Episode 59 – A Memory to Last a Lifetime

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The School’s Top Idol Is Acting Like She’s My Childhood Friend for Some Reason and Just Keeps Closing the Distance on Her Own…?! ~Stop Getting All Gloomy on Me Just Because I Turned You Down!~

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Three days left until the cultural festival.

By this point, the atmosphere in the classroom had become completely different from our usual school life.

Class ends.

We move the desks.

We put on our aprons.

We check the signs.

We fix any misaligned decorations, hand out the final version of the menu, and confirm the duties of the customer service and cashier teams.

For me, staying behind in the classroom after school had become the norm.

Not long ago, that would have been unthinkable.

“Seita, here.”

Rino held out a piece of paper in front of me.

It was the shift schedule for the day of the festival.

“The revised version?”

“Yeah.”

I took it and checked the details.

I was assigned to the cash register for the first half of the morning.

After that, I’d be serving customers for about an hour.

I’d take my break just after noon.

Rino was serving customers starting in the morning, and her break was scheduled to start at almost the same time as mine.

“…Is this a coincidence?”

I asked.

Rino smiled.

“What do you think?”

“Rino.”

“What?”

“Be honest.”

“I worked hard to arrange it.”

“I figured as much.”

I turned my gaze back to the shift schedule.

She hadn’t messed up anyone else’s requests either.

It seemed she’d simply adjusted things skillfully so that our break times would overlap.

“You haven’t caused any trouble for anyone else, have you?”

“No, I haven’t. I checked with everyone.”

“Well, that’s good, then.”

“Are you happy?”

“Well, sort of.”

“Seita.”

“…I’m happy.”

When I answered, Rino nodded with satisfaction.

“Then let’s go around together on the day of the event.”

“We only have a one-hour break, you know.”

“That’s still an hour.”

“I think there’ll be a lot of people.”

“It’ll be fine because Seita’s here.”

“Isn’t that the other way around?”

Normally, Rino—as a top idol—is the one surrounded by people.

Rather than me protecting her, it’s more likely that I’ll get caught up in the crowd too.

“If Seita holds my hand, I won’t get lost.”

“High school students shouldn’t get lost at a cultural festival.”

“There’ll be so many people.”

“You’re just making up an excuse to hold my hand, aren’t you?”

“Did I give it away?”

“It’s way too obvious.”

Rino laughed cheerfully.

While we were having that conversation, I pinned the shift schedule to the wall.

The day of the cultural festival.

Up until now, we’d been preparing for this moment.

But now that it’s actually getting closer, I feel a flutter deep in my chest.

I’m excited.

I’m scared.

I don’t want it to end.

I want the day to come soon.

A mix of emotions swirled inside me.

“Seita.”

I heard Rino’s voice nearby.

“Thinking again?”

“A little.”

“Are you scared?”

“That’s part of it.”

“What else?”

I looked around the classroom.

The decorations everyone had made.

The finished sign.

The menu we’d revised over and over.

The group photo.

Going shopping.

Taking shelter from the rain.

Practicing serving customers.

Holding hands with Rino.

Hugging.

A kiss on the forehead.

That month of preparing for the cultural festival was packed with more memories than I’d ever imagined.

“I’m a little sad that it’s ending,”

When I said that, Rino’s expression softened.

“Me too.”

“I wanted to run away at first, though.”

“You were planning to just stay home, after all.”

“You remembered that?”

“I remember what Seita says.”

“Just forget the parts that aren’t convenient for you.”

“No way.”

Rino stood next to me.

Our shoulders touched.

“But even after the cultural festival is over, the memories won’t fade.”

“Yeah.”

“Seita won’t fade either, right?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just because the cultural festival is over, you won’t leave me, will you?”

Her voice trembled just a little.

I looked at Rino.

She wasn’t smiling.

The preparations for the cultural festival will be over.

There’ll be no reason to stay together every day after school.

Our relationship as members of the executive committee will also come to an end.

Rino must be worried about that, too.

“I won’t leave you.”

I replied.

Rino’s eyes wavered.

“Even without the cultural festival, we’ll see each other in the morning, and we’ll eat lunch together, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And after school, if I don’t have work, we’ll walk home together.”

“Yeah.”

“We’ll play cards, and we’ll read I Don’t Need Youth!! too.”

“…Yeah.”

“So, just because the cultural festival is over doesn’t mean anything will change.”

It wasn’t until I said that I realized it.

Without even noticing, I’d been taking my future with Rino for granted and factoring it into my plans.

Next week, too.

Next month, too.

And even further down the road.

The old me would have avoided making promises.

Because I was afraid of losing her.

Because I hated getting my hopes up.

But now, I’m the one saying it.

“Seita.”

Rino grabs the sleeve of my school uniform.

“Is that going to last forever?”

“Don’t make it sound like it’s forever.”

“How long?”

“…We don’t have to decide that right now, do we?”

“But I want to be part of your future, Seita.”

It was a heavy statement, typical of Rino.

I smiled a little.

“For now, I’ll be there.”

“For now?”

“At least until after the cultural festival.”

“What about next year?”

“I’ll probably still be there, right?”

“What about when we graduate?”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself.”

“And after we graduate?”

“Rino.”

“What?”

“Let’s take it one step at a time.”

I took Rino’s hand.

Not her sleeve—her hand.

I intertwined my fingers with hers.

“I’m still a little scared to think about the future.”

Rino’s expression clouded over slightly.

I squeezed her hand again.

“But I don’t want to be apart from you right now.”

The moment I said it, I surprised even myself.

Rino froze completely.

“Seita.”

“What?”

“Say it again.”

“I can’t.”

“I want to hear it.”

“That’s it.”

“Then I’ll memorize it.”

“You’re going to remember it anyway.”

“For the rest of my life.”

“That’s still a long time.”

Rino pressed her forehead against my chest.

I looked around.

There were still a few people left in the classroom.

Hara and Shinozaki were there, too.

But by then, I didn’t feel like rushing to pull away just because she’d leaned in a little closer.

“Takahara-kun—”

Hara’s voice drifted over.

“We’re almost done with the final check, so come back from your little world, okay?”

“I can hear you.”

“That reply sounds way too natural.”

Shinozaki smiled sleepily.

Rino didn’t pull away from my chest; if anything, she pressed her forehead against it just a little.

“Rino, get back to work.”

“Ten more seconds.”

“That’s too long.”

“Then five seconds.”

“Three seconds.”

“Seven seconds.”

“Don’t make it longer.”

In the end, we stayed like that for about ten seconds.

Partly because I didn’t let her go.

　※　※　※

By the time we finished our final checks, Rino and I were the only ones left in the classroom.

“I’ll lock up.”

“I’m here too.”

“I know.”

I closed the windows.

I checked the supplies.

I turned off the air conditioner.

Finally, I stood in front of the blackboard.

“Café Yūgure”

The finished sign.

Below it, a small group photo of all of us was stuck on the wall.

Rino and I were in the center.

“Seita.”

“What?”

“Let’s take a picture.”

“Now?”

“With the classroom as it is right now.”

Rino took out her smartphone.

After hesitating for a moment, I stood next to her.

“Who’s going to take it?”

“Self-timer.”

She placed her phone on the desk and hurried back to my side.

Ten seconds.

Nine seconds.

Rino stood next to me.

Eight seconds.

Our shoulders touched.

Seven seconds.

Rino took my hand.

Six seconds.

“Seita”

“What?”

Five seconds.

“Look at me.”

I do as she says and look at Rino.

Four seconds.

She’s staring at me.

Three seconds.

Her face gets closer.

Two seconds.

“Rino?”

One second.

Rino gently kissed my cheek.

The sound of a camera shutter.

I froze completely.

Rino pulled away, her face bright red, and rushed to her phone.

“Got it.”

“Rino.”

“What?”

“What did you just do?”

“I took a picture.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“I kissed you on the cheek.”

“Why can you just say that so casually?”

“Because Seita did it to me, too.”

“I kissed your forehead, didn’t I?”

“The spot’s different, but a kiss is a kiss.”

Rino looked at the photo she’d taken.

I peered at it, too.

In the photo.

Rino’s lips were touching my cheek.

My eyes were wide open, and my face looked completely defenseless.

Behind us was the finished sign.

An empty classroom.

Three days before the cultural festival.

“Don’t show this to anyone, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I mean it.”

“It’ll be our little secret.”

Rino carefully saved the photo.

My phone vibrated.

“I sent it.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t want it.”

“Save it.”

“Is that an order?”

“Please.”

I opened the photo.

I had no reason to delete it.

So I saved it.

“Saved it.”

Rino smiled happily.

“Seita.”

“What?”

“Even after the cultural festival is over, if we look at this photo, we’ll remember, right?”

“Remember what?”

“That we’ve gotten this close.”

I looked at the photo again.

Before the cultural festival started.

I hadn’t even had a proper conversation with Rino.

Now we call each other by our first names.

We hold hands.

We hug.

There’s even a kiss captured here.

Not on the lips.

But the distance between us was nothing like it used to be.

“Seita.”

“What?”

“Three days left, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s have fun together.”

“…Yeah. Together.”

We left the classroom.

Just before the lights went out.

I looked back one last time.

The finished café.

The sign we all made together.

Memories of school events that my past self had thought were absolutely out of reach.

This time, it felt like I’d be able to face the day without running away.

Rino took my hand.

I naturally squeezed hers back.

Three days until the cultural festival.

And I had stopped denying the fact that I was already looking forward to this cultural festival.

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Maigetsu

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