Youjin Kinoshita’s POV

 

I, Youjin Kinoshita, woke up to the blaring sound of my alarm clock, signaling the start of another typical school day. With a reluctant sigh, I stretched and yawned, finally coaxing myself out of bed. The day ahead awaited, and I needed to get going.

As I made my way downstairs, I found my father, Kousuke Kinoshita, who was sipping his morning coffee at the kitchen table. He glanced up and offered me a tired but warm smile.

"Morning, otou-san."

“Good morning, son.”

My father had been a constant source of support for me ever since my elementary school days. Despite his demanding job, which kept him away from home, he made sure to provide me with a generous allowance each week. He told me I could spend it on anything I desired, but I insisted on saving it for my future. This decision always brought a smile to my father's face, and he even promised additional rewards for any impressive achievements.

I looked at my mother, Yuna Kinoshita, busy cooking in the kitchen.

“Good morning, okaa-san.”

Then she looked at me with a smile.

“Good morning, Youjin.”

Actually, my mother wasn’t my biological mother. My real mother had passed away when I was born. Yes, my biological mother died because of childbirth. And my father remarried with my step mother when I was one year old. Then she raised me well ever since they got married.

I heard the noise from the stairs. It was from my twin step sisters.

“Good morning, okaa-san. Morning, otou-san.” They greeted our parents first.

“Good morning, Hana. Good morning, Sakura.” Then I greeted them.

“Good morning, onii-san.” My twin step sister who has long pink hair, Sakura, greeted me.

“Morning, nii-nii.” My other twin step sister who has short pink hair, Hana, greeted me.

It was unusual when a sister like Hana called the brother like me ‘nii-nii’, but I didn’t mind that, honestly.

My step mother already had twin daughters before remarrying my father. She got divorced by her former husband when her daughters were six months old. Then a year later after divorce, she and my father got remarried. My twin sisters were one-year younger than me, by the way.

After a quick exchange of morning pleasantries, I headed to the bathroom to freshen up. As I looked at myself in the mirror, I noticed my messy hair and quickly combed it into place.

Breakfast was a brief and somewhat silent affair, but it was a routine that kept our family connected, if only on the surface.

I returned to my room to change my clothes to my uniform. I sighed deeply as I thought something. Well, it had been one month since I started my second year of high school while my twin step sisters had just entered their first year.

The three of us attended the same high school, continuing a tradition from our earlier years of schooling. We usually would to school together and even return home after school together, just like when we were in elementary and middle school. And sometimes, but rarely, either of us would go to school or return home first while the rest of us had some business at school.

Like today, I informed my family that I had early cleaning duty at school. They understood, and I prepared to head out.

“I’m leaving, okaa-san.”

“Okay. See you later.” My mother told me.

I grabbed my headset, then placed it on my ears and connected it to my phone to listen the music while walking to the school.

I suddenly stopped walking as I noticed a figure in the distance, a girl with short brown hair, sent a shiver down my spine. That girl was Yurika Nonaka, my former childhood friend and girlfriend. My heart raced as memories from our shared past flooded my mind.

Years ago, Nonaka-san and I had been friends since elementary school. We were inseparable that we usually spent our time together, even with my step twin sisters. They didn’t mind us as long as I was happy.

I had more friends by the time I reached middle school. I often entertained everyone with my comedic antics, and they, especially Nonaka-san, laughed at me in amusement. Well, my biggest dream back then was simple – to become a comedian and bring smiles to people's faces.

When I was third-year middle school, Nonaka-san asked me to meet her behind the gym, a place where confessions were typically made. After school, something that made me surprised.

"I like you, Youjin-kun." She confessed with a nervous smile.

Nonaka-san confessed to me, as I expected. I actually had a crush on her in a long time.

“Please, go out with me.” She bowed her head.

I couldn't have been happier; one of my dreams had finally come true.

“Yes! I like you too, Yurika-chan.” I smiled happily.

That marked the beginning of our journey as a couple. I told my family that Nonaka-san and I were dating. They congratulated me and had celebration for my first love life.

On the following Saturday, Nonaka-san and I finally had our first date. We watched a comedy movie in cinema, shared ice cream together, played games in the arcade and lastly rode the Ferris wheel. But the best of all, we finally shared our first kiss.

However, everything came crashing down a week later.

One Friday, after school, I couldn't find Nonaka-san anywhere on the school grounds. Worry gnawed at me, and I set out to find her around the school. What I discovered shattered my world – Nonaka-san was kissing my best friend, Haruka Kutake, behind the gym.

“Oh, Youjin-kun.” Nonaka-san said with a wicked smile. “I never thought you were this lame. And unlike you, your best friend Haruka-kun is much better. That’s why we are dating now.”

My eyes widened at the worst sight and my heart sank as I witnessed this betrayal.

I never expected that my former girlfriend and childhood friend Nonaka-san had true colors on herself. I thought she liked me. I mean, she told me that herself when she confessed to me. And her, admiring me and spending our time happily was just an act. She pretended to be nice with me. But now, she chose my own best friend Kutake-san over me.

With no words to come from my mouth, I left them and the tears welled up in my eyes, but I swallowed my sobs, refusing to let anyone see my vulnerability.

The following Monday, I noticed everyone in school glaring at me. I was confused what was going on. But when I entered the classroom, the situation took a turn for the worse.

“Kinoshita-san, is it true that you cheated on Nonaka-san?” One of the female classmates demanded me angrily.

Huh? What was she talking about? I never heard this before. But Nonaka-san was the one who actually had cheated on me, not the other way around.

I was about to reply when I suddenly heard a voice from behind.

“Yeah, that’s true.” Nonaka-san chimed in, her tone filled with sadness. “Kinoshita-san cheated on me during our date.”

What? What was she talking about? Our first date had gone smoothly, without any issues.

I tried to defend myself, but she continued with her false narrative.

“He kept flirting with other girls. I tried to stop him, but I couldn’t.”

What in the world was she talking about?

“No, I didn’t do that!” I protested. “We just had great time on our date.”

“No need to lie, you *ssh*le!” Nonaka-san retorted, turning to our classmates. “Even Haruka-kun saw him.”

“Kutake-san, is that true?” Another classmate asked my former best friend.

“Yes, it’s true.” Kutake-san sighed, glancing at me with a smug expression before responding. “I’m the witness. So, I saw him with my own eyes.”

No! There was no way Kutake-san saw me and Nonaka-san during our date. I mean, I didn’t see him in there at all.

“Yes. That’s why I asked Haruka-kun to keep an eye on us during our date.” Nonaka-san added.

“No! Please believe me, guys.” I said loudly. “I didn’t do anything wrong to her. But I saw her kissing him last Friday. And she told me herself that they were started dating.”

“Don’t listen to Kinoshita-san. I broke up with him after our first date. Then…” She grabbed Kutake-san’s hand. “…I decided to dating with him.”

“That’s right, everyone.” He nodded with a smile. “Yurika-chan and I are dating.”

Lies… LIES! I couldn’t believe it. Not only my former girlfriend and childhood friend Nonaka-san betrayed me, but also my former best friend Kutake-san betrayed me. And they made everyone believed their lies.

I thought friends supported each other. I thought friends never hurt each other. But I was wrong. Being friends with someone like Nonaka-san and Kutake-san was the biggest mistake in my life. And I fully regretted it.

Everyone in school threw the verbal insults at me and demanded me to apologize to Nonaka-san. I refused, of course. There was nothing to apologize to the liars like her.

The situation got much worse when I returned home.

“Youjin, how could you?” My step mother scolded.

I guessed my twin step sisters told her about what happened.

“Okaa-san, I didn’t do–”

“No dinner for you tonight.” She interrupted me angrily. “You understand?”

“Y-Yes.” I bowed down and went to my room immediately.

It was a painful lesson in how lies could manipulate perceptions. I mean, liars brainwashed anyone. And anyone who were brainwashed became the believers of liar, just like Nonaka-san and Kutake-san did to the students and my own family.

I couldn’t make everyone smile anymore. And my dream of becoming a comedian was shattered. I became a shadow of my former self, wearing a sad smile that concealed the pain deep within.

On our middle school graduation day, Nonaka-san congratulated me with a smile, and I congratulated her back with a serious tone. I was about to leave when she suddenly grabbed my hand.

“Please, wait. I have something to tell you, Youjin-kun.”

It was the first time in few months since she called me by my first name.

“What is it, Nonaka-san?” I said in serious tone with my narrowed eyes.

“Please, just call me Yurika, like you used to. But please hear me out.” She said with a sad voice. “The truth is… I–”

She was suddenly interrupted by the ringtone from my phone. But seriously, I wouldn’t go back to relationship with her anymore. After all, she betrayed me and made my former best friend betray me as well.

“Excuse me, Nonaka-san.” I grabbed my phone and left her immediately.

I couldn’t say goodbye to my former girlfriend. And I bet she did that as a prank. If it was a prank, then it was obviously a cruel prank and had gone too far. Had she really thought that made me upset, made my heart broken and made everyone hate me? I didn’t want to hear the ‘truth’ she mentioned anymore, that’s why I left her after graduation.

Two years later, in the present, as I walked to school, I saw my former girlfriend and childhood friend, who had betrayed me in the past.

“Good morning, Youjin-kun.” Nonaka-san greeted me while smiling.

“Good morning, Nonaka-san.” I greeted her back with a serious tone as usual. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

I left her and looked at my phone.

“Wait! Please, wait, Youjin-kun.” She yelled at me in the distance.

But kept ignoring her and tried not to be reminded about what happened in the past.

I heard that a year ago, Nonaka-san and my former best friend Kutake-san had broken up. Kutake-san’s family had relocated due to his father’s work, ensuring that they would never return. It was a relief.

I hoped Nonaka-san wouldn’t intrude on my life again. And I couldn't afford to get entangled with her once more, not if it meant reliving the past's false accusations and betrayals. I wished for those painful memories to remain buried, but life had a way of bringing buried memories to the surface. Or so I thought…