She unlocked her phone, and the first thing she saw was a message from Yuki. The moment she saw the name on the screen, Hitori's eyes trembled—she could hardly believe it.
This… This has to be a dream.
She couldn't believe Yuki would actually message her. From everything she'd learned about him over the past few days, Yuki was someone with looks that made countless girls swoon, and a gentle personality to match.
He was nothing like her—a gloomy, socially anxious mess. He was the kind of person who had life figured out: popular, a star at school. A prince straight out of a fairy tale.
Someone like that voluntarily reaching out to her? It felt completely unreal. She sat frozen for several minutes. It wasn't until another message from Yuki came through that she finally snapped out of it.
"Right! Reply! I need to reply!" Her hands trembled as she gripped her phone, fingers visibly shaking while she opened the message.
She was so nervous that her mind started filling in worst-case scenarios on its own.
"Gotoh-san, your personality is way too gloomy. Maybe we shouldn't keep in touch." "Gotoh-san, you don't even look like a girl. Being seen with you is embarrassing. Let's go our separate ways." "Gotoh-san…"
Her mind raced with all kinds of pessimistic guesses. Not a single positive thought crossed her mind. It was only natural, given how isolated and insecure she was; she had zero confidence and thought very little of herself.
But when she finally opened the message and read its contents, she froze. It wasn't anything like she had imagined. Yuki was simply asking to meet her at their usual spot after lunch tomorrow.
"Yuki-kun… is asking me to meet up?!" Her lips parted slightly. She read the message over and over, just to be sure. She even dug out a dictionary from a box nearby and looked up every single word in the message.
Then she set her phone on the table, walked around it a few times, rubbing her chin in deep thought.
"I think… he really is asking me out…" she muttered under her breath.
After ten full laps around the table, she sat back down in front of her computer, opened a browser, typed the entire message into the search engine, and double-checked the meaning of each phrase. After multiple rounds of verification, she finally accepted it.
This unbelievable thing had actually happened to her. She almost lost it—tears welling up in her eyes as she clenched her fists ever so slightly.
"Yesss! I finally... finally took that step! Does that mean... I'm not the same person I used to be now? Hehehehehe!!!"
Her body trembled with excitement, her face flushed, and her grin slowly turned a little unhinged.
Outside the closet-turned-room was the living room. And standing outside the closet door, ear pressed against it, was a little girl around five years old. She had pink hair and blue eyes, just like Hitori. When she heard the commotion from inside, she immediately called out.
"Dad! Mom! Big Sis finally lost it!"
The little girl's name was Futari Gotoh—Hitori's younger sister. No sooner had she shouted than a man and a woman walked in from the hallway—her parents. The Gotoh couple rushed over and yanked the closet door open. The dark little space was instantly flooded with light from the living room.
Blinking against the sudden brightness, Hitori snapped out of her joyful dance. Seeing her parents and little sister staring at her like they were watching a sideshow, she felt her face burn with embarrassment.
"What?" Hitori pouted.
"Uh... sweetie, are you okay? Did something happen? Is your brain working? Should we call an ambulance?" Her parents asked with genuine concern.
Hitori's face fell. "What kind of parents wish their daughter had something wrong with her brain?! And an ambulance?! Do you guys think I've gone crazy?!" she immediately fired back at her parents. What kind of talk was that?
"Didn't you, Sis? Then why were you screaming and flailing around like that?" Futari tilted her head innocently.
"That's nonsense! I was happy!" Hitori shot a glare at her little sister. She knew Futari was the one who had brought their parents over.
"Alright, alright. As long as you're okay," her mother chimed in. "Still, Hitori, you hide in there all day. It's no wonder people might think something's wrong."
Hitori didn't bother responding. She ignored them all and slammed the closet door shut, plunging herself back into darkness. Then she pulled out her phone, ready to reply to Yuki.
Just then, the closet door cracked open again. A small head peeked in. Futari was certain something was up. Knowing her sister, she rarely got this excited about anything. So she was dying to know what—or who—had made her so happy.
But before she could catch anything useful, Hitori turned around. "What are you doing?" Hitori eyed her suspiciously. Half of Futari's head was already inside.
Good thing I was quick, she thought. Otherwise, this little brat would've seen my messages.
"Hehehe... Sis, what made you so happy today? You were all gloomy when you came home, you know. Can't you share it with your dear little sister?!" Futari rubbed her tiny hands together, looking intensely curious.
"What kind of little sister calls her own big sister gloomy?! And I'm fine. There's nothing to share." Hitori glanced at her flatly.
"Really? I don't buy it. I might not know other people, but I definitely know my big sister. So come on, Sis. Just tell me! I'm curious!" Futari was absolutely convinced something had happened—otherwise, why would Hitori be acting so happy?
"No! You're too young to be this nosy!" Hitori turned her head away and coldly rejected her sister's request.
"Won't tell me? Fine. Then I'll guess. It must have something to do with school!" Futari squinted her little eyes at the phone Hitori was clutching tightly.
Hitori's brow twitched.
Futari caught the reaction and grinned. "Hehe. I was right! Next guess—it has to do with a classmate. A boy classmate."
The moment Futari said that, Hitori's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. She felt like her little sister had seen right through her.
"That's ridiculous. Shoo, shoo! Go do your homework!" Hitori, flustered, shooed her sister out and slammed the closet door shut. Only then did she pull out her phone to reply to Yuki.
Outside, Futari watched her sister's reaction and became even more certain she was right. She giggled to herself. She never thought her shy, gloomy big sister would actually fall in love. This was huge news. She couldn't wait to tell their parents.