CH 232

“There’s no need to be so hard on yourself. You should have some more self-confidence, Miyamoto-san.” Seiji smiled gently. “You’re actually quite a talented and cute girl.”

Kaho’s eyes widened when he said this.

She was seeing his smile again. This was that same gentle and brilliant smile that seemed to exude light, just like last time.

She still remembered that scene as clearly as if it happened yesterday.

That impulse in her heart reached a boiling point.

“Harano-san, I…”

Her feelings came out through her throat, and she began speaking before she realized it.

‘No, this is no good. I have to say it! No matter what, I have to say it!’

“Miyamoto-san?” Seiji realized that Kaho’s expression was a little strange.

“Harano-san!” Kaho’s voice suddenly increased in volume. “Please… please go out with me!!” Kaho shouted with an incredibly red face.

Everyone instantly fell silent.

Not only were Chiaki and the others shocked, even the bystanders had noticed this outburst and were looking in their direction.

Seiji and Kaho both remained silent for quite a while.

When Kaho noticed that Seiji’s expression froze over, she realized what she had said and felt as if a volcano was exploding within her!

Needless to say, Wakaba-san, Uehara-san, and the other two older ladies were looking at her in amazement, the bystanders were doing so as well, but the most important of all was Harano-san’s expression!

The handsome boy was obviously shocked.

What would his expression change into after?

Would it be an awkward one, or cold, or…

Kaho was unable to force herself to imagine it.

She wanted to explain, but was unable to say anything. She was unable to take it anymore.

Her body automatically started moving. She turned around, began running, and escaped!

“Wahh!!”

She cried as she ran off.

Seiji and the others were dumbstruck by this.

What was going on?

Seiji had never expected Miyamoto-san to suddenly confess in front of everyone or that she would suddenly run away.

He didn’t know how to react, but when he saw her crying as she ran away, he reflexively felt the urge to chase after her.

After all, he was worried. Although he didn’t understand what was going on, letting a girl leave in that condition seemed wrong to him!

Seiji glanced at Chiaki and the others.

Chiaki was the first to regain her senses. Seeing Seiji’s expression, she instantly understood his intention.

“Go after her, Seigo,” she said.

“I’m going.”

After letting Chiaki and the others know, he dashed off at top speed and chased after her.

Kaho was running with all her might.

The effectiveness of her daily early morning jogs really showed here. She speedily ran through the crowd, exited the school, and kept running for as long as she could, until she no longer had the energy to run.

When she stopped, she was panting heavily and covered with sweat. Rivulets of sweat dripped down her face.

Her entire body felt hot, and her mind was in chaos. She was unable to think—or perhaps it should be said that she didn’t want to think.

Kaho slowly walked forward. She had no clue where she currently was or where she was heading.

‘It’s over…’

Even though she didn’t want to dwell on it, the more she tried to not think about it, the more it ended up happening.

‘It’s over… I said something wrong to Harano-san… he misunderstood me… he’ll reject me… he’ll look down on me… he’ll think I’m a strange person…’

Kaho was emanating waves of negativity.

She looked zombie-like—her eyes had no life to them, she was staggering, and her entire aura was downcast.

‘As expected, someone like me shouldn’t have tried to come close to him…’

“Miyamoto-san.”

‘Someone like me… how could I be with him…’

“Miyamoto-san!”

A clear, familiar voice rang out from beside her.

Kaho was startled and turned around to see the boy that she was thinking about.

“Are you alright?” Seiji asked in a gentle voice. There was a kind smile on his face.

Kaho was dazed by this.

If this was a manga, she would currently have blank eyes. That was how much of a daze she was in.

‘It seems like she’s not alright.’

Seiji watched her and wanted to say something, but didn’t know what to say.

A brief period lingered between them.

“H-Harano-san… why are you…” Kaho stuttered, having finally broke out of her stupor.

“You suddenly started crying… and suddenly ran off. I was really worried, so I came to see how you were.”

He was worried about her… Kaho felt a warm feeling in her chest at hearing this.

‘He actually chased me all the way here just for me… and left everyone else behind!’

She felt warm, but she also felt uncomfortable about it.

“You… you didn’t have to follow me…” She averted her gaze.

‘It’s fine to just leave me alone.’ She wanted to express this.

Seiji blinked at this. “How could I not follow you? I wouldn’t just leave Miyamoto-san alone like that.”

‘Seeing a girl cry in front of me and run off… I don’t think that’s something that should be ignored.’

But after Kaho heard this, the mix of emotions within her grew even more befuddled.

Warmth, delight, discomfort, depression, regret… there were various emotions mixed up together within her, and it was impossible for her to separate them from each other.

She quietly kept walking. Seiji silently followed beside her.

The two of them reached a riverside after a while. They saw the clear water of the river, as well as the scattered leaves floating on top.

Kaho somehow felt herself settling down as she watched the leaves float past.

“Harano-san…” She stopped in her tracks.

“Hm?” Seiji also stopped as well.

“I-I didn’t want to go out with you; I wanted to become your friend… normal friends,” Kaho said in a tiny voice.

“Oh… sure.” Seiji smiled in response. “I’d be delighted to… rather, I should say that I asked this a long time ago.”

“At that time, I… didn’t have the self-confidence to think that I had the right to stand beside you, which was why…”

“Don’t say something like ‘right’! I’m not exactly…”

“No, I have to say it!” Kaho furrowed her brows. “I feel that I, who never worked hard at anything, didn’t have the right to stand next to you when you worked so hard to change yourself. That was why I rejected you at that time. After that, I put in some hard work, and felt that I barely counted as good enough, so I decided to talk to you during the school festival… to ask the same thing of you that you asked of me before.”

“But I failed… and did something foolish.” She laughed helplessly at herself. “Asking to go out with you… in front of that many people, just how foolish could I be?”

Seiji didn’t know what to say to this.

“Doing such a foolish thing, not being able to accept it, and even causing you to worry about me… Honestly, someone like me is just…”

“Look here.” Seiji put both his hands in front of Kaho.

“Eh?” Kaho reflexively looked at them.

*Smack!*

Seiji suddenly clapped his hands rather loudly and scared her.

After Kaho recovered from her shock, she suddenly recalled that this had happened to her once before already.

“Miyamoto-san, perhaps you are a bit foolish for falling for the same trick twice.” Seiji smiled. “Minding something that you don’t need to mind and suffering needlessly really seems like something you would do.”

“Harano-san…”

“So what if you said something wrong, or did something foolish in front of everyone? People always do something foolish at some point in their lives, and even me… No, I should say that everyone does foolish things. It’s only natural to be embarrassed at doing something foolish. But there’s no need to be too depressed, or say something like ‘someone like me—’ it’s terrible to hear.

“Listen up, Miyamoto-san, I’m more than happy to be your friend, and I’m your friend already, and I really don’t like you talking like that about yourself! Nor do I wish to see you getting down on yourself over such a trifling matter and getting all depressed over nothing.

“Be spirited and have some self-confidence! Didn’t you make an effort already? You are indeed talented, and you’ve shown off your abilities, and haven’t you even become much prettier as well? Why do you still seem so grim and dark? Find your spirit!”

Seiji patted Kaho on her back.

“You’re an excellent girl, and as long as you keep working hard, you’ll definitely be an excellent person as well! Believe in yourself, and if you think that’s not enough, believe in the me who believes in you!”