Chapter 5:
Chance Encounters
APPARENTLY, TODAY WAS THE COLDEST IT HAD been in years.
Now that it was close to the end of January, and the Christmas and New Year moods had drifted away, the city was back to normal. It hadn’t been an unusual month for me, either. I’d bought a ticket for the New Year lottery with my friends for fun, and I’d attended a few New Year’s parties, same as ever.
If there was one thing that made this January different…
“Wow… It’s like this place resets to its original messy state whenever I arrive.”
It would be the presence of ex-Santa Shinohara Mayu, who had been visiting my home three times a week.
“Shut up. Men aren’t made to clean.”
“What kind of crappy logic is that? You’re gonna turn into a dust bunny yourself at this rate.” Shinohara sighed in exasperation and started folding the clothes I had scattered about my apartment.
“Hey, stop that. I’ll fold them myself later.”
“I trusted you the first few times you said that, but one week later, you still haven’t tidied up.”
“I’ll do it tomorrow!”
“Oh, suuuure,” she replied, her tone full of distrust as she continued to fold.
How had it come to this? When she visited at the end of the year, we’d decided on her coming twice a week. I was happy that I’d made a new friend, yes, but this was not what I’d expected at all. She practically lived here now. It did bother me a little, but there was one thing I’d become truly grateful for since then.
“I’m gonna use the kitchen again, okay?”
“Sure. Thanks.”
You guessed it: her cooking.
Living alone as a male student was pretty tragic. You tended to just eat whatever. Waking up in the afternoon, eating bread, then going out to eat before coming home at night. Buying convenience store meals on days when you don’t go out to eat with friends. My tongue had been starved of homemade meals as a result, so Shinohara’s cooking had essentially saved my life.
“Thanks a ton, I mean it. I’ll have to thank you for all of this sometime.”
“I live alone, too, so it really benefits both of us. I’m just sharing with you when we’re both free, so it’s really no big deal.”
“You mean it? You’re really too kind. My wallet thanks you too.”
I felt oddly relieved. I’d been working less this month, so my financial situation was even more dire than usual. With career-hunting time coming up soon, I didn’t have much time or money to spare.
“You can thank me with a Louis Vuitton wallet.”
“Don’t start demanding ridiculously expensive gifts from me!”
“Blame yourself for saying you’d make my selfless, unpaid help up to me. What girl wouldn’t jump at the chance to get such a nice wallet?”
“Why are we just assuming a designer wallet is the only way to thank someone?” I lay down, dejected. Even if we split food expenses, it was true that she was kindly doing the work of cooking for me.
Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to buy her something nice like that in the future. Like on her birthday, for example.
“When’s your birthday?” I asked nonchalantly.
“Tomorrow.”
“What?!” I leapt out of bed and made eye contact with Shinohara, who had an apron tied around her waist.
She cocked her head and blinked back at me. “Yes?”
“Uh… Nothing, I guess. Just surprised. How old are you going to be?” I asked my simple question and laid back down.
“You know, you won’t be able to get away with casually asking women their age for much longer.”
“I know. Can’t really do that in the working world.”
“Right. It’s scarier because there’s not really any upper limit.” Shinohara shuddered. After clearing her throat, she said, “To answer your question, though, I’ll be turning nineteen. Just one more year until I can legally drink!”
“Ah.” Her use of the word legally caught my attention, but I didn’t bother commenting. Like she’d said before, that’s just how university is.
“Mmm, I don’t like your attitude. It’s almost legal! Come on, I know you’ve been doing it since you turned eightee—”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re right, but don’t go around saying it. You never know when someone might be listening, especially in this day and age.” I shut her up before she could say something damning.
She seemed unhappy that I’d interrupted her, but she also didn’t finish her sentence. She just turned away and said, “Who cares? This is your place. You and I are the only ones here.”
“That’s all you have to say?”
“It is,” she replied flatly before taking her phone out of her pocket. Her phone vibrated, indicating that someone was contacting her.
“Wanna go out for dinner tomorrow or something?” I casually offered. It could be fun to take her somewhere. I owed her my thanks, after all. I didn’t have any plans, and I wasn’t good at picking out gifts.
She looked up at me excitedly, but after a moment, she shook her head. “Sorry. Tomorrow won’t work.”
“Oh, really?”
“Don’t look so surprised. Of course I made plans for my birthday. I’ll be celebrating with my friends!” She happily flashed me a peace sign. I’d gotten glimpses of her social circle, and indeed, she seemed to have a bunch of friends. “Wait. Huh?”
“Hm? What’s up?”
“Don’t tell me… Were you thinking of buying a wallet for my birthday?” She was right on the money, so I gave up and confirmed her suspicions. This prompted her to wave her hands frantically. “Wait, that was just a joke, really! I could never seriously ask you to buy me a brand-name wallet when you live alone!”
“I mean, sure, not a brand-name item. But I should at least give you something nice for your birthday.”
I wouldn’t have an excuse to give anyone else a gift for a while. The day I’d tried to give my ex-girlfriend a gift was stuck in my mind, and to be honest, part of my reason for wanting to do something nice for her was to get that memory out of my head.
“R-really? We just met a month ago, and you want to be my sugar daddy?”
“No, idiot, I’m trying to thank you. I want to give you a gift, so just take it. If you don’t like it, you can always throw it away. Not when I’m around, though. That’d hurt a little.” I shrugged.
“Huh? You really mean it?” she gasped, apparently surprised once again. Did she think I was joking? Shinohara thought about it for a moment, but she didn’t seem to mind. “I-if you say so…”
Her response brought a smile to my face. Presents make the giver feel good too, after all.
“Is there anything in particular you want?” I asked.
She put a hand to her chin in thought. “Hmm… I’ll leave that to you. I know I’m not making it easy, but that’s kind of the point. Surprise me.”
“Ack. So it comes to this… All right, leave it to me.”
“I look forward to it!” she winked.
“Yeah,” I replied casually.
Frankly, I didn’t know what kind of design she’d like. I just knew that if I chose on my own, it’d be sure to clash with her tastes. It’s impossible to know someone’s preferences perfectly when you’ve only known each other for a month, even if they’re your significant other.
Choosing yourself might be better if you’re giving a gift to your partner, but this was just a present for a friend. I needed someone to count on for advice.
One person immediately came to mind.