Old stories with Hayashi Megumi

It might not be from the heroine’s perspective (ninth time)

I arrived at the designated shop with Akari five minutes before the meetup time.

The reunion with Ito and Ota was set to take place at an izakaya. Of course, we wouldn’t be drinking alcohol.

“They’re not here yet, huh?”

“Nope.”

We reached the private room Akari had reserved, but no one was there yet.

Probably, since Ito and Ota both live locally, they’ll show up together.

“They said they’re running a bit late.”

“Got it. Shall we sit down for now?”

I slid into the back of the booth and sat down.

As if it were the most natural thing, Akari plopped down right next to me.

“Let me know if you need to go to the bathroom, okay?”

“Sure.”

Well, this seating arrangement is way better than having Ito or Ota next to me. Still, considering the awkward vibe with Akari lately, maybe this isn’t ideal either. Thinking about it, I probably shouldn’t have come here today.

I let out a small sigh.

“Meg, let’s take a picture.”

“Hm?”

“Let’s show off to those two.”

Despite her provocative words, Akari looked like she was having a blast.

With her arm wrapped around me, Akari forcibly snapped a photo with her phone. She flashed a peace sign, while I just gave a deadpan look in return.

Well, this grumpy face is more my style than trying to act cute.

“Aww, Meg, you’re so cute!”

“Your eyes must be pretty blind, huh?”

“Not at all! I’m setting this as my wallpaper.”

“…Do whatever you want.”

Come to think of it, my high school girlfriends were all like this.

They always tried so hard to lift me up, to make me happy. Akari was no exception.

But Akari’s way felt a little different from the others. It wasn’t just flattery—it felt like she genuinely meant it.

I always respond to Akari’s sincerity with a scowl.

If it were just flattery, I’d probably say thanks, but her genuine words… honestly, I don’t know how to handle them.

All I know is, it’s a little embarrassing.

“Oh, Ito-chan! Ota-chan! It’s been forever!”

“Ahh, Akari, it’s been so long!”

“So long! You too, Hayashi-chan!”

“Hey. Long time.”

At the arrival of Ito and Ota, even I managed a small smile. It’d been about six months since we graduated high school. I figured I should at least put on a bit of a face for the reunion.

“You two have a lot of bags, huh?”

Akari pointed out.

Sure enough, the two sitting across from us were holding a ton of brand-name shopping bags.

“Sorry! The stores were super crowded.”

Ito clasped her hands in apology, but her light tone made it clear she wasn’t all that sorry.

Back in high school, I probably would’ve griped about their tardiness, but today, I wasn’t really in the mood.

“Thanks for coming today, Hayashi-chan, Akari.”

“No, no. I’ve been wanting to catch up with everyone too.”

“Right?”

I nodded along vaguely.

“Oh, come on! We’re the ones who wanted to see you two. I mean, you guys are amazing—M University and K University, right?”

“Yeah, no way we could’ve gotten into such prestigious schools!”

Ito and Ota were attending a local private university now. From the looks on their faces, it was obvious they were enjoying their student life.

…I felt a bit left out.

Thinking about how the three of them, except me, were thriving in their campus lives made me feel a pang of something.

“How’s university life?”

“It’s alright, I guess. Same for you, Meg?”

Akari casually lied.

Honestly, I was grateful for her consideration. I didn’t have the guts to keep up that lie on my own.

This girl is really… so much better than someone like me.

I felt a twinge of jealousy toward Akari.

Because it’s exactly this kind of Akari that… Yamamoto—

Ito and Ota were completely fooled by Akari’s lie.

It was obvious they had no idea that until recently, I’d been living with a guy who was domestically violent, forced to drop out of university, and now living with Yamamoto.

What stung a little was that neither of them even mentioned the time I’d gone radio silent.

My phone had been smashed by that guy once. If they’d tried contacting me during that time, they should’ve noticed something was off when I didn’t reply.

But not a single word about it? That means, despite their earlier “we missed you” talk, they didn’t actually care enough to keep in touch with me.

Well, whatever.

If something had happened to Ito or Ota, I wouldn’t have bothered asking about it during a reunion like this either.

Back in high school, we were in the same group, but our relationship was only ever this shallow.

After that, it felt like I could laugh like we did back in high school.

Maybe I was starting to regain that old rhythm.

The conversation with Akari, Ito, and Ota got pretty lively.

At the izakaya, we’d ordered a two-hour all-you-can-drink non-alcoholic course.

The upbeat, slightly noisy atmosphere of the izakaya lifted everyone’s spirits.

“Hayashi-san, you’ve changed.”

“Hm?”

At one point, Ito said that to me.

“Really? I don’t feel it. How so?”

“No, you’ve definitely changed, right? Don’t you think?”

“Yeah, totally changed! Akari, don’t you think so too?”

“Uh… I’m not sure?”

“No, she’s definitely changed.”

I felt a bit irritated.

They kept saying “changed” without explaining anything, like they were teasing me with the details.

Back in high school, I probably would’ve snapped at them to spit it out already. But now, for some reason, I didn’t feel like getting mad.

…Oh, I see.

I realized.

That must be what they meant by me “changing.”

“Like, you’ve gotten kinder or something?”

“…So I wasn’t kind before?”

“N-No, I didn’t mean it like that!”

I hadn’t even raised my voice, but Ito looked a little scared. Guess she’s still a bit intimidated by me.

“Just… haha! Like, now you seem like you could get along with that Yamamoto!”

My body twitched at the name Ito dropped.

Her tone rubbed me the wrong way.

When she said “that Yamamoto,” she was definitely talking about that Yamamoto.

Her tone was unmistakably dismissive, and I didn’t like it.

…I wanted to snap back.

Yamamoto doesn’t talk down about others.

You guys can casually belittle someone like that, huh?

But I didn’t say it because, back in high school, I hadn’t experienced Yamamoto’s kindness either.

…What if.

I thought about what Yamamoto would say in a situation like this.

If Yamamoto were reuniting with old high school friends, and they badmouthed me—or no, Akari would be a better fit—what would he think?

He probably wouldn’t get angry.

But he wouldn’t go along with their talk either.

If it were Yamamoto… he’d probably dodge the topic with a neutral expression and later, noticing I was fuming beside him, say something like this to calm me down:

It’s nice that you can see the good in someone that others don’t notice.

…It’s strange.

Even though someone important to me was being insulted, the anger I felt toward those two just melted away.

And suddenly, I really wanted to see Yamamoto.

Well, just one more hour to endure.

“Yamamoto, ugh, that’s nostalgic!”

The two across from me laughed even harder, clearly enjoying bringing up our old classmate’s name.

“Right? He was such a weirdo.”

Akari laughed, Haha.

I couldn’t disagree with that. If anything, living with him now has shown me his weirdness is on a whole other level.

“He’s the type who never does anything himself but always has an opinion about others. Like, do it yourself first, you know?”

That’s not true.

If anything, he’s hard on himself and lenient with others. He’s the type who tries to do everything himself until he’s satisfied.

If she thought that, she only ever saw Yamamoto’s surface.

“Right? That’s probably why he did that thing, huh?”

“Yeah, that was awful, seriously.”

That thing…?

I was starting to lose track of the conversation they seemed to share.

…No.

No, that’s not it.

Wait.

I remember now.

It’s coming back to me.

…Back in high school, I hated Yamamoto.

Part of it was that we just didn’t get along. But there was another reason too.

That’s right… yeah, that’s it.

The summer of our first year.

It was… during the cultural festival, I think.

“Yamamoto’s after-party sabotage incident.”

A hazy memory started to resurface.

Did you think I hated him in high school just because we didn’t get along?

That’s what I thought.

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