After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

At the end of March, on the Spring Equinox.

The weather began to warm up, and the wind that blew over one's head no longer felt bone-chillingly cold.

Those thick school blazers, no one wore them anymore.

In the courtyard of the school, the maple trees sprouted new golden leaves, which were particularly conspicuous when viewed from inside during a light rain.

Kagura Hikaru leaned his face on one hand, gazing out the window.

The teacher on the podium was making his final farewell, as today was the last time he would serve as the homeroom teacher for Class A Year 1—it was said he would be transferring to another school to teach.

"After you move up to the second year, you will no longer be freshmen, remember to be more lenient with your juniors," the teacher said.

The students in the classroom responded with laughter, some sentimental girls bowed their heads and sobbed, while their friends reached out to comfort them.

Kagura Hikaru was oblivious to all of this.

He looked at the seniors below the window, wearing flower pins on their chests, holding cylinders containing diplomas and certificates, bidding each other farewell, and gradually leaving through the school gate under the rain.

They held colorful umbrellas, forming a string, and viewed through the rain-drenched glass, they resembled flowing lights.

Kagura Hikaru was mesmerized.

The bell for the end of classes rang.

"School is over," the teacher on the podium said with a resigned smile, "Goodbye, students."

Seeing the teacher about to leave, the students quickly surrounded him, bidding him a sorrowful farewell.

The class monitor handed the teacher a square cardboard, on which all the students from Class A Year 1 had written their blessings for the teacher.

The words, drawn in various ink colors, were very small yet still appeared crowded.

Kagura Hikaru had also written "Wishing your family wellness" on it as thanks for the teacher's care over the year.

While his classmates were talking to the teacher, he didn't join them and instead picked up his shoulder bag to leave the classroom.

Today, he hadn't brought his guitar.

On rainy days, he would not bring his guitar out.

Because of this, his shoulders felt unexpectedly light.

Kagura Hikaru silently listened to the pattering rain outside the window as he walked downstairs slowly.

Unbeknownst to him, a year had passed by.

After today, the first-year student Kagura Hikaru would no longer exist; his past self had been left in the first year classroom.

Perhaps years later, when he revisited this place, he might still see himself clad in a school uniform, sitting by the windowsill of the first-year classroom, resting his cheek on his hand, gazing outside.

At that time, would he miss this period?

In front of the first-floor shoe cabinet, he changed out of his indoor shoes, opened a black umbrella, and walked into the rain.

The overcast sky made all the lights brighten up everywhere.

It rained on the day of the graduation festival; Kagura Hikaru thought it was an ill-fated day.

As he walked along the path in the courtyard, there came a chorus of student voices from ahead.

Saying things like "Say yes to him" and "Be together."

Someone was making a confession.

Kagura Hikaru was not surprised.

On this day of graduation, for the seniors and the students remaining, it was their only chance to be together.

If they didn't want to leave their youth with regrets, this was their last opportunity.

Kagura Hikaru had intended to ignore it and just walk away.

But when he glimpsed Ando Naoto, surrounded by a crowd in the middle, and Kiryu Hina with him, he found himself unable to move his feet no matter what.

Ando Naoto held a bouquet of roses in both hands, a classmate was holding an umbrella for him, and his face was full of tender affection.

He earnestly said to the girl standing in front of him, "President Kiryu, I know I may not be worthy of you now, but when it comes to these feelings, I believe I won't lose to anyone—please go out with me."

He extended the rose in his hand.

The red petals, irrigated by raindrops, became even more vivid.

The handsome vice president handed the flower to the pure and beautiful Student Council President.

This ideal and aesthetically pleasing scene elicited even louder cheers from the onlookers.

Naturally, the rowdy noises grew louder as well.

"President...."

Shading President Kiryu Hina with an umbrella was Hosaka Yui, currently the Student Council's treasurer. She looked worriedly at the smiling President and then glared fiercely at the graduated Ando Naoto.

She didn't care about any seniority; all she cared about was that this man was causing President Kiryu Hina to lose face in front of everyone.

To her, the confession seemed nothing more than a farce.

How could Kiryu Hina possibly fall in love with someone?

That was an impossibility in her eyes.

"All right, Yui," Kiryu Hina comforted her by taking her hand and smiling, then turned around with her hands clutching her tote bag in front of her, facing Ando Naoto.

Her posture was dignified and sharp, like that of a noble.

"Senior Ando, if possible, I would have preferred you to say these words to me in private. This took me by surprise. Or did you do it on purpose?"

Ando Naoto could only give a bitter smile.

He knew, of course, that Kiryu Hina didn't like to be confessed to in such public settings. Having been the vice president by her side for a year, he understood this much.

But the key issue was that throughout the day, he had been mentally dragged into conversations by familiar classmates, unable to get away.

The few times he did find a moment to look for Kiryu Hina, she was nowhere to be found.

That made him suspect that she was deliberately avoiding him.

Fianlly, at the time of dismissal, he managed to corner President Kiryu Hina who was about to leave, in the courtyard.

This was his last chance.

After graduation, Ando Naoto would find it hard to return here, so even though he knew the chances of success were slim, he had to try. Find your next read at empire

He looked up resolutely and gazed directly into Kiryu Hina's eyes: "President, please give me an answer."

The face of Kiryu Hina displayed a calm, mask-like smile as she was about to speak, but her poise faltered slightly as she glimpsed a familiar figure in the crowd.

Her smile unconsciously widened as she reached out to take the rose.

The onlooking students gasped in surprise; Hosaka Yui's eyes widened, and Ando Naoto was visibly delighted.

Could it be that she was going to accept?

However, just ten centimeters from the rose, Kiryu Hina's fingers stopped in midair.

The delicate, fair knuckles became translucent in the rainfall, radiating a jade-like soft glow.

But when Ando Naoto blinked, he realized it was just an illusion he had conjured.

Kiryu Hina slowly lowered her hand.

"I'm sorry, Senior Ando, I can't accept your request," she said, "you can find someone better than me."

"...there's no one better, absolutely."

Ando Naoto's face turned pale, and he no longer had the courage to continue speaking.

He gripped the rose tightly in his hand, turned around, and pushed through the crowd to leave.

Seeing the male protagonist's confession fail, the crowd also let out sighs of pity and gradually dispersed.

Kiryu Hina shifted her gaze back to where she had seen Kagura Hikaru, only to find that his place had been taken by other unfamiliar students.

She smiled helplessly, took the umbrella from Hosaka Yui, who was holding it for her, and waited for her to open her own before walking leisurely out of the school gate.

How long until they meet again?

Ha, she truly looked forward to it.