Fortunately, Youna had been able to make it to the store without much worry. Unfortunately, the snow got a lot worse during her trip here and while she was picking out some supplies. The conditions made her feel things were way too unsafe to attempt the return and judging by Ishi’s near death experience, she was right.

So the girl had chosen to stick around here to remain safe. She had planned on calling her parents and Ishi that she’d be here for the foreseeable future, However when she attempted to call them, her service dropped. Most likely caused by the harsh weather, which explained why he was unable to contact her while he was waiting for her return.

“I’m sorry I made you worry.” Youna hung her head down as she sat besides the cases of drinks purchased for the party.

“It’s fine.” He sat down besides her. Since they weren’t going to be going anywhere anytime soon, there was no other place for him to be at. “I’m just happy you’re safe.”

“I’ll just leave the two of you alone.” The lone store employee left them as he headed into the break room. Ishi was about to ask if they could stay in that room, but went against it as this man seemed to be like everyone else. People who really want to push him into a relationship with some girl.

Well, it would be a little rude to just call Youna, ‘some girl’, to him. The truth was that she was one of his closest friends and someone he had grown acquainted to over the past few years of high school.

“You go way too easy on me.” She continued speaking now that they were alone. “What I did was a little silly. I just wanted to be someone more reliable.”

“Was that what you wished for?” He asked.

“N-no.” Still, she didn’t want to admit to him the truth about what her true wish was. “It’s got nothing to do with what I prayed for.” Though a piece of it was related. Youna knew she needed to overcome that hurdle of finally being able to speak out her true feelings for him. In order to do that, she needed to be able to take on challenges and be a little more bold.

“I see. Well, don’t worry too hard on being dependable.” He assured her. “We all know you do your best, so don’t be afraid to let everyone around you pick up some slack.” Admittedly, he wasn’t the type to seek out help himself, so it was a little hypocritical. Though Ishi certainly would come to her aid if she asked.

“But…” She hesitated on her words for a moment. Slowly, the girl quietly slid her hands right over the top of his. “I don’t want to be a burden on you.”

“Where’s this coming from?” He asked, taking note of her body language. She had already been a little bold before, it wasn’t as if that moment during the festival was lost on him.

“You always complain about dealing with teenage nonsense.” She explained to him. That boy certainly did exactly that many times throughout the years. “B-but, half of that is because you’re always coming to bail me out. So just admit it. Just admit that you hate me.”

“I’ll definitely never do that.” He leaned his head closer to hers. “I don’t understand where this is coming from?” Youna was crying now as her voice broke. It was tough enough to try and expand upon her feelings for him. All of the emotions of these past few years were coming to a head.

“I…” What was there to say? She searched into her mind for the answer, but all she got was the advice he gave onto her. That she should be more open to her feelings and that she needed to work to make her wish a reality. “I really… I’m in love with you.” Finally, out came her wish. Youna, shaking from all the stress in her body, had finally confessed to her long time crush.

“Y-you do?” For a moment, he was taken aback. This was something that he had never expected coming out of her. Sure, she was always conscious around him, but that just seemed to be her usual shyness.

“But I’m no good for you.” She stared down at the ground as she put herself down. “I get scared too easily, and I get too shy around people, and I…” She listed out the many reasons she believed she wasn’t the girl for him.

“Is this supposed to be a confession?” Now he was confused by her actions. Normally people try to convince the other person to date them when they confessed.

“You told me that I have to work to make my wishes come true.” She admitted to him what she had prayed for. However, she had only asked to tell him the truth about her feelings. There was no request about having him accept her.

“Well, you didn’t even wait to hear my response.” He slowly leaned into her. There was little space between the two as he thought about what he believed his future was going to be. After all, the boy had stated on multiple occasions the type of girl he was searching for. A nice and quiet girl. Youna certainly fit the bill pretty well, but he had never considered her as they were still in high school.

But that wasn’t why he was starting to realize his feelings in this moment. It wasn’t that she hit the marks on the checklist he created for him. As Ishi came to think about their history. She was the one who stuck around despite his cold demeanor. This meek and shy girl who could hardly handle big crowds wasn’t scared of him at all.

“…” Youna was speechless as they sat in silence. He was just so close to her face and her heart was beating wildly out of control. The girl was so worried about what his response was going to be. Finally, she received her answer, but it wasn’t told through words. Instead, Ishi moved slightly into her face and kissed her.

This wasn’t anything like the time during the bonfire. That kiss was only on the cheek, but this one right here was planted straight onto her lips. She made no effort to reject it, as her long time dream was finally coming true.

“…” After some time, Ishi backed away from her. His face was redder than she had ever seen it before. “I hope you liked my answer.” Uncharacteristically, he had his gaze averted from her as he talked. “Because I was wrong when I said I didn’t treat you any differently than anyone else. The truth is… You’re a really special girl to me.”

“…” At first, Youna didn’t respond when he told her everything. She was still stuck on the kiss they just shared on the store floor as her eyes were opened wide. However, that didn’t signal her being awake, as the girl then began to fall over backwards onto the ground.

“Whoa, are you all right?” He caught her.

“I’m…” Finally, she was able to speak again. “I’m just so relieved.”

This moment between them was sweet, but had to be cut short as they heard the automatic doors slide open. At first, there was a gust of wind that chilled the room, then it was followed by the chatters of a large group of people.

And by large group of people, it would be better described as the entire guest list of the party they were just at.

“What are you all doing here?” Youna asked in shock as she and Ishi came up to greet them.

“Thank goodness you’re okay.” Her mom came up and played with the young girl’s cheeks, embarrassing her in front of everyone. It had been a while since Ishi left, and when he didn’t respond with his phone, Ryugi knew there had to be a problem. Since it was unsafe to be sending out only one person they all decided to do the one thing they thought to be reasonable. That being for everyone to leave the safety of the house and all head to where these two were believed to be at. Clearly that was the only option available to them…

“I-Ishi… You’re…” Rinse pointed down to his hand. Without even thinking much about it, him and Youna had come up to them while holding each other’s hand tightly.

“Right, I guess you could say that my relationship with Youna’s a little…. Different now.” He admitted to everyone, including all their families that he was now officially dating someone’s daughter. Unfortunately for him, that now left him to be mobbed by both his and hers parents about the newfound relationship.

“We should celebrate!” His dad cheered out. It was very much an over-the-top reaction he received by telling them all that he was in love with Youna.

“I’d suggest that you probably don’t try to return home in this weather.” The worker reminded them of the snow piling up against the door. In fact, this crowd already had a dicey trip just to get here. If they weren’t in a group, then someone most likely would’ve died.

“Then can we do it here instead?” Ryugi asked. He was surprised to see how quickly she seemed to heal from that rejection. It felt a little that it might not have been genuine, but in reality she was always good at hiding how she truly felt to him. “Pretty please?” Everyone else joined in on guilt-tripping the lone employee to do so.

“Fine, but only just because it’s the new year.” He relented. “And you guys better let me join in too.”

“Of course.” Ishi accepted it without any complaint. “And thanks so much for letting us stay here.” The weather was bad, but they were able to keep their spirits high with that act of kindness. “Happy new year.”