What Hayashi Megumi Wishes For

Sometimes, letting a few tears fall isn’t such a bad thing, I thought vaguely.

Thanks to those tears, even Ota and Ito, who were totally unmotivated at first, started to show some enthusiasm, and I got to hear some heartwarming words from Akari, too.

Finally finding some drive, we racked our brains over the friend representative speech.

But just because we found motivation didn’t mean everything would magically fall into place.

In fact, it was precisely because we were motivated that we couldn’t settle for half-baked work, and our ideas just wouldn’t come together.

“Well, thanks for sticking around so late tonight, you two.”

“No, I’m sorry we couldn’t be more help.”

“Yeah, but we’ll be here if you need to talk again.”

“Thanks.”

As midnight approached, we finally ended the long phone call.

After hanging up, I let out a big sigh. Despite getting help from Ota and Ito, we hadn’t made any real progress.

“It’s pretty tough, huh?”

Akari said.

“Yeah… it’s seriously tough.”

Whining, I flopped onto the floor.

My hips ached. I’m not even an adult yet, but I’m already feeling like an old geezer.

“Wanna stay over tonight?”

“Nah, I’m good. Wouldn’t want to impose.”

“But there’s no last train anymore.”

I glanced at the clock, and it was well past midnight.

“A cute girl like you, Meg, walking alone at night? You might get attacked or something.”

“I don’t think that’s gonna happen.”

“It could. So, no way.”

Akari’s insistence was stronger than usual.

But her words were clearly out of concern for me.

Complaining would be silly, let alone getting emotional about it.

“Thanks. I’ll take you up on that, then.”

“Wanna sleep together?”

“Together?”

“I only have one bed.”

“I’m fine with a sleeping bag or something.”

“Don’t have one.”

“…Oh, okay.”

Two girls sharing a bed? Well… it’s Akari, so it’s probably fine.

Or is it?

I borrowed Akari’s shower, brushed my teeth, and slipped into bed first.

A little later, Akari came back to the living room after her shower.

“Sorry for using the shower first.”

“No, it’s totally fine.”

“I’ll dry your hair for you.”

“Thanks.”

Taking the hairdryer from a smiling Akari, I dried her bobbed hair.

Since I started living with Yamamoto, he’s often dried my hair for me. He’s meticulous and careful with everything, so it actually feels pretty nice.

But come to think of it, drying someone else’s hair feels like something I haven’t done in a while.

“Thanks, Meg.”

“No prob. I’ll put this back.”

When I returned from the bathroom, Akari was already on the single bed, lying near the edge.

“Alright, here we go.”

I lay down next to Akari.

A moment of silence followed.

Oh, we forgot to turn off the light.

“It’s fine.”

As I started to get up to switch off the light, Akari stopped me and fiddled with her phone.

With a few swipes, the light flicked off.

“Whoa.”

“It’s called smart home tech. You can control the AC, turn it on or off, even start the washing machine—all from your phone. Super convenient.”

“That’s awesome.”

“…You’re hopeless with tech, so I won’t expect you to get it, but hasn’t Yamamoto set something like this up?”

“That guy might not look it, but he’s super tight with money. He probably thinks this stuff’s unnecessary, secretly looking down on it. But if he tried it, he’d get hooked fast. Still, he’d nitpick every little thing in online reviews and never give a perfect score. He’d say something vague like ‘looking forward to improvements’ without even knowing who he’s talking to.”

“That’s, like, super specific.”

Akari burst out laughing.

Well, I’ve been living with the guy for two months, so I’ve seen it all with my own eyes.

“In the end, we didn’t decide on anything today, huh?”

After laughing for a bit, Akari said.

Bringing up something depressing right before bed.

There’s still time until Ichi’s wedding, but I don’t know how long this’ll take, and deep down, I’m freaking out.

“Akari, you free tomorrow too?”

“Yeah, I’m free… but it’s probably no use.”

“Huh?”

“We spent all day thinking together, and it was a total bust. So, it’s probably hopeless with just me.”

It seems Akari’s given up after today’s efforts ended in vain.

…Can’t blame her.

I’ve been leaning on her one-sidedly, so even if she can’t indulge me any further, I should be grateful, not upset.

“That’s not it, Meg.”

Akari must’ve picked up on my silent mood.

It seems she’s about to explain herself.

“I just think there’s someone better suited for this than me.”

“…Better suited?”

“After thinking together all day, it hit me. Responsibility is heavy, isn’t it?”

“…Yeah.”

“Your speech is just a few minutes out of the whole wedding. Barely a fraction of it. But we all thought the same thing—that if we mess up those few minutes, we might ruin Ichi’s wedding.”

Exactly.

For the past few hours,

it’s been nagging at the back of my mind.

What kind of speech does Ichi want from me? What kind of speech would make her happy?

I want to make her happy.

I don’t want to mess this up.

But thinking like that only left me without any good answers.

“…Sorry. I must’ve been a bother.”

I said.

Ichi asked me to give the speech—not Ito, not Ota, not Akari, but me.

From their perspective, helping me out must’ve been nothing but a hassle.

“No way. We were happy to help.”

Akari whispered.

“Happy that you relied on us.”

“…Akari.”

“Back in high school, you were always charging ahead on your own. So it made us happy that you turned to us. It felt good to be relied on for the first time.”

“I’ve always relied on you guys, you know?”

“No, we were the ones relying on you.”

In the pitch-dark room, I tried to look at Akari’s face as she lay beside me.

But I couldn’t see anything.

What kind of expression is Akari making right now?

What’s she thinking?

“…Sorry. You relied on us, but we couldn’t help in the end.”

“That’s not true.”

Not at all.

Not even a little.

Today, Akari and the others came up with so many constructive ideas for me and Ichi.

Thanks to them, I can see the rough outline now.

Saying they weren’t helpful? That’s not true in the slightest.

…But Akari probably didn’t want it to end like this.

She probably wanted to create something together.

But after these few hours, she must’ve realized.

That she couldn’t create what I was hoping for.

“Meg… when you wake up tomorrow, head home, okay?”

Akari murmured, sounding lonely.

“And talk to Yamamoto about it.”

Akari said.

She must be certain.

That she can’t make it happen herself.

But him… Yamamoto.

He could probably make my wishes come true.

…Yamamoto, you lucky guy.

Looks like you’re still the most trusted man in the world to Akari.

Everyone, GW is coming up soon.

What are your plans for GW?

Don’t mess around. Stay home and read this novel.

Reviews, bookmarks, and comments are greatly appreciated!!!