Proofreader: Mowaso

“―Ah, the video’s been updated!”

Marin, as a break from her studies, opened a video site and was delighted to find that her favorite channel had recently posted a new video on the page.

She was glued to the video that has started playing.

“―Fufu, It’s really nice, isn’t it?”

After watching the 10-minute video, Marin’s cheeks relaxed with satisfaction.

Aside from the beautiful scenery, Marin especially liked the narration and background music.

“As a woman, I admire the fact that she has such a clear voice and can express scenes in words in a way that attracts viewers. The background music is also different each time, but it fits the scenery perfectly. What kind of wonderful person makes these videos?”

Marin’s cheeks relaxed again as she thought of a neat, lovely, and kind woman.

Marin, who looks like a child, has a great admiration for adult women.

That’s why she makes an effort to look like an adult on the inside somehow.

Until recently, she was admiring Kasumi Nemoto.

She wanted to be like her, something that Marin had wished for many times.

So, to be honest, when Haruki chose Kasumi, Marin felt in her heart that she had no choice.

She knew that she was no match for Kasumi.

It was because of this thought that Marin was able to hold back her painful feelings and say to Kasumi and Haruki that she wished them happiness.

But still―

“Nemoto-san wasn’t thinking about Haru-kun at all…”

The happy feeling she had just had changed completely.

When she remembered Haruki and Kasumi, she felt a tremendous crushing sensation in her chest.

“Why did I… lose to that person…? Why didn’t you choose me… Haru-kun…?”

Marin squeezed her chest with her hands and let out the feelings she had been holding inside her chest.

There is no need to stop the unstoppable flow from the eyes.

After all, no one is around at the moment.

Once you let it out, you can’t stop it anymore.

No matter how kind Marin was, she could not forgive what Kasumi was doing right now.

The most unforgivable thing of all was that she was stepping on the feelings of the person she loved.

But as a loser, there was nothing Marin could ever do.

Even if she told Haruki about Kasumi’s true feelings, he wouldn’t believe her if he liked her.

She knew that no matter how much his childhood friend, Marin, told him, Haruki would believe the person he liked more.

On the contrary, it was an act that could make him dislike her.

And yet, she was not reckless enough to tell him about Kasumi.

She also knew that it would be useless to talk to Kasumi herself.

If Marin was the kind of person who would listen to her, she wouldn’t have done such a disgusting thing in the first place.

This fact was eating away at Marin’s heart and making her suffer.

―It was at that time that the notification sounded on her phone.

“Hazakura-kun…”

When Marin saw the sender’s name, she wiped the tears from her eyes and opened the message.

‘I’ve been thinking about the weekend, is it okay if we decide on a time to meet up?’

The message was a confirmation of what they had promised for the weekend.

Marin hesitated for a moment, then replied.

‘Umm… May I, call you right now…?’

When she sent the message, it was immediately read.

However, the important message was not returned.

This made Marin uneasy and she hurriedly tried to send a cancellation message, but the message came back just in time.

『All right, I’ll call you.』

About ten seconds after the message, the screen of the phone switched to show the incoming call.