The Beautiful Kuudere Woman Who Always Reads Books While Standing Next to Me at the Laundromat Turns Out to Be the Vice President of One of Our Clients
It was Friday night, almost a week after our date to buy a sofa.
My mind was still preoccupied with the events of that day. A black Italian luxury sofa, which didn’t quite fit in my room, was scheduled to arrive the next day.
Even that fact alone felt unreal, but what was even more unsettling was the discussion we had at the café about the layers of the parfait, and her shy voice saying, “Let’s take a bite each.”
Where was our relationship heading?
With that unanswerable question weighing on my mind, I opened the door to the coin laundry again on Saturday night.
Tonight, I was there first. I sat down at my usual spot in the back and flipped through the pages of the mystery novel I had brought with me. But the words wouldn’t sink in. Listening to the low hum of the washing machines, I found myself unconsciously glancing toward the door repeatedly.
Soon, the automatic door opened with a dull whir. It was Tsukishima san.
When she noticed my presence, she raised her hand slightly and quickly threw her laundry into the washing machine. Then she plopped down on the seat next to me.
It was at that moment.
“…Hm? Wait, did I lock the door……”
She muttered that to herself, as if talking to no one in particular.
“Why are you worried about it now !?”
“Well, I am worried. I should have checked with my fingers and said out loud, ‘Lock, okay,’ when I left the house. But for some reason, that memory is corrupted now. It feels like it’s completely erased from my memory.”
“Ah…I get it. I totally get it. It happens to me sometimes too. The moment when the memory of an action you’ve memorized with your body, which should be the most reliable, becomes the least trustworthy. It’s strange, isn’t it?”
“It’s not just strange…it’s a flaw in the human body.”
Tsukishima san crossed her arms, adopted a serious expression, and began analyzing the situation, continuing to speak.
“Probably because it’s a task that’s been overly routine-ized. Every day, you repeat the same steps and the same actions. Then the brain decides, ‘This can be optimized,’ and stops keeping detailed logs. It’s like a shortcut in processing. But because of that, when you try to search for a specific log, it returns ‘No matching data.’ …It’s an extremely inconvenient design.”
“I see…it’s a kind of paradox where efficiency actually creates anxiety. Like when you wonder if you turned off the lights in the room.”
“Yeah, like when you think, ‘Did I wear this shirt yesterday?’”
I tilt my head in agreement with this unique example.
“And…like when you wonder if you left the stove on after you left the house.”
“Yeah. Like when you wake up in the morning and think, ‘Did I brush my teeth before going to bed…?’”
Another perspective that’s hard to relate to.
“Hmph…like when you start filling the bathtub and then double-check if you closed the plug.”
“Exactly. Or when you suddenly think, ‘Is it time to replace the moisture absorber in the closet?’”
“I can’t relate to any of this at all !”
“Oh, Minato san is a reasonable person.”
Tsukishima san smiled and continued talking.
“But you know, in the end, maybe it’s about whether you can trust yourself. The fact that in the present you can’t trust the past you who supposedly locked the door…humans are such a hassle.”
Tsukishima san said with a sigh.
“Ah…that’s true.”
“Hey, Minato san.”
Tsukishima san stared intently at my face. Her large eyes sparkled as if testing something.
“Hm?”
“If I were to say here and now, ‘I locked the door properly,’ would you believe me?”
That question was equivalent to asking how much she could trust me.
I thought for a moment, then nodded slowly.
“…….Yeah. I believe you. If Tsukishima san says so, I’ll assume it’s locked. It feels much more reliable than going to Tsukishima san’s house and checking the doorknob myself.”
At my clumsy but honest answer, Tsukishima san opened her eyes wide in surprise. Then, in the next moment, she smiled softly, truly delighted.
“…….I see.”
She said that, then crossed her fingers on her lap, looking a bit shy.
“…….Then, I’ll believe you when you say, ‘I locked the door.’”
“Eh?”
“This…is just sharing our short-term memories as external storage. We can check the status with an API call when needed. …Isn’t this a pretty efficient solution? A trust protocol just between the two of us.”
She was trying to wrap this bittersweet situation in her usual IT jargon. I didn’t understand what she was saying, but a certain warmth came through in every word.
Just then, my washing machine started playing the melody signaling the end of the drying cycle.
As I stood up to take out the warm laundry, Tsukishima san spoke again.
“……But I’m still a little concerned. The key.”
“Haha ! You must really lack confidence. Oh, right, Tsukishima san. About the sofa…”
I remembered the most important thing.
“It’s supposed to arrive tomorrow morning.”
When I said that, Tsukishima san casually replied, “I’ll come too.”
“R….really? You don’t have to come on your day off. The delivery person will set it up, so it’s okay.”
She shook her head with a smile.
“Well, the real fun starts after it’s installed. Let’s do everything we can on the sofa. Everything we can do on the sofa.”
“You don’t have to rephrase it like you’re draining a pond……anyway, what can we even do on the sofa—”
Two adults on a narrow sofa. As my mind started wandering, Tsukishima san snapped me back to reality with, “Like watching movies.”
“Huh, movies?”
“Yeah. Or reading books or playing games.”
“Ah…yeah, that’s right !”
“I’ll bring some Shingen mochi, potato chips, home pie, and curry udon as souvenirs.”
“All of those are the kind that crumble or scatter everywhere! You’re just trying to make a mess, aren’t you !?”
Understanding the intention behind the lineup, Tsukishima san smiled shyly.
“Fufu……just kidding. We’re not allowed to eat or drink for a while, right?”
“I don’t really understand the restriction of not eating or drinking while watching a movie at home…but if it doesn’t contain kinako, it should be fine, right?”
“No, I’m targeting the Shingen mochi……by the way, what did you do with the old sofa?”
“Oh…I remember that the bulk trash collection is tomorrow…I was thinking of putting it out, but It’s a hassle to carry it by myself, so I didn’t do it until the last minute.”
“Fufu……that’s true. Should I help you?”
“No, no…..I feel bad asking Tsukishima san for help.”
“Then I’ll sit on top. You can carry me like a portable shrine.”
I couldn’t help but laugh when I imagined Tsukishima san sitting cross-legged on a portable shrine that smelled like vomit.
“There’s no way I can carry it like that…”
“Well, when it comes to carrying it, think about when two people are carrying it.”
“Hmm… Isn’t it just walking upright?”
“Yeah. One person has to walk backward. Can you carry it with someone you don’t trust? Is there even anyone to pair up with?”
“Ugh…you’re right….I was planning to drag it along…”
“Then leave the back to me. You can trust me.”
Tsukishima san makes a smug face and gives a thumbs-up.
“But we have to pick it up first thing tomorrow morning…that’s pretty early, isn’t it?”
Tsukishima san says, “Ugh…” and shakes her head slightly.
“I can’t trust myself tomorrow morning……ah ! Then why don’t we move it now?”
“At this time of night !?”
“It’ll be fun, like a midnight escape.”
“Is that really fun !?”
“Experiencing something you’ve never done before should be fun. No matter what it is.”
Tsukishima san rolled up her sleeves with a positive smile and said, “My laundry will take a while anyway.” then stood up.
Maigetsu