The English translation is below
それにしてもこのバレンタインデーという日は、男性側に
とってはモテ、非モテがあぶり出される残酷な日だったのかも
しれません。当時は自分のことで精一杯でそんなこと考える
余裕はなかったのですが、楽しめたのは上位30％の恋愛強者男性
だけだったのかも。。。
私には兄がいるのですが、残りの70％に属していたので
この日が近づいてくると、チョコをくれるように妹の私に
お願いしていました（笑）次の日に男の子同士で
「◯個もらった〜」という話になるそうです。
それにしても家族をカウントしていいのか（汗）
ホワイトデーにお返しをする、という契約のもと
我が兄が0個という悲劇を避けるため協力しました
中には父親にあげる子もいますよ。これはどちらかというと
ホワイトデーに向けての、ノーリスク•ハイリターンの投資です！
私もあげてましたけど500円のチョコが翌月10倍の価値になって
返ってくる機会を逃すわけにはいきません。
（あくまでもウチの場合ですが）
父親の方も娘からもらえるのは、まんざらでもない
のではないでしょうか♪
友チョコも楽しい思い出です。友達に配るために母親を
巻き込んで手作りチョコを20〜30個作ることも珍しくありません
みんな素人なんで出来栄えはピンキリですが、中には
味、見た目ともお店で売れるようなクオリティで
仕上げてくる子もいます
逆に、あまりにも硬すぎるチョコチップクッキーとか（笑）
食べた瞬間、「ムニュ」と不気味な食感がして
「いったいチョコの中に何入れたの〜〜⁉︎」と総ツッコミを
入れられる友達もいたり。コーンフレークだったそうですが…
もちろん、全員が手作りする義務はなく、私みたいに配れるタイプの
市販のチョコを買って交換したりします
2月はなかなか出費がキツかったですよ〜
…さて、本命チョコの話に入りましょうか
私たち女性はアクションを起こすかどうか選べる側
だったので、望み薄と思えばやめるもよし、当たって
砕け散るもよし。それでも結果はどうあれ、真っ直ぐに想いを伝える
女の子たちは、やっぱりカッコイイと思いましたよ
私にとって、好きな人、あげたい人がいないバレンタインデーは
すごくつまらないものでした。その日、愛しの人を
ずっと目で追いかけている女の子たちは、キラキラ
イキイキして幸せそうで、すごく羨ましかったな
あとカップルとして迎えたバレンタインも、正直あまり
覚えてないんですよ。放課後、欧米スタイルのようにデートして
チョコもあげるんですが、もうすでにお互いの気持ち知ってますから〜
やっぱりバレンタインは、なんてったって片思いの女の子が
主役の日なんですよ。誰かを想って、贈り物を用意して、
決戦の時を迎えた胸の高鳴りも、涙さえも全部
恋に全力投球できた10代だからこその、宝物のような経験です
放課後、想い人が校庭でサッカーしているのを教室から見ながら
「どうする⁉︎どうする⁉︎」と友達とオタオタしたり
「今、こっち見た〜（気がする）‼︎」と大はしゃぎしたこと
チョコは密かに用意したものの、彼とのいい友達関係を
壊したくなくて、結局渡さずに帰ってきたこと
クールだと思っていた彼が、人目を気にせずすごく喜んでくれた時
張り詰めていた気持ちが溶けて、思わず泣けてしまったこと
バレンタインにはたくさんの思い出がつまっています
あの甘酸っぱい記憶を味わえた分、私にとっては
あってよかったと思うイベントです
Looking back, Valentine’s Day may have been a rather cruel day for boys, quietly revealing who was popular—and who wasn’t.
At the time, we were too wrapped up in our own feelings to think about that. But now, it feels like only the top 30 percent of romantically successful boys were really able to enjoy the day…
I have an older brother, and he clearly belonged to the remaining 70 percent.
As Valentine’s Day approached, he would ask me—his younger sister—to give him some chocolate (laughs).
Apparently, the next day the boys would talk among themselves, saying things like, “I got this many!”
But really… does it count if it’s from your family? (sweat)
Under the agreement that he would return the favor on White Day, I helped him avoid the tragedy of ending up with zero.
Some girls would even give chocolate to their fathers.
In a way, this was a no-risk, high-return investment—aimed squarely at White Day.
I did it too. There was no way I was going to miss a chance where a 500-yen box of chocolate could come back the following month worth ten times as much.
(At least, that was how it worked in my family.)
And for the fathers, receiving chocolate from their daughters probably wasn’t such a bad deal either♪
Friend chocolate also holds a lot of fond memories.
It wasn’t unusual to rope our mothers into helping us make 20 or even 30 homemade chocolates to give out to friends.
Since we were all amateurs, the results ranged widely.
Some girls managed to create chocolates so good—in both taste and appearance—that they could easily have been sold in shops.
On the other hand, there were also legendary failures.
Rock-hard chocolate chip cookies, for example. Or worse—biting into one and feeling a strange, squishy texture that made everyone shout,
“What on earth did you put in this chocolate?!”
It turned out to be cornflakes…
Of course, there was no rule that everything had to be homemade.
Some people, like me, chose store-bought chocolates that were easy to hand out and simply exchanged those instead.
Still, February was a pretty tough month for the wallet.
…Now then, shall we move on to honmei chocolate—the real thing?
We women were the ones who got to choose whether or not to take action.
If the chances felt slim, we could walk away.
If not, we could take the risk and brace ourselves for rejection.
Either way, regardless of the outcome, I always thought the girls who chose to express their feelings honestly and directly were incredibly cool
For me, Valentine’s Day was incredibly dull when there was no one I liked—no one I wanted to give chocolate to.
On that day, the girls who kept their eyes fixed on the person they loved looked so bright, so alive, and so happy.
I remember feeling deeply envious of them.
Strangely enough, I don’t really remember Valentine’s Days spent as part of a couple either.
We would go on a date after school, in a more Western style, and exchange chocolates—but by then, we already knew how we felt about each other.
After all, Valentine’s Day is, without a doubt, a day where girls with a crush take center stage.
Thinking of someone, preparing a gift, and facing the decisive moment with a racing heart—
even the tears are part of it all.
Those experiences are like precious treasures, possible only because we were teenagers who could throw ourselves completely into love.
Watching the person I liked playing soccer in the schoolyard after class, while panicking with my friends in the classroom—
“What should I do?! What should I do?!”
Getting overly excited and whispering,
“He just looked this way—at least I think he did!!”
Carefully preparing chocolate in secret,
only to go home without giving it to him in the end, because I didn’t want to ruin the good friendship we already had.
Or the time when the boy I thought was usually so reserved
showed his joy so openly, without caring who was watching—
the tension I had been holding inside suddenly melted away, and I found myself in tears.
Valentine’s Day is filled with countless memories like these.
Because I was able to taste those sweet-and-sour moments, it’s an event I’m truly glad existed in my life.
