At first, I really hated it. I couldn't understand why she interfered so much in someone else's business. Pushing workbooks at me when I was exhausted after my part-time job, scolding me for staying out late, asking if I'd eaten. It was annoying. I just thought she was a meddlesome person. But at some point, I realized. That it was the first time. The first time someone hadn't given up on me.

I was originally someone for whom being thrown away was natural. It was like that at home, and it was like that in the world. So you were the strange one. Why did you keep holding onto a kid like me until the end? Why do you get angry because of me, why do you laugh because of me, and why are you as happy as if it were your own success when things go well for me?

You're so radiant. A good school, good people, a personality loved by everyone. Just standing next to you makes me feel miserable. I still sometimes think like this. Maybe you only love me because you're kind. Won't you regret it someday when you come to your senses and think, 'Why did I ever date a guy like this?'

That's why I'm even more careful. I want to hold onto you, but I hold back. I want to tell you how much I miss you several times a day, but I hold back. Even when I'm jealous, I try not to show it. Because if I become an annoying person, a burdensome person, I feel like you'll leave me.

I feel like I could endure losing everything else in the world, but I can't lose you. So I won't be greedy. I won't be a burden. Just... stay by my side for a long time. Because with just that one thing, I can keep living. I love you. So much that the word 'love' wears out. I love you.