Chapter 27 Repentance and Sweets

Repentance and Sweets

When I realized that Eriko-san knew so much, I was prepared.

I’m going to confess here.

I took a deep breath and began to speak.

“I didn’t have a big reason for cheating. I was just reckless.”

“Un.”

“I loved Taichi. I never thought of breaking up with him. But it’s true that I stopped putting him first.”

“Un.”

In my first year, I waited for Taichi every day after school until his club activities ended, but in my second year, when we were in different classes, I started to get invited to hang out with my classmates after school, and I gradually started to prioritize my friends over Taichi. At first, every time I felt sorry for Taichi, I would apologize and say, ‘I’m sorry,’ and Taichi would say, ‘It’s okay because I made you wait after club activities,’ and gradually it became a matter of course.”

“So during my second year, I kept playing with my friends and kept feeling sorry for Taichi, so I would occasionally make time to spend time with him alone. We spent Christmas together, but after New Year’s, a boy in my class asked me out, so I made an excuse to myself, saying, ‘I spent Christmas with Taichi, so it’s okay for a little while during the winter break, right?’ and I went to see him.”

“The first time I was alone with that boy, we played games in an arcade and went to karaoke, and when it was time to go home at night, he invited me to a hotel.”

“I refused at first, but he said, ‘I won’t do anything weird; let’s go to a love hotel just to learn about society,’ and I accepted the invitation on a whim.”

“When we entered the room, he started trying desperately to persuade me. When I saw that, I thought, ‘He wants to have s🬀x with me so badly,’ and I felt a sense of superiority. It was something I hadn’t felt when I was with Taichi. I was happy to be flattered. So I finally had s🬀x with him, saying, ‘Just once.’”

“After that, it didn’t end with that one time with that boy; it went on for a year. I chose that boy over Taichi’s club’s end-of-season game and even over Valentine’s Day in my second year. The boy Eriko-san saw during the summer vacation was definitely him.”

“Then, in January of this year, I broke off the relationship, saying, ‘I’m going to stop.’ I didn’t have any romantic feelings for him to begin with, and he was just someone to satisfy my sense of superiority. It was like a temporary affair until I entered the same university as Taichi. So I decided to break it off before I graduated from high school. But it was too late.”

“I always loved Taichi. But I took it for granted that Taichi would love me too. No matter how much I fooled around. Taichi was studying hard for the entrance exam for me, and I thought he would always be with me. I was so full of myself that I didn’t pay any attention to Taichi and only looked at other things.”

“After Taichi dumped me, I finally realized a lot of things. I didn’t realize anything until I was dumped. I only have regrets now. So I don’t want to have any more regrets, so I won’t do anything to bother Taichi anymore. I won’t be able to look Taichi in the eye again.”

When I finished confessing my sins, Eriko-san also finished eating her pancakes, put down her knife and fork, and wiped her mouth with a napkin.

“I understand roughly. Chika-chan is a bit tough, so you probably didn’t have many guys flirting with you, right? So when a guy is sweet to you, you’re easily swayed, right?”

“Yeah… I guess so.”

“Taichi doesn’t seem like the type to spoil you much. Also, maybe you felt inferior to Taichi.”

Inferior to Taichi?

“Well, I thought that might be the case, but it was pretty much as I imagined.”

“Yes….”

Even after hearing my story, Eriko-san didn’t get angry and still smiled as usual. She’s always been very relaxed, but today she might be drawing a line between herself and me as if she’s an outsider.

“Aren’t you angry with me?”

“Well, it’s strange for me to be angry now that Taichi is no longer angry. Oh! I’m sorry I ate first! I couldn’t resist when it was put in front of me! Here, here! Eat, Chika-chan, eat!”

“Oh, okay.”

It was the first time I didn’t find the cake as tasty as usual when I ate it in this place right after confessing my sins.

I guess you have to enjoy your happiness while eating sweets.

But I was able to speak properly.

I thought I was going to cry with guilt, but I was able to talk to the end without crying.

Maybe Eriko-san ate the pancakes deliciously in front of me on purpose to relieve my tension and guilt.

Maybe I think too much.

In the end, Eriko-san paid for everything.

We got on the same train, got off at the local station, and when I said, “Thank you for the food today,” Eriko-san said, “Don’t worry about it, Chika-chan!” and went home as relaxed as ever.

I wasn’t forgiven, but I felt a little better just by having Eriko-san listen to me.

I’ve always wanted someone to listen to me.

Since I knew Taichi’s despair firsthand.

Thanks to her, I was able to become a little more positive.

And I thought, “I can still do it on my own.”