Volume 3 - Prologue

I am currently experiencing a second youth. Chasing after a love unfulfilled, unable to give up. I was given a second chance to redo my youth. Breathing in the faint remaining heat from the fragrant olive, I put my right hand in my cardigan. I carried a small piece of candy in front of my face, quietly inspecting it. It was strawberry-flavored candy wrapped in white plastic. A long time ago, even before I traveled back in time, my mother told me about this.

—Love tastes like strawberry candy.

It may be as sweet as strawberry, but it definitely isn’t as soft and easy to chew as one. And at the same time, it takes far longer to get the taste of love out of your mouth. It’s true, my love has been lasting for more than ten years now. However, I have yet to fully taste it. I’m scared of removing the plastic and putting the candy into my mouth. What if it isn’t actually sweet at all? It might be harder than I thought.

—What if it vanished the moment I put it into my mouth?

That’s why I keep it close to me, in my own palm. Because I’m a coward. But, I’m tired of it. I want to taste this strawberry-flavored candy. I want to put it in my mouth, and enjoy it. This time, I’ll be together with him. For that very reason, I’ve traveled back in time.

And once that moment comes, I’ll remove the wrapper of this candy and taste it. I’m sure it’ll be really sweet. But until then, I’ll keep it like this. While looking up at the cloudy sky, I put the candy back into my pocket.