To Every You I’ve Loved Before by Yomoji Otono

Author:Yomoji Otono [Otono, Yomoji]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: light novel
Publisher: Seven Seas Entertainment
Published: 2023-04-05T07:00:00+00:00

***

A few days after I picked up the ring from the jewelry store, I summoned all my courage and asked Kazune to meet me somewhere. The location? Our usual karaoke lounge. Most people would probably think it was a bad place to propose, but for me, it had to happen here. This was the very spot where I fell in love with her, after all.

I had a ginger ale, and she had an iced tea—coincidentally the very same drinks we got when we met here the first time. As she fiddled with the karaoke machine to decide on her first song, I set the ring box on the table in front of her, opened the lid, and—with no lead-up whatsoever—said, “Let’s get married.”

It was the most I could manage. Prior to that moment, I concocted a whole plan—I’d sing some song that was popular back in high school, then casually start reminiscing about old times, say some things about how we stayed together despite it all, and then I’d ask her to be with me for the rest of my life. But despite all my mental run-throughs, the moment she was actually in front of me, that ring started burning a hole in my pocket. My mind went blank, and I skipped all my steps. Before I knew it, I popped the question.

Kazune’s eyes widened, and her jaw dropped—a silly expression she rarely ever made normally. Every other time I prepared a surprise for her (like birthdays and such), she always saw through it and laughed in my face. And yet, just this once, it seemed like I actually caught her off-guard. But while I’d always dreamed of getting this reaction out of her, I didn’t have the composure to savor it.

She looked at me; I gazed intently back at her. This was no laughing matter, and I didn’t dare break eye contact. I stared at her with all the love I could muster.

She then looked down and picked up the tiny box. Her eyes lingered on the ring, sitting there with a pale blue gem adorning it.

“Is this an aquamarine?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah.”

Kazune had never seemed all that passionate about jewelry to me, but considering she could identify the gemstone on sight, perhaps she was more interested than I thought. Judging from the look in her eyes, she was practically swooning—though not solely over the pretty bauble, I hoped.

Wordlessly, she kept staring down at the piece. Personally, I was in no hurry to get an answer out of her. After all these years and everything we’d been through together, I was confident she wouldn’t say no. Still, total silence was a far cry from being reassuring.

Then, out of nowhere, she pointed the open box in my direction. “Um… Will you put it on my finger?”

“…Sure.” I took the box from her and pulled the ring out. Then I took her left hand and raised the ring to her ring finger.

I could feel her hand trembling in mine. When I snuck a glance at her, her expression was unreadable, but her ears were bright red.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.