A call from the phone inside the room indicates our time is already over. It’s also past 6:00 pm, and we’re still here in the Karaoke bar.

We started to clean everything before leaving the facility. The overwhelming feeling I had a while ago still hasn’t settled. What am I doing? I am here to make the two protagonists end up being together, yet….

“Ah! It was fun!” stretching her arms, Shirasawa gleefully announce. Haruki and the others agreed as they share some banters and laughs while walking. It is only me that still feels a strange sensation after that.

“What’s wrong, Kira?” Kei, who walks beside me, suddenly asked the question. “Huh? No… Uhm…” I mumbled. I don’t even know what to say, now that I realized that she’s in love with me.

This has nothing to do with me at all. I don’t even belong here. I am the person who doesn’t supposed to exist in this story. A girls’ love genre shouldn’t change. I don’t want Kagome to get mad at me.

They’re my precious characters. I want to root for their romance to bloom and—

“Kira?”

Kei, facing me showing her concerned looks, gazes at me. “What ‘s the matter?”

She seemed eager to know about my well-being, but I can’t say it. I mustn't say anything about my purpose here. Kei must realized she must be with Kagome. It’s better off that way.

“No, I’m just having some personal thoughts. Worry not at me, Senior.” I smile and proceeds on walking. I mustn’t be swayed by this. Kei is a character who is in love with Kagome, not me.

I should think of it. “Kira…” Kei grabbed my arm and firmly holds me. I stopped from walking and turns to face her. “You’re making things difficult to me, you know?”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“Huh?” I asked. Her words pressed me with heaviness as I heard it. “You’re making me think that you’re not happy to know what I feel about you.”

What? I—I don’t understand. No, I fully understand, I just deny it. I keep denying that Kei has these strong feelings of affection to me. She sees me as a man. She wants me to be the missing piece to complete her life.

That missing piece should be Kagome, but it turns to be me.

“It’s not that I’m unhappy for what you feel about me, senior.” I replied.

Kei moves a step forward, facing me. “Then what? What makes you not give me an answer to my confession?”

What? You know what? It’s because Kagome is in love with you! She wants you to be her girlfriend! I want you two to start dating!

Those are the words I want to convey but I hold it. I don’t even know what to feel right now. My chest feels heavy, whenever I think that Kei is in love with me.

“What’re you guys doing?” from the distance, Haruki called. I turn to see him and loosened on Kei’s grip. “I’m sorry, senior…” I dashed to go over where Haruki and the rest are.

Right… since I know Kei’s true feelings, there’s no way I can continue my relationship with her. For the sake of this novel to see the true end, Kei and Kagome should start dating.

Even if means to tend on my own demise.

****

We arrived at the train station

Bidding farewell to the others, Kei and I goes to the platform. We’re boarding on same station from here, but get separate along the way home.

We became quiet; standing side by side as other passengers arrive to board in. At the PA announcing the boarding of the train, Kei suddenly grabbed my hand and firmly holds it.

I twitched from the sudden thing she did. “Senior…” I called.

“I don’t mind what answer you want to give to me. And it doesn’t even need to be right now.”

Her soft, but firm voice echoed through me. “What I want is for you to know… that on the day you saved me, you also captured my heart.”

She face me, showing flustered expression while firmly gripping my hand. “I don’t need an answer from you, if you’re not ready to tell what you truly feel about me. But let me show you…”

Ah, right… It’s because of that day. It’s because of that day that she made the resolve to face her true feelings for the main heroine of this novel. Should I didn’t exist in this world, Kagome should be the one who must see this.

I didn’t rebut on any words she said. Just standing there, looking at her… I gripped tightly to her hand as well.

This isn’t what I want, but I want to understand, and know everything more about Kei.