Chapter 116: So, You Like Him Too, Right?
Sato Maya ran off to the side, her face seemingly carrying a smile. The two observers exchanged a look, and that stifling feeling in their chests returned.
'Did he say yes?'
"Keima... he wouldn't have agreed, would he?" Karuizawa Kei couldn't help but let out a sigh of concern.
This caused Sakura Airi, standing beside her, to become anxious as well.
"H-he agreed?!" Airi's voice was trembling. She gripped the hem of her clothes so tightly her knuckles turned white.
That image—Sato Maya standing under the streetlight, Katsuragi Keima facing her, the two of them looking at each other—played repeatedly in her mind.
'Would he agree? Would he accept Maya-san's confession? Then what about me? The cookies I send every week... the romance guides I secretly read... the way I think about him every night before I fall asleep...
Could it be that Keima-kun likes girls like Sato Maya?
No... it can't be...'
"N-no, it's not possible..." Kei's voice was also lacking confidence. "That blockhead, how could he possibly agree...?"
"B-but Maya-san is smiling..."
Kei couldn't offer a logical explanation because she was uncertain herself. She thought back to her own "confession." That had been a sham, a search for a protection umbrella. He had rejected her, but she remembered his words vividly.
"A relationship built on lies cannot give you true security." "True security comes from the growth of your own strength."
Since then, she had truly started trying—studying, growing, becoming better. And that person had remained in her heart. Not as an "umbrella," but as... what? She didn't know. She only knew that seeing Sato Maya standing with him now felt like her heart was being wrenched. It hurt. It was miserable.
'Maya is my friend. A friend I eat with, chat with, and go shopping with every day. I should be happy for her. I should be.'
"Karuizawa-san..." Airi's voice pulled her back to reality.
Kei snapped out of it. "Hmm?"
"Look at Maya-san's expression... it seems to have changed again!"
The change was so obvious that even from such a distance, they could see it clearly. Sato Maya's eyes seemed to have turned red. This reaction usually pointed to one result.
"He rejected her..." Kei murmured, a complicated mixture of feelings rising in her heart. Was it relief? Or something else? She didn't know.
Airi's heart also gave a violent thud.
'He rejected her? Keima-kun rejected Maya-san?'
But... she didn't dare think further.
Just then, Sato Maya's expression changed once more. She laughed. Even from afar, though they couldn't see the specific details, they could see she was laughing. It wasn't a bitter laugh or a forced smile; it was a genuine, heartfelt laugh.
'Sato Maya is laughing one moment and crying the next... what is the situation?'
"Why is she laughing?" Kei was stunned.
"I-I don't know..." Airi was also dazed.
The two looked at each other, seeing the same confusion in each other's eyes.
'Laughing after being rejected? What kind of move is that?'
They continued to watch. Airi recalled how, moments ago, Keima seemed to have said something to Sato Maya. As she listened, the smile on Maya's face had become more and more apparent. Maya had called out to him, and then a brilliant smile had blossomed on her face.
That smile—even at this distance—conveyed a sense of joy from the bottom of her heart. But now, Maya ran away, covered her face with her hands, and spun around in place. Then, she suddenly squatted down and buried her face in her knees. Her shoulders were shaking.
Airi didn't know what to make of this. Although she had zero experience in romance, based on the logic of the games Keima played, a successful confession definitely wouldn't trigger this kind of reaction.
"Is she crying?" Kei asked uncertainly.
"It looks like... she is crying..." Airi nodded.
The two were plunged into confusion again.
'She was just laughing, so why is she suddenly crying?'
But within a few seconds, Maya stood up again, wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and then—she laughed again.
Crying and laughing? What was going on?
"Is she... mentally stable?" Kei couldn't help but ask.
Airi shook her head, looking equally bewildered. They continued watching. Sato Maya stood there for a long time with a smile on her face. Then she turned and began walking in their direction.
"Crap, crap, crap!" Kei panicked. "She's coming this way!"
The two instinctively shrank back behind the vending machine. But halfway there, Maya suddenly stopped. She looked up at the night sky, lost in thought. Then she laughed again. After laughing, she continued walking—but not toward them; she turned down another path.
"..." Airi sighed in relief.
"Phew..." Kei slumped against the vending machine.
They looked at each other. Silence for a few seconds. Then they spoke simultaneously.
"What do you think he actually said?"
Both were stunned, then both gave a bitter smile.
"..."
"Can't guess..."
The two remained huddled behind the vending machine, watching Maya's silhouette vanish into the night. Then, their gaze shifted elsewhere. Katsuragi Keima had already left. The street was empty, save for the glow of the streetlights.
They were silent for a long time. Finally, Kei spoke.
"Airi."
"Hmm?"
"What do you think he said?"
Airi thought about it. "Something that can make Maya-san laugh and cry at the same time... must be..." She couldn't finish the sentence because she couldn't imagine it.
'If you're rejected, why would you laugh?'
"Could it be... that he agreed?" Kei voiced the thought she was too afraid to entertain.
"But... but if he agreed, Maya-san should be even happier..." Airi countered. "The way she looked just now didn't seem like she was accepted..."
"Then what was it?"
"I don't know..."
The two fell silent again. After a while, Kei suddenly spoke. "Could it be... he rejected her, but gave her hope?"
Airi was stunned. "Gave her hope?"
"Yeah." Kei nodded. "Look, if it was a total rejection, she'd definitely be devastated. But Maya-san cried and then laughed. What does that mean? It means even though she was rejected, she's happy in her heart." She paused.
"The only thing that can make someone happy after a rejection is... there's still hope."
Listening to this, the complex emotions in Airi's heart surged again.
'There's still hope...'
For Maya-san, that was a good thing. But for herself? If Maya-san still had hope, then what about...
"Karuizawa-san." she said softly.
"Hmm?"
"If... if Maya-san still has hope, then what about us?"
Kei froze. Right. What about them? They liked him too. They had been watching him. They also...
"I don't know," she said honestly.
While Kei was lost in thought, she didn't notice that Airi's gaze was locked onto her.
"Kei."
"What is it?"
"You really do like Keima-kun too, don't you!"
Hearing those words, Karuizawa Kei was startled. She practically jumped. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she had failed to hide her inner feelings for a moment.
"I, I, I—no! I wasn't thinking about that just now..." Kei tried to cover it up, but her voice was stuttering.
"Karuizawa-san, actually, your feelings... I, I can feel them too."
"N-no..."
"Otherwise, you wouldn't have followed me here—and twice at that."
"..." Kei's eyes darted around, not daring to meet Airi's gaze.
Lies... When she was watching Sato Maya confess, she had been incredibly bothered. Suddenly, Kei made up her mind. She turned her head and looked straight at Airi. Airi, unusually, did not look away out of shyness.
"Yeah. I like Katsuragi Keima."
Finally, Karuizawa Kei said it. Her tone was incredibly firm. She expected Airi to be angry. After all, she had known for a long time that Airi liked him. But for some reason, Kei still wanted to say it. Because she truly considered Airi her friend.
Contrary to what Kei imagined, Airi didn't get angry. she simply smiled.
"Just as I thought, Karuizawa-san."
"Why... aren't you angry?"
"Why should I be angry? It's your freedom to like whoever you want. Besides, Keima-kun is so brilliant; it's only natural for others to like him." Airi lowered her head slightly.
"Though... I do feel a sense of crisis... but, Karuizawa-san! I won't lose easily!"
After saying this, Airi even made a small victory pose, as if celebrating her courage to express her thoughts. This made Kei laugh helplessly.
"But Airi, I don't have a chance anymore."
"W-why?"
"Because I've already failed once." Kei shook her head and then plucked up the courage to tell her about the time she was rejected. At this point, it didn't matter to her anymore. She viewed Airi as a very important friend. And she herself had grown.
Airi was surprised; she had no idea such a thing had happened. But she soon calmed down.
"Karuizawa-san," Airi said suddenly.
"Hmm?"
"Do you... do you regret it?"
"Regret what?"
"Regretting that you didn't confess like Maya-san did."
Kei's footsteps faltered. Regret? She thought of her "confession." It was fake. It was for a protection umbrella. So it didn't count. But if she really liked him, would she say it? She didn't know.
"..." She opened her mouth, but the words wouldn't come.
Airi looked at her and smiled. The smile was a bit bitter. "I'm the same... I don't dare say it." She lowered her head. "I'm afraid that if I say it, I won't even be able to keep the relationship
we have now. At least now, I can send him cookies and hear him say 'Mm.' If I say it and get rejected, maybe I won't even have that."
Kei fell silent. she understood that feeling perfectly. At least for now, they could stay by his side. At least for now, they could see him. If they spoke and were rejected, they might lose even that.
"Let's go," she said softly.
The two continued walking. In the darkness, their two shadows were stretched long by the streetlights. Arriving back at the dormitory, they stopped.
"Airi."
"Hmm?"
"Tomorrow... are you still going to the study group?"
Airi thought for a moment. "I'll go. Because... I can still see him."
Kei laughed. In that smile, there was bitterness, but also a sense of liberation. "Me too."
They looked at each other and laughed at the same time.
"Goodnight, Karuizawa-san."
"Goodnight, Airi."
The two entered the dormitory and went to their respective rooms. Karuizawa Kei lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Her mind was still on what had just happened—Sato Maya's laughing and crying, the words Katsuragi Keima said, and Airi's words.
"I'm afraid that if I say it, I won't even be able to keep the relationship we have now."
She understood. She understood all too well. She rolled over.
'But if I don't say it, can I really keep it?!'
She didn't know. But she knew that tonight would be another sleepless night.
In Airi's room, she sat at her desk, staring at her cookie recipe book. She hadn't sent any cookies today. But tomorrow, she would continue to send them. No matter what happened. Regardless of whether Maya-san had hope. Regardless of who Keima-kun eventually chose. She would keep sending them. Because that was her way.
She picked up a pen and wrote a line in the recipe book: "New flavor: Matcha White Chocolate. Try next week."
Finished, she closed the notebook. Lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, the scenes from earlier played back. Maya-san laughed. Then cried. Then laughed again. What kind of feeling was that exactly? She couldn't imagine it. But she knew it must be very complex. Just like her own feelings right now. Complex. Chaotic. Untangleable.
She closed her eyes. Tomorrow would be a new day. But she believed one thing in her heart: she would always like Keima-kun. And she would like him more and more.
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The next day. In the classroom.
Everything was as usual. Katsuragi Keima was still sitting in the corner, head down playing his game. Sato Maya was still sitting near him, glancing at him occasionally. But today, there was something more in her eyes. It was anticipation. It was hope. It was the glow of "I will wait for you."
Karuizawa Kei and Sakura Airi sat in their respective seats, pretending to read. But their gazes couldn't help but drift that way.
They saw Sato Maya looking at Keima with a smile.
That smile was the same as the one from the night before.
Heartfelt.
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