True Education: I Have a Life Simulator

"Hiyori, have you ever read The Little Prince?"

Kitagawa Ryo tapped on Shiina Hiyori's profile picture on his messaging app. Her icon was a white cat—specifically, Hotaru.

As one of Ryo's only two friends in the UK, Shiina Hiyori knew about the white cat he had been raising there. She even liked his weekly posts of the cat regularly. At some point, she must have liked one of the photos so much that she made it her profile picture.

It was about 5 AM in Tokyo, roughly 10 PM in London. From what Ryo knew of Hiyori's daily routine, she had probably just taken a bath and was now leaning against her pillow, flipping through a book before bed.

As expected, her reply came within thirty seconds:

"I have. I read the Japanese version when I was eight, the English version at twelve. Haven't read the French one yet."

Hiyori wasn't one to use emojis or kaomoji; her messages were always simple and concise.

"What do you think of the rose in The Little Prince?"

The rose was the only one on the little prince's planet. Before her, there were only nameless little flowers. The little prince had never seen anything so beautiful. He fell in love with her and took great care of her. In his eyes, she was unique. But the rose, proud and testing, repeatedly provoked the little prince, which became one reason he left his planet.

"The rose? She's a heartbreaking character, isn't she?"

Once Hiyori started talking about books, her texts came rapid-fire.

"There are four classic types of tragic love stories:

A romance that ends before it even begins. A permanent regret that could've been avoided. A significant sacrifice that means nothing to the other. Realizing too late what was truly lost."

"The rose ticks all four."

"She and the little prince liked each other, but only confessed at the moment of separation. She dressed up every day for him, while he watered her and built her a glass dome, yet neither acknowledged the other's efforts. Only after meeting the fox did the little prince understand they had already formed a bond of taming. They were each other's whole world."

"But by then, he could no longer return to see his rose."

Apparently not finished, Hiyori sent another message:

"Ryo-kun, is it okay to call you?"

"Sure."

Without hesitation, Ryo pulled out his earphones and connected them to his laptop. He initiated the voice call.

"Ryo-kun, you're up really early. Or did you not sleep at all?"

Her voice came through softly, probably because it was already late where she was. With her being so close to the mic, Ryo could even hear her breathing and the rustle of her blanket.

"Probably jet lag."

Ryo adjusted the earbuds and leaned against the hotel bed. He asked gently:

"Shouldn't you be sleeping by now?"

There was a faint rustling noise.

"I'm under the blanket."

Hiyori reported honestly. Perhaps she found it amusing to chat from under the covers in a dark room.

"Ah... but don't worry. I took a nap earlier, so staying up a bit won't hurt."

"I see."

Ryo's eyes returned to the earlier messages about tragic love. He suddenly recalled Karuizawa Kei leaning on his shoulder last night, whispering: "So please... don't go, okay?"

He spaced out and didn't hear Hiyori calling "Hey, hey, Ryo-kun" twice.

"Ryo!"

Startled, he snapped back to reality and quickly apologized:

"Sorry, I spaced out. Were you going to say more about the rose?"

"That was the plan. But now I'm a little mad."

He could imagine her pouting. This had happened before during a discussion on a mystery novel. When he zoned out, she made him agree to a strange promise:

No spacing out during book discussions with Hiyori!

That promise was less than a month old. And he'd already broken it.

"Alright, I promise it won't happen again."

He tried to come up with a way to placate her.

"I need to supervise you, Ryo-kun."

Hiyori set her terms first:

"Voice call isn't enough. Turn on your camera."

"Just me?"

"Because I'm under the blanket."

She shook her blanket for emphasis.

"Okay, okay."

He complied, flipping on the camera.

"Can you see me?"

He waved at her black screen.

"A bit closer."

He adjusted the laptop on his knees.

"There. That's fine."

"Feels like a job interview or something."

"Don't worry, just be yourself."

He could almost feel her finger tracing his image on her screen, from eyebrows to lips.

"At first I thought the rose was annoying—moody, demanding, and ungrateful."

"But she did everything she could. She's just a flower. All she could do was bloom beautifully and stay by the little prince's side."

Hiyori then quoted the rose's monologue:

"She carefully selected her colors, slowly dressed herself, adjusted each petal... She didn't want to bloom wrinkled like a poppy. She wanted to shine in full glory. After all her preparation, she yawned and said:

'Ah! I've only just woken up... Forgive me... I haven't had time to freshen up yet.'"

"Isn't that so girlishly cute, Ryo-kun?"

"Wanting to show your best self to your lover—there's nothing different between the rose and any ordinary girl."

Ryo was silent for a moment, then asked:

"But in the end, the little prince still left."

"Mhm."

Hiyori turned over, placed her phone over her chest, and closed her eyes.

"The rose was sensitive and insecure, yet acted proud. She showed her four thorns like a tiger that probably didn't even exist, pretending she could protect herself."

"She asked for water, for a glass dome. They were all just tests."

"Why test him?"

Ryo instinctively asked.

"Because they needed to know—are they truly each other's only one?"

She sighed.

"Some say these trials are unnecessarily tragic, but people in love often torment each other this way. Once it's confirmed... they can finally move forward."

"Hiyori, you really know your stuff."

"Just a lot of second-hand knowledge from books. Paper theory."

"The rose just wanted the little prince to spoil her, because from the moment she sprouted, her world had only him. So she wished his world had only her."

She exhaled.

"After he left, he saw five thousand roses just like her. But he never felt the same."

"You know why, Ryo-kun?"

He nodded at the camera:

"Because she was the one he watered, protected, and removed caterpillars from."

"He had heard all her worries and silences."

"That was his rose. The one and only."

Hiyori clutched the hem of her pajamas.

Looking at Ryo through the screen, it felt like he was saying those words to her.

But she knew all too well—he was staring at a black screen.

And the rose he spoke of... wasn't her.

"Looks like Ryo-kun really likes the rose."

She winced slightly, perhaps because she didn't want him to get so involved in romance that he drifted away from their book chats.

After all, what she truly wanted was just a fellow reader. Nothing more.

"Do you have any other questions about The Little Prince?"

She smiled despite it being long past bedtime.

"No, your insights were amazing as always."

Ryo glanced at the sunrise.

"Oh, by the way... I gave Hotaru to Kei. I might not be able to share pics like before."

"...?"

A long silence followed.

Ryo knew Hiyori adored Hotaru, but he didn't know how to explain.

"Maybe Kei can take some photos, and I'll forward them to you, okay?"

His voice dropped to a whisper.

"If you're really sorry, you should show a little sincerity. Maybe a heart gesture?"

Startled, he made a heart shape with his hands in front of the webcam.

The next second, Hiyori changed her profile picture—to a screenshot of that very moment.

"Goodnight. Let's do another video call sometime."

Satisfied and playful, she hung up.

Ryo stared at the now-gray icon.

"What the heck..."

He chuckled, but as he closed his eyes, Kei's voice came back to him:

"So... so don't go, okay?"

Back then, Ryo didn't respond right away. Kei quickly took her words back:

"Forget it, don't worry about it. Your parents are overseas. I can manage."

She patted his shoulder confidently:

"I'll be fine on my own. And Hotaru will keep me company."

'What the heck...'

Ryo rubbed his forehead.

'That's just like the rose, isn't it?'

-------------------------------------

"Hiyori, you're up later than usual today."

Still groggy from sleep, with her hair sticking up in every direction, Shiina Hiyori stepped out of her room and immediately heard her mother's voice. She responded with a soft, mumbled reply.

"Your hair is a mess."

Wearing a pair of pink slippers and a plain light blue pajama set, Hiyori shuffled over to the sink. Recently, she'd been suffering from unexplained insomnia, and faint dark circles had begun to form under her eyes. She leaned closer to the mirror, pressing a hot towel firmly against her slightly oily cheeks and pouted in dissatisfaction.

"Were you chatting with a friend last night?"

"Mom heard some noises, you know."

"Ah... yeah."

Hiyori replied while tidying her messy hair.

"Mom, where did you put that face mask you usually use?"

She frowned at her reflection, displeased with the lingering traces of her dark circles.

"This is the first time you've wanted to use something like that, isn't it?"

Her mother looked at her with surprise as she walked up behind her.

"But you're right. Girls should learn a few tricks when it comes to skincare and makeup."

Shiina Hiyori nodded.

Of course, that's something even a rose knows well.