By Zephyria Ariel took Koi to the end of the hallway, in the opposite direction from the locker room. The area, which connected to the emergency exit, was deserted, making it a good place for this kind of conversation.
“Alright, talk,” Ariel finally said once they were alone.
“What’s going on?”
Koi looked down at her, flustered. Ariel, with her arms crossed and a frown on her face as she looked up at him, didn’t seem angry. But that didn’t mean she was happy either. Koi managed to stammer out the words he had been thinking about as he was dragged here.
“Well, I mean… I don’t really know either.”
The lines on Ariel’s forehead deepened. Koi quickly continued,
“Really. I mean, I thought Ash was going to ask you to get back together after he won the game…”
“He was going to ask me to get back together after he won? Did Ash say that?”
“Uh…”
Koi just blinked at Ariel’s pressing question, then belatedly realized,
“…No.”
He mumbled in a barely audible voice.
“He didn’t… say that.”
“Then?”
Ariel asked with a frown.
“Why did you think that?”
Koi was at a loss for words. He didn’t know where to start. Seeing him hesitate and fidget, Ariel sighed and haughtily raised her chin.
“Just tell me something, anything. I’ll listen and decide.”
“Well,” Koi started again, dragging out the word. He needed time to organize his thoughts.
“Ash… told me… that he liked me…”
As he struggled to get the words out, Ariel paused. Koi couldn’t bring himself to look at her face, and he stammered on, his head down.
“It couldn’t be real, so I… said he was… mistaken. And… Ash said that after this game, he would… come to a… conclusion…”
His voice gradually faded away until it was almost a whisper. He realized belatedly that Ashley had never once mentioned Ariel. Koi had just assumed that was the case. That Ashley would naturally go back to Ariel once he had snapped out of his delusion.
“But, but it’s natural to think that way, right?”
Koi said urgently.
“Because he was going out with you, I don’t know why you broke up, but…”
‘Because I started liking someone else.’
Suddenly, a forgotten memory resurfaced.
Huh?
Koi stopped talking and his eyes widened. Now that he thought about it, he had said that. So it wasn’t Ariel. Why had he assumed it was Ariel?
If it wasn’t Ariel, then who was it?
A heavy silence fell between Ariel and Koi. Ariel slowly opened her mouth. Koi held his breath, unable to speak, until the words came out of her lips. Could it be, could it be, could it be?
Finally, Ariel whispered,
“It was you.”
At that moment, all the forgotten memories came flooding back.
‘I like you.’
That day at the diner.
‘I like you, Koi.’
That day at the pool.
‘Koi.’
The moment he remembered Ashley’s expressions and the look in his eyes as he called his name and said he liked him so many times, Koi was speechless. No way, it couldn’t be.
Ash is just feeling sorry for me.
Reality blocked the small flicker of hope. Koi stubbornly denied his feelings. There’s no way that could be true.
“Why?”
He must have blurted out the word without realizing it. Koi snapped back to reality at Ariel’s voice. He blinked in confusion, and she was looking at him with a serious expression.
“Why is there no way that could be true?”
Koi hesitated for a moment, unable to answer her quiet question right away.
“That’s, because…”
Because I’m Corner Niles.
Ashley had told him never to put himself down, but it wasn’t that easy. Ashley didn’t know how pathetic and insignificant Corner Niles was. Compared to that, Ashley was too perfect. So how could he dare to think that Ashley liked him?“Koi, Ash’s feelings are something only Ash knows.”
Ariel spoke.
“Neither you, nor I, nor anyone else knows. If Ash says that’s how they feel, then that’s how they feel.”
“……”
“You can’t deny that.”
Ariel’s calm voice continued.
“You just need to be true to your own feelings. Don’t deny other people’s feelings; that’s ignoring them.”
Koi had no intention of doing that at all. He shook his head hastily, and Ariel, as if she knew everything, asked, “So, what are your feelings?”
“……”
“It doesn’t matter whether Ash likes you or not. Just tell me your feelings. Do you like Ash? Or do you dislike them?”
When Koi still couldn’t answer, Ariel added,
“You just need to go and be honest with your own feelings. Don’t judge whether Ash likes you or not. That’s not your place.”
“Got it?” Ariel asked. Looking at her neat face, Koi felt a wave of embarrassment. He lowered his head and muttered softly,
“But, you’re here.”
“What?”
Ariel frowned again. Koi couldn’t bring himself to say the next words, but she asked in a clear, distinct voice,
“Did Ash confess to you while they were dating me?”
“N-no… maybe.”
He shook his head hastily, and Ariel tilted her head to one side.
“They confessed after we broke up, right? Then what’s the problem?”
Koi couldn’t bring himself to answer. How could he say that he felt like he was betraying her? To Koi, who was hesitating, Ariel opened her mouth with a sigh.
“Koi, I heard something a long time ago.”
In a very calm voice, she continued,
“There are two things in the world that can’t be undone. One is a river that has already flowed.”
She extended her index finger, then extended her middle finger.
“And the other is the heart of someone who has turned away.”
Koi stared blankly down at her. Ariel, as always, clearly defined her stance.
“Ash and I are over. I don’t know why you and my sisters can’t accept it, but we’re completely done, and we have no feelings for each other.”
Koi still couldn’t say anything. She simply concluded,
“So, if you’re holding back from being honest because you’re worried about me, you don’t have to. It’s actually a nuisance.”
As if she had said all she needed to say, Ariel stepped back.
“I’m going to the after-party with my sisters. You can come with Ash or not, do whatever you want.”
With those final words, she turned away. Koi stared blankly at her retreating figure as she walked away briskly.