The Mysterious Love Letter Exchange (part 2)

The handwriting was not recognizable.

There were no traces of ink or paper fiber.

It was as if the letter had been printed or photocopied elsewhere.

“What do you think?” Sato asked, handing the letter to Ryota.

“Same as the others,” he replied, scanning the message.

The letter was written with a fountain pen and was signed “Your Secret Admirer.” It was scented and had a pink tint to it.

The aura of the letter was soft and romantic, as if a teenage girl had written it. But Ryota knew this wasn’t true. He had a strong feeling that a male student had written it.

“More importantly, you went on a date with Mai!”

Jumping off his chair, he approached Ryota, grabbing him by the shoulders.

“What happened? Did you confess your love to her? Or did she confess her love to you? What did you do?”

“We went to a café.”

“And?”

“We went to the game center.”

“And? Come on!”

“We went shopping.”

“And? And?”

“Then I walked her home.”

“AND?”

“That’s all.”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah.”

“No kiss? No hugging? Nothing?”

“No.”

“No holding hands? Or even just a little pat on the back?”

“No... I guess...”

Sato stared at him, his mouth hanging open.

“I guess? You guess? You guess what?”

“There might have been some kind of contact...”

“You sound like a middle-schooler!” Sato exclaimed, laughing. “Is it your first time going out with a girl?”

“It’s my first time dating anyone, ever.”

“...”

Sato kept silent. He just looked at him, his mouth wide open.

“Are you serious?”

“...”

Ryota glared at him. His eyebrows furrowed and his cheeks puffed out.

“Sorry for being a dumb virgin.”

He turned around, facing the window. He could feel Sato’s gaze boring a hole through his back.

“What about you?”

“Huh?”

“What about you? Have you ever gone out with a girl?”

A long silence followed.

“Let’s focus on the task at hand, shall we?”

It was the first time Ryota saw Sato act so reserved. He knew Sato must have had experiences in the past.

Before the conversation even started, Hashiba had already left to find the clue left behind by the secret admirer.

Looking at the watch, it was 5:11 PM.

“It’s getting a bit late, isn’t it? I am kind of getting tired.”

Sato stretched and yawned.

“Let’s call it quits.”

Ryota nodded, getting up from his seat.

“Should we check on Hashiba?” he asked.

“Oh, it’s okay,” Sato said. “Let’s go home and get some rest.”

The two boys left the clubroom a little later than usual.

They walked down the empty halls of the school building, listening to the footsteps echoing throughout the corridor.

It was quiet, with only the sounds of their breathing and footsteps breaking the silence.

There were no signs of anyone, not even a janitor or a security guard.

They reached the end of the hall, turning left.

The hallway was narrow, and the walls were painted a dull yellow.

As they approached the end of the hall, they saw a small window that looked out onto the courtyard.

Besides being dusty and worn out, it was the only window in the hallway.

But Ryota could see the colors of the setting sun.

The sky was red and orange, and the clouds were dark and gray.

It was a beautiful scene.

They passed the window, and then they saw Hashiba.

He was standing in the middle of the courtyard, and a crowd gathered around him.

Some were girls, and some were guys.

The scene didn’t catch Ryota’s or Sato’s attention, and they continued walking.

They left the school and walked down the street.

The scene would only come back to Ryota later.

****

The next day, everything changed.

Rumors were everywhere.

Students were gossiping in the hallways, and the teachers whispering to each other in the staff room.

Ryota was in the clubroom, reading another mystery novel.

Suddenly, he heard a noise coming from the corridor.

It was a loud and excited chatter, and he knew something had happened.

He walked out of the clubroom and saw a large crowd of students gathered around a classroom.

He could see the door was open, and a female student stood in the doorway.

He could not see her face, but could tell she was crying.

The entire school was abuzz with excitement.

He walked closer, trying to listen to the conversation.

“Did you hear what happened yesterday?”

“Yeah, it was crazy.”

“I heard someone posted a video of it online.”

“Oh, I didn’t see that.”

“Apparently, a guy from another school confessed his love to Izumi, and then Hashiba tried to beat him up.”

“Oh, my god!”

“I don’t believe it. It’s not like Hashiba is the type of person to do that.”

Ryota watched the crowd, his heart racing.

He felt a chill run down his spine.

He had a bad feeling.

“Excuse me,” he said, trying to get through the crowd.

He entered the classroom and saw a group of girls gathered around a desk.

The girl in the center was crying, her face was red and wet.

She was Tanaka Izumi.

“What happened?” he asked, stepping closer.

“She got a love letter,” one girl said. “It was from the guy who confessed his love to her in the courtyard yesterday.”

“But why is she crying?”

“She wanted nothing to do with him. She said he was a jerk and didn’t care about her.”

“And? Is that all?”

“Hashiba tried to defend her, and the guy was so mad he punched him in the face. As a result, Hashiba punched him back, and a huge fight broke out.”

Another girl jumped into the conversation.

“I saw the whole thing. It was crazy! They were throwing punches, and Hashiba’s nose was bleeding. The poor guy got in trouble with the principal and had to go home.”

Ryota looked at the girls.

“What happened to Izumi?”

“Hearing that Hashiba got in trouble defending her made her feel awful...”