Within the walls of a two-story house, a single man kept going back and forth inside his residence. “Wallet… keys… Hey, Arisa! Are you two ready?” The man called out, to which a woman replied as she carried a small child.

“Now, now, relax… Geez, I just finished dressing Aya…” Arisa Ichinose spoke to her husband as she carried her daughter in her arms. “Papa’s not patient!” The little girl, Aya Ichinose, giggled.

“Hahaha…forgive Aya, I’m just a little excited that’s all…” Kei Ichinose said as he took the girl in his arms. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen them, right?” Arisa asked.

“It has, we’ve been quite busy so yeah.” (Kei)

On a weekend afternoon, Kei and his family went out to meet up with their acquaintances for the first time in a while. Arisa went to the living room for a brief moment and then emerged again through the door frame. “So, are we ready to go?” Arisa nodded at Kei’s question and they all left the house.

↤⨳↦

As the family of three arrived at a restaurant, they entered as they heard the small chime at the top of the door ring, which caused their daughter to giggle in amusement.

“Is there a private room under the name ‘Kotone Segawa?” Kei asked the receptionist. They proceeded to look at their monitor and turned their head once again in confirmation. “Yes, are you… Kei Ichinose?”

“Yes, I am.” As Kei nodded, a waiter came up to them and asked them to follow them. They walked down a broad hallway up to a relatively rustic door. The waiter left them on their own and Kei opened the door as Arisa put down Aya.

As soon as the door opened, Aya ran up to a woman with a big smile on her little face. The woman had long violet hair, her eyes resembled that of Aya’s father and she had a major motherly charm to her. Kotone Segawa, Kei’s older sister.

“Auntie Kotone!” Aya said as she hugged her.

“Aya~! It’s been a while, are you behaving?” Kotone said as she returned the hug with a soft smile on her face. “I am!” (Aya)

“It’s been a while, you two.” Turning to the couple, Arisa said with a smile. Besides Kotone, a man with obsidian eyes and black hair sat as he watched his wife interact with her niece.

Ichirou Segawa returned Arisa’s greeting with a wave. “It has, how have you two been?” (Ichirou)

“As busy as always, Aya was very excited when she heard we will have dinner with you guys.” Kei chuckled as he sat down while gazing at his sister and daughter. “Where’s Karane?” He asked.

“Karane said she will be coming a little late. Fifthteen minutes from now, I think?” (Kotone)

“I see. Well, she did say she was kind of busy these days. So no wonder she got caught up in her work.” (Arisa)

“She recently came from abroad, so no wonder there are many things that need her attention.” Kei’s sister Karane worked for a nutrition company, she has been slowly building her position to the point where she was appointed as a section manager and has been taking countless business trips either abroad or just within the country.

“Is Auntie Karane not coming?” Aya said with a sad voice. “She’s coming later, Honey, don’t worry.” Kotone said as she patted Aya’s head while sitting on her lap.

As her head was patted, her smile bloomed like a flower and Kotone, in response, seemed to fawn over her even more. “Gosh, you’re so cute!” (Kotone)

“She really likes to spoil…” (Arisa)

““She does indeed… Huh?”” (Kei & Ichirou)

The two looked at each other, and in a short amount of time, Ichirou grew noticeably nervous as his face turned red. “It’s nothing.” (Ichirou)

“...Ichirou…?” Kei frowned.

“I said, it’s nothing!” (Ichirou)

↤⨳↦

As they all enjoyed their meal, Kei turned to Karane, who was happily feeding Aya occasionally. “So, sis… When are you getting married?” In an instant, Karane’s expression turned sour and as she turned to her younger brother, she said:

“This again? I’m happy as I am now, I can't even focus more on my work. I’m also taking proper care of myself, you know? This is nothing like the cliches of “Single lady lives in a mess”, okay?” (Karane)

“No, I trust you. Given by some of my surprise visits, it is no wonder that you’re living a healthy lifestyle. It’s just… Isn’t it lonely?” (Kei)

“Huh? Not at all. I don’t drown in work and also spend time with friends, you know?” (Karane)

“Still…” Kei felt worried, all her life, Karane has valued friendship over love, and even though it hasn’t harmed Karane’s perception of life and her daily life in general, Kei wanted his sister to be happy with company.

“I’m happy as I am now. If anything, shouldn’t we be worried about her?” With a cheeky grin, Karane turned to Kotone, who’s face immediately turned red. “H-huh…?” (Kotone)

“Right… you did say you had something to tell us. What is it about?” Arisa asked as she cocked her head. Kotone’s face started turning red and then, as she gathered the courage, she took a deep breath and said with a happy smile.

“So… we just found out last week… U-uhm… It seems that I am expecting…” The surroundings grew quiet, and the more time passed, the more Kotone got embarrassed. Finally, the one who broke the silence was no other than— Arisa.

“Eh?! Congratulations!” She ran up to her and gently hugged her, she had a completely happy smile as Kotone’s was an embarrassed one. “Congrats, sis!” Then, Karane said with a happy smile as she clapped her hands. Aya, obviously clueless, turned to Kei with a curious expression.

“Papa, what does that mean?” (Aya)

“It means you’ll soon have a cousin, sweetheart.” Kei gently told her. “Congratulations, sister. I’m very happy for you. With this, you’re a step away from achieving that dream, right?” (Kei)

“Ugh— K-Kei?” (Kotone)

“It’s nothing. But seriously, congratulations, sis.” Kei gently smiled at her sister. From then on, the dinner turned into a celebration for Kotone. The night was young, they were only getting started.

↤⨳↦

The next day, in the afternoon. Kei and his daughter were eating lunch on a bench by the park. Kei got off work and picked up Aya, when she told him she was hungry, they stopped by a place to order take-out and eat outside.

“Are you done eating, Aya?” (Kei)

“Unn! Aya’s done!” She happily said. “Alright then, stay still, I’ll clean you up.” At his words, Aya stood still as Kei cleaned her mouth with his handkerchief. As he saw her happy smile, Kei remembered something and turned to her. “You know, Aya.” (Kei)

“What is it, Papa?” (Aya)

“In a park like this one and on a bench like this one, I met mama, you know?” (Kei)

“Eh? You met mama?” (Aya)

“Hmm. Back then papa was really sad. He went through some very sad stuff and felt down.” (Kei)

Thinking back on it, twenty years since that day… It’s been so long and yet such a moment was still vividly replaying inside Kei’s head. It was autumn and Kei just got heartbroken by his first love, he didn’t know what to do or where to go from there… he was lost. And yet, Arisa found him and reached out to him, she taught him the wonders of the world… no, they teached each other the wonders of the world.

“But you know, mama healed your father’s wounds and made him very happy. And now, you’re here, Aya.” Kei said as he patted his daughter's head.

“Is papa happy?” (Aya)

“Papa’s very happy because he has the two of you!” Kei said as he lifted Aya on his arms. “Yay! Aya also loves papa very much!” At her cute smile, Kei chuckled as he sat Aya again by his side.

“Sorry I’m late, you two look awfully cheerful, something good happened?” As they laughed, Arisa arrived at the scene, something which gave Kei a sense of deja vu.

The pair of father and daughter looked at each other, and with a smile, they said in unison, “It’s a secret.” (Kei & Aya)

“Ara? Now that’s a surprise…. Alright then, I’ll do my best to make you spoil those secrets!” Arisa said with a chuckle as she joined in. The other two stood up and went over to Arisa.

“Shall we head home?” Kei said as he turned to his wife.

“Let’s!” Said Aya as she grabbed the hand of both of them. Arisa smiled softly at the scene, and somewhere in her mind, she still didn’t believe that any of this was real.

If I were to tell my past self that I will marry my best friends’ younger brother, I’ll probably label myself as a physco… And yet, here I am… happily married and with a cute child.

Back in the past, Kei’s theory of love was extremely wrong. He was just a kid after all, he didn’t know how any of it worked… Now, he could look back at his mistakes and learn from them. When he falls asleep and when he wakes up, he always thinks of his family and enjoys each and every day.

With the proof of his undying love for his wife, holding hands with them, Kei is sure that he’s no longer afraid of what’s to come. Loving someone else first, learning the harsh truth of the world… and yet, it all led him to realize just how loved he was.

The seasons changed and changed and a genuine and fulfilling romance unfolded, bringing a sense of closure and contentment to the once-requited heart.

Even Though I Loved You First [Main Story] - [END]

Volume 3 [END]

---

(A/N)

And... that's a wrap... Almost a year, and it's finally done.

Thanks for staying until the end, it really means a lot. I'll upload the afterword tomorrow along with the author's note (it's probably going to be a lot as I want to write some fun facts about the story as a whole). I'll also write two side story chapters and one special chapter in commemoration to the novel's first anniversary!

Farewell, lads!

Coming Next:

SS - Artistic Endeavors

SS - You, Who Has Grown Strong

One Year Special - Behind That Newbie Word-Play, Was A Cry For Help