“It was pretty much...love at first sight,” Yako Yoshino had said remorsefully as we stood in the corner of the spacious plaza in front of the majestic Hoshin Gate. “At first, I really didn’t get it. I noticed that she was always by herself and that I’d never seen her try to even talk to other people. I got curious about what she was like...so I tried talking to her. I was so curious that I didn’t even notice how big her boobs were.”
“Wow, you’re a social person down to your very core,” I said, surprised by her authentic gyaru actions.
“Yeah, I get that a lot.” She dryly chuckled. “For real, though, in the entire year that we were in the same class, I never saw her talk with anyone—in our class, at least. I know that you two are close, but speaking purely in terms of the amount of time spent with her, I’ve spent more time with her since we were in the same class.”
“True enough.”
“So anyway, I was thinking that she’d be screwed if I wasn’t around and that she could only really rely on me. Before I knew it, I was unconsciously feeling that and...that’s how something kinda like a possessiveness came over me.”
I honestly understand what she means. Even when Yume and I had dated in middle school, or when I hung out with Isana in the corner of the library, I couldn’t deny that I’d felt something like a sense of superiority for knowing their beauty when nobody else did. So from that feeling, Yoshino couldn’t let go of Isana?
“Thinking that you own someone’s super creepy, right? That’s why I tried not thinking about it as much as possible, but...maybe around this past winter, I saw...”
“Saw what?”
“Her drawing.”
Suddenly, it all clicked. That was about the time that our trip to Kobe ended, and I’d started to manage Isana.
“I got a glimpse of her drawing on her tablet in the corner of the classroom. It was like electricity shot through my body as soon as I saw it. It wasn’t even just that she was crazy good... I’d seen her work on socials.”
“Oh...”
“It wasn’t trending or anything, but it had enough internet presence that even a normie like me was impressed. I remember thinking that I liked the drawing itself too, and feeling impressed that she was the one who’d drawn that. As soon as I thought that, I began thinking that destiny might have been at play here.”
“I more or less understand...” I said with a sigh.
There’s no greater pleasure in this world than realizing the value of something when others don’t. As someone who’d realized Isana’s talent before anyone else in this world, I knew that better than anyone.
“But yeah, my feelings stemming from that pretty much spelled the end,” Yoshino said with a self-loathing smile. “I lost it. I thought that this was normal behavior, but I fought like hell to hide it from everyone else. Given my rep, I can’t really talk about this with anyone.”
“Is that why you teased the two of us about how close we were?”
“Yeah... When we were still in the same class, I asked her and found out that the two of you weren’t dating. I thought if I acted that way, nobody would think I had feelings for her.”
“So what you whispered in Asuhain’s ear after dinner, was that...”
“Oh god, you saw that? Yeah, I encouraged her. After all, if she bagged you, that’d be one less rival to worry about for Isana-chan’s heart. Ugh, I’m so cringe! No wonder Ran-chan’s so weirded out by me.”
So this answers why Asuhain was so shocked by Yoshino’s confession to Isana. Yoshino had openly been pretty teasing about my relationship with Isana, but then she had also tried to stop Asuhain from getting close to me for the sake of our “relationship”; in reality, she’d just been hiding her feelings, and secretly getting into position to ask Isana out.
Asuhain, who’d been wrestling with her feelings regarding Yume, couldn’t help but compare herself to Yoshino, who was single-heartedly going after the apple of her eye. Asuhain was afraid that she might have been like Yoshino. That’s why she’d tried to put distance between herself and Yume.
“And then, I got rightfully turned down,” Yoshino said lightly. “In the moment, I got kinda fired up and grabbed her, but Asuhain pushed us into the pool, which kinda cooled my head. Made me realize that someone like me doesn’t have the right to do anything with Isana-chan. The hubris of me, right?”
“You don’t have to put yourself down so much, y’know.”
“No, I do. I’m a coward who can’t even tell our teacher that I broke the phone they gave me.” Technically, that’s Asuhain’s fault. Then, Yoshino grunted a bit as she stretched. “I feel so much better now that I’ve come clean! By the way, you turned Isana-chan down, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I say this with both jealousy and bitterness, but you’re definitely gonna regret it.”
“I won’t,” I said without any hesitation. “If I’d said yes back then, I doubt she would’ve been able to draw.”
“Oh... Yeah, that wouldn’t be good.” Yoshino chuckled before turning her back to me. It was as if she were trying to say goodbye to the person she’d been up until now. “Well, keep makin’ her happy, okay? She’s the girl I stan!”