Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/2912051603008595869
A week had passed since Rena Himuro started coming to “Anemone.”
During that time, not a single day went by without her visiting the shop.
“Himuro. Is the student council that idle?”
“That’s rude. I’m just finishing my duties efficiently.”
Five o’clock after school.
Sitting at a table by the window, Himuro tilted her teacup and replied with a cool expression.
Student council documents were neatly stacked on the table. It seemed she intended to use this place as a second student council room.
“Wouldn’t it be faster to do this at school?”
“President Kuze is in the student council room.”
“Oh…”
“Please don’t worry about it. I don’t feel anything about it anymore.”
As she said that, Himuro crunched a cookie.
It crumbled to pieces.
It seems she’ll need a little more time to get over his heartbreak.
“Anyway, Kasugai, are you on shift tomorrow?”
“I am, but—”
“What about the day after tomorrow?”
“I’m off.”
“Then I won’t be coming either.”
“The shop’s open even if I’m not there.”
“I know.”
“Then why aren’t you coming?”
“…Because it’s a hassle to be served by a staff member who doesn’t remember my order.”
Himuro always orders black tea without sugar.
Everyone, including the manager, already remembers it.
But since pointing that out might upset her, I decided to keep quiet.
For her, fresh off a breakup, I’m probably someone she can share her pain with.
We’re both losers, so it feels comfortable.
There shouldn’t be any deeper meaning to it.
“Kasugai!”
The shop door burst open right after that.
The bell let out a shrill, screeching sound.
Standing in the doorway was Hinata Natsume from the track and field club.
Her shoulder-length brown hair was tied back, and she was wearing her track and field jersey over her school uniform. She’s usually such an energetic girl that you can hear her voice no matter where you are on campus.
But today, Hinata was gasping for breath.
“What’s wrong?”
“Water! Just give me some water!”
“This isn’t a water fountain.”
“Don’t you even serve water to customers at this place?!”
“You haven’t even sat down yet.”
Without waiting for me to show her to a seat, Hinata practically leaped onto a counter seat.
At that moment, Himuro’s cold voice rang out from by the window.
“Please keep it down inside the store.”
“Whoa, Himuro! What are you doing here?!”
“I’m a customer.”
“The student council vice president at a coffee shop all by herself? You’re such a loner!”
“Once I finish my tea, I’m going to socially eliminate you.”
“Kasugai, this woman is scary!”
“Don’t come to me for help.”
When I handed her the water, Natsume downed it in one gulp.
“I’m alive again…”
“So, what happened?”
“Nothing, really.”
“Someone with ‘nothing’ going on wouldn’t rush into a coffee shop looking that desperate, would they?”
“Running is part of my daily routine!”
“Where’s your bag?”
“In the club room!”
“Where’s your wallet?”
“In my bag!”
“That’s eating and drinking on the house.”
As I stood there dumbfounded, Natsume slumped face-down on the counter.
Usually, her tanned skin has a healthy glow, but today her complexion looked strangely pale.
“Kasugai, by the way…”
“Hm?”
“a guy, right?”
“You’re starting with that?”
“How would you feel if a girl you weren’t interested in confessed her feelings to you?”
Before answering, I looked at Natsume’s expression.
It seemed he wasn’t joking.
“I guess it depends on who it is.”
“For example, a underclassman.”
“I’d be happy, I suppose. But if I already had someone I liked, I’d have no choice but to turn her down.”
“I see.”
Natsume kept her head down, twirling an empty glass with her fingertips.
It was common knowledge that she had a crush on Shinakabe-senpai, a third-year on the track and field team.
She’d be the first one on the track every morning to help him with his practice.
Before competitions, she’d give him handmade good-luck charms, and apparently, they’d even practice together on their own during summer break.
Even to outsiders, it was clear the two of them were close.
“Are you going to confess to him today?”
“How did you know?”
“It’s written all over your face.”
“Where?”
“Right under your eyes.”
Natsume frantically rubbed her face.
She seemed to have actually thought it was written there.
“Senpai’s retirement party is today. We promised to talk just the two of us after it’s over.”
“Then… is it okay for me to be here?”
“I suddenly got scared.”
Natsume said this in a tiny voice.
It was a fragile voice, completely unlike her usual self.
“Senpai is so kind—he’ll definitely be gentle when he turns me down. That’s why I hate it. If he just rejected me coldly, I could give up, right?”
“It’s not like it’s been decided yet that he’ll reject you.”
“But he’s been looking at his phone and laughing a lot lately. So much so that he doesn’t even notice when I try to talk to him.”
People in love are quick to notice even the slightest changes in their partner.
I knew Kotonoha’s little quirks when she was happy.
They say Himuro even knew President Kuze’s favorite drink.
Natsume must have sensed something, too.
“Not confessing is an option, too.”
When I said that, Natsume slowly looked up.
“Kasugai, you didn’t confess, did you?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you regret it?”
It had been a week since Katonoha and Ren started dating.
I’d gradually gotten used to seeing the two of them together.
But that didn’t mean the pain had gone away.
I’d just gotten better at pretending not to see them so it wouldn’t hurt.
“Yeah, I do.”
I answered honestly.
“I think the outcome would’ve been the same even if I’d confessed. But I do wish I’d said something.”
“I see.”
“But that’s just me. You have to decide for yourself what you’re going to do, Natsume.”
“You’re acting all high and mighty, even though you ran away.”
“Shut up.”
Natsume was silent for a while.
Eventually, she raised her head abruptly and slapped both cheeks.
“Alright. I’m off!”
“Don’t forget your wallet.”
“I’ll put the water on my tab!”
“Drinks are on the house.”
Natsume ran to the entrance and turned around just before opening the door.
“Kasugai!”
“What?”
“If I win, you’ve got to treat me to something!”
“Why me?”
“It’s your responsibility for giving me that push!”
Before I could reply, Natsume had already run off.
Silence returned to the shop.
“…She’s quite cheerful, isn’t she?”
Himuro sipped her tea while gazing out the window.
“Natsume’s always like that.”
“You’re kind to everyone, aren’t you, Kasugai-kun?”
“I just answered because she asked for advice.”
“That’s how it was with me, too.”
“I suppose so.”
“I imagine it was the same with Mizuse-san, too.”
The warmth in her voice dropped just a little.
When I looked at Himuro, she was smiling gently.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
After that, Himuro stopped talking about Natsume.
However, she stayed at the shop longer than usual, and every time I brought water to another customer, she would glance my way.
Just before closing time.
My smartphone vibrated.
It was a short message from Natsume.
“I lost.”
Those three characters alone were enough to convey the result.
Then another message arrived.
“Senpai, I heard he’s getting back together with his ex.”
And yet another.
“He asked me for advice before confessing his feelings.”
I searched for the right words to reply.
You gave it your best shot.
There’s always next time.
You’ll find someone even better.
All of them were true.
And precisely because they were true, I felt they wouldn’t reach Natsume right now.
In the end, I sent just one line.
“Come to the shop tomorrow. I’ll at least treat you to a parfait.”
It was marked as read immediately.
There was no reply.
Instead, five minutes before opening the next day.
In front of the still-locked door of “Anemone,” Natsume was sitting with her knees hugged to her chest.
Making no attempt to hide her bright red, swollen eyes, she puckered her lips the moment she saw me.
“Kasugai.”
“You’re way too early.”
“Don’t make the loser wait.”
That day.
A second loser showed up at our hangout spot.
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