Episode 46: February 20th. The Café at Night
The encore performance ended.
The members, still soaking in the afterglow, drifted slowly off into the wings.
(Ah, it’s over.)
I hurriedly, quickly pulled my hand back from Asami-san’s.
The closing announcement played. At the same moment, the crowd began flooding out of the venue all at once. We got swept along with the wave, out of the building.
We walked side by side down the night streets from the venue toward the station.
The memory of our intertwined fingers from earlier crossed my mind. My face slowly heated up.
What should I even talk about. No words came to me. The silence felt awkward, and I found my eyes dropping to my feet.
“What was that, earlier.”
Still looking down, I asked, out of nowhere.
“Earlier?”
“During the show. The hand…”
“Eh, ah. That? Didn’t you touch me first, Hanamori-san?”
“Huh? No. You’re the one who stroked the back of my hand all creepy-old-man style, Asami-san.”
“Ehh!? Wait, wait, you grabbed my finger before that.”
“Th-that was… an accident. An accident.”
“An accident, grabbing someone’s finger? Liar.”
“Not a lie. You’re the one who did it on purpose, Asami-san.”
“You touched me first, Hanamori-san.”
“No, you went first, Asami-san.”
“It was you.”
“It was definitely you, Asami-san.”
“Hanamori-san.”
“Asami-san.”
The argument kept escalating, turning into something like an elementary-school fight — “you’re dumb,” “no, you’re dumb.”
“Pfft.”
“Fufufufu…”
It was all so stupid, and the moment I snapped back to my senses, we caught each other’s eyes and both burst out laughing.
“What is this. What are we even arguing about.”
Asami-san narrowed her eyes, shoulders shaking with laughter. That laugh sounded nice.
I couldn’t stop laughing either. Pressing a hand to my stomach, I muttered, “Seriously, we’re such idiots.”
“Phew…”
The laughter finally settled, and Asami-san let out a breath.
“I’m hungry, huh.”
“Ah, right, right. There’s a place near the venue. That café I mentioned before, the one I thought you’d like, Asami-san.”
Answering that, I hurriedly pulled out my phone and opened Isosuta, scrolling through the screen.
Asami-san said “Oh?” and leaned in to peek at my phone.
Close. Too close. A soft perfume, unusual for Asami-san, drifted over.
My breath caught without meaning to, my heart giving a hard, loud thud.
“Alright, let’s try that place, then.”
I nodded at Asami-san’s suggestion, and we started walking toward the café.
Arrived at the café.
Looking around inside, a few seats were open, and we were shown to a table by the window. We naturally sat down side by side.
Inside the café, the warm scent of wood mixed gently with the rich aroma of deeply roasted coffee. A comfortable space, I always think.
We ordered the dinner set.
“The show was good, huh.”
“Yeah. Though the crowd’s definitely grown. Their single did really well.”
“Right? Haruto-kun was as cool as ever.”
“Haruto again.”
Asami-san laughed softly. The pendant lights hanging from the café ceiling cast a faint glow over her profile.
A well-defined jawline, long eyelashes, softly smiling lips. I found myself staring, entranced, for a moment.
Snapping back to my senses, I pretended to pout and shot Asami-san a sideways glare.
“What are you laughing at.”
“No, no, just thinking, still as much of a sucker for good-looking guys as ever.”
“What, are you maybe jealous of Haruto-kun?”
“Wh-what!? Not at all.”
I said it with a smirk, and Asami-san denied it a little flustered. That gesture was somehow cute, and my mouth loosened despite myself.
Trading that kind of light banter, our dinner set arrived.
Asami-san took a sip of soup, let out a breath, and then—
“Let’s come again. To another show.”
She said it, looking straight at me.
Her eyes were kind, and something deep in my chest throbbed, aching sweetly.
The conversation kept flowing after that, without a single lull. Idle, meaningless topics.
Another café she’d found recently, work stories, how she spends her days off.
The things Asami-san likes, what she thinks about, the small details of her everyday life. Getting to know all of it made this time unbearably precious.
I genuinely, from the bottom of my heart, thought that.
For a while, I savored the dinner set’s chicken sauté.
The chicken fell apart tenderly at the touch of my fork, soft, the herb aroma filling my mouth. Delicious.
After a peaceful stretch of silence—
Asami-san cleared her throat softly.
“Hanamori-san, can I ask you to listen for a sec?”
Her tone turned formal, and she looked straight at me, choosing her words.
“Eh? What is it, all of a sudden?”
I turned to face her, asking a little anxiously.
“Yeah, um… I…”
Asami-san’s expression turned serious. Her eyes downcast, cheeks tinged faintly red.
Eh, could it be? Something whispered inside my chest.
A small hope spread slowly through my chest.
Thud, thud.
I could feel my heartbeat getting faster, louder.
“I…”
“Yes…”
I held my breath, waiting for what came next.
Asami-san opened her mouth.
*
“I’m being transferred to an overseas branch.”
*
…Eh?
*
For a second, I doubted my own ears. My mind went completely blank, thoughts grinding to a halt.
“And so…” Asami-san tried to continue.
“When?”
My voice cut Asami-san’s words off. The question spilled out of my mouth before I could think.
“Um, mid-March.”
“Which country?”
“Eh, the U.S. Silicon Valley.”
“America…”
“Ah, but—”
Asami-san kept trying to say something. But from the moment I heard that answer, nothing else was registering.
Asami-san, transferred overseas.
Less than a month from now, she’d be far away. I wouldn’t be able to see her anymore.
That reality struck my chest like lead, crushingly heavy.
“Hey, um, Hanamori-san. So…”
Asami-san was trying to say something more, but none of it was reaching my ears anymore.
My mind stayed blank, only the fact that “she’s leaving” spinning over and over.
Before I knew it, I was on my feet.
“Sorry. I just remembered something I need to do.”
“Eh? Hanamori-san!?”
“Here, this is for my share of the meal.”
Saying that, with trembling hands, I pulled the dinner money out of my wallet and set it on the table.
And then, like I was running away, I bolted out of the café.
“Eh, wait. Wait a second.”
Asami-san’s bewildered voice chased after me from behind. I could feel her gaze stabbing into my back.
Even so, I couldn’t turn around. Didn’t want to turn around. I didn’t want Asami-san to see the tears welling up.
The moment I stepped outside, a cold wind wrapped around my whole body without mercy. It hurt. Stinging against my skin.
Asami-san, being transferred overseas.
Asami-san, disappearing.
Not being able to talk like this anymore, the way we always have.
All of it, this ordinary, everyday life, gone.
And I still haven’t said anything.
Haven’t told her anything that actually matters.
That fact crashed over me like a wave, all at once, stabbing into my heart alongside the winter cold.