That’s right. That day, they were going to see a movie she’d been looking forward to for ages. It would be no exaggeration to say the thought of this day had gotten her through the whole work week.
“Sure!” she said with an enthusiastic nod before following after Keigo.
“Looks like we’re in the back row.”
“Nice.”
They set down their bags, feeling like they’d won the grand prize in the lottery.
“Would you mind watching my stuff?” Keigo asked, grabbing his wallet from his bag.
“Wait, I’ll buy the drinks and snacks,” Nagi insisted, easily guessing what he was up to. “At least let me treat you to that.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“No way. You bought the tickets.”
She’d tried to pay for hers, but Keigo had stubbornly refused to accept the money.
“If you pay for everything, I’ll feel so awkward I won’t be able to enjoy the movie,” she pointed out.
“What are you talking about?” he said with a wry smile, but she must have gotten through to him, because he obediently sat back down. “Okay, okay, I’ll let you treat me. Thanks.”
Nagi headed to the concession stand in high spirits and bought some popcorn and soda. She got two kinds of popcorn—one salt and one caramel flavored. Keigo liked to switch between sweet and savory, like she did, so she figured they would probably trade halfway through the movie.
She walked jauntily to the theater’s back entrance, tray in hand, but stopped when she spotted the back of Keigo’s head. He appeared to be talking to the person sitting to his right. Did he know them? She squinted, then stiffened. Bizarrely, it was Dr. Karasuma. The hospital must be closed on Sunday. He’d probably won a ticket in the lottery, like Keigo. And by some inscrutable miracle, his seat was directly next to theirs.
It was awkward enough to run into a client outside of work. She could only imagine how uncomfortable things would get once she showed up. Dr. Karasuma thought they were no more than coworkers. Still, she couldn’t very well watch the movie from where she was standing, so she steeled her will and started heading toward them. No sooner had she taken a few steps than—
“Oh, Ms. Yoroizuka is here, too?” she overheard the doctor saying.
She stopped in her tracks.
“Um…how are you two related?” he asked, sounding puzzled. A natural question.
“Actually, we’re childhood friends. We grew up across the street from each other.”
“Really? So you’re just friends, then.”
For a moment, Keigo clammed up. It only lasted a second, but a bead of cold sweat trickled down Nagi’s back.
“…Yes, just friends.”
He nodded. He was smiling, like one would expect in such a situation, but he sounded slightly stiff—although that could have been her imagination.
“Ah. Glad to hear it,” Dr. Karasuma said.
What was that supposed to mean?
“Oh? And why’s that?” Keigo asked.
“Nothing. It’s just that she’s such a wonderful lady, and the other day when she said she didn’t have anyone to marry, it stuck with me. I thought I might ask her out to dinner next time I saw her…but coming out of the blue, I didn’t know how she’d take it… What do you think, Mr. Yuuki?” he asked without a trace of malice. Nagi’s mind was internally battling between the urge to immediately interrupt their conversation and the urge to flee as fast as she could.
“Why would you ask me?” Keigo said as Nagi waffled over what to do. His terrifyingly calm voice made her realize there was no way in hell she could interrupt them now.
“Because as her childhood friend, you seem likely to know how she would react if I asked her out to dinner.”
As Nagi stood still as a statue holding her tray, she saw Dr. Karasuma grin at Keigo and was tormented by the possibility he would say something rude back.
“You have nothing to worry about. I’m sure she would take you seriously.”
Keigo smiled placidly. He was perfect. Anyone watching would think he couldn’t have cared less if the vet asked her out.
“Why not give it a shot?”
Keigo’s words seemed to crawl down her back like a clammy snake. For a moment, she doubted her ears, but no—he had really said that. The second she realized this, she felt incredibly ashamed. What in the world had she been hoping he would say?
“…Oh, Ms. Yoroizuka, is that you?”
She looked up. Dr. Karasuma and Keigo were both craning their necks around to look at her.
“Uh………oh, yes! Dr. Karasuma? Fancy seeing you here!”
She quickly pasted on a professional smile and sat down next to Keigo, with the vet on his other side.
“It really is a coincidence!” he replied. “I was quite surprised to find Mr. Yuuki next to me when I sat down. Imagine the chances we’d end up with seats right next to each other.”
“I guess truth really is stranger than fiction. Do you like this kind of movie, Doctor?” she asked.
They chatted aimlessly for a few minutes until the bell signaling the start of the show cut off their conversation. The movie began playing, and Nagi turned her attention to the screen. She had been so excited, but as the title appeared, she felt nothing. Whenever she caught a glimpse of Keigo out of the corner of her eye, she got so distracted she didn’t even register the dialogue. She didn’t get to trade popcorn flavors with him even once.
“Ms. Yoroizuka, are you all right?”
The sound of Saotome’s voice brought Nagi back from her daydream.
“Oh, yes, sorry! I’m completely fine!” she quickly answered, taking a gulp of her beer. She had been neglecting it, and it was now lukewarm. That day, they were holding a belated New Year’s party for System Development Division One. Her colleagues, many of whom liked to drink, were letting loose and getting a little wild. Normally, she would have been right there with them, but…
“…”
Right now she just didn’t feel like partying. The reason was no mystery. She stole a glance to the side.
“…Come on, Yuuki, hurry up and show me!”
“I told you, I don’t want to! Hey, get your hand out of my pocket! Are you some kind of pervert?”
Yuuki was sitting with his broad back to her, joking around with a senior staff member in the sales division. She was glad he was fitting into the department so well, but when she saw him, her emotions were mixed. Lately, she couldn’t stop thinking about his conversation with Dr. Karasuma at the theater.
She hadn’t forgotten a single word he had said to her on New Year’s Eve. She had gone over them so many times in her mind that if someone had asked her to reenact the conversation, she could have done it on the spot. He’d declared he wouldn’t be able to stop himself once they were dating, and he’d told her he wanted to be “the special person you take for granted.” But if so, then why had he said that to Dr. Karasuma? Had he been lying on New Year’s Eve?
“—No way, you’re kidding!”
The loud voice of the sales staff member echoed behind her and snapped her out of the mental spiral she’d fallen back into. She looked up. He was running toward her.
“Yoroizuka, you went to the same university as Yuuki, right?”
Overwhelmed by his odd excitement, she nodded, a little confused, and said, “Yes, and…?”
“Do you know this woman? Yuuki says she’s his ex!”
Before she had time to think, he thrust Keigo’s phone in front of her face. There was a picture of a man and a woman pulled up on the screen. The man was Keigo, looking slightly uncomfortable. She knew right away from his hairstyle that it was taken in university. Next to him, looking as relaxed as he was awkward, was a very pretty woman. She had expertly curled long black hair and large downward-sloping eyes. In direct contrast to Nagi, she had a sweet face. Judging by her arm stretched toward the edge of the frame, Nagi assumed the picture was a selfie she’d taken.