Volume 1 - Prologue

“Please marry me !”

“Ah, sorry. I’ve decided to marry your younger brother.”

It was exactly the night, 10th may, 10 years after we started dating since our 2nd years of high school. I had gone on an exciting dinner party to propose, and the moment I kneeled down on the deck in the moonlight and offered her the ring, she dumped me.

“……Sorry. What did you just say?”

“Like I said. I’ve decided to marry Kouki kun’s younger brother, Daiki kun.”

I understood what those words meant. But I don’t want to know. But I was on a boat with no escape. Reality assaulted me mercilessly.

“Finally. I’m beginning to get used to waiting.”

“Ah, Daiki kun, over here, over here !”

I couldn’t move my face and I saw him in my sight. That guy is dressed in a better suit than me, the one who was going to propose and wearing sunglasses at night with an all-back hair. My younger brother, Igarashi Daiki, had his hand on my girlfriend’s back.

“Why……are you here……?”

“Huh? The reason is because Saki called me. She asked me to come and help her because she might get proposed.”

My girlfriend, Aioi Saki, doesn’t correct his words and looks up at my brother with an enchanted look on her face as she holds him by the shoulders. What the hell? What’s going on? Why …… when did you…….

“How long have you been …… cheating on me……!”

“Since ten years ago.”

“Tsu….!”

I was speechless at the truth that was told to me so easily. I know it’s not entirely accurate, but right after we started dating, Daiki had changed my girlfriend and kept having an affair with her. Kept betraying me.

“……Why ……?”

“Why, you say……don’t make me laugh. I’ve hated you since the day you were born, remember? You’re a loser who can’t beat me at anything. No wait, saying that you were competing with me is annoying, let’s just say that you’re a fly. That fly is dating Saki, the president’s daughter, and  an extremely beautiful woman, right? There’s no way I can allow such a thing.”

My younger brother, Igarashi Daiki, is perfect. He has a nice face, tall and smart. He was recommended to a higher-ranked university than me even though he didn’t study hard, in club activities even though he only played with the club manager, he was a regular because of his sense of humor. In college, he never failed a credit even though he never attended classes properly, and after graduation, he started his own business. Now my annual income is Daiki’s monthly income.

And I, Igarashi Kouki, was the opposite of a perfect human being. No matter what I did, I was no good. No matter how hard I tried, no matter how hard I studied, no matter how hard I exercised, no matter how hard I communicated, there were no results. Even though I studied hard, I failed to get into the university that Daiki went to, and the company I joined was a small, unknown company. My life was constantly called a degradation of my younger brother’s.

The reason why I have been able to walk up until today despite such a life filled with inferiority complexes is because I had my girlfriend. In order to make Saki happy, I desperately challenged an opponent I couldn’t beat. And this is the result.

“I’m sorry, Kouki kun. I liked you at first, you know? But no matter how you look at it, would it be better to go out with Daiki kun? That’s why I asked him to be my keeper. He was a good ATM who listened to my every wish.:

“Aren’t you glad that she praised you? You don’t often have such a precious experience in your life, do you? Oh yeah, both Mom and Dad favor me and Saki to get married. Saki’s parents also. A small businessman and a Director. Even you know which is a more suitable marriage partner for the president’s daughter, don’t you?”

I know. I know that better than anyone else. My parents have always ignored me and cared only for my brother, who’s a good boy. I know what they say so well that I don’t even need to listen to them.

That’s why I kept trying. I didn’t get any results, but I kept trying. To become a man worthy of Saki.

“So that’s how it is. Thanks for the past 10 years. Oh, and don’t come to the wedding. It’s a nuisance.”

“Don’t worry. He doesn’t have the guts to go back to his parents’ house now. He’ll be miserable because he’ll compare himself with me.”

The next thing I knew, the boat had reached land and the two of them had disappeared from my sight. I still couldn’t move. I couldn’t walk away. I couldn’t do it anymore. I could no longer move forward…….!

“………..”

While leaning against the fence, I look out at the dark, gloomy sea. I wonder if I would die if I fell from here. It’s useless to think about it. I don’t have the guts to die anyway. If I’m going to kill now, it won’t be me. It would be my memories of Saki.

The ring I bought with money equivalent to three months’ salary. It’s a ring that shines so brightly that it’s too good for me. Let’s throw away this tiny ring that Daiki could buy with just a few days’ work. ‘K-S 10’ and everything about me are engraved on the inside, and it would only be worth a penny even if I sold it.

“……Goodbye, my everything.”

The ring that I threw away fell into the water where the moon reflected, and illuminated by the moonlight. It’s surprisingly beautiful. It’s hard to believe that this is my life.

“….Let’s head back”

It would be a nuisance to stay here forever. That time when I turned my back on everything.

“Was it a gold ring you dropped? Or is it a silver ring?”

From the sea. I heard a voice.

“……!?”

When I turned around in a panic, there was someone. On the surface of the moon-reflected sea, there was a beautiful woman. For a moment I thought she was drowning, but clearly she wasn’t. She was standing on the water surface.

“Let’s see,……, it’s the emerald ring,…….”

“You are an honest man. I will give you all the rings as a reward.”

“No wait, I threw them away because I didn’t need them…….”

When people are too surprised, they tend to calm down, especially right after hearing about a decade of betrayal. But this one time, I couldn’t keep my cool.

“So you don’t need it. Then I will do as you say.”

The next moment, I was back where I was 10 years ago. I was back to the time before my relationship with Saki, which led to the creation of the ring.