"~I thought we had forever, but forever's come and gone.
I thought we'd be together, but now I'm standing here alone...~"
Kagari poured her heart out as she sang the melancholic tune. Earlier that day, her boyfriend had broken up with her, leaving her feeling shattered. So she had asked her friends, Shizuka and Meiji, to join her at the karaoke bar. However, once they arrived, Kagari hogged the microphone and sang one depressing song after another. Initially, Shizuka and Meiji tried to cheer her up, but after three long hours of listening to her, they had grown tired and started playing with their phones.
Just as they thought the night would never end, the karaoke machine suddenly shut down due to a power outage caused by the storm outside.
"We're so sorry."
The male staff member apologized to the girls as they prepared to leave. Meiji flashed a smile and waved to the handsome staff before opening her umbrella and preparing to brave the storm with her friends.
The three girls were popular idols at Amaterasu High School. They wore navy blue blazers with school crests on their breast pockets, white collared shirts with navy blue ties, blue cardigans, and black loafers. Their faces were lightly but skillfully made up to enhance their natural beauty.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"Did we tell you about him?" Shizuka asked, her voice drowned out by the sound of the pouring rain.
"What?" Kagari said, unable to hear Shizuka over the rain.
Meiji, who was walking in the middle, repeated the words for Kagari. Kagari was about to answer but stopped short. She knew they were talking about Shou. Why Kagari had known Shou was a bad cold heart boy but still confessed her love to him? Because, she was just like any other normal high school girl, dreaming of and longing for romance. She had thought she would be different.
Meiji noticed Kagari's sad expression and tears welling up in her eyes, a stark contrast to her conceited and angry demeanor earlier in the afternoon. She hugged her friend and comforted her as they continued walking through the rain.
The girls said goodbyes at an intersection, and Kagari continued on alone towards home. Unbeknownst to her, someone was lurking in the nearby alley, patiently waiting for her arrival. The rain and wind intensified as she walked, drowning out all other sounds and leaving her feeling disoriented.
As she walked, a sudden gust of wind blew her umbrella backwards, and she realized with a start that there was someone behind her. Her heart pounding with fear, Kagari turned around to see a figure dressed in a dark raincoat, its face obscured by the shadows.
"Who's there?" she called out, her voice shaking with apprehension. In the deserted street, there was no one else around but the two of them. The figure took slow and measured steps towards her, inching closer and closer until the light from a nearby streetlamp illuminated its face.
"You're..." she began, a smile spreading across her face.