Without informing anyone, Haruto returned to Tokyo, luggage in hand.
Standing quietly at the Tokyo Station exit, he watched the crowds rushing in and out. Alone, he thought for a moment about where he should go next.
There were still seven days until the New Year, and Christmas Eve and Christmas were just around the corner.
"Today's the 23rd… Tomorrow's Christmas Eve and Christmas, right? And today… is the national mascot's birthday? Is it a holiday too?"
Glancing at his calendar, he realized today was indeed a holiday, which surprised him slightly. Staring at his phone, he considered the timing. Returning to Tokyo, he hadn't noticed that he'd just arrived in time for the holidays.
After a moment of thought, with nothing pressing, Haruto adjusted himself slightly and headed to wait for the subway.
"Working overtime again today?"
_ _ _
In the staff lounge, Sayu entered and saw Yuka resting at the table.
During the holiday break, Sayu didn't want to go back to Hokkaido and didn't know what to do. She was bored at home for a while, suddenly thought of Yuka and contacted her. Learning that Yuka was still working part-time, she decided to join her.
Thanks to Yuka's introduction, and with the holiday crowd increasing at the yakiniku restaurant where Yuka worked, they were able to arrange for Sayu to work there as well.
"Mm."
Yuka took a sip from her water bottle and glanced at Sayu.
"How's work? Are you getting used to it?"
"Mm. I've done part-time work at restaurants before, so it's different but mostly similar. I'm getting the hang of it."
Hearing this, Yuka nodded slightly, closed her eyes, and relaxed. Working almost every day here, she felt a hint of fatigue.
"You'll be off soon, right?"
"Mm, half an hour to go. But there's nothing waiting at home, so I plan to stay a bit longer."
Just as Sayu expressed her intention to stay and work with Yuka, Yuka suddenly looked down, checking her buzzing pocket. She pulled out her phone.
Sayu, standing beside her, didn't know who was calling, but seeing Yuka's surprised expression, she guessed it must be someone important.
'Family? No… Her family seems mostly out of the picture… Lover? That must be…'
Yuka glanced at Sayu who seemed to be lost in thought, then quietly answered the call.
"It's me."
Hearing the familiar voice on the other end, Yuka smiled slightly, making Sayu momentarily captivated.
"You're back?"
"Mm, I'm back. You're still at work?"
"Still working."
""I'm going to your place first. I'll stay with you tonight."
"Understood."
"When will you be back?"
"About half an hour."
"Then I'll leave the ingredients to you. I'll go wander a bit."
"Mm."
After confirming the details, Yuka put her phone back into her pocket. Noticing Sayu's curious gaze, she smiled slightly.
"That guy just now… that was him returning, right?"
"Mm, he probably just got back to Tokyo."
"Not staying for overtime?"
"He's at my apartment. I need to prepare dinner and get back early. By six o'clock, the shop will mostly be closed."
Shops in the shopping district always closed early... six o'clock, whether in summer or winter. It was already four, leaving one and a half hours to finish work and an hour to buy ingredients.
"The vegetables at the supermarket… so I have to go back early."
"I-I see."
"Do you want to come along?"
Seeing Sayu's slightly disappointed expression... feeling sour about Haruto returning to Tokyo without contacting her and being with Yuka... Yuka quietly studied her for a moment before inviting her with a gentle smile.
Sayu's eyes widened in surprise at the offer.
"Me?"
"Mm."
"Is that okay?"
"I guess it's fine. Aren't you and Haruto friends?"
"…"
More than just friends.
After hesitating briefly, Sayu's eyes firmed, and she nodded.
_ _ _
At the apartment, Haruto took out the key, unlocked Yuka's door, and entered. He placed his luggage at the entrance, sighed, and sat down.
Looking at the red glow of the sunset outside, the winter sky darkening quickly, he wasn't sure when Yuka would return from work. He stood up and poured himself a glass of water.
The room was neat and tidy.
"Phew—"
Finishing the water, he wandered into the bathroom, then curiously checked the washing machine. Seeing it clean, he nodded and returned to the living area, noticing the laundry hanging by the window.
"…"
No need to tidy up further.
He decided to go for a walk in the streets. Yuka was still at work, and with plenty of time before she returned, it seemed better to stroll and maybe pick up a little surprise gift for Yuka.
Exiting her apartment, he arrived at a full-length shopping street lined with various stores. Familiar with the area, he headed into a bookstore.
Though the sky was darkening, the bookstore was bright as day, the light spilling onto the entrance. Haruto paused.
Looking at the bright lights of the bookstore in front of him, Haruto hesitated for a moment.
"…"
After a brief pause, he decided to skip the bookstore and walked in another direction, eventually arriving at a convenience store. He remembered that last time, it was here that he had run into those two interesting boys.
Entering the store, he browsed briefly, picked up two bottles... one green tea and one lemon tea... and paid for them.
It took him about ten minutes to return to Yuka's apartment. Sitting alone at her desk, he took out his laptop and began to immerse himself in his work. A thought suddenly struck him:
"Did I forget something?"
He remembered that before leaving earlier, he had intended to prepare a small surprise gift for Yuka. But after walking around outside, he had completely forgotten.
"Forget it. It's fine… I'll prepare the gift and give it to her tomorrow on Christmas Eve."
Settling his thoughts, Haruto focused back on his document, thinking about the content for his next piece.
_ _ _
Meanwhile, Sayu had finished work with Yuka and accompanied her to the shopping street. Watching Yuka select ingredients and goods, Sayu realized, as they left the street, that her hands were now full with bags of groceries.
Surprised, Sayu looked at Yuka. She hadn't expected her to buy so much.
"These are ingredients we might need tonight, plus the rest for this week. This should be just enough."
Smiling, Yuka explained to Sayu.
"This week?"
"Yeah. Normally, I buy food for two to three days at a time because going out every day wastes time. Today, since you came with me, I bought a little extra. Thanks for helping."
"No trouble at all… Oh, so that's how it is. I thought we were going to use all of this tonight."
Sayu looked down at the heavy shopping bags in her hands, feeling relieved. Even if there were three people, it would be hard to use all of this at once.
"Even if we did, there probably wouldn't be enough room on the table. My apartment isn't that big, and the table isn't that large either."
"I wonder what he's doing now."
While walking on the road, Sayu started thinking about Haruto alone in Yuka's apartment.
"He's probably reading."
"Reading at your place?"
"Mm. Whenever he comes over, he's always sitting at the desk. Either he's reading my music books, or magazines he bought himself from the bookstore."
Recalling Haruto quietly sitting at the desk every time she returned home, Yuka smiled gently, a warm and happy expression on her face. Seeing this, Sayu felt a pang of defeat in her heart.
She hadn't even started competing and already felt she had lost.
"Should we call him out to help?"
"I'll handle it. No need to disturb him."
Hearing Yuka defend Haruto, Sayu's emotions grew even more complicated.
After about half an hour of walking back from the shopping street, Sayu's hands were starting to go numb from the weight of the groceries. They finally arrived at Yuka's apartment.
Setting down the ingredients temporarily, Yuka opened the door and let Sayu go in first. She carried the groceries inside and closed the door again.
Inside, Haruto, sitting at the desk, took a sip from the green tea. Hearing footsteps at the door, he saved his document and walked over.
"Yu.... Sayu?"
"Mm?"
Sayu heard Haruto's voice and turned to look at seeing Haruto standing there with a confused and subtle expression on his face.
"It's bit unexpected."
Seeing Sayu in front of him, Haruto hadn't anticipated anyone else besides Yuka returning. Yet here was someone who knew him well... someone who understood Yuka almost as much as he did.
"I'm surprised too. I thought you wouldn't be back before the New Year… but… hmm~"
Sayu paused, recalling something, then smiled mischievously, looking up at Haruto with a playful expression.
"…"
Haruto stepped forward, taking the groceries from Sayu's hands. Glancing at Yuka passing by, he asked how to handle the ingredients.
"Leave it to me. Haruto, you sit and rest. You've been on the Shinkansen for so long; you must be tired. I'll handle dinner tonight."
"I'm not that tired. I've rested a bit at your place, and I'm fine. Do all of these ingredients need to be dealt with tonight?"
"Just store the ones that can be kept in the fridge. As for items that can't be stored for long, we'll use them tonight."
"I see."
Watching the two of them start bustling about, Sayu felt like an outsider, unsure what to do. She quietly approached Yuka.
"Uh… is there anything I can help with?"
"…Actually, nothing critical. You can help wash the dishes that haven't been used in a while."
Initially, Yuka hadn't planned to give Sayu any tasks, but considering her feelings, she decided to assign a small, harmless chore.
Sayo understood and nodded, placing the dishes in the sink to wash and handing them back to Yuka.
~~~~~~~~~~
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