Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/2912051603008595869
The next day after school.
When I arrived at “Anemone,” the café where I work part-time, I stopped dead in my tracks the moment I saw the entrance door.
“A Hangout for Love’s Losers”
The sign that Shiina had made half-jokingly yesterday was now wrapped in clear plastic and prominently displayed right in the center of the door.
The text was surrounded by illustrations ranging from broken hearts to a dog getting wet in the rain.
It was clearly much more polished than yesterday’s handwritten version.
“…Why is it laminated?”
“I planned for long-term use.”
I looked toward the voice and saw Himuro sitting on the bench next to the entrance.
On her lap were her student council bag and an empty box of laminating film.
“Don’t go putting things up here. This isn’t a school facility.”
“Kasugai-kun tore down yesterday’s paper right away. I decided it wasn’t durable enough.”
“The problem isn’t durability—it’s the act of putting it up in the first place.”
“I wrote the title.”
Shiina poked her head out from beside Himuro.
“Himuro-san adjusted the layout of the text and the illustration, and I did the final draft. It’s a collaborative effort.”
“Aren’t you two putting your efforts in the wrong direction?”
Shiina gazed at the poster with a satisfied look.
Meanwhile, Natsume held up her smartphone and was taking photos from various angles.
“Alright, I’ll post this in the school group chat.”
“Stop it! Delete it right now!”
“I’ve already sent it to three groups.”
“You’re way too fast!”
It was just then, as I reached out to tear down the poster, that it happened.
“Yuto-kun.”
A strangely calm voice came from behind me.
When I turned around, the store manager, Mifuyu Shiraishi, was standing there.
Thirty-four years old.
A beauty with soft, shoulder-length brown hair and a calm demeanor. She rarely gets angry, and her customer service is impeccable.
However, she had a truly terrifying trait: her smile became even more beautiful when she was genuinely angry.
Right now, the store manager was smiling as beautifully as could be.
“What’s this?”
“I was just checking it out myself.”
“It says ‘A Hangout for Love’s Losers,’ doesn’t it?”
“You can tell just by looking at it.”
“Since when did our shop turn into a nurse’s office?”
“Please don’t ask me.”
The manager leaned in close to the notice and examined every detail.
“It’s even laminated.”
“It’s designed to be resistant to moisture and dirt.”
Himuro explained confidently.
“Even if used outdoors, it won’t deteriorate for about a month.”
“Why are you pitching its features to the manager?”
“To get permission to use it.”
The manager looked at Himuro and Shiina in turn.
“Did you two make this?”
“Yes.”
“We made it together.”
The two answered at the same time.
The manager looked at the poster once more, then nodded quietly.
“The design is cute, isn’t it?”
“Thank you.”
“But please take it down.”
“Why?”
“Because this is a coffee shop.”
Himuro looked unconvinced.
“Wouldn’t it be in the shop’s best interest to have a place where hurt students can gather and feel at ease?”
“Himuro, the way you’re putting it, this sounds like some student council project.”
“Actually, it’s helping us attract new customers. Neither Natsume-san nor Shiina-san would have come here if it weren’t for Kasugai-kun.”
“Don’t use me as a draw.”
The manager chuckled softly.
“It’s true, I’m happy to see more customers. But I’d be in trouble if people got the wrong idea—that this is a shop only for losers.”
“We welcome winners, too.”
“Natsume, please don’t go setting your own entry criteria.”
“Then let’s make a ‘Losers-Only’ section!”
“Don’t make it sound like a train.”
Ignoring the three of them, the manager turned her gaze toward me.
“By the way, Yuto…”
“Yes.”
“There sure are a lot more girls here now, aren’t there?”
“They’re all just here to talk about heartbreak.”
“I see.”
The manager looked at Himuro and the others.
The three of them were all looking at me, too.
“So that’s what you think, huh?”
“Is there something wrong with that?”
“No. I won’t say anything until you realize it yourself, Yuto-kun.”
Please don’t speak in such a cryptic way.
In the end, we decided to take the poster down from the entrance.
However, the manager decided it would be a shame to throw it away, so it was moved to a corner of the bulletin board inside the store.
“So you’re allowing us to put it up, then?”
“You went to all that trouble to make it so nicely. It would be a waste to throw it away, wouldn’t it?”
“Manager, you’re so kind!”
“However, if any customers who see this cause trouble, I’ll have Yuto-kun handle it.”
“Why am I the one in charge?”
“Because everyone’s gathering around you.”
Himuro and the others nodded contentedly at that decision.
I was the only one who couldn’t accept it at all.
※ ※ ※
After the commotion over the poster had died down, Shiina handed me that novel.
“As promised, please read it.”
“I know. I’ll take it home.”
“Please let me know what you think.”
“Once I’m done reading it.”
“I’ll need progress reports too.”
“Do you really need progress reports for reading?”
“I have to make sure you’re actually reading it, Kasugai-kun.”
“You don’t trust me, do you?”
After thinking for a moment, Shiina took her smartphone out of her uniform pocket.
“Then, let’s exchange contact information.”
“Contact information?”
“You’ll report to me every day on how far you’ve read. If you have any questions, I’ll explain them right away.”
“With commentary from the author? That’s pretty fancy.”
“……Do you mind?”
Shiina nervously pulled her smartphone close to her chest.
It’s just exchanging contact information—there’s no need to be that scared.
“I don’t mind. I’ll show you mine, so just wait a second.”
As I took out my smartphone, Shiina’s expression brightened instantly.
We scanned each other’s screens and sent a simple message.
‘This is Shiina. Nice to meet you.’
‘This is Kasugai. I’ll make sure to read it all the way through.’
That was the extent of our exchange.
However, Shiina kept looking back at the message I’d sent her over and over again.
“Now I can talk to you anytime, Kasugai-kun.”
“Just about the novel, though.”
“Yes. I’ll start by contacting you about the novel.”
“Start?”
“Never mind.”
Just as Shiina carefully put her smartphone back in her bag,
“Kasugai-kun.”
Himuro called out to me from behind.
When I turned around, she was standing there with her smartphone in hand.
“Please exchange numbers with me, too.”
“You too, Himuro?”
“Exchanging numbers only with Shiina-san isn’t fair.”
“Is exchanging contact info something you do for the sake of fairness?”
“If we’re going to meet up at this shop from now on, we’ll need a way to contact each other. It can be used for sudden schedule changes or to check Kasugai-kun’s shifts.”
“You don’t need to check my schedule, do you?”
“Yes, I do.”
Her answer was immediate.
I didn’t know why, but Himuro’s eyes were serious.
“Well, I guess we could use it for school event notifications, too.”
“Yes. That’s fine.”
We exchanged contact information just as we had before, and I immediately received a message from Himuro.
‘I look forward to working with you in the future.’
I replied briefly.
‘Same here.’
Then Himuro froze, staring at her screen.
“What’s up?”
“Just checking to make sure the notifications are coming through properly, just in case.”
“It already got through, didn’t it?”
“I’m changing the notification sound specifically for messages from you, Kasugai-kun.”
“Why?”
“To keep them from getting buried under other messages.”
“I don’t contact you that often, you know.”
“If I contact you more often from now on, it won’t be a problem.”
I wonder what she’s going to do more of.
“I’m changing mine too!”
This time, Natsume chimed in.
“Aren’t you busy with club activities, Natsume?”
“That’s exactly why I need it! When practice runs late, I’ll be able to contact Kasugai before the store closes!”
“Can’t you just call the store for that?”
“I don’t want to call the store—I want to call Kasugai!”
“Is that so?”
“…Yeah!”
For some reason, Natsume’s face turned red as she shoved her smartphone toward me.
After exchanging contact info with the third person, Natsume sent me a photo right then and there.
It was a photo of her in her track and field uniform, smiling and making a peace sign.
“Why a photo?”
“It’ll make it easier to recognize me, right?”
“I can tell who it is because the name’s displayed.”
“Then send me one of Kasugai, too.”
“I don’t have one.”
“I’ll take one right now!”
“I’m at work!”
Natsume grabbed my shoulder and forcefully took a photo of me.
On top of that, for some reason she wasn’t satisfied, so she made me retake it three times.
“What are you going to do with that photo?”
Himuro peered at Natsume’s screen.
“I’m going to set it as my contact picture.”
“Please delete it.”
“Why do I have to take orders from Himuro?!”
“It’s a problem to use it without the person’s permission.”
“Kasugai, can I use it?”
“I guess it’s fine.”
“I’ve got permission!”
“Kasugai. Please don’t just hand out your photos to women like that.”
“It’s just me in my part-time job uniform.”
Shiina also quietly held out her smartphone.
“Please send it to me, too.”
“Shiina, too?”
“I’ll use it as reference material when thinking about the characters’ appearances.”
“What characters are you talking about?”
“It’s still a secret.”
In the end, I exchanged contact information with all three of them that day.
To get in touch when necessary.
To read Shiina’s novel.
To coordinate our plans to meet up at the shop.
That was the extent of my thinking.
So, when I received messages from all three of them less than ten minutes after getting home, I didn’t think much of it.
“Did you make it home okay?”
“What are you doing right now?”
“How many pages of the novel have you read so far?”
Staring at the three notifications, I thought for a moment.
It seems people who’ve just gone through a breakup get pretty lonely.
Of course, I had absolutely no idea why all three of them had contacted me at the exact same time.
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