[Christmas.]
[Originally just a foreign holiday, yet somehow it had become one of Japan's own.]
[At the end of the year, you, Toru, and your families held a Christmas party at home.]
[Amid the laughter and warmth, you looked at Toru playing with your little sister and thought, if only days like this could last forever…]
[When the snow melted and the new year began, the rhythm of your lives stayed the same.]
[You and he, still young and inexperienced in love, made no real progress in your relationship, yet you grew closer all the same.]
[Your efforts to change yourself slowly began to show results. On February 14, Valentine's Day…]
What happened?
[You received the first love letter of your life.]
Nice.
[Thinking of the "I Love You" game you were still playing with Toru, you decided to flaunt this letter in front of him, make him jealous, and push him to confess first!]
Perfect~
A battle of wits in love between a genius boy and a lonely girl!
Now in progress!
[Unfortunately, after school, you realized Toru was gone from the classroom.]
[You searched nearly the entire school but couldn't find him.]
[Finally, behind a secluded corner of the building, you spotted his figure.]
[You were about to call out to him, but your steps stopped, your hand fell weakly to your side.]
[The scene before you silenced you completely...]
[Besides the boy you liked, there was another girl.]
[When you noticed the pink letter in Toru's hand, you understood.]
[You had accidentally walked into someone else's confession scene.]
Hitori stared at the image projected in the simulation.
Then, she heard the trembling voice of a girl confessing, nervous and soft.
"Kitahara-kun, I like you. Please go out with me."
The girl was quite pretty, with long black hair and the gentle air of a literary type.
On a scale of ten, she would easily score a seven.
Unfortunately, Toru's standards were high. He wouldn't fall for looks alone.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not thinking about dating anyone right now."
Seeing him reject the confession so decisively, Hitori felt herself breathe easier.
"I read your letter. It was well written," he added calmly. "But I think, in middle school, studying should still come first."
"I'm sorry, I was being foolish," the girl said, forcing a small, sad smile.
"I hope you meet someone better. I have to go."
Toru turned and walked away without a hint of hesitation.
[At the corner, you ran right into him.]
[You were holding the love letter tightly, face awkward and head down, unsure what to say.]
[In that moment, a wave of self-loathing washed over you.]
[You felt joy at another girl's heartbreak. You knew it was wrong, but you couldn't help it.]
[The boy you liked was still single. There was still space for you at his side.]
[Then Toru's gentle voice reached you.]
["Hitori, if I had said yes, would you have regretted it?"]
[…]
[You said nothing.]
[Just now, your heart had hurt so sharply it felt as if shattered glass had cut into your fingers, but you refused to admit it.]
[The game between you two wasn't over yet. You were still far from being worthy of him. The timid you still needed courage.]
[After a long silence,]
[You looked up at him and said, "I love you, Toru."]
["I love you too, Hitori," he answered lightly.]
[You fell silent again.]
[It hurt.]
[It was painful.]
[You suddenly realized...]
[Ever since the game began, no matter how many times you confessed, he would always treat it as part of the game.]
[Your sincere feelings, your true and burning love, were just a joke to him.]
[Could you really go on like this?]
["Did your heart race?" you asked, swallowing the ache in your chest.]
["Not even close."]
[Yes. Not even close.]
[A thousand confessions, a thousand 'I love you's, and still you couldn't reach his heart.]
[The distance between your hearts hadn't closed by even a single centimeter.]
[Spring was coming. The cherry blossoms were beginning to bud.]
[You'd once heard that when a cherry blossom falls from a tree, it takes a long time to reach the ground, drifting at only five centimeters per second under the spring breeze.]
[If hearts could draw closer at that same speed of five centimeters per second, how wonderful that would be.]
Hitori suddenly felt a sharp pain in her stomach.
It hurt. So much.
"What's wrong, Bocchi?"
"My stomach hurts," she muttered to Yamada Ryo.
"Probably drank too many cold drinks," Ryo said knowingly, taking out a packet of stomach medicine from her bag. "Here, take this. It'll help."
"Thank you."
Sniff… Ryo-san was so kind.
"1000 yen a tablet."
"…"
She took it back.
Hitori, teary-eyed, reached for her wallet.
Nijika stepped in, scolding gently. "Ryo, don't bully Bocchi-chan."
"…Fine." Ryo pulled her hand back.
Tch. So close to earning a little pocket money.
Hitori swallowed the medicine and felt a bit better.
This simulation, she thought, would be full of twists and heartbreak.
[After that incident, you doubled your efforts.]
[Spring came, and you entered your second year of middle school.]
[After the class reshuffle, you and Toru were no longer seatmates. You could no longer sneak glances at his focused expression in class, couldn't listen to him chat and laugh with friends at lunch, and even gym class separated you.]
[Still, you kept walking to and from school together every day.]
[You still told each other "I love you," still asked whether the other had felt their heart race.]
[Sweet words, clever little ploys, layered tactics of love…]
[The "I Love You" game was still going on.]
[But the two of you seemed to be drifting farther apart, beyond saving.]
[Sometimes, you lay on your bed staring at the ceiling, wondering... if you admitted you'd fallen for him, how would the story end? Would it be like a fairy tale, where the princess and prince reach a perfect happy ending?]
[Does he like you?]
[You don't know.]
[At just fourteen, you still don't truly understand what love means.]
[Second year.]
[Before the sports festival, he and a girl from his class signed up for the three-legged race, practicing together every day after school.]
[The girl was adorable, far more than you'd expected, and the two of them got along very well.]
[Because of their training, you no longer had a reason to walk home together.]
[A few days later, on the field, you sat in the stands and watched as they supported each other, running across the finish line.]
[You watched them.]
[And slowly, loneliness wrapped around you.]