Chapter 35

〈 Chapter 35 〉 Reflection (6)

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#22

Over time, many people, especially men, had approached Miu, lingering around her. Since the middle of the day when the square was bustling with visitors, it was impossible not to be drawn to the beautiful girl sitting on the bench, seemingly waiting for someone. Miu possessed a destructive charm that made people turn to look at her even as they passed by.

However, Miu was merciless to those who approached her without her permission, especially men with impure intentions.

Except for her senior and lover, Elio Crani, she would give a cold look to anyone who showed interest in her and say,

"Get lost."

One might think her words were harsh.

But Miu truly wanted them to disappear from her sight, and she simply expressed her feelings.

Those who heard Miu's cold rebuke hurriedly backed away, but occasionally, people with peculiar tastes would continue to try to engage her in conversation with even more interest.

When Miu quietly summoned her formidable magic, even those people fled.

What pitiful men.

With a sigh, Miu buried her head in her knees again, closing her eyes and clearing her mind.

She did this to hide her uncontrollable anxiety and unease. She did not want to recall the fear that her birthday, with only four hours left, would end in a fruitless wait...

The weather grew colder. Her stomach rumbled. Staying in one place for so long made her body stiff and sore, and the occasional cold wind turned her ears and fingertips red.

Still, Miu did not move.

Not a single step.

As Elio had predicted, Miu arrived a full thirty minutes before the agreed time of 1 PM, starting her day with a smiling face.

It started like this.

1:30 PM.

Thinking he must be taking a long time to prepare, she chuckled. Her senior must be preparing in various ways to keep his promise. She could be lenient about this.

2:00 PM.

He was already an hour late, but it was fine. After all, there were still ten hours left in the day. In fact, the day her senior had promised would be the happiest was already meaningful to Miu, as every moment spent with him on such a good day was the beginning of the happiest day.

3:30 PM.

Miu sat down on the bench. She started to worry about her senior. The disappointment that was creeping in was secondary. She was hungry, but she could endure it. They were supposed to have dinner together today.

She planned to use her birthday as an excuse to ask him to feed her. Just thinking about his cute, hesitant face when she made such a request made her smile. That's how she held on.

5:00 PM.

She had held on for quite a while, but as more time passed, she felt deflated. No, no. She was genuinely worried. Could something have happened? Her senior was not the type to break a promise so easily.

Yes, something must have happened. How could she know if he had slipped and hit his head on the corner of a bookshelf while trying on clothes in the closet...

Miu thought that was the most likely scenario.

She hesitated to stand up, fearing she might miss her senior if he arrived late.

7:00 PM.

It was cold.

8:00 PM.

...Senior, when are you coming?

9:30 PM.

She hugged her knees on the bench, not wanting to think about anything.

10:00 PM.

10:30 PM.

11:00 PM.

It was now.

“...”

Her senior will come.

He will definitely come.

He wouldn't abandon her like this.

Even if he was late, there must have been a reason. Miu was worried that something serious might have happened to him.

But as two hours passed, that worry dissipated like dust.

The sky turned pitch black, and the footsteps of people passing through the square gradually decreased. Miu, left alone on the bench in front of the fountain, remained huddled for another hour.

She would be lying if she said she didn't have high hopes. Otherwise, she wouldn't have dressed up so beautifully.

She didn't have much fashion sense, so she had her roommate, who usually stayed in the dorm on weekends, help her coordinate her outfit. Her roommate gave a silent thumbs up when she saw the finished Miu.

She thought she looked quite pretty. She believed her senior would be secretly embarrassed when he saw her.

She also brought the scarf that held memories of her and her senior. At first, she held it in her hand, but as it got colder, she wrapped it around her face. It must have been around five hours later.

Yes.

It was such a long time...

Miu's mind was empty as she sat there dazed.

And perhaps thirty minutes later.

Thud, thud...

Why, I wonder.

When you know a person very well and have been around them for a long time, you naturally become aware of certain things. Footsteps were one of those things. They were a bit slow, but Miu somehow knew who it was.

So she remained silent.

Even though she knew, she pretended not to.

The footsteps that Miu's particularly developed senses picked up. They came from far away, walking, then suddenly started running. But the running was a bit irregular, and the steps seemed unnatural.

Miu heard the footsteps but did not lift her head.

She couldn't. She didn't want to.

It was really absurd.

She didn't want to see her beloved senior's face... right now.

Thud.

Finally.

When they stopped in front of her.

“...Miu.”

“...”

At that moment.

Miu felt a lump in her throat.

“...I'm really late. I'm sorry.”

“...”

She was very late.

Very.

...Extremely, extremely.

“...There was a reason.”

It must have been.

He finally arrived.

He came to keep his promise.

...Did he keep it?

“...What reason?”

Perhaps because she hadn't spoken for a while.

Or maybe the emotions she was feeling were mixed into her voice, causing it to crack.

It was a cold, broken voice.

A reason. What could it have been?

If he had hit his head on the corner of a bookshelf as she had imagined, he should have been in the temple, not the square. But her senior had arrived at the square.

It was well past 11 PM on a night with a full moon. With only an hour left of her birthday... he finally arrived.

It was hard to think of any other reason.

What could it have been?

What could have been so important that he broke his promise to make her birthday happy...

She would be lying if she said she wasn't angry.

She would be lying if she said she wasn't disappointed.

But those feelings were directed at the person she loved so much.

Therefore, no matter what the reason was, Miu thought that if her senior sincerely apologized and she looked up to see his face, all those disappointed feelings would dissipate.

Even if those feelings lingered a bit longer, there must have been something her senior couldn't control.

It couldn't have been intentional, and if it was something she could understand, it would be fine. That would be enough.

But.

Miu couldn't hear the whole thing.

“...Rubya—”

It was a short sentence.

One year.

The time she had been dating her senior was already that long.

They had known each other for almost two years.

During those two years.

She, who wanted everything from her senior, could never reach the person who was so far away.

...Today.

Today, at least.

She didn't want to hear that person's name from her senior's mouth.

She didn't even want to think about it.

It was the first word in their conversation on her birthday.

At that moment.

“Ha.”

Suddenly.

Something inside Miu snapped.

“...Stop it, now.”

For the first time that day, Miu felt a sense of anger and frustration towards her senior.

She could have understood any reason.

But, but...

This was different.

It was completely different.

Why.

Why did she have to hear that name here.

Today was supposed to be just for her and him.

But, why...

Why was that person interfering again.

No matter what she did, she could never reach that position, but she had accepted all of it and wanted to be with her senior, so she couldn't express any dissatisfaction to him.

From the beginning.

It started with her selfish desire.

Following her senior, who rejected her advances, and trying to become the one he needed, was all her doing.

She knew all of this from the start.

Even so...

Miu began to feel a surge of sorrow.

But,

The direction was a bit off.

“...It's because you look like that, that your sister doesn't like you.”

“...!”

—She really thought he was crazy.

No, Miu.

You shouldn't say such things.

Knowing all the efforts he has made. You have been the one who has seen them the most. You, more than anyone, should not belittle his efforts. No one else, not even you.

And, directly touching the wound that made him work so hard... is something you should never say.

But once the words are out, you can't take them back.

Emotions can't be controlled.

Especially when the intensity is high, once they are released, they grow uncontrollably, and you can't stop until everything inside is emptied.

The trembling in her voice gradually deepened.

I don't want to do this.

But I had no choice.

Feeling so much disgust towards herself, Miu began to spew out harsh words, filled with sorrow and anger, without even listening to the details of her senior's situation.

“Who loved a person like you? How much did I genuinely love a person like you...”

“...”

A person like her senior.

The one who truly loved that person was Miu.

Falling for that person, gradually liking everything about them, to Miu, her senior was more lovable than any other man.

To such a beloved senior.

—'A person like you.'

Apart from her own sorrow, it was something she should never say... something that would be a lifelong wound.

She was the one who confessed to her senior first.

She deeply loved him.

It wasn't that he came to her first.

The love he gave, which was overwhelming to the point of being burdensome, was entirely due to her own will and intention.

She was packaging it in a selfish way, as if she deserved proper compensation for her efforts.

But she couldn't stop.

“Even now, you don't care about someone like me, and, and, and... and that sister again? What's so special about Rubya? I, I... I... Is that sister more precious to you than me, someone you've barely spoken to in almost two years? Isn't that too much? This is really unacceptable, senior. I, today, how much...”

“...”

Suddenly.

Miu's lips twisted.

She was walking further and further into a place she couldn't return from.

“What more do I need to do? How much more do I need to love you before you'll see me properly? Right? Please, just stop. It's time to stop, isn't it? Today, at least, it shouldn't have been like this. —But why! Why! Why...! Why does she have to come up here! You said you would make today a day I would never forget, a happy day. This is the worst...! Please, just stop!”

She screamed. She shouted.

Her heart raced. Her body was covered in a hot flush, and tears fell from her buried head.

The harsh words, which kept spilling out, bombarded the invisible senior.

“If that sister was so precious to you, she would have accepted your confession, right! But she didn't! In this state, how much did she cling to you, how much did she linger...! It's clear that she's used you up...! So it's time to give up. It's clear that I'm not the one for you, just forget it, what's so precious about her. She's already forgotten about you. Just being hopelessly nostalgic and unable to forget, do you really think that's a good thing? It's time to let go and see me, right? Senior...”

If she was so precious to him.

The memories with that sister must have been the kind that can never be forgotten. Miu knew this.

But she was jealous. She couldn't bear it. It was something she could never have. How deep was the relationship between Rubya and Elio, for him to still miss her after all this time.

Because of that person.

Ultimately, that person was more precious to him than