“…”
‘Was I too impulsive today…’
Yuuma Tsugumu stared at his empty hand, feeling an emptiness in his heart.
He had originally wanted to bring a cup of coffee back for Akiba Sakura, but because of the minor quarrel with the maid in the shop, he had left in a hurry without ordering anything.
Now that he had calmed down and reflected, Yuuma Tsugumu truly felt he was too pathetic.
‘Just because of one remark from her… Sigh, Yuuma Tsugumu, Yuuma Tsugumu, is your tolerance really this low?’
Yuuma Tsugumu looked up at the completely dark sky, feeling very uneasy.
He was no longer in a hurry to go home, so he somehow found himself following the street corner into the park where he had coincidentally run into Akiba Sakura last time.
At night, the park was indeed as quiet as before, with no one around except for a few couples and some scattered pedestrians.
Coming to the park, Yuuma Tsugumu felt an inexplicable sense of anticipation in his heart.
He wanted to meet someone here.
So Yuuma Tsugumu aimlessly circled the park again and again.
The streetlights pulled his shadow long and short alternately.
His eyes unconsciously swept every corner—behind the bushes, beside the benches, even under the streetlights—hoping to catch sight of that familiar figure.
But after completing one round, all he saw were elderly people walking, couples chatting and laughing, and passersby walking their dogs—all strangers.
‘She’s not here. There wasn’t even a silhouette that resembled her.’
Reality told him bluntly and cruelly—Akiba Sakura would not be here.
“Sigh… What am I doing?”
Yuuma Tsugumu let out a long sigh, his steps heavy as he sat down on the bench where Akiba Sakura had once sat.
The cold sensation came up from the seat.
He looked up at the grayish night sky, feeling both suffocated and hollow.
‘That thing just now… tsk.’
He started recalling the incident at the coffee shop again.
How could he have been so foolish as to share those strange matters with a maid he barely knew?
She was just doing her job seriously, yet he had inappropriately brought up weird topics that upset her mood.
“Idiot…”
‘What am I even doing…’
He quietly scolded himself, then covered his eyes with his hand and let out a low, self-deprecating laugh.
“I’m such a fool…”
Yuuma Tsugumu’s mind uncontrollably replayed the scenes from tonight—originally, after telling that ‘bratty girl maid’ all those messy thoughts, he had planned to shamelessly ask her—for someone like him, what exactly should he do?
But now that he had calmed down, he understood one thing—the answer he clearly knew didn’t require asking anyone else.
He had always known.
From start to finish, he could never really sever ties with Akiba Sakura.
It had been like this since childhood.
When she cried, he would soften; when she threw a tantrum, he would compromise.
Even after that incident and entering high school together, he warned himself over and over to keep his distance from her, not to stick to her like before, not to let her easily sway his emotions.
Yuuma Tsugumu even began deliberately avoiding her approach, deliberately ignoring her attempts to please him, deliberately telling himself—they were just ordinary ‘childhood friends,’ nothing more.
But what was the result?
When she got hurt, he worried.
When she cut her hand, his heart ached.
When she suddenly stopped talking to him, he panicked.
He couldn’t even maintain basic distance; he was always drawn to that figure.
All the deliberate effort, all the pretense, all the distance—shattered completely in the moment Yuuma Tsugumu understood.
Yuuma Tsugumu slowly lowered his hand, staring at the blurry night in the distance, a helpless and resigned smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
‘How ironic…’
He was still the same as before, not changing at all.
He liked Akiba Sakura.
He had liked her for a very, very long time.
“…”
“…”
The time goes back to Yuuma Tsugumu’s last summer vacation before entering high school.
The cicadas of midsummer were noisy, but the air conditioning inside the milk tea shop was strong, dispelling the heat outside.
Yuuma Tsugumu held the cup of iced milk tea, somewhat absent-minded, while across from him sat his classmate and friend, Liangjie.
At that moment, Liangjie took a big sip of his pearl milk tea, then suddenly leaned in—
“Tsugumu, we’re all about to enter high school. Aren’t you going to confess to Akiba Sakura? This is the last summer vacation of middle school. If you keep dragging your feet, it’ll really be too late!”
Yuuma Tsugumu’s finger suddenly froze.
He quickly looked away, pretending to be calm as he took a sip of his milk tea.
“Wait a little longer. There’s no rush.”
Though he said that, his heart was already in turmoil.
How could he not want to confess?
The two had grown up together as childhood friends—from that little girl who used to play in the mud to the elegant and graceful young lady she was now.
Those fragmented moments of time had long etched her image deep into his heart.
But that was all he could do—just think about it.
Yuuma Tsugumu felt that he looked ordinary, wasn’t top of his class, and was the most unnoticeable person in a crowd.
On the other hand, Akiba Sakura was beautiful, cute, and had a great personality.
She was never short of suitors; throughout middle school, the boys who confessed to her could form a small squad.
What Yuuma Tsugumu feared most was that once he opened his mouth, even the ‘childhood friend’ relationship would be lost, and he was afraid that after being rejected, they couldn’t even be friends.
This fear outweighed all the courage it took to confess, leaving him only able to procrastinate time and again.
Liangjie saw right through him.
He poked his arm impatiently—
“Hey, you’re not chicken, are you? Don’t tell me you don’t have the guts!”
“I am not chicken!”
Yuuma Tsugumu immediately retorted, but his lack of confidence was obvious.
“You are chicken!”
Liangjie rolled his eyes, his tone certain—
“Have you forgotten that you two are childhood friends? With that relationship, you’re already way ahead of those suitors who came out of nowhere! Others would kill for that chance, but here you are, holding the opportunity and still afraid to reach out. What a waste!”
“You also know that from first year to now, so many guys have confessed to her, and she hasn’t agreed to any of them… Even if I confessed, the result would be the same—I’d only be rejected.”
“Wow, how can you be such a chicken…”
Upon hearing this, Liangjie slapped the table in frustration, his voice rising a few notches—
“Are you stupid! If Akiba Sakura accepted confessions so easily, she would have had a boyfriend long ago. Where would you be, moping around? She hasn’t agreed to anyone—maybe she’s waiting for you!”
Seeing Yuuma Tsugumu still dejected, Liangjie’s tone turned serious:
“I’m telling you, Yuuma Tsugumu, if you don’t confess now, when she’s eventually taken by someone else, you’ll have nowhere to cry! Then you’ll just have to watch her with someone else and regret it for the rest of your life! Now is the time to try. Even if you fail, you’ll have no regrets. Don’t wait until you don’t even have the chance and then regret it!”