Episode -4

At the playground,

I sat down and sana gave me a juice .

“Ella, I think you must be hungry,” she said, handing it over.

“Thank you. You sound like such an angel,” I replied with a small smile.

“Stop it. I know it’s hard to talk about. You had a fight with your ex-boyfriend new girlfriend, right?” she asked gently.

As soon as I heard those words, I turned away and tried to hide my expression.

“I had a fight with my ex-boyfriend current girlfriend,” I finally admitted. “Things got messy...”

“Ella, are you alright?” she asked, concerned. “I heard your boyfriend cheated on you. I know it must have been hard. You even went into depression trying to forget him.”

I looked at him and whispered, “Ella had a boyfriend who cheated on her. That’s true. He left, and now he’s gone. But I don't know what she's feel, I have never been in a relationship in my past life .

“Ella, are you even hearing me?”

“Yes… sorry. I zoned out into my own world,” I replied softly.

“It’s okay. Stop daydreaming. You look like you’re about to faint,” she said, concerned.

Just then, a ball flew toward me and hit my hand hard. I flinched as the juice I was holding spilled all over my clothes. It was a mess.

“What was that?! Why does it feel like everyone wants to pick a fight with me?” I said loudly, frustrated.

A boy came running up to me and said, “I’m so sorry!”

“Why are you apologizing?” I asked, confused. “You’re not the one who threw the ball. It was that other guy. He’s the one who did this to me. If anyone should say sorry, it’s him.”

“Sorry, please. It was our fault,” a boy said. “Now that you fell, I came to apologize on their behalf.”

“It’s okay,” I replied. “I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. That wasn’t your fault.”

“But your dress is all wet…” he said, looking concerned.

“Yeah, I don’t have another pair. And I was to wear it at the end of the day,” I said with a sigh.

“Well, we have a spare sports uniform in the locker room. . Please, take it.”

“Okay,” I nodded.

“Yeah, go. I’m waiting in class,” my friend said.

“Alright, I’m coming,” I replied.

We went into the sports room. They introduced me to the team leader...

---

“He was our leader, Yuri Hanamichi ,” someone said proudly.

“Hello, my name is...” I began.

“Ella, right? I know. You introduced yourself in my class,” he interrupted with a small smile.

“Yes, Ella Thomas.” I nodded.

“Team leader, actually, our boy hit Ella while they were training—accidentally. Her dress got wet, so I offered her one of our spare sports uniforms,” one of the teammates explained.

“No worries. You go ahead to training. I’ll take care of it,” the team leader replied.

“Okay, Leader,” he said and left.

What’s going on with me... I wondered, still confused by the sudden change of events.

“Umm, can you give it quickly, please? Class is starting very soon,” I asked softly.

---

“Why are you in such a hurry? Wait a minute—we’re meeting after such a long time,” he said with a grin.

I met him silently. What if Ella had a relationship with Yuri? No… they were just friends.

He took my hand gently.

“Oh no, you're hurt so badly! I’ll give them punishment. Who did this to you?” he asked, angry and concerned.

“No, no need. I’m totally fine,” I said, forcing a smile. “It’s just a little pain. I can handle it easily.” But as soon as I moved my hand, I winced. “Ahh… it’s painful...”

“Stop pretending. I can see you’re strong, but you need rest. Keep this uniform and change into it,” he insisted.

“Where?” I asked.

“There. In front of you,”

“Are you crazy?! now go in this room” he pointed toward the boys' changing room.

“Oh! Sorry, sorry! That was a joke,” I laughed awkwardly.

“By the way, if you want to change in front of me, I have no problem,” he said with a teasing smirk.

“No no! I prefer the room!” I replied quickly, grabbing the clothes and walking towards the changing area. Why are these clothes so loose? I wondered. My shirt was only slightly wet, so I decided to wear just the skirt with my own top. Then I stepped outside where Yuri was waiting.

“Huh? Why aren’t you wearing the pants I gave you? Do you want to seduce me?” he asked, clearly joking, making me blush.

“Stop joking! I’m wearing a skirt. Look!” I said, pulling my t-shirt up just a little to show him the waistband of the skirt underneath.

“Oh, okay. Now sit here. I put some medicine in your hand—it'll turn into red,” he said, handing it over playfully.

“Don’t need it,” I said, pouting in mock annoyance.

“Hmm… come here. Sit,” he said gently, pulling my hand.

He carefully applied medicine to my hand, his touch soft and focused. Wow… I’ve never experienced something like this before, I thought.

“Done. How is it?” he asked.

“Good. Thank you, Yuri,” I replied with a warm smile.

“Huh? Yuri? You’ve never called me that before. You always say ‘sir’. I don’t know why,” he said with a soft chuckle.

“Oh... I made a mistake,” I said shyly. “But because you helped me so kindly, we’ve become... friends, right?” I moved my hand slightly closer to his, unsure but hopeful.

He took my hand—but instead of shaking it, he gently placed a kiss on it. Then, with a small smile, he whispered,

“Yes, friend.”

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***