A Novel by Ruby
Chapter 1 — The Girl Who Always Came First
Misako Hayami lived in Tokyo, in a small apartment where the mornings always smelled like rice and tea.
At school, everyone knew her.
She was the girl who always came first.
First in exams.
First in rankings.
First in discipline.
Teachers trusted her without question. Students respected her, even if some secretly envied her. When Misako walked into a classroom, people straightened their backs without realizing it.
But no one knew the truth behind her calm eyes.
On one quiet afternoon, Misako sat in a hospital room with her hands folded neatly in her lap. The walls were pale. The clock ticked too loudly. Across from her sat Doctor Seojero, holding a thin file that felt heavier than it looked.
“Misako,” he said gently, “you have cancer.”
She didn’t move.
The word floated in the air between them.
“You have about three months to live.”
Three months.
Misako felt something press against her chest, but her face stayed calm. She bowed her head slightly and said, in a soft voice,
“Thank you, doctor.”
Doctor Seojero froze. He had never been thanked for news like that before.
Chapter 2 — Three Months
When Misako returned home that evening, the sky was turning orange.
Her mother looked up from the kitchen.
“Welcome back. What did the doctor say?”
Misako slipped off her shoes and forced a small smile.
“Nothing much. Don’t worry about me.”
Her mother paused, her hands still holding a towel.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Mom.”
Misako went upstairs to her room and sat at her desk. Books were stacked everywhere — her safe place.
I should tell her the truth, she thought.
But I don’t want this house to fill with crying.
She picked up her pen and started studying, even though the words blurred.
Chapter 3 — The Boy Beside Her
Misako didn’t have many friends. Only four: Kinjo, Toridara, Fujimiya, and Asaki.
They weren’t loud friends. They were the kind who stayed.
One afternoon, Kinjo asked,
“Hey Misako, want to hang out after school today?”
She shook her head.
“Sorry. Not today.”
That same day, the classroom door slid open.
“We have a new student,” the teacher said.
A boy stepped inside, nervous but polite.
“My name is Tatta Seojero. Please call me Tatsu.”
The teacher pointed to the empty seat beside Misako.
“Sit next to the class president.”
Tatsu leaned toward her with a smile.
“Hi, I—”
“I already heard your name,” Misako said coldly.
“Please don’t disturb me.”
Tatsu pulled back, embarrassed.
But he didn’t hate her for it.
Chapter 4 — Two Months and Ten Days
Tatsu was terrible at studying.
He kept asking questions.
“You’re annoying,” Misako snapped one day.
“Oh… sorry.”
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Seeing his face, guilt hit her.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I just can’t focus today.”
After class, she added,
“If you want… I can help you study.”
That was how everything began.
Chapter 5 — The House With the Open Door
The first time Misako went to Tatsu’s house, the sky was gray and quiet.
They had planned to study. Nothing more.
Misako stood in front of the door with her schoolbag hanging from one shoulder. She took a breath and knocked.
The door opened.
“Misako?”
Her heart stopped.
Standing there was Doctor Seojero.
For a second, neither of them spoke.
“Tatsu…?” Misako whispered.
Tatsu came from the hallway. “Dad? What’s wrong?”
The doctor looked at his son, then back at Misako.
“She’s my patient,” he said softly.
Tatsu froze.
Later, in Tatsu’s room, the silence felt heavy.
“So… it’s true?” Tatsu finally asked. “You’re really sick?”
Misako nodded. “Yes.”
“How long?”
“Two months and ten days.”
Tatsu laughed once, nervously.
“That’s not funny.”
Misako’s eyes filled with tears.
“I wish it was a joke.”
He didn’t know what to say. He just sat there, hands shaking slightly.
“Do your parents know?” he asked.
“No. Only you and your father.”
Tatsu swallowed.
“You should tell them.”
“I know. I’m just… scared.”
Chapter 6 — The Truth at Home
That night, Misako stood in the living room with her parents.
The TV was on, but no one was watching it.
“Mom… Dad…”
Her voice was small.
They both looked at her.
“I have cancer.”
Silence.
“I only have two months and ten days left.”
Her mother dropped the remote.
Her father’s face went pale.
“What… what are you saying?” her mother whispered.
Misako bowed her head.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
Her mother cried first. Then her father held her and cried too.
Misako stayed still between them.
She had already cried alone.
Chapter 7 — Time With Friends
Fujimiya noticed first.
“You’re different,” she said one day as they walked home.
“Not worse. Just… softer.”
Misako smiled. “Maybe I stopped pretending.”
They started spending more time together.
After school, they went to the park.
They shared snacks.
They watched the sky turn pink and orange.
Toridara joked,
“If Misako smiles any brighter, the sun’s gonna get jealous.”
Kinjo said quietly,
“You don’t always have to be strong, you know.”
Asaki added,
“We’re here. Even when you don’t talk.”
Misako looked at them.
For the first time in a long time, she thought,
I’m not alone.
Chapter 8 — Love, Finally
One day during lunch break, Tatsu sat across from her.
He looked nervous.
“Misako… there’s something I want to say.”
She tilted her head. “What is it?”
He took a breath.
“I love you.”
The world went quiet.
Misako had never dated anyone before.
She had never imagined herself saying those words.
But she felt them.
“I love you too.”
Tatsu’s eyes widened, then softened.
They both smiled.
Chapter 9 — Dating Days
They went on quiet dates.
They walked under cherry trees.
Shared milk tea in small cafés.
Studied together with their shoulders almost touching.
One evening, they sat on a bench watching the city lights.
“When you’re with me,” Tatsu said, “time feels slower.”
Misako smiled.
“When I’m with you… I forget I’m dying.”
He looked at her, shocked.
She laughed softly.
“Don’t make that face. I’m still here.”
For the first time in her life, Misako thought:
I don’t want to die.
Chapter 10 — The Day Everything Broke
It was supposed to be a normal afternoon.
Misako went to Tatsu’s house because he had asked her to tell something to his father. He wasn’t home yet, he had said. Just wait inside.
The front door was slightly open.
That alone made her pause.
“Tatsu…?” she called softly.
No answer.
She stepped inside.
Laughter came from the hallway.
Not his.
A girl’s.
Misako’s heart started beating too fast.
She walked a few steps forward.
And then she saw them.
Tatsu was standing close to another girl. Too close. Her hand was on his arm. His face was turned toward hers in a way Misako had only ever seen when he looked at her.
For a moment, Misako couldn’t breathe.
“Tatsu…” her voice shook. “I… I never expected this.”
He turned, shocked.
“Misako? Why are you here?”
The other girl looked confused. “Tatsu… who is she?”
He opened his mouth. Closed it again.
Misako took a step back.
“I understand,” she said quietly. “You don’t have to explain.”
Then she turned around and walked out.
Each step felt heavier than the last.
Chapter 11 — Silence
After that day, Misako stopped talking to Tatsu.
She didn’t answer his messages.
Didn’t look at him in class.
Didn’t sit near him anymore.
Her friends noticed.
Fujimiya sat beside her one afternoon.
“You don’t have to tell us anything,” she said gently.
Misako only smiled.
“I’m just… tired.”
Her body grew weaker.
Some days, she could barely climb the stairs.
Some days she couldn’t even hold her pen properly.
And still… she never told Tatsu anything again.
Chapter 12 — Her Last Day
One morning, Misako didn’t wake up.
The house was too quiet.
No footsteps.
No soft humming from her room.
No sound of pages turning.
Her mother opened the door slowly.
“Misako…?”
She didn’t answer.
Her parents stood there, frozen, as the truth reached them before any words could.
At school, Misako’s seat stayed empty.
Fujimiya kept looking at the door, waiting for her to walk in late with that small apology smile.
She never did.
Kinjo clenched his fists.
Toridara stared out the window.
Asaki wiped her eyes and said nothing.
They all knew.
The funeral was quiet.
White flowers.
Soft prayers.
Heavy hearts.
Tatsu didn’t come.
Not because he couldn’t.
But because he didn’t want to.
Chapter 13 — The Letter
That night, Misako’s mother went into her room.
Her desk was clean.
Her books were stacked neatly.
On the center of the desk…
…was a folded letter.
Her name was written on the front in Misako’s handwriting.
With shaking hands, her mother opened it.
Misako’s Letter
Mom, Dad…
And everyone I love,
If you’re reading this, it means I’m not there to say these words out loud.
So I’m leaving them here instead — in my handwriting, in my heart.
I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth sooner.
I thought if I stayed quiet, I could protect you from pain.
But I learned something too late…
Love doesn’t disappear when you hide the truth.
It just waits.
Mom,
Thank you for every warm breakfast.
Every time you told me to eat slowly.
Every time you worried about me more than yourself.
Dad,
Thank you for being strong when I was scared.
For never letting me feel alone, even when I didn’t say what I was feeling.
To my friends — Kinjo, Toridara, Fujimiya, Asaki —
Thank you for laughing with me.
For walking beside me.
For letting me feel normal, even when my world wasn’t.
And Tatsu…
You were my first love.
And you will be my last.
Even if things didn’t end the way I dreamed,
what I felt was real.
Goodbye…
but not forever.
— Misako
Her mother pressed the letter to her chest and cried.
Not because Misako was gone…
…but because Misako had loved them so deeply.
Epilogue — A New Life
Spring came again.
Cherry blossoms bloomed.
Students laughed.
Life moved on.
So did Tatsu.
He changed schools.
Got new friends.
Started dating someone else.
Sometimes Misako’
s name passed through his mind—
but only for a second.
Not as pain.
Not as guilt.
Just as something from the past.
And then he smiled…
…and kept walking forward.
Final Line
Misako’s love was her first.
And her last.
But for Tatsu…
She was only a chapter.
?? THE END
