Episode 5: An Afternoon Where Our Hobbies Overlapped
Hanamori was in an unsettlingly good mood this morning.
“Morning, Asami-san~♪”
She slid up next to me while I was pouring coffee.
“We’ve got the meeting with the design department today, right?”
“Yeah, from ten.”
“Which means Asakura-san will be there too, right?”
“…Yeah, probably.”
“…Fufu. Leave it to me.”
Something about that… was an evil smile.
The “I’m plotting something” face.
I had nothing but a bad feeling about this.
Sure enough, Hanamori’s true talents came out in full force at the morning meeting.
When we entered the conference room, Asakura-san was already there with her materials spread out, waiting.
“Good morning, Asami-san.”
“Ah, good morning.”
We exchanged a normal greeting. Then Hanamori cut in.
“Ah! Asami-san, not there, sit next to Asakura-san.”
“Eh?”
“See, it’s easier to look at the materials that way. You can talk while looking at the same screen.”
Hanamori pushed my shoulder, forcibly seating me next to Asakura-san.
“No, I could just as easily sit across—”
“No good! It has to be next to her!”
Asakura-san laughed, looking a little troubled. I was troubled too.
And as for Hanamori, she’d smoothly claimed the seat next to Tamura for herself.
(Ah. I see. So that’s what this is.)
I couldn’t help a wry laugh.
Once the meeting started, Hanamori’s rampage only accelerated.
Naturally, with Tamura right beside her, it was full calculated-cuteness mode.
“Asakura-san, this concept is so good~♡”
“Thank you.”
“But actually, isn’t this the same direction Asami-san first suggested? Like, ‘what about this angle’?”
“Oh, is that right?”
“Yep. You two really do think alike, huh~. Don’t you think they’d make a great pair? Right, Tamura-san?”
Tamura, suddenly put on the spot, looked flustered.
Asakura-san glanced at me, a little surprised.
“I didn’t know that.”
“No, it’s not really—”
I looked away without meaning to. I caught Hanamori smirking out of the corner of my eye.
My silent plea of “stop this” was completely ignored.
And she kept piling it on.
“Oh, right. Asakura-san, Asami-san’s actually a really funny person, you know~”
“Eh?”
“So the other day—”
“Wait, hold on—”
I tried to stop her, but Hanamori wasn’t stopping.
“She was saying the door wouldn’t open and pushing on it like crazy! Turns out it had ‘PULL’ written right on it and she was pushing with everything she had~”
“You don’t need to tell that story.”
“Isn’t it cute?”
“It’s not cute.”
“She kept muttering ‘that’s weird, that’s weird’ the whole time.”
“I did not mutter that.”
“You did. You look so put-together but you’re surprisingly ditzy.”
“…Okay, that’s enough.”
“It was so cute~”
Asakura-san laughed softly.
“You two really get along, huh.”
“We do not get along at all.”
Hanamori and I said it in perfect unison. Not a single word off. Mortifying.
Asakura-san laughed even harder.
“See, you’re totally in sync.”
…She wasn’t wrong.
Hanamori shot me a smirk and a wink.
What is with that wink. Don’t get cocky.
The moment the meeting ended, I grabbed Hanamori by the arm.
“Come with me a sec.”
I bowed briefly to Asakura-san, Tamura, and the others, then more or less dragged Hanamori into the break room.
“What was that just now. Way too unnatural.”
I pressed in, lowering my voice. Hanamori just blinked at me.
“Unnatural? What do you mean?”
“Sitting me next to her, the ‘in sync’ thing, telling that embarrassing story. All of it, way too forced.”
“What’s forced about it? We had a nice conversation, didn’t we?”
“No, no, Asakura-san was clearly uncomfortable. It was unnatural.”
“Ehh? So picky. I thought I did it pretty naturally.”
“How was any of that natural?”
Hanamori let out a breath.
“Then what would you do, Asami-san? Could you actually strike up a conversation with Asakura-san on your own?”
“That’s…”
The words caught in my throat.
“See. That’s why I’m doing it for you.”
“But that kind of thing makes Asakura-san think something’s off.”
“She didn’t seem to think anything was off. She was laughing, wasn’t she?”
“That’s…”
She had been laughing, it was true.
“Honestly you don’t seem very into this at all. Do you actually like Asakura-san, Asami-san?”
Hanamori sighed and asked, dead serious.
“…I respect her.”
“Respect?”
“She’s good at her job, and she’s a wonderful person.”
“Isn’t that basically the same as liking her?”
“…I don’t know.”
Hanamori stared at me intently.
“Haaah. Seriously, Asami-san, you’re really something… Fine, got it.”
With that, she let out a long sigh and walked briskly out of the break room.
Left alone, all I could do was stare down at my coffee cup.
“…‘I don’t know,’ what kind of answer is that.”
I’d said it myself, and then immediately called myself out on it.
That afternoon, I ended up alone with Hanamori again on sales rounds.
I drove; Hanamori slumped listlessly in the passenger seat, fiddling with her phone. The usual scene.
“We’ve still got a bit of time before the appointment, right? Can I put music on?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
Hanamori connected her phone via Bluetooth and started playing a song.
The moment the intro started, my grip on the wheel tightened without meaning to.
“…Is this… The Hollow Echoes?”
“Eh, you know them!?”
Hanamori spun around, startled.
“Yeah, I listen to them a lot. Surprised you know them too, they’re super indie.”
“You too, Asami-san? That’s unexpected.”
We were both surprised, and it drew a small laugh out of both of us.
“Shizuku’s voice is so good.”
“Right? That clarity, it’s unreal.”
Hanamori leaned forward, delighted.
“Though personally, I’m more into Haruto on guitar, his melodies are amazing.”
“…Figures. Judging by looks after all.”
A wry laugh slipped out of me.
“Eh, what’s that reaction?”
“No, just, very on-brand for you.”
“You’re one to talk, Asami-san. You definitely judge by looks too.”
“I don’t.”
“Liar. It’s because Asakura-san’s gorgeous too, isn’t it?”
That one landed.
“…That’s a different thing.”
“How is it different?”
I couldn’t answer.
Hanamori laughed and put on the next song. Another indie band.
“Oh, that reminds me.”
Hanamori said, as if suddenly remembering something.
“The Hollow Echoes have a live show next month.”
“Ah, the one in Shimokita, right? I know.”
“Are you going?”
“Yeah, I already got a ticket. …The 24th, I think.”
“Eh, seriously? I’m going that day too.”
Hanamori’s face lit up instantly.
Her eyes went wide, the corners of her mouth lifted, like some switch had been flipped.
That expression was so unguarded, so cute, that I looked away without meaning to.
(Wait, what was that just now.)
Something in my chest stirred, strangely.
“Guess we might run into each other at the venue then.”
“…Well, it’s not that big a venue.”
From there, the car became a music discussion.
Hanamori’s favorite artists, my favorite artists. There was more overlap than I expected.
It was a strangely comfortable stretch of time.
That night, back home, I found myself, for some reason, replaying the conversation with Hanamori in my head.
“…It’s nothing, our music taste just happens to overlap.”
Who was I even making excuses to.
I lay sprawled on my bed, staring up at the ceiling.
The expression Hanamori had made that afternoon crossed my mind.
That face, lighting up all at once.
That innocent smile the instant she realized we’d be at the same show.
(…That was kind of cute.)
I caught myself thinking that and immediately called myself out on it.
No, wait, wait.
I shook my head hastily.
Maybe the change in Hanamori’s expression was just my imagination too.
(There’s no way I’d find a brat like that cute. I must be tired. She’s calculating, and she’s boy-crazy, and—)
I chanted it to myself like a mantra and closed my eyes.
But for some reason, tonight, sleep came slower than usual.