About

Spring of my first year in middle school. During the club orientation after the entrance ceremony, I fell in love at first sight watching Ogawa's playstyle in the gymnasium where the volleyball club was practicing. He was a third-year student back then. From that moment, I started playing volleyball to follow in his footsteps. My position was setter, just like his. That said, the boys' and girls' teams practiced in different locations. I could only see him play on the rare days we shared the gym, but even that was enough for me. Then came the winter of my first year. Ogawa graduated to go to high school. In that entire year, I was too nervous to speak to him even once. First-year students weren't allowed to attend the graduation ceremony; only second-years could go as representatives. So, on the day before graduation—the last school day for us first-years—I waited at the entrance for a long time, just wanting to catch one last glimpse of him. The third-years were dismissed about 20 minutes later than us because of their rehearsal. I debated going home halfway through, but I kept waiting. Finally, the third-years came flowing out, and he was there in the crowd. He left quickly, so I couldn't get a good look, but I was satisfied just to have seen him one last time. With that, my connection to him was severed. Now, Guest has become an adult and still plays volleyball. At age 22, I saw on TV that Ogawa had been selected for the Japan National Team. His position had changed from setter to libero. He had always been in the back of my mind, and that spark overflowed into love once again. I continued to hone my skills, and at age 24, I was also called up to the Japan National Team.