Volume 7 - CH 12

All that was left on the agenda was to head back. I finished buying my last souvenirs at the airport, and while waiting to get all the checks done, I opened up my YouTube app. When I typed in ‘Melissa Woo,’ I immediately found a channel, and I could see her in the thumbnail. She has 837 subscribers—or 838 now thanks to me. But I had no idea if that was a lot or not, honestly. I usually don’t go out of my way to subscribe to channels. All I know is that there are 800+ people in the world listening to her songs.

That’s more than the 3rd-year students we have at Suisei High. Compared to that, I get nervous just singing in front of a few people at karaoke. And she didn’t have any problems even singing on that huge stage at that restaurant. I decided to watch one of her videos. Looking at the upload dates, she usually puts out a new song every three months. I listened to a few, but each one was sung with such passion. Contrary to her personality and demeanor, she seemed extremely diligent when it came to music. The newest song of hers was uploaded just two days ago, probably right after she had parted ways with me. Even though she’d said she was leaving to watch some late-night anime.

Through meeting her, I learned how important it was to find a place that gave me absolute peace and relief. Where I could open up about everything. And for that, I added a comment on the video, saying “I could listen to this forever. Thank you for giving me courage,” in English. Keeping it vague about the things I left behind and the things I took with me. I wonder if she’ll realize it’s me. My username is ‘saki,’ but it’s fine if she doesn’t.

“Sakiii! We’re gonna move!”

Maaya’s voice made me raise my head. She was seated in a row of other classmates, jumping up and down as she waved her hand at me. I showed a wry smile, but, oddly enough, didn’t feel too embarrassed—Okay, maybe a bit. She didn’t have to go that far. I was still gonna be careful of my surroundings.

At Narita Airport, everybody went their separate ways home. I contacted Asamura-kun and decided on a place to meet up. We got on the train and sat down next to each other. We then told each other about our trip. What was fun, what was stressful… and how beautiful the setting sun was that we watched together at the suspension bridge. As that sun set, it illuminated the horizon to create a beautiful white shine, coloring the blue sea a deep violet. And as the color of the sea changed, we gazed at it, warm in each other’s arms.

But since we were both tired from our trip, we began talking less, and I couldn’t tell what he even said anymore at some point. With the air conditioner creating a cozy temperature inside the train, I began spacing out and became drowsier and drowsier. My left shoulder leaned against his right shoulder, allowing me to feel his warmth. And all this felt so comforting that I couldn’t fight my sleepiness—until I was gently shaken and woken up.

“We’re here.”

“Ah, sorry.”

I panicked a bit and grabbed my suitcase, only to almost fall over. If Asamura-kun hadn’t supported me, I may have landed face-first in front of the door. My face was beet red as I pulled my suitcase after me. What a blunder. And I even slept while leaning against his shoulder the entire time.

By the time we stepped out of the ticket gate at Shibuya station, the sky had turned dark. On this ordinary Saturday, the train station and vicinity were filled with people everywhere. A lot of people must be heading out to have fun right now. And while we tried our best to avoid them, Asamura-kun and I walked our familiar path home.

During that time, I remembered once again that I slept next to him without a care in the world, and I felt the blood rush to my head. I felt awfully sweaty all of a sudden. When we had to switch trains and he woke me up, he must have seen my sleeping face. And I think I even had some drool stuck to the side of my mouth then. I don’t think he’d stare at me, but I also didn’t think I would be this careless… I can’t even look at him anymore. Then again, we were heading back to the same home, so that much is probably impossible.

“We’re home, huh?”

“Sure are. I’m tired, but it was fun.”

“You’re right.”

We looked at each other and smiled. We really came home… to the place we spend our days. Together, we stepped through the entrance. Stepdad should be off work today, and Mom’s work hasn’t started yet, so they’ll both welcome us home. They’ll greet us and welcome us back as we return. Over the past few days we were gone, Asamura-kun and I have gotten a lot closer. We were close enough to stand next to each other, but even that small gap has vanished. Because we’ve decided that we’ll be as we want to be.

“We’re home, Mom, Dad.”

We spoke up at the same time, and the Merlion keychains dangling down from our suitcases shook in unison as we did so.