Chapter 6: A New Love

♧♧♧

Since my first year of university, I’d known Touno’s face. Our apartments are across from each other, so we’d sometimes leave at the same time in the morning or end up waiting at a traffic light together on our bikes.

We started talking during the winter of my first year, well before the spring of my second year when that mahjong tournament happened.

Back then, I was holed up in my room, endlessly ruminating over the past. It was just before Fukuda-kun would later pull me out of that rut.

To avoid interacting with anyone, I’d go to the coin laundry at night with my washing. That’s where I ran into Touno.

She was always there whenever I went. Unlike me, Touno had a washing machine in her apartment, but she needed to dry her practice jerseys quickly, so she used the dryers quite often.

At first, nothing really happened.

We’d sit at opposite ends of the bench—Touno listening to music through earphones, me reading a book, waiting for our laundry to finish. The coin laundry was cramped, and the heater was always on too high.

Eventually, we started nodding to each other in greeting.

“Good evening.”

The first time Touno greeted me, I tried to return the greeting but stumbled over my words, mumbled something incomprehensible, and ended up coughing. Back then, the only time I spoke was to say “Yes” when the convenience store clerk asked, “Would you like it heated?”

Little by little, we started having conversations. Mundane stuff about living alone—whether we cooked for ourselves, which appliances were handy, that sort of thing.

After chatting for a bit, we’d go back to listening to music or flipping through pages, and whoever’s laundry finished first would nod and leave the coin laundry.

The faint sound of music leaking from her earphones, the rustle of pages turning, the hum of the washing machines and dryers.

We repeated those nights.

Before I knew it, the distance between us on the bench, once at opposite ends, had shrunk to about two people’s worth of space.

“Want one?”

One night, Touno spoke up. It was a very cold night.

“A meat bun?”

“I bought it at the convenience store. Have one.”

To my embarrassment, the moment I took a bite of the meat bun, tears welled up in my eyes.

It reminded me a little of my high school days. On cold days, I’d often stop by a convenience store on the way home from school. Next to me, a girl would be eating a meat bun, looking like she was enjoying it.

Those days were gone, that warm place I could never return to.

Eating the meat bun while holding back tears was tough. Touno probably noticed, but she ate her meat bun alongside me, acting like nothing was wrong.

“I’ve never seen anyone eat so eagerly!”

She said that and laughed.

I’d come to love the time we spent together at the coin laundry. Whether we were quietly doing our own thing or chatting, both felt comfortable.

What was strange was that Touno was using the coin laundry so late at night. Unlike me, a recluse, she could’ve come at an earlier time.

The reason became clear soon enough.

One night, I ran into a group of male university students at the coin laundry. They weren’t residents of Yamame-sou or Sakura Heights—they were from a completely different university.

When they saw Touno, they started talking loudly.

“Whoa, it’s Touno Akira! She’s huge!”

“She looks even better than on TV. And it’s not just her height, either.”

“Her underwear size must be—”

While the guys were having that conversation a little ways off, Touno shrank into herself, looking embarrassed.

Touno had been competing in the Inter-High since high school and was televised. Now in university, she was a designated athlete with high expectations, and as a beautiful college volleyball player, she attracted a lot of attention. It seemed plenty of guys looked at her that way.

Touno hated it, which is why she came to the coin laundry late at night.

But within two weeks, those guys stopped showing up at the coin laundry.

“That’s thanks to you, right, Kirishima-san?”

Touno said.

“What do you mean?”

The reason the guys stopped coming was that every time they used that coin laundry, the sleeves of their shirts and the hems of their pants ended up tightly knotted.

“Only someone as sneaky as you would do something like that, Kirishima-san.”

The distance between us kept shrinking.

Touno would sit next to me, looking a bit shy. When I thought she was too close and scooted away, she’d slide over to follow me.

By the wall of the coin laundry, we ended up sitting side by side, comfortably close.

“What do you always listen to, Touno?”

“This.”

She hooked one of her earphones into my ear. It was a love song playing.

“By the way, the book I’m reading—”

“Complicated books are a bit…… They give me a headache……”

Eventually, I became friends with Fukuda-kun, started hanging out with the Yamame-sou residents, and was given a pair of high geta sandals. I thought about wearing them for Touno, who was self-conscious about her height. At the least, in front of me, she wouldn’t need to shrink herself to feel smaller.

I knew she’d feel awkward if she realized I was doing it for her, so I wore a kimono to make it seem natural. At my university, there are enough guys who dress like this that I could pass as one of them.

But Touno saw right through it.

“You’re an idiot, Kirishima-san.”

Seeing me in the kimono, Touno said that with tears in her eyes.

“But…… thank you.”

♧♧♧

“O-o-o!”

Hamanami says, drawing it out.

“You’re the one making her fall for you~ !!”

This is at the university cafeteria. Hamanami’s tray has ginger pork, rice, and miso soup. Mine just has plain udon.

“Touno-san definitely treasured the time she spent with you at the coin laundry, Kirishima-senpai.”

“Maybe so.”

“And then you sent Fukuda-san in your place and stopped going yourself?”

“That’s how it turned out.”

“Genius!”

Hamanami shouts.

“Kirishima Shirou is a genius at pissing off women!”

I had no comeback. In truth, things like this piled up, and on the night of Yoiyama, Touno’s emotions broke. Since then, she’s been crashing at friends’ places and hasn’t returned to Sakura Heights. Even after coming back from her Kyushu trip with Miyamae, nothing’s changed.

“At the very least, from the outside, it looks like you have feelings for Touno-san, Kirishima-senpai. All your actions are things you wouldn’t do if you didn’t like her.”

“Miyamae said the same thing.”

I get why you’re hesitant, Hamanami says.

“Touno-san’s, like, this super popular, adorable college volleyball player, you know?”

Hamanami shows me her phone. It’s Touno’s SNS account. The follower count is insane.

“But it’s mostly just food pics, isn’t it?”

“Sometimes Touno-san gets cut off in the frame. Look, like this.”

Apparently, every time Touno’s face gets partially visible, her followers skyrocket.

“And you should think more carefully about these food pics, Kirishima-san.”

She might be right. For a while now, most of the food Touno posts has been rice and fish.

“Don’t you ever imagine dating Touno-san?”

“I don’t know.”

I think back to last night. As usual, I was grilling fish on the private road.

“I haven’t seen Touno-san around lately. What’s up with her?”

Fukuda-kun said, sounding worried.

“If Kirishima goes to get her, it’ll be solved in no time, right?”

Miyamae said that while poking at an ayu fish, then froze, realizing her slip-up.

Fukuda-kun looked confused, like, Why Kirishima-kun?

The one who saved the moment was Daidouji-san, who was watching us with one eyebrow raised. He suddenly started talking about how to make soft-boiled eggs.

“You put the egg in boiling water, right? Then you sing ‘Whatever’ by Oasis. When the song’s done, that’s the perfect soft-boiled egg.”

“Using a kitchen timer is definitely faster!”

Miyamae retorted, and somehow the mood lightened, glossing over the awkwardness. But Fukuda-kun was still tilting his head, puzzled.

“That’s quite something……”

Hamanami makes a sour face.

“What are you gonna do?”

“Either way, I plan to talk to Touno a bit. Actually, because of me, she’s in a bit of trouble.”

One of Touno’s underclassmen from the volleyball team was waiting for me in front of Yamame-sou. Apparently, everyone in the volleyball club knows Touno’s crush is a weirdo in a kimono, so she found me easily.

“Remember the Touno Punch?”

“Yeah, the one where she knocked out that guy, Kimura, right?”

“Apparently, Kimura got a medical certificate afterward. Now it’s being discussed with the university as a violence issue involving a club member.”

“Ugh…… what a pain of a guy……”

“Touno’s still attending university, so I should be able to see her if I go.”

“Then why are you sitting here wasting time, Kirishima-san?”

“Well, you know, I wanted to tell you everything, Hamanami.”

“Is that so?”

Hamanami says, taking a bite of her ginger pork. She chews, swallows, takes a sip of water, gently sets her glass on the table, takes a deep breath, and then says loudly:

“Go to Touno-san already!!”

♧♧♧

After eating with Hamanami at the cafeteria, I rode my bike to Touno’s university. Walking around the campus, I noticed it felt brighter than mine, maybe because of the university’s vibe. I might’ve picked the wrong school.

After texting with Miyamae, I learned Touno’s lecture was canceled, so she was practicing volleyball alone in the gym.

When I got to the gym, Touno was in the wide space, practicing serves by herself.

She looked surprised when she saw me but quickly pouted and started hitting the ball over the net again.

She only stopped when I got closer.

“What is it?”

Touno’s tone was sharp.

“I was thinking it’s about time you came back.”

When I said that, Touno kept her pout but looked faintly happy. But then—

“Everyone’s missing you.”

In an instant, Touno turned away with a huff and started serving again.

The ball slammed against the floor, sounding rougher than before.

“No, I’m worried about you too.”

When I said that, Touno stopped again and turned to face me.

“You’re having trouble because of Kimura, right?”

“You don’t need to worry about it, Kirishima-san. I’ll handle it myself.”

“That’s not how it works. You punched Kimura for me in the first place. Now I want to do something for you.”

“Kirishima-san……”

“We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Friends……”

The ball slammed against the floor again. Touno turned away and resumed practicing.

It kept going like that. I’d talk, she’d stop and look at me, seem a little happy, then turn away and focus on serving. Was I the one messing this up?

After several rounds of this, Touno finally snapped, “enough~~~ !!”

“That’s not what I want to hear!!”

She said that and pushed me down.

I fell on my back, and Touno leaned over me.

“If I wanted to, I could do this!”

Pinning my hands down, she brought her face closer. Our noses were almost touching when—

Touno suddenly pulled back and turned away. Her face was bright red. She seemed embarrassed by her own actions. But the comedic moment faded quickly, and she spoke with a deeply sad expression.

“To you, Kirishima-san, am I just a gluttonous, childish girl?”

That was the image I’d forced onto Touno. Something I never would’ve done back in high school.

“Will my feelings just be brushed aside like they don’t exist?”

Touno continued.

“I’ve always liked you, Kirishima-san. On cold nights at the coin laundry, it felt like we were the only two people in the world, and I loved it. Walking back from the convenience store, just being together made my heart race.”

Loving someone isn’t just about enjoying dramatic, emotional moments like a play.

So—

“I wanted to date you, Kirishima-san. I wanted to get closer to you.”

But she never showed it because I was rejecting romance and trying to see her as a cute icon.

“Kirishima-san, I’m a girl, aren’t I? Am I not attractive?”

That wasn’t true at all.

Her sweat-dampened hair, her flushed white skin from exercise, her arms and legs extending from the short hem of her uniform—everything about her was beautiful.

I touched Touno’s cheek. Her skin was warm. Her face flushed redder, her skin growing hotter. I traced a bead of sweat from her temple with my finger.

“I…… I get looked at like that a lot. The uniform has no shoulders, and the shorts are short……”

That’s not all. Touno has a very large chest. Since her waist is toned from exercise, it’s even more pronounced. So, her popularity as a college volleyball player partly comes from that, and Touno finds it a bit uncomfortable.

“But I want you to look at me that way, Kirishima-san. I want you to see me.”

Touno places her hand over mine, still resting on her cheek.

“I want you to touch me more…… that’s what I think.”

I sit up and, in turn, push Touno down. She turns her face away, but her profile shows a mix of shyness, nervousness, and a hint of anticipation.

I know this feeling.

I touch Touno’s chest over her sweat-dampened uniform. Her chin lifts. I slide my body between her legs, leaning over her. Touno’s body is incredibly flexible, fitting perfectly against mine.

Her scruffy ponytail, her exposed nape.

I lick her pale neck.

“Kirishima-san! I’m all sweaty!”

I trace my tongue along the smooth skin, following the curve of her ear. Touno arches her chest, her body tensing.

“W-what is this……? No one told me about this…… ah…… no……”

As I tease the inside of her ear, Touno starts letting out soft, moist breaths. I gently circle her ear’s outline with my tongue, round and round.

“No, Kirishima-san, this is…… this is too much……”

Touno tries to push me back, but her usual strength is gone. I plunge my tongue deeper into her ear. In that moment, she lets out a voiceless cry, her body trembling. Holding her forehead, I move my tongue in and out.

“Ah…… Kirishima-san…… ah…… ah……”

When Touno is completely breathless and limp, I pull away. She’s utterly undone.

“Kirishima-san……”

Touno looks at me with wet eyes.

I pin her arms above her head, crossing them, and lean closer. “Huh? What?” she says, her voice full of confusion.

“You’re trying to make me hate you on purpose, aren’t you? Enough of that already! Wait…… are you serious?”

When I nod, Touno’s face turns bright red, and she says, almost recklessly:

“Fine~, do whatever you want!”

I lick her sweat-soaked armpit. Beneath me, Touno trembles with embarrassment.

♧♧♧

“I underestimated you, Kirishima-san……”

Touno says, sitting on the floor at the edge of the gym, hugging her knees. During the armpit-licking, she couldn’t handle the embarrassment and fled.

“But I feel like you somehow dodged the real issue.”

She glares at me with narrowed eyes.

“I…… um……”

Touno lowers her gaze and says:

“I want…… a kiss…… something normal like that……”

She’s right—I was dodging. Everything I did was an escape from the most symbolic act of romance, like a kiss. I tried to ignore Touno’s girlish side, treating her comically, forcing her into the image of one of my five buddies, and even now, I was running from that part of her.

I decide to be honest about my situation.

“Touno, when I was in high school, I hurt a girl I was dating. Really badly. It was the worst kind of hurt. Because of that, I don’t know if I deserve to be happy or to love someone again.”

Touno is an amazing girl. That’s exactly why—

“I feel like I shouldn’t let myself fall for you. I don’t think I have the right to, not anymore. You said you wanted me to touch you, and I did a lot just now, but I probably can’t go all the way.”

Without posturing, I tell Touno everything. How over two years of an ascetic lifestyle have left my body unable to function that way, how I haven’t even done it alone.

Maybe God’s telling me not to fall in love anymore. I throw in some lofty words to that effect, but Touno doesn’t latch onto that part.

“T-two years?!”

She says, her face bright red.

“That’s, like, weirdly erotic!”

Between her and Miyamae, what kind of thought process is this?

“So, Kirishima-san, you really did have a girlfriend…… I’m super curious what she was like.”

“You’re getting all fangirl here?”

“I’m the type who gets hung up on details!”

Apparently, she was really bothered by my Kyushu trip with Miyamae. Miyamae had told her it was just a friendly trip, but Touno didn’t want her to go. Still, since she wasn’t my girlfriend, she couldn’t stop her.

“What would you have done if you were my girlfriend?”

“The moment you okayed a one-on-one trip, you’d get a Touno Punch.”

My jaw would’ve been obliterated, I thought.

“So, what was your girlfriend like?”

Since Touno wouldn’t let it go, I piece together fragments of my high school memories.

“She was super cool, bad at studying, but great at music, beautiful—”

“Mhm, mhm.”

“Charming, serious, great at studying, cute—”

“Huh?? Cool and charming? Bad at studying but great at it? Sounds like some kind of chimera!”

Touno tilts her head.

“Well, if you’re still hung up on her that much, she must’ve been incredible. Because you hurt someone like that, you’ve been rejecting love, right?”

“That’s the gist of it.”

Touno’s expression turns serious again. After a long silence, she speaks.

“In matches, I nail my spikes. Everyone praises me for my perfect spikes.”

But in practice, she fails a lot, she says.

“Because I failed so much in practice, I can hit good spikes in matches. Even then, I still mess up during games. People call me a genius or say they’re jealous, but I’m always failing. I just keep going, somehow, through all the failures. Isn’t love the same way?”

At the very least, Touno says:

“I don’t think anyone never fails. Just because you messed up a high school romance doesn’t mean you don’t deserve happiness or forgiveness. Not at all.”

So—

“I want you to take a step forward. So what if you failed in the past? So what if you can’t…… do that? Those aren’t reasons.”

Touno is endlessly optimistic. With her, I might be able to find a new love. Thinking that, I hesitate but grab her shoulders.

“Kirishima-san……”

Touno lifts her chin and closes her eyes.

I lean closer.

The moment our lips are about to touch—

Footsteps.

I turn in surprise—

Fukuda-kun is standing there, his face full of sadness.

♧♧♧

I’m eating a matcha parfait at a café.

It’s a few days after I went to the gym to see Touno. In the end, I couldn’t bring her back to Sakura Heights.

Back then, Fukuda-kun, worried about Touno not returning, must’ve come to talk to her at the same time as me, by chance. And he saw Touno and me about to kiss.

“It’s not what it looks like!”

I blurted out without thinking.

Fukuda-kun gave a weak smile, shook his head, and left the gym. In doing so, I hurt one person and, at the same time, another.

“What do you mean, ‘it’s not what it looks like’……”

Touno muttered. And then—

“What’s not what it looks like?! What’s that supposed to mean?!”

She stood up, said that emotionally, and stormed out of the gym. She didn’t come back to Sakura Heights.

Since then, Fukuda-kun stopped showing up to grill fish. When we passed each other in the Yamame-sou hallway, he stopped me from speaking and said:

“I’m always like this. Clueless, unable to read the room, always left behind. I’m a guy who’s got nothing to do with romance. I knew that, but I let myself dream……”

“That’s not—”

“Sorry, I just want to be alone for a bit……”

Thinking of Fukuda-kun’s heart, I couldn’t say anything. He saw the girl he likes about to kiss the friend he was supposed to be supporting.

At night, when I grilled fish, only Miyamae and Daidouji-san showed up.

“Kirishima, what are you doing?”

Miyamae said sadly, poking at the coals. Three people did feel lonely. Daidouji-san stayed silent, true to his style. While we were like that, another of Touno’s volleyball underclassmen came by.

The incident where Touno punched Kimura was getting complicated. Kimura had even hired a lawyer to demand action from the school.

“At this rate, Touno-senpai might be forced to leave the volleyball team for causing a violence issue……”

The underclassman said.

Because of that, Miyamae and I came to the café where Touno punched Kimura, hoping to find some way to help her.

“There’s a security camera up there.”

Miyamae says, looking at the ceiling.

“Yeah. It probably caught Touno punching him clear as day.”

“I heard sometimes those can be fake, though.”

“It’d be hard to claim Touno didn’t punch him and that Kimura made it up.”

He has a medical certificate, and with a lawyer, they’d probably find witnesses from the staff or customers if needed. Plus, it’s true that Touno punched him.

“What if you step in and say he said a bunch of awful stuff first?”

“That might work in an elementary school class meeting, maybe.”

We racked our brains, but no brilliant ideas came up.

“Kimura’s something else,”

Miyamae says.

“He’s got this awful vibe, and it feels like he’s done all sorts of things to us, but to the world, he’s completely untouchable.”

“He’s very smart and righteous.”

In the end, we couldn’t find anything to help Touno through this mess.

As we left the café, Miyamae said:

“Touno’s on a sports scholarship. It’d suck if this made her quit university.”

Looking dejected, Miyamae headed to her tutoring job.

I went to the university library, flipping through law books and emailing law department friends to ask about this and that.

I looked for any interpretation that could make the Touno Punch legally okay, but it was tough.

Legally, if it became a criminal case, assault was certain, and with the medical certificate, bodily harm was possible too.

It made sense that Kimura was pushing hard on the violence issue and the university was getting nervous.

I left the library and wandered aimlessly through Kyoto’s streets as dusk fell. Without much thought, I went to Nishikikoji, saw a butcher shop, and thought maybe grilling something other than fish could lift everyone’s spirits. But then I realized not everyone was together anymore.

I ended up in Kiyamachi at night. The old capital’s drinking district, filled with salarymen and students, all seeming to have fun. Lately, walking through Kiyamachi hadn’t made me feel lonely—I had a place to return to. But that warmth was slipping away.

I couldn’t run from this.

Touno punched Kimura for me, and now she’s at risk of being kicked off the volleyball team.

Fukuda-kun is hurt because of me and is holed up in his room at Yamame-sou.

I had to do something.

I’m not the same person I was in high school.

With firm resolve, I sent Touno a message.

The next day at noon, I was on my bike, looking out over the Kamogawa River from the embankment.

It was sunny, the light sparkling on the water’s surface.

After a while, Touno walked up.

“What is it?”

Her expression was sharp.

“I came because you called, but still.”

“You look like you’re expecting nothing from me, Touno.”

“It’s probably something dumb, right? Totally dumb.”

“I’m going to cross the Kamogawa River on my bike.”

“That’s not just dumb—it’s insane! Wait, it doesn’t even make sense!”

“You’ll understand if you watch.”

The Kamogawa is about fifty meters wide. It’s a decent length, but shallow enough to see the riverbed from the bridge. Ignoring practical issues like the current or rocky bottom, crossing it by bike felt just barely possible in my imagination.

“Wait, Kirishima-san, you’re going from the embankment?”

“Of course. Otherwise, it’s not dramatic enough.”

“Huh, hold on!?”

I was already pedaling. If I thought too much, I’d get scared. The moment I rode down the embankment, it was terrifying. So terrifying that everything felt like slow motion from focusing too hard. A few seconds stretched out.

I’d never ridden down a slope like this, even as a kid, and the vibrations were intense. The cheap bike’s tires couldn’t absorb the shock, my hands hurt from gripping the handlebars through the rattling, the saddle shook, my butt hurt, and I nearly fell but somehow held the bike steady while descending. I wanted to yell “Waaa!” for effect, but I had no spare energy. I imagined lifting the front wheel for a cool “pyoon!” jump to show Touno, but before I could, I hit the water. My dream of riding through the river didn’t happen for even a millisecond. The moment I landed, I pitched forward, the bike flipped, and I fell on my back.

“W-what!?”

Touno, bewildered, runs down the embankment. She kicks off her shoes and wades into the river.

“Um, uh, what do I even say……”

She’s at a loss for a reaction. So, sitting in the river with my butt soaked, I say:

“I thought, maybe, I could make it work.”

“Huh?”

“I thought if I did something like in a movie or drama, everything would work out.”

In a movie, if you pour out your emotions, run, or shout, things usually get resolved.

If I jumped on my bike with a “pyoon!” Touno would laugh, make some half-hearted excuse, and reluctantly agree to return to Sakura Heights. Then, across the river, Fukuda-kun would be waiting, saying, “You win.” shaking my hand to make up. The five of us would be together again, and as for the plot, we’d pull off a dramatic reversal to shut down Kimura, wrapping it up neatly.

“But that’s not how it works.”

In reality, I just pitch forward and crash, and nothing happens. Pouring out emotions doesn’t bring luck, no one swoops in to save the day, so you have to keep going, step by step, methodically.

Even if I pull off some dramatic catharsis, Touno would just be weirded out, Fukuda-kun wouldn’t come out of his room, and I wouldn’t suddenly come up with a single brilliant way to take down Kimura.

“We’re not in a movie or drama. There’s no such thing as a dramatic resolution.”

So, I say, first—

“Let’s apologize to Kimura. I’ll go with you.”

♧♧♧

“So frustrating!!”

Touno is thrashing on my back. After that, we went to her university, met with Kimura and his lawyer, and apologized in front of university staff.

Touno was so frustrated she said she couldn’t walk, so I’m carrying her on my back, walking along the Kamogawa embankment again.

“Did you see!? That smug look on Kimura’s face!”

“Well, it’s fine, isn’t it? It’s settled peacefully.”

I thought “settlement” was just a concept, but there was an actual settlement agreement. Thanks to the lawyer, we confirmed the details, and a contract was made to end it. The compensation is a painful amount for a college student, but I plan to chip in.

“But that jerk Kimura was looking down on you, Kirishima-san!”

“You get to stay on the team, Touno. That’s more than enough for me.”

Kimura seemed to want to punish Touno more. He’s the type who believes wrongdoers should have their lives ruined. But his own lawyer backfired on him. The lawyer, following standard procedure, included a clause stating that with the compensation paid, Kimura wouldn’t make further claims or speak about the matter.

“We should’ve done this from the start.”

The university didn’t want to kick Touno off the team either and was looking for a resolution from the beginning.

In the end, Touno’s character carried more weight than Kimura’s righteousness. But Touno’s stubbornness kept her from sitting at the negotiation table.

“But……”

“Things don’t always go your way. I bet Kimura’s frustrated too. I doubt he just wanted money.”

We don’t always succeed. It’s like Touno’s spike theory. You keep moving forward through failures, bit by bit.

Touno resorting to force wasn’t good, but I don’t think less of her for it. It’s just one mistake.

“Let’s retire the Touno Punch, okay?”

“Yeah. I won’t do it again……”

“But I was happy, you know. When you punched him for me. It’s wrong by society’s standards, and no one would approve, but I was still happy.”

“Kirishima-san……”

I carried Touno on my back all the way to the apartment. Halfway there, when I started to say, “You’re heavy—,” she choked me.

And so, Touno returned to Sakura Heights.

That night, I told Fukuda-kun about it. Not face-to-face—I spoke through his door. I think he was listening.

“I’m really sorry. I knew. I knew Touno had someone she liked, and who it was.”

But I had no intention of falling in love. So, when I found out Fukuda-kun liked Touno, I didn’t mind supporting him, and I genuinely thought it’d be great if Touno changed her mind and fell for him.

“In high school, I had a special love. And I didn’t plan to love again.”

There are plenty of reasons for that.

Not wanting to hurt anyone else, not being able to forgive myself—I could list them endlessly.

But in the end, I wanted to keep that love, those girls, as something special inside me.

If I fell in love again, it felt like it would stop being special. I didn’t want it to become just one of many loves in my life.

The stereotype of a guy hung up on past love was awfully convenient. I could sacrifice myself to stage that love as something extraordinary.

But I’m just an ordinary person.

I couldn’t live dramatically, clinging to a single love forever.

Like most people, I ended up liking someone new.

In the end, I’d fallen for Touno.

“It feels so normal.”

Fukuda-kun’s voice came from the other side of the door.

“I don’t know the person you loved in high school, Kirishima-kun. They must’ve been amazing. But Touno-san’s just as incredible. There’ll be lots of wonderful people among the women you meet from now on. Ending one love and falling for someone else isn’t wrong. It doesn’t make you shallow. It’s natural, and you could even say it shows respect for the new person you’ve met.”

“You’re pretty calm about this.”

You’re misunderstanding, Kirishima-kun, Fukuda-kun says.

“I’m not angry or hurt about this. Sure, I felt a little something. But that’s not why I’ve been holed up in my room.”

“Then why?”

As I asked, the door opened, and Fukuda-kun poked his head out, saying:

“I was cooling off my feelings for Touno-san. My feelings were too intense.”

Then, Fukuda-kun cried a little.

♧♧♧

Late at night, I stuff my laundry into a bag and leave my apartment.

There’s still one thing I need to settle clearly.

In the quiet city, as I walk down the street, I see a small light in the darkness.

The coin laundry.

Inside, I load my clothes into a drum washer, insert coins, press start, and sit on the bench to wait.

While reading a book, Touno arrives. She puts her uniform and jersey in the dryer, then sits next to me, leaving a small gap.

Touno puts in her earphones and starts listening to music.

A summer night, two people acting nonchalant in the coin laundry. A scene from before.

The hum of the washing machine, the rustle of pages, the faint music leaking from her earphones.

After a while, Touno takes one earphone out.

“Want to listen, Kirishima-san?”

I take the earphone and put it in my ear.

It’s a simple love song. A common, unremarkable love song. A trendy tune that’ll be forgotten by next year.

We look at each other.

I know what I need to say, and now’s the time to say it.

But just as I open my mouth—

Touno laughs.

“Are we being a bit too theatrical?”

“Yeah, we are.”

I laugh too, caught up in it.

“We’re trying too hard to make it a moment.”

There was no need to say anything anymore. We chuckle and hug each other. I feel Touno’s warm body, her heartbeat.

Touno presses her face into my neck, hugging me tightly, and says:

“Please take care of me.”

“Likewise.”

And then, we kissed a lot.

That was the moment my college life truly began.