The Case of My Childhood Friend Who Became a Very Popular Model and Came Back to Fulfill a Promise We Made When We Were Children
“Can you put this on over there and …… hold it there for a second?”
“Okay.”
“And then put this here, ……, okay.”
“Phew.”
After finishing dinner, instead of having a relaxing time,……, Akane and I were assembling a bed, one of the items that had just arrived.
The assembled bed is quite a pain in the ass.
“The mattress is now here ……. Ayumu, take the sheets~”
“Here you go.”
“Thanks. Then bring the pillows to the futon and …… it’s done!”
“……F=finally”
The bed was finally completed.
But there is still a lot of unassembled furniture in the room, and to be honest, I don’t even want to look at it.
Akane jumps into the completed bed.
She was as excited as a child playing on a trampoline.
“It’s so soft and fluffy! I think I’m going to have a nice night.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Akane can do the rest on her own.”
“It’s absolutely impossible for a frail girl to do it alone, isn’t it dangerous?~”
“…… Okay, okay. I will help you.”
Akane, who has become a very popular model, has a powerful gaze.
If I were asked to do something, I would probably say yes without hesitation.
As I was about to sit down somewhere to take a break, Akane patted the area next to where I was lying.
Then she smiled at me.
“Wanna take a break with me?”
“…… I’m not sure about the bed.”
“What? Are you imagining something naughty?”
“!? N-No, that’s not true! That bed is brand new! I was sweating a little, so I thought it would be a bad idea.”
It was a lie.
I was thinking about it too hard.
Because I was talking about grandchildren at dinner.
I would never have imagined it if I were normal. No, really.
“It’s October now, and it’s almost winter, so you don’t sweat much. It was an unsightly excuse.”
“..I have a high metabolism, you know.”
“Hmm, I didn’t know that. Now I know that Ayumu has a good metabolism, so I want you to come quickly.”
“…..Haaa, I understand, I understand.”
Reluctantly, really reluctantly, I sat down next to Akane, who was lying down.
I heard the mattress creak.
“…Ayumu. I’m back.”
Akane suddenly said.
Her voice is very quiet and rolls into the room full of cardboard boxes.
“Yeah”
“I’m back to make good on my promise.”
“……, yeah.”
“Remember?”
“Of course? How could I forget?—“
I was about to say the words when Akane hugged me from behind.
She lay there with her face buried in my back.
“When we grow up, we will get married. We’re big now, aren’t we?”
“…..”
Perhaps Akane was feeling lonely?
The more I thought so, the more pampered Akane was now.
“You, did you miss me?”
“……Yes. But I didn’t contact you. Because this is also …… a promise we made, right?”
Another promise we made that day.
Until Akane succeeds as a model.
And I will not contact her until I get the nation’s top class academic achievement.
Such a promise.
However, we worked hard and Akane became a very popular model among young people.
And I became a regular in the single digits in the national mock examinations.
So there are no more walls between us.
“But I still missed you.”
“… me too.”
My true feelings spilled out.
I was lonely too.
While everyone around me was having a happy time with their loved ones, I had moved on, believing in the promises I had made.
I have honestly envied those around me many times.
But since I was able to reach this moment right now, I thought it didn’t matter anymore.
“From this point on, let’s fulfill our promise to each other.”
“Ah, yes.”
After that, Akane hugged my back for a while.