“Writing is just like showing your nakedness. It wouldn’t be fair for me to say anything about them without being open myself. But I have no intention of pushing my thoughts on anyone or criticizing anyone else’s beliefs,” answered Keiichi.
“Well, in Keiichi’s case, he’s paying his respects to the authors. It’s interesting how many different types of booklovers there are, isn’t it?” Haruka said.
“In your case, you just like books as material,” Keiichi shot back, lips curved up into a grin.
“Ah, yeah, it’s true I like buying books more than reading them. There are some shelf owners who get it, but others don’t really understand. I don’t think it’s any different from people who buy clothes or collect knickknacks, which is why it’s so stimulating having a place where all sorts of booklovers can gather,” Haruka explained, looking around for agreement and getting nods from Rintarou, who was completely sucked in.
“And even as we stand here chatting, new stories are being born one after another. I wish I could read every one of them, from the ones in the past to the ones now. But that’d be impossible, as long as I can’t stop time, anyway,” Keiichi mused, observing the shelves with a somewhat distant look in his eyes. It was strange how a person like him who looked like he lived in a different world than Rintarou could suddenly seem to actually be so close.
“What does your shelf’s name mean? ‘Triple Sec,’ was it?” Rintarou came right out with his question for Keiichi.
“Ah…”
He glanced away, looking a bit troubled before answering, “Light on the sweetness.” Haruka laughed and shot back that it was still pretty sweet, but Rintarou had no idea what they were talking about. Was it in reference to the impressions Keiichi wrote?
“Oh, yeah. That photobook of yours sold today. The one you took home before to write your own impressions,” Keiichi said, pointing at Rintarou’s shelf.
The idea of someone reading his awful impressions had Rintarou sweating. “Who was it who bought it?”
“Woman. In her mid-twenties.”
Most of the female customers who visited the store were in that age group. Wanting a bit more detail, he prodded further. “Was her hair long, short? What sort of air did she give off?”
A smile rose to Keiichi’s lips for some reason. “Height was about the same as you, maybe a little shorter. If you asked if she was cute or pretty, I’d say pretty. Hair was long, tied in a ponytail on the back of her head. She looked like she paid a lot of attention to what she wore, so she might’ve been a stylist. She didn’t seem like someone who worked at an apparel store.”
It had to have been her. Basking in his glee, Rintarou pumped his fist. He hadn’t wanted the book to go to just anyone—he wanted it to go to her. But how did Keiichi know her job?
“Keiichi’s pretty good at guessing people’s occupations. He’s a bartender,” Haruka piped in. Apparently, Rintarou’s question was written on his face. Haruka added that Keiichi’s senses must’ve been sharpened by serving so many different people for so long.
“She left a message in the notebook. I didn’t know if she was the one you wanted to get the book, after all,” Keiichi said, pointing to the reading counter. To the edge of it was a notebook for shelf owners and customers to leave messages for each other. It was used in various different ways. Sometimes, customers would even write the reason they bought a book.
Quickly flipping through the notebook, Rintarou found a note written in small print.
“Hello. The sky photobook that I bought before was wonderful, so I came looking for another one. Today, I bought the next book in the series. Looking at pictures of foreign scenery makes me want to go on a trip! I’ll come again to write my impressions.” At the end was a name, “Kasugai.”
Kasugai-san. Rintarou repeated it in his mind. He knew her name now.
“Why not write her a message back? She can read it the next time she pops in,” Haruka suggested as he peeked over his shoulder and held out a pen.
“I’ll do it later.”
Rintarou couldn’t write it right away. He was going to write himself a draft at home and come back tomorrow. He snapped a picture of the message with his phone camera.
“Oh yeah,” Haruka spoke up from his spot to the side. “Seeing the word ‘trip’ reminded me: Did Rintarou tell you the reason he became a shelf owner, Keiichi? It’s amazing. He’s planning on using the profits from the books he sells at Frère to send his parents on a trip as a gift!”
“No, not my parents. My mom and her boyfriend,” Rintarou corrected him immediately, but Haruka didn’t seem confused at all.
“How nice. What a good guy. I want a son like him!” the owner said with a smile. Rintarou was relieved, remembering that he’d been born and raised in Shinjuku too.
Keiichi cocked his head questioningly. “Why are you using your book profits?” he asked, sounding a bit surprised.
“Um. It’s because I don’t think they’d accept if I paid for it with my job earnings. That’s why I thought maybe money from another source could work.” They might still turn it down, but if he paid for it first, then he’d just have to convince the two of them to take it easy. “My mom’s a bit innocent about the world, so I think she’d probably assume the books would sell automatically if I put them out there somewhere. That’s why I think it’d be easier for her to accept than if I just gave her my earnings from my part-time job.”
Haruka and Keiichi just gave each other silent looks.
“Huh? Did I say something weird?”
“Amazing. Parents like that really exist? My mom’s the type who’ll suggest we go out for sushi and make me pay,” Haruka commented.
“Mine only had kids to check it off her bucket list,” said Keiichi, shaking his head.
“It’s probably because I’m so childish that she won’t trust me. Whether it be getting a job, or anything else, she’s always worrying about me. That’s why I want to just move out now. I’ll be graduating in the spring, so I need to become an adult already. And it’s not just earning money, I can’t do anything on my own yet, after all.”