Lunchtime.
Su Yu and Yui Yuigahama had lunch at a regular little restaurant.
This time, Yui paid the bill.
After paying, she gave Su Yu a smile.
"You little dummy." Su Yu flicked her forehead.
"I always spend Su Yu-kun's money. I'd feel bad if I kept doing that, so… let me pay once in a while, okay?" Yui looked up at him.
"That your birthday wish?" Su Yu took her hand.
"Mm, that's my birthday wish." Yui linked her arm around his.
The two walked out of the restaurant.
"Where do you want to go next?" Su Yu asked.
"I… I want to go to the beach and build sandcastles," Yui said after thinking for a bit.
"To the beach? To build sandcastles?" Su Yu was slightly surprised.
"Yeah. I dreamed last night that I was building a sandcastle at the beach, but halfway through, it got washed away by the waves." Yui sounded a bit disappointed.
"Well then, let's go make your dream come true." Su Yu raised his hand and flagged down a taxi.
"Thank you, Su Yu-kun." Yui gave him a kiss on the cheek.
...
At the seaside beach.
There weren't many people around.
Su Yu and Yui walked to a spot where they could build sandcastles, only to find a small one already standing there.
"Su Yu-kun, do you know how to build sandcastles?"
Yui found a nice patch of sand, chatting while she started digging in.
"Nope. You'll have to teach me, Miss Yui." Su Yu crouched down.
"Well, since you're so sincerely asking, I guess I can take on the burden of teaching you, Student Su Yu," Yui replied with a grin.
And so the two began building their castle.
Under Yui's guidance, Su Yu managed to build a castle.
Yui's own castle was, well…
"Your castle looks… very solid," Su Yu said, giving the highest-EQ compliment he could.
"I knew it—Su Yu-kun is good at everything," Yui pouted.
"Yui, you're definitely going to be good at taking care of kids."
"My kid's going to make an even better castle than this someday," Yui said softly as she glanced at Su Yu's castle.
"I'll teach them well," Su Yu said with a smile.
Yui blushed and kept working on her sandcastle.
Seeing this, Su Yu crouched down again and began helping her.
Yui glanced at Su Yu and was reminded of a scene from a dream.
When she was little, she used to build sandcastles alone on the beach...
But it wasn't just a dream. It had actually happened.
There weren't any other kids to play with, so she came to the beach by herself, building sandcastles all alone.
She built for a long time and even wrote about it in her diary when she got home.
But the next day, when she returned, the castle had been washed away by the tide.
She cried, heartbroken.
"What's wrong? Thinking about something again?" Su Yu's voice pulled her back.
"I was remembering something from when I was little…" Yui told Su Yu the story.
Su Yu paused when he heard it.
Then he looked at Yui.
"You really are a little dummy."
"I am not a little dummy," Yui puffed out her cheeks in protest.
Just then—
Two kids came running over.
"Big sister, what are you doing?" The little girl among them asked curiously.
"We're building our castle," Su Yu replied.
"Big brother, you're so childish. Boys aren't supposed to play with sand, they should be—"
"Jian Tai, let's build our own castle too, okay? I'll be the princess, and you'll be my knight," the little girl interrupted him.
"I…" The little boy opened his mouth but hesitated.
"Jian Tai…" The girl looked at him with big, expectant eyes.
"You really are a handful…" the boy mumbled, blushing, and walked over to a spot nearby.
"Jian Tai, you're the best!" the girl beamed.
Su Yu watched the two kids, then turned back to look at Yui.
She smiled sweetly, just like the little girl had moments ago.
"You really are a handful…"
"I love Su Yu-kun the most!"
...
As the sun set—
On the rocky outcroppings near the shore.
Yui looked at the photos they'd just taken, a smile on her face.
It felt like the wish she'd had as a child had finally come true.
Having someone to build sandcastles with.
Having someone to watch the sunset with.
The two of them shared ice cream.
Yui only ate hers but still seemed unsatisfied, poking Su Yu with her finger.
Su Yu looked at this adorable little dummy and could only feed her his own ice cream.
After eating, Yui rested her head on his shoulder.
"If only I had met Su Yu-kun when I was little… that would've been perfect."
"As far as I know, childhood friends have about the same chance of winning as getting the prize in an ice cream stick lottery."
"Liar. Lots of childhood friends grow up together and end up together."
"When you grow up, you meet more people, and sometimes two people who were close get tired of each other and…"
"If it were me—would Su Yu-kun get tired of me?"
"Never. Because I want it all."
Yui puffed up her cheeks at Su Yu's shameless line.
Su Yu wrapped an arm around her slender waist, glancing back at their sandcastle.
"If I could, I'd buy a small island and build a castle on it. It would be our home."
"What about the kids? How would they get to school?" Yui asked, a little stunned.
"A helicopter?" Su Yu pondered.
"I'm a bit afraid of heights…" Yui laughed awkwardly.
"Don't worry. I'll help the kids overcome that. Be brave. If it's a girl, maybe she could take a boat…"
"Su Yu-kun, do you want a boy or a girl?" Yui asked.
"I like both. Boys would be brave, and girls—well, they'd definitely be as cute as you."
"I think it should be a girl. Yukino-chan's child will probably be a boy, so the older brother can protect his cute little sister."
"With Yukino's personality, I think any boy of hers will have it tough. When they're young, you'll have to help take care of them, Yui. That way, they can have a happy childhood."
"I hope Yukino's child likes me. I really want to take good care of them."
"They will. You're so gentle, Yui."
"Su Yu-kun, I'm still worried my mom will object. But I think Dad will be on my side."
Hearing that, Su Yu gently kissed Yui on the forehead.
"I'll get Aunt Asuna's approval."
"Su Yu-kun, I love you."
Yui said with a smile—and kissed him.
...
By the time the sun fully set, Su Yu and Yui caught a taxi back to Sakura Dormitory.
As they walked in, everyone was already waiting.
Ebina Hina curiously asked where the two of them had gone that afternoon.
Yui happily pulled out her phone, showing off the photos of the sandcastles she and Su Yu built, their couple shots, and the photos of the two little kids.
Listening to her, Teacher Shizuka took a sip of her drink—and felt it was way too sour.
Aside from the two little kids, everyone else could clearly tell how happy Yui was.
This kind of simple, sweet love—
Was truly heartwarming.