After a long while, Chiba Shimizu slowly spoke, "Yumeko, you must really resent me, right?"
Otome Mizuko didn't say a word, she remained quiet, like a still pond. Seeing this, Chiba Shimizu reached out to gently tidy the strands of hair falling over her ear:
"Yumeko, actually at first, I wasn't interested in Haruka Yuzan at all."
"He was narcissistic, vulgar, liked to brag, and his grades were always below mine, so I never understood why you liked him."
"Later, I ran away from home, and it happened that Haruka was the landlord from whom I wanted to rent a place. I thought I'd stay for a while and then leave... but then I met Sister Reiko…"
The girl kept talking, sharing her own story.
Sunlight slanted in, sketching half-bright, half-dark lines across her face.
Her brows were intricately drawn, like ink marks made with fine strokes, gently pressing down towards the corners of her eyes, making those almond-shaped eyes lose some of their softness.
