Volume 3 - CH 11

Chapter 11: Forgotten Thing

The day after the summer festival, we were completely exhausted.

We were just lying in the living room.

Lying on the futon, Sayu let out a sigh.

“My feet hurt…”

I lost track of how many times I smiled today.

“If they hurt, why don’t you get some ointment or an ice pack?”

“…I don’t want to move.”

We’ve already talked about it for the umpteenth time.

She was walking in geta yesterday, so she got calluses on her feet, and her leg muscles ached.

In any other situation, I would’ve gone and bought it myself, but today, I was also tired and didn’t want to move at all.

I’m not used to large crowds. Being downtown itself is a real challenge for me. Yesterday the summer festival felt as crowded as downtown. On second thought, there were probably even more people at the summer festival.

The next day, I was mentally and physically drained and overwhelmed with fatigue.

“I wonder, do high school girls who constantly party also suffer that much?”

“Who knows… It’s unlikely that someone, going to a festival only once a year, could get used to wearing geta.”

“But they’re pros. There’s no way I could keep up with them.”

Rolling on the floor, Sayu pouted.

I frowned at Sayu who was definitely tired.

The main question was what to do about dinner? We skipped breakfast, shifting it to lunch. We finished the rice that was left in the rice cooker and ate the side dish that was in the refrigerator. But that was the end of our leftovers. There was nothing left for dinner.

And I don’t want to force already tired Sayu to cook something in the kitchen. I was already starting to think about what to order for dinner when my phone vibrated.

“Huh?”

I said in an annoyed voice. I have no one who would message me on my phone on my day off. Maybe unnecessary spam from the store or someone made a mistake. I didn’t want to read any of those, so the vibration only irritated me.

However, if there’s something important there, and I don’t check, it’ll be bad. That’s why I grabbed the phone and looked at the screen.

The sender’s name surprised me.

“What?”

Tapping on the screen, I opened the message.

「 Yoshida, I’m sorry it’s so sudden. 」

Kanda-senpai sent a long message that began with this sentence. On her profile picture, there was the back of a guy in a white shirt.

After reading it, it turned out that she had forgotten something in the office.

On weekends and holidays, the office is closed. If you need to get inside, you have to go to office security with your employee ID, then they will register you and let you inside. Security in the building is good, there’s not a single door you can enter without an ID.

And since Kanda-senpai had just transferred, she hadn’t received her new ID yet. She’s using a visitor’s ID during workdays.

In other words, she had no way of entering the office on a day off. Therefore, she contacted me and asked for help.

Of course, I wouldn’t say that I didn’t want to help. It’s just that my body still felt heavy. I honestly didn’t want to leave the house unless it’s an emergency.

「 I get it. But tomorrow’s a working day. Can’t you wait? 」

I answered and threw the smartphone on the bed. But after a few seconds, it vibrated again.

“That was fast.”

I muttered and picked up my smartphone again.

「 I forgot my wallet. 」

She wrote, surprising me.

「 And you noticed it only now? You could’ve told me about it yesterday. 」

I replied, and a few seconds later, a new message arrived.

「 I slept all day yesterday, so I didn’t need my wallet. 」

How old are you?

I was amazed by this, but I remembered yesterday. If I hadn’t gone to the festival, I wouldn’t have left the house either.

「 So what? 」

「 I don’t have anything to eat. 」

She replied. And before I could respond, she added 「 You just don’t want to leave the house, do you? 」

That’s not the way a person asking for help should speak. However, I didn’t want to turn my back on her either. And Kanda-senpai didn’t know that I was tired.

I let out a sigh and got out of bed.

I didn’t want to, but she said that she had nothing to eat, so I had to go.

「 I’ll be at the office in an hour. 」

I sent and threw the smartphone on the bed again.

“Sorry. I have to go out.”

I said, and Sayu gave me a puzzled look.

“Huh? Why? You didn’t even want to move a moment ago.”

“Got some stuff to do. I’ll go to the office.”

“Isn’t it called a ‘day off’ because there’s basically no work?”

“Not for work, just to help. A colleague forgot something.”

I replied, and Sayu frowned.

“Do you really have to go?”

“I’m not sure about it myself.”

I thought so too. I shouldn’t have given her my contact info.

“But there’s no one else to help besides me.”

I said and scratched my chin. Even before doing that, I knew I’d hear the rustle from my stubble. I sighed.

Thinking about having to shave on a weekend, I headed to the bathroom. I grabbed the electric razor and froze. Wait, I wasn’t called for work. So, if I show up with a beard, no one will get angry.

Putting the electric razor back in its container, I looked at it for a few seconds.

I’d better shave.

I turned on the switch and started to shave. The sound of buzzing and the blade cutting the hair vibrated in the walls of the bathroom. When I first used it, I thought about how noisy it was, but I got used to it already.

After Sayu said that it doesn’t suit me to head out unshaved, I started to shave every day before I go to work. I’m used to it now, and it even bothers me when I don’t do it.

Although there was no need to shave, since I wasn’t going to work, I somehow felt uneasy about the fact that I’d meet with Kanda-senpai unshaven. It seemed like a waste of time and you might think I needed a shave, but that wasn’t the case. 

When I finished, I took my clothes out of the closet. It’s the weekend, so there’s no need to go in a suit. But I also couldn’t go there in a sleeveless T-shirt and shorts, so I put on jeans and a striped polo shirt, which is sort of a casual work outfit.

After changing my clothes, I took out my wallet and office ID from my bag. Sayu looked at me.

“How long will it take?”

“Not long. I’ll only help to pick up something.”

“I see. Be careful.”

Sayu said and dropped her gaze on the floor. Seeing her like that, I chuckled. This is the first time I’ve seen her so tired.

“I’m off.”

“Have a safe trip!”

She said, flashing a bitter smile.

I opened the door and left the house.

My body felt so heavy. I didn’t want to leave the house at all.

I’d sort things out quickly and return right away. That’s what I thought to myself.

*

“Kanda-senpai…”

There’s no one left at home, and I, lying on the floor, was muttering everything that was in my head.

“Even though he’s not going for work, he still shaved. He acted as if he didn’t want to do anything, and yet…”

As I let out my frustration, I felt a bit better.

“He said that it won’t take long, but that definitely won’t be the case. They’ll surely go have dinner together!”

Lying on my back, I spoke quite loudly and then sighed.

“What… am I doing?”

I was amazed by this childish behavior.

Something’s wrong with me since yesterday. Saying things that I wouldn’t normally say and asking him things that I wouldn’t normally ask.

“‘You’re beautiful.’”

I remembered how Yoshida-san said that and shook my head.

He has always loved Gotou-san. He still does. Gotou-san loves Yoshida-san too. No one should come between them.

Because of my strange thoughts, I forgot about the pain in my feet and finally got up.

And when I stood up, it felt like common sense returned to me.

“Well, whether Yoshida-san’s going to have dinner at home or not, I still have to cook something.”

I looked inside the fridge even though I already knew what was in there.

“As expected, nothing.”

There was nothing from which I could cook dinner. Several cans of beer and condiments needed to be kept refrigerated.

“I can’t make dinner out of this…”

I closed the fridge.

If Yoshida-san won’t eat dinner at home, then I probably won’t either. But even so, there’d be nothing for breakfast the next morning. And he has work tomorrow, so it’s necessary to prepare both breakfast and lunch.

I thought about asking him to buy groceries on the way back, but he already had business to attend to. I didn’t want to trouble him with carrying groceries as well. 

“What to buy…”

Looking at my sore feet, I pouted.

“I had too much fun…”

I said to myself and took off my loungewear. Staying in my underwear, I grabbed my smartphone and decided to send a message to Yoshida-san.

「 There’s nothing to cook with at home, so I’m off to buy groceries. I think I’ll be back before you, but I’m sending you this message just in case. 」

I quickly typed the message and sent it. He’s probably already on the train since he immediately noticed that a message came from me, and I saw the status “Read.”

After a few seconds, I got a reply.

「 Got it. Thanks. 」

After reading it, I placed my smartphone on the table.

Opening the closet, I took out a pair of skinny jeans and a thin white tunic. To prevent the bra from showing through, I put on a white undershirt and then slid the tunic over my head.

Yoshida-san bought me all these clothes except for the underwear. Every time the season changed before I had time to ask, he was already asking what I needed. Because of this, I felt both guilty and grateful.

I thought about my life with Yoshida-san and how my older brother showed up at the convenience store. It pains me from the inside.

He gave me so much and taught me so much. I have no idea how to repay him.

I wanted to do something for him, but now my older brother is here.

I don’t have much time left.

I don’t know how long we’ll be together, but I want to do something at least.

“For starters…”

I muttered, putting my smartphone back into my pocket.

“I’ll prepare a delicious dinner!”

I’ll do the housework that Yoshida-san originally asked me to do.

Forgetting about the pain in my feet, I headed into the hallway with unusual enthusiasm.