Chapter 162

A week after Amane had been accepted at his new workplace, he received a message that the owner, Fumika, had finished getting his uniform ready and had decided which shifts he would work. As a result of their discussions, they agreed he would work four days a week, with shifts on three weekdays and on Saturdays. Since Amane was a second-year student and had to be conscious of his upcoming exams, he could only work so many shifts. With his working hours, he wouldn’t be all that different from the students who spent their time on club activities. Amane was already preparing for next year’s exams and had no intention of cutting corners in his studies, so it didn’t seem like there would be any problem with those working hours. It’s gonna be hard work doing everything without letting anything slip… In addition to his usual student life, he had to study for his exams, keep up with his exercise and self-improvement, and now add a part-time job. Before meeting Mahiru, Amane had been a real slacker, so his schedule now seemed unbelievably packed. The only reason he didn’t find that worrisome was because he had a clear goal in mind and he was determined to achieve it no matter how much work it took. Though he was aware he would be swamped, his sense of satisfaction was even stronger. As he entered his upcoming plans into his schedule book, he said quietly and with a keen determination, “Good.” “Well, I start my job today, so go on home without me.” When he told Mahiru that after school on the day he was to start working, he got a slightly lonesome smile in return. Though his heart hurt a bit to see it, there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He was working so he could make Mahiru smile later, so all he could do was take it in stride. Mahiru didn’t know why he had decided to get a part-time job, but she understood he had made up his mind and was doing what he wanted, so she seemed ready to respect his wishes and not do anything to sway him from his path. However, the ease with which she accepted it all made Amane worry. She’s definitely gonna get lonely, huh… Mahiru wasn’t the type to insist on getting her own way. She paid close attention to others, often caring more about their situations and giving way to their needs. Her modesty was probably a virtue, but it could also cause Mahiru stress without him noticing, so Amane wanted to pay special attention to her now that he was starting his job. “Ah, Amane, you start your work today? Wow, good luck!” While he was gazing at Mahiru, feeling guilty to see her looking slightly dispirited despite her smile, Chitose, who was apparently planning to walk home with Mahiru, cheered him on with a casual attitude. Chitose must have known perfectly well that Mahiru was going to get lonely because she’d been keeping her company more often since he’d decided to get a job. Amane knew she was doing it out of concern for Mahiru, so he was grateful, but the probing looks she gave him occasionally were a little frightening. “Don’t even think of following me, okay?” “…I wouldn’t!” “From the way you just paused, I’m not sure I believe you.” Chitose had answered him in a somewhat stiff voice that sounded quite suspicious, but he wagered if he warned her off ahead of time, she probably wouldn’t be unreasonable and try to follow him. Chitose would never take the initiative to do something that would really bother somebody else, but be that as it may, her curiosity had been piqued, and it was working stealthily in the background, so he did not completely trust her. He knew she usually acted with good intentions. But in this case, he was working a perfectly regular part-time job, so he wanted her to behave. “…Once I’m settled in, you can come visit, but please wait until I’m used to everything. I don’t want to look inept at handling customers.” “You’re worried about being inept, but I feel like you already mastered it all at the culture festival.” “That was just the basics, right? And I think we had guidance from Kido.” “…Well then, it seems like we’ll be able to go see you at your workplace soon, Amane. You learn fast, after all.” Mahiru obediently saw him off, remarking she was looking forward to it. Amane scratched his cheek and then ruffled her soft-looking flaxen hair. Mahiru’s caramel-colored eyes opened wide, and she looked startled. Amane stared intently at her expression, and then his cheeks softened into a smile. “Well then, I’ll work hard to settle in as quickly as possible and rush right home.” “…I plan to wait for you as long as it takes, but hurry home, please.” “I already know that. I’ll work hard and look forward to dinner.” Although their classmates more or less knew Amane and Mahiru were neighbors, he was embarrassed for them to hear they were having dinner together regularly, so he lowered the volume of his voice. But the two people beside them could still hear them, and Chitose was smirking while Itsuki wheezed loudly with laughter. Amane went ahead and gave Itsuki a light whack with the back of his hand. “Owww!” Itsuki stumbled dramatically and leaned on Chitose. But Chitose, who was observing Mahiru’s smile, brushed him off like he was a nuisance. “Itsuki, you’re heavy.” Itsuki made a pretty miserable face. Amane burst out laughing at the two of them, and beside him, Mahiru also started laughing. Looking a little embarrassed, Itsuki poked Amane in the side in revenge. Feeling reluctant to go while everyone was chatting so happily, Amane ended the conversation, left school, and headed for his workplace. It was his first day, and he had been allowed to work on the same day as Souji, who was his classmate but had more experience on the job. He wondered if Ayaka had also had something to do with that because when they’d passed in the hallway, she had smiled and said, “I hope you’ll take good care of my sweet Sou!” If he had to say, Amane was the one being taken care of, but seeing Ayaka’s innocent smile, he’d lost the desire to say anything and meekly nodded. He met Souji in the entry hall, and they headed toward the café together. But even after he spotted Amane, Souji’s tranquil expression didn’t change. Amane couldn’t tell what he was thinking. “Looking forward to working together,” he finally said. “Same here. I’m looking forward to it. I don’t have any experience, so I’m sure I’ll be a nuisance for a while…” “No, you don’t have anything to worry about. If anything, Ayaka was way too excited when she recommended you for this.” “Oh, no, it’s all thanks to Kido I was able to find a place to work, and I owe her one, so I don’t mind her excitement.” The invitation from Ayaka had been great. It had been an absolute lifesaver. He had an acquaintance to work with, and the pay wasn’t bad. She had set him up with a workplace that would consider the fact that he was a student. If anything, he owed a great debt to Ayaka. Incidentally, when he had told Ayaka he wanted to do something to thank her, she had made a request that was very typical of her. “I want you to let me help you develop muscles Miss Shiina will appreciate,” she had said. With his face twitching somewhat, Amane had decided to accept. He seemed to have gained another fitness coach in addition to Yuuta, and he wasn’t sure whether or not to laugh. For the time being, he figured if it would make Mahiru happy, that was fine. Whether he knew about that exchange or not, Souji gently scratched his head through his unruly hair and mumbled with a sigh, “I hope you’re telling the truth, but…” He seemed to be troubled by the wild way Ayaka behaved. Even Amane, who hadn’t known them for long, could easily tell Ayaka did whatever she pleased when muscles were involved, so Souji, both her childhood friend and her boyfriend, must have been having a hard time with it. Well, I’m sure she behaves herself, but still… She was a sociable and straightforward girl, clever and well-meaning, yet also quite shrewd. Amane was well aware of that, so he wasn’t put off by it, but he could easily imagine it causing hardship for her boyfriend, Souji. Amane’s feelings on the matter must have been visible in his expression because Souji seemed to notice them and let out an even deeper sigh. While they were having that conversation, Amane and Souji had arrived at the station. They needed to ride a train to get to the café, but it was only two stops from the closest station. Itsuki’s and Chitose’s houses were both farther away, so when Amane was finished working, he could get home before Mahiru got sick of waiting. The café wasn’t far from the station, either, so he didn’t expect any trouble commuting. “Is your place within walking distance of school, Fujimiya?” Souji asked quietly when he saw Amane stop to charge his metro card because he didn’t have a commuter pass. “Yeah. I picked my apartment because it wasn’t that far from school.” “Really? That’s nice. With school so close to home, I bet you can relax and sleep in.” “Well, I would normally have time to spare since the commute isn’t very long, but sometimes Mahiru has to come wake me up, so…” He normally got up a little bit early on school days to give himself some extra time. But ever since Mahiru had started coming over to make breakfast, he had been trying to leave himself even more time in the morning. He was perfectly capable of getting up without help. Still, one of his secret indulgences was savoring the blissful moment of awakening to Mahiru’s voice, so he occasionally asked her for a morning wake-up call. Since she already frequently came into his apartment to make breakfast while he was still sleeping, it didn’t seem to trouble her too much. At Amane’s words, Souji mumbled, “That’s a little unexpected.” He continued, “I always took you for a really diligent guy, Fujimiya.” “The fact that you say so tells me I probably look very put together lately. I’m actually really spoiled.” Amane’s life was nowhere near as disorganized as it had been, but there were still many areas where he depended upon Mahiru. So when Souji asked him if he had it all together, he had to look puzzled. Of course, he didn’t leave everything up to Mahiru, and he did the things he could do, but still, Mahiru bore a lot of the burden. It was a major concern of his, but he also knew he had certain self-indulgent tendencies. He had just recently met Souji at the culture festival, so the fact that Souji thought he looked like someone who had it all figured out must have meant he was doing a decent job getting his life in order. “I think our standards for being spoiled must be different. If you want to talk spoiled, Ayaka’s…” “Kido?” “Ayaka probably looks like she’s got her whole life in order, right? At home, she slacks off. She’s super lazy. Though I’m not one to talk.” “I can hardly imagine it.” “Well, Ayaka looks really put together on the outside, plus she looks after me. But she lets it all go whenever she gets careless, and when she gets like that, she’s worse than me. Outside the house, she seems independent and reliable, but at home, she’s pretty much the opposite.” “…But I think that’s because she’s taking advantage of being with you, Kayano. You’re her boyfriend, so being with you is what lets her show the careless side of herself, don’t you think?” He had seen Ayaka act carelessly on occasion, but even so, he still thought she was a steady, considerate, and dependable girl. That had to be why she didn’t show her careless side outside the house and only let her boyfriend, Souji, see it. After blinking a few times, Kayano seemed to ponder something for a moment, then awkwardly shifted his gaze down and to the side. “…I think I might have accidentally ended up bragging a little bit there. Sorry.” “N-no, I don’t really mind, but…” Seeing Souji look embarrassed also made Amane feel strangely embarrassed, and he averted his eyes, too. Amane realized he had probably also been bragging in the same vein without meaning to. Shamefully, Amane tightened his cheeks and pressed his lips together to keep them from trembling. Amane and Souji continued their conversation as they walked, and they soon arrived at the café where they worked. It was Amane’s first time on the job, and he was nervous, if only a little bit. But whether Souji knew how he was feeling, he walked into the café without hesitation, accompanying Amane. When they stepped inside, hearing the somehow nostalgic bell ring behind them, a male employee Amane hadn’t seen on his visit the other day, who looked to be about college age, came to greet them. He was older than Amane, a young man who gave off a sophisticated air and was dressed in the waiter’s outfit Amane would also be wearing. “Welcome, Kayano. Is the boy behind you the new hire I heard about?” “Yeah. We have the same shift, so it works out perfectly.” The male employee, who had apparently already heard about Amane, looked at him with a cheerful smile. Souji nodded to him and, without pause, gave Amane a push on the back. They headed down the hallway that led to the back room. When Souji quickly turned his head to look behind them, Amane followed his gaze and saw that an elderly male customer was about to enter the café. “We’ve got customers coming, so we’ll go ahead and get changed, okay? Sorry, Miyamoto, looks like you’ll have to get acquainted later.” “Roger. See you later, new guy.” The male employee called Miyamoto sent a very playful wink toward Amane, who was moving stiffly because of his nerves. Then he turned back to face the customer who had come in. Amane, who had missed his opportunity to greet him, gave a sharp little bow, and Miyamoto must have seen it, because Amane saw him wave lightly with his hand behind him. Then the two boys entered the employee locker room in the back. “This is your locker, Fujimiya. The key’s here. Your uniform is in the locker, so put that on, okay?” Souji had apparently been entrusted with looking after Amane by the café owner, Fumika, and he handed over the key to the locker that had been assigned to Amane. Then Souji started to take off his blazer. Imitating Souji, Amane also started to change into his workplace uniform. The uniform’s sizing had been taken ahead of time, so it was no surprise it was a perfect fit. Amane’s outfit was the same thing Miyamoto had been wearing when they’d met him earlier. It consisted of a white dress shirt and a black vest, with a garçon apron and slacks in the same color. It was a comparatively simple ensemble. The neck of his shirt was closed with a black necktie, completing a typical waiter’s uniform. It was more casual and yet more elegant than the costume Amane had worn at the culture festival. Since he was technically supposed to be handling customers, he reasoned maintaining a gloomy air might have a bad effect on the café. He had set his hair into a neat style, but he’d gotten anxious about whether it would match his outfit. He checked himself in the full-length mirror that was in the locker room, and though he felt perplexed by his unfamiliar appearance, when he looked over at Souji, he saw he had also put his uniform on perfectly and looked quite dignified. Souji must have been used to wearing the uniform because, unlike Amane, who undeniably looked like the clothes were wearing him at the moment and not the other way around, Souji looked confident and stylish. It would be going too far to say Souji usually lacked vitality, but he often looked a little sleepy, whereas now his expression had a little more life in it, likely because he was in work mode. “…I don’t look weird?” Amane asked. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. But if Miss Shiina saw you, I do think she’d be delighted.” Souji must have already known Mahiru was deeply in love with Amane because, although he wasn’t talking in a mocking tone, he still teased Amane about it. “Well, I don’t plan on showing Mahiru for a while…” “I feel like Miss Shiina might get bitter about that.” “She already is, but I convinced her somehow.” He was going to try to get settled in at his new job quickly so he wouldn’t make a nuisance of himself, and he intended to have her wait until then. Amane gave a small, wry smile, and Souji also smiled similarly. “Was Kido happy to see you all dressed up, Kayano?” “If I had to say, I think Ayaka likes it better when I take my clothes off than when I get dressed up.” “Ah…” Amane expressed understanding, and Souji put on a smile with more tinges of bitterness than before, then let out a sigh. “…But that’s not to say Ayaka is never interested in getting dressed up nice. It’s just, her tastes can be kind of particular.” “Well, you certainly do have some impressive muscles, Kayano. Got any good tricks?” Since they had been changing clothes together, Amane had naturally seen more of Souji’s physique. He was even more muscular than Amane had imagined from seeing him clothed. But he wasn’t needlessly thick. He was built up where he needed to be and whittled down where he wanted to be. He had a lean, steely build, and Amane found himself admiring Souji despite himself. Makes sense why Kido fell for him. In Amane’s immediate circle was Yuuta, with his well-proportioned, athletic build, and Kazuya, who seemed to have trained his body even harder. But Souji’s physique was different from either of theirs. He seemed like a prime example of physical beauty. “I think, instead of asking me, you’d probably hear more information than you’d ever need if you asked Ayaka.” “Ah…you’re probably right…” He could more or less imagine her telling him all about it with evangelical fervor, her ponytail swinging as she spoke with a relaxed smile and a fire in her eyes. Amane gave Souji a somewhat frosty smile. Ayaka seemed like the type who never stopped once she started talking about something she liked. She already wanted to tell Amane all about the finer points of bodybuilding. But even Amane could only handle so much, so he would have to ask her to take it easy with her instruction. “…You want to train, too, Fujimiya?” “Well, sure, I would look more attractive if I got in better shape, and Mahiru would probably be happy about it, too…plus, I believe your young lady friend has been teaching Mahiru a thing or two.” “Sorry. I’m really sorry about that.” “N-no, I mean, it’ll be one more reason for me to work hard at improving myself, so…” Souji, whose girlfriend was out there going overboard proselytizing the beauty of a muscular physique, apologized with a complicated look on his face, so Amane shrugged and waved his hand to ease his concerns. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t greet you when you arrived.” Souji had led Amane into the kitchen, a galley space for preparing light refreshments, where he was explaining where to find various ingredients and what to use them for when Fumika, who had entered the kitchen behind them, apologized to Amane with a contrite expression. “I remembered you were starting today, but…young Souji was here with you, which put my mind at ease. Welcome aboard again, Fujimiya. It looks like we got the size of your uniform right, so that’s wonderful. I’m glad Ayaka’s judgment was correct.” “Ayaka’s eye is never off. It’s actually kind of uncanny, eh?” Souji grumbled quietly. Amane almost laughed but held it in and bowed his head slightly to Fumika. “I’m in your care from today onward. Thank you for this opportunity.” “Actually, you’re the one helping me out, and I look forward to working with you… Let’s see, have you met the other kids yet?” “He saw Miyamoto briefly, and he hasn’t met Oohashi yet. Oohashi was making coffee behind the counter earlier, so I don’t think they’ve even seen each other.” “Well then, first of all, I think I’ll introduce you to everybody. It doesn’t look like we have much customer traffic today, so it’s the perfect time for it. These are the people you’ll be working with, after all.” Fumika smiled gently and gave Souji instructions. “Souji, dear, head out to the floor and take over for the others, would you?” Then, with a relaxed demeanor, she summoned the employees currently working the front of house from the doorway. Souji patted Amane lightly on the back to pep him up, then went out. The people who came into the kitchen in his place were the young man named Miyamoto, with whom Souji had exchanged conversation earlier, and a young woman in her early twenties with brightly colored, medium-length hair that fell in loose waves, who stood out for her height, as she was taller than most women. She looked mature, probably about college age, and she looked to be just about a hand’s width taller than Chitose. Amane figured she had to be over 170 centimeters tall. Considering what Souji had just said, he reasoned she was probably Oohashi. “Ah, it’s the boy Kayano-chan brought in earlier! You did say we were going to get another part-timer. Welcome, welcome!” The young woman grinned broadly and, with a gentle smile still on her face, approached Amane and looked him over with great interest as she walked around him. Because she was tall, their faces were inevitably quite close when she approached him. But there was no way Amane could rudely push her away since she was both his senior and a girl, so all he could do was stand there with his cheek twitching, wondering what was going on. Miyamoto didn’t even try to hide his exasperation when he sighed at Oohashi and grabbed her by the collar to pull her away from Amane. Still holding Oohashi by the collar, Miyamoto flashed a pleasant smile at Amane, who had stiffened at Oohashi’s sudden approach. “Sorry, that must have startled you. I’m Daichi Miyamoto. This one’s Rino Oohashi. If you have any trouble, I hope you’ll count on us.” “Hey, don’t you call me ‘this one’! The man says to come tell us if you have any trouble, but right now, I’m the one in trouble, you see!” “Well then, greet him properly. That’s where you ought to start, don’t you think?” Oohashi made a dissatisfied face, and after taking her to task, Miyamoto looked resigned as he let go of her shirt. As she straightened out where her shirt collar had gotten twisted, Oohashi turned to face Amane again, and her mouth formed a friendly smile. “I’m sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. I’m Rino Oohashi. I’m one of your seniors here. You can depend on me anytime, new guy.” “Best not to rely on her if you can avoid it. She messes up all the time.” “Hey, don’t be so rude, Daichi.” “How many times do you think I’ve cleaned up your messes…and how many times do you think you’ve inconvenienced a customer?” “And I regret it every time! I’m sorry! I don’t do it on purpose!” “I know it’s not on purpose and that they were all accidents, but you cause too much trouble. You get that?” Miyamoto went on and on, ignoring her objections as if he were scolding a child. He spoke kindly, but his eyes weren’t smiling. Oohashi must have messed up quite a bit. She couldn’t look straight at Miyamoto and whined, “I get it, geez!” Amane was wondering what to do as he watched their exchange unfold—it was not exactly a lovers’ quarrel, but an exchange with a similar feel—when Miyamoto seemed to come to his senses. “Sorry, we got into it and ignored you,” he said, scratching his cheek uneasily. “Anyway, we’ll be your coworkers starting today. It’s nice to meet you.” “Right, um, Miyamoto and Oohashi, was it? I’m a little late introducing myself, but I’m Amane Fujimiya.” “Mm-hmm, Fujimiya-chan, is it? Got it, got it.” “…She puts ‘chan’ at the end of everyone’s names, so give her a pass. Okay?” “W-well, she can call me whatever she wants…” Amane wouldn’t get angry over something as trivial as how someone addressed him, so he didn’t object. But he couldn’t shake the slight discomfort, given his age and appearance. As he let out a sigh that communicated all the trouble he went through working with Oohashi, Miyamoto turned his gaze toward Fumika, who had been calmly watching their exchange. “So then, what shall we have young Fujimiya do today?” he asked her. “For now, I plan to have him learn what we do in the back of house. Even though he’s going to serve customers, that comes after he’s settled, and it wouldn’t go well anyway if he doesn’t know how we do things here. I gave him the manual, and it sounds like he’s read it. It also sounds like Souji has taught him some things, so I think he should start today by combining that knowledge with some actual practice working here. Luckily, since it’s a weekday, we don’t have that many customers yet.” “Sorry for the extra work.” “Not at all. I don’t expect you to be ready for action right away, especially not on your first day. And we have enough hands that you don’t need to rush it.” “I’m a little doubtful to hear you say we have enough hands, boss. It feels like we are just barely staffed with our shifts. Well, this café isn’t that big or anything! We have been able to keep things going with our current numbers, but still… That’s why it’ll be such a big help to have Fujimiya join us!” Miyamoto put on a bright smile to reassure Amane and patted him on the shoulder. His cheer was infectious, and Amane smiled back. Fumika just watched them with amusement. By the time Amane had finished learning about the various elements of the café from his seniors and made his way home, it was already late enough that he would have usually been taking his bath. As he boarded the elevator in the apartment building he called home, Amane took a big breath. Even though he had only worked about four hours, he was exhausted, probably because it was an unfamiliar environment and job. He hadn’t made any major mistakes (or rather, he hadn’t been entrusted with any tasks he could fail in any significant way), but it was always stressful to do something for the first time. Thankfully, while his seniors all seemed to have their quirks, they were all good people, and they had been kind to Amane, who was still getting used to the job. The place had a casual, peaceful atmosphere. He thought it was a very good workplace. But he was still exhausted. He got out of the elevator, walked to his door with heavier steps than usual, and opened the door as he always did—just as Mahiru came rushing down the hallway to the living room. Amane blinked several times, wondering what the matter was since she seemed to be in such a hurry, and Mahiru put on a relieved smile. “Welcome home, Amane.” “I’m back. You didn’t have to come running. Sorry to keep you waiting.” He guessed Mahiru had probably been waiting in his apartment the whole time. He had told her when he had expected to get home, but she had probably been lonely by herself. Ever since they had started dating, Mahiru had always been at Amane’s place, except when it was time to bathe or sleep, so it was already normal for her to be in his apartment. Given that situation, suddenly being left alone must have felt lonely. “N-no, not at all. I had plenty of things to do while you weren’t here.” “Does that mean you weren’t lonely?” “…Th-that’s a different matter entirely.” Mahiru averted her eyes and blushed faintly, and Amane smiled despite himself. When Mahiru noticed, she puffed out her cheeks a little. There was dissatisfaction in her eyes, but there was something fawning about the look she gave him. Without trying to suppress his smile at Mahiru when she turned away sharply in a pout, Amane took off his shoes and stepped inside. When he headed to the sink to wash his hands, he saw the light in the bathroom beyond the sink was turned on. He turned around and saw Mahiru seemed to have recovered her good spirits. She was standing there with an ordinary expression. “Your bath or dinner, which will you have first?” It almost sounded like Mahiru was greeting her new husband with those words. He felt the corners of his lips curl up but somehow suppressed the smile. Things like that were even cuter when it seemed like Mahiru wasn’t unaware she was doing them. Amane was confident her cheeks would turn red if he said what he was thinking. But if he said those things to Mahiru now, she seemed likely to cease to function for a little while, so he kept himself in check and just smiled at her. Mahiru was wearing her own graceful smile, and it looked like she was entrusting every last thing to him. “I’m sure you’re probably also hungry, Mahiru, so maybe dinner first is good.” “All right, then I’ll go dish things up. Today, you started your first part-time job and worked hard, so as your prize, I made rolled omelets.” “Whoo-hoo! What an incredible reward that is.” When he’d gotten home, his bath and dinner had been ready, and Amane’s favorite dish had even been prepared for him. He was truly a fortunate guy. “Heh-heh, you’re very easy to please.” “They’re my favorite, and they’re delicious. They have extra value because they’re yours, so I think it’s the best reward. Thank you for always thinking of me.” She had gone out of her way to make the omelets especially for him, and it had taken her time and effort, so he would never say it was easy. Just because she had made something for Amane, it was worth plenty. On top of all that, Mahiru’s rolled omelets were incredibly delicious, so it was a luxurious reward. He was grateful that, in addition to making his meals every day, she also took his preferences into account. Once again, it occurred to him that she was the type of partner that was hard to come by.