting for the guy to confess first. Because they don’t want to look easy.”
“[R-right…]”
“But I’m not clever enough for tricks like that. When I like soone, my head just gets filled with thoughts of that person until it feels like my chest goes boom! Waaah! You know? It gets frustrating inside.”
“[Uh… yeah.]”
I had no idea what that sound effect was supposed to an, but I caught the nuance.
“That’s why I just say it honestly. Once I say it, I feel relieved, and before long, those feelings usually cool down. You could say I’m kind of like a boiling pot.”
Her voice carried a playful tone.
Thanks to that, I could loosen my heart a little. Yeah, in this atmosphere, it might be possible to just let it pass naturally. Thinking so, I decided to just play along.
“[Well, yeah. I guess it’s different for everyone.]”
“That’s true, but people don’t see it that way. You probably don’t know, but one of my nicknas used to be ‘quick to fall in love.’ Well… I admit there was so truth to it.”
“[…]”
“But… you know?”
Her voice changed.
Though she still wore a playful smile, her eyes began to glisten with moisture.
“This ti… it feels strange, you know?”
“[R-Raina…?]”
“I… I usually don’t put much weight on confessions…”
Her lips trembled. The smile on her cheeks twisted sadly.
“So this ti too… I thought I’d just say it quickly, whether I got rejected or not… so I could feel better afterward… but…”
Her voice thinned, hoarse.
Her words lost order.
The confidence drained from her face, replaced by tears streaming down her cheeks.
“T-this is weird.”
Weird.
Weird in what way?
Even Raina herself didn’t seem to know the answer.
“For so reason, this ti… I feel like I shouldn’t do that. Because you’re a serious person, senior… if I treated it the sa as before, I feel like you’d really hate … and I don’t know why, but that thought scared …”
Raina confessed.
“Y-you said I don’t know anything about you, senior… but the truth is, I looked into things. Honestly, it wasn’t even that hard. I pressed Miyu, and she spilled everything she knew…”
“[Miyu, that brat…]”
The mont her na ca out.
Rustle.
Suddenly, I sensed soone at the far end of the hallway.
But I didn’t have the composure to care. What weighed heavier was the fact that Raina had uncovered a past I’d rather not reveal.
I frowned, and Raina, reading my mood, continued speaking.
“I heard about the person you used to like. About how you ended up the way you are now. Do you know how I felt when I heard that…?”
“[…]”
“It felt like my entire life was being denied. I was stunned for a while, couldn’t say a word. The words ‘I like you’ that I’ve been tossing around so easily… they felt like nothing but a child’s ga.”
“[Stop it…]”
“No.”
Raina pleaded.
She poured out the words in her chest without pause.
“Since then, everything started to feel strange. I can’t tell what’s real and what’s fake. I don’t know. All I know is when I’m with you, I feel happy. But it’s not like I just miss you when you’re far away. It’s more like… I can’t stand it unless it’s you. I started wishing there was sothing—sothing that made it so I couldn’t live without you.”
Raina felt an anxiety she had never known before settle inside her chest. And the fact that Silence was the first to make her feel this way only made her focus on him more.
“This has never happened before. Even if the person I liked already had soone else, it never bothered . I just thought I was unlucky, or the guy wasn’t right for . But at so point… with you, senior, I can’t think that way anymore…”
Raina looked confused.
When did it start?
All she wanted was to show a small part of her heart, but instead it felt like a wall had crumbled because she couldn’t endure the weight. She seed no longer even aware of what she was saying.
“I don’t know who that ‘person’ buried deep inside you is… but I know she must have been precious beyond words. So at first I thought I could just brush it off like usual… but I can’t stop thinking about it, and the jealousy is unbearable. It feels so unfair that I’m not ‘that person.’ I feel like I can’t live without you. I don’t even know why I’m like this…!”
“[Raina. Please, calm down.]”
Surely, the alcohol she’d had earlier was influencing her. Thinking so, I reached out a hand to comfort her.
At that mont, Raina grabbed my hand. With a strong grip, she pulled closer to her. If not for the mask, our lips would have touched.
Raina tilted her head back.
Then, with her other hand, she gently stroked the mask on my face. Her tear-streaked face was a ss, yet beautiful all the sa.
“I like you, senior.”
“[I…]”
I shook my head with difficulty.
“[I can’t…]”
“W-why not…? Because I’m just so girl who falls for anyone? Because these feelings might fade away quickly? No, senior. I promise you. I would never—”
“[No.]”
I gently pushed Raina away.
“[You’re too worked up right now.]”
“…”
“[Think about it more calmly. Whether it’s the heat of the festival or sothing else, there’s no need to be like this right now. Take a mont to settle your heart…]”
“Senior…!”
“[I need ti to think too.]”
I answered.
“[Give a month.]”
“But…”
“[I’ll go now.]”
I hurried away.
My head was in chaos.
Maybe I had caught so of Raina’s own turmoil. The mask covering my face was starting to feel suffocating. Pulling my hood down low, I shoved both hands into my pockets.
What should I do?
I don’t know.
I really don’t know.
Raina’s face and her face twisted together in my mind. My chest felt heavy. My steps grew quicker.
If only I had soone to talk to. But for soone like , who had lived only with the thought of revenge until now, this was an impossible problem to solve.
Soone to talk to.
And strangely, the face that ca to mind was that of my enemy—Aaron Stingray. The very man who could be called the root of all this.
‘No. There’s no way soone so perfect could ever understand my situation. Better to find soone else… wait, what?’
As I turned the corner—
“Ah.”
I saw them.
For so reason, Iri was collapsed on the floor unconscious, Miyu stood at a loss, and Aaron was rubbing his forehead as if it were all a headache.
No…
What the hell kind of ss is this…?
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