Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/2912051603008595869
Even before my part-time shift that day began, I felt strangely tired.
I talked with Kotonoha in the courtyard, organized the cultural festival materials in the student council room, and left school while being half-watched by Himuro.
Still, once I changed into my “Anemone” uniform, I couldn’t let my personal feelings get in the way.
“Yuto, you look tense today.”
The manager, who had been wiping dishes at the back of the counter, said that as soon as she saw me.
“I’m just the same as always.”
“Someone who’s ‘the same as always’ wouldn’t spend three whole minutes polishing an empty tray.”
Hearing that, I looked down at my hands.
I had been endlessly wiping an empty tray with a dishcloth.
“I was just thinking about something.”
“Your childhood friend?”
“How did you know?”
“She came to the shop the other day, didn’t she? The way she looked at you didn’t seem like that of an ordinary childhood friend.”
“Kotonoha has a boyfriend.”
“Just because someone has a new partner doesn’t mean their attachment to someone who was once close to them disappears.”
The manager said this in a calm tone as she put the polished glasses back on the shelf.
“Besides, romantic feelings and possessiveness are two different things.”
“Possessiveness, you say…”
“The person who always put you first has found a new place to belong. I’m sure some girls wouldn’t be happy about that.”
It was almost exactly the same as the prediction Himuro had shared during lunch break.
It seemed those two women understood Kotonoha’s feelings better than I did.
“Well, if Yuto-kun decided on his own to put some distance between the two, I think that’s fine.”
“I didn’t say anything, though.”
“You can tell a little just by looking at your face.”
“Is it that obvious?”
“When it comes to romance, absolutely.”
I didn’t feel like that was a compliment.
Thirty minutes after opening.
As expected, Himuro was the first to show up.
“Welcome.”
“I’ll have my usual black tea, please.”
“Are you done with your student council work for today?”
“I finished what I had planned.”
Himuro sat at the very end of the counter instead of her usual spot by the window.
“That’s unusual.”
“It makes it easier to keep an eye on Kasugai-kun.”
“You don’t need to keep an eye on me, do you?”
“It’s after what happened in the courtyard. Just to be safe.”
“I’m fine now.”
“That’s for me to decide.”
Why had she been promoted from a fellow heartbroken friend to my health monitor?
While I was brewing the tea, Natsume and Shiina arrived one after another.
“Kasugai, a parfait!”
“Pay for it yourself today.”
“I know that. What do you take me for?”
“Someone who comes to a coffee shop without a wallet.”
“It was just that one time!”
While Natsume was making a fuss next to me, Shiina handed me a stack of novels.
“Have you summarized your thoughts yet?”
“Can the reader even be given a deadline for summarizing their thoughts?”
“As of yesterday, it was sixty-eight pages. It should be over eighty pages by now.”
“Seventy-five pages.”
“You’re behind.”
“Don’t make it sound like a job.”
“It’s important.”
Shiina opened her notebook with a serious expression.
“Around page seventy, there’s a scene where the protagonist tries to throw away the bookmark she made for her senior.”
“Ah.”
“What did you think of that?”
“I thought she didn’t need to throw it away.”
“Why?”
“Just because she got her heart broken doesn’t mean she has to deny the feelings she had for him at the time, right?”
As I answered, Shiina’s pen stopped moving.
“…I see.”
“Was that a weird reaction?”
“No.”
Shiina lowered her gaze and her expression softened slightly.
“I, too, thought it was good that I didn’t throw the letter away.”
What she had been holding onto was a confession that had never reached its destination.
Even so, she no longer clutches the white envelope as tightly as she used to.
It’s not that she’s forgotten the heartbreak.
It’s just that her eyes, which used to focus only on what she’d lost, are gradually beginning to turn toward what remains as well.
“But in my next work, I’ll definitely write a confession that reaches its destination.”
“That’s good.”
“And the male lead won’t go and choose another woman partway through, either.”
“You’re packing it full of ideals, aren’t you?”
“Yes. He’s a bit clueless, but in the end, he’ll only have eyes for the heroine.”
Shiina looked up at me.
“No matter how many other women surround him.”
“He sounds like quite a challenging character to write.”
“……You’re absolutely right.”
For some reason, she let out a sigh.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
“Welcome.”
“So this really is the place, isn’t it?”
The person who walked in was Maho Shirasaki.
I’d only ever seen her in her school uniform at the student council, but today she was wearing a light-colored cardigan, and her hair was tied back just a little loosely.
She gave off a softer impression than she did at school.
“Shirasaki. What’s up?”
“I came to see you, Kasugai-senpai.”
The atmosphere in the shop froze in an instant.
“Is this for Student Council business?”
“No. It’s personal.”
Without hesitation, Shirasaki walked up to the counter and sat down in the seat directly across from me.
“I’ve always wanted to see you at work.”
“If it’s for the cultural festival, you’re welcome to look around while we’re open.”
“That’s part of it.”
“What’s your main purpose?”
“To see you, Senpai.”
Shirasaki kept her gaze fixed on me, a smile still on her face.
From behind us, I heard the sound of a cup being set down.
“Shirasaki-san.”
Himuro called out quietly.
“It’s not the time for a first-year student council member to be making a detour like this.”
“There’s no problem according to school rules.”
“Your family will worry.”
“I’ve already contacted my mother.”
“Don’t you have homework left to do?”
“I’ve finished it all.”
Shirasaki replied politely, one by one.
“Speaking of which, I hear you, Vice President, come here every day.”
“I’m a regular here.”
“Since when?”
“I don’t have to answer that.”
“Since President Kuze rejected you, perhaps?”
Himuro’s expression froze.
Natsume and Shiina were also at a loss for words.
“Shirasaki.”
I called her name in a slightly firmer voice.
“That’s not a nice way to put it.”
Shirasaki looked startled for just a moment.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t being considerate.”
She immediately bowed her head to Himuro.
“I didn’t mean to hurt the Vice President.”
“……It’s fine. It’s the truth, after all.”
Himuro was putting on a calm front.
But the hand clenched on her lap was trembling slightly.
“Himuro.”
“It’s fine.”
“Want to take a short break?”
“It’s not necessary.”
“But—”
“Kasugai-kun.”
Himuro looked up at me.
“If you treat me specially right now, it’ll just make me feel even more miserable.”
Hearing those words, I was at a loss for what to say.
I know Himuro’s pain.
That’s exactly why, when I see her hurt like this, I feel compelled to do something.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the kind of comfort she wants.
“All right. I’ll just bring you a refill of tea.”
“…Please do.”
Himuro’s voice softened slightly.
Just as I was about to head for the kitchen, Shirasaki stood up.
“Senpai.”
“What?”
“Please give me the same thing.”
“Is tea okay?”
“Yes. I want to know what the vice president drinks every day.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to lose when it comes to memories with you, Senpai.”
“Memories? I’m just bringing you tea, you know.”
“It’s the accumulation of those moments that matters.”
Shirasaki was smiling.
But her eyes held a passion that couldn’t be dismissed as a joke.
“Shirasaki, do you have feelings for Kasugai?”
It was Shiina who asked.
The question was so blunt that even I stopped in my tracks.
Natsume tugged at Shiina’s sleeve.
“Hey, don’t just ask that out of the blue.”
“I was just curious.”
“Even if you’re curious, you wouldn’t normally ask, would you?”
Shirasaki thought for a moment, then looked at me.
“I do.”
The café fell silent.
“Huh?”
“I do have feelings for Kasugai-senpai.”
Shirasaki answered clearly.
Himuro’s eyes widened, Natsume’s mouth hung open, and Shiina frantically reached for her notebook.
“However, I don’t intend to confess right now.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Because Senpai is still hung up on her past relationship.”
Shirasaki’s eyes locked directly onto me.
“If I force my way into that situation, Senpai won’t even notice me, will he?”
“Well…”
“So, I’ll wait.”
Shirasaki smiled gently.
“I’ll wait right here until you stop looking back on the past.”
It was a heartfelt statement.
But for some reason…
To me, it sounded like a declaration blocking my escape route.
“However,”
Shirasaki turned her gaze toward Himuro and the others.
“I have no intention of letting anyone else beat me to it.”
“Is that a declaration of war against me?”
The weakness that had been in Himuro’s voice just moments ago had vanished.
“If the Vice President has no feelings for Kasugai-senpai, then this has nothing to do with me.”
“I didn’t say I had no feelings.”
“Himuro?”
“Kasugai, please stay quiet.”
“Why am I getting scolded?”
Natsume stood up as well.
“Wait, wait! Why is it only Himuro who’s stepping up to confront?!”
“Does this have anything to do with you, Natsume-san?”
“Well… I don’t know yet!”
“Then please remain seated.”
“This really pisses me off!”
Shiina also quietly raised her hand.
“I’ve also secured Kasugai-kun as a subject for my next article.”
“Being an interview subject isn’t the same as having the right to romance, is it?”
“You promised you’d read it all the way through.”
“That’s irrelevant too, right?”
The three “losing heroines” and the junior who’d had her eyes on me from the very beginning.
The gazes of the four of us clashed right in the center of the counter.
“Yuto-kun.”
The manager beckoned me over from the kitchen.
“What is it?”
“Starting today, maybe I should offer a stipend for disputes between women?”
“Stop laughing and help me out.”
“No way. You’re the one causing this.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“That’s exactly why things have gotten this messy.”
The manager laughed cheerfully.
That day, Maho Shirasaki officially became a regular at “Anemone.”
However, she hadn’t just gone through a breakup.
If anything, she was determined to win.
A challenger had appeared for the first time at this hangout for those defeated in love.
Her presence was beginning to transform the emotions of the three—beyond mere mutual consolation.
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