There were times when Keiichi would come in early and get food prepared. The acqua pazza Haruka had sampled not long ago had tasted like it came from a proper specialty restaurant. Keiichi was the type to get absorbed in things, and he would carefully select his ingredients, pursuing perfection.
Now that Haruka thought about it, Yurinoki might have been the reason Keiichi pursued a career in cooking. He’d been raised in a house with mostly absent parents and was good at cooking by junior high, but he didn’t so much enjoy it as consider it work. So when they’d graduated high school and he said he was going to a vocational school for chefs, Haruka had been a bit surprised.
Now that they were talking, Haruka sort of wanted to visit the café for the first time in a long time. But that desire would never be granted. All of the old buildings on that street had been demolished when the area around the station was being redeveloped.
Shinjuku was a city that had too good of a metabolism. While development in rural areas was more likely to get talked about, cities that were already developed would lose various businesses quicker. Not only were the places he remembered from his childhood gone, but the places linked to other important memories from his life had also disappeared as if they’d been evicted. But development marched on, and the city was new again. He was sure it would keep on happening forever.
Whatever happened to Kotono and the café’s master? He regretted the fact that he’d cut off their relationship without a word when they’d been so good to him.
After they watched the leaves fall for a while, they returned to Frère from the promenade. Haruka peeked in from the outside, checking on Rintarou and Satoko. They had a book open on the work table and were absorbed in their conversation. Rintarou’s gaze was softer than usual.
“You’re doing good, Shirane-san. Even though you’re up against a working adult woman.” He saw his past self and Kotono in the two lovebirds.
Haruka put his hand on the door, while Keiichi turned and walked away, saying he was going home because he was still tired. He really had just come to check on Rintarou.
As Haruka waved, telling him to have a good sleep, Rintarou came running out.
“Kajiwara-san!” he yelled, running over to him without even waiting for him to turn. When they were next to each other, the younger man told him something excitedly. Keiichi listened, eyes narrowed.
Satoko walked out of the store, calling out to Haruka as she stopped beside him.
“Shirane-san just got word that he’s been hired!”
“What, really?”
“They said that if he hadn’t been a shelf owner here, then he wouldn’t have gotten the job.”
At the final interview, Rintarou told them about how he’d experienced connecting with people after becoming a shelf owner at Frère. By owning a small business himself, he learned how difficult it was to continue getting sales, and it widened his view of working. It seemed like he’d utilized that new knowledge to his advantage.
Rintarou was bowing his head to Keiichi again. When Keiichi smacked him on the back, he stood up, and they exchanged a handshake.
“This is a victory for Shirane-san’s virtues!”
Satoko nodded in agreement.
“Shirane-saaan! Congrats!”
When Haruka waved at him, Rintarou finished saying goodbye and ran back over, grabbing Haruka’s hand in the momentum. After letting out a breath, he sunk down as if he’d let out all his tension.
“Thank you to you too, Sakurai-san. Having you tell me that it would be fine let me be confident during the interview. I’d always been convinced that anything I could do would be no use, and I couldn’t even believe in myself anymore.”
The fact that he could lay out his weaknesses without even worrying about how the object of his affections was right there was a sort of strength.
Satoko showered Rintarou with claps. “Congratulations again, Shirane-san. You’ll have to have a big celebration today!”
Rintarou didn’t react to her, even though anyone would have thought her words would make him the happiest. When Haruka shook his shoulders, thinking he’d blown an emotional fuse, the younger man stood up with a seriousness in his gaze that he hadn’t seen before, facing Satoko.
“Kasugai-san.”
Having her name said again, Satoko blinked, lips slightly parted.
“I’ve only just started my shift here, so today might not be the day for it, but… If you’re okay with it, would you tour bookstores with me sometime? I can help you look for the book I just recommended. And it’d be thanks for the donuts—or, no. It was thanks to the things you said to me that I realized a lot of things. Um, anyway, I just want to thank you,” he said, gripping her hand. Even though he might not have decided exactly when he’d do it, it seemed he’d decided that he would make some sort of move on Satoko when he finished his job search.
“Um, I’d like to go with you to bookstores. Maybe even once your shift ends here today. If you’ve got the time, why don’t we go look at that kitty toy I told you about? We can experiment with what she likes,” Satoko said, smiling.
It seemed like Rintarou either hadn’t expected her to say yes so easily or hadn’t thought of what would happen after he invited her. He was standing there, stunned.
Guess I’ll help him out.
“If you’d like, you could go now? I’m here today, so you can leave Chiyo-san. It’s a bit early, but you could go celebrate over lunch,” Haruka said, looking between the two.
Rintarou hesitantly asked Satoko about it, and when he saw her nod, he gripped both his hands into fists and closed his eyes like he was savoring his victory, squeaking out a “YESSS.” He curled his back, quietly raising his arms in triumph.
Haruka couldn’t help but smile at his innocence. “Take as long as you’d like. Don’t worry about the time, Shirane-san. Enjoy your feeling of freedom after the job hunt.”
Heading back inside the shop for now, Rintarou cleaned up the books and rang up Satoko’s purchase as he got ready. When he seemed like he’d never leave out of guilt, Haruka handed him his coat.