Is It Permissible To Abandon a Childhood Friend Who Has Become a School Idol and Be Happy

32

A faint sound echoed in the hallway after school.

The winter hallway, empty of people, was colder than it looked, and the hard, cold echoes of footsteps resounded from the linoleum floor.

“…”

Why does walking alone in the evening hallway feel so melancholic?

Is it because the scenery outside is dim and the leaves have fallen?

Or is it because the usual hustle and bustle of the school has disappeared, and I feel like I’m the only one in this world?

Or maybe it’s because I’m alone like this, and I end up thinking about unnecessary things.

If there was someone next to me, I probably wouldn’t have these kinds of thoughts.

In fact, that’s how I used to be until recently.

Mio was always next to me, and we would walk side by side.

At that time, I don’t think I ever felt loneliness, but what about me now?

Not just loneliness, but there’s also a pain that constricts my chest.

This pain might be coming from my resistance to what’s about to happen.

I’ve already contacted Mio, and the death has long been cast, but am I still not prepared?

“How pathetic…”

Really, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for myself.

Can I really face Mio like this?

Such a defeatist thought crosses my mind.

—It’s okay to run away. You don’t have to face anything difficult.

At the same time, her words come to mind.

The words that gave me courage at that time now whisper to the weak part of my heart with the opposite meaning.

(That’s right, it’s okay to run away.)

In fact, I’m trying to run away.

I’m trying to run away from the girl I used to love, to tell her goodbye and never have anything to do with her again.

So even if I turn back here, the result won’t change.

Even if I don’t face her directly, there are plenty of ways to tell her we’re breaking up.

I don’t need to see Mio’s face when I tell her we’re breaking up—

“Of course there is.”

The scales of my heart, which were starting to tip.

I kicked them over with all my might.

A hard, metallic sound echoes as my shoe hits the ground.

“What’s the point of running away now? How are you going to settle things if you don’t face her when you’re breaking up with the girl you love?”

Get a grip, man.

Running away now isn’t about not wanting to change or anything like that.

Am I going to live with this loneliness forever?

If I run away now, I’ll probably carry this guilt with me for the rest of my life.

More importantly, am I really going to leave the girl I care about most alone in this school after class?

“I can’t do that.”

Mio will probably wait for me until I come.

I know that better than anyone, because we’ve been together for so long.

Mio has changed.

The one in that classroom isn’t the Mio I know anymore.

But maybe there are some things that haven’t changed.

When I think about that, I can’t just stand here.

“Let’s go.”

I mutter to myself and head towards my destination.

I tread carefully, making sure not to get lost in the hallway that I’ll be walking back alone.

“Oh, Kou-kun.”

When I enter the classroom, Mio is already there.

“Sorry, I’m late. I’m the one who called you here, so sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. I was happy.”

As she said that, Misaki smiled as if she were truly delighted.

The setting sun shone through the window, casting a shadow over her delicate face. It made her seem almost ephemeral, like a figure in a painting.

“I see. Thank you.”

For coming. As I continued, Misaki slowly raised the corners of her mouth and smiled shyly.

I couldn’t tell what her expression was. The sunset was too bright for me to make out her features.

“You’re welcome. Listen, Kou-kun, there was something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Misaki inhaled slowly.

Perhaps she was taking a deep breath. Maybe she was trying to calm herself.

She exhaled deeply and then stared at me intently.

“Kou-kun! I’m going to…”

“Excuse me. Could you please let me speak first?”

I interrupted Misaki as she tried to say something.

I was a little surprised that Misaki had something to say too, but I was the one who had called her here.

I had the right to speak first. I couldn’t give that up.

“Oh, um. I’m sorry. I just got a little carried away…”

“No, it’s okay.”

I should be the one apologizing.

“Misaki. There’s something I want to tell you.”

In the empty classroom at dusk.

Just the two of us, alone in the world, I faced the girl I had loved.

A sharp cracking sound, like something shattering, echoed in the depths of my ears.

It was surely the sound of my relationship with Misaki breaking apart completely.

Even so, I had to—tell her.

“――――Let’s break up.”

My voice was weak and trembling.

It was pathetic and unsightly, but I finally managed to utter those words.

“…Why?”

Misaki asked in a trembling voice.

Why, indeed?

There was no stopping now, no turning back.

I couldn’t take it back.

The end of us had begun.