Episode 10: Morning, at Close Range
The next morning.
I opened my eyes, and Hanamori’s face was right in front of me.
Extremely close range.
Close enough to feel her breath, Hanamori lay there sleeping.
…Wait, why.
We’d definitely fallen asleep facing away from each other last night.
Somehow we’d ended up facing one another.
Hanamori’s sleeping face was right there, just a few centimeters away.
Long eyelashes.
Lips slightly parted.
Even, steady breathing.
Completely different from the calculated expression she always wore at the office, this was defenseless.
My gaze drifted downward, on its own.
The pale line of her neck.
The delicate curve of her collarbone.
Skin visible through her camisole, hugging close to her body, pale and soft-looking.
Long, slender thighs extending from her shorts.
Her chest rising and falling slowly with each breath.
My heart gave a sharp lurch.
Come on, why am I staring like this, drinking her in so shamelessly. Some kind of pervert, am I.
Just as I snapped back and tried to redirect my gaze to the ceiling, Hanamori’s lips moved slightly.
“Mm…”
A small sound.
Bad. She’s waking up.
I tried to look away in a panic, but I wasn’t fast enough.
Hanamori’s eyelids slowly opened.
Hazy eyes found mine.
A few seconds of silence.
Our faces, too close.
“…Eh.”
“Ah.”
Our voices overlapped.
Hanamori’s eyes went wide, rapidly.
“…!”
Her face flushed red all at once.
But she didn’t move.
I was frozen too, unable to move.
At close range, we just stared at each other.
Hanamori’s lips parted, trembling.
“…Asami-san.”
“Y-yeah.”
“Why were you staring at me sleeping?”
A small voice.
But clearly audible.
“I wasn’t looking.”
“You were looking.”
“I wasn’t.”
Hanamori’s eyes narrowed into a flat stare.
“Are you some kind of creepy old lady?”
“Not an old lady.”
“So you admit you were being creepy, then.”
“I wasn’t being creepy.”
“Then why were you looking?”
Hanamori smiled, a little maliciously.
But her ears were bright red, all the way to the tips.
“…I just happened to roll over and end up facing you.”
“Total lie.”
Hanamori let out a small sigh and finally sat up.
I sat up in a hurry too.
Opposite corners of the small room.
Putting as much distance between us as possible.
Being called a creep and getting an earful about it was infuriating.
But for some reason, my heart wouldn’t stop pounding.
After checking out and leaving the internet cafe, it was already bright outside.
The clear morning air of a Sunday flowed into my lungs.
“Well, I’m headed this way.”
Hanamori pointed toward the station.
“Okay. Take care.”
Hanamori gave a small wave.
I waved back.
That was it.
Nothing special, just our usual light-hearted goodbye.
Hanamori’s retreating figure disappeared into the morning crowd.
…What is this strange feeling.
Something stirred, deep in my chest.
Even though I was just going back to ordinary, everyday life.
The start of the week, Monday.
I came into the office, and Hanamori was there.
Makeup done to perfection.
A feminine white blouse, a mermaid skirt.
Her hair beautifully curled, styled in a neat half-up.
Talking to the male staff with a saccharine smile and honeyed voice.
The usual Hanamori.
Business as usual, then.
I sat at my desk and booted up my computer.
But Hanamori kept flickering at the edge of my vision.
Saturday night.
The live house.
The izakaya.
The internet cafe.
That moment, staring at each other at close range.
Remembering it, my face went hot.
I’m an idiot.
Meanwhile she clearly wasn’t thinking about any of it at all.
Hanamori’s high-pitched laugh rang out.
Sasaki-kun from sales said something, and Hanamori laughed happily, touching his arm.
Something in my chest stirred, prickling faintly.
What is this feeling.
Just as I was about to check my email—
“Asami-san.”
A voice, and my body jolted.
I turned around, and Hanamori was standing there.
“Y-yes.”
My voice cracked. The “yes” came out in a broken falsetto.
Hanamori tilted her head, looking faintly puzzled.
“Could you check tomorrow’s proposal materials?”
A flat, even voice.
Dead eyes.
Ice-cold treatment.
The usual Hanamori.
“…Ah, yeah. Sure.”
“Thank you. I’ll email them over later.”
Hanamori turned on her heel.
As she walked away—
“Saturday.”
A small voice.
“Huh?”
I turned, and Hanamori was looking back at me, just slightly.
“It was fun.”
A quiet voice.
But clearly audible.
And then, she smiled, just a little.
Not the calculated smile. Not the femme-fatale smile either.
A purely, genuinely happy smile.
That expression showed for just a moment, then vanished.
Hanamori strode briskly back to her desk.
I stayed frozen, staring at her retreating back.
My heart was pounding hard enough to hurt.
My face burned.
What is this.
What is this feeling.
Even thinking about Asakura-san never does this to me.
But just seeing that smile of Hanamori’s, and my chest clenches tight.
I stared at my computer screen.
But nothing was sinking in at all.
At the edge of my vision, Hanamori was talking to someone else again.
A smile.
But different from before, sweet and manufactured.
That smile from before had been meant only for me.
Thinking that, my chest stirred again.
God, seriously.
What’s happening to me. I’ve completely lost my rhythm.
Hands still resting on the keyboard, I let out a small sigh.