72 - True to Yourself

RAW

The living room was steeped in silence.

Across the table, Haruto faced his grandmother.

Haruto had finally confessed the truth—the lie he had told. Ayaka wasn’t really his girlfriend. He laid everything bare, honestly.

After hearing his confession, his grandmother closed her eyes and lowered her head. After a moment, she began to speak slowly.

"Haruto. Is that everything? There are no more lies, right?"

"Yeah. No more lies. Ayaka was pretending to be my girlfriend for my sake."

Haruto nodded seriously, meeting her eyes.

"…Haruto, the lie you told was a foolish one. Even if you thought you were doing it for my sake."

Her voice remained calm, without a hint of anger, as she lectured him.

"Every lie is accompanied by the truth. It’s easy to build something on a lie. But that will always be destroyed by the truth eventually. Compared to the truth, lies are fragile and ridiculous. It’s better not to lie in the first place."

She looked at Haruto with a piercing gaze.

"Yes. I’m truly sorry."

Haruto bowed deeply. His grandmother’s stern expression remained unchanged.

"The person you really need to apologize to isn’t me. You understand that, right? The worst part of your lie was involving Ayaka. You toyed with her emotions. That’s not something that can be forgiven."

"…I know."

Haruto’s head drooped. Seeing her grandson’s regretful posture, his grandmother’s expression softened slightly.

"Apologize to Ayaka properly. With all your heart."

"I will."

She nodded slightly at his promise.

"People are weak. It’s hard to go through life without making mistakes. The important thing is to acknowledge those mistakes and never repeat them. Can you promise me that you’ll never tell such a lie again?"

"Yes, I promise. I’ll never lie like this again."

Meeting her gaze, Haruto declared firmly. At last, she smiled softly.

"Haruto, you must never lie to others. But more importantly, don’t lie to yourself. Never pretend to be someone you’re not. If you lose sight of yourself, you’ll lose trust in everything. Always be true to yourself."

"True to myself… I understand."

Haruto had been deceiving himself all this time, avoiding his true feelings.

"And Haruto, when you apologize to Ayaka, listen to her. Don’t make it a one-sided apology."

Haruto nodded deeply as she emphasized this point.

"I’ll meet Ayaka in person and talk to her."

"Good. Well, let’s finish this conversation and have dinner."

"Okay. I’ll help you, Grandma."

They ended their talk and headed to the kitchen together.

---

After dinner, sitting at his desk, Haruto let out a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart.

This summer, he had started working part-time at the Tojo household. That’s when he met Ayaka, and he had been captivated by the gap between her school persona and her real self.

As he closed his eyes, memories of the summer flooded his mind.

He remembered the first time he visited the Tojo house, Ayaka’s confused expression at the door. He hadn’t expected to be invited back, but to his surprise, they made a regular contract. He became part of their household routine, even joining them for meals.

The warm, lively atmosphere of the Tojo family had grown dear to him. Thinking back, he felt a gentle warmth in his heart.

He opened his phone and looked at his messages with Ayaka.

"We exchanged contacts to plan our trip to Animal Forest Park…"

That led to their movie outing, where they held hands for the first time. He could still vividly remember the feel of her soft, cool hand warming as they stayed connected.

When she intertwined their fingers during the movie’s end credits, it had caught him off guard. He smiled at the memory, his cheeks tinged with pink.

They had held hands like that several times since. Each time, Ayaka’s radiant smile stayed etched in his memory.

At the park, during the barbecue, watching fireworks, even searching for ice cream—they had shared so many moments.

During their "practice" as a couple too…

He wanted Ayaka to keep smiling. He wanted to be by her side, seeing that smile.

The pained, anxious expression she wore the day he ran away from her—he never wanted to see that again.

Feeling the weight of responsibility, Haruto picked up his phone and began typing a message.

"True to myself, huh…"

He whispered the words softly and sent the message to Ayaka.