Hayashi Megumi’s Reunion ①

The afternoon after the night had passed.

My smartphone buzzed.

“Some kinda notification came up!”

“Mm.”

While diligently washing dishes, I responded to Yamamoto’s comment.

Yamamoto, having finished lunch, promptly started cleaning. Before eating, he’d run his finger along the top of the TV, pulling a blatantly sour face, which was probably what sparked this cleaning spree.

Well, the dust supposedly piled up on the TV was so faint I couldn’t even see it with my own eyes. It only got flagged because Yamamoto’s neurotic standards caught it after he swiped his finger across.

Finishing the dishes, I wiped my hands and returned to the living room.

“Hey, how far are you with the cleaning?”

“Gotta hit the dust at its source. That’s the surest, quickest way.”

Exasperated by this neurotic—borderline obsessive—guy’s behavior, I let out a weary sigh and picked up my phone.

The one who made my phone buzz was Akari.

Maeda-kun’s contact info came through.

Following that message, Maeda’s contact details were listed.

Come to think of it, did Akari get Maeda’s permission to pass along his info?

Did you get Maeda’s okay for this?

Got it through a friend.

Good then.

He replied super fast, so he’s probably got some ulterior motives, huh?

Akari sent a cheeky smiley sticker, but her words weighed on me a bit.

Got it. I’ll contact him and see if we can meet tomorrow.

Yup. Good luck!

I was caught a bit off guard.

For some reason, I’d assumed Akari would tag along for this. Her blunt encouragement threw me off.

…Ugh, what do I do?

This whole thing involves that cleaning freak, so there’s no way I can drag him along.

“Woo-hoo! Sucking up dust with the vacuum is so fun!”

…And there he goes, letting out some weird yell again.

If Akari’s not coming either, I’m feeling a bit uneasy… no, more like terrified.

Can I really face someone with ulterior motives and hold a conversation without flinching?

Well, I can probably handle it.

Now that I think about it, back in high school, I was called the “Queen” for my bold, take-no-prisoners attitude.

Maeda probably remembers that version of me, so a good glare should make him back off.

I promptly sent Maeda a message.

It was Silver Week, and maybe he was free, because Maeda’s reply came lightning fast.

After a rapid-fire exchange, I successfully set up a meeting with him for tomorrow.

“Yamamoto.”

“Hm?”

“I’m heading out tomorrow for a bit.”

“Got it. Where to?”

…Now that I think about it, since I’ve dragged Yamamoto along on so many outings, he probably assumes he’s coming with me whenever I go somewhere.

Ugh, what do I do?

If I tell him I’m meeting Maeda, will he insist on tagging along?

What Yamamoto’s likely to say…

Something like, Who’s that?

…Does he even remember the faces of our high school classmates?

“Hayashi?”

…W-What do I do?

Of course, I can’t tell Yamamoto the reason for tomorrow’s outing.

Should I just say I’m meeting a guy without explaining the context? No, absolutely not.

“…Ha.”

Seeing my heavy silence, Yamamoto tilted his head curiously.

“The job center.”

“…Oh.”

For once, I managed to come up with a decent lie.

“Got it. Good luck.”

Yamamoto’s encouragement warmed my chest, the kind of warmth only someone you care about can give.

But soon, I realized I’d lied to that very person, and a wave of guilt brought me down.

The next day.

“Dinner’s in the fridge. No long baths. Use the bathwater for the washing machine. And limit cleaning to one hour a day!”

“What are you, my mom?”

After lunch, I bolted out of the house.

The meeting spot with Maeda was a chain café at Shinjuku Station.

Naturally, I planned to ask what I needed and get out of there as soon as possible.

“Yo, Hayashi!”

At the meeting spot.

Five minutes before our agreed time, I stepped into the café and heard a loud voice.

A guy waving at me with an overly excited demeanor—it was Maeda.

Right off the bat, I was a little put off by him.

Yelling like that in a café without a care for others’ comfort? What a thoughtless guy.

Still, I’d done similar things in high school, so I didn’t feel like calling him out on it.

“Been a while.”

“Yeah, been a while.”

We exchanged curt greetings.

My interactions with Maeda back in high school… they were so minimal, even this greeting felt like too much.

“Let’s grab some drinks first. I worked up a sweat getting here, so I’m craving something cold.”

“Sure, sounds good.”

“Oh, Hayashi, you sit tight. What do you want?”

“…No, it’s fine. I’ll come with.”

“Nah, relax. Let the guy treat the lady.”

…Ugh.

Yeah, no way.

That kind of condescending, thoughtless attitude? It’s a total turn-off. Makes my skin crawl.

Why?

Probably because it reminds me of my ex.

“No, really. Let’s go.”

“Uh, oh… sure.”

Faced with my stubborn attitude, Maeda’s earlier bravado vanished, and he followed me meekly.

Now that I noticed, Maeda had dyed his hair light brown. His style was pretty flashy too.

“What about soccer?”

“Oh, I quit. Practice was brutal, and my parents forced me into it anyway. There wasn’t a single good thing about it.”

“…Don’t do things that’ll make your parents sad.”

Maeda fell silent again.

“Well, I’m not one to talk.”

My rebellious phase was probably way worse than his.

“Sorry. Forget I said that.”

“…Yeah.”

The boldness he’d shown at the start of this reunion was completely gone.

We ordered coffee at the counter and returned to our seats.

Watching Maeda add syrup and milk to his coffee, I decided it was time to get to the point.

“So, were you on the cultural festival committee in our first year?”

“Uh, yeah, I was.”

“There’s something about that festival I’ve been curious about, so that’s why I wanted to meet up.”

“…Oh, I see.”

“Yeah. I’ll cut to the chase—were there any issues with the work you did on the festival committee?”

“…Huh? Well, let’s see…”

Maeda crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling.

There was that huge news about the after-party being canceled, yet Maeda didn’t even hint at it.

“Specifically, I want to know about the after-party.”

“The after-party?”

“Yeah. That year, it got canceled, right?”

“Oh, yeah, now that you mention it.”

…This guy was on the festival committee, a key player, and yet he’s acting like it’s no big deal. What was he even doing back then?

I reminded myself I had no right to judge him and tried to calm my rising frustration.

“Wasn’t that because of that guy, Yamamoto? The after-party got canceled because of him.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yeah. You must’ve heard the rumor, right? They said it happened because he forgot to order the lumber.”

“You were on the committee, and all you’ve got is rumors? Don’t you know the truth?”

Maeda went quiet.

Maybe he realized I was right.

“No, but, like, it’s totally something he’d do. He’d show up to committee work sometimes and act all high and mighty, picking fights with the upperclassmen.”

I could picture Yamamoto clashing with the seniors.

“Sometimes?”

But there was something else in Maeda’s words that caught my attention.

“Huh? …Oh, yeah, I mean, he wasn’t there every day. I had club stuff… and other things keeping me busy.”

“Club activities were banned during festival prep, weren’t they?”

“…W-Well, it wasn’t just me, you know? Other people were like that too!”

Like that made him less guilty.

“A-Anyway, that guy would barge into our chill group vibes, mouthing off to the seniors and ruining the mood. So when the rumor went around that he forgot the lumber order, everyone thought he did it out of spite because things didn’t go his way.”

“…I see.”

I understood Maeda’s side of the story.

“I’m gonna head out.”

“Huh?”

“Thanks for today. It was good to hear your side.”

“W-Wait, huh?”

Ignoring Maeda’s protests, I left the café.

All that was left was to head home. That’s it.

…Deep down, my emotions were a mess.

I couldn’t make sense of Yamamoto’s intentions back then, and that lack of clarity was the root of this mess.

But one thing was certain.

Maeda said the lumber order mix-up was Yamamoto’s spiteful act… but there’s no way Yamamoto would do that.

Think about it from his perspective.

Maeda refused to admit any fault of his own.

Yet back then, Yamamoto owned up to his mistake and apologized.

…If Yamamoto really did it out of spite, why would he go around apologizing to everyone?

Normally…

A normal kid would throw a tantrum, shift the blame like Maeda did.

…That’s why I know.

Yamamoto would never do something like that.

That much, I know for sure.

Man, Bauer’s just incredible, huh?

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