Chapter 8 A Promise Made Three Years Ago
#Sareta OtokoA Promise Made Three Years Ago
I tried everything I could after Taichi disappeared, but in the end, the graduation ceremony came without knowing anything about his whereabouts.
I went to the high school we had just graduated from to find out where he was going to college, but his third-year homeroom teacher told me, “We couldn’t make it public at his and his parents’ request. Actually, we want to make it public because it’s an honor for the school, but people are so strict about personal information these days. Just give up.” and I couldn’t find anything.
I went to Taichi’s house many times, but I was turned away every time, and yesterday Auntie yelled at me over the intercom, [Stop it! I’m calling the police!].
I’m not interested in a university without Taichi, and I didn’t want to go, but since I took the entrance exam with a school recommendation, I can’t just say, “I’ll stop now”.
When I applied for a recommendation to a designated university, my homeroom teacher kept telling me, "If you quit in the middle, it won’t just be your fault. We can’t choose you for this school unless you promise to graduate responsibly.” But I still said, “I will graduate responsibly.”
How did it end up like this?
It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
I wanted to be with Taichi forever, to be together after graduation, and even to get married.
These feelings should’ve been the same since middle school.
Taichi was special to me.
But before I knew it, I had despised and neglected such important feelings.
I neglected my own feelings.
In middle school, I only had eyes for Taichi.
I thought of Taichi every day.
But I got carried away by the atmosphere around me and ended up betraying him, thinking, “It’s okay as long as I don’t get found out”.
I betrayed not only Taichi but also my own feelings.
If I could, I wish I could go back to middle school and do it all over again, when I fell in love with my whole heart….
It was the second semester of the third year of junior high school.
I was angry with Taichi.
I wanted to go to the same high school, but Taichi wasn’t taking his entrance exam studies seriously, and I was afraid that if things continued like this, we would end up going to different high schools.
That’s why I was so angry with Taichi.
I was so angry that I cried.
“Why aren’t you studying?! At this rate, you’ll fail high school!!!”
“…un.”
“Taichi-kun, don’t you want to go to the same high school as me?!”
“No… I want to go… but.”
“But what?”
“Because I knew from the beginning that I wouldn’t get into Chika-chan’s school of choice.”
“Why?! If you study hard, you should be able to get in!”
“You know my grade rank. I’m over 100 places behind Chika-chan.”
“If you study hard, you can close the gap!”
“Well, maybe a little, but….”
My first choice was a school with a high deviation score.
It’s true; even if Taichi works hard from now on in his third year, it’s still hard for him.
“Okay. I’ll lower my rank too. So you really need to get in there. Study like you’re dying. Let’s go to the same high school!”
“Eh? Seriously?”
“Yes. I don’t want to be separated from Taichi. We’ll definitely go to the same high school.”
“Okay. I don’t want to be separated from Chika-chan either. I’ll study like I’m dying.”
From that day on, Taichi’s eyes started to change, and he started to study hard.
And in the spring, both Taichi and I passed the entrance exams and were able to attend the entrance ceremony of the same high school.
After the entrance ceremony.
After taking many pictures in front of the school gates, we walked home holding hands.
I was in a very good mood, not only because we had successfully entered the same high school but also because we had been in the same class for a year.
“Being in the same class as you was worth all the hard work!”
“Yeah, I never thought I’d be in the same class as Chika-chan again, so I’m really happy.”
“Ufufu. Oh! That’s right! Stop using ‘chan’ already? Just call me Chika, okay? I’ll stop using ‘kun’ too and call you Taichi.”
“Eh? Why?”
“We’re in high school now, so it sounds childish.”
“I see. Chika?”
“What is it, Taichi?” Ufufu.
This is what they call the best of times.
Back then, we were so in love that no one could stop us.
And then I made a request to Taichi.
“Taichi, I have a request.”
“What kind of request?”
“Let us go to the same university. Let’s study hard for three years and go to the same university.”
“Eh? University too?”
“Un. It’s okay if it’s Taichi. It was hard when you took the high school entrance exam because you only had six months, but this time you have three years, so it will be fine.”
“University, huh?”
“Okay? Please! Let’s study hard so we can go to the same university.”
“Right. Okay. I’ll try my best.”
“Really?”
“I promise I’ll go to the same university as Chika.”
“Taichi! I love you!”
“I love you too.”
“We’ll always be together, right?”
“Un.”
What do you mean, ‘always be together’?
I was the one who neglected Taichi and wasted my time on a meaningless affair.
At first, I was better than him at studying, but Taichi continued to study as hard as he promised, so by the second year, he was on par with me, and by the third year, he had surpassed me.
Thinking about it with a clearer head like this, I can see that Taichi was working hard to keep his promise to me, but I didn’t even look at him, just thinking about myself.
How stupid I was to realize that only after he dumped me.
What kind of girlfriend am I?
After the entrance ceremony, I walked alone with my head down through the bustling campus filled with club invitations and welcome parties, ignoring people who called out to me and leaving the university alone.
This lively atmosphere is too much for me now.
I never thought I’d resent other people’s smiles so much.
Even though it was the entrance ceremony, I left the main gate without taking a single commemorative photo and went to the nearest bus stop, but there was a long line, and I had to wait a long time before I could get on.
Eventually, I gave up on the bus and walked alone to the train station.
Sigh.
I’ll go home and go to sleep.