Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 69 Sequelae

After the school year started at Hanaoka High School, the students soon learned a big news.

This news was neither about the wind band advancing to the national conference nor about the newly appointed student council president announcing that he would reform the cultural festival.

Rather, it was Tomatsu Tomoka from Class 2, Grade 1 who failed to confess her love to her classmate Matsueda Jun.

What makes a person famous is often not the beginning of an event, but the end.

For adolescent boys and girls, there is nothing more explosive than gossip, let alone two people who spoke at the opening ceremony.

"Matsueda, what is it about Tomatsu-san that displeases you? There must be a reason to reject her, right?" Sakamuro Ken caught the ball passed by Matsueda Jun.

"Tomatsu-san is a nice guy, I just don't like him." There were many curious boys around Matsueda Jun, and he didn't want to say much.

"Hey, Songzhi, what kind of girls do you like? Lately, girls have been asking me if I don't like girls anymore."

Ken Sakamuro dribbled the ball a few times and passed it back to Jun Matsueda when he retreated beyond the three-point line.

"You'll know when you meet him."

Jun Matsueda jumped up and shot, and the ball went into the net.

Compared to the boys who spoke their minds, the girls could only suppress their desire to gossip and stare at Tomatsu Tomoka walking in the playground.

After all, failing in a confession is not something to be praised.

What's more, the girls from Class 1 were right next to them, and Mochizuki Haruka was standing among the noisy hot girls.

Since Wang Yuehua had woken up, no matter how much she wanted to stay with her aunt, it was useless and she was sent back to school.

"Does Mochizuki-chan have no rivals now?" the hot girl Rin asked her in a low voice.

"I don't care about that right now." Mochizuki Haruka took off the hair tie on her right hand and tied it into a high ponytail. "Let's go play tennis."

Tomatsu Tomoka and Mizushima Miya walked around the outermost track of the playground, circling it again and again. Gravel was squeezed into the track by the soles of their shoes, making a small squeaking sound.

On the central lawn of the playground, boys in white jerseys chased a soccer ball. Occasionally, someone would stop and look at the two people on the track, only to resume running after being called out by the goalkeeper.

The girls continued the topic they hadn't finished discussing that night in Kichijoji.

"I did something terrible to Matsueda-san before." Tomatsu Tomoka's complexion looked better than when school started, but it still looked sickly pale.

"You didn't force him or something, did you?" Mizushima Miya covered her mouth. Whether it's a boy or a girl, there will always be a lot of dirty stuff in their minds during adolescence.

Tomatsu Tomoka patted her arm gently. "It's something that can really hurt the other person! It's very serious!"

"Did he forgive you?"

The girl shook her head.

"Then how dare you confess?!" Mizushima Miya stomped her feet, and the boy in the distance shot hit the crossbar.

"It's a complicated matter. The key isn't here." They had walked almost a lap around the playground and could see the baseball field on the other side of the wire fence. Several female managers were chatting, and after seeing the two of them, one of them walked over and waved to them.

"Tomoka, Miya!"

The two waved back, and the girl in the baseball cap said one more thing before turning around, "Come on, Tomoka! I'll support you!"

The girl's fake smile disappeared.

They walked around the playground half a circle again, and it was not until the boys on the football field missed their third shot that Tomatsu Tomoka continued speaking.

"I've already been mentally prepared for the fact that Matsueda-san won't forgive me."

“But when I heard him say that he might never forget the mistake I made, I felt a deep despair.” Tomatsu Yuka stopped repeating the meaningless cycle along the track. She walked to the edge of the soccer field, squatted down, her skirt almost touching the ground, and Mizushima Miya walked to her side.

The boys on the court ran harder.

"Miya, you also had a crush on Matsueda-san when you first entered school, right?" the girl suddenly asked.

Mizushima Miya blushed for a moment, and she also squatted down. The two girls fiddled with the grass blades of the artificial turf.

"Yes, but I quickly lost interest. Someone like Songzhi is too difficult for me. If I were to pursue him, I would definitely have to put in a lot of effort, and I might even feel inferior. It's easier to just be friends."

"If you were like me, worrying about your test scores all day, you wouldn't have as much time to think about Songzhi."

Tomatsu Tomoka plucked up a piece of fake grass and rubbed it between her fingertips. Her friend, Jun Matsueda, managed to escape the whirlpool just in time, but she was caught in it, unable to extricate herself.

"I've long wanted to be with him forever, but I'm not mentally prepared to spend my whole life waiting for his forgiveness."

Not getting a response is both sad and scary.

The girl stood up and looked at the green field in front of her. She could spend a long time waiting for the grass to grow and the flowers to bloom.

But what should she do if even the grass is dead and no flowers can bloom?
"I think I need some time to regain my courage."

After school in the afternoon, Jun Matsueda opened the door of the news department and found someone already inside.

Tsushima Kou waved to him. The director and Seshita Yumi were at the computer, looking through the footage that Natsumi Imokawa had selected. The girl holding the camera sat in a corner with her head lowered. When Jun Matsueda approached her, she looked up at him.

"Your work is quite good, and you have plenty of material. We'll just have to film it when the wind band participates in the national conference."

"Then can the task of the wind band come to an end for the time being?" Matsueda Jun said, he wanted to reduce his contact with Tomatsu Tomoka as much as possible.

Tsushima Kou thought for a moment. "The main tasks ahead are the school's ball games and cultural festival. After that, I might arrange for you to film the basketball team. By then, the 'Winter Trials' will be almost here."

"I may not be able to come to the club for the ball game. I am needed to play in our class basketball game." Ken Sakamuro has always wanted to rely on him and Jun Matsueda to lead the team to dominate the freshman class, and he has mentioned it several times in class.

Tsushima Kou made an OK gesture and said, "Then I'll make the arrangements when the time comes."

"See you tomorrow, Captain~" The girls said goodbye to Yamami Maki who stayed in the club room.

The girl smiled and waved at them, putting her clarinet into her instrument bag. Inside the bag were two photos: one of the girls by Lake Ashi, and one of the wind band at the Tokyo National Convention.

Yamami Miki recalled the expressionless Jun Matsueda she saw when she got off the bus that day, and Tomatsu Touka who sat beside her and cried silently after getting on the bus.

The girl's sadness was impossible to conceal, and the news quickly spread throughout the wind band. Yamami Maki felt guilty about this and went to apologize to the girl, but Tomatsu Tomoka said it was no big deal.

"There's nothing to worry about anyway." Yamami Moki still remembers the miserable smile on the girl's face.

She took one last look at the club room and was about to leave when a girl walked in. Yamami Maki remembered her; she was a senior in the wind band who had dropped out because she was promoted to a third year.

The girl's makeup was very delicate. I came in and greeted her first.

"Ah~ Moji, long time no see."

Yamami Moki smiled, "Senior, what do you want to talk to me about?"

The beautiful senior schoolmate lifted her chin with her index finger and touched her earlobe, looking a little embarrassed.

"Yeah, there was a rumor recently about a beautiful freshman who had a failed confession. My friend who's in the wind band showed me a picture of that guy, and he's quite handsome. I'd like to meet him, senior."

"Moji, what do you think of that boy named Matsueda Jun?"

Perhaps because of the dimming light, the smile on Yamami Moki's face faded a little.

　I'm hesitating about whether to give this senior a name. I've received feedback that there are too many Japanese names and I can't remember them all. Maybe I should just call her "Beautiful Senior"?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)