"But why? Why did everything change in your eyes?"
Sayuri was not going to let her daughter off the hook. She had turned a blind eye for far too long.
Now that the truth was out, she had to resolve this once and for all. A clean break was always better than prolonged pain—Sayuri understood this well.
"No… Mom… I really didn't…"
Eriri desperately shook her head, her long twin tails swaying like a metronome.
Seeing her daughter in such agony, Sayuri felt a pang of guilt. But she couldn't stop now—she had to do this.
"Hakuto… he really liked you back then…"
"I don't know if he hid any other gifts for you. These are just the ones I managed to find…"
With that, Sayuri stopped looking at her daughter, who was curled up on the floor in pain.
Instead, she carefully placed each item—each piece of Hakuto's sincerity that Eriri had never noticed—right in front of her.
"Eriri… think carefully. What exactly are your feelings toward Hakuto right now?"
"If you don't like him, and you truly don't care about him, then starting tomorrow, we'll go back to our normal lives. You walk your own path, and he walks his."
"But if it's something else… then I hope you can open your heart and talk to me."
With those words, Sayuri turned and left the room. Just before stepping out, she glanced back at Eriri one last time.
Once Sayuri was gone, silence filled the room. Eriri remained on the floor, hugging herself in pain.
She looked at the chibi figurine by her feet, wanting to reach for it, but no matter how hard she tried, her hands wouldn't move.
"I didn't mean to… I really didn't…"
She had no idea how long she stayed in that position. It wasn't until her mother re-entered the room and stood before her again that she snapped out of it.
"M-Mom…"
"This was a gift from Hakuto. It's long expired, so I was going to throw it away. But now, I'll leave the decision to you."
Sayuri set a small glass jar filled with colorful candies down in front of Eriri, lining it up neatly with the other items.
"Come talk to me once you've made up your mind. I'll be waiting."
With that, Sayuri closed the door, leaving Eriri alone with her thoughts.
Sayuri was a good mother. She always had her own way of guiding her daughter toward something better.
Eriri stared at the jar of candies by her feet. A strange feeling crept over her, as if she had just realized something important.
In a sudden frenzy, she grabbed the jar.
Her teary eyes focused on the inside of the glass.
After a moment, she slowly twisted the lid.
Because it had been sealed for so long, the lid was stuck. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't open it.
Seeing this, Eriri grabbed the hem of her dress and wrapped it around the lid, increasing the friction in an attempt to pry it open.
Maybe it was sheer luck, or maybe it was fate—this time, she managed to twist the lid off.
Staring at the colorful candies inside, Eriri hesitantly picked up a single piece.
It was pale white.
Without hesitation, she popped it into her mouth.
"That's strange… It's been expired for so long… but why is it still so sweet?"
She didn't care that the candy was old. Right now, the only thing she blamed was herself—for not realizing all of this sooner.
To her, the candy hadn't expired.
She had simply discovered it too late.
One by one, she stuffed the candies into her mouth, not stopping for a second.
Even though expired food wasn't lethal, it could still be harmful to her body.
But Eriri didn't care. Not one bit.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Eriri muttered apologies between bites, but then, suddenly, her hand froze.
Her fingers had brushed against something inside the glass jar—a piece of paper, stained in various colors from the candies over time.
At first, she was startled. But then, a wave of joy washed over her.
She carefully unfolded the note.
There were no words.
No, there were words—written in Chinese. Eriri couldn't read Chinese, but she recognized the script.
"Right... Hakuto is Chinese, isn't he..."
Staring at the line of Chinese characters, Eriri instinctively reached for her phone, intending to search for a translation.
But she stopped.
She couldn't. Or rather, she didn't dare to.
"At least... not now..."
Eriri's eyes remained locked on the note before she carefully placed it back into the jar and slowly screwed the lid shut.
She gathered the other items at her feet, brushed off her skirt, and turned toward the door with newfound resolve.
"You've made up your mind?"
Sayuri stood at the doorway, waiting for her daughter. It was as if she had expected Eriri to come out that night.
"...Yeah."
"If that's the case, I assume you're ready to be honest with me."
Eriri nodded.
"Then... go on."
"I want to apologize to Hakuto..."
"That's all?"
"...Yeah..."
It took all the courage she had, every ounce of strength in her body, to force out those final words.
"I'm not good enough for Hakuto... I don't deserve the love he gave me..."
As soon as she said it, all the strength drained from her. Holding onto the box in her arms, Eriri turned and retreated into her room, her expression filled with sorrow.
Sayuri, left standing in place, was stunned.
The folding fan in her hand slipped and fell to the floor.
"Looks like... things are going to get busy from now on..."
Sayuri understood her daughter's state of mind all too well.
Originally, she had only considered two possible outcomes.
One: Eriri truly didn't like Hakuto. If that were the case, she would simply apologize for her past actions, and that would be the end of it.
Two: Eriri faced her feelings and realized she had fallen for Hakuto. If that happened, Sayuri would do everything in her power to support her daughter.
It was like flipping a coin—heads or tails. But deep down, the moment the coin was tossed, one already knew which outcome they were hoping for.
But Sayuri had never expected the coin to land on its edge.
"A third outcome I never considered, huh..."
She didn't know what consequences this result would bring.
But she knew that time would reveal everything.
For now, all she had to do was wait.
"Eriri... maybe I never should've introduced you to Hakuto two years ago..."
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Check out the other translations too: [Mash-Up: I'm Not A Substitute]
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