Mizushima Kasumi's Point of View

After meeting with Nanase that day, we never exchanged words once, and I started to kind of regret it. It was obvious that I had hurt him, but I just couldn't bring myself to apologize. Days had past, and I still hadn't apologized. The days became weeks, then months, then a year. It would be too weird if I just apologized after such a long time, so I quit. I told myself it wasn't worth it anymore anyways. Every time I saw him on TV, I could see the hundreds of fangirls flocking him. I could see how hard he worked to achieve his dreams- the water. I was truly happy for him. That was without a doubt.

After a while, I would realize that it wasn't too hard to forget him- forget the good times we had, the laughs, the smiles . . . It was replaceable. Or so I thought.

One day, when I couldn't bring myself to study anymore, I randomly checked Instagram. I didn't use it much, due to the millions of random gadgets and buttons and 'favorite this, favorite that' sort of things so I didn't really get the memo, but I still had an account anyway . . . though mostly to stalk people. I had had it for ages, but just never really used it.

My account was private with just about ten people following me. I didn't post anything. My profile picture was just a distant picture of me about to dive into the water (oh, the good ol' days), and my bio was simply blank. It was nothing special. Yet, there were so many notifications. I was confused. I didn't post any photos- the only photo being my profile picture. I had no bio. Only ten people followed me . . . Why did I have 2,000+ follow requests and twice as many messages?

Raising an eyebrow, I quickly pressed on notifications. What did all two thousand plus have in common?

Shaking my head, I then turned my attention to the messages before finally realizing the commotion.

He was still following me, and he was now famous.

A mental light-bulb popped. Ah, that made sense. But what didn't make sense was why he was still following me. We weren't together anymore.

Curiosity got the better of me, and I clicked on his profile. My eyes widened. His profile picture was a picture of him and me in a ferris wheel. The background was the sunset skies streaked with lavender, crème, and coral. It was a sight to remember. But why did he still keep it?

I slapped myself to try to stop myself from blushing but to no avail. I scrolled down his feed. He posted quite often- several times a day. Most of which were sports promotions he probably got paid to post, but of the ones that weren't, he mostly posted pictures of water or food.

Food. That was an improvement from his water addiction. At least he was expanding his horizons.

I eventually made my way to a picture posted about a year ago. If my eyes weren't wide enough, they got wider. It was a picture of us- both of us in our swim attire. He, as always, had on his cold, nonchalant demeanor, and he was carrying me on his back- tense. A blush was evident across his cheeks. On the other hand, I was smiling in the picture, showing two peace signs. My swim cap was suspensed middair. It was after one of swim practices, if I remember correctly, and right after that, we went back to his place to watch a movie.

I smiled ruminatively at the memory. It was so long ago.

Below the photo was no caption, but there were so many comments.

"Who is she?"

"Isn't that Mizushima Kasumi?"

"Yeah, she won a medal in some competition, right?"

"What's she doing with Haru-kun?"

"Weren't they teammates at some point or something? I forget."

"He's too good for her."

"Haru-kun is so hot. I wish I was that girl."

A bunch of heart emoji comments preceded and followed alongside other similar comments. My mind started to wander.

"What would it be like if we were still together?" I mused mentally before quickly snapping out of it. "Dammit. I was doing so fine forgetting him. I need to stop."

And I stopped.

/

A few months later . . .

"Come on!" Gou nagged, tugging me into the stadium. "We never hang out! Please! Haru-chan isn't going to be at the race today! It's the 1500 meter freestyle finals, and Haru-chan doesn't compete in this one. Plus, how often does Japan host the Summer Olympics, and you get a free front seat to watch."

"Okay, okay. Just this once," I sighed, though still slightly hesitant. "You're breaking my arm. I'll go with you. Don't worry."

"Yata!" Gou shouted in glee, earning a few stares from those in the stadium. She quickly slapped her hands over her mouth to keep shut.

I sweatdropped as we both pulled over to the front seats. Gou had special privileges to go to whatever event she wanted whenever since her brother Rin was such a legend (ahem, under any normal circumstances, she wouldn't have been able to pull this off, but with her oogly eyes and nagging . . . She got Rin's special pass).

"I can't wait to watch!" she smiled gleefully as the swimmers were one by one called up to their respective panels.

It had been a while since I watched an actual swimming competition in person. I had always just watched it on TV or online after I quit competitive swimming. Truth be told, I kind of missed it. The crisp smell of chlorine the instant you entered to the pools. The smooth, cool water . . . The frigid temperatures that sent shivers down your spine . . . Oh, the memories.

I quickly snapped out of my thoughts as Japan's representing swimmers lined up. Because Japan was hosting this year's Olympics, it wasn't a surprise that Japanese athletes wanted to live up to their country's reputition of hosting and perform well in the games. They worked so hard up until this moment. They deserved it.

"Next up is Japan's ace- Nanase Haruka!"

My eyes widened before I swiftly turned to the girl next to me. The look on her face told me she was shocked too.

She quickly turned to me to defend herself, "I swear! I didn't know anything about this! I didn't know he was competing! I swear I-"

I facepalmed, blocking her explanations from my ears, before taking a quick deep breath to compose myself, "It's fine."

She sighed in relief before quickly returning her attention to the race down below. It was about to start.

The instant the horn bellowed, the swimmers took off. In the center lane, Haru took off like a bullet. He was so quick, he made it look so easy.

His swimming was still so mesmerizing that I couldn't look away even if I tried. It wasn't long thereafter before I realized that the race was over. He had won gold . . . by a long-shot- a full seventeen seconds ahead of second place.

I smiled. He deserved it. He truly did. His efforts really paid off in the end. All that swimming.

"Yes! Haru-chan! Good job!" Gou shouted, capturing his attention. I immediately flinched, turning once again wide-eyed.

The world seemed to proceed in slow-motion. The congratulations he got. The pats on his back. The smiles.

We held each other's glances like there was no tomorrow- only today- only this instant.

I gulped. I wasn't prepared for this at all. I quickly tore my gaze from him before rushing my goodbyes to Gou and bolting out of the stadium.

/

I pinched myself. Why was I like this? Seeing him shouldn't be a problem. Not anymore. We weren't together. I sped-walked through the many corridors, trying to find the exit. The pool stadium was in the middle of the Olympic plaza, each stadium connected to other sport stadiums, and needless to say, I was lost. Gou had previously acted as my guide, but now that I had rushed to get out, I couldn't formulate a proper escape plan.

"Dammit," I cursed under my breath. What was it about him that made me still so nervous? He was different now. I was different now. I shouldn't be acting this way still, yet I still did.

I was still lost. I deadpanned. How convenient. I was such a loser, and I couldn't stop ranting to myself for it.

Out of nowhere, I felt someone grab my arm from behind and pull me into an embrace. I froze as he buried his lips into the crevice of my neck.

I could barely make out his whisper, "You promised."

My arms couldn't bring myself to hug him back. Everything about him crashed waterfalled memories down. His chlorine smell. His familiar embrace. His rock-hard body. His protective arms around me. Just everything.

My breath hitched. I still didn't say anything.

Haru then released me from his embrace before cupping my face in his hands. I finally got a good look at him. His dark hair was still wet from his swim. He now wore the usual Japanese Olympic team sweater and sweatpants, the only thing different being the gold medal around his neck. His eyes were shadowed from his bangs as he touched his forehead against mine.

"You promised after the Olympics," he said simply yet with such magnitude. "I-I can't live without you anymore, Kasumi. You're the only one I can truly open up to- show my true feelings to. You're the only one I truly trust."

I still didn't say anything, but tears were now welling up in my eyes as I tried to hold them back.

"I couldn't stop counting the days until the Games," he muttered softly, caressing the side of my face with one hand, before continuing slowly. It was if his voice was going to break at any second."Please. I didn't know what I truly lost until I lost you."

My back was now against the wall. Our lips were nearly touching.

"Kasumi," he whispered softly. "Let's be together again." A single tear streamed down his cheek.

I mulled over it for a minute. He was never truly off my mind, and I knew that it wasn't that he was a distraction from my studies. It was rather the opposite. It was when he wasn't there that I was most distracted. It was a useless excuse . . . and I missed him.

Little by little, I inched my lips nearer and nearer to his before finally putting my arms around him to fully kiss him. Haru seemed taken aback at my actions before reciprocating. He gave the slightest smile during the kiss, and I couldn't help but do the same.

Once we were out of breath, we parted, our foreheads still touching as we gazed into each other's eyes.

He asked hesitantly, "Is that a yes?"

I chastely kissed him before replying, "Of course, baka."

He gave another small smile before pulling me into another kiss. She wasn't going to let him go this time, and neither was he.

/

Third Person's Point of View

At the corner of the corridor, a certain burgundy-haired girl struggled to contain her excitement.

"It took so much effort to lie to her!" Gou whisper-shouted to Nagisa and Rei, who were situated by the corner with her. "I thought she would see right through me! Of course I knew that Haru-chan would be competing today. How can I not keep tabs on all of you guys especially in the Olympics. Plus, he's all over the place wherever you look! You go to the grocery store, and his face in plastered on a wall poster. You go to the mall ,and he's modeling for all the swimwear or whatever-wear."

Rei and Nagisa tried to stifle their laughs and giggles.

"It's a good thing they're finally together again, though, neh?" Nagisa smiled cheerfully as always.

Rei fixed his glances with his pointer finger, "Without a doubt. He was like stone whenever I visited him. He wouldn't move for anything except water, sustenance, the pool, or anything I mentioned of Kasumi." He shuddered at the thought.

Gou closed-eyed smiled, peeking another glance at the renewed couple, "Well, all's well that ends well."

Fin