“…I’d appreciate if you wouldn’t say things like that, even as a joke,” I finally managed.
Issa breathed a little sigh and grinned at me.
“Well, if you insist, I’ll leave it at that,” he said, still smiling. Then he straightened and addressed me. “Thank you very much, Mr. Yoshida.”
Issa lowered his head in a bow.
“Sayu is finally moving forward—and all because she met you. If it had been anyone else, things would have ended very differently. She would never have been able to come this far.” When he raised his head, his expression was dead serious. “I don’t expect you ever intended to meet Sayu. If you hadn’t gotten drunk or you’d headed home a little earlier, you might never have met her at all.”
When I heard Issa say this, I realized something for the first time.
If I hadn’t gone on a date with Ms. Gotou or been rejected by her, or if I’d gone straight home without calling Hashimoto, I might have never met Sayu.
In that case, what would have become of me? And where would Sayu have ended up instead?
I got chills just thinking about it.
“Still…I have to show my appreciation somehow,” Issa said, reaching out to shake my hand. “Thank you for finding Sayu.”
“…Of course.” I nodded, gripping the hand he’d offered.
After a few shakes, Issa flashed me a thin smile and said, “This might be selfish of me to say, but…”
“Yeah?”
I looked away from our clasped hands and up at his face. He seemed a little flustered but carried on.
“I’m sure it would make Sayu happy…if meeting her meant a lot to you, too.”
I took a moment to think about this. It went without saying that meeting Sayu had been a positive development in my life.
“Well… I’ll make sure to tell her how I feel directly,” I said.
He grinned and exhaled a puff of air from his nose. He must have guessed what I was suggesting.
“Right, that’s a good idea… I’ll leave you to it, then.” He bowed again. “Thank you so very much. Take care on your way home.”
“Same to you. Thank you for everything.”
We exchanged smiles and more bows.
Then Issa turned on his heel and started back toward the entrance.
I let out a slow breath as I watched him disappear. This was probably the last time I’d see him, too.
Thanks to Sayu, I’d ended up meeting the CEO of a frozen foods company whose meals I’d occasionally eaten, and we’d become close enough to part with smiles on our faces. Now that I reflected on it properly, it was pretty unbelievable. That kind of thing definitely didn’t happen every day.
But we didn’t meet because I’d done something impressive—it was simply by chance. I had met Sayu, and that had led me to meet Issa. That was all there was to it.
“Sorry I took so long, Mr. Yoshida.”
Just as Issa disappeared out of sight, Sayu came back from the restroom.
“Wait, where’s my brother?” she asked.
“He went back to the car.”
“Oh, okay.”
Something about the way Sayu was talking to me felt stiff and awkward.
Now that we were alone, I wasn’t sure what to say.
“…Well, this really is good-bye, huh?” Sayu said, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, I guess it is.”
“Make sure to keep up with the housework, okay?”
“I’ll do my best.”
For some reason, the idea that Sayu was concerned about my well-being seemed ridiculous. I burst out laughing and nodded. Seeing this, she broke into a grin.
“…Good luck with school,” I said.
She bobbed her head up and down, her smile gentle.
“Yeah…I’ll do my best. I’m almost a whole year behind now, so I have to.”
She paused there and smiled again, but it looked a little forced. I could tell she was only putting on a brave face, but I was happy she was able to smile, considering the situation.
And yet…I wasn’t sure what to say next. We faced each other in silence as my boarding time drew nearer.
Finally, Sayu spoke up.
“Mr. Yoshida.”
My gaze had been wandering, but I shifted it back to Sayu and locked eyes with her. She was staring straight at me.
The look in her eyes was different now. I could see a powerful heat within them, and I unconsciously sucked in my breath.
“I’m glad I ran away,” she said firmly, “because that’s how I met you, Mr. Yoshida.”
I felt like I’d heard her say those words before. But this time, it hit me much harder.
Perhaps it was because we were about to say good-bye, or perhaps there was some other reason. I couldn’t be sure.
“Last night, just before I fell asleep, I started wondering what would have happened if I’d met you some other way—if you’d been my classmate, my upperclassman, or part of my family…”
There was a desperation in Sayu’s tone as she spoke.
I began to imagine some of the possibilities she’d proposed. What would have happened if she’d been my classmate or a student in my school or a member of my family…?
I tried, but I couldn’t quite picture it.
“But none of those things felt right. I’m glad I met you the way I did, Mr. Yoshida.”
Just as she said this, I reached the exact same conclusion.
It was difficult to imagine meeting Sayu in a different place or in a different situation. If we had met under different circumstances, I wasn’t sure we would have had quite the same impact on each other.
“I’m glad I met you as an office worker with a beard,” she admitted candidly, “and not as a classmate or a relative.”
Her gaze was full of emotion.
“I’m glad…I met you at this time in my life, when I was still wearing my school uniform.”
She smiled gently, and I found myself nodding in agreement.
“Me too.”
Oh right, I thought. I’d spoken to Issa about it only moments earlier, but as soon as I was alone with Sayu, I’d completely forgotten what I was supposed to say.