Chapter 1: Not a Place for Her

It happened at the beginning of February.

Normally, the classroom would be empty after school. But just that day, it was filled with the noisy chatter of a group of girls.

“Pretending it's a friendship chocolate and slipping it to him sounds like a good move, right?”

“Nah, this year Valentine’s Day falls during a three-day weekend. If you go out of your way to give him chocolate then, it’s obviously too much effort for just a friend.”

“Hmm... then maybe just be upfront and call him out directly?”

Needless to say, they weren't staying behind to study.

With sparkling eyes and an infectious buzz in the air that easily beat out the winter chill, their excitement was obvious. Tragically, such levels of focus from them during class would’ve been a miracle.

“Sigh…”

...Well, not everyone.

Saying everyone would be inaccurate.

Outside the circle of their lively bubble, by the window sat a girl in a school blazer, chin resting on her hand, silently watching the others.

She twirled a lock of her long hair idly, like a black cat amusing itself with its tail to kill boredom. But she soon tired of even that and let out another sigh.

“What a joke...”

She muttered under her breath, to no one in particular.

“Well, well. Someone’s grumpy today—right, Hinata?”

...Hinata hadn’t raised her voice. The words had just slipped out, a quiet grumble from deep within.

But unfortunately, someone had heard her, and a few of the previously chattering girls made their way over.

“...I wasn’t badmouthing you guys or anything. I just... I’m not interested in Valentine’s stuff. I just want to go home already.”

That was the truth. Hinata hadn't come here of her own will. She’d been wandering around campus when she was, more or less, dragged here against her will.

Still, she couldn’t deny it was awkward having her comment overheard. So her tone turned sullen—but the girls didn’t seem to mind at all.

“C’mon now. We know.”

Rather than offended, they looked amused—like they’d found a new toy to play with. One even wriggled her fingers playfully, grinning from ear to ear.

The tallest girl circled behind Hinata and, without warning, pulled her into a tight hug.

“Sure, maybe it’s not a big deal to someone with a long-term boyfriend. But for us lonely hearts? Valentine’s is a major event!”

“I’ve told you, over and over—Kei isn’t like that.”

“Oho? We never said anything about Keita-kun, now did we~?”

Hinata scowled as she denied it, but they weren’t letting go that easily.

“Hinata always turns bright red when we tease her like this—it's so cute.”

“But you two always eat lunch together, just the two of you. Kinda hard to deny it at this point.”

“Awwww, childhood friends since kindergarten? That’s so unfair. I want a boyfriend like that toooo!”

The moment you give them an inch, they come back with ten.

The room filled with chatter again—louder and livelier than before. No—worse than before, at least for Hinata, since now she was the main topic.

“Sigh…”

It was like being a kitten picked up and passed around.

She flailed in protest, but being on the smaller side, she had no hope of escaping the taller girl’s arms.

She was starting to think being left out would’ve been better after all.

Just as she was getting fed up with the escalating chaos, a knock came at the classroom door. Knock knock!

“Yes, come in—oh my. Speak of the devil, it’s Keita-kun.”

The one who entered had a gentle, calm presence. A serious-looking boy with a warm, easy smile, who spoke kindly to the nearby girls.

“Sorry to interrupt while you're having fun. I finished the errand the teacher gave me, so I came to walk home with Hina-chan. But... if it’s not a good time, I can just study in the library while I wait.”

“Oho, look at this guy. Off to enjoy a sweet, romantic walk home with his girl, huh?”

“I told you... mmph—!”

One of the girls teasingly taunted him as if pouncing on prey. Naturally, Hinata tried to protest—but the girl hugging her clamped a hand over her mouth before she could say anything.

Keita, on the other hand, didn’t flinch at all.

“Yeah, that’s right. I’d like to walk her home, so if you don’t mind letting her go, I’d really appreciate it.”
He smiled gently.

“Oooh...”
“He’s... strong...”

The teasing girls were stunned into silence, taken off guard by his straightforward reply.

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped. It’s a shame to lose Hinata-chan, but hey—we’re not cruel enough to stand in the way of young love. Off you go now, your ride’s here!”

And just like that, Hinata was released from the hold—an astonishingly quick change of heart.

Even she, usually not one to complain, felt tempted to say something about the blatant switch-up...

“Well, if you want to stay, that’s fine too? Let’s see… then maybe, in the spirit of advice, you can tell us all about how you and Keita-kun first got together—”

“…No thanks. I’ll get ready now. Just wait a minute, Kei.”

Sometimes, it's best not to poke the bear.

Hinata wasn’t about to let this go any further.

She threw on her favorite bright red coat and, as the classroom exploded into even more over-the-top excitement, made a hasty exit—as if fleeing the scene.

"Thank you for your hard work, Hina-chan.”

“Seriously… If you hadn’t shown up, who knows what they would’ve dragged me into.”

They were on a bench beside a vending machine, halfway home.

Hinata turned to face Keita with a sulky scowl as he handed her a can of coffee.

“Ugh—bitter…”

She was holding a sugarless black coffee.
Not just any kind, but one of those aggressively strong blends that even grown men might hesitate to drink straight.

Of course, Keita hadn’t done it as a prank. He’d bought exactly what she’d asked for.

“You’ve never been good with bitter stuff. You really don’t have to force yourself to drink it every time… Want to swap for my corn potage?”

“N-No, I’m good! I like this stuff! …Anyway, that’s not the point. Kei—you know we’re not a couple anymore. So don’t say stuff like that. You’re just making things worse.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. But let’s be honest—they wouldn’t have let you go unless I played along. When people start teasing, sometimes the best way to kill the mood is to completely lean into it.”

“Well… I guess that kind of makes sense…”

Keita’s explanation seemed to make sense, and Hinata gave a slight nod—but her sulky tone didn’t soften one bit.

“…I just don’t get why girls are so obsessed with romance stuff. I’ll never understand it.”

“You know, most people would still categorize you as a girl, Hina-chan.”

And there it was—stepping right on the landmine.

She shot him a sharp glare, but Keita didn’t push it further. He just gave her a wry smile.

“You’ve been in a bad mood all day, huh?”

“You already know why. I hate this time of year. Especially when it snows…”

“Yeah. I know. It’s the same every year.”

Her bad mood wasn’t because the other girls held her back.

—It started that morning, when she woke up and saw the snow falling outside.

—It started when she looked at the calendar and saw February 14th approaching.

No—go back further than that.

She had always been like this. Even before she was born, perhaps.

Why did snow make her so anxious?

It had nothing to do with being cold or having to shovel the driveway. Nothing so trivial.

It all traced back—twenty years ago...

To a single event that changed everything—