I'm Airi Kotori, a high school sophomore. People say I'm the cutest in class, but that's the last thing on my mind right now. Today, my childhood friend Haruto confessed to the most popular girl at school, Toto Kozakura, and got shot down in spectacular fashion.
Haruto's been my hero since we were kids. He protected me from bullies, made me laugh with his silly jokes. But his eyes were always fixed somewhere far away. I knew he was looking at Kozakura-san since middle school.
I've been by Haru
Until the Snow Melts, I'll Think of You - What the Campfire Illuminates
Ryuuji's back disappeared beyond the front door.
Airi stood rooted to the cold kitchen tiles, staring at the closed door. His voice, which she'd heard just moments ago, still echoed deep in her ears.
(*Bake them for yourself.*)
Her fingertips trembled faintly. It wasn't because she'd been sobbing until just now. Baking cookies for herself — why hadn't she been able to do something so simple until now?
The kitchen floor was still littered with shattered cookie fragments. The impact of slamming the platter down had left traces of white powder scattered across the tiles.
But the ache she'd felt in her chest just moments ago had shifted its shape, just a little.
It wasn't the sorrow of being rejected by Haruto. It wasn't the anger of being betrayed by Kaede. It was something deeper — a sensation like something slowly beginning to stir.
(*I've been living for Haruto, haven't I?*)
That day in second grade — the clumsy, star-shaped cookie he'd held out to her while covered in mud. From that moment on, Haruto had always been at the center of her world. Wanting to see his happy face, wanting him to praise her, she'd kept baking cookies.
But.
(*That wasn't all there was to it.*)
Standing before the oven, her heart would mysteriously settle. The scent of butter, flour, and sugar blending together. That sweet, fragrant aroma as they baked. Just looking at the tiny golden lumps lined up on the baking sheet, before anyone had even tasted them, would fill her chest with a gentle warmth.
That wasn't just for Haruto.
The act of baking cookies itself — that had been her salvation.
Airi slowly looked around the kitchen. The shattered plate. The scattered fragments. Her own face, swollen from crying, reflected dimly in the oven's glass door.
"[whispers]...The after-festival. I can still make it."
The words Ryuuji had left her with as he departed suddenly resurfaced in her mind.
*Whether you go or not — you decide.*
I'll go.
This time, I won't run. I'm not going for someone else. I'm going for myself.
Airi washed her face with cold water and straightened her disheveled hair in front of the mirror. Her eyes were still bright red and swollen. A smudge of cocoa powder from the floor still clung to her cheek. Even so, she wouldn't hide it anymore. This is who I am.
As she passed through the living room, her mother stood there with a worried expression.
"[surprised]Oh my, Airi, where are you...?"
"[serious]...School. There's somewhere I have to go."
Without waiting for her mother's reply, Airi dashed out the front door.
The outside air was cold, sharp enough to sting her cheeks. But it was perfect for her heated body. Airi leaped onto her mamachari and pushed down on the pedals with all her might.
The October night wind howled past her ears.
Her body, which had felt so heavy until just moments ago, was now unbelievably light.
(*I'll make it. I can still make it.*)
Her heart pounded furiously. Deep in her chest, something that had been frozen solid until now was beginning to thaw, growing warm.
As she cut through Namiki Street Shopping District, the white wall of "Sucre" caught her eye. The showcase lights were already off, the interior pitch black. But as she passed by, Airi murmured quietly.
"[whispers]...I'm going to become a pâtissière."
She charged up the slope of Hibari-ga-Oka, standing on the pedals and pumping with all her strength. Her breath grew ragged, her thighs screaming in protest. For a moment, she almost stopped.
(*But I'm going.*)
With my own legs. By my own will.
When she crested the hill, she saw an orange glow in the distance. The school grounds. The campfire was blazing, its flames reaching toward the night sky.
She passed through the school gate and headed for the grounds.
The venue was already packed with students. The crackling sound of burning wood. Sparks dancing upward, glittering like stars. Everyone stood shoulder to shoulder with their friends, gazing into the flames.
Airi stopped in front of the crowd.
For a moment, her legs froze.
(*What am I supposed to say in front of all these people?*)
(*Is this even a place I have the right to enter?*)
A weak voice whispered inside her heart.
That's when it happened.
Beyond the crowd, she spotted Kaede.
She wasn't with her clique of girls. She stood alone, a little distance from the campfire. Arms crossed, shoulders hunched against the cold.
(*Kaede...*)
That profile didn't wear the usual queen-like, defiant expression. She just looked lonely. Like a lost child.
Kaede suddenly lifted her head.
Their eyes met.
Kaede's face went pale. She immediately averted her gaze and turned her back. She was trying to leave.
Running away.
From me.
From what she did.
Airi bit her lip, just slightly.
But she didn't chase after her.
Instead, she walked toward the male student MC who was preparing the microphone at the edge of the grounds.
"[serious]...Sorry, could you lend me that mic for just a moment?"
The male MC looked at Airi's bright red eyes and seemed startled for a second.
"[surprised]Uh, um... sure, I guess."
"[gentle]Thank you."
Airi accepted the microphone with both hands.
The cold sensation of the metal seeped into her palms.
She walked toward the campfire. The students around her began to buzz with murmurs.
"Hey, isn't that Takanashi?"
"She's the one Kaede exposed in the gym."
"I heard she had a one-sided crush on Haruto."
"Wait, seriously?"
The whispers spread like rippling waves.
Airi switched on the microphone.
Feedback.
A grating screech echoed for a moment, silencing the venue.
The eyes of the entire student body pierced into Airi.
Her legs trembled. Her heart felt like it might burst.
But her voice didn't shake.
"[serious]...I'm Takanashi Airi."
Her own voice resonated across the grounds through the speakers.
"[serious]Just like everyone's been whispering about, I've had a one-sided crush on Haruto for ten years."
The venue fell utterly silent.
"[serious]All the cookies I baked every single day — they were all because I wanted Haruto to eat them. Because I wanted him to say they were good. I've lived my whole life looking only at Haruto."
Her voice threatened to tremble, just slightly. But Airi gripped the microphone tightly and continued.
"[serious]But I'm putting an end to that now."
A murmur spread through the crowd.
"[serious]I'm done living for someone else. From now on, I'm going to live for my own dream. I'm going to become a pâtissière. I'm going to make my dream come true — not for anyone else, but for me."
A moment of silence.
And then —
Scattered applause broke out, clap by clap.
It grew louder and louder. Faces of friends, faces of upperclassmen she didn't even know — everyone was clapping.
Airi walked straight through that applause.
The crowd naturally parted to make way.
At the end of everyone's gaze stood Kaede.
She hadn't been able to run.
Pinned by Airi's direct stare, she stood frozen to the spot.
The venue fell silent again.
This time, it was a raw voice, not through the microphone.
"[cold]Kaede."
Kaede's shoulders flinched violently.
"[cold]I won't forgive you."
Kaede's face crumpled.
"[gentle]But I also know that you were really just lonely, that you wanted friends, but you didn't know how, and you just ended up getting meaner and meaner."
"[crying]...N-no, that's not...!"
Kaede screamed, her voice sounding strangled.
But Airi didn't shake her head.
"[gentle]It is. The reason you liked Haruto, the reason you used me — it was all because you were lonely, wasn't it?"
Kaede's lips trembled.
"[crying]...I... I was..."
Tears spilled in streams from Kaede's large eyes.
Those cold eyes that had so thoroughly mocked Airi in the gym were now a mess, her mascara running, black tears streaking down her cheeks.
Her clique of girls stared at Kaede as if they were seeing something unbelievable.
It was the first time Kaede had ever cried in public.
"[crying]I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Airi...!"
Kaede collapsed to the ground, crouching down and covering her face with both hands.
"[crying]I was... I was always, always so lonely...! But I couldn't tell anyone...! Haruto, Kosuzume Toto, everyone... everyone... I thought they all hated me..."
Kaede sobbed like a child, her shoulders shaking.
Without saying anything more, Airi walked away from her.
Whether she could forgive her or not, she didn't know.
But she had been able to confront her with her own words, from her own mouth.
For who she was now, that was enough of a turning point.
No more applause rose.
Only the sound of the campfire logs crackling echoed across the quiet grounds.
It was just as Airi slipped through the crowd and reached the edge of the field.
From behind, someone gripped her hand tightly.
A warm, large hand.
"[whispers]...This way."
She turned around, and Ryuuji was there.
The campfire flames dyed his grey eyes orange. Behind his carelessly long bangs, his left eye gazed at Airi with earnest intensity.
Without waiting for her reply, Ryuuji pulled her by the hand and started walking toward the back of the grounds.
A deserted, shadowed spot hidden behind the gymnasium.
The campfire's light didn't reach here.
Ryuuji let go of her hand and leaned against the wall.
A moment of silence.
"[serious]...I thought you were going to cry."
Airi laughed softly.
"[gentle]I was crying. Up until just now, the whole time."
"[sad]That's not what I meant. I thought you were going to cry in front of everyone."
His voice sounded completely different from its usual cold tone. It was hoarse, as if feverish.
"[serious]...That was amazing. What you said. I've never seen anyone state their feelings so boldly before."
Airi's chest tightened sharply.
"[serious]I noticed you from the very beginning."
Ryuuji kept his gaze fixed on the ground as he continued.
"[serious]In the classroom, when I saw you giving cookies to Haruto. I thought, *this girl's an idiot*. You kept smiling even though your feelings weren't getting through. I'd never met anyone like that."
Airi couldn't say anything. She just stared at his profile.
"[sad]But when I ate those cookies... I understood. That this was everything you are. Everything about you — living so earnestly for someone else — it was all packed into that taste."
Ryuuji lifted his face.
His grey eyes pierced straight through Airi.
"[gentle]...I like you, Airi."
The distant murmur of the campfire sounded like noise from another world.
"[gentle]You're single-minded, and an idiot. But you live more earnestly than anyone else. That's what I like about you."
Airi's vision blurred with warmth.
But this time, the tears weren't from sadness.
He'd been watching over her all along.
While she'd been so desperately fixated on her one-sided love for Haruto, unable to see anything around her — he'd been watching the whole time.
"[gentle]...From the very beginning?"
Airi's voice trembled.
"[gentle]From the very beginning. From the moment I ate your cookies."
Ryuuji's voice trembled faintly too.
"[gentle]They had the same warmth as my mom's cookies. That alone was enough to make me—"
Before he could finish, Airi laughed.
With her face still a mess of tears, she laughed with all her heart.
"[laughing]Then will you keep eating my cookies from now on?"
Ryuuji looked blank for a moment, then — for the first time — he smiled from the heart.
"[laughing]...You idiot. Of course I will."
Their laughter echoed through the quiet darkness.
The campfire flames illuminated them from afar.
Bathed in that golden light, Airi and Ryuuji exchanged their first genuine smiles.
—That's when it happened.
A short distance away, Haruto stood frozen.
He had accidentally witnessed the two of them.
(*Airi...*)
Airi was laughing through her tears.
That smile — she had never once directed it at him.
(*Ah, I see.*)
(*I'd been pretending not to notice all along.*)
Haruto bit his lip.
That night
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