Chapter 1 An Unwanted Reunion

An Unwanted Reunion

She was kind and always looked after others.

Back in high school, I had the one and only girlfriend of my life.

We met in the spring of our first year—on the day of the entrance ceremony. That day, meant to celebrate new beginnings, found me arriving at school just barely on time, thanks to my easygoing nature.

I thought arriving just in time would be fine. Back then, I was so careless and reckless, but I soon regretted my naivety. In a school where I knew neither left nor right, I had no idea where my classroom was. Standing at the entrance, I panicked, completely lost.

“Are you okay?”

Seeing me in distress, the one who called out to me was none other than Shindo Kaori, the student council president of the school—and, before long, my girlfriend. She was supposed to be heading to the gymnasium ahead of everyone else.

Yet, she put aside her own responsibilities to personally escort me to my classroom. And that was how we first met.

From there, our relationship gradually deepened.

To her, I must have seemed like a carefree, overly optimistic, and reckless guy. Being older and naturally nurturing, she must have felt the need to look after me.

Before I knew it, I came to trust her—this kind, dependable girl. And that trust soon grew into something more.

But surprisingly, it was Kaori who confessed to me first.

At the time, I couldn’t understand why.

By my own admission—and everyone else’s—I was easygoing and carefree. I thought there was no way someone like Kaori could fall for someone as thoughtless as me.

It made no sense.

“Why someone like me?”

So before giving her an answer, I asked her that question.

Why would she fall for someone so unremarkable?

Why would she love someone so unreliable?

I couldn’t wrap my head around it—I just needed to hear her answer.

Kaori responded,

“Don’t belittle yourself.”

Her tone sharpened, her frustration clear.

I couldn’t understand what about my words had upset her so much. But instead of explaining what she saw in me, she scolded me instead. And that, strangely enough, made my chest tighten. In her own way, she was telling me—she saw me as a much better person than I believed myself to be.

It made me happy.

More than anything, I was happy that she, of all people, saw me that way.

Though I had dampened the mood, my answer to her confession came easily after that.

Thank you.

Let’s be together.

And so, Kaori and I became a couple. We went to amusement parks, sang karaoke, visited countless places, and wove together countless memories.

Our breakup came suddenly.

No, that’s wrong. I only thought it was sudden. From the very beginning, our relationship had a time limit—I just never noticed it. Carefree and optimistic as always, I had naively believed that my time with Kaori would last forever.

“I plan to go to a university in Tokyo.”

Kaori told me about her dream about a month after we started dating. It was a night when her parents weren’t home. As we gazed at the night sky from her room, she shared it with me.

Our hometown was more than two hours from Tokyo. To me back then, Tokyo was a distant, dazzling place.

That was when I realized that our breakup would come with her graduation.

I had spent joyful times with her.

I had shared cherished memories with her.

And then, the day of our farewell arrived.

It was the day of the graduation ceremony. I went to her house while her parents were out—she was busy packing for her move. By then, she had been so caught up in preparations that we hadn’t been able to go out together much.

But just talking to her made me happy. I enjoyed our conversations. Though, in hindsight, I probably hadn’t truly realized it at the time.

The fact that Kaori would soon disappear from my life—back then, it felt as distant as a scene from a B-grade movie, something I could watch and cry over but never really experience.

“Shota.”

“Hmm?”

“Let’s meet again someday.”

With those words, we parted ways. But I… I never imagined that those words would become our final goodbye.

From that day on, Kaori and I never met again. Due to financial reasons, I attended a local university and later found a job in our hometown. Meanwhile, she never returned.

Because when I was eighteen, and she was twenty… she married someone else.

I heard about it through a friend. When they told me, my feelings were complicated.

…But after a while, I came to terms with it.

Our relationship had ended that day. And more than anything, I had already known.

The day she confessed.

The day I made her angry for the first time.

…The day Kaori and I became a couple.

I had always been an easygoing, carefree guy.

Back then, I thought the only reason she took care of me was that she was naturally nurturing—not because of any romantic feelings.

…Why someone like me?

I wasn’t good enough for her.

Kaori was serious, kind, and caring. Someone like me… was never worthy of her.

Thinking that way made it easier to accept.

But from that day on, I began to curse my own nature.

Nearly twenty years have passed since then.

It feels like I’ve been trapped in an endless, long, long dream of regret.

Every time I wake up from that dream, a heavy, sluggish feeling overtakes me.

I don’t want to wake up. I want to sleep a little longer. I want to keep dreaming.

I’ve cursed my slothful nature and worked hard to change. But deep down, at my core, I guess I haven’t changed at all.

Pathetic. Tiresome. That’s who I am.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital.

My memories of the night before were hazy. No, even before that—no matter how much I tried to think, my mind remained blank.

I was confused.

Confused by a situation I couldn’t understand.

My vision was blurry.

My body felt heavy.

“…Iori?”

As I struggled to sit up, a voice called from the direction of the hospital room’s door. A voice that sounded familiar.

I assumed they were calling someone else, so I didn’t turn to look. But then, after a few footsteps drew near, someone suddenly threw their arms around me.

“Iori… Iori!”

The person clinging to me was sobbing loudly. All I could do was freeze in confusion.

Slowly, I turned toward them. And then… I realized.

More wrinkles now lined her face.

Her once black hair had turned brown.

…Kaori.

There was no mistake.

There was no way I could mistake her.

No doubt about it. No room for doubt.

Not a single day had passed where I had forgotten her.

I wanted to forget. I knew I should have forgotten. But like a curse, her presence had remained burned into my mind.

“Let’s meet again someday.”

After hearing those parting words and then learning of her marriage…

I had no idea what kind of face I should make upon seeing her again.

I had thought we would never meet again.

But… back then, I had dreamed of this reunion. Dreamed of the day we would smile at each other again.

There was something I had planned to say when that day came.

A simple, lighthearted greeting to mask my embarrassment. I had even practiced it to make sure I wouldn’t stumble over the words.

Finally, the moment to say those words had arrived. A chance I thought would never come again was now right in front of me.

I had to say it.

“…Iori?”

That’s what I had thought.

But then, when I realized that Kaori had just called me by someone else’s name, my mind went blank.

“…Your memory is still hazy, isn’t it?”

“…What are you talking about?”

What was she saying?

Gently, gently… Kaori wrapped her arms around my bewildered self.

“You’re Iori. Saito Iori. My precious, precious… one and only son.”

With tears in her eyes, Kaori told me this. And I… couldn’t say anything in return.

Was I still dreaming?

Was this some kind of punishment for clinging to my past?

Was that why I was being forced to relive this nightmare?

…But then, as I felt the warmth of Kaori’s embrace, I realized—this was not a dream. It was reality.