— — — — — —
Oikawa let go of Yui's mouth, looking thoroughly awkward as he stepped out from behind the tree.
"Uh… I can explain."
"I wasn't trying to eavesdrop on purpose, I just happened to pass by and—"
"No need."
Yukino Yukinoshita's voice was subdued, tinged with something like sadness. She tilted her head up, staring at the stars scattered across the night sky.
"It's strange. With my personality, I shouldn't be losing my temper like this."
"..."
"Oikawa, you didn't actually care about that girl, Rumi. Did you?"
"Yeah."
Oikawa admitted it without hesitation.
"Why not? Don't you think she deserves help?"
"…Then again, you're not part of the Service Club. You're under no obligation to do anything. You were probably forced into this camp by Shizuka-sensei in the first place."
Her tone gradually turned cold.
"That's right." Oikawa nodded again, calm as ever.
"So you think it's fine for her to be isolated?"
"I knew it. You really are a terrible, irredeemable jerk. I shouldn't have expected anything from you in the first place. At the end of the day, you're just another cynical, unpleasant person."
There was no attempt to hide the disgust in Yukino's eyes.
But she didn't leave.
It was as if she was waiting for him to argue back.
Well, she was bound to be disappointed.
Because Oikawa had no intention of explaining himself.
...The atmosphere grew heavier by the second.
Yui Yuigahama stood off to the side like an outsider, but her instincts told her something big was about to explode.
She forced herself to push aside the jumble of thoughts in her head and stepped forward.
Walking up to Yukino, she grabbed her hand tightly.
"Yukino, maybe Oikawa just doesn't know how to help Rumi."
"Think about it, he's always been kind. Before exams, he even helped tutor the struggling students in math. Remember how serious he was back then?"
After saying that, Yui turned to Oikawa again.
Biting her lip, her face full of distress, she looked at him almost pleadingly.
"Oikawa… please say something. I really don't want there to be any misunderstanding between you and Yukino."
"Haven't we all had a good time together? Don't you remember how much fun we had at karaoke? Please… just explain it."
What she was really thinking was: Even if you don't care about Rumi… just say something to smooth things over.
She didn't want things between everyone to fall apart.
That was just the kind of person Yui was.
Gentle, to a fault.
Oikawa let out a quiet sigh.
He looked at Yukino for a long moment before finally speaking. "It's because I know I can't help her. And I don't want to."
"Even if you wanted to help, you don't really have a solution either, do you?"
"What, are you going to play the senior card and threaten the kids who are isolating her? Or create some kind of crisis so Rumi can swoop in and save everyone and win their favor?"
"Sure, it might work. But would it actually solve anything?"
He paused briefly before continuing. "Have you ever thought about whether Rumi is someone worth saving?"
Oikawa didn't have a good impression of her.
Not from the very first moment they met.
Earlier that afternoon, when they found her, he had already noticed something off.
She was alone, yet not entirely separate from the group.
Yes, she was being isolated.
But it didn't feel like she actually wanted to rejoin them.
Not like Hachiman.
Not like Yukino.
Those two carried loneliness in their gaze. Even when they stood alone, they still longed for connection.
"I don't understand what you're trying to say."
Yukino looked at him steadily. "Explain it more clearly."
"And that's exactly why I chose to stay quiet. Because it's a hassle." Oikawa scratched his head. "Back when we were making dinner tonight, you heard Rumi talking to Hachiman, right?"
Yukino nodded.
"Do you remember what she said?"
"'Once, a girl I was close to—someone I talked to a lot—got completely ostracized. So I distanced myself from her too.'"
"That's what she said. She also mentioned that she would bully other girls with her classmates, but only because everyone else did it. They'd get bored after a while and pick a new girl to target. At some point, though, they started picking on Rumi and never moved on."
Oikawa's voice remained steady.
"Yukino Yukinoshita, she's not like you. She's not that kind."
"She's not like Yui Yuigahama either, who's afraid that becoming your friend might cost her friendship with Yumiko Miura."
"She already made her choice. She abandoned one friend after another to secure more."
"So…"
"She needs to apologize. Someone who's done wrong has to atone before they deserve saving."
"I'm not as kind as Yui. I won't help her."
"Being abandoned… it's like a thorn piercing your heart. Even if you pull it out, the hole it leaves behind doesn't disappear."
He fell silent for a moment, then added. "But I'm not looking down on your kindness either. Everyone has to make their own choice. As long as it doesn't go against your own heart, that's enough."
Oikawa held Yukino's gaze for a second longer.
Then he turned and walked away without another word.
Yui seemed to still be stuck on one sentence: "Afraid that becoming your friend might cost her friendship with Yumiko."
Yukino watched Oikawa's retreating figure.
For a long time, she said nothing.
.
.
.