The Elastic Band Snaps
"Ding-ding-ding~ Good morning~ Ding-ding-ding~ Pa-pa-pa pa-pa pa-pa-pa-pa Good-"
The shrill alarm sound echoed through my skull. Perhaps it was because my hands were trembling, but I had to fumble around the pillow for a long time before I could finally silence it. Thanks to that, I was able to start my morning in the worst possible mood. Damn it.
I dragged myself up, threw off my clothes, and shoved my body under the showerhead. Turning on the hot water and letting it warm me up for a moment made me feel slightly better. And that improved mood returned to its original state the moment I opened the refrigerator without much thought.
Come to think of it, I didn't go grocery shopping yesterday...
Without realizing it, I put force into my hand and slammed the refrigerator door shut with a loud bang. Having been unintentionally fasting, my nerves felt frayed. I felt like a watermelon wrapped tightly in rubber bands—if someone were to just poke me, I’d explode. I’d never experienced it before, but I wondered if this was what it felt like to be on your period. At this rate, I was probably on par with, or even beyond, Sylvia in her Magical Elf Mode...
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. After taking a few deep breaths to calm my mind, I left the house.
Cleaning the classroom with the class representative, greeting the kids as they arrived at school. I was spending the morning no differently than usual when Sylvia appeared, opening the classroom door. Seeing her smile and greet the other kids, she didn't seem to be in a particularly sensitive state. If she had been in the same mood as yesterday, the kids wouldn't have even been able to greet her in the first place.
It was a bit fascinating to see her looking fine after just one day. Did she drink something like an Anti-Magic Potion?
I greeted Sylvia, who was sitting at her desk, with a small voice: "Hello..."
Sylvia glanced at me briefly and smiled as she accepted my greeting. Seeing that smile, my hands began to tremble. I would have preferred to be ignored or treated coldly; it wouldn't have been this shocking. Sylvia accepting my greeting as if nothing had happened yesterday was a very bad sign for me.
The smile she gave me just now was a reflexive action, as if it were programmed into her. She probably would have given the exact same smile if someone she’d never met before were placed at my desk. If her favorability had dropped, I could have tried to raise it again somehow. But right now, it felt like the favorability gauge itself had disappeared entirely.
I felt that Sylvia was consciously trying to treat me like a stranger with whom she had no relationship. Considering yesterday, to be honest, it was all too sudden. Unless there was some catalyst, there was no reason for her to change her attitude so instantly.
While I was watching Sylvia with such thoughts, I noticed her expression stiffen slightly. When I looked in the direction her gaze was fixed, I saw Yoon Siwoo entering through the classroom door. She immediately managed her expression as if nothing had happened and greeted him, but it was still different from usual. Sylvia, who used to look like a girl in love whenever she dealt with Yoon Siwoo, showed no particular change in expression even while greeting him.
I remembered the two of them, whose atmosphere had been chilly since yesterday morning. As expected, there was something I didn't know.
It was lunchtime. Unlike yesterday, Sylvia was eating next to Yoon Siwoo as usual. But it was different from before. She, who used to try to match her eating speed to Yoon Siwoo's, was now eating at her own pace, as if to say that just eating next to him was enough.
Thinking it was strange and observing Sylvia, I saw her ears twitch. I quickly inhaled the rest of my meal and ran to the school store to buy a macaron. Having lived like that for a few days, my body seemed to react out of habit. It was only after I bought the macaron that I remembered Sylvia saying she didn't need it yesterday. I decided I had to at least see how she would react.
As I approached Sylvia, who was eating leisurely, with the macaron in my hand, she paused her meal, set her utensils down slightly, and asked me:
"Do you have business with me?"
"Um... this..."
As I tentatively held out the macaron, Sylvia smiled and said:
"Like I said yesterday, you don't have to buy them for me anymore. We're not anything to each other anymore, are we?"
She was smiling, but it was a firm refusal. I could feel her resolve that she wouldn't accept anything I bought for her. Leaving Sylvia, who had started eating again, behind, I left the cafeteria. I really need to find out what happened. Thinking that, I returned to the classroom.
Yoon Siwoo was sitting at his desk. I went over to him and tapped his shoulder. Come to think of it, this was the first time I had spoken to this guy first. I didn't really feel like talking to him, but I had no choice...
Thinking that, I hesitated and said quietly to Yoon Siwoo, who had turned his head toward me:
"...We have something to talk about, just the two of us, so come outside for a second."
Leaving Yoon Siwoo, who was making a very stupid face for some reason, I walked out of the classroom first. He'll follow me, I’m sure. I walked with long strides down the stairs, and I heard footsteps following me with a clattering sound. I went to the back of the school building to find a place to talk and waited, and soon Yoon Siwoo arrived.
"...What did you call me out for?"
Yoon Siwoo, whose face had turned a little red as if he’d run while following me, asked. By the way, seeing that a guy with such good physical ability showed it on his face after running that distance, it was clear he lacked stamina. I felt pathetic for him and spoke up.
"It's nothing special, I just have something I want to ask."
"Ah... I see. What is it you want to ask?"
His face, which had been red, returned to normal in an instant, as if his recovery was excellent. Come to think of it, among the Holy Swords this guy possessed, there was one that had the effect of increasing physical ability and recovery. It must have been the sword called the Holy Sword of Indomitability. Suppressing my anger at Yoon Siwoo, who was cheating with items all by himself, I told the guy, who had a somewhat disappointed look on his face, what I wanted.
"I was late yesterday. Did you happen to say anything to Sylvia before I arrived?"
At my words, Yoon Siwoo's face stiffened. I didn't know what he was thinking, but for some reason, he looked clearly flustered.
"...Did you hear something from Sylvia?"
I was the one who asked the question, so why was he asking me back? I glared at Yoon Siwoo and said:
"I did hear something. That's why I'm asking what you said."
At my question, Yoon Siwoo waved his hands as if he hadn't done anything special and replied:
"I really didn't say anything! I just told Sylvia to stop receiving macarons from you anymore."
...What? I asked him back, wondering if I had misheard.
"...Just now, what did you say?"
"...To Sylvia, to stop receiving macarons from you anymore..."
A grinding sound came from my clenched molars. It was because of this guy. Knowing that it was all because of Yoon Siwoo that Sylvia had reacted that way, I felt the emotions I had been suppressing boiling up from within.
Don't show it. Hold it in, just like you have until now. I muttered to myself, but something boiling inside me broke through my lips on its own and flowed out in the form of words.
"Why on earth... did you do that... on your own accord..."
Perhaps because my nerves were sharp today, I couldn't suppress it. My face, which I had been trying hard to keep expressionless, twisted on its own.
"Because buying macarons for Sylvia every day must surely be a burden to you."
I was filled with rage at the shameless face of a guy who didn't seem to realize what he had done. What did he know to be spouting off like that?
"So who are you to judge that on your own..."
Do you know what kind of feelings I have when I give Sylvia macarons? You don't. If you knew, you would never be able to say such a thing. I spat out words I couldn't say only inside my heart. Because if I didn't, I felt like what I had been holding back would explode.
"I was just thinking of you—!"
However, at the sight of Yoon Siwoo shouting with a look that said he was the victim, the watermelon that had been wrapped in rubber bands to the limit finally burst.
"If you really think of me—!!!!"
A voice as loud as the amount I had endured burst out. The sound of the emotional dam I had blocked up breaking was similar to a scream or a cry. For some reason, Yoon Siwoo's flustered face was caught in my blurred vision. Fragments of the emotions that had burst flowed down my cheeks.
While gasping for breath after shouting, one step. I approached Yoon Siwoo and continued:
"I'm begging you..."
One more step. I thrust my face, which must have been twisted unseemly, forward. A little faster than Yoon Siwoo, who was trying to step back in a panic, "Please..." The last step. I grabbed Yoon Siwoo's collar and pleaded. Not with something made up to deceive the Holy Sword of Truth, but with sincerity.
"Please, don't pay attention to me anymore..."
After pouring it all out, the first thing I felt was the thought that I had made a mistake. I shook off Yoon Siwoo's collar that I had been holding and turned around to run away. After going to the bathroom, turning on the cold water, and washing my face for a long time, I succeeded in returning my face to an expressionless state somehow. I just poured all my nerves into that.
I don't remember well how I finished school and returned home.
As soon as I returned home, I buried my face in my pillow. A promise made by linking pinky fingers must be kept. I remembered the promise I made with my father. That I would always live strongly even if I had a hard time. I promised, that I would live.
Yoon Siwoo was the protagonist. The protagonist survives until the end, but is always the center of incidents. People around the protagonist get caught up in those incidents and die. To survive as long as possible, I had to be by the side of the person who survived until the end, excluding the protagonist.
Sylvia, who survived until the end. To be by her side, I have to get close to her. I have to become friends with Sylvia. I have to become friends with Sylvia.
My hands trembled. With my fingers interlaced, I closed my eyes.