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The taiyaki shop in the shopping district was a little crowded with students on their way home from school.
A sweet aroma wafted from the shopfront, and steam rising from the griddle mingled with the evening air. As I joined the end of the line, I glanced at Shiori standing next to me. She was looking up at the menu with a serious expression. I wondered if she really needed to be so serious in front of a taiyaki shop, but it seemed like an important decision for her.
“Minato-kun, if you had to choose between red bean paste and custard, which would you pick?”
“Either one is fine, I guess.”
“That’s the kind of answer you give when you’re trying to go along with someone else. Today, you’re the one being spoiled, so please choose the one you want to eat.”
Shiori furrowed her brow slightly. She wasn’t angry. But she hadn’t missed the fact that I was trying to put my own preferences aside again.
I looked over the menu again. I like red bean paste too, but today I was in the mood for custard. When I’m tired, I naturally crave something sweet.
“Then, custard.”
“Okay. I’ll have red bean paste. Is it okay if we swap half and half?”
“You’re the one spoiling me, yet you’re still swapping?”
“That’s something I want to do, so it’s separate from spoiling you.”
Shiori said this with a serious expression.
That distinction was strangely typical of her, and I couldn’t help but laugh. The heaviness that had been weighing on my chest just a moment ago lifted just a little. Rino and the others’ faces, and the words they’d said, hadn’t completely vanished. Still, I felt that I didn’t have to give up even this moment—the time spent deciding which flavor to choose while standing in this line—to them.
After picking up the taiyaki, Shiori led me to a small park nearby. It was a spot at the edge of the shopping district with nothing but a bench and a slide. Since it was late afternoon, there weren’t many children around, and we sat side by side on a bench at the far end.
Shiori took one taiyaki out of the paper bag and handed it to me.
“It’s hot, so don’t eat it too fast.”
“Aren’t you treating me like a kid?”
“I’d hate for my boyfriend to burn his mouth. I’m not treating you like a kid—I’m treating you like my boyfriend.”
She said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and I was at a loss for words.
[My boyfriend.]
Shiori sometimes says things like that without hesitation. She does seem a little shy—her ears turn slightly red, and her gaze wanders away for just a moment. Still, she never takes it back after she says it. She doesn’t even make a joke of it. So every time, I have no choice but to take it at face value.
“…Shiori, you’re really good at saying things like that, aren’t you?”
“It’s not that I’m good at it. I just try to say what I’m thinking as honestly as possible.”
Shiori held a taiyaki filled with red bean paste in both hands and took a small bite. Maybe it was hot—she narrowed her eyes just a little. That gesture made her look even younger than she does at school, and I found myself staring at her without meaning to.
Shiori noticed and pulled the taiyaki away from her mouth.
“You’re staring too much.”
“Sorry. It’s just… it was such an unusual expression.”
“You might see more of those unusual expressions when you’re around me, Minato-kun. You’ll just have to get used to it.”
“So you’re telling me to get used to that, too?”
“Yes. I’ll get used to you watching me, too.”
Shiori said this matter-of-factly, her face still slightly flushed.
I took a bite of the custard. It was hot and sweet. Even though Shiori had just warned me, I almost burned my tongue a little. It must have shown on my face. Shiori immediately pulled a small water bottle out of her bag.
“See? It was hot after all.”
“I’m fine. Just a little.”
“Even if it’s just a little, Minato-kun always pretends he’s fine right away.”
Saying that, Shiori opened the water bottle’s cap. As I took it from her, I felt a little pathetic. I’d thought, “Is she really going to fuss over me even over a taiyaki?”
It seemed Shiori had seen right through that expression, too.
“Minato-kun.”
“Yeah.”
“Today is my day to spoil you. So, it’s forbidden for the one being spoiled to look apologetic. Just say ‘thank you’ and accept it.”
Her words were firm.
I stood there in silence for a moment, still holding the water bottle. I wasn’t used to having someone do things for me yet. I was especially bad at dealing with kindness that didn’t expect anything in return. I couldn’t help but feel like I had to give something back or be useful in some way.
But Shiori wouldn’t let me get away with that.
Or rather, she wouldn’t let me go back to my old ways.
“Thank you.”
When I said that, Shiori nodded with satisfaction.
“Yes. Good job.”
“You’re still treating me like a kid, aren’t you?”
“I’m treating you like my boyfriend. My boyfriend is currently practicing being pampered.”
Shiori’s lips curved into a slight smile.
Seeing that smile, a strange warmth spread deep inside my chest again. I took another bite of the taiyaki. This time I let it cool down properly before eating, so Shiori didn’t say anything. She simply split her red bean paste filling in half and held it out toward me.
“It’s time to exchange our promises.”
“Okay, here’s mine too.”
I handed her half of my custard filling. When Shiori took it, she was a little careful not to let her fingertips touch mine. But then, as if she’d changed her mind, she lightly brushed against my finger.
“I did that on purpose.”
“You’re confessing?”
“Yes. I wanted to touch you, Minato-kun.”
This time, I really was at a loss for words.
Shiori took a bite of her custard, and her expression softened just a little. Even though she was eating something sweet, her words were far sweeter. I looked away and gazed toward the shopping district. The sunset was beginning to sink between the buildings.
A moment later, Shiori said quietly.
“You must be exhausted from everything you’ve had to hear today, right?”
“I am. But since you brought me here, Shiori, I feel a lot better.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Shiori folded the paper bag on her lap and took a small notebook out of her bag. The cover was navy blue, and a silver ribbon bookmark was visible at the edge. She wrote something in it.
“What are you writing?”
“Today’s entry.”
“Taiyaki?”
“Yes. I wrote, ‘The day I spoiled Minato-kun.’”
“Did you really write that?”
“I don’t just write down important plans—I also write down days that were important to me. That way, when I look back on them later, I won’t forget them.”
Shiori closed the notebook and put it away in her bag.
Watching that gesture, I finally understood. Shiori had no intention of letting my day end as one that had been taken away by someone else. Not a day when I was told something hurtful, but a day when I ate taiyaki. Not a day when I was tired of apologizing, but a day when she spoiled me.
That’s how she’s trying to reclaim my time for me.
“Shiori.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t think I’ll forget today.”
Shiori looked a little surprised, then smiled slowly.
“Well, then, it’s just like my planner.”
The clock in the park read just past six. We finished the remaining taiyaki and stood up side by side. On the way home, Shiori held out her hand without saying a word.
I took her hand.
It wasn’t to forgive anyone, nor to apologize to anyone. Simply to end this day with Shiori, I held her hand and began walking through the lights of the shopping district.
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