Mask (4)

Some time passed.

Iwasaki was playing a game on his smartphone while Asano sat with her head resting on her palm, absentmindedly twirling her hat on the table with a bored expression on her face. Izumi and Akane's attention was focused on their phones, with occasional giggles breaking the silence.

Suddenly I stood up, immediately attracting questioning looks from the others.

"Um? Hina? Are you going somewhere?" Akane asked.

"Just to the bathroom."

"...Okay..." Hearing my reply, she turned back to her phone.

It was a relief that Akane didn't offer to come with me.

"I'll be quick."

As I closed the door behind me, I noticed Asano's gaze lingering on me.

Without much thought, I left the room and headed for the third floor.

The hallway was deserted, most of the students had already left, only the club members remained.

My footsteps echoed down the hallway, synchronized with the rapid beat of my heart, which for some reason had quickened its pace.

Ah, so that's how the knight felt before saying those words. Did the knight's heart beat as fast as mine? Did the knight's hands sweat as much as mine do now?

A whirlwind of emotions raged inside me - excitement, impatience, love, embarrassment, fear. Despite my uncertainty, my feet seemed to move on their own, leading me to the right door.

I stopped and took a deep breath as I stood in front of the door labeled "Drama Club."

Instead of opening the door, I leaned against the wall next to it, feeling the cool surface with my back.

Muffled voices came from behind the door, but I couldn't make out the words being spoken.

Minutes later, I heard the door open.

Hana carefully closed it behind her, and the voices of the students, which had been audible for a moment, slowly faded away.

"Oh... Are you done already?" I asked.

"Oh! You scared me," Hana whispered loudly, turning to me.

"Sorry," I smiled apologetically.

"What are you doing here?" 

"Came to get the knight!" I exclaimed, stepping away from the wall in excitement.

"Ah... Hahah, the knight, huh?" Hana giggled nervously, avoiding eye contact.

"Yeah! Did you find them?"

She hesitated before meeting my gaze. "Not exactly..."

Pretending to be ignorant, I inquired, "Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Uh..."

Her uncertainty was obvious, and she made little effort to hide it. I noticed subtle details on her face that would have gone unnoticed before, but now seemed significant.

"What do you mean? Tell me," I urged.

"Someone replaced the actor playing the knight. The original actor got hurt..."

Ah, so that's what happened.

"And who replaced them?"

"Well... No one knows. It's funny isn't it?"

She met my gaze and tried to sound confident, as if she was trying to convince herself that this shallow deception would be enough, even though she probably knew it wouldn't be.

"What do you mean? How can no one know?"

"The original actor didn't tell them who was replacing him," she said. "I told you it was useless, let's forget about it and just go." 

She took a nervous step forward, expecting me to follow, but I remained standing still.

As she walked past me, her steps slowed when she realized I wasn't moving. Her words sounded ridiculous. It was as if she realized it herself.

I could have opened the door to the drama club myself, right in front of her, leaving her no choice and destroying her charade. But I refrained.

It seemed that despite the silliness and farce of it all, she wouldn't give up.

I sighed, "Strange... The role wasn't exactly a big deal. Why hide it?"

"I don't know."

"Should we go check on the actor who got hurt?"

"Hina, why are you so hung up on this?" Finally, she turned abruptly to face me, her face expressing a mixture of displeasure and despair.

"What?"

"He's already gone home anyway."

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

I didn't understand why I kept pushing. Should I give up? But the words seemed to come out of me involuntarily. "Then we can ask tomorrow..."

"Hina," she called my name firmly, her lips curving into a crooked smile. I felt her tension.

"What?" Despite her pleas, I kept pushing, pretending not to understand.

"Please... just forget about him."

She looked tired, probably from the stress and emotion I had caused her. I sighed, feeling guilty for pushing her so hard.

I just wanted to… Should I really just give up? I looked at her. No! I can't… I walked over to her and took her hand. I'm such an asshole...

"Okay, let's go," I said, leading her down the hall.

"Uh... where to?" Despite her nervous voice, she didn't offer much resistance to my actions, perhaps sensing my determination.

"Don't worry..." I walked ahead of her, leading her by the hand, and turned to look at her briefly. She had always been stronger than me, but I wanted her to know that I was strong, too.

I led her to the first floor and she followed me silently.

I let go of her hand as we reached the door to the restroom, the same one I had visited earlier that morning.

Quietly opening the door, I stepped into the restroom, relieved to find it empty, just as I had expected.

"Let's go," I said dryly, stepping inside.

Behind me, I could only hear the hesitant tapping of her shoes on the tiled floor, which soon stopped.

"Um... Hina? Why did we come here?" she asked, as if she couldn't bear my silence.

Standing with my back to her, I asked, "Is it really that hard to just take off the mask?"

She was silent, either not understanding my question or unwilling to acknowledge her realization...

Turning to face her, I continued, "What do you think, Hana? It's cowardly, isn't it?"

"W-what do you mean?"

All she could do was flounder like a fish on dry land.

Meeting her gaze, I clarified, "I mean the confession."

"Eh?..."

"Right?"

"..."

I looked at her, studying her face. Even under this pressure, she tried not to avert her gaze, perhaps afraid to lower her eyes... Afraid to reveal...

Taking a step forward, I slowly approached her, finding her frozen in place. We locked eyes, and my gaze swept over her features...

I really am such a bad girl.

I lifted my hand and gently touched her cheek with the pads of my fingers. She flinched slightly but stayed where she was, refusing to move. Gently running my fingers along her cheek, I maintained eye contact, not letting her escape.

"Close your eyes…," I whispered softly, my voice filled with tenderness and resolve.

Without question, she obediently closed her eyes.

Slowly, I moved my face closer to hers, knowing she could feel my breath on her skin. I covered my eyelids and brought my lips close to her ear, causing her breath to catch.

"That's right, you are a coward..." I murmured.

Pulling away slightly, I smiled faintly, catching her shocked look.

Her eyes widened in horror as she realized that I held all of her emotions in the palm of my hand.

"You..."

"Yes..."

She took a weak step forward, closing the distance between us, and finally lowered her eyes.

"Since when?" Her voice was soft.

"All that time you were in that stupid costume."

She raised her eyes to meet mine, her expression reflecting shock, guilt, and embarrassment.

As I looked at her, perhaps my expression conveyed disappointment.

Oh Hana, Hana. Did you really think I wouldn't notice? You may be a good actor, but I know your voice better than anyone.

"They sent me to the storage room even though they knew someone was changing clothes in there. If it had been a guy, they wouldn't have sent me there," I said.

She remained silent.

"I recognize your voice, no matter how you change it."

Still, she said nothing.

I smiled weakly, hoping the smile didn't look too sinister. I really didn't want to put her through so much stress, but she wouldn't back down.

"Seriously, all these antics just to hide your feelings," I said, feeling frustrated.

Did you really think I wouldn't notice the way you always looked at me? That look was unlike any I had ever received from Akane, Akari or any other friend. Did you really think I wouldn't notice your reluctance to kiss my cheek or the way you held my hand? Stupid Hana. Such a coward.

As I moved closer to her again, she reflexively pulled back, but I took a sharp step forward, catching her wrist gently.

"Close your eyes..." I said softly but commandingly.

She obeyed, her eyelids tightening slightly as if preparing for something unpleasant.

"Say no if you don't like it..."

My lips touched her cheek gently. She flinched slightly but stayed still.

I didn't have the courage to kiss her on the lips.

I'm sorry…

My lips were a little dry.

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, ready to burst.

I pulled away from her and saw only her slightly flushed cheeks and a lost look. 

But she remained silent, unable to utter a word.

"You're a coward, Hana... You've always been the bravest of the two of us. Why are you such a coward when it comes to romance?"

She didn't respond.

I took her hand gently. Her grip was weak and her palm was wet with sweat.

God, Hana, were you that nervous?

"I'm a good actress, right? But you're not... You've always been straightforward and couldn't lie," I said with a smile.

Hana, you're my best friend. You always wore a mask - the best friend mask. When you finally said it, I thought you'd finally confess to my face. I'm sorry. I wanted you to tell me how you felt without the mask.