When he saw friends of his move to Tokyo from all over, going to school while working part-time jobs to pay for their living expenses, Rintarou understood just how easy he’d been living. The reason he was working part-time while job-hunting wasn’t just for book funds but because he wanted to show Kimiko that he could manage it while earning his own way.
Keiichi was throwing in interjections showing he was listening, but from the look on his face, it didn’t seem like he agreed.
“Just being able to live on your own doesn’t necessarily make you an adult,” Keiichi said. “Working a job and having your world become bigger will show you just how little you can do on your own. I think accepting that makes you an adult.”
“Now, now. That’s what Shirane-san is going to experience soon,” Haruka commented, saying that he was looking forward to it. “Maybe she’s not treating you like a child, but just worried about you? That was how my family was. When I told them I wanted to rent an apartment nearby and live alone, they asked if I really hated living at home with my family that much. I was like, huh? What are you guys saying?”
Apparently, Haruka was more of a night owl, so he’d been worried about how he kept waking his family up when he came home late at night. They had complained about being woken up when he talked on the phone at night, or by the sound of his car’s engine, so he’d thought that they’d understand why he wanted to move out.
“It’s surprisingly hard to understand how other people think without asking them. Sometimes they’ll misunderstand something so badly that it’ll shock you. And just like your way of thinking changes year after year, so do other people’s.”
The two of them might be seeing a completely different world. Learning that there were people like that was another step to becoming an adult.
“Oh yeah, did you manage to find a job yet?” Haruka asked.
Rintarou scratched his head. “Not yet, actually. I haven’t gotten an offer from a single company.”
“I see. I think you’d have a better chance if you showed more of your real self instead of trying to keep up appearances. You’ll do fine!”
Though Rintarou didn’t have much to base his optimism on, when Haruka cheered him on like that, he really felt like things would be okay.
Keiichi suddenly popped out from behind the counter, grabbing a few books off of The Hammock Cat and lining them up on the display shelf near the entrance. “Gotta sell them to get ’em on a cruise, huh!”
“Wha? That’s a bit much…” Rintarou argued.
“Nope. If you decide a limit yourself, you’ll never get far,” said Haruka, looking amused.
“Let’s sell tons of your books,” Keiichi said, smacking Rintarou hard on the back and almost knocking him over.
The two adults started discussing strategies for selling more of Rintarou’s books. Did that mean that they were going to help? His chest felt warm at their sudden, unexpected kindness. He wanted to live up to the expectations of the people who encouraged him.
On his way home from his part-time job, Rintarou stopped outside of a salon that still had its lights on. Despite the fact that it was past ten, there was still someone sitting in one of the chairs deep inside. The stylist who was doing the service was a woman, but he didn’t think it was the woman he’d met. Her hair color had been lighter. The woman in his vague memories had longer limbs and a graceful, catlike beauty.
The stylist must have noticed him outside, because she headed to the salon entrance. His feet reflexively started moving again. While he walked, his head cooled a bit, and he realized that he still had no idea if the woman he’d met was even a stylist at all.
He decided he would think of a reply to the message she left in the notebook as he walked. First off was telling her “Thank you.” But after that? Unable to think up a single word to continue the rest, he headed into the bustling city of Shinjuku. Why was it that he couldn’t think of anything to say, even though he wanted to talk to her more?
He pulled out his phone as he waited for the light to change. As he went to look at the picture he’d taken of her message, he saw an email titled “Regarding an interview date” buried in his notifications.
“Oooh, I got one!”
He had managed to get an interview. It was from an electronic manufacturer’s second round of recruitment. He’d made a last-ditch effort to apply, thinking he’d never even make it through screening.
During all of Rintarou’s interviews until then, he’d been solely focused on doing well that he’d gotten nowhere. Haruka had given him some advice, telling him to express more of his real self.
If they asked what his hobby was, he’d say he loved books. He wouldn’t try to look cool instead, he’d be honest and tell them that he knew so many booklovers that he’d felt like he wasn’t worthy of including himself among them. He might have trouble answering if they asked for his favorite authors, or which books he’d enjoyed lately, since there were just so many, but worrying about that sort of thing might even be fun.
“I’d felt like I was trying hard all by myself, but I have so many people who were worrying for me, huh?”
He’d tried to play tough, thinking he needed to be more reliable, but everyone around him had seen right through his act. But for some odd reason, that didn’t bother him.
“Maybe I should send Niimi-san a text. I need to explain to him why I want to live alone so bad.”
There were still tons of hurdles he had to get over, and things he had to do.
Becoming part of the stream of people headed to the station, Rintarou walked out onto the crosswalk. The breeze made him look up, and he saw Shinjuku’s night sky reflect the city’s lights.