The Beginning

In the quiet library, the only sound was the rustling of pages as the spring breeze swept through the open window. Soon after, the wind took the bookmark I put on the desk and dropped it on the floor. Instinctively, I reached out for the bookmark, only for my fingers to brush another’s.

“Ah…”

My voice broke through the silence. I looked up and saw my face reflected in a pair of black eyes.

“Here. You dropped this.”

Those eyes curled up as his whole face lit up with a smile. For a single moment, I found myself unable to breathe, taking in the sight of the boy before me. Seeing that I stayed unmoving, eyes glued to his face, the boy took my hand and put the bookmark on my palm.

“Be careful not to lose it, okay? The wind is still strong at this time of year.”

After saying that, the boy faced forward and went back to read his own book. I remained paralyzed on my seat, unable to take my eyes off of him.

It was the first time I fell in love.

*****

“…Mika, are you in love with someone?”

That question, posed innocently by my best friend, nearly made me choke on my juice. Coughing violently, I glared at Asami’s carefree expression in front of me. We were hanging out in the fastfood restaurant near the school, once I was done with my library committee duties.

“W-What makes you say that?”

“Well, let’s see…” Asami put a hand under her chin and scrutinized me. “You’ve been fidgeting and spacing out ever since you left the library. Did you meet someone in the library? Is he hot? Which class is he from?”

Bombarded by questions, I shrank in my seat.

“I-It’s not like…” I mumbled, too embarrassed to admit the truth.

“Don’t tell me it’s Kazuki, your fellow library committee?”

I jolted. “H-H-How did you…?!”

“Whoa…I was just kidding, though.” Asami stared blankly. “But why the sudden change of hearts? You’ve been in the same committee for almost a month, right?”

I clammed up and hung my head. It was as Asami said—today wasn’t my first meeting with the boy I fell in love with, Amamiya Kazuki. We were both first years in high school, and we were also the only new members of library committee. Due to that, the seniors often paired us together when scheduling our shifts in the library. However, I’d never spoken to him until today. We were both in different classes and I didn’t think we had any common ground…no, that was a lie.

To be honest, I’d never spoken to a boy around my age. I was terribly shy, and the fact that boys around me were the rambunctious type didn’t help at all. That was why, the moment I met a boy who was actually polite and gentle…I fell for him instantly. Even I was ashamed of my own shallowness.

“So? What are you going to do, Mika?”

Asami’s voice pulled me back to the present.

“What?” I lifted my face, puzzled by her question.

“Are you going to confess to him? You like him, right?”

My cheeks instantly blushed. “C-C-C-Confess…?! N-No way! I…I’ve never even talked to him properly…so c-confessing is definitely impossible!”

“So that’s where we’re starting, huh?” Asami sounded weirdly exhausted. “Well, why don’t you try talking to him the next time you met him in the library? Everyone’s got to start somewhere, right?”

*****

Fortunately, my next shift with Kazuki was still next week, so I had plenty of time to prepare my heart…

…was what I thought.

“Oh.”

I didn’t know who let out that sound as Kazuki and I stared at each other between the bookshelves in the library. I went to the library every day, even when I wasn’t on duty, and I’d never run into him there. So why must we ran into each other today of all day?!

“Um…Takane-san, right?” Kazuki scratched his cheek. “Sorry, did I startle you?”

I quickly shook my head, too shaken to actually speak.

“I’m glad. You’re always so quiet, like a small animal, so I’m not sure how to approach you without scaring you off…wait, you’re not scared of me, are you?” Kazuki pointed at himself.

“…n-no…I’m not.” I whispered, unable to meet his eyes.

For a moment, an awkward silence stretched between us.

Kazuki coughed. “A-Anyway, why are you here today, Takane-san? You’re not on duty, right?”

“Oh…no. I’m just here to borrow new books.”

I gathered my courage and slowly lifted my gaze until I saw Kazuki’s face. He smiled, and my heart fluttered in my chest. I quickly looked down again, desperately hiding my blushing cheeks.

“Is that so? I’m also here for the new books, actually. Senpai told me they’re coming today, and there’s a sequel for the book I really like, so I have to borrow it today no matter what!”

The sight of Kazuki pumping his fist was so cute that a small laugh slipped out of my mouth. I froze immediately, worrying that he might get offended.

“Ah, what about you, Takane-san? What kind of book do you like?”

Fortunately, Kazuki didn’t mind at all and continued talking with me.

“Me? I…I like fantasy books…like isekai, or reincarnated into a game, or becoming the villainess, and such…”

My voice tapered off as I started losing confidence. Would Kazuki think my tastes were too childish? What if he looked down on me and belittled me for liking those kind of genres? I started to regret giving him such honest answer—

“You too?! Man, I really like those genres as well!”

Kazuki suddenly grabbed my hands. I looked up, startled, and saw his eyes sparkling like he’d just seen the most precious jewels. My heartbeat sped up and I grew flustered from his overly close distance.

“U-Um…”

“What book do you like the most?! Can you share me your recommendations? I was just running out of things to read, so this works out perfectly!”

“A-Amamiya-kun!”

Just before I reached my limits, I mustered up my loudest voice and called out his name, snapping Kazuki back to his senses.

“Oh, sorry!” He quickly let go of my hand and took a step back, smiling sheepishly. “I tend to get carried away when talking about my hobby, you see. It’s a bad habit that Natsu always scolded me for, but I can’t quite break it. Anyway, do you want to sit down and talk some more? I’d love to hear your recommendation!”

I timidly nodded. “S-Sure…”

*****

By the time I realized it, we’d talked for hours in the library, just about books. The library committee member on duty, a second-year senior, had to shoo us out with a wry smile because she couldn’t clean up with us still in there.

“Man, that was so much fun!” Kazuki stretched as we stood outside the library. “I’m glad we can talk today, Takane-san. I really enjoy being with you!”

“M-Me too.” I averted my eyes, not wanting him to know how much joy his words brought me.

“I got to go home now, though. See you next week?” Kazuki offered me his fist.

I stared blankly, not knowing what he wanted me to do.

“Oh, it’s a fist bump! See, you make a fist like this, and then…”

He took my hand and curled it into a fist, then bumped our fists together. He laughed at my bewildered face.

“Takane-san, you’re way funnier than I expect! I thought you didn’t like me, because you never spoke to me when we’re on duty together, but it seems I was wrong. You’re simply one shy guy, huh?” Kazuki flashed me a grin.

“Y-Yes…thank you for today, Amamiya-kun.”

Too embarrassed to stay there any longer, I gave him a quick bow and ran away from there. Fortunately, I took a bus to school while Kazuki used bicycle, so we wouldn’t meet each other. I ran all the way to the bus stop, only allowing myself to relax when I was inside the bus heading home.

“Haa…” I let out a long sigh, sinking into my seat. “I…I’ve never felt this exhausted just talking to someone…”

I was constantly on edge while talking to Kazuki, fearing that I might give the wrong answer, or accidently exposing my crush on him. Even so…

“I…enjoyed it too.” A small smile tugged on my lips.

I remembered every little gesture Kazuki made as we talked. The way his eyes lit up when he talked about his favorite book. How he patiently listened to me, even though I was tripping over my words and spoke in such a small volume. I’d committed every book he recommended to my memory, and I intended to read every single one of them before our shift together next week. That way, we’d have a lot more to talk about.

“Is this…” I closed my eyes and let the spring breeze caressed my flushed cheeks. “…what it means to be in love?”

*****

“Oh! Hello, Takane-san! I’m looking forward to work with you today!”

“I-I’ll be in your care, Amamiya-kun…”

Kazuki greeted me excitedly as I entered the library. After doing our duty as usual, we each grabbed our book and sat behind the counter, ready to help any student or teacher in need. However, most of the visitors were already familiar with the library, so we barely did any work other than prepping for the day and cleaning up at the end of the day.

I opened my book and tried to concentrate, but my eyes kept passing over the same line without really absorbing it. I sneaked a glance at Kazuki, who was reading his book with a quiet air. It was as if he transformed into a completely different person while reading.

All of a sudden, he noticed my gaze and looked up.

“Hm? What’s wrong, Takane-san?”

“Oh! Um…no…” I felt bad for disturbing him, but I did want to talk to him again. “Uh…I’ve read the books you recommend to me last time.”

“No way! Seriously?” Kazuki sat up straight and closed his book. “Which book did you read? Do you like it?”

“A-All of them…”

“All…huh?! Seriously?!” Kazuki repeated in a daze.

“I…uh…happen to have a lot of time…”

I averted my eyes, hiding the fact that I sacrificed my sleep just to finish reading them. To be fair, the books he recommended were interesting, so it wasn’t hard for me to get hooked on them.

“You’re amazing, Takane-san! Which book do you like the most?”

My cheeks heated up from Kazuki’s innocent praise. “I-I like the sci-fi one the most, unexpectedly. It’s not a genre I often read, but the book you recommend is very good. The way the author blends real-world theory with mystery and romance is absolutely…”

When I finished talking, I realized with a start that I’d been blabbering all by myself.

“S-Sorr—”

“Amazing! That’s what I thought as well! Our tastes really do match each other, huh?” Kazuki tried to suppress his volume, but the joy in his eyes was genuine and it affected me as well. “Oh, by the way, can I call you ‘Mika-san’ instead? I’ve been thinking that our name complement each other really well, you know? ‘Mika’ and ‘Kazuki’, if you read them together, it’ll become ‘Mikazuki’ or ‘crescent moon’. If you don’t mind, you can call me ‘Kazuki’ as well!”

I gasped. “I-Is that okay?”

I’d always wanted to call him by name, but I was too shy to suggest it first. I didn’t want to hear his rejection if I was being too forward with him. But now that he gave me permission…

“K-Kazuki…kun.” I tried it out.

“Yeah, if you have any other recommendation, you can tell me, Mika-san! I’ve only read two of your books, but I like them so much! I never thought I’ll find a book buddy like you in our high school!” Kazuki laughed carefreely.

“Yes…I also…” I lowered my head, hiding my expression behind my long hair.

I also never thought I’d fall in love with you.