“Thanks vice-president. Are you okay after An threw you and you fell on your butt?”
“…I’m fine. Sorry for worrying you.”
“It’s natural! I don’t know if we could’ve saved Shiroi if you didn’t have the guts to do what you did… It’s thanks to you that everyone’s safe!”
Yuugo praised Hao with a bright tone, being considerate because he seemed to be feeling down since the previous night… But it looked like he was not going to take that praise at face value.
After some silence, Hao lowered his head and spoke.
“…I didn’t do anything. Even if I stayed put, Marcos and the others would’ve saved Shiroi. And I was the one who put Shiroi in that position in the first place, because I brought Shian and Egos. I’m on the bad side.”
“Don’t torment yourself so much. I didn’t know they were like that until yesterday either…”
“It doesn’t matter. I couldn’t do anything when I saw Egos press Precia. If you didn’t come running, she might have given in to the pressure and hurt Shiroi. I told you I wouldn’t forgive you if you hurt the president, but I was the one who kept hurting her. I’m really ashamed of myself.”
It was Shian and Egos who complicated things, and it was Hao who brought them.
Since Shiroi got captured because he kept questioning her, she also ended up feeling responsible. And the previous night, as he saw her on the verge of carrying a trauma that could last a lifetime, he could do nothing… Hao felt frustrated and ashamed, but Yuugo continued speaking to him.
“There was nothing you could do. I carry some guilt too… I didn’t do anything to make you trust me. You shouldn’t blame yourself. And the fact remains that you worked hard to save Shiroi. You’re Shiroi and Precia’s hero.”
Yuugo tapped Hao’s shoulder, and made him face up. He then continued while pointing to Precia, as she served soup and Shiroi looked to be enjoying it a lot.
“It’s because of you that Shiroi gets to enjoy tasty food like that, and Precia feels happy while cooking because she gets to see that smile… It’s because of what we did. We protected someone’s smile and happiness. Isn’t that what matters now? Rethink and regret later.”
“…Yes, you’re right. If I look like this, I’m just going to be a wet blanket. I should smile.”
Yuugo was right. Even if he was motivated by his regret, his feelings of wanting to save Shiroi were genuine, and the results of his efforts remained.
He also made things worse than necessary, but he did protect their smiles and happiness. And as he realized Yuugo was encouraging him, he nodded, and a small smile formed on his face.
“Leaving that aside Yuugo, are you going to continue talking to me like I’m older? Didn’t you say we’re in the same year?”
“Eh? Well… I guess I was kind of hesitant because of what happened before. I was worried because if I started talking to you like a friend and you didn’t, I’d just be one of those overly friendly guys…”
Hao sorted out his feelings like this, and asked Yuugo something that had been on his mind for a while. Yuugo responded to it with an awkward smile, which brought a smile to Hao’s face as well.
“…You’re right. We’re not friends. We can’t really talk that way yet.”
Hao stopped and let out a deep breath.
Then he faced Yuugo, made up his mind, and continued.
“…Come visit the cooking club again. I’ll make something really good for you.”
“…!!”
Yuugo’s eyes were wide open with surprise.
He remembered hearing something like this before, and as he understood what it meant, he also smiled.
“Yeah! I look forward to it!”
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Not friends, comrades