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Chapter 311: The Reason I Like You
🕑 Added 2025-04-26 10:01:02 +0000 UTCFor anyone else, finding Ijichi Nijika in the sea of people that was Tokyo would've been nearly impossible.
But not for Shouji Minami.
He had simulated Gotoh Hitori, Yamada Ryo—and dozens more.
Through all those massive simulations, Minami had come to know Ijichi Nijika like the back of his hand.
Whenever the blonde-haired girl felt upset or needed to cool down,
there was one place she always went.
A small, quiet park nestled near Shimokitazawa.
Following the memory from his simulations, Minami took a step forward.
He veered away from the bustling streets of Shimokitazawa's shopping district.
Relying on his memory, he eventually found that small park nestled in a quiet residential area.
It looked like just an ordinary neighborhood park.
Most of the equipment was coated in a dark red rust.
The barriers meant to block vehicles had long since lost their protective coating, exposing corroded metal underneath.
The slide, jungle gym, monkey bars, all scattered across the park like aging relics.
Amid all this old, weatherworn equipment, a blonde-haired girl with a deep red bow tied at her chest sat on the wooden swing.
Minami spotted her and felt a slight weight lift from his chest.
He stepped forward and made his way to her.
Creak—
The metallic sound of the swing's chains groaning under pressure.
Startled by the sound,
Ijichi Nijika looked up from her thoughts.
And saw Minami sitting in the swing beside her.
"Minami-kun...?"
His sudden appearance genuinely surprised her.
This park was a place even her sister barely knew about.
She only came here when she was in a bad mood, or when she needed to be alone and clear her head.
How had Minami found it?
She blinked in surprise—
Then heard his voice:
"Nijika, before anything else, there's something I have to tell you. About your sister and me—"
"It's okay. I figured it was just a misunderstanding."
Nijika interrupted him before he could finish.
She wasn't an idiot.
As someone who knew both Minami and her sister Seika very well—
She understood that what she saw earlier couldn't be what it looked like.
That moment of panic, when she ran—
Was just a brain freeze from the shock.
Now that she'd had time to breathe—
It was clear what she'd witnessed had probably been nothing more than a giant misunderstanding.
Hearing her say that made Minami relax slightly.
It looked like all his worrying had been for nothing.
Nijika really was smart.
He settled more comfortably into the swing, then glanced around the park.
"Come to think of it, Nijika, how did you even find a place like this?"
Minami was genuinely curious.
If not for the memory from his simulations, finding this park would've been next to impossible.
It was hidden away deep inside a maze of narrow residential alleys.
And it wasn't exactly close to STARRY, either.
You had to cross two main roads and walk down several winding paths just to get here.
Logically speaking, a girl like Nijika, who mostly stuck to a home–school–STARRY routine should never have known about this park.
"..."
Nijika's bright red eyes swept toward Minami.
Then she looked around at their surroundings.
And finally, she offered him a quiet explanation:
"My mom used to bring me here sometimes."
Her voice turned a little distant, lost in memory.
"Back then, my sister was totally obsessed with rock performances. She'd stay out all night for days at a time. So Mom would go out to the venues to find her... That's when the two of us stumbled across this place."
It was a small, quiet secret she shared with her mother.
"...I'm sorry."
Minami apologized, feeling the weight of her words.
Only now did he truly understand why Nijika often came here.
This park held memories of time she spent with her mom.
And Nijika's mother had passed away.
Over ten years ago.
"You don't need to apologize, Minami-kun. If anything, I should be the one saying sorry."
Nijika held onto the swing's chains, her pale hands stark against the rusty red metal.
Only making her look even more beautiful in contrast.
Her voice carried quiet regret:
"I should've known better. I should've realized from the start that you and my sister weren't like that... and yet I still threw a tantrum and ran out like that."
"It's okay."
Minami waved his hand dismissively.
He really didn't care about something so trivial.
And knowing Ijichi Seika, she probably wouldn't care either.
Honestly, it wasn't even a big deal.
Just a simple misunderstanding, that's all.
The two of them exchanged a glance, then quietly continued sitting side by side on the swings.
Silence...
A silence that lingered.
Maybe because they'd just talked about Nijika's late mother, both of them—normally chatty and expressive, now found themselves uncharacteristically quiet.
After a while, Minami realized the silence had gone on long enough.
He decided to break it:
"You'll never guess what your sister asked me earlier, Nijika."
"My sister...?"
Nijika's curiosity was piqued.
She turned her head toward him and her golden side ponytail bounced lightly with the motion.
"She figured you guys wouldn't be around today."
Minami gave her a playful wink.
"So she asked me what kind of relationship I had with you and whether or not I liked you."
"U-uh—!"
Minami's teasing, as always, was a straight shot.
A faint blush immediately colored Nijika's bright, cheerful face.
Normally, she'd be left stammering, completely speechless in a moment like this.
But maybe because of the emotional rollercoaster earlier—
Or maybe because it was just the two of them here, alone in the park—
Even though she was still a little flustered, she leaned in ever so slightly.
Taking the initiative.
"So... what did you tell her, Minami-kun?"
Huh?
That wasn't the reaction Minami expected at all.
Usually, Nijika would go silent and avoid pushing the topic any further.
But today—she was being surprisingly bold.
Minami blinked.
He knew Nijika well...
But that didn't mean he could always predict the weather of her heart.
Which, much like summer skies, could shift in an instant.
Still, he didn't hesitate. He answered honestly:
"I didn't answer her."
And really, that should've been the end of the topic.
But then, the conversation took a completely unexpected turn.
"I see..."
Nijika said softly.
Then she looked him in the eye and spoke, her words calm and deliberate:
"Honestly, no matter how you feel... I like you, Minami-kun."
Her clear, unwavering voice hung in the air.
And at the same time, In those fiery red eyes of hers burned a steady, unshakable affection.
The sudden confession caught Minami completely off guard.
Because Nijika was being unexpectedly forward today.
One second, he was just cracking a joke to break the silence—
And the next, Nijika was earnestly confessing her feelings.
She wasn't normally like this.
Minami was surprised.
But then it hit him.
Maybe this was the real Nijika.
The cheerful, golden-haired girl who was brave enough to speak her truth when it mattered most.
It reminded Minami of something from the fourth simulation,
the "happy ending" with Gotoh Hitori.
Back then, all four members of Kessoku Band had developed feelings for him.
But because of how their personalities clashed,
none of them had been able to confess.
Back then, Ijichi Nijika had been the first one to step forward and break the deadlock.
She was the first person to confess to Minami during one of the simulations.
And she was also the first person to be rejected by him.
At the time, the simulation had been focused on Gotoh Hitori's route, so Minami had chosen to turn her down, but in terms of sheer courage—
Nijika was, without question, the bravest of them all.
And now, here in real life, she was stepping into that same space again.
Facing Minami without flinching.
The blush that had earlier tinged her cheeks from shyness, had completely vanished.
She leaned in slightly, but not timidly.
Looking Minami in the eyes:
"Minami-kun, do you want to know when I started liking you?"
When she started liking him...?
That question, even Minami found himself taken aback.
It wasn't easy to answer.
Was it because he stayed up nights tutoring the Kessoku Band girls?
Because he helped them perform at the Teen Youth Music Festival?
Or... was it because she somehow retained fragments of the memories from the simulations?
There were so many possibilities.
Even Minami couldn't immediately pinpoint the moment.
Maybe sensing the hesitation in him, the blonde-haired girl didn't drag it out any longer.
She stood up from the swing, hands clasped behind her back, and looked up at the pale winter sky.
Then, she spoke softly:
"Minami-kun... do you remember something you said to me a long time ago? Back when we first met?"
A long time ago...
Back when they had just met?
That would've been... over half a year ago.
Minami frowned slightly.
He hadn't expected Nijika to have developed feelings for him that early on.
After all, they had only just gotten to know each other.
And as far as he could remember, he hadn't done anything that significant back then.
He was thinking this over—
When Nijika's clear voice answered him:
"Back then... didn't you say you were a spirit medium? That you could talk to my mom?"
The moment he heard that, Minami's eyes widened in realization.
Right.
He remembered now.
Back when he'd first arrived at STARRY, because he wanted to use the "universal recovery pill" to treat Yamada-san's father's lung illness, he had lied and claimed he was a spirit medium.
And after Yamada had left, she'd passed that story along to both Nijika and Seika.
After that, the sisters had come to him, asking about their late mother.
Minami remembered it clearly.
Not wanting to disappoint them. He had lied again, pretending he could really speak to the dead.
Thanks to just finishing a simulation at the time, he'd known everything about the Ijichi family and his lies were airtight.
Enough to convince both Nijika and her sister completely.
However—
"After that, I started thinking a lot."
Nijika turned her head, flashing a radiant smile at him.
"Like, maybe Minami-kun was lying. Maybe you just found out somehow about me, my sister, and my mom... and just didn't want to disappoint us, so you said those things."
She wasn't a fool.
And she definitely wasn't as easy to deceive as Gotoh Hitori or even Yamada Ryo.
Even right after their conversation back then, Nijika had already started to suspect something.
Maybe Minami had just wanted to protect her and her sister's feelings.
And the more time she spent with him, the more convinced she became.
That Minami had been lying all along.
After all this time, she'd never once seen any proof of his supposed "spirit medium" abilities.
"I'm sorry."
Minami apologized.
He hadn't wanted to lie but he had and apologizing for it now—
Felt only right.
What Minami hadn't expected was that the blonde-haired girl before him, after hearing his apology, simply smiled and shook her head.
"The ones who should really be apologizing... are me and my sister."
"You only said those things because we needed to hear them. It was wrong of us to put you in that position to begin with."
Her crimson eyes looked at Minami with quiet remorse.
She had always known what kind of person he was.
Minami didn't like lying.
And he especially didn't like doing things that went against his own values but for her and her sister.
He had told the one lie he probably never wanted to tell.
Her clear voice rang softly through the chilly air.
"And... it was probably right around then that I started feeling this way."
She gently slid her hand into his, their fingers intertwining.
The golden-haired girl looked up at him.
"Minami-kun... you really are a kind person."
Then, her gaze dropped.
"It was then that I already..."
She didn't finish the sentence.
But the meaning was perfectly clear.
Yes—
Ijichi Nijika didn't fall for Minami because he tutored the band tirelessly.
Nor because he got them a spot in the Teen Youth Music Festival.
It was long before that.
It was when Minami had once calmed her and her sister's restless hearts—
With a kind, carefully crafted lie.
Just that one moment—
Was more than enough.
