"Good morning, Aoyama-kun."
Sunday afternoon.
When I arrived at work, Aso-san was already standing in front of the register.
"Ah, good morning."
I greeted her without meeting her eyes, feeling awkward, but Aso-san laughed as if she saw right through my weak attempt.
"Ahaha, so even Aoyama-kun feels bad for me sometimes."
"No, I do. What do you take me for?"
"Hmm, I wonder? Come on, go get changed."
"Got it."
I went to the back, changed, and when I returned, the manager called out to me.
"Morning, Aoyama-kun."
"Good morning, Manager. Did something good happen?"
"Oh, can you tell? Well, I finally met up with my girlfriend yesterday after a long time, and we decided to move in together starting next month."
"Oh, that's great. Congratulations."
That said, the manager looked a bit tired.
Dark circles under his eyes too.
Guess they had a good time last night.
"Manager, are you sleep-deprived?"
"Ah, well, yeah. Actually, we were fighting until morning."
"Fighting? Even though you decided to move in together?"
"That's how it ended up, yeah. At first, she unloaded all her complaints, and we fought and almost broke up. But thanks to that, we could speak honestly. It made me realize that some things just won't get across unless you put them into words."
"Into words, huh."
Just as I repeated the manager's words, a customer came in.
"Welcome! Aoyama-kun, show them to table two."
"Right."
After that, customers started pouring in all at once, and we were nonstop until evening.
But all through that time, the manager's words kept nagging at me.
The hours passed quickly while I held onto that restless feeling.
Then my shift with Aso-san ended.
◇
"Good work today, Aoyama-kun. See you again."
She asked me to walk her home again, so we headed toward her place.
It was still light out, so I didn't think she really needed me to, but today I felt like talking to Aso-san a bit.
"Aso-san, I'm really sorry about yesterday."
"You're still worried about that? It's fine now."
"It's not fine. I was so restless, and I made you go out of your way for me."
When I bowed my head, Aso-san murmured, "Restless, huh," then continued.
"You met up with that girl you like after that yesterday, didn't you?"
"That's… she's not someone I like."
"But you did meet a girl. Well, you do seem popular, Aoyama-kun."
"That's not true. I've never even had a girlfriend."
In fact, I've never been in a relationship.
Maybe it's just that I never happened to fall for anyone, but I think my parents' influence plays a part.
They fought constantly ever since I was little.
In the end, they divorced, and my mother, who took custody of me, found another man and disappeared somewhere.
Apparently the reason for the divorce was my father's affair.
I guess it's because I was raised with that ingrained belief that love and romance are just illusions.
"I see. Don't you want a girlfriend?"
"… I don't know. I'm just scared of falling for someone."
"Is that because of your parents?"
"Something like that. So when I hear you talk, Aso-san, I think you're amazing. To be honest, at first I looked down on you."
"Ahaha, you're too honest. But what's with you today? You're being awfully open."
"Well…"
Probably because of what the manager said.
"But even so, I think that side of you isn't so bad."
"This is just a one-time thing. Look, we're at your house."
When I saw Aso-san's house, I got a little more alert.
But today there was no one around.
I stopped with a sigh of relief, and Aso-san chuckled beside me.
"What's so funny?"
"Sorry, sorry. You just subtly stepped in front of me to protect me, didn't you?"
"Ah, no… well, after what happened last time."
"That's exactly what I mean. You're really kind. Hey, Aoyama-kun."
Even though we'd arrived at her house, she didn't go in. Instead, she stared at me intently.
With her face flushed, she said to me:
"I like that about you."