Day after day…
Haruka spent long hours training, neither fatigue nor pain able to stop her.
Every morning, she began running around the mountain.
Sweat poured from her forehead, her breathing grew heavy, and her body groaned under the strain—but she did not stop.
One day, after completing her sixty-seventh lap around the mountain, she lifted her gaze to the sky as it began to darken and said in frustration:
"Day four… damn it! This isn't enough!
If I keep going like this, I won't finish the required number for another two months!
At this rate… I won't be able to enter until next year!"
Suddenly—
She froze in place.
"W… wait… when is the exam?"
Her eyes widened as delayed realization struck her.
She had forgotten… forgotten the most important question.
She returned home, dragging her exhausted body, every muscle burning with pain.
The moment she arrived, she went straight to Yu and shouted:
"Hey! You! I forgot to ask you the most important thing!"
He replied while lying on the bed, half-asleep:
"Huh? What do you want?"
She said angrily:
"You didn't tell me when the exam is! When will it be?!"
He stretched lazily and said:
"I don't know."
She shouted:
"What do you mean 'I don't know'?! This is the most important thing!"
He replied coldly:
"Stop yelling… and besides, I'm not a teacher to know."
Anxiety began creeping into her as she paced back and forth:
"What should I do? What if it's tomorrow? Or a month from now?!"
Yu sighed and said calmly, his eyes still closed:
"Relax. It's March now, the beginning of spring.
The exams are held in summer… which means you have plenty of time.
The shortest possible time you have is four months. There's nothing to worry about."
She calmed down a little, then smiled faintly:
"Mmm… you're right.
Wow, I didn't know you could actually use your brain."
He opened one eye and said:
"Get lost."
And she left.
Fifteen days had passed since she started running.
While taking a shower, Haruka clenched her fists as she thought:
"I don't feel the same pain I felt at the beginning anymore…
Running has become normal…
The muscles in my legs have grown—I've become lighter… and faster."
She smiled softly:
"I've already completed 255 laps."
Then she relaxed and added quietly:
"Even though he's a jerk… he's a good teacher."
The next day—
As she was heading to her training, Yu suddenly stopped her:
"Ah, I forgot to tell you… I added something to your training."
She looked at him in confusion:
"What do you mean, you added something?"
He replied casually:
"I moved a rock there yesterday.
I want you to run… while pushing it with you.
Don't worry, it's just a small rock."
She imagined it in her head and said to herself:
"It doesn't sound too bad…"
She said out loud:
"Alright, I'll do it. See you."
But—
When she arrived at the training spot…
She froze.
In front of her…
Was a rock the same size as her.
She gasped in shock:
"You bastard! What's small about this rock?!
It's like a mountain!"
She tried pushing it with all her strength.
She pushed… and pushed… for fifteen minutes, until she nearly collapsed.
She stopped to catch her breath and looked at the distance she had moved the rock…
Only three meters.
She said, nearly breaking down:
"T… this is impossible…
If I keep going like this, I won't finish the 245 laps for another two months!"
She clenched her fist in anger:
"That jerk… he must be enjoying torturing me!"
Then she stood up again.
"No time to complain."
And she pushed the rock once more… with everything she had.
As the sun set, she returned home utterly exhausted.
Her bones ached, and her legs could barely carry her.
She muttered weakly:
"All the pain I stopped feeling… came back doubled.
My hands hurt… my legs can barely hold me…
And I only completed five laps…"
Mai saw her and rushed to her in worry:
"What made you push yourself this far today?!"
Haruka didn't answer…
She had already fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion.
Mai smiled gently and said:
"It looks like you need some rest."
She carried her to her room, tucked her in, and kissed her forehead:
"Good night."
............
On the thirtieth day, Haruka was pushing that massive rock.
Her face was drenched in sweat, her breathing ragged and uneven, yet she kept going.
She stopped for a moment beneath a shady tree to rest, when her eyes caught sight of a nearby tree filled with small red berries. She approached it and began eating some of them, smiling softly.
"This is really delicious."
Suddenly, she heard a rustling sound coming from the trees opposite her.
She froze in place and immediately took a fighting stance, murmuring to herself:
"I hope it's not a lion again…"
From between the leaves, something emerged—
A small white lizard, with wide eyes and a gently swaying tail.
Her tense expression relaxed at once, and she smiled.
"How cute…
Oh, you scared me. I thought you were a lion!"
She stepped closer and gently picked it up.
"How did a cute little creature like you end up in a place like this?"
The lizard sniffed the berries in her hand, then began eating them greedily. Haruka laughed happily.
"You like berries just like me! Alright, enjoy."
A few minutes later, she looked up at the sun and exclaimed in panic:
"Oh no! I'm really late!"
She placed the lizard on the ground and said:
"Goodbye, little one. I have to go back now."
But after a long, exhausting walk, when she finally reached the house, she found the lizard waiting in front of the door, looking up at her with innocent eyes.
She said in shock:
"Did… did you follow me all the way here?"
The lizard jumped onto her shoulder and sat there. Haruka smiled gently.
"Are you still hungry? I'm sorry, I don't have any berries left… but if you want, I can share my dinner with you."
She entered the house, where Yu was sitting… asleep.
The moment he saw her, he said:
"You're late."
Then he looked at her shoulder and added:
"What's that thing on your shoulder?"
Holding the lizard, she replied:
"A small lizard… I found it in the forest, and it followed me. I want to take care of it."
He answered coldly:
"And how are you going to take care of it when you can't even take care of yourself? Besides, it does nothing but eat and sleep."
Haruka thought to herself:
Isn't that exactly what you do too?
Yu smiled slyly and said:
"It looks tasty… I think we could cook it with some herbs."
Haruka screamed as she grabbed the lizard and hugged it tightly to her chest:
"No way! Don't scare it! We're not cooking it! It's my new pet!!"
Yu replied indifferently:
"Animals are meant to be eaten."
He then grabbed a knife and said:
"I'll handle the grilling myself."
"What?! No… we can't do that! I won't let you slaughter it!"
Haruka shouted, holding the little lizard as if she were protecting a child.
Yu laughed lightly, waving the knife in the air, then put it back and said mockingly:
"Hahaha, I was just joking. Do you really think I'd eat a filthy creature like that?!"
Haruka looked at him nervously, then slowly loosened her grip on the lizard, though she remained cautious.
"That kind of joke isn't funny at all!!"
Yu stepped a little closer, looking at the lizard, which was now staring back at him with innocent eyes.
"Just as I thought… it's filthy."
Haruka frowned and said sarcastically:
"You don't know anything about pets, do you?"
Yu smiled, put his hands behind his head, and leaned against the wall.
"And who said I don't? I already have you."
Haruka froze for a second.
Then she walked toward him slowly, the lizard still on her shoulder, shot him a deadly glare, and whispered:
"Do you want to die tonight?"
As she placed the lizard on the table and was about to sit down to eat, Yu said, gesturing toward it:
"Fine… keep it."
She looked at him coldly and replied:
"As if I was waiting for your permission to keep it."
Haruka then sat down calmly and began eating with appetite after a long day of training, while the lizard sat nearby, watching her with shining eyes.
Minutes passed quietly, with only the soft clinking of spoons filling the room. As the sun set behind the mountains, the house slowly sank into a warm silence.
After finishing her meal and washing her hands, she gently picked up the little lizard and whispered as she headed toward her room:
"Come on… it's time to sleep."
To be continued