✨ Chapter 1: The Girl I Trusted
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My name is Yuuta. I'm what most people would call an introvert.
Talking to people? No thanks.
Making friends? I stopped trying.
I wasn't always like this. There was a time I laughed, played, trusted people. I had many friends.
But not anymore.
Now I walk alone through crowded school halls, keeping my eyes low and my thoughts to myself. I'm not like this by choice—
People betrayed me.
That's why I don't trust anyone.
Anyone… except her.
Her name is Airi.
She's everything I'm not—bright, popular, beautiful. She's the type of girl who seems untouchable. Everyone adores her. Guys fall over themselves just to talk to her. Girls want to be her.
I always told myself I didn't like her.
Not because she's pretty.
Not even because she's popular.
But because I didn't want to trust her either.
Still… everything changed during the final exams.
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I was quietly filling out my test when a soft whisper tickled my ear.
"Hey… can you help me with number five?"
I froze.
It was her. Airi.
I panicked a little. If I refused, and she told anyone, I'd be dead meat. If I helped her and someone saw, I could get in trouble.
So I helped. Quietly. Just once. Just to be safe.
After the test, she looked at me and smiled.
"Thanks, Yuuta!"
That smile—it felt unreal.
Like the sun had just chosen to shine only on me.
I looked away, blushing.
It was probably just a one-time thing.
I never expected her to talk to me again.
But the next day, she did.
And the next day too.
She started finding me during lunch, walking next to me after school, and casually asking questions like:
"Why are you always alone?"
"You seem like someone who could make a lot of friends."
"I don't want friends," I said.
"Why not?"
"…I don't trust people."
"But you trust me, right?" she asked with a teasing smile. "I'm your friend, after all."
Her words hit me harder than I expected.
I didn't want to admit it, but… yes.
I trusted her.
Even when I didn't want to.
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One day, everything shattered.
When I entered the classroom, the teacher's expensive bass guitar was lying on the floor—broken.
And standing next to it was Ruma, one of my classmates, frozen in fear.
I could tell from the look on his face—he did it.
I walked up and said, "I'll help you. Let's clean this up and talk to the teacher."
But before we could, everyone else entered the class. They all saw the broken bass and gasped.
I was just about to speak when Ruma shouted:
"Yuuta broke the bass!"
My heart stopped.
What…?
I turned to him in disbelief.
"I was helping you! You broke it—"
But no one listened.
They started yelling, accusing me, crowding me with angry voices.
When the teacher arrived and saw the mess, he exploded.
"Who did this?!"
"Yuuta!" everyone shouted.
I tried to speak—
But I couldn't.
Why me?
Why does this always happen?
This is why I never trust anyone…
Just then, a calm voice cut through the chaos.
"Yuuta didn't do it."
Everyone turned to look.
It was Airi.
She stood beside me, completely unfazed by the stares.
"You're siding with him?" someone asked.
"Yes," she said firmly. "I trust Yuuta."
My chest tightened.
She trusted me… when no one else did.
Then she looked at the teacher and added,
"I saw Ruma break the bass."
The whole class stared at Ruma.
He broke into tears and confessed everything.
The teacher turned pale with rage.
"You'll be punished for this, Ruma."
Someone asked Airi, "Wait, how did you see it? Weren't you with us?"
She smiled.
"I didn't see anything. I lied."
Everyone gasped.
"Then how did you know it was Ruma?!"
"Because I trust Yuuta," she said simply. And smiled again.
That smile…
It made my heart race.
And in that moment—
I knew.
I had fallen in love with Airi.