In a world where a single glance can condemn you and a kind heart is easily mistaken for a threat, Gouda Takeo has long accepted his fate. Two meters tall and built like a fortress, he's used to the fearful stares, the empty seats, and the children who cry at the sight of him. But when he saves a delicate girl from a molester on a packed train—only to flee before she can even learn his name—Takeo's life is set on a collision course with a misunderstanding of epic proportions.
Because the girl h
My Love Story!! Beyond the Misunderstanding - A Gorilla and an Angel Become Lovers
The snow was still falling.
An impossible snow, in June.
The fountain plaza at Minatosaka Park. The water had stopped, and only the white snow settled silently, piling higher and higher. The benches, the cherry trees, the playground equipment—everything was dyed pure white.
Gouda Takeo stood in the center of that white world.
Two meters tall, a hundred and twenty kilos. His custom-made 4L navy blazer was soaked heavy with snow. Melted snow dripped, pat, pat, from his close-cropped black hair. Small black eyes with double eyelids. A face as rugged as a gorilla's. Thick lips.
That massive body was trembling, ever so slightly.
Not from the cold.
Deep in his chest, something was about to burst.
(I love her.)
He screamed it in his heart.
(I love Yamato.)
Again and again, he kept screaming it.
Before him stood Yamato Rinko. Soft chestnut hair that fell to her shoulders. Snow settled on the fluffy ends like tiny white flowers. Her big, round brown eyes were brimming with tears. She was fighting desperately to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over. Her small frame—barely five feet—trembled faintly from the cold and the tension.
"Takeo-kun..."
Rinko's voice was so small it seemed it might be swallowed by the silence of the snow.
Takeo clenched his fist.
He gripped so hard his knuckles creaked.
(I punched Suna.)
The scene from moments ago spun around and around in his head.
In front of Makoto's house. On the snow-covered road.
"I lied to you. I tested you."
Takeo had punched Makoto square in the face for saying that.
Makoto's body had crumpled into the snow.
And still, Makoto had been smiling.
"It's because you always give up, like you always do."
Makoto's voice still lingered deep in his ears.
"Yamato chose you. So you choose her."
(Suna...)
Takeo's chest ached sharply.
Anger, gratitude, and guilt churned together into a mess that threatened to turn into tears.
But now wasn't the time to cry.
There was something he had to do.
Something he had to say.
Takeo planted his feet in the snow and stood before Rinko.
Thud—the ground shook.
Rinko lifted her face.
Her big brown eyes looked straight up at him.
(Say it. All of it. Everything I feel.)
Takeo drew a deep breath.
The cold air filled his lungs to the very bottom.
"Yamato."
His voice shook.
"There's something I have to tell you."
Rinko gave a small nod.
Snow fell silently, piling up between them.
Takeo gripped his fist even tighter.
"I've been wrong this whole time. I thought you were in love with Suna."
Rinko's eyes went wide.
"Because Suna's way cooler than a guy like me. A cute girl like you would fall for a guy like Suna—that's how it's always been."
Takeo's voice grew louder and louder.
"But I was wrong. You told me you liked me. That you liked a guy like me. On rainy days, on snowy days, you kept trying to tell me."
Tears spilled from Rinko's eyes, plopping down one after another.
"I'm an idiot. I was too slow to figure it out. I made you feel so sad. I left you waiting alone in the rain. I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry."
Takeo bowed his head.
That two-meter frame folded forward.
"Takeo-kun, please lift your head."
Rinko's trembling voice rained down on him.
"I'm sorry too, for not being able to say it. For not being able to tell you properly that I like you. I'm clumsy—all I could do was make sweets. But I love you so much, Takeo-kun."
Rinko's words made the snowy air tremble.
"From the day you saved me, Takeo-kun, I've only ever had eyes for you. Your honesty, your kindness, the way you can't ignore anyone in trouble—I love all of it."
Rinko's tears fell onto the snow, dot, dot, dot, opening tiny holes.
"You can just be yourself, Takeo-kun. I love you exactly as you are."
Deep in Takeo's chest, something burst.
Thump.
His heart pounded until it hurt.
(I love her.)
(I love her, I love her, I love her.)
He kept screaming it in his heart.
He couldn't stop anymore.
"Yamato."
Takeo lifted his head.
Tears were spilling from his small black eyes.
"I love you too. I love you, Yamato. I've loved you for so long."
Takeo's voice rang out across the snowy park.
"The day you gave me cookies, the day we ate cake, the day I saw you shivering in the rain—all of it, all of it, I loved it. But I didn't believe in myself, so I gave up, telling myself there was no way you'd ever like a guy like me. But I'm not giving up anymore. I will never give up."
Takeo gently took hold of Rinko's shoulders.
His huge hands enveloped her small shoulders.
"Yamato. Please go out with me."
Takeo's confession, with everything he had.
The snow kept falling, hushed and steady.
Rinko blinked, looking startled for a moment.
Then, crying, she smiled.
Her face a mess with tears, but wearing the happiest smile in the world.
"Yes. I want to go out with you, Takeo-kun."
Rinko's voice shook with tears, but she said it clearly.
"It's always been only you for me too. From so long ago, you're the only one I've loved."
Rinko repeated it over and over.
Takeo's chest grew hot.
(I love her.)
He screamed it in his heart.
(I love Yamato.)
A voiceless voice melted into the snowy sky.
Takeo pulled Rinko's small body into a tight embrace.
His two-meter frame wrapped around the girl who barely reached five feet, shielding her from the snow.
A sweet scent came from Rinko's hair.
The gentle smell of sugar and butter from her baking.
"Yamato. I'm never letting you go. I will never let you go."
Takeo whispered against Rinko's ear.
"Mm. I won't let go either. I'll always be by your side, Takeo-kun."
Rinko buried her face in Takeo's chest.
The snow kept quietly wrapping around the two of them.
——
How long had they stayed like that?
Takeo suddenly lifted his head.
He saw a figure near the park entrance.
Smooth black hair. A refreshing style with the bangs lightly swept aside. Cool, narrow black eyes.
It was Sunakawa Makoto.
Makoto stood in the snow.
His cheek, where Takeo had punched him, was swollen red.
And yet, Makoto was smiling.
Not his usual cool smile.
A soft smile, as if genuinely relieved.
"Takeo."
Makoto's voice broke the silence of the snow.
Still holding Rinko, Takeo looked at Makoto.
"Suna... you..."
Takeo's voice dropped low.
"You bastard, you had the nerve to pull a lie like that. Do you have any idea how I felt listening to your confession?"
Takeo gently released Rinko and took a step toward Makoto.
Thud.
The ground shook.
Makoto didn't run.
"Yeah. I was wrong."
Makoto bowed his head honestly.
"But it was the only way. If I told you I liked Yamato, you'd step aside, wouldn't you? And then you'd have no choice but to face your own feelings. That's what I thought."
Makoto raised his head.
"You're always like this. Even when you like someone, you try to give her up to me. You decide on your own that you're not good enough and give up. But Yamato was different. Yamato only ever had eyes for you from the start."
Makoto's voice echoed quietly, but clearly.
"It's because you always give up, like you always do. I wanted you to notice. Both Yamato's feelings and your own."
Takeo clenched his fist.
Creak—his fingers cracked.
(This guy, how far does he go for me...)
Tears spilled from Takeo's eyes again.
"Suna... you made yourself the bad guy, for my sake..."
Takeo's voice trembled.
"I went and punched you for real. Without even knowing how you felt. I'm sorry. Suna, I'm sorry."
Takeo bowed deeply before Makoto.
Makoto gave a wry smile.
"You don't need to apologize. Your fists are as hard as ever. I thought my jaw was gonna come off."
Makoto rubbed his swollen cheek.
"But I guess playing the villain was worth it after all."
Makoto's smile shone in the snow.
Takeo lifted his head.
"If you pull that again, I won't forgive you."
Takeo said it with an angry face.
But the corners of his mouth were smiling.
"Yeah. I'll keep that in mind."
Makoto smiled too.
Snow fell silently, piling up among the three of them.
Rinko stood beside Takeo, small and neat.
"Sunakawa-kun, thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to face Takeo-kun properly."
Rinko bowed deeply to Makoto.
"Yamato. You did nothing wrong. The one at fault is this thick skull of his."
Makoto pointed at Takeo.
"Y-yeah. It was my fault."
Takeo scratched his head, looking sheepish.
The three of them laughed softly, the sound echoing in the snowy park.
——
Makoto said he'd head home first and walked off into the snow.
Takeo watched his retreating figure for a long while.
(Suna. Thank you.)
He murmured in his heart.
(I got your feelings, loud and clear.)
Deep in Takeo's chest, friendship pulsed quietly, but surely, and warm.
"Takeo-kun."
Rinko tugged at Takeo's sleeve.
"I want to walk home with you, Takeo-kun."
She said it, looking a little embarrassed.
Takeo's heart gave another thump.
"S-sure. I'll walk you."
Takeo nodded.
The two of them began walking side by side down the snow-covered road.
——
They left the park and headed toward the redevelopment district in front of the station.
The snow was still falling.
The streetlights reflected off the snow, making everything around them glow faintly.
The cluster of buildings at "Grand Front Minatosaka" in front of Minatosaka Station wore a coat of snow.
"Takeo-kun, aren't you cold?"
Rinko looked up at Takeo, worried.
"I-I'm fine. My body runs hot."
Takeo puffed out his chest.
"But Takeo-kun, your blazer is soaked. You'll catch a cold."
Rinko's brows drooped.
"I'm telling you, I'm fine. I've never caught a cold in my life."
Takeo laughed.
Rinko giggled.
"You really are amazing, Takeo-kun."
Rinko's smile lit up brilliantly in the snow.
Takeo's chest tightened.
(I love her.)
He screamed it in his heart.
(I love Yamato's smile.)
Takeo looked at Rinko's hand.
A small, white hand. A hand slightly rough from making sweets.
(I want to hold her hand.)
Takeo's heart pounded noisily.
(But wouldn't it be rude to just grab her hand out of nowhere?)
(No, but we're a couple now.)
(Holding hands should be fine, right?)
Takeo's thoughts spun round and round.
"Takeo-kun?"
Rinko tilted her head.
"Y-yeah. H-hey, Yamato."
Takeo mustered his courage.
"C-can I hold your hand?"
Takeo's face turned bright red.
Rinko's face turned bright red too.
"Y-yes. I want to hold yours too."
Rinko gave a small nod.
Takeo swallowed hard, then slowly reached his hand toward Rinko's.
His big hand enveloped her small one.
Rinko's hand was cool from the snow.
But the moment they touched, something warm spread gently through Takeo's body.
"Your hand's cold, Yamato."
Takeo squeezed Rinko's hand tight.
"Mm. But your hand is so warm, Takeo-kun."
Rinko smiled happily.
Hand in hand, the two of them walked slowly down the snowy road.
——
It was when they passed by Patisserie Lumière.
A Western-style sweets shop in a corner of the station-front redevelopment district, open for three years now. With over twenty kinds of cake always in the display case, it was Rinko's part-time workplace.
A light was on inside the shop after closing.
Through the glass, Ichinose Subaru came into view.
His bright brown hair was set in a casual style, a red bandana wrapped around his neck. A sweet-looking face. Amber eyes. The owner and chef of Patisserie Lumière was in the kitchen, preparing something.
"Ah, it's the chef."
Rinko raised her voice a little.
Ichinose noticed them too.
Ichinose's hands stopped.
Ichinose's gaze was drawn to their joined hands.
Ichinose's face twisted for just a moment.
A complicated expression—frustrated, but somehow relieved too.
"We should report to Ichinose-san."
Takeo squeezed Rinko's hand.
"Yeah. I'll be the one to say it."
Rinko squeezed back.
The two of them pushed open the door of Patisserie Lumière.
Jingle—the doorbell rang through the quiet shop.
"...We're closed. What do you want?"
Ichinose came out of the kitchen, crossed his a
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