Chapter 2: The Visitor

Visitor

My sister and I stare at the monitor, both of us wide-eyed. What kind of nerve does she have to come all the way here?

Yuna, my dear childhood friend.

And yet, in just one day, she had become someone distant, beyond my understanding.

“Why did she come here?”

“If you don’t want to see her, Yuki, I’ll chase her away.”

“…No, I’ll meet her. There must be a reason she came all this way.”

“Alright. Then I’ll sit in on the conversation too.”

“Huh? No, it’s fine. You don’t have to involve yourself in your little brother’s love life.”

“I’m just worried. But if my presence makes it harder to talk, I’ll wait in the next room. Call me if anything happens.”

With that, my sister moved to the adjacent living room.

I responded through the intercom and unlocked the door.

When the doorbell rang, I told her the door was open, letting her come in as she always had.

As I waited in the living room, Yuna appeared, her face deathly pale.

“Good morning.”

“…Yeah, good morning.”

Her voice was faint, nothing like the usual Yuna.

Was it just my imagination, or was she more shaken than I was?

She stood there, hesitant and fidgety, avoiding my gaze.

With no other choice, I motioned for her to sit on the sofa and got straight to the point.

“So, what do you want? If it’s just a typical apology or excuse, save it. I have no interest in hearing it.”

The lingering emotions from last night had vanished, allowing me to speak with complete composure.

“…Um, well…”

Yuna faltered, caught off guard by my immediate rejection of an apology.

Her eyes darted around, searching desperately for words, but she seemed unable to find anything to say.

This conversation was going nowhere, so I decided to take the lead.

“Sigh… This is pointless. Let’s just get this over with.”

The fact is, we had transitioned from childhood friends to lovers, spending more time together than most people our age.

That’s exactly why we should cut things off cleanly, without any lingering attachments. It would be better for both of us.

After all, it was just a high school romance. In the end, when the passion cooled, that was probably all it ever was. Yuna likely wasn’t prepared to stay with me forever anyway.

So, all we had to do was go back to being old acquaintances.

“When did it start with your senpai?”

As part of the process, I needed to confirm and accept the facts.

“Two months ago. At first, it was just…”

“I don’t care about the details. It was that senpai from the drama club, right? I assume it started when you were rehearsing together for the school festival?”

I knew Yuna had been chosen as the heroine for the autumn school festival. I also knew she had been working hard for it. Even on weekends, she went to school for club activities… and I could guess that her co-star was that senior. He was handsome enough to play the lead role.

“…”

“Did you sleep with him?”

“Eh…?!”

She couldn’t immediately deny it. That alone was her answer.

Even the message she sent last night had come pretty late.

If she had really parted ways with him at the park, she should have texted much earlier.

“He must be someone special if you wanted to be with him despite being with me. I know you’re not the type to sleep with someone on a whim.”

“No, that’s not it! It’s not like that!”

“Then where were you last night? With him, right?”

“I…”

“Somewhere you can’t say out loud?”

“…”

She fell silent again. Did she not realize that her silence was an admission?

“I just wish you had waited until we broke up before getting involved with him. But I get it—you probably didn’t know how to tell me. So, I’ll say it instead.”

“No, don’t—”

Tears welled up in Yuna’s eyes as she violently shook her head.

“Rindo Yuna, let’s break up. We’re done.”

The confusion and emotions that had plagued me yesterday were gone. Now, my words came out calm and cold.

Now she could be with her senpai without any guilt.

And yet, Yuna…

“No, no, the one I love most…”

I knew what she was about to say, so I cut her off.

“Yuna, don’t say ‘I love you the most’ now. That would be an insult—to me and to yourself.”

That phrase only exposes the foolishness of someone who failed to keep the person they loved most, while also proving they were willing to betray them.

If anything, it would have been better if she had simply told me she liked someone else.

I, too, had liked someone else before I fell for Yuna.

Feelings change—it happens to everyone.

“But I really do love you the most, Yuki…”

“Sigh…”

Hearing those words, I let out a deep sigh.

Whatever remnants of affection I had left for Yuna were completely extinguished.

“I’m sorry. I won’t—”

“Yuna, it’s over.”

She probably didn’t even try to understand what I meant.

She ignored my words and let her emotions take over.

“Why? How?”

“You probably won’t understand right now. But don’t worry about me—just be with him. He suits you better.”

“No, no, don’t say that! Don’t throw me away! I’ll do anything for you—s🬀x, anything you want!”

Yuna had stopped thinking altogether. Her words, driven purely by emotion, were completely devoid of dignity.

“I’m disappointed. I didn’t want to see you like this.”

She was no longer the childhood friend I knew.

All I felt was pity.

I would never reach out to her again.

“Believe me. Please. I really love you, Yuki. I love you.”

No matter how much emotion she put into those words, they no longer reached me.

That’s why she was better off with him.

They were alike—ruled by their emotions. I was once again convinced that he was a much better match for her than someone like me, who couldn’t clash with her emotions.