Chapter 49. The Confession
Momo smiled kindly and patted the wooden bench with her palm.
— Let’s sit down properly. What are we doing, standing around like we’re at an interrogation?
She was the first to sit down and gestured for the others to join her.
Hayato, still a little embarrassed, obediently sat beside her.
I stayed standing.
Nana and Suzu immediately settled on either side of him.
Too close.
So close that Hayato visibly tensed.
He twitched, as if he wanted to shift away a little, but quickly stopped himself.
He only blushed and awkwardly looked away.
Momo started talking right away.
Lightly.
Cheerfully.
As if we really had known each other for many years.
She told stories about our “friendship” in middle school.
About how we used to skip classes together.
About how I always hid behind her back.
About how I was “the quietest girl in class.”
She lied so confidently that even I almost believed her for a second.
Hayato listened attentively.
Sometimes he laughed.
Sometimes he asked questions.
Sometimes he looked at me in surprise.
And every time, I just nodded.
Confirmed her lies.
It felt like I was building a wall between myself and the person I wanted to trust most — with my own hands.
I looked at him and felt everything inside me slowly tightening.
He didn’t notice.
Anything.
He didn’t see the tension in my shoulders…
He didn’t notice how I kept glancing at Momo, waiting for the next threat.
He didn’t even notice his own embarrassment.
Momo only smiled.
She understood perfectly well what she was doing.
Every word.
Every look.
Every movement had been calculated in advance.
It was as if she was testing how much more she needed to push the situation before I finally stopped hoping.
Nana and Suzu weren’t just sitting beside him.
They kept pressing their chests against him — first one, then the other.
The movements were “accidental,” but far too frequent.
Hayato tried not to look at them, but his ears were burning.
Then, without warning, Momo jumped onto his lap.
— Oops, sorry! — she said cheerfully, wrapping her arms around his neck.
— It’s just more comfortable to talk like this.
Hayato tried to pull away.
— Wait, I…
But three pairs of hands pressed him down at once.
Nana and Suzu held his shoulders while Momo sat on top and wouldn’t let him stand.
He turned red to the roots of his hair and helplessly jerked once more, but quickly gave in.
He just sat there, smiling stupidly and looking away.
My heart clenched.
My boyfriend.
My kind, shy Hayato.
They were openly groping him right in front of me, and he only blushed and smiled.
Momo lightly ran her fingers over his shoulder.
— Your shoulders are so tense… Nana, Suzu, give him a little massage. He’s our athlete, after all.
The girls immediately started “loosening up” his neck and shoulders.
Their fingers moved slowly, while their breasts kept rubbing against his arms and back.
Hayato’s breathing grew heavier.
I noticed a visible bulge starting to form between his legs.
“No…”
Momo leaned closer to his face and smiled.
— I heard you’re going to have your own harem? How does it feel? Three girls hugging you all at once… nice?
Hayato smiled stupidly, not knowing what to do with his hands.
— I… um… it was just a joke…
— Or maybe not, — Suzu purred, running a finger down his chest.
Momo looked at me. There was something cold and malicious in her eyes.
— So what’s the secret of your charm, Hayato-kun? Why do all the girls throw themselves at you?
Without shame, she slid her hand between his legs and squeezed him through his pants. Hayato gasped sharply, like a girl, and jerked.
— Average-sized equipment, — Momo commented cheerfully, not removing her hand.
— Small but mighty?
The girls laughed.
Hayato sat there red-faced, mouth open, no longer trying to resist.
He just breathed heavily and looked at Momo.
— Or maybe you’re skilled? — she asked quietly.
To the sound of her friends’ laughter, Momo leaned in and kissed him.
Deeply.
With tongue.
Obscene, wet sounds echoed across the quiet rooftop.
Hayato moaned into her mouth but didn’t push her away.
I stood there and watched.
My boyfriend.
My Hayato.
Another girl was kissing him right now.
Deeply.
Dirtily.
And he… he wasn’t resisting.
He wasn’t even trying.
My chest felt hot and painful at the same time.
“He won’t be able to protect me…”
The thought hit harder than any blow.
“He can’t even protect himself.
He’s just sitting there letting them do whatever they want to him.
And I… I brought him here hoping he would save me.”
Tears began rising to my eyes.
I quickly turned away so they wouldn’t see.
But Momo noticed anyway.
I couldn’t watch this anymore.
I couldn’t stand there and see another girl taking what should have been mine.
His first kiss.
I had imagined it so many times.
Awkward.
Warm.
Only ours.
And now it was gone.
Momo took it so easily, as if it meant nothing.
As if I meant nothing.
My chest felt tight.
Too tight.
It hurt.
It was humiliating.
But what hurt most was something else.
Hayato did nothing.
He didn’t push her away.
He didn’t stand up.
He didn’t call for me.
He didn’t tell them to stop.
He just sat there.
Red.
Lost.
Helpless.
“Why aren’t you doing anything…?”
I clenched my fists.
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to demand that he stand up and leave with me.
But my voice wouldn’t obey.
Even breathing became difficult.
I spun around sharply and ran for the door.
— Yūki!
Hayato’s shout came from behind.
For a second I slowed down.
I waited.
Now he would catch up.
Now he would break free.
Now he would grab my hand and say he understood everything.
But no footsteps followed.
Only the muffled laughter of the girls.
And another, already incoherent, sound from Hayato.
It seemed he hadn’t been able to stand up after all.
Or hadn’t wanted to.
I pushed the door open and ran into the hallway.
Tears blurred my vision.
Everything in front of me was swimming.
Walls. Windows. Classroom doors.
I didn’t know where to go.
I just wanted to get as far away from the roof as possible.
Far from Momo.
Far from Hayato.
Far from myself.
And then the door to the boys’ bathroom opened.
I stopped abruptly.
Ren stepped out.
For a few seconds we both froze.
A hundred thoughts flashed through my head.
Why was he here?
Had he heard something?
Had he seen me?
How did I look?
What should I say?
Pretend everything was fine? Smile? Run?
But I didn’t get the chance.
Ren looked at me.
At my wet eyes.
At my trembling lips.
At my hands, which I was helplessly using to wipe away tears.
His face barely changed.
He didn’t ask anything.
He didn’t demand explanations.
He didn’t even say my name.
He simply walked over.
His tall frame blocked the light from the window.
For a moment I felt small again.
Completely small.
Like I used to be.
When I could hide behind his back and stop being afraid of anything.
Ren leaned down and, without a single word, lifted me into his arms.
I let out a quiet gasp.
But I didn’t resist.
I couldn’t.
One of his arms supported me under the knees.
The other held me firmly against his chest.
He was big.
Warm.
Safe.
I buried my face in his shoulder.
Familiar scent…
Familiar warmth.
Familiar feeling I had tried so hard to forget for so long.
Safety.
Real.
Not imagined.
Not the kind I had once hoped to feel beside Hayato.
Beside Ren, I didn’t need to explain anything.
I didn’t need to smile.
I didn’t need to pretend everything was fine.
I could simply stop holding myself together.
His palm rested on my head.
Ren slowly ran his fingers through my hair.
Once.
Then again.
Gently.
Almost weightlessly.
And that was enough.
All the tension I had been holding inside disappeared at once.
As if someone had untied a knot that had been pulled too tight.
I clutched the fabric of his shirt with my fingers.
And burst into tears.
Not quietly.
Not prettily.
I cried like something inside me had finally broken.
Tears soaked into the fabric on his shoulder.
My breathing came in sobs.
My body trembled.
But Ren didn’t let go.
He only held me tighter and kept stroking my hair.
— It’s okay, — he said quietly. — Don’t cry.
Those words only made it worse.
I sobbed and buried my face even deeper.
He didn’t ask what had happened.
He didn’t say it was my fault.
He didn’t tell me to stop.
He simply held me.
As if no one else had the right to touch me anymore.
As if the whole world could wait.
And for the first time in a long while, I felt relief.
All my fears receded.
Momo’s messages.
The threats.
The roof.
Hayato.
Everything became distant.
Unimportant.
As long as Ren was holding me, nothing bad could happen to me.
“He came…”
The thought felt almost childish.
Stupid.
But I clung to it with everything I had.
“He really did come.”
My savior.
My Ren.
— Tell me everything that happened, — Ren said quietly.
— I’ll help you.
I froze.
Those words were so simple.
But they were exactly what I had wanted to hear this whole time.
Not empty reassurance:
“Everything will be fine.”
Not confused doubt:
“Maybe you misunderstood?”
He didn’t ask me to calm down.
He didn’t question me.
He simply said he would help.
And something inside me finally broke.
I clutched his shirt tighter and started talking.
At first slowly.
Stumbling over every other word.
I told him about the first meeting with Momo.
About her smile.
About how she pretended she just wanted to be friends.
About Nana and Suzu.
About the messages…
About the threats…
About how they always knew where I was.
How they forced me to come to them.
How they laughed when I tried to refuse.
With every new confession, it became easier to speak.
The words poured out on their own.
As if they had been pressing down on me from inside this whole time, and now they finally had an outlet.
I told him about the signal.
About that same signal that once meant I needed help.
About how I had sent it to him.
And waited.
For so long.
Until the very end I had hoped Ren would appear.
But he hadn’t come.
My voice broke on those words.
I was afraid to look up.
Afraid to see indifference on his face.
Or irritation.
But the hand on my head paused for a moment.
Just for a second.
Then Ren slowly ran his palm over my hair again.
— Keep going, — he said.
Nothing in his voice had changed.
But I felt his body tense.
I told him about Hayato.
About how I had hoped he would notice everything on his own.
That he would understand without explanations.
That he would start asking questions.
That he would protect me.
I had brought him to the roof even though Momo had ordered me to come alone.
It was my small act of rebellion.
My last hope.
I had been sure that with Hayato there, they wouldn’t do anything.
That he would see their real faces.
But Momo had once again been one step ahead.
She smiled.
She lied.
She pretended to be my friend.
And I stood beside her and confirmed every word she said.
Because I was afraid.
Because I couldn’t tell the truth.
Because even next to my own boyfriend, I didn’t feel safe.
I told him everything.
Even about the kiss.
Without lifting my head.
Stumbling.
Swallowing tears.
Sometimes I thought Ren would stop me.
Say he had heard enough.
But he stayed silent.
He just listened.
With every new confession, his fingers moved slower and slower.
His breathing remained even.
Too even.
I carefully raised my eyes.
Ren was frowning.
At first barely noticeably.
Then more deeply.
His brows drew together.
His jaw tightened.
His gaze became heavy and cold.
And when I finished, a real, living, angry grimace appeared on his face.
I had almost forgotten what he looked like when he was angry.
Lately Ren had always stayed calm.
Indifferent.
Untouchable.
As if everything happening around him had nothing to do with him.
But now that was gone.
He was angry.
Because of me.
The thought warmed something in my chest.
I probably shouldn’t have felt happy about it.
But I did — and I felt a growing heat low in my stomach.
I had managed to make him feel something.
That meant he still cared.
That meant I still meant something to him.
Ren said nothing.
He only looked toward the door leading to the roof.
His expression had changed.
There was no softness left in it.
For a moment I even felt afraid.
Not for myself.
For the people on the other side of that door.
Finally, he carefully set me down on the floor.
As soon as his hands disappeared, cold air touched my body.
The support was gone.
And with it, the feeling of safety.
My legs immediately went weak.
I wrapped my arms around myself and unconsciously stepped closer to him.
The hallway suddenly felt too empty.
The door to the roof — too close.
And the voices behind it — too loud.
They were still there.
Momo.
Nana.
Suzu.
Hayato.
The moment I was back on the ground, everything came rushing back.
Fear. Shame. Helplessness.
Ren looked at me.
He had probably noticed how pale I’d gone.
How my fingers were clutching his sleeves.
How I kept glancing at the door.
He didn’t ask anything.
He simply placed his palm on my head.
Heavy. Warm. Reliable.
His fingers lightly stroked my hair.
Just once.
But it was enough for me to breathe again.
Ren was standing beside me.
That meant nothing bad would happen.
Not anymore.
— Let’s go, — he said.
I looked up at him.
His face had become calm again.
Almost indifferent.
But now I knew what was hidden beneath that mask.