Eternal Melody

Sumire quickly returned to the room and pushed him towards the chair. "Jun-kun, you should relax too. It seems to be raining outside, so you can't return right now."

"I shall but you-" Jun looked towards her. "-are you feeling alright? You look slightly pale."

"It's just a bit of nausea. I shall be alright. This is a good opportunity; why don't we chat for a bit? I want to ask you since when were you getting bullied?"

Jun didn't reply immediately. He knew they would eventually have to have this conversation, but now that they have it, he doesn't know what to say.

"I think I understand what you were thinking. You probably didn't want to trouble me. I would have done the same. But, Jun-kun, do you not remember what you promised me after the previous bullying incident?"

"I remember."

"Back then, you told me, the next time something happens, you will tell me immediately no matter what. Even if you do not tell me, you must inform somebody."

The promise they made after he got hospitalized. The bullies had taken their bullying too far, and he ended up with severe injuries. Just like what happened recently, Sumire-san was the one who saved him.

"I'm sorry," Jun mumbled.

He didn't know what other words he could use. Indeed, he was careless to take on the burden himself. What is his purpose for having friends if he still tries to do everything alone?

Sumire sighed.

"Well, it's not like I don't get it, but I am not happy. The fact that you got hurt this much when I could have prevented it."

"My injuries are getting better."

"But even then!" Sumire pouted. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital? I can ask Sano to book a private hospital room for you."

"That would be too much. Right now, our group activities are taking off; it would be bad to stop the momentum now."

"I suppose that's true; it explains why my dearest has been working so hard recently." Sumire stood up and clasped her hands. "Right, there is something I can do for you now."

Jun looked at her blankly, and Sumire walked to the backroom. He waited for a few minutes, and she returned with a tray with a jug of herbal-looking tea.

"I bought Hino these tea leaves, but he hasn't used them much. I also mixed it up, but the flavor is delightful if you're fatigued."

"I see."

Sumire picked up a clean cup and poured the contents inside before passing it to him. The moment he took a sip of the tea, it felt like his exhaustion was gradually leaving his body.

"You're right; this is good."

"Right? I went all the way to get these imported from abroad, but Hino hasn't used any. Whose sake was it that I was browsing the web for the best place to find these?" Sumire grumbled.

It's not just Narasaki Hino who has deep emotions towards Sumire, but the same goes vice versa. However, Sumire-san is very good at hiding how much she cares; otherwise, others would have noticed by now. It makes sense why she would hide it.

The media are already harassing her enough after Nagawa Sano's bold confession. If they discover that the one Sumire cares for the most amongst the other guys who like her is Narasaki, then she will get even more hate.

After all, everybody knows how close Yuhi and Narasaki Hino are. It would certainly be adding fuel to the fire.

"Hino, you see, has been actively going against the Black Alice organization and D entertainment. It seems like his father is supporting that man, and Hino is working hard to deplete his father of his connections and resources so Lucifer would have less support."

"Is that why he looks so tired?"

"He is busy running around being my manager and clearing after my mess too." Sumire trailed off. "You know, I have been thinking about how I lived my life until now."

"Your life?"

"Mm, I was a huge mess when we met. That year before I came to Tokyo, so much had happened, and I was at the lowest point in my life. Back then, I felt so alone and miserable. Even though Yuhi-san never stopped singing songs for me, I ended up cutting him off. Although the details are still vague to me, I understand that I am the one who pushed him away even though he reached out his hand to help me. When he was suffering, and in pain, all I did was push him away. It probably explains why I didn't recognize him immediately when we first met again in Tokyo. It's because I spent most of the time pushing him away."

'It seems Sumire-san's own memories are unstable. But, the cause of her memory loss and mine are different. For her, it should be easier to naturally regain her memories.'

"I'm sure Yuhi-san never blamed you."

At those words, Sumire laughed weakly. "That is exactly the problem; I wouldn't have felt so guilty if he blamed me. It would have erased the guilt, but he never blamed me. I was a mess, and I caused so many problems for everyone. But the most important point of this conversation was the past me didn't care about anything or anybody. I had already lost hope in the world. I didn't believe in anyone or anybody. I had given up on everything, and that was why I could easily cause chaos without thinking of the consequences."

"....."

Jun didn't say anything, but he was listening to her attentively.

So, it seems like Mamoru-san was right. Sumire-san doesn't know about this, but Mamoru-san had a conversation with all the guys who like her separately. He all asked them the same question, and despite receiving different responses, his conclusion was the same.

'No matter what happens, do not blame Ki.'

Those words were the same as saying not to hate her, but because he worded it differently, it made them all think. Why would they ever blame her? How could they ever blame her for breaking? They should be blaming themselves for not realizing it. If any of them recognized what was wrong with Sumire, they wouldn't have enforced their feelings.

It was unwise of them to confess to her; it was unwise for him as he belonged to that category.

"So recently I have been thinking, I have retraced my memories and thought about all the conversations I had with people. Everybody was worried about me, and they all did their best to help. But in the end, I pushed them all away. There was love right beside me, the affection I had always wanted, and yet due to the mental damage, I couldn't see it."

"Can you see it now?" Jun asked.