“Chi-chan, why does no one like me?”

My voice muffled as her dress is now stained with tears. Chi-chan’s small arms filled me with comfort as she continued rubbing circles on my back.

"Well, I don’t hate you. You’re my best friend.” Her voice is a bit softer than usual.

I looked up and stared at her blank eyes. “Really?” I said in between sobs.

She nodded. “I’ll always be by your side, Fuyuki.”

I giggled and hugged her even tighter. “I can always count on you, Chi-chan!”

She gave me a small smile. I let go of the hug and pulled her towards the slide.

“Let’s go to the slide!”

She laughed and said yes.

It was the last time that I’ve ever seen Chi-chan.

•••

10 years later

ring ring

I groggily opened my eyes and stretched my arms. Ah, this marks another day in cram school… If I can only stay in dreamland forever… Too bad I’m still living. Well, living isn’t too bad either; I get to read shojo manga to my heart’s desire. sigh If it were only that easy to get out of bed… Suddenly, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I reluctantly moved towards the left to face her. I was then greeted with an incredibly formal greeting.

“Good morning, Fuyuki-sama!”

Standing on the left side of my bed was a teenage girl with white hair and blue eyes, wearing a main outfit. She was my new personal maid, Shizuka Sato, as my former personal maid, who had been serving me since I was born, had to retire from old age. I then let out a chuckle.

“Shizuka, it’s just me; no need to be overly formal.”

Her cheeks had a subtle hint of red on them after I called her out.

“But Fuyuki-sama, I am but your humble maid.”

"Oh, please, in my eyes, everyone’s equal. Besides, I need 5 more minutes of sleep!”

She just stared at me blankly. I gave her puppy eyes and said, “Pwease”. Her gaze on me didn’t falter. I let out a deep sigh.

“Fine, I’ll get up now.”

Kobayashi-san wasn’t this strict… Well, she has retired now because she could barely walk without her back hurting… Kobayashi-san…… Snap out of it, Fuyuki. Besides, Shizuka seems like a nice person…

A strange nostalgic feeling enveloped me.

Huh, that’s odd. Why am I oddly feeling nostalgic. Eh, it’s probably nothing serious.

•••

I arrived at the jovial halls of Takuju Academy, and as usual, my shoe locker is filled with love letters. I slumped my shoulders and let out a sigh, as I am not interested in dating someone at the moment. Moments after that, I heard some people calling my name. I turned to face them and saw a group of girls.

The girl with long red hair looked at me with her arms crossed. “Hey there, Fuyuki! Let me guess, your shoe locker’s filled with love letters again?"Her name is Haruka Hazama.

I let out a deeper sigh. “As usual, it’s filled with love letters.”

She rolled her eyes and retorted. “You’re still complaining even when all the guys start drooling when they see you?”

Standing on Haruka’s right is a tall girl with long blue hair and curls at the end, named Akane Kashiwagi. She gave a subtle, fierce glare that can easily be dismissed. “Haruka’s right, how can you not be happy with the fact that every single guy you see would fawn over you, Fuyuki? No matter how much I style up of post selfies online, I barely get any likes.” She slumped her shoulders.

The brunette on Haruka’s right is Kaede Tsumo. She walked closer to me with her hand on her chest and a grin on her face. "Well, Fuyuki-chan may have all the boys in the world, but Tanaka-kun will eventually fall for me hehe~”

I rolled my eyes. "Girl, you can have that idiot all to yourself.”

Kaede scuffed. “He’s not an idiot; he’s the hottest guy in school. Oh, his elegance and princely personality, and look at those dreamy eyes… Oh, and don’t get me started with his smile…” Her cheeks then started to redden and cackle like a weirdo. Her eyes were also more dilated.

The hottest guy in school? Then those people have no taste at all because he’s a total nutcase. I internally sighed over that thought.

Suddenly, the hallway became filled with girls squealing and gushing. At the center of that was a tall, black-haired guy with a refined demeanor. A little ahoge could also be found on the top of his hair. He walked in our direction. Kaede was reduced to an even more lovestruck form and greeted him but got ignored. He went up to me and got down on one knee and extended his right hand out. "Oh, my dear Fuyuki Furukawa, will you accept my hand and give me the honor of your companionship?”

The crowd went in uproar from his declaration of love. I once again let out a deep sigh, my tone firm. “For the one millionth time, Hino-kun, I am currently not interested in anyone. Do you even understand what the meaning of the word no means!”

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

He took my hand and pleaded. “If given a chance, you will know how perfect we are for each other! Please, my dear Furukawa-sama, accept my request for your companionship!”

I sighed for the one millionth time. I lowered my head for a couple of moments and gazed at him in the eye. Subtle curves in my lips were formed. “Look, I’m sorry for being harsh on you, and I definitely could’ve worded it better. I really admire your courage for asking me out in front of everyone; it’s just that I’m really not interested in being in a romantic relationship at the moment.”

He furrowed his brows and forced a smile. I helped him get up, and I once again subtly curved my lips. He then walked away with his fan girls. I looked around and saw Kaede with her fists clenched so tight that her knuckles turned white. Her eyes twitched as she spoke.

“He’s only into you for now, Fuyuki-chan! He’ll eventually realize how much better we are together that you two.”

I went up to her and squeezed her hands.

“I’m not trying to steal him from you, Kaede-chan. I’ve always rejected him every single time he asked me out. The best of luck for you two!”

Her lips formed into a pout. “Whatever”

She’s still not convinced… Eh, she’ll eventually come to her senses. She’ll realize that I’m not trying to steal Hino-kun from him.

A soft and gentle voice with a subtle sign of enthusiasm brought me back to reality. “There’s a new cafe nearby. Would you like to try it out?”

But I really want to finish reading my manga! I wasn’t able to finish it yesterday because I fell asleep! But… I kinda want to try out the new cafe too. Eh, my shojo manga can wait.

The red head and the brunette both gleamed in excitement.

“That’s a wonderful idea, Akane-chan! Now I’m craving a frappuccino…”, said the brunette.

“You can’t go wrong with a good ‘ol Americano." Haruka added.

I listened to their friendly chatter and waited for the bell to ring.

•••

ring ring

This officially marks our dismissal. The four of us gathered and went to the new cafe. After several minutes, we arrived in a relaxed and cozy atmosphere with the smell of coffee lingering. There were only a few customers, with us occupying the third table. The waitress gave us the menu and chose from the cafe’s massive selection.

Hmmm, I guess I’ll have a cheesecake and a frappuccino…

“I’ll surely get more than a thousand likes for today’s post!”

"Well, you’ll surely get a lot of likes with how cute and pure you look.”

"Ah, I hope… ”

murmering noises

Their chatter eventually disappeared from my mind. There was a family of three entering a cafe. They may not look rich, but everywhere they went, they radiated happiness.

“Dad, I want a chocolate cake, please!"The little girl was glimmering in excitement.

Her dad gave her a warm smile. “Anything for my little princess.”

The little girl went up to her father to hold him with her little arms. “Thanks dad! You’re the best!”

The mother chuckled. “She really loves you, dear.”

Her father exclaimed. “I mean, look at how adorable my little princess is!”

The mother chuckled once again.

My heart warmed from the sight, but it was quickly followed by a sharp pang of pain in my chest.

A friendly voice snapped me out of my daze.

“Miss, what would you like to have?”

I got startled but quickly composed myself. “O-oh I would like to have a cheesecake and a frappuccino.” I then gave her a forced chuckle.

The 3 girls glared at me and rolled their eyes.

A warm curve on the waitress’ lips formed. “Your food will arrive at around 5-10 minutes.”

•••

I have now arrived at the massive, modern, and minimalist but empty living room.

“I’m home!”, I enthusiastically exclaimed. I then sighed at the realization.

Right, they’re almost never home. Well, now that I’m finally home after that delicious cake, I can finally continue reading my shojo manga…

A serious tone replied. “Welcome back, Fuyuki-sama!”

I couldn’t help but smile at her. “You can drop the sama, you know?”

This time, her face had a look of concern. “A-are you okay, Fuyuki? You’re crying.”

I touched my face and felt tears continuously streaming down my face.

Why am I crying right now? I just ate the most delicious cheesecake that I’ve ever tried… and Shizuka’s right in front of me. Don’t cry, don’t cry. There’s no reason to cry.

I blinked non-stop, trying to hold back my tears. I continued acting like my usual cheerful self. “There’s nothing to worry about, Shizuka. It’s probably just tears of joy from eating that cheesecake. You should come with me next time. I could eat that cheesecake every day!”

Her brows furrowed. This gave me chills on my spine, as she probably saw right through me and might question me even more.

“Okay…”

I kept up my cheerful facade, not letting my tears fall. "Well, I’ll be going to my room now and continuing reading where I left off. I’ll call you when I need something.”

I quickly ran up to my room, not wanting Shizuka to see me. Not long after, I arrived at my massive and cozy minimalist room and plopped myself onto my soft bed. I took my manga from my wooden study table, located on the right side of my bed. I picked up where I left off yesterday.

•••

My former friend and now rival has revealed to the entire school that I am the daughter of an infamous serial killer. There he was, the guy that I’ve been trying to avoid the whole day, standing right in front of me near an empty classroom. I clenched my fist, trying to stop tears flowing from my eyes. "Yes, Sadakane-kun, I’m the daughter of a criminal. I understand if you don’t want to do anything with me.” My whole body trembled, tears treating to fall any moment.

He looked at me with pleading eyes; his gaze never faltered. “Seino-san, I would never leave you. Nothing can ever make me hate you. Your father being a notorious serial killer doesn’t mean that you’re also one. I’ve known you for years. I know how pure and kindhearted you are!”

I couldn’t hold my tears in for any longer. I walked up to him and bawled my eyes out in his chest, wrapped around his long arms.

•••

Seino and Sadakane are so perfect for each other, and Sadakane is so accepting. He’s so kind and understanding… and he also doesn’t judge people by their background.

“I would never leave you……”

Before I knew it, I could see droplets of water falling onto the pages. I placed the manga onto my wooden desk and stared at the ceiling.

How do you get someone that loyal... Someone who would never leave you… Well I still have my lovely shojo manga that I could read to my heart’s desire. I enjoy seeing people get together.

The tears never stopped flowing.

Why won’t it stop flowing? Why won’t this pain in my chest disappear? No matter how much shojo manga I read or no matter how much I try to avoid thinking about it, it will always come to haunt me. Just leave me alone, pain. I can’t take this anymore. Just leave me alone, please. I’m okay with my life now… okay… Am I really okay?

I cried even harder. I’ve completely lost control over my emotions.

What’s wrong with me? I thought that seeing people get together makes me happy, but why does my chest hurt so bad? Why can’t I find a Sadakane-kun for myself? Why do they always leave me or treat me like trash? Did I do anything wrong? Why…