"Seiya, how did you know Saori would be there...?"
"Idiot. I could tell by your shoes."
....
The lounge was quiet. The distant clack-clack of bamboo swords from the dojo filtered through the door and into the ears of the three people standing in tense silence.
Shiratori Seiya noticed their stares. He frowned, wrapped his arm with his sleeve, and barely managed to cover the scar.
He didn't want to look at that wound himself. To him, it represented a massive mistake from his past.
Not that he regretted saving Hasegawa Saori. Even if he had to do it again—ten times, a hundred times—he would still jump without a second's hesitation in that moment.
Money could accomplish most things in this world. But it could never buy back Hasegawa Saori's life.
Was he putting too much pressure on Saori?
During those long days of recovery after the hospital surgery, Shiratori Seiya had done a lot of reflecting. He felt he'd been inconsiderate—that he hadn't taken Hasegawa Saori's personality into account.
Haste makes waste.
Fortunately, that lesson had been profound enough. Later, when nurturing Shione, he made sure to provide her with regular psychological counseling. He even tried to fulfill every reasonable request she made...
His thoughts drifted far away. But the current situation was clearly more pressing. Shiratori Seiya snapped back to reality, his gaze moving to the two girls in front of him.
Hasegawa Saori looked as dazed as ever. Seemingly aware that she'd done something wrong, she stood rooted in place with her head down, slowly shuffling toward the corner of the wall—as if only leaning against it could give her any sense of peace.
Next to her, Takahashi Mio's eyes glistened with tears. She looked equally dazed, seemingly startled by the scar on his arm.
Shiratori Seiya sighed inwardly.
He didn't really care that Takahashi Mio knew about this. Over time, it couldn't stay hidden anyway—she would have found out sooner or later.
But that wasn't the main issue.
Some questions remained unanswered.
Especially the words Hasegawa Saori had just said to him. And that sword thrust toward Takahashi Mio... Although she'd intentionally missed in the end, that kind of intimidation...
Shiratori Seiya hadn't expected her to still have such deep emotional ties to him. When they broke up, it had gone remarkably smoothly—so smoothly that he'd thought Saori never really understood what love was. Maybe she just saw him as a good friend.
But now... this dramatic scene had come out of nowhere. It was hard to say whether someone had said something to provoke her.
Remembering Saori's mention of Hojo Shione earlier, Shiratori Seiya's expression grew serious.
"I'm sorry..."
Saori's voice suddenly reached his ears. At first, it sounded like she was apologizing to Takahashi Mio.
But Shiratori Seiya looked up and saw Hasegawa Saori looking at him with a pouting mouth, her eyes like an abandoned puppy's—pitiful and full of regret.
Just as he was about to speak, Takahashi Mio—standing beside him—took a small step sideways, raised her hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and whispered:
"It's okay."
"Mainly, I really didn't know you two were... that you knew each other before. I shouldn't have come in and interrupted you..."
As she spoke, the girl forced a smile, looked at Shiratori Seiya with a wronged expression, then turned to Hasegawa Saori, preparing to bow.
"That's enough."
Before she could move, Shiratori Seiya reached out and pressed her shoulder, stopping her mid-bow. He looked at her profile and said:
"There are still some things I don't understand. I want to ask her. I'll give you an explanation later."
"Oh."
Takahashi Mio nodded obediently, but her mind was already racing.
She'd been standing outside the door the whole time—crouching down, listening to the two of them talk for a long while. Based on the information Hojo Shione had provided, she'd pretty much figured out the general situation.
If she hadn't come in when she did... she probably would have been taken down by that crazy person, right?
Recalling the moment she'd entered the room, she couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
Takahashi Mio hadn't originally intended to come in. After all, casually inserting herself into Shiratori Seiya's past life would definitely provoke his displeasure.
But with that stance she'd witnessed through the crack in the door? Let alone a man—even she probably couldn't have handled it.
Her boyfriend, whom she'd only been dating for less than a month, about to rekindle an old flame with his first love?
Absolutely unacceptable.
Thinking this, Takahashi Mio suddenly understood why Hojo Shione had specifically emphasized in her message that Hasegawa Saori was Shiratori Seiya's first love.
So she was being used as a pawn.
That scheming woman...
But even though she was being used, she wasn't particularly angry. If Hojo Shione hadn't told her, things could have gotten quite dangerous.
Well, actually, they had been quite dangerous.
Takahashi Mio really hadn't expected that in the 21st century, someone would still try to take a swing at her regardless of the occasion.
Just thinking about that sword thrust earlier made her stomach clench with lingering fear.
Although the subsequent fear was partly feigned—to make Shiratori Seiya feel sorry for her—the tears were real. Those were genuine fright.
That crazy person... isn't she afraid of provoking Shiratori Seiya's displeasure?
But as she thought this, she couldn't help but glance at Shiratori Seiya's left arm again. Such a large scar... what exactly had he been through?
He was becoming more and more mysterious.
Her thoughts settled. Takahashi Mio felt that what she'd done and learned today was enough. Too much would be counterproductive—pushing Shiratori Seiya too hard might not get her what she wanted.
Anyway, they would have plenty of time together in the future. She'd have all the time in the world to understand him.
Thinking this, Takahashi Mio nodded obediently, looked at Shiratori Seiya, and smiled.
"I'm fine. You two talk..."
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A knock interrupted the moment.
Immediately after, a female voice emerged through the door:
"Saori? Are you in there? Saori?"
Saori, standing by the wall, snapped out of her daze. She turned to look at the door, then wiped away the tears from her eyes.
Just as she was about to open it, she seemed to remember something. She turned and looked at Shiratori Seiya, giving him an inquiring look.
"I'll get it."
Shiratori Seiya walked to the door and moved the chair aside.
The door opened, revealing the girl he'd encountered at the entrance earlier.
Yokoyama Miyu was startled to see Shiratori Seiya opening the door. Then she blinked.
"Is Saori not in there?"
"She is."
Shiratori Seiya stepped aside.
"Oh. Oh."
Yokoyama Miyu peeked inside. She first glanced at Hasegawa Saori standing nearby—and was startled by her red, puffy eyes. Then she looked at the other stunning girl standing to the side.
And fell silent.
It really is a love triangle...
When she'd first learned that Hasegawa Saori liked this boy, she'd intended to give them enough space. But then she'd seen another beautiful—no, stunning—girl enter, and she'd felt that something was wrong.
Only after asking Fujiyama Takeo did she find out that the other woman was Shiratori Seiya's girlfriend.
What the heck. Did Saori fall in love with a man who was already taken?
Saori, you...
Even now, she could still feel the tense atmosphere crackling between the three of them.
Yokoyama Miyu sighed inwardly and gave Shiratori Seiya a long, meaningful look.
Then she walked over to Hasegawa Saori, took her hand, and smiled.
"Saori, let's go. We're having lunch together..."