Which One Did I Love?
1094 Words
Which One Did I Love?
The silence inside the empty classroom felt unbearable.
Yuna Tachibana stood frozen, her entire body trembling.
The image refused to leave her mind.
The boy standing outside the school building.
The same face.
The same eyes.
The same voice.
And yet...
A completely different person.
Her chest tightened painfully.
There really were two of them.
Ren slowly took a step forward.
"Yuna..."
Immediately, she stepped back.
"Don't come any closer."
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Ren froze.
The distance between them suddenly felt much larger than a few steps.
It felt like an entire year of lies.
Yuna pressed a trembling hand against her chest.
Her breathing became uneven.
"Since when?"
No answer.
Ren lowered his gaze.
Yuna's voice shook.
"Since when have you been hiding the fact that you have a twin brother?!"
The classroom echoed with her frustration.
For a moment, Ren remained silent.
Then he finally spoke.
"I never planned to tell you."
Yuna stared at him in disbelief.
"You never planned to tell me?"
Her voice cracked.
"We've been together for a year, Ren!"
The pain she had been holding back finally exploded.
"One year!"
Tears blurred her vision.
"And you never thought I deserved to know something that important?!"
Still, Ren remained silent.
And somehow, that hurt even more.
---
Then a terrifying realization surfaced.
Pieces of memories began connecting.
The anniversary night.
The riverside.
The shopping mall.
The late-night messages.
The warmth she had never received before.
Yuna's eyes widened.
"...Wait."
Her voice became barely audible.
"Those days..."
The answer formed before she could stop it.
"...Was that him?"
The atmosphere instantly changed.
Ren's expression darkened.
Silence.
Then—
"...Yes."
One word.
One answer.
One truth.
And suddenly, Yuna felt the ground disappear beneath her feet.
The anniversary hug.
"I miss you."
"I wish it were me instead."
Every memory shattered at once.
The person she cried for that night...
Wasn't Ren.
---
Yuna slowly sat down.
Her legs no longer had the strength to hold her.
The classroom felt strangely distant.
As though she were watching someone else's life unfold.
"So..."
She looked down at her trembling hands.
"Was all of it a lie?"
"No."
Ren answered immediately.
The firmness in his voice surprised her.
Yuna looked up.
For the first time, she saw something unfamiliar in his eyes.
Pain.
"He was sincere."
Ren clenched his fist.
"He loved you."
The words struck her harder than anything else.
Flashbacks flooded her mind.
Rei watching her from afar.
Rei being the first person to view her stories.
Rei quietly smiling whenever she laughed.
Moments she never noticed before.
Moments that suddenly made sense.
Ren continued.
"He's liked you for a long time."
Yuna stared at him.
"Then why did he approach me?"
Ren looked away.
A tired smile appeared on his face.
"Because I left."
The answer felt too simple.
Too painful.
"And why did you allow it?"
For a moment, Ren said nothing.
Then he laughed bitterly.
A small, defeated laugh.
"I don't know."
His eyes remained fixed on the floor.
"Maybe..."
His voice became quieter.
"Because I knew you'd be happier with him."
Yuna's eyes widened.
"What?"
Ren continued speaking calmly, but every word felt sharp enough to cut.
"He's the sweet one."
Images flashed through her mind.
The mall date.
The warm conversations.
The affectionate smiles.
"The one who openly shows his feelings."
The hugs.
The concern.
The attention.
"The one who can give you everything you want."
Ren lowered his eyes.
"...I can't do those things."
The confession felt heavier than any lie.
---
Yuna suddenly stood up.
Her emotions finally overflowed.
Anger.
Confusion.
Heartbreak.
All at once.
She grabbed the front of his uniform.
"You had no right!"
Her tears finally fell.
"You had no right to decide that for me!"
Ren remained silent.
Accepting every word.
Accepting every accusation.
"Do you know how confused I've been these past weeks?!"
Her voice shook.
Every sleepless night.
Every unanswered question.
Every painful doubt.
All because nobody trusted her with the truth.
Yuna's grip weakened.
Her shoulders trembled.
Then she whispered the question she feared most.
"I don't even know who I loved anymore."
For the first time, Ren looked genuinely hurt.
But he didn't defend himself.
Because deep down...
He didn't know the answer either.
---
Outside the school building, Rei waited alone.
The evening sky glowed orange above him.
Beside him stood Haruki.
"You won't regret this?"
Haruki asked quietly.
Rei laughed softly.
"I've regretted it for a long time."
The wind brushed through his dark hair.
His smile carried both happiness and sadness.
"But just once..."
His gaze lifted toward the school building.
Toward the classroom where Yuna was.
"I wanted to know what it felt like."
His voice became almost a whisper.
"To have her choose me."
---
Back inside the classroom, Yuna wiped away her tears.
Her heart still ached.
But now, another emotion had appeared.
Determination.
"Where is he?"
Ren blinked.
"...What?"
Yuna met his eyes directly.
"I want to talk to him."
For the first time since the truth was revealed—
Fear appeared on Ren's face.
A small fear.
A hidden fear.
The fear of losing someone important.
---
The rooftop was quiet.
The sunset painted the sky with shades of gold and crimson.
The wind carried the scent of approaching evening.
Rei stood alone near the fence.
Lost in thought.
Then he heard footsteps.
Slow.
Careful.
Approaching him.
His heart skipped.
He turned around.
And saw her.
Yuna.
For a moment, neither spoke.
The distance between them felt impossibly fragile.
Yuna stared at him.
The same face.
The same features.
The same voice.
Yet somehow...
Not the same person.
Rei smiled gently.
A sad smile.
"...Are you angry?"
Yuna lowered her eyes.
The answer wasn't simple.
She felt betrayed.
Confused.
Heartbroken.
And yet...
Somewhere inside her chest, she couldn't bring herself to hate him.
"I don't know."
The wind blew between them.
Neither moved.
Neither looked away.
And for the first time since everything began, they stood face to face without lies.
Without disguises.
Without pretending.
Rei slowly stepped closer.
No tricks.
No stolen identity.
Just himself.
"Even if you're angry..."
His voice was soft.
"Even if you hate me..."
His eyes never left hers.
"What I felt for you was real."
Yuna stared silently at him.
And as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon, one final question echoed inside her heart.
If Rei wasn't the first person to break it...
Then who was?
End of Episode 6
- Writer
