Episode Forty-Six: Introduce Me Properly, Would You?
Lifting a heavy mug, filled to the brim with pale gold liquid, I clinked it against the mugs of the people around me, following the organizer’s call of “cheers.”
Apparently drinking parties have this custom — “beer for starters.” The first drink, no argument allowed, has to be beer.
A little overwhelmed by the momentum of it all, I followed along and took a sip of the bitter liquid. Bitterness spreading across my tongue. Not exactly delicious.
I stuck my tongue out with a small ugh, and Ritsu-san, sitting across from me, burst out laughing.
“Kanata-chan, not a beer person?”
“What’s even good about this? It’s just bitter…”
“Cute. I’ll drink it for you, order something else.”
Ritsu-san said it, taking my mug and handing me the drink-order tablet instead.
Beside me, meanwhile, Yuuri was drinking her beer with a perfectly cool expression, already more than halfway through her mug.
I wondered, tilting my head, what the difference could possibly be between my tongue and everyone else’s.
“Kanata, maybe pick something easier to drink? They’ve got sweet ones too.”
“Yeah, maybe beer was too soon for me…”
Something not bitter, ideally. In the end, I ordered a lemon sour — the drink I’d gotten used to over this past month of practice.
This “networking mixer,” taking over a whole section of the izakaya, is apparently an annual tradition. According to Ritsu-san, “basically just a group blind date, if we’re being honest.”
“But, I mean, I’m the one who invited you, so this is a little rich coming from me — I’m surprised Yui actually said yes.”
“Eh, what do you mean?”
“I figured Yui would absolutely hate you coming to a drinking party.”
Ritsu-san really does understand Yui-san well. Dead on — she’d hated it, enormously. Not something I could say out loud, so I covered with a wry laugh instead.
“…That’s not true, really.”
“Hmm~?”
Both of these two already know I have feelings for Yui-san. Thankfully, neither of them holds any prejudice about same-sex relationships, so it’s not exactly a problem that they know.
Knowing I’m not great with alcohol, I braced myself, careful not to let my guard slip too much.
“Whoever ordered the lemon sour!”
A man’s voice called out, and I looked up. Before I could even say it was me, Ritsu-san’s hand shot up.
“Here, over here! Bring it on over~”
Responding to Ritsu-san’s call, a man, face flushed from drinking, approached with my lemon sour. He slung an arm over Ritsu-san’s shoulder, casual, uninvited, and I blinked, startled.
“Ritsu, who are these two? Never seen these faces before. Introduce me!”
Ritsu-san shook off his arm, clearly annoyed, snatched the lemon sour from him, and handed it to me.
“No. If you’re hunting for girls, go bother someone else.”
She waved him off with a shooing gesture, but, undeterred, he settled in right beside her anyway.
“I’m Akagi Masaya. Same year as Ritsu, fourth-year. And you two?”
Unlike me, startled and thrown off by his forwardness, Yuuri, unbothered, popped an edamame into her mouth and answered easily — “Azumi Yuuri.”
Wait, Yuuri, that’s impressive. How is she this composed? A little startled inside, I introduced myself too — “Aozawa Kanata.”
“You don’t have to entertain him, either of you. Masaya, go away, seriously.”
“Come on, don’t say that. Oh, right, is Yui not coming today?”
“Nope. Says she’s got something on.”
“Really? Lucky! Whenever Yui’s around, all the girls just gravitate toward her instead.”
I could feel a small vein throb at my temple. Huh, is that so. So Yui-san really always gets surrounded by girls at these things.
I tipped back the lemon sour handed to me. Maybe it was for the best that Yui-san couldn’t come today. If I’d actually witnessed a scene like that, I might’ve ended up dumping water over her head all over again.
“Hey, you two. Give me your contact info. Let’s be friends.”
Contact info? Right — I remembered Yui-san’s warning, not to exchange numbers if someone asked. What do I do, I glanced sideways at Yuuri, checking her reaction.
Yuuri, showing no sign of even reaching for her phone, was squeezing lemon over her karaage.
Whoa, she’s tough. So this is what “immune to pushing” actually looks like — like Yuuri.
Uncertain, my gaze wandering, Ritsu-san caught my eye and gave a small signal. Felt like she was telling me not to pull out my phone either.
“Masaya.”
Ritsu-san snatched the phone Akagi-san had held out.
“You’re making them uncomfortable. Also, both of them have boyfriends, so give it up. Go bother a different table.”
“Eh, really? Aw, too bad…”
Hearing that, Akagi-san stood, easy, no fuss. So this is what Yui-san meant by “bad people,” huh. A little startling, but educational.
“…Ritsu-san, I don’t actually have a boyfriend, though…”
Once he’d left, I murmured it, and Ritsu-san grinned, wide.
“White lies for a good cause. And honestly, aren’t you basically dating already?”
Basically dating. Is that really how it looks from outside? Embarrassed, I looked away, and beside me, Yuuri muttered, faintly displeased, “I don’t even have a candidate.”
*
My first drinking party turned out more fun than I’d expected. Sure, plenty of men did approach, exactly like Yui-san warned, and a few even sat down next to me — but Ritsu-san and Yuuri deflected each one skillfully every time, which really helped.
Honestly, I don’t think I could’ve handled this alone yet. But this counted, I think, as a real lesson in social life. Stepping out of the izakaya, I checked my watch — just past nine.
“There’s an afterparty, apparently. What do you want to do, come along?”
Ritsu-san asked, and I shook my head, side to side.
“Yui-san should be getting home around now too, so I think I’ll head back today.”
“Okay. Yuuri?”
“I’m not done drinking yet, I’ll go.”
Unlike me, Yuuri seems to hold her liquor well — not a flicker of change in her expression, perfectly unbothered. Lucky. Meanwhile, I’m the only one turning into mush from the alcohol.
“Then, Kanata-chan, want me to walk you to the station?”
I shook my head at the offer. I’m fine, not that drunk. I can walk home properly on my own.
“I’m fine. I can get home myself.”
“Got it. Be careful, okay? Good work tonight~!”
I waved to the two of them and walked alone through the neon-lit bar district. The night air against my cheeks felt cool, pleasant.
Let’s head home quickly. Is Yui-san back yet, I wonder? My steps naturally picked up, lighter.
The drinking party really had been fun. But drinking at home with Yui-san, watching a movie together — that had always been so much more delicious, by far.
Drinking alcohol makes me miss her. Makes me want to see her soon. Maybe I should message her, I thought, reaching for the phone in my pocket, when—
Right in front of me, a familiar back came into view.
My heart clenched, sharp, like something folding in on itself. A sense of déjà vu. This exact scene. That nightmare from before came rushing back. Beside Yui-san, a tall man walked alongside her.
“…Yui-san…?”
Her name slipped from my lips, unbidden. Unconscious.
Her glossy long hair swayed, gently, as she turned around. Eyes widening, faintly startled.
“Kanata…?”
The two of them stopped. And then, a beat behind her, I looked at the face of the man in the suit as he turned too. Refined features. Neatly, cleanly styled hair. Not a student. Every inch a company employee. A face I’d never seen before, and yet — I already knew who this person was.
My cheeks, flushed warm from the alcohol, felt themselves turn cold. Why is she walking with a man, just the two of them? Was the dinner over, and he was just walking her to the station?
“Ah… what a coincidence, Kanata, were you just heading home?”
Yui-san laughed, faintly awkward, a little flustered.
“Is this maybe the girl who lives with Yui? The one I’ve heard about?”
I felt the blood drain straight out of my face. “Yui.” Why is he saying her name so familiarly. He’s from the company, isn’t he. Why so intimate…
“Ah, yeah, that’s right. Sorry, Shinji, I’m heading home with Kanata, so you don’t need to walk me the rest of the way today.”
Shinji — I knew it. This is Kitagami Shinji. I stared, hard, at the tall man beside her, without even looking at Yui-san’s face.
My heart pounded, loud, frantic. Emotion churned, a violent current in my chest. An unspeakable, sickening unease crashed over me, all at once.
“You’re Yui’s friend, right? Introduce me properly, would you?”
Startled, Yui-san turned to Kitagami-san, flustered.
“Nice to meet you. Yui’s fiancé — Kitagami Shinji.”
Everything — the noise, everything — felt like it was pulling away, distant.
Time, the whole world, felt like it had stopped, as if I were the only thing left standing still, cut out from everything else.