Hayashi Megumi’s Homecoming

Around the time Silver Week ended, I was on a train heading back to my hometown alone.

My dad’s condition had suddenly worsened. After getting that call from Mom, my face went pale as I thought about someone I hadn’t even wanted to see until just recently.

While Yamamoto gently looked after me, I booked a train ticket and was on my way back home on the first express train the next morning.

Yamamoto couldn’t come with me because of his part-time job and classes. The way he looked so apologetic and pained when he told me that left a strong impression on me.

“Oh, Yamamoto-kun’s not with you?”

When I arrived in my hometown and got into Mom’s car, she said something like that.

“He seemed pretty busy over there.”

“I see… Well, alright then.”

“What, did you want to see him or something?”

“Yeah, your dad did.”

A strange silence filled the car.

“He keeps asking about you and him every time I visit,” Mom said. “He’s always like, ‘How are Megumi and that guy doing?’ When I brush it off with something like, ‘They’re doing fine,’ he gets all grumpy. Honestly, what’s with that guy? Doesn’t he ever give you updates? Call him right now. Even talking to you would be fine, he says… Honestly, it’s getting a bit exhausting.”

“…Haha.”

All I could manage was a dry laugh.

I hadn’t known this back in high school, but hearing that made me realize… my dad’s kind of a contrarian and selfish.

When we got to the hospital, Dad was sleeping quietly.

For a moment, I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d passed away—he looked that peaceful.

Come to think of it, until recently, Dad had been in a four-person room, but now he was in a private one.

A bad feeling gripped my chest.

“Oh, Hayashi-san.”

“Hey, Doctor. Thanks for everything.”

“…Hello.”

Soon after, the doctor in charge came into the room.

“So, Doctor, how’s my husband doing?”

The doctor’s face looked grave.

Both Mom and I held our breath for a moment.

“Fortunately, he’s past the worst of it.”

“…I see.”

Mom’s relief was obvious.

I didn’t say it out loud, but I was probably just as relieved as she was.

“However, his condition still requires caution. Please keep that in mind.”

After the doctor left to attend to other duties, we spent some time tidying up Dad’s room. We stayed for about an hour, but in the end, Dad didn’t wake up that day.

In the car on the way home.

The doctor’s warning kept echoing in my head.

“Mom, I think I’ll stay here for a few days.”

“What about Yamamoto-kun?”

“…It’s fine. He’ll understand, at least for a little while.”

Honestly, I don’t think Yamamoto would mind how long I stayed at home, let alone get mad about it.

As soon as I got home, I sent Yamamoto a message from my phone. I told him I’d call later—I wanted to explain things properly, by voice.

Five minutes later, Yamamoto called me back.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Hayashi. You okay?”

Yamamoto’s voice was brighter than usual. He was probably trying to sound cheerful for my sake.

“Yeah. I’m… okay, and so’s Dad, for now.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Sorry for worrying you.”

“Don’t be stupid. I’m your roommate. Worrying about you comes with the territory.”

“…Yamamoto, is it okay if I stay here for a bit?”

There was a pause on Yamamoto’s end.

“Just for a little while… I’m a bit worried until Dad wakes up.”

“Don’t worry about me. Stay as long as you need. …I’d like to come visit him over the weekend, if that’s okay?”

“Huh?”

“I don’t want to cause you any extra stress, you know?”

Those words made me let out a wry smile, finding them a bit absurd.

Dad wants to see Yamamoto, and yet this guy’s still so considerate.

“…It’s fine. Dad wants to see you, so please come.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

“…The one who should be thanking—”

It’s me.

I started to say it but stopped myself.

…Because.

Saying something like that feels like I’m too aware of Yamamoto, and it’s kind of embarrassing.

…Well, I mean, I am super aware of him, but still.

“Yeah, talk to you later.”

After about ten minutes of casual chatting, I hung up with Yamamoto.

…It was a strange feeling.

Maybe because we’re apart for now.

I couldn’t help but wish the weekend, when Yamamoto would come, would hurry up.

That’s what I was thinking.

Right now, I feel a sense of fulfillment inside me.

…But then, I remember.

I remember that I once committed the grave mistake of publicly humiliating Yamamoto, the very person who’s now filling me with this warmth.

With Dad’s sudden critical condition, I hadn’t had time to dwell on it, but now that I’m feeling a bit more at ease, the pain comes creeping back.

The fact that I did something awful to Yamamoto, of all people, is what’s making me ache.

A few days had passed since my reunion with Maeda.

I realized something.

It was… that the cancellation of the festival’s after-party wasn’t Yamamoto’s fault.

I hadn’t gotten to the bottom of that incident.

But I realized the premise itself was wrong.

I thought about the situation from the start.

Why had the cancellation of the after-party been blamed on Yamamoto?

From what I’d heard, the cancellation was pinned on Yamamoto because he forgot to order the timber for the campfire.

In other words, it was treated as his fault because he neglected a task he was supposed to do.

…But is that really fair?

I mean, think about it.

The festival committee is an organization, not a group that relies on individual heroics.

In any normal organization, a mistake like that wouldn’t just fall on the person in charge.

The responsibility for a mistake by someone in charge should fall on the committee leader, and the leader’s responsibility should fall on the teacher overseeing it.

…And yet, that incident ended up with Yamamoto taking the blame.

Why was that?

“I mean, that guy would always act all high and mighty, complaining to the seniors whenever he showed up for committee work.”

Because the first-year festival committee was an utterly childish and incompetent organization.

“Anyway, that guy would barge into our friendly group, start mouthing off to the seniors, and ruin the vibe. So when the rumor spread that he forgot to order the timber, everyone thought he did it on purpose out of spite for things not going his way.”

Because everyone resented Yamamoto for disrupting their harmony.

And…

“Yeah, I forgot to order the timber for the campfire. My bad.”

Because Yamamoto apologized.

“…Everyone was just awful.”

The festival committee members must have felt relieved when Yamamoto took the blame.

Thanks to him stepping up, they were spared from any accountability.

Honestly, they were the worst.

They probably thought they’d gotten away with it.

Yamamoto took all the blame, and they went on to enjoy their carefree school lives without a hitch.

“I’m just as bad…”

But in the end, I have no right to be angry or complain about the festival committee.

I’m just as guilty for jumping on Yamamoto and holding him responsible without even checking the facts.

So I thought I shouldn’t let myself get carried away by the anger welling up inside me.

Right now, there was something else… something that was bothering me even more than the anger.

“Why did Yamamoto say it was his fault back then?”

I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Why did Yamamoto tell me it was his fault the day after the festival?

If he hadn’t said that…

No, even if he hadn’t, I might have forced him to take the blame anyway.

But after graduating high school, dropping out of college, and reuniting with Yamamoto, I started to think differently.

That guy’s actually pretty stubborn.

If he truly believed he wasn’t at fault, he’d never apologize.

But he did apologize.

Did he feel some sense of responsibility for it?

…I think he did.

He’s kind, after all. So it wouldn’t surprise me if he willingly took the fall.

…But still.

Taking the fall.

Ever since I started thinking back on the after-party cancellation, I’ve felt this nagging sense of unease.

Getting to know Yamamoto better than I did in high school—and even developing feelings for him—has only made that unease stronger.

I remembered something he said.

“If something happens to you later, everyone will come to me, the guy who’s been involved with you, and ask why I didn’t stop you. In that moment, whether I can say I tried to stop you or not will change how people see me.”

When I told him I was going back to my ex, Yamamoto said that in his usual know-it-all tone to stop me.

Thinking back to what Maeda said, during our first year, Yamamoto was always causing trouble in the festival committee.

What kind of trouble?

I only know bits and pieces, but I can make a guess.

Yamamoto was probably pointing out ways the festival committee could improve.

Even I, who only heard about it from Maeda, could tell.

Unauthorized absences.

Low motivation.

And the failure to order the timber.

The working environment of the first-year festival committee was probably awful.

Yamamoto must have felt a sense of urgency.

If things stayed like that, a mistake was bound to happen.

So he spoke up. In a lazy, low-motivation environment with people slacking off, he kept raising his voice day after day.

But in the end, the environment didn’t change, and a mistake happened.

The cancellation of the after-party was probably… the worst kind of mistake imaginable.

Borrowing Yamamoto’s own words from before, he could have dodged responsibility for that mistake.

He’d been pointing out the poor environment and pushing for improvements long before the mistake came to light. Since the mistake happened in that context, he could’ve said, “I told you so,” to everyone.

Back then, instead of apologizing to me, he could’ve joined me in condemning the other committee members…!

But he didn’t.

…Why not?

“What do I do now?”

I could track down the festival committee members like I did with Maeda and talk to them one by one.

But I doubt that would uncover the truth from back then.

After all, those people pinned the blame on Yamamoto and got away with it.

If I brought it up now, they’d probably just say they forgot or don’t know anything. I didn’t think I’d get any decent answers.

…In that case.

Right.

I realized something.

Since I’m back in my hometown.

Since I’m staying at home for a while.

I decided I’d visit my old high school tomorrow.

Thank you so much for over 15,000 points! This is an early posting as a thank-you.

I’m running low on stock again. Scary.

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