Have you ever waited for someone you love? — The heartache of love. [For those who love romance]

Have you ever waited for someone you love?

Was Koharu, who kept waiting, truly chosen?
"He came back" and "He chose me" are not the same thing.

You don't know if a reply will come.
You might never see them again.
They might have forgotten all about you.

Even so, somewhere in your heart, you keep waiting for his return.

Koharu from "Lost Light" is one such person who lived through those times.

Even after Kazuma suddenly disappeared, Koharu did not forget him.

And then, from beyond a long stretch of time, Kazuma returned.

Looking only at the story, it might seem to the reader that the wish of the girl who kept waiting has come true.
But is that really the case?

Herein lies the most heartbreaking part of Koharu's love.

Which Kazuma was Koharu waiting for?

The Kazuma Koharu knew was the boy who went to the same high school and lived through the same time as her.

A little dense, absorbed in what was right in front of him, and slow to realize his own feelings.

Even so, she might have thought that one day he would turn his gaze toward her.
I believe that is the Kazuma Koharu was waiting for.

However, the Kazuma who returned, while unchanged in appearance, is not the same boy Koharu knew.

Within him, there was a time Koharu did not know.

People he met
after time-traveling.
People he tried to protect.
People he lost.

And those memories within him that he could never forget.

The Kazuma Koharu waited for, and the Kazuma who returned.
Though they are the same person, they are not entirely the same.

Therefore, Koharu's wish was not granted the moment Kazuma returned.

Rather, a new love began from that point on.

Waiting does not always guarantee a reward

In love stories, the person who keeps waiting is sometimes chosen in the end.

They kept loving for a long time.
They never left their side.

They understood the other person better than anyone.
Therefore, that love should be rewarded.

The reader hopes for that, too.

However, love in reality does not always provide an answer in return for effort or the passage of time.

Just because you waited for years.
Just because you loved so deeply.
Just because you were hurt more than anyone else.

That alone is not enough to win someone's heart.

Koharu's waiting for Kazuma is noble.
However, that is not a reason why Kazuma must love Koharu.
Because love is not a repayment.

If Kazuma were to,

"Because you waited for me for so long"

choose Koharu for that reason alone, that would likely not be the love Koharu wanted.
What Koharu truly wants is not pity, responsibility, or gratitude.

I think that is all it is.

Does Koharu need to win against someone?

When thinking about Koharu's love, the existence of another woman inevitably comes to mind.

Someone who was deeply involved in Kazuma's life during a time Koharu does not know.
Someone Kazuma cannot forget.

Koharu cannot even directly confront that person.

What did they talk about?
What kind of time did they spend together?
How deeply did Kazuma love her?

She can never know everything.
If the person were right in front of her, she could get angry or ask questions.

However, she cannot say anything to someone who exists only in memories.

The past cannot be changed.
Memories cannot be taken away.

And lost love sometimes remains more beautiful than a real person.

If Koharu tries to compete with those memories, she will continue to suffer.
But does Koharu really need to win?

Love is not about ranking.
First or second?
The real one or a substitute?

There are relationships that cannot be measured by such yardsticks.

What Koharu needs is not to be loved more than someone else.

Not because she resembles someone from the past.
Not because she stayed by his side.
Not because she saved Kazuma.

It is for Kazuma to look at the person that is Koharu.

Even so, can Koharu love Kazuma?

The difficulty is not just whether Kazuma chooses Koharu.

Koharu herself must also choose the Kazuma who has returned.
The boy Koharu loved is no longer the same as before.

In Kazuma's heart, there is a place Koharu cannot enter.
Things he cannot talk about even if he wants to.
Things that hurt just to remember.
Things that would break everything if put into words.

Can Koharu love Kazuma while he carries such things?

"I want you to tell me everything."

I want you to look only at me.

I want you to forget the past.

Wishing for that is by no means selfish.

Because I love you, I want to know.

I feel jealous of someone I don't know.

It is painful that there is a room in the heart of the person I love that I cannot enter.

Koharu is not a saint either.
She will be hurt, lost, and doubtful.

Even so, if she is to stay by Kazuma's side, Koharu's love must change from a 'waiting love'.

It is not a love that just waits for a return,

I think that is the love required of Koharu.

Childhood friends are the closest and the furthest away.

The relationship of childhood friends is special in love stories.

I have known them for a long time.
I know their habits, their weaknesses, and their embarrassing pasts.

They are supposed to be closer than anyone else.
However, because they are too close, they are sometimes not seen as romantic interests.

We are always together at school.
When I go home, I can see them again.
I never thought I would lose them.

Koharu must have been an important person to Kazuma.
However, 'important' and 'loving as a romantic partner' are not the same.

For Kazuma, Koharu might have been a place to return to.
But can you say you love the place you return to?

Do you return because there is a house?
Or do you return because there is someone you want to see there?

This difference is very significant.

For Koharu to truly be chosen, it is not enough for her to simply be a 'place to return to' for Kazuma.

And that is not something Koharu can win through effort, but an emotion that Kazuma himself must realize.

Was the time Koharu spent waiting in vain?

Even if Kazuma does not choose Koharu immediately, the time she spent waiting was not in vain.

Waiting does not guarantee that love will be rewarded.
However, in the time she spent waiting, Koharu herself must have changed.

She spent her days in a world without Kazuma, faced her sadness, and yet lived her own life.

Koharu did not exist solely to wait for Kazuma's return. She has her own time as well.

There is joy, there is hesitation, and there are choices.

This is a very important part in depicting the character of Koharu.

If Koharu were reduced to just a 'girl who waits faithfully,' her life would become a mere accessory to Kazuma's story.

However, Koharu is also the protagonist of her own life.
She did not wait for Kazuma because she had nothing else to do.

She chose to remember of her own free will.

And even after Kazuma returns, she will choose for herself once again whether to live with him.

At that moment, Koharu will no longer be just a 'girl who waits.'

What does Kazuma love about Koharu?

If Kazuma were to choose Koharu, what would be the reason?

Because they have been childhood friends forever.
Because she waited for him.
Because she supported him when he was hurt.
And because she understands him.

None of these are wrong.

However, that alone would make Koharu nothing more than 'the person who saves Kazuma'.

What is truly needed is the reason why Kazuma is drawn to Koharu herself.

Koharu's strength.
Her kindness.
Her unexpected stubbornness.

The fact that she has her own opinions and can oppose Kazuma when necessary.
The power not just to wait, but to pull Kazuma back to reality.

And, while standing by Kazuma in his pain, not letting herself be consumed by that same pain.

If Kazuma is to love Koharu,

it must not be because 'she saved me,' but rather,

he needs to feel that way.

Gratitude for being saved is different from love.

For Koharu to be truly chosen, it also means that Kazuma must understand that difference.

Rather than being chosen, it is about choosing each other.

'Was Koharu chosen?'

If we keep asking that, Koharu appears to be nothing more than a character who waits for Kazuma's answer.

However, what is needed for their relationship is not for one to choose the other.

Kazuma chooses Koharu.
Koharu also chooses Kazuma.

Both of them, knowing each other's pasts, wounds, and imperfections, still decide to live together.

Love may begin with one-sided longing.
But a relationship can only be built by two people.

For a long time, Koharu waited for Kazuma.
But what is needed beyond that point in the story is not 'waiting'.

It is about walking side by side and moving toward the same future on your own two feet.
The moment Koharu is truly chosen is not just the moment Kazuma confesses his love.

It is when Koharu herself

is able to say those words.

From a “chosen woman” to a “woman who chose the future”

Princess Himuka left an indelible light in Kazuma's life.

Koharu cannot extinguish that light.
And there is no need to extinguish it, either.

Koharu's role is not to be a replacement for the lost light.

It is to light a new flame together with Kazuma in the darkness.

She was not chosen because she kept waiting.
Nor was she rewarded because she endured sorrow.

Koharu stands in Kazuma's future by her own will.
That is precisely why her love has meaning.

To Kazuma, Koharu is not just someone who was there when he returned,

When that happens, I believe Koharu will finally stand in a place that is not a replacement for anyone else.

Beyond the story

Even after the final episode of the story of “Lost Light,” there remain unanswered questions in the relationship between Kazuma and Koharu.

Can Kazuma choose the future while still holding onto his past?

Can Koharu accept that there is someone in Kazuma's heart who will never fade away?

Can the two of them build a new future, rather than just trying to make up for lost time?

And when the light that was supposed to separate the past from the present appears before them once again.

Koharu may find herself questioning who she is more strongly than ever before.

Is she a replacement for someone else?

Is she there simply as a result of having waited?

Or is she standing by Kazuma's side of her own free will?

What will be tested in the story to come is not just Koharu's devotion.

I believe that is the true question left for Koharu.

Will the person who keeps waiting always be chosen in the end?

Or is love not about the length of time spent waiting, but about choosing each other again beyond that point?

If it were you, could you still live with someone who carries an unforgettable person in their heart?

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The music and lyrics of this work are registered and managed by JASRAC, based on the premise of creative involvement by the author.
The music and lyrics are registered with JASRAC based on the creator’s human creative contribution.