"Don't you dare yawn, Yamamoto."
A bolt from the blue.
On this day, which was perfect weather for a wedding, we had arrived at the church and were waiting for the groom and bride to make their appearance.
At I-chan’s wedding, surrounded by so many familiar faces, Yamamoto was sitting right next to me, letting out a half-hearted yawn.
I suppose it couldn't be helped that he didn't feel a shred of tension; after all, compared to the rest of us, his connection to I-chan was pretty thin.
"Yamamoto-kun, here, have a mint."
"……Yeah. Thanks," he muttered.
"Here you go."
However, if I had one complaint to lodge against Yamamoto, it was how he was acting toward Akari, who was sitting on his other side. He shouldn't be acting so conscious of her.
Actually, that was a poor choice of words. He wasn’t acting lovey-dovey. He just looked incredibly awkward, clearly way too aware of her presence.
Honestly, you can't take your eyes off this guy for a second.
Yamamoto had a grim look on his face as he sucked on the mint to wake himself up.
Was it the extra-strength mint? Or was it because of the person sitting next to him? I didn't even need to guess.
"Flowers in both hands, eh, Yamamoto-kun?"
Akari, after glancing at my face for a moment, said it with a smirk.
Why did Akari have to say something so provocative at a time like this?
Yamamoto's expression soured even further.
His sleepiness had probably been completely blown away by now.
Suddenly, I noticed several sets of eyes locked on us.
I looked back to find a group of our high school classmates—both guys and girls. They were likely the crowd who knew about the relationship between Yamamoto and me back in high school.
"We aren't a sideshow, you know."
I glared at them and spat the words out.
"……Whoa."
The one letting out a voice of admiration next to me was Yamamoto.
"What?"
"Nothing. I just remembered that you really were 'The Queen' back in high school."
"That was so cool, Megu!"
"S-stop it! You're embarrassing me!"
I turned away, my face flushing red. Even as I acted that way, I felt a few more gazes from the people around us, but I could probably tolerate this much.
Before long, the wedding ceremony began.
After listening to the priest's words, the groom entered first to the accompaniment of music.
And then……
Flashes.
Voices of admiration.
Applause.
I-chan made her entrance, radiant in her wedding dress.
I stole a quick glance at Yamamoto’s face.
As he watched our former classmate walk down the red carpet, he looked unusually……
"I'm only the person I am today because of him."
Come to think of it, I-chan had bared her heart to me on the return journey from the day of the wedding dress fitting. Inviting him was her way of saying thank you for the person he helped her become.
It was probably an emotion similar to inviting one's parents to a wedding. She wanted him to see her spread her wings; she wanted him there to witness her big moment.
"Yamamoto?"
"Hm?"
"What do you think of I-chan's wedding dress?"
"……Well." Yamamoto scratched his head awkwardly. "……It’s really beautiful."
"It really is."
Any other time, I probably would've been consumed by jealousy. But for some reason, today of all days, I didn't feel a bit of it.
"Whoa, Hayashi?"
"Don't look at me, you idiot!"
Instead, the tears were falling, and I couldn't stop them.
Even though I'll always be friends with I-chan. Even though I'll surely be able to spend all kinds of time with her in the future.
The tears wouldn't stop.
As Akari and Yamamoto tried to comfort me, things got a little noisy for a moment.
Up on the stage in her wedding dress, I-chan caught my eye and seemed to give a little chuckle.