But thinking back to the day he first met his mother’s boyfriend, he’d been so nervous and tense that he couldn’t even swallow his food, much less speak. Why was it that he’d get so caught up in needing to do everything properly that he’d freeze up, even though no one had ever expected perfection from him?
The woman who bought his photobook at Frère popped into his mind.
“I’m pretty sure I managed to talk to her normally, even though we’d only just met. I’m not really good with pretty people, so why? Was it because Chiyo-san was there with me?”
When he remembered her long, slim limbs, soft-looking hair, and the kind look in her eyes when she smiled, Rintarou suddenly felt warm and slapped his thighs with his palms. Chiyo jumped a bit in surprise, fixing him with a glare.
She was decked out in the trends from head to toe. He wouldn’t have thought they would have much in common, so it was strange that they’d been drawn to the same book.
“Isn’t it fine for you to say you like something without worrying about everyone else?” What she’d said was so pure. What had she thought when she saw that photobook?
“Ah, all I did was answer her questions. I didn’t ask her anything myself. She’d said the book was wonderful, so maybe she likes nature? Oh! I’ll try talking to her some more if we ever meet again. But will we ever? It’s not like my shifts watching the store are regular or anything. The chances are probably super slim, huh, Chiyo-san?”
He turned to the cat for agreement, but she just kept lounging with her back to him.
Carrying two paper bags full of books, Rintarou left his house. He was on his way to Frère to put out the photobook he’d promised to bring for the woman. Seeing as how he had no idea when she would end up visiting the store next, he needed to do it as soon as possible.
Pasted on the door to the store was a paper sign reading “There is a cat inside. Please take care when opening and closing the door.” It looked like the store cat, Sumi, was on duty today.
“Thank you for your hard work! I’ve come to change out the books on my shelf,” he called out as he opened the door. The store had only just opened, so there weren’t any customers inside.
A tall man stood in front of the register counter—a shelf owner Rintarou had never met before. He looked to be somewhere in his thirties and had a calm atmosphere about him. The man’s unremarkable silhouette with his black hair, white jersey-cloth shirt, and black pants made his handsome features stand out. He had been looking at the shelves with his arms crossed, shooting a “you too” back before throwing Rintarou an inquisitive look.
“I-I’m Shirane. Nice to meet you.” Remembering his job interviews, Rintarou introduced himself, voice cracking as he did. The man smiled back and said his name was Kajiwara.
Kajiwara Keiichi. The only thing Rintarou had known about him was his name, which he’d seen on the chat app that the shelf owners used to communicate with each other. Frère’s owner often asked him to look after Sumi.
There was a clear ring of a bell near the man’s feet. Sumi, the store’s resident brown-and-white tabby cat, was peeking just half of her face out from behind the register counter. When Rintarou took a step toward her, she bolted away, jumping into the bottom shelf of a bookcase farther inside the store. Despite being a cat owner himself, all cats ran from him.
“Sorry, looks like I spooked her, huh?” he apologized.
While the store advertised itself as having a store cat, Sumi would run and hide as soon as anyone walked inside. Because customers could never get a glimpse of her despite the glass storefront, the owner asked any shelf owners with cats of their own to bring them during their shifts. That was the reason Rintarou had brought Chiyo on his last one. People said that cats aren’t great with changes in their environment, but Chiyo was confident wherever she went. She was a true alpha kitty, immediately taking control of the shop. But Sumi was the complete opposite.
Looking at the striped tail swaying from the front of the shelf, Keiichi shrugged. “Restocking today?” he asked.
“No, less restocking and more replacing. They’re not selling well, so I was going to try to figure out what’s in demand,” replied Rintarou.
After a beat, Keiichi gave him an uninterested “I see” back.
Did I word that wrong? The man probably thought that Rintarou had his shelf for business purposes, but the university student wasn’t sure if he’d be able to explain the reason he wanted to sell his books. Disappointed in his own timidness, he headed toward The Hammock Cat. He could tell from a distance that nothing had sold.
It had been half a year since he first started renting his shelf at Frère. When he’d signed the contract, the owner had warned him that only a few shelves ever made enough money to cover their monthly rent and that the shop format wasn’t aimed at people who were looking to profit—which was exactly the case.
Considering the location, Rintarou had tried his best to stock a selection of books where anyone could find something they’d want, no matter who they were. He even switched out his whole shelf at least once a week, so that visitors wouldn’t get bored with what was on sale, but he didn’t make nearly as many sales as he wanted. He had become a shelf owner because he had a set goal in mind, but he had no idea when he would actually manage to reach that goal.
The books on the shelf were lined up neatly, and there was no sign that anyone had even touched them. As Rintarou started pulling them all out and piling them on a work cart, Keiichi approached.
“You can use that display, if you’d like,” the man said, pointing to the shelved display near the entrance. It was a spot that whichever shelf owner who was taking care of the store that day could use as they liked. The display was easily visible from outside, so most of them used it to display books they especially wanted to show off from their own shelf.