Chapter 1 I Want to See Him Again
Natsuko's POV

I walked outside of the studio after another hard day of work. I took deep breath, and smiled at the sight of the cherry blossoms.

"The cherry blossoms are so beautiful", I said to myself. I was then about to leave, but before I could, two high school girls suddenly approached me.

"Excuse me", one of them started. "Are you Hirose Natsuko?"

"That's me", I replied.

"Wow", one of the high school girls said in awe. "I can't believe that we get to meet the Hirose Natsuko!"

"We're huge fans of HATSUKOI: First Love", the other girl revealed.

"Really", I asked. "That makes me really happy. Thank you."

"You're welcome", one of the girls said. "Since you're here, can we ask you something about the movie?"

"Of course", I replied. "What's your question?"

"We know that the movie intentionally keeps it open-ended, but…do the two leads ever reunite with each other someday?"

At the end of HATSUKOI: First Love, the two leads part ways after Summer comes to an end. Whether or not they will meet each other again someday is left open-ended.

"I think they reunite someday when they're all grown up", one of the girls revealed. "And then they get married and live happily ever after!"

"As nice as that would be, most people don't end up with their first love in the end", the other girl stated. "Personally, I choose to believe that, while the two leads never see each other again, they always remember the other one fondly in their heart."

"So, which one is it, Hirose-Sensei", one of the girls asked. "Do the two leads reunite with each other again someday or not?"

"I…", I started, unsure how to answer. "I'm not sure. But that's the beauty of open-endings. Theoretically, any idea you have on what happens after the story ends could is possible."

"Hmmmm, I guess that's true", one of the girls said. "But it's kinda frustrating not knowing exactly how our leads' lives turn out in the end."

"Believe me, there's been times when I was frustrated by an open-ending too", I said. "But, the beauty of that is being able to come up with the ending you want. And, if that's the true ending in your heart, then don't let anybody tell you otherwise."

"Huh", one of the girls said. "I've never thought about that before."

"Plus, the fun thing about open-endings is that you can always write a fanfiction or something like that of the ending you wanted to see."

"Oh, definitely do that", I said excitedly. "I love seeing fan creations based on the series I've worked on!"

"We'll definitely do that", one of the girls said excitedly. "Anyway, we should be heading home now. It was very nice getting to meet you, Hirose-Sensei!"

"It was nice meeting you too", I said. Then, I waved to the girls as they walked off. Once they were gone, I let out a sigh. Then, I thought about what they had said.

"I know the movie intentionally keeps it open-ended, but…do the two leads ever get to reunite with each other?"

"I think they reunite someday when they're all grown up. And then they get married and live happily ever after!"

"As nice as that would be, most people don't end up with their first love in the end", the other girl stated. "Personally, I choose to believe that, while the two leads never see each other again, they always remember the other one fondly in their heart."

The second ending is the ending that would realistically happen, but the first one is the one I wanted in my heart to so badly to come true. And was because of the person who inspired the story of HATSUKOI: First Love for me.

"I…want the leads to see each other again", I said to myself as looked hang my head down. "I…want to see him again."

"Natsuko!"

I smiled when I heard this.

"I can even hear his voice in my head."

"Hirose Natsuko!"

"Wait a minute", I said in realization. "That's not in my head. But that means…"

With this, I slowly looked up. And when I did…I the person I had wanted to see so badly was standing on the other side of the road.

"L…Luke?"