The Rejected and the Rejector

“Ahhhhhhh!” sighed Yōsuke, leaning forward on his hand. “I want a girlfriend!” he whined.

“Then why don’t you get one?” offered his friend Naoto.

“Don’t say it like it’s an easy thing to do,” snapped Yōsuke. “You’re lucky that you already have a girlfriend!”

The excited chatter of girls gathering together grabbed Yōsuke’s and Naoto’s attention. The girls in question were flocking around Kinmura Ryūji, the school’s princely idol. With clean cut chestnut brown hair and hypnotizing amber eyes, and don’t forget a slender face that should only existed in fiction, it was a no-brainer why he was worshipped by the female student body as a prince. And the soft and elegant smile that often graced his lips were known to shoot down the hearts of maidens everywhere.

On the other hand, Yōsuke had normal reddish-brown hair and plain brown eyes. He didn’t stand out nor did he blend in to the background—an average guy as average guys go. Though if there was one thing he could call his strength was his artistic ability. He's a member of the school’s Art Club and one of their most talented members.

Naoto, though, with his long black hair and cool grey eyes, was quite a hit with the ladies. However, he already has a girlfriend. Having to see Naoto reject confessions from girls only fueled Yōsuke’s envy even more, often leading him to wonder why they were friends in the first place.

“Why can’t I be popular like Kinmura Ryūji?” whined Yōsuke glumly.

“You’re popular in the Art Club, though,” pointed out Naoto.

“That’s not what I meant!” argued back Yōsuke. His loud reply seemed to have caught Ryūji’s attention and they both made eye contact. Ryūji smiled softly and gave Yōsuke a wink. Yōsuke didn’t know why, but that one action sent a chill down his spine.

“Argh! That’s it! I’m going to confess to a girl and get a girlfriend!” declared Yōsuke.

“Just don’t go getting yourself rejected again,” warned Naoto.

“Of course I won’t!” snapped Yōsuke.

It was now lunch break. On top of the school’s roof, Yōsuke stood before Shiunji Hime, one of the most prettiest girls in school and the beauty ace of the third years. Her long, dark purplish hair and sparkling amethyst eyes have captivated many schoolboys. Add in her ample bosom and sculpted hips, and it’s clear why she was the object of lust for many.

Yōsuke swallowed a gulp. His hands were sweaty, his brows were twitching, his eyes were bulging, and his heart was climbing into his throat. “Shiunji Hime-senpai, I like you, please go out with me!” declared Yōsuke, bowing his head in a perfect right-angle.

After a slight pause, this was Hime’s reply: “Yeah, no, sorry. You seem like a nice guy but not the right kind of guy for me.” She then left. Meanwhile, Yōsuke was turned to a pillar of salt right where he stood.

Aoyama Tsukiko, the madonna of *** High School. With long flowing dark blue hair and bright sapphire eyes, a small pointed nose like that of a doll, small luscious lips that didn’t need any lipstick to bring out their volume, and natural wonderfully snow-white skin, she was an unattainable flower among a field of weeds. Her developed figure was like that of the goddess Venus, which the boys of her school had no trouble comparing her to.

Today, in the courtyard, she stood before a third-year boy with spiky glossy black hair and deep, dark gray eyes. With his well-muscled figure, there was no doubt that he was an athlete. He stood taller than Tsukiko by a good margin, and the expression he wore was one of anxious confidence.

“Aoyama Tsukiko,” said the third-year, his voice was like that of a Doberman's; it was deep and had bite to it, but also a hidden softness that seemed to be reserved for those closest to him.

“Yes?” replied Tsukiko.

“My name is Kurokawa Shōri, and I am a third-year as well as captain of the kendo club!” revealed the third-year. “I have watched you all of this time….”

‘Oh no, I think I know where this is going,’ realized Tsukiko with a sigh.

“…and realized that I have fallen in love with you! I promise to always make you happy! Please go out with me!”

“Sorry, but I have to decline,” rejected Tsukiko politely. “I wish you luck in your future romantic endeavors!” she told him as she made her escape.

Kurokawa Shōri, seventeen years old, Leo, and captain of the school’s acclaimed kendo club, turned to stone right where he stood.

Tsukiko breathed a sigh of relief once she reentered the school. If there was anything she regret about her life right now, it's the fact that she has become a constant target for confessions left and right. She had received love confessions from boys ever since elementary school, but it never became a problem until she entered high school where every day she would receive anywhere from ten to twenty confessions! And she of course rejected all of them. Why would she not accept any one of them? Well, that was easy—because she knew that those boys were only after her because of her looks. She knew this because every time she asked them what was it that they liked about her, they would often list the superficial stuff: her looks, her style, her breasts.

There were moments where there were boys that didn’t use any of those as their reasoning and instead came up with excuses such as: her kindness, her sweet nature, her elegance, her maturity (both physically and mentally). But in the end, she knew what it was that they were really after. This was why she couldn’t trust any boy that confesses to her anymore.

But like every other girl out there in the world, she desired love and romance. It was just that the love and romance she was looking was nowhere to be found in this school filled with depraved, adolescent boys.

“Oh, Tsukiko!” greeted Suzuka. Midorikage Suzuka was Tsukiko’s best friend. Her curly dark green locks and sharp emerald eyes and natural lightly tanned skin, combined with her rather mature figure and stylish clothing, have made people categorize her as a gyaru, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. She’s quite mentally mature for her age and has a strong sense of responsibility that made her a very dependable friend to Tsukiko.

Suzuka noticed Tsukiko’s expression and asked, “Another confession?”

“From a third-year,” added Tsukiko.

“Oh, you go girl,” cheered Suzuka playfully.

“Please, don’t joke about that,” Tsukiko grumbled. “Geez, Suzuka, tell me, do real romantic love exist?”

“Hmm, that’s a hard one,” said Suzuka with a pondering expression.

“You can take this unseriously because you already have a boyfriend!” accused Tsukiko with a pout.

“Haha, sorry, I only meant to tease you a bit,” laughed Suzuka.

“Maybe love doesn’t exist for me at all,” lamented Tsukiko.

“Why don’t you say yes to one of those confessions?” suggested Suzuka.

“Those boys aren’t romantic at all. They only see me as a pretty doll with boobs,” asserted Tsukiko with a frown.

“Ah, boys will take just about anything that has boobs,” agreed Suzuka. “I bet if you draw a pair on a light pole, there will be boys going to confess to it on a daily basis.”

“Are we talking about elementary schoolers now?” retorted Tsukiko.

A beep went off and Suzuka quickly brought out her phone. “Ah, I have to go to practice now,” she said. “Shoot, but Mr. Kamio wants me to take some papers to the club rooms!” she remembered.

“The staff office is on the other side of school, right? It’s okay, I’ll take care of it,” offered Tsukiko.

“Are you sure, Tsukiko?” asked Suzuka.

“Of course,” Tsukiko replied with a smile.

“Thanks! You’re a life-saver!” And so, Suzuka left for her clubroom.

Tsukiko arrived at the staff office and knocked. She entered the office and received the papers from Mr. Kamio. After bowing farewell to the teacher, she made her way to the school’s club building.

"Hey, Yōsuke, are you in here?” asked Naoto, opening the door to the Art Clubroom. Inside, he saw the room was dark and turned on the lights. “Yōsuke!” he cried as soon as the lights came on. He rushed over to his friend, who was sitting slumped on a stool in front of a half-finished painting. “Are you alright?” Naoto asked his friend.

“Love…love doesn’t exist at all…,” mumbled Yōsuke ruefully with a disturbing chuckle.

Naoto looked around the room and almost let out a scream. Everywhere in the room, from the floor to the ceiling to the walls, were disturbing paintings of broken hearts in various art styles. It was like the inside of a depressed haunted house! “Yōsuke…you were really…inspired, huh?” attempted Naoto with a gulp.

“What do you think of this masterpiece?” Yōsuke asked Naoto, gesturing with his eyes to the half-finished painting.

“But this isn’t finished yet, right?” asked Naoto kindly with a smile.

“What are you talking about?” came Yōsuke with a scowl. “This is how the painting is supposed to be. It’s supposed to depict my gloom, my despair, my rotten luck with love. Just like how this painting appears to be half-finished, my heart is only half-filled with the love I have for myself. Yes, why should I strive for love? I can just love myself, right? As long as there’s love, I’ll survive! I should just love myself! I have no reason to reject myself!”

“That’s the same kind of mindset dictators have,” warned Naoto.

“Oh, just leave me be!” howled Yōsuke dramatically.

“Listen, just because you’ve been rejected 1000 times—,” began Naoto.

“It wasn’t 1000 times!” quickly corrected Yōsuke.

“—doesn’t mean that you should give up,” finished Naoto.

“Like I said, it wasn’t 1000 times!” repeated Yōsuke. “If anything, it’s more like….” He hung his head once the actual count revealed itself. “877,” he mumbled.

“Well, that’s close enough to 1000,” pointed out Naoto.

“Stop rounding up!” barked Yōsuke in protest.

“Anyway, I just wanted to know how you were doing, but it looks like you’re doing fine,” said Naoto with a relieved smile. “I’m going to my club now. See you later.”

“Get out and never come back you false friend!” said Yōsuke as Naoto exited the room. “Geez, how am I even friends with that guy?” muttered Yōsuke to himself once the door was closed. There was a knock at the door. Yōsuke rushed to the door and opened it, expecting Naoto. “I thought I told you to not come back—A paper monster!” he exclaimed.

Standing in front of him was a monstrous stack of paper. He looked it over from top to bottom and saw underneath the stack a pair of hands and a human lower body. The human in question was a girl since their lower body had on a skirt.

“Iz dish z ay coob?” came the voice from behind the stack.

“Huh?” asked Yōsuke, unable to decipher the muffled words.

“I said, is this the art club?” repeated the voice louder and clearer.

“Oh, yes,” confirmed Yōsuke.

The person holding the stack wrapped a hand around the front of the stack and used their free hand to hand a paper to Yōsuke. He took it but not without making a face at how surreal the scene he was witnessing was. The person holding the stack then attempted what looked like a bow and turned around to leave. Yōsuke saw the giant stack wobble as they left and quickly stepped out of the room. “Hey, be careful!” he called after them.

Just as he said that, the person tripped on their own feet and the entire stack fell. The person cursed as they bent down to collect the papers. Yōsuke rubbed the back his neck and decided to lend a hand. After picking a few to form a decent stack, he handed the papers over and for the first time realized who the person was: Aoyama Tsukiko. “H-Here you go,” he told her, blushing.

Tsukiko accepted his papers with a terse: “Thanks.” With a glance, she saw how he was looking at her and her mood took a turn. ‘Ah, he saw me. I already know what’s coming next.’ However, in spite of her words, Yōsuke returned to picking up papers and did nothing that resembled confessing at all. ‘Huh? That’s weird. I thought for sure…,’ thought a perplexed Tsukiko. ‘No, no, no, it’s going to happen any moment now, I know it!’

Meanwhile, in Yōsuke mind, he was still reeling from the damage he suffered this afternoon. ‘I shouldn’t get ahead of myself,’ he told himself. ‘I already know what’s going to happen.’

‘No, no, no, this is weird! It’s been five minutes now and still no confession!’ thought Tsukiko in frustration.

‘Ah, maybe I should just swear off love altogether. Maybe I’m just not meant to love in this lifetime,’ thought Yōsuke depressingly.

‘Just confess to me, already! Confess so that I can reject you!’

‘Getting rejected again would only break my already fragile heart. I should know when to stop. I don’t want to reach a point of no return.’

‘My heart can’t handle this suspense! Are you trying to play hard to get or something? Don’t get cocky, now! I’m the only one who gets to play hard to get!’

‘I know my feelings are only going to get played with again. Why are girls so cruel?’

‘This cruelty is on another level! What’s with boys and their need to take control?’

‘Controlling my heart and actions will help me in the long run.’

‘Stop running away and just confess already! We already know that you’re smitten with me! It’s my looks, isn’t it?!’

‘Maybe I should also change my appearance. A huge makeover would benefit me.’

‘This doesn’t benefit anyone at all, this act of yours! Just confess already!’

‘I should stop taking confessions easy.’

“It’s not that hard!” yelled out Tsukiko.

“Sorry?” came Yōsuke in surprise to her outburst.

Tsukiko couldn’t believe what she did and her face was doused in the flames of embarrassment. She said nothing and just returned to picking up the papers. At one moment, she felt her hands touch Yōsuke’s. Yōsuke was really nonchalant about it with a straight face and handed her the papers as if nothing happened at all. Conversely, that interaction affected Tsukiko greatly. The way he looked unbothered by it with those cool eyes made her heart skip a beat. She placed her hands over her heart and muttered to himself, “What was that just now?”

Their hands came into contact again when Yōsuke handed over the last of the papers and Tsukiko felt her body temperature rise and reflexively let go. “Whoa, careful!” warned Yōsuke, leaning forward to catch the falling papers. “Are you okay?” he asked her with a tilt of his head.

“O-O-O-Of course I am!” she replied, her eyes now a pair of swirls. She snatched the papers from Yōsuke and ran away. “Idiot!!!” she yelled as she ran.

‘She might be cute, but she’s got a few screws loose, doesn’t she? You know, I think I’m glad I didn’t confess to her.’

For the remainder of the day, something was wrong with Tsukiko. In all of her classes, her mind was constantly drifitng somewhere else. On the train home, this behavior almost caused her to miss her stop. During dinner, she didn’t eat a single bite (her little brother took the chance to steal her Hamburg Steak). When she was brushing her teeth, she absentmindedly used hand soap instead of toothpaste—it didn’t occur to her until the soap touched her tongue and made her almost hurl everything out. The entire time all of this was occuring, her mind was occupied by unfamiliar feelings. The entire time this was occuring, her face was constantly contorted in a strange expression: half-closed eyes, half-opened lips, and flushed cheeks. Her breathing was audible and shallow, her heart was constantly pounding away, and her head was lighter than a feather.

That night, Tsukiko couldn’t sleep at all. Each time she closed her eyes, she saw flashes of Yōsuke’s face. She grabbed her pillow from under her head and covered her face as she screamed into it. The unbearableness of it all was eating away at her sanity! She got up and grabbed her phone. A few seconds later, Suzuka answered on the other end.

“Suzuka!” yelled Tsukiko.

“Ah, that’s too loud! I can hear you just fine!” angrily snapped Suzuka. She was already peeved about being woken up in the middle of the night.

“Suzuka, I need your help,” begged Tsukiko like a whiny kid. She explained to her friend what was going on, beginning with her meeting with Yōsuke.

“That sounds like you’re in love, doesn’t it?” concluded Suzuka once Tsukiko was done with her explanation.

“Hah?! What nonsense are you going on about?” objected Tsukiko.

“Then are you on your ****?” came Suzuka.

“I would know if I was!” quickly snapped back Tsukiko. On the other end, Suzuka was laughing. Tsukiko did not enjoy that joke at all. But her friend’s suggestion gave rise to another theory. “Maybe I have a fever!” said Tsukiko.

“A fever?” repeated Suzuka.

Tsukiko took out a thermometer and put her theory to the test. “It’s 37.1°C,” revealed Tsukiko sadly.

“Then it’s that, isn’t it?” said Suzuka. “Eek! My little Tsukiko is finally experiencing her first love!”

“It’s not love!” objected Tsukiko again.

“Okay then, let me diagnose it for you,” offered Suzuka. “Were you lost in thought the entire time?”

“Yes,” answered Tsukiko honestly.

“Was your heart pounding and your breathing shallow?”

“Yes.”

“You couldn’t sleep at all without thinking about that person?”

“Yes.”

“Well then, according to my findings, you’re in love.”

“Impossible!” rejected Tsukiko.

“Okay, let’s try something else. Close your eyes.”

Tsukiko did as Suzuka told her.

“Clear your mind of all thoughts. Take deep breaths. Are you good?”

“Yes.”

“Now, when I say the word ‘love’ what do you see?”

Yōsuke’s face flashed in Tsukiko’s mind.

“Did you see a face?” asked Suzuka.

“N-N-No!” stuttered Tsukiko. “I did not see his face at all!”

“Ah, so you did,” concluded Suzuka. “That’s love.”

“No! I need a second opinion!” declared Tsukiko. She opened the internet on her phone and put in her symptoms into the search engine. All of the answers were the same: love. “The internet is my enemy,” she muttered defeatedly.

“Just admit it,” Suzuka told her amiably.

“Hey, Suzuka, did the same thing happened to you when you fell in love?” asked Tsukiko.

“Not really,” Suzuka answered honestly. “I mean, some of the symptoms were similar, though not to the same extent. And also, I think people fall in love in different ways, so I don’t think that there’s a universal way to fall in love. But many people experience some of the same feelings, so there might be some common threads that all people falling in love go through.”

“I see,” said Tsukiko in a whisper.

“Besides, isn’t this what you’ve been waiting for? Romantic love, that is.”

“I….” Tsukiko’s expression softened and she smiled. “I guess so.”

“Listen, Tsukiko, I’ll support you all the way,” promised Suzuka.

“Thanks, best friend.”

The next day, Tsukiko decided to tackle it head on. She swung open the door to Yōsuke’s classroom, surprising everyone inside. With her hands clenched next to her sides, she marched up to Yōsuke.

The entire class erupted in whispers: “Isn’t that Aoyama Tsukiko?”; “What is the school’s madonna doing here?”; “Is she walking over to Akada-kun?”; “What business does she have with Akada-kun?”

“You!” called out Tsukiko, pointing at Yōsuke. “Come to the roof after school! I have some business with you!” She then turned back around and left.

Once she was gone, the entire class exclaimed in unison: “A challenge?!”

Yōsuke was plagued with a mixture of negative feelings: anxiety, fear, bewilderment, self-pity, cowardice, and depression. He didn’t know why the school’s madonna would challenge him to a fight—he wasn’t even aware that he had apparently offended her in some way! Could this be his final judgement after getting rejected all of those times? Was this the god of love’s way of saying that he was a man incapable of love so he didn’t even deserve to live?!

“Was that Aoyama Tsukiko just now?” asked Naoto, entering the classroom for the very first time today.

“Naoto!” cried Yōsuke with tears in his eyes.

“Whoa, Yōsuke, what’s wrong?”

“I’ve been challenged to a fight by Aoyama Tsukiko!” Yōsuke told his friend.

“Okay, what’s really going on?” came Naoto, bewildered by what he had just heard.

“Could this be God’s way of saying that I don’t deserve to be in love at all?” said Yōsuke glumly. “Maybe I’ve been too overconfident and took it too far.”

“Tell me, what does any of that have to do with Aoyama Tsukiko challenging you to a fight?”

“It’s divine punishment for a worthless loser like me!” Yōsuke told him nonsensically. “A loser like me who has zero chance with women should just die! That’s the message God has relayed to me!”

“Well, that aside, are you going to meet her after school?” asked Naoto.

“I don’t think I have a choice,” Yosuke told him.

“Although I’d like to say that you’re acting a little paranoid from being rejected countless times, I’ll still wish you good luck.”

“Thank you, best friend!”

After school, Yōsuke followed Tsukiko’s instructions and went up to the roof. When he arrived, he didn’t see her anywhere. The door to the roof suddenly swung shut. Yōsuke turned around and saw Tsukiko standing in front of the door with a very scary expression on her face. She slowly walked up to him with her hands clenched next to her sides.

‘She’s going to kill me! She’s going to kill me! She’s going to kill me!’ thought Yōsuke frantically.

‘I will confess to him! I will confess to him! I will confess to him!’ thought Tsukiko wildly.

Yōsuke: ‘I’m dead! I’m dead! I’m dead!’

Tsukiko: ‘I’m ready! I’m ready! I’m ready!’

Yōsuke: ‘Scary! Scary! Scary!’

Tsukiko: ‘Love you! Love you! Love you!’

Yōsuke: ‘Oh, God, Buddha, Venus, please have mercy on me!’

Tsukiko: ‘Oh God, Buddha, Venus, please help me get my feelings across to him!’

Yōsuke: ‘Help! Help! Help!’

Tsukiko: ‘Love! Love! Love!’

Tsukiko stopped right in front of Yōsuke, making the latter flinch with a yelp. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her quickly beating heart calmed down and the tremors she felt in her legs and arms stopped. “I know we’ve never met before and we know nothing about each other, but since our first meeting yesterday, I became strange. I find myself constantly lost in thought, wearing a stupid expression on my face, and causing concern to those around me. And the reason for all of that was you. You were always on my mind!”

Yōsuke was confused by this confession and didn’t know where it was going.

“I asked my friend about this and she told me that it was…. Argh! Enough with this pretense! Basically, what I’m saying, is….” With another deep breath, she steeled her nerves and let it all out. “I love you! Please, go out with me!”

Those words struck Yōsuke as strange and he wasn’t sure that he heard it right. ‘Did I mishear what she said?’ he asked himself. “Um, sorry, what was that again? I’m just, well, shocked.”

“Don’t make me say it again,” muttered Tsukiko bashfully. Her face was redder than a tomato. “I said I love you,” she repeated.

‘I didn’t mishear it at all!’ Yōsuke had always done the confessing that it felt strange for him to be on the receiving end this time. “Um, but we don’t know each other,” he told her.

“I’m Aoyama Tsukiko,” quickly answered Tsukiko.

“Actually, I already know who you are,” Yōsuke told her with a small laugh.

“What’s your name?” Tsukiko asked him.

“Yōsuke. Akada Yōsuke.”

“There, we now know each other’s name,” said Tsukiko with a smug triumphant smile.

‘No, this is strange,’ Yōsuke told himself rationally. ‘There’s no way that a girl like Aoyama Tsukiko would confess to someone like me. Ah, maybe this is a prank! Maybe I’m being pranked for all of my failures to confess to a girl! Well, two can play that game! Get ready to feel the pain of being rejected! I’m going to put 10 years worth of rejections into it!’ Yōsuke couldn’t help but smile darkly at his own nefarious plan. “So, what made you fall in love with me anyway?” he asked her politely, wearing a more gentle smile to mask his true intentions.

“Yesterday, when you helped me, I got the feeling that you were different,” she told him.

“Different?” pressed Yōsuke.

“Yeah, different from other guys.” Tsukiko stopped it at that. She couldn’t possibly tell him that he was different because he didn’t view her as an object of lust and shamelessly confessed to her then and there like all of the guys before him. It was too embarrassing! If he took it the wrong way, he might think that she was bragging about having guys come on to her; or even worse: that she was a sadist who enjoyed toying with male feelings!

‘Different than other guys…,’ echoed Tsukiko’s words in Yōsuke’s mind. Those words made his heart skip a beat. He cursed his weak self and reminded himself of his plan for revenge. He cleared his throat and fixed his gaze on Tsukiko. His eye contact made the latter gasp and blush deeply. “My answer….” With the same smile from before, Yōsuke revealed his answer to her: “Yes.”

‘Ah, I’ve done it now,’ he told himself in defeat. Despite what he said about wanting revenge for all of the heartbreaks he had suffered through the years, he just couldn’t bring himself to do the same to Tsukiko. ‘I’m such an idiot,’ he cursed with a smile.

Tsukiko couldn’t believe it. The answer that she was hoping for actually arrived! ‘Is this…my chance at a real romantic love?!’ she wondered. “I-I-I-I’m inexperienced with this kind of thing, b-but I h-h-hope we can work through it together!”

“Me, too,” agreed Yōsuke.

‘I finally got a boyfriend!’ squealed Tsukiko. She could barely contain her excitement! Her body was trembling and her lips were fighting the urge to being pulled into a smile. “W-Well then, that’s all I wanted to say! We shall begin our relationship tomorrow!” she told him with awkward confidence. She then quickly scurried off the roof.

“I got a girlfriend! Hell yeah!” Yōsuke yelled into the sky once he was alone. He whooped and threw his fists into the air while jumping around like a little kid who had just won their very first soccer game. ‘And she’s the schools’ madonna!’ he added with a squeal. ‘Okay, time to turn on boyfriend mode! This is my very first girlfriend and I can’t make her my last!’ he told himself with a confident smile.

“Y-You what?!” exclaimed Naoto the next day after Yōsuke told him everything.

“It’s the truth!” added Yōsuke with a serious nod.

“I can’t believe it!” said Naoto, slumping back onto his chair. “Is the world coming to an end?”

“How rude!” objected Yōsuke.

“But, Yōsuke, you have a girlfriend now! And what’s more, she’s the one who confessed to you!” recounted Naoto. “Tell me, doesn’t that sound like the beginning of the Apocalypse?!”

“Dude, I know you’re just joking, but there is such a thing as going too far. I have feelings, too, you know? You jerkass.”

“So? Are you meeting her after school today?” asked Naoto.

“Of course!”

“Well, what are you going to do then?”

“Um…we haven’t really gotten that far yet.”

“This is what’s wrong with people new to romance,” said Naoto with a playful shake of his head.

Meanwhile, Tsukiko had also just explained everything to Suzuka. The latter gave her a congratulatory slap on the back. “Nice going,” congratulated Suzuka. “But to think that you would be the one confessing.”

“I know,” agreed Tsukiko. “I’ve been on the receiving end for as long as I could remember. It felt weird being on the other side.”

“But at least you’ve managed to get it off your chest,” pointed out her friend.

“Ahhhh, I was scared!” admitted Tsukiko honestly with a heavy sigh.

“Good girl, good girl,” praised Suzuka, patting Tsukiko on the head. “So, what are you going to do now? Are you meeting him after school?”

“Of course!” confirmed Tsukiko with a haughty smile.

“Where are you going to go? Did you make plans?”

“Well…. Plans?” came Tsukiko with a blank expression.

Suzuka sighed. “This is what’s wrong with people new to romance,” she said with a pitying smile.

School ended and Yōsuke heard Tsukiko calling him by the entrance. “So…,” she said with her eyes trailing to the left.

“So…,” echoed Yōsuke, his eyes trailing to the right. “Well, this is more nerve-wracking than I thought it was going to be.”

“I agree!” quickly agreed Tsukiko.

“How about we start with something small first, since we’re both new to this stuff?” suggested Yōsuke.

“Sure,” agreed Tsukiko. “Want to start off by walking home together?”

“Sounds like a plan.”