Even Though I Loved You First

ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴇʟᴘᴇᴅ ᴍᴇ ꜱᴏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ…

ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜ ʏᴏᴜ ꜱᴛᴀʏᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʟɪꜱᴛᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴀʟʟ ɪ ʜᴀᴅ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴀʏ…

ɪ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ᴋᴇᴘᴛ ʀᴜɴɴɪɴɢ ᴀᴡᴀʏ.

ɪ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴘʀᴏʙᴀʙʟʏ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ꜱᴄᴀʀᴇᴅ… ꜱᴏ ꜱᴄᴀʀᴇᴅ ɪ ᴛʀɪᴇᴅ ᴅᴇɴʏɪɴɢ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɢʀᴏᴡɪɴɢ ꜰᴇᴇʟɪɴɢꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴍɪɴᴇ…

ʏᴇꜱ, ɪ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɴᴏ ᴇxᴄᴜꜱᴇ… ɪ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ꜱᴏ ꜱᴄᴀʀᴇᴅ ᴏꜰ—

—ꜰᴀʟʟɪɴɢ ɪɴ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ.

➹

When he was young, Touya Ichinose was nothing less than a handsome young man. He was kind to everyone; he reached out his hand to everyone. Not only was he clever, but he was also good at sports.

Yes, Touya Ichinose was what you called a prodigy.

Back then, Touya and his brother Tetsuya, were the center of attention wherever they went. To put it mildly, they had the spotlight.

However, the two people never acted arrogant, a quality that made people attracted to them.

As popular as they were, both of them never had involvement in romantic relationships.

At least… that was what the others thought.

All the confessions they rejected ended in such a way because both of them were interested in someone else.

Even though Tetsuya’s love was reciprocated—

 —Touya’s ended in such heartbreak.

➹

Momoka Kisaragi

That was the name of the girl that pulled Touya’s heartstrings, making him smile naturally whenever he saw her dazzling appearance, at least for him that is.

She was outgoing, she wasn’t a proclaimed ‘prettiest girl in school’ nor she was a goddess, as some stories portray.

She was just a normal girl with a slender build, and at the time, beautiful long chestnut hair.

“Nice to meet you, Touya!”

Though vaguely, Touya can somehow recall the smile she showed him as she introduced herself to him.

Both of them ended up joining the same poetry club. That was the first time they ever made contact.

➹

It wouldn’t be surprising to say. Rather, it was bound to happen. But before long, as they got closer, Touya fell in love with Momoka.

He was smitten by her smile, her personality, and her way of seeing things. The stereotypical ‘there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel’ in this case.

In essence, it proved that Momoka’s innocence was what made Touya’s heart flutter the most.

Little by little, he worked hard, and when he finally gathered the courage to confess—

“I-I’m sorry… I have someone else I like… and I would appreciate it if we can stay friends.”

—he was completely rejected.

That night, it was the first time Touya cried himself to sleep.

➹

Not long after his rejection, she started dating the guy she said she was interested in.

He was able to let everything out the same day he got rejected. But when the news got to him, it seemed it was time for some more tears to flow out.

As many clichés will have it, rain poured down since noon and as to not raise any concerns, he just left school walking with his umbrella in hand.

But when he thought no one would see him, he headed towards a small park and sat on a swing as he folded his umbrella, letting the continuous rain soak him wet.

He ‘thought’ because—

“You are Touya Ichinose, from the next class, right?”

“You were… Kaho Kirigaya… right?”

—because he was seen by none other than a beautiful girl with long black hair and a pair of beautiful eyes. 

She; who had a mature charm, was none other than Kaho Kirigaya, Touya’s future wife.

Well, not like he would know at the time.

➹

Kaho Kirigaya was nothing less than a natural beauty, she also had a mature charm that could enable a man’s desire to be doted on.

Before the gears twisted in their favor, both of them had previous contact. They only knew each other due to both harboring the first two places on their school ranking.

At the time, she was confused as to why someone who looked so bright every day, who looked so happy every day, would be right in a park that was near her house, sitting on a bench soaking wet.

Seeing Touya in such a state, something sparked inside Kaho, which could be her motherly instincts or her uncommon kindness.

She was somehow able to break through Touya’s walls, which guarded his heart, and Touya was finally able to open up to her.

➹

Needless to say, that day both of them started to grow closer to each other. Of course, there was a sense of distance. At first, it was nothing more than a light greeting when they saw each other, along with some random chit-chat if they ever crossed paths during their free time.

But as time went on, both of them spent more time together, they started hanging out with each other during school, they even went out during holidays, and visited each other’s house occasionally.

Their friend group also expanded, leading to a circle of friends where they could drop the facades they had, where they could be themselves.

Touya Ichinose

Kaho Kirigaya

Haru Shirayuki

Sota Ishisaki

Akihito Izumi

A group with five such individuals stuck together during not only high school but also college and even their work environments.

Though that’s a matter for another time.

➹

Soon enough, Touya was finally able to fall in love again. However…

“No… no no no…”

He was scared. He was just too scared to fall in love again. So he wanted to suppress these feelings, thinking that they would eventually fade away.

But luckily, his brother snapped him out of his fear, before he regretted it.

“JUST FOR HOW LONG ARE YOU PLANNING ON PLAYING THE VICTIM?! WHAT DOES IT MATTER?!”

For Touya, Tetsuya’s angry expression was a first, but he was lucky to have such a caring older brother.

“SO WHAT IF YOUR FIRST LOVE WENT UNFULFILLED?! DOES THAT EVEN DEFINE YOUR LUCK IN ROMANCE IN GENERAL?!”

“I know you’re hurt. But aren’t you going to take the risk? Believe in yourself!”

“Believe in her!” That phrase was enough to make Touya freeze, all because he knew his brother was right. He has been acting as a victim all this time and it was only laughable.

And he decided to believe not in him—

—but in her.

The ending of the story?

Well, that’s something that won’t be said, but shown instead.

A Confession.

A loving relationship.

Engagement.

Marriage.

They were even blessed with three beautiful children.

Needless to say, this can certainly be called their ‘True Ending’.

And so, this story ended in something that was bound to be told, a generation later.

➹

Kei’s POV~

“…and that’s how I met your mother.” (Touya)

“…” (Kei)

The surroundings dropped silent. My father stopped talking, probably sensing the fact that I was trying to analyze everything right now.

‘It’s okay to be hesitant or scared at first. However, if you dwell on it too much, or are too scared to move on, you might regret it.’

That was the general message that my father tried to say to me.

“Take your time thinking about it, I just talked about the experience.” (Touya)

“N-now now… there… take your time…” (Arisa)

The memory of the day when I burst into tears in front of Arisa, also the day Shizuka told me about her boyfriend, came to mind.

“So… Kei Ichinose… will you let me… Arisa Kamihate, be your miracle?” (Arisa)

The phone call that started our little adventures that were my new ‘every day’.

“‘Totally-unreliable senior’!? Isn’t that a bit too cruel!?” (Arisa)

“No… it was on point.” (Kei)

“Hey!?” (Arisa)

The natural banter that made us feel close and comfortable.

So that’s how it was…

Other memories popped out one by one; places we visited, people we met, in less than half a year, Arisa has shown many things I never saw before.

Arisa has been there for me, she even saw me at my lowest, yet she didn’t mind.

Before I knew it, I thought I would be okay if Arisa was beside me.

The answer was clear.

No…

It was always clear… I was just trying to run away, play the victim and… try not to get hurt.

But now, I want to be honest with myself.

There are so many people supporting me, they don’t care if I fall, and they will help me get back up.

To this evidence, my resolution was clear…

I’m—

“I really did fall for her, huh?” (Kei)

—clearly in love with Arisa.

➹

Third Person POV~

Kei Ichinose, a student that got heartbroken in the first semester of his freshman year, came to terms with his feelings.

For an outsider, due to it being mutual, you could say it was only a matter of confessing, right?

Correction.

Yes, it was mutual.

But contrary to Arisa’s truth that has been ingrained in the world, Kei’s has a slight difference.

There was no lying that it was meant to happen. He never confessed, and due to this, he was bound to have regrets.

That’s why, that which has been immortalized in Kei Ichinose’s life, was none other than the statement.

Kei Ichinose Fell In Love With Arisa Kamihate While Harboring Lingering Regrets.

Before anything, something must be mended—

—and that was—

—their bond that was bound to be broken.

Story Arc 3: Kei & Realization [END] 

Volume 1 「End」