In celebration of 100 chapters posted, a Side Story about a real encounter.
(TLN: This is new character POV)
I’ve done it……..
I really did it.
I put my hands on my knees and repeatedly took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down.
I was out of breath, probably because I hadn’t run in a while, and my feet were so exhausted that they felt numb on the ground.
“Where are you ……?”
I looked at my watch and saw that the appointment was fast approaching.
–Today was my precious daughter’s entrance ceremony…
But I don’t think I can make it.
Two hours …… left.
I hope I can find him by then…….
I exhaled and looked at my work cell phone.
Unfortunately, there had been no word of finding him yet.
Normally, he was so mature and calm that it was hard to believe he was a small child, but we had no idea that he would run away before the surgery …….
All the staff members who were available to look for him were searching for him, but if they didn’t know when he ran away, they naturally didn’t know where he went.
There was no choice but to go to …….
I’m going to go back to the hospital to share information with everyone.
“Is that you, Ryo-kun ……?”
As I hurried to get back to the hospital, I saw Ryo-kun running away near the hospital and a boy in a brand new uniform beside him.
I hurriedly ran as fast as I could to get to him.
However, as soon as I started to hear their conversation, I naturally stopped in my tracks.
Normally, I would have to intervene immediately and take him back.
However, the boy squatting next to him could be seen interacting with Ryo-kun as if he was trying to tell him something.
I knew intuitively that I shouldn’t interfere …….
I thought intuitively, and decided to spy on them secretly from the shadows.
I could hear their conversation …… faintly.
Ryo-kun is apparently crying.
“I shouldn’t be crying……. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m sorry…….”
The boy smiled and put his hand on Ryo-kun’s head, stroking it gently to calm him down. This continued until Ryo-kun looked up and looked at the boy.
When he finally calmed down, he rubbed his eyes and made a gesture to wipe away his tears.
The boy smiled and opened his mouth, as if he had been waiting for this.
“Listen. When you’re in pain, cry. It’s okay to cry until your heart stops beating.
“Is it alright……?”
“Oh, of course.”
“But mom and dad will be angry if with me if I don’t …… behave. Still?”
“Of course it’s good. Children are only allowed to cause trouble for their parents. Give them as much trouble as they can take, and let them get angry as much as they can! Then, when you grow up, you can show them how great you’ve become.”
“Yeah ……”
“There is no need to act like an adult or be tough. There are a lot of things in this world that you don’t understand unless you express them.”
“……I see.”
“The worst thing you can do is to let it accumulate. You’ll never be able to recover from it after it’s built up.”
“That’s true……”
Ryo-kun narrowed his eyes shyly as he was stroked.
I was somewhat relieved to see how happy he seemed to be, though.
From the way they interacted with each other, it seemed that they had spent some time talking rather than just meeting.
Because Ryo, who smiled and looked fine in the hospital, and handled himself like an …… adult, looks his age.
There seems to be a strange kind of trust there.
“And if you’re a man, you have to be brave, right? It’s not very nice to keep running away from what you don’t want to happen right now.”
“Heh. That’s true.”
“Hey, you think you can handle it now?”
“Yeah. Thank you, big brother. ……. I’ll do my best. I’ll tell them.”
“Oh!”
The boy lightly pushes Ryo-kun’s back to go to his parents who had come to pick him up at the entrance.
He smiled at his anxious expression and said, “Hang in there!”
He waved his hand until he was out of sight.
“Hey, kiddo! Can I have a word with you?”
The boy was about to leave immediately, so I called out to him and he turned around and looked uncomfortable for a moment.
But as soon as he saw my face, he bowed and took out a bag from his bag and held it out in front of him.
“I borrowed this before ……. Thank you very much.”
I took it and looked inside the bag.
As soon as I saw the handkerchief inside, the scene of that time came back to me like a flashback.
“Oh, you’re the one …… from that time. I’d like to thank you for…”
“No, thank you, but I don’t need it.”
Before I could tell him that I wanted to thank him, he turned me down.
I even felt that he was trying to say that I was annoying him.
However, he seemed to have thought that he had turned me down the wrong way, and in a panic, he corrected.
“I don’t want to owe you anything.”
“No, but that wouldn’t make me feel any better.”
The boy tilted his head and made a strange face.
Doesn’t he understand what I mean?
As I was puzzled by his reaction, the boy slowly opened his mouth and turned away, as if he had come to his senses.
It was as if he didn’t see my reaction.
But he seemed to be saying that he would convey his intentions.
His back to me was lonely, and at the same time, he seemed to be in strong rejection.
“I didn’t want to be thanked. I just didn’t want to walk past him. I was just following my policy. So, I dare say – it’s just meddling. Like this.”
“Really……”
I wish I could say something clever at a time like this, but I couldn’t come up with the right words.
At times like this, I hate how bad I am at speaking…….
As an adult, I’m pathetic.
“If you have time to spend on me, please take care of that child. A child is a child, even if it has a mature personality. It’s strange for me to say this, but they’re much more immature than adults think…….”
“Well, more than you might think……” he muttered in a fading voice.
I reached out my hand to call out to him again.
However, my hand never reached his shoulder…….
He ran away from me as if he were trying to escape.
I was left standing there, stunned, with my hand outstretched helplessly.
◇◇◇
“Dad, what’s wrong? You’re just in time…….”
“I’m sorry. There was a little trouble…….”
“…………?”
“Yeah? What’s the matter with you? You look like you’re wondering.”
“No, ……, it’s just that you look kind of happy when you say you’re sorry.”
“Well, ……. You’re right.”
There is no doubt that I saw something pleasant in the morning.
When I thought about it, I couldn’t help but feel my face naturally smile.
“…… You can’t have an affair with someone, okay?”
“No, you idiot! Don’t make a bad mistake. I was just looking at a good young man and feeling cleansed.”
“Is that so?”
“And don’t you dare have an affair. Tomorrow will certainly never come…….”
“That’s true, too. I can easily imagine my mother torturing me in the future.”
My daughter speaks in a flat, intonationless voice.
I chuckled at the lack of emotion.
“But then again, if Dad praises him that much, I guess he’s …… pretty impressive.”
“Hmm, well, yes. I think there’s a lot to see, and a few things to worry about, too.”
While I was listening to my daughter’s words, I remembered the boy from earlier.
His skin was white, not very healthy looking.
And there was a faint trace of bruises …….
It seems to me that he is not in a good environment.
I wish there was something I could do to help…….
“Rin …… might not be in the same grade, but you’re in the same school, so you may want to get involved. If you do, at least say thank you to him. And if you have any problems, please let me know.”
“You’ll have to do that yourself.”
I sigh at my daughter’s cold attitude.
She used to be a much nicer smiling girl, but …… this is her attitude when the opposite s*x is involved.
“And if you don’t know what he looks like, there’s no way to find him.”
“He looks like …… Ponta-kun, the whimsical and unfaithful raccoon that Rin used to watch on TV. It’s just like him.”
“That’s a terrible thing to say to a benefactor.”
“I didn’t mean to, but ……. And Rin was rather fond of that anime, wasn’t she?”
Honors students tend to be attracted to such things.
They are a little twisted, but surprisingly vulnerable.
This is also true for Rin, who had only listened to me a while ago, but before long her face turned to me.
“I don’t know. Just…”
“Hmm?”
“… Can you please tell me the features …… for reference? It’s only to pass the time until the entrance ceremony…….”
“Of course, I wouldn’t refuse my daughter’s request.”
I had told my daughter in detail about the youth I had met today until the entrance ceremony began.
My daughter looked at me with sparkling eyes, like a child listening to a heroic story.
Hopefully, this will be the start of a change in my daughter’s dislike of men…….
◇◇◇
(TLN:Rin POV)
“Phew…….”
I take a lot of deep breaths offstage.
Strangely, I don’t get nervous once I start talking, but until then, an indescribable sense of frustration torments my feelings.
“Was it Ponta-kun? ……”
Suddenly curious about what my father had just said, I quietly peeked into the hall so as not to be seen.
Why? Why? Why indeed?
I don’t know……
Maybe it’s because I’m slightly jealous and curious about the people my dad admires so much.
So I really …… naturally …… unconsciously acted like that.
Looking around the hall through the gaps, I saw that the incoming students were being called by name one by one, and the students who were called answered cheerfully.
However, the student who was called just before me said, “…… Yes.” his voice was hard to hear and he sounded somewhat lazy.
Why can’t he at least respond properly at the entrance ceremony? ……
I was curious about the owner of the voice, so I turned my head and saw a person being elbowed by Kato-san.
Does he and Kato-san …… know each other by any chance?
But that’s not the point. The …… atmosphere is …….
“A little similar ……?”
“Ponta-kun, a whimsical and dishonest raccoon.”
Ponta-kun is a raccoon who is brash, unfriendly, and unable to be honest.
But in fact, he is kind-hearted and cares more about those around him than anyone else, and will do anything for someone in secret.
But no one notices that.
No one notices his loneliness or his feelings.
Such a sad raccoon.
“Totally! I’m out of my mind for even remembering this ……”
I slap my cheeks and change my mind.
And I muttered to myself over and over again, “There is no such thing as a different kind of man!”
No matter how kind a person seems to be, if you can see their true nature, they are the same …….
They are persistent, despicable, and frankly, I don’t want to have anything to do with them.
However, if he is the kind of person that …… my father told me about – he might be able to change my values.
I was thinking about that.
◇◇◇
“Greetings from the representatives of the new students.”
On this beautiful day, surrounded by a soft breeze, life begins to come alive, and we can feel the coming of spring, we are entering the school.
At the same time, I feel a desire to grow together with my fellow students through friendly rivalry so that I will never be ashamed of being a student of this high school.
Today, I heard a good story.
About a person who reached out to those in need.
When I heard that story, I honestly thought it was just a coincidence.
However, when I heard that it had happened more than once before, I felt ashamed of my assumption.
I was probably a little jealous of his actions, which I could not do.
I feel that his actions reminded me of something important.
Each kind act of caring for others connects people to each other and weaves relationships.
If everyone here respects others and acts accordingly, we can build better relationships…….
I would like to keep this person’s actions in mind for the rest of my school life.
Encounters are like vague smoke.
So I have no idea whether it will disappear or bear fruit, just like smoke.
But I can tell you this.
In the future events of our lives, we may not be able to see them, and we may not even notice them.
Memories of high school may be forgotten as we grow older.
However, I will cherish my current interests and memories for the rest of my life.
And with great dreams and hopes for the days to come, I will begin to take the first steps toward a new life.
–Rin Wakamiya, freshman class A representative
