The Sea of Tranquility (MayuzumiXOCXAkashi)

Part 17

Mayuzumi Chihiro squeezed the carton of his juice before thoughtlessly releasing it onto the trash bin. He had stood quite some time on the same spot trying to think of a subtle way to clear the misunderstanding that he had with a certain girl.

It shouldn't be hard. All he had to do was tell her straight. What he said that time were meant to the fireflies.

A sigh, he put both hands inside his pockets.

There were still some time before class resumed but he didn't think he would spend it at the rooftop for the time being.

He had to put an end to this.

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Necktie kept swaying as he walked at the school's hallway, he gave it a thought last night and everything pointed to this same decision.

Feelings, emotions, girls, dating and relationships, these things were all a mess, indeed. Because if not, he wouldn't be in this kind of situation.

It wasn't even related to romance per se, just a mere misunderstanding, yet it was already troublesome.

At that time, he was not aware that her first name would be the same as those bioluminescent species.

"...Hotaru..." Pronouncing the word itself felt so awkward all of a sudden.

At that time, why did he even admire those bugs? He remembered the captivating scenery despite not truly liking the ambiance of a forest in that early night.

Suddenly he was reminded of her face that moment. She looked so enchanted, totally drawn, and perhaps that was contagious so he unknowingly felt the same.

That moment, when he said he liked it, he seemed to have given a confession—truly a misunderstanding, he thought of again.

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Finally reaching the front door of the Music Club, one hand took the action of knocking.

There was no answer.

Despite that, Mayuzumi knew that there would be no other place except this. She would definitely be inside.

The only way to correct the disarray of his mind caused by the situation he was in was confronting the source directly. So without hesitation, the third year twisted the knob with that one goal in mind.

In the first place, he shouldn't even be worrying about this kind of thing.

As he pushed the door, a melody so soothing welcomed him in an instant. It made him pause, feeling the chills in his body.

Come to think of it, this would be the first time he'd see her playing the piano.

Mayuzumi blinked, her figure finally reached his sight. Like a clip in a movie, the moment seemed perfectly filmed. She matched the exact preference of the director and him being the viewer, he could actually feel something just by watching.

The agitated mind turned lucid.

Calm breeze entered through the opened window, the curtains danced carelessly like an accompanist, matching and following the gentle melody that she was creating.

Mayuzumi closed the door silently. Using his usual quiet pace, he approached her. If she was one of his classmates, she definitely wouldn't notice but since it was her, he knew she would. She probably already knew his presence the moment he entered.