2-2
The ambient noise and faint scent of tea gradually filled the club room.
Interrupted by the fragrant scent, I looked up from the novel I was reading, and faced the source of the fragrance.
In front of a billowing cloud of steam, Yukinoshita Yukino elegantly brewed some tea. The sunlight reflecting off the cloud of steam made it looked there was a veil over her face.
I gazed at this marvelous scene, just then, Yukinoshita’s eyes suddenly met with mine.
"Anything wrong?"
Yukinoshita tilted her head, silently asking me.
To that, I responded by shaking my head, and looked down to shift my attention back onto the novel. At that moment, I saw the corners of her lips move into a gentle smile.
There was nothing special about this type of exchange, but it made me feel a bit uneasy, so I decided to concentrate harder on my novel.
That’s what I thought … but I couldn’t concentrate at all …
Getting used to a new environment is a time-consuming process. The subtle change in relationship, the deviation in our position, and the unfamiliar distance. All of this was inevitable.
Other than that, there was still something bugging me.
Hayama’s words as we parted stayed in my heart and wouldn’t go away, it really was troubling me …
The moment I thought about that and the upcoming event,, I couldn’t focus on the novel, all I could do was scan through the lines one by one.
In situations like this, when only your ears are hard at work, naturally, you will be attracted by the trivial conversations around you.
“Did you know a new café opened around here?”
The one that said that was Isshiki. She tapped at her phone, and showed it to Yuigahama.
Yuigahama took a look at it, then exclaimed:
“Ah, it really is close!”
“Yeah, I think we can go after school. It looks like the shop was originally from Kobe, so the décor is pretty stylish. There’s quite a diversity of drinks too.”
The two sat shoulder by shoulder, and chatted as they swiped away at the phone screen. Just then, Komachi pulled a chair over and sat beside Yuigahama, looking at the phone.
“Ooh, pearl milk tea.”
“No one’s drinking this stuff anymore, only old-fashioned people drink this now.”
Hearing Isshiki’s mean comment, Komachi was greatly impacted. I’m not sure whether it was the force of the mental impact, but Komachi sat slanted on her seat upon hearing that.Then, she said in a shaky voice: “Eh, but, but Onii-chan said he quite likes it …”
“Ah—that’s probably because he’s is like an old-fashioned person …”
Hearing what Yuigahama said to Komachi, I was impacted even harder than Komachi was, so much so that I also sat slanted on my chair.
Hey … I didn’t drink it because I knew it was all the rage, um, it’s just that I enjoy sweet things like milk tea, and the stickiness of the pearls were quite intriguing … say, in it’s originating place in Taiwan it is already a mainstream beverage, you can’t even describe it as “the rage” anymore … I feel that it should also gradually have such a presence in Japan … like how even the convenience stores sell ice cream sundaes in the summer …
Just as I was furiously protecting my pearl milk tea, or my old-fashioned-ness, Isshiki added to the insult, as if she was not satisfied yet: “Old-fashioned people really do like to chase trends from two weeks ago.”
“I understand, sometimes I feel that way too … that type of person that comes over and says ‘This is all the rage now right?’, really makes you feel annoyed …”
Yuigahama said with an impatient tone, making a very annoyed expression.
Yet, the one listening to their conversation, Komachi, showed a frightened expression.
“Both of you are way too familiar with old-fashioned people …”
“Yeah, cause daddy …”
“Yeah, because dad …”
Komachi heard both Isshiki and Yuigahama answer in a similar manner, and, as if noticing something, started murmuring non-stop: “Ah, so that’s how it is …”
What’s wrong …? What type of “daddy” are they talking about … I don’t really understand, but it sounds pretty scary, better for me to pretend that I never heard anything!
I removed my gaze on them, and saw that Yukinoshita had prepared five servings of tea. She poured the tea into the mug with the dog illustration, the plain teacup, and a paper cup.
“Here, have some tea.”
Yukinoshita said, and the three people opposite of her reached over for their cups and said their thanks.
“Ah, thank you.”
“Thank you, Yukino-san.”
“Thanks, Senpai.”
Yuigahama, Komachi, and Isshiki held the tea in their hands. Then, Yukinoshita quietly poured one last cup of tea into the mug with the Pan-san illustration and gave it to me.
“Thank you.”
Hearing my quiet thanks, she lightly nodded. A look of satisfaction appeared on her face, she’s probably confident in the taste of today’s tea. Or it could have been because I properly thanked her, and she thought that her daily teachings had finally paid off. She’s always reminding me to be polite …
Even without direct conversation, both of us weakly signaled to each other similar feelings. This type of lovely-old couple interaction made me feel a bit uneasy, so to conceal the reddening of my cheeks, I blew at my tea, deciding to forget about it.
Looking sidewards, I could see that Komachi was using her long sleeves to hold the teacup as she blew on her tea.
And then, both of us took a sip at the same time.
“Ah, hot…! Not really …”
My voice and Komachi’s overlapped in perfect unison. This made both of us stare at each other, but despite our shared surprise, no one else felt that way.
“You could even say it’s not hot enough.”
Isshiki held the paper cup to her lips, and made an unsatisfied expression. Then she glanced at me and put on a face that said “What’s this guy talking about?”, and added:
“What’s this guy talking about?”
Hey, what type of expression was that? It was cute, sure, but also so irritating … how can you be dissatisfied with the temperature of Yukinoshita’s tea, pupu!
Just as I was thinking that, Yuigahama showed an interesting expression and looked me in the eye, saying:
“Ah, it's because Hikki is afraid of hot things.”
Her smile seemed a bit awkward, and I returned a similar expression in agreement. From my peripheral vision, I saw Komachi with a look of gratefulness as she sipped her tea, and then she moved her chair to sit beside Yukinoshita.
“Everyone in the household is afraid of hot things, even Kamakura.”
“Well, he does have a cat’s tongue.”[3]
“So, this warmth is perfect for our whole family … what do I do, Yukino-san …? I like you too much …”
And then she put her hand on Yukinoshita’s thigh, and meowed as she cuddled on her.
“Don’t be like that, Komachi …”
Yukinoshita looked like she was at a loss then and there, but it seemed that she didn’t dislike Komachi’s feline way of expressing intimacy, so, she just left Komachi to do whatever she wanted. A short while later, she cautiously reached towards Komachi’s head, and started to pat her gently. Hm, not bad, Komachi’s preciousness really is something to behold … it made me want to sing like Remeoroman “Machi —Yuki —ah …”.
I really wanted to become a wall then ... but just as I was acting a bystander role, suddenly, an ice-cold sound “GURAWEAGOWARAGAKIN” knocked down my imagination.[4]
“Oh, that so.”
I glanced towards the side, only to see Isshiki make a very cold expression, saying something so harsh without a damn. Then she took a sip of tea and made a disgusted expression, then she murmured:
“So that’s how it is … it is pretty hot, and it’s bitter, sour, and annoying.”
She had changed from her previous opinion, and let out her feelings in a stream of consciousness, rivalling the excitement of Okada’s triple home run.[5]
What are you saying …? It’s not hot, I don’t think so at all … I averted my gaze and sipped my tea.
It was neither hot nor cold, it wasn’t at either state, it was just perfect in that moment.
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