The Mysterious Love Letter Exchange (part 3)

The next day, the atmosphere at school was heavy.

Ryota could feel it in the air.

There was a tense silence in the hallways and the classrooms.

The gossip was everywhere, and students were whispering about the fight.

Mai didn’t show up at the clubroom for the second straight day.

He was worried about her.

But the problems with Mai were the last thing on his mind.

Something else was bothering him.

“Something’s wrong,” he whispered to himself, sitting at the desk in the clubroom.

He tried to collect his thoughts, but he couldn’t.

He felt uneasy.

“You okay, Idiot 2?” Sato asked, leaning against his desk. A smirk was plastered on his face as if he knew something.

Ryota sighed, rubbing his temples.

“Just tired... you know...”

“...”

A long silence filled the room.

“Well, it’s a Saturday. You could’ve stayed home and slept in, right?”

“That’s true...”

“I see. So why did you come here today?”

“I was wondering if there were any updates on the case.”

“Not that I know of. But I heard Hashiba got suspended for a week. It sucks.”

“Yeah...”

Another silence followed.

“Say, Idiot 2...”

Sato was trying to get on his nerves, but Ryota didn’t have the energy to react.

He waited for an answer, but nothing came.

“This is boring,” he said, walking away from the desk.

He sat down in a chair and picked up his phone. He was about to put on a game when someone else entered the clubroom.

He looked up and saw some familiar faces walk in.

Mai, Hatsumi, and another girl walked through the door wearing their uniforms.

“It’s been a while,” Mai said, glancing around the room. “I brought some reinforcement. This is Yuki Nakamura.”

She pointed at the girl standing next to her. Yuki gave a friendly wave to everyone in the room.

“Hi! It’s nice to meet you all,” she said. “Especially you Sato.”

“Oh god just kill me already! Please!” he exclaimed, jumping up from the chair.

Ryota chuckled, shaking his head.

Yuki Nakamura looked like a typical high school student with a slender frame and long black hair. She was pretty, with brown eyes and a soft-featured face. She dyed some of her hair pink, which seemed to match the color of her nails.

“Aren’t you happy to see me, Sato?”

Yuki sat next to him, smiling as he continued to act like a weirdo.

“I am dying from happiness, literally.”

Mai walked over to the table and stood next to Ryota.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been coming lately,” she said.

He could see she looked sad.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not like we’re here to work all the time.”

“Still...”

Mai glanced around the room, trying to cheer up.

“Sato! Aren’t you missing me?” Yuki asked, nudging Sato’s shoulder.

“No, I’m not. Go away!”

“Don’t be shy, Sato. We all have exes.”

“Ex? Who’s that? I don’t know her. I don’t have an ex.”

Yuki smiled, sticking out her tongue. “Come on, Sato! Sato! Sato!”

“Ex?”

“Who’s ex?”

“Sato’s..?”

Everyone turned to look at Sato, surprised by the new information.

“Since when?”

“Why did you break up?”

“...”

Mai kept silent, watching the conversation unfold. It took her a few seconds to realize Sato had broken up with Yuki.

It even took her longer to understand that he had dated Yuki in the first place.

“Hey... I didn’t know you and Sato were together. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Yuki turned to Mai, a mischievous look on her face.

“One day, he went to buy milk from the convenience store near my house and never returned. It was a heartbreak.”

“...”

It was her way of saying he dumped her.

“...”

Sato glared at Yuki. His face was bright red, and he was biting his tongue.

Being the man he was, Sato considered their relationship and concluded it would eventually end.

It was a question of how soon.

The answer he found was: The sooner, the better! Dump her before she dumps you!

The next few minutes were spent with everyone staring at Sato. Yuki seemed to enjoy the attention, while Mai was just confused. Ryota remained quiet.

But why Sato’s ex appeared today was a mystery.

Was it a plan carried out by Mai, or was it a coincidence?

Did Mai know about Yuki and Sato’s past?

No!

Even his childhood friend Ryota didn’t know about it.

Sato was a man of many secrets.

Why did she appear today?

Was it the author’s plan all along to bring another character into the story?

Is she the new comic relief?

Will she be a supporting character who helps the main couple romantically, or will she just be an extra character that is not important to the story?

“Why is the narrator having all these thoughts in his head? And why is he talking too much?” Sato asked. “Can you shut up for a moment?”

“The last time I saw Sato, it was at my house. I asked him if he wanted to have something to eat. He refused and left. That was the end.”

“...”

Sato was listening to Yuki’s story, his mouth hanging open. He wanted to stop her, but he knew that if he did, it would just make things worse.

He just had to wait for her to finish her story.

“Oh god! Just kill me already! Please! Why didn’t you tell them how you actually asked me that question?” he said.

Tilting her head, Yuki smiled.

“Are you okay with sweets? Do you want to eat some sweets made especially by Mom and Dad?”

“You tried to rizz me on our first date. Is that a thing you say on a date?”

Hatsumi and Mai looked at Sato with confused expressions on their faces. They tried to hide their smiles, but their laughter was clear.

Ryota couldn’t help himself. He broke the silence by chuckling. He then remembered Mai saying Hatsumi and Yuki were reinforcements, so he asked her about it.

“They are going to help us with the investigation,” she said. “We’re facing a crisis.”