A reunion.
A reunion is a place for people to gather, catch up on their lives, sometimes find new relationships, and reminisce about the past.
I’ve only attended once and don’t know much about them, but I imagine they’re all pretty similar.
Back then, I was just starting to explore the taste of alcohol.
Before joining my previous company, when I was a university student, I attended one high school reunion.
It’s been a long time since then.
This reunion is also from my high school days. Someone who went to the same university as me suggested we hold one before we turn thirty, and eventually, I received an invitation.
At first, I considered declining, but Suella found out and told me to go if I had the chance. Under her and her friends’ guidance, I picked out some casual clothes and went.
“What am I supposed to talk about?”
That’s the problem.
The venue is a regular izakaya.
The first floor has private rooms and counter seats, while the second floor is a banquet hall.
The location information I received by mail should be correct.
However, it’s been about six or seven years, and I’m worried if anyone will remember me.
As I was debating how to enter,
“Oh! Isn’t that Tanaka! Long time no see!”
“Huh? Oh, Tadokoro.”
A voice called out from behind me.
Tadokoro. I remember he was in the baseball club in high school. He was a classmate, and even though we weren’t in the same club, we were on good terms as athletes.
He used to be muscular and lean back at the university reunion, but…
“Did you gain weight?”
“Nah! This is just how it is when you’re almost thirty. Hey, Tanaka, you’ve got some serious muscle! What’s going on with your body? Huh! Kogure, you should feel this too!”
He’s now a proud member of the “surprisingly plump” group.
His habit of shaking his belly as he spoke was a testament to the cruelty of time.
He’d let go of the buzz cut that was once the mark of a young athlete, permed his hair, and dyed it brown.
Because of that, I wasn’t sure it was him for a moment, but I recognized his features and figured it out.
He slapped my shoulders repeatedly, marveled at how hard my body was, and then called out to the man next to me.
Beside me stood a man a head taller than me.
He had a bulky physique and a square face.
With his buzz cut and sharp gaze, he looked like he belonged to a freelance profession.
“Uh, well, um, I’m okay.”
“You’re still speaking so quietly. Yeah, long time no see, Kogure.”
“It’s good to see you too, Tanaka-kun.”
“Stop calling me ‘kun’ at this age.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“Well, it’s fine.”
He seemed timid, revealing his gentle nature.
Tadokoro and Kogure were a battery in high school.
Kogure was the pitcher, and Tadokoro was the catcher.
The assertive Tadokoro pulled Kogure along, and they almost made it to the Koshien tournament. They were a legendary duo in our grade.
“Well, we can’t just stand here and talk. Let’s go inside.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.”
His assertive personality hadn’t changed, and as Tadokoro boldly entered the establishment, Kogure and I followed.
We arrived a little early, but some people, including the organizers, were already there.
As I chatted with those few people, time passed, and more and more familiar faces started to arrive.
“Oh, hey, look, Tanaka.”
“Huh?”
“It’s Hanabishi-san. Do you remember her?”
“…Ah, Hanabishi-san. I remember, I remember.”
As we were sitting and talking with Tadokoro and the others, Tadokoro’s sharp eyes spotted a new arrival, and he gleefully turned to me.
Hanabishi-san.
She was at the last reunion, so I recognized her face.
In high school, she was known as the cutest girl in class.
Her beauty is still intact. She has wavy brown hair, pale pink lips, striking eyes, and fair skin. As she’s aged, she’s gained an even more alluring charm, her beauty polished to perfection.
“Do you know her, Tanaka?”
“No.”
Her presence here seemed to change the attitude of the other men.
While they weren’t overtly staring, it was obvious they were trying to subtly direct their gazes toward her, rising to the occasion.
I figured they didn’t know the meaning of the word “stare” when a woman looked at them, and anticipating what they wanted to say, I curtly responded to Tadokoro’s words.
“Hanabishi-san is still single, apparently. She doesn’t have a boyfriend either.”
“Oh, really? It’s a waste not to have someone with such beauty.”
Several years have passed since then. With her kind of beauty, it wouldn’t be strange to think she’d have a boyfriend or husband, but she’s still single.
Or is there something else going on?
Perhaps her standards are too high, or she doesn’t want to get married.
I could easily speculate, but I kept it to myself and didn’t think about it further.
“Shut up. I know I’m not good enough for her. Besides, most of the guys here came for Hanabishi-san. Don’t complain.”
“I guess so.”
The other women were also pretty and beautiful with their makeup, but Hanabishi-san was in a league of her own.
Her manner of speaking was graceful, and it was more than enough to stir the hearts of men.
Surely, some of them were harboring faint hopes.
However, one thing I could say for sure:
Suella and the others are cuter and prettier.
Even with my biased affection, they are more beautiful, so I’m keeping my distance from this situation.
“What’s wrong, Tanaka? Your reaction is dull.”
“Unfortunately, I have a wife. I can’t react to any woman other than my wife.”
“You got married!?”
“Your voice is too loud.”
Perhaps she found my lack of reaction to a beautiful woman uninteresting, Tadokoro asked me with dissatisfaction. I honestly explained the reason.
Then, Tadokoro reacted with an exaggeration that made him seem like a comedian appearing on a variety show.
As he shouted in my ear, I winced, and Tadokoro apologized.
Compared to a dragon’s roar, a human’s scream is merely bothersome, so I continued without concern.
“…To be precise, she’s my fiancée. We’re planning to get married within the year.”
I omitted that there were four of them and told him she was my fiancée. Tadokoro nodded his head, arms crossed, as if he understood.
“Haa, well then, it’s understandable you wouldn’t react to Hanabishi-san.”
“C-Congratulations, Tanaka-kun.”
Kogure, who rarely participated in conversations, offered his sincere congratulations, and I thanked him.
“Thank you, Kogure.”
Such a reaction naturally drew attention, but just in time, a new arrival stole the spotlight.
“Ugh, she actually made it?”
However, the arrival was clearly unwelcome to Tadokoro, as a slight frown creased his brow.
I turned my gaze to see who had arrived.
“Ah, it’s Egawa.”
There stood a handsome man, impeccably dressed in designer brands.
He had long, slender legs like a model, and his lean, toned body suggested he was mindful of his diet.
With a sweet smile, he greeted the female classmates near the entrance.
He was handsome back in high school too, and he’d only gotten better looking.
However, I found the resemblance to Himusumi a bit concerning.
Egawa was in the soccer club in high school.
He was the leader of the so-called elite group in the class hierarchy.
He was good at sports, good at academics, and good-looking – he was bound to be popular.
People gathered around him, and he had a posse of girls following him.
In high school, I envied that scene. But now, being a grown adult, I only thought he was handsome, without letting it show on my face like Tadokoro.
“Apparently, he’s working in sales for a major company now.”
“Major? Which one?”
“You know, the one featured on TV the other day.”
“Ah, that one.”
He seemed to be fully exhibiting his impressive credentials and was living life to the fullest.
The organizer, who had invited him, welcomed him with apparent joy. Even the women, including Hanabishi, seemed to perk up.
From their reactions, it seemed the men’s earlier intentions were shared by the women, and it wouldn’t be strange for them to be considering marriage at their age.
Perhaps it was more concerning than the men’s intentions, I thought. Wishing for everything to end peacefully without any trouble, I raised my hand for the organizer’s initial order of beer.
And with a little alcohol, the initial atmosphere began to change.
Alcohol, the ingredient for liveliness, seemed to be exerting its full effect.
The gazes of those with ulterior motives subsided for a moment, and the gathering became a place for reminiscing and sharing updates.
“Hey, hey! Tanaka-kun, you have a fiancée, right?”
“Ah, well, yeah.”
As the seats shifted and people moved, someone else took the vacant spot.
Tadokoro, spotting an empty seat near Hanabishi-san, swiftly moved. While I was contemplating how to interact with others after such a long time, the seat was filled.
The female classmates, perhaps having had too much to drink, had flushed cheeks. They came over with what looked like cocktails in hand and sat down with their friends.
The topic quickly turned to my fiancée, which Tadokoro had loudly announced earlier.
They were probably interested as women.
They peppered me with questions.
“What’s with the bland reaction? What, did you impregnate someone and then get married?”
My liver, forged through rigorous training, was still mostly sober.
So I answered in my usual tone, but they said my reaction was lacking. And then they hit me with something I couldn’t easily deny.
“Something like that. Well, I was planning to get married anyway. So, there was no problem.”
However, contradicting them would likely lead to a troublesome situation, so I gave a slightly ambiguous answer. Then, BANG! The classmate opposite me slammed her glass on the table.
“You think you can make a woman happy with such a haphazard idea, Tanaka!”
“Megumi-chan, calm down.”
“I am calm! Men are all the same. They think they just need to work hard if something happens! Of course, it’s better than not taking responsibility, but you can’t just say there’s no problem!”
It seemed I had stepped on a landmine.
Her face flushed red as she lectured me. I looked at the calmer classmate beside her, wondering what had happened in the past few years.
She apologized to me.
“A lot has happened, you know! Let’s have some water.”
“I’m fine! I can still drink!”
Ah, it must be the drunken ramblings.
Well, it’s not like she’s going to hit me, or force me to drink a barrel, she’s just complaining and lecturing. That’s not a big deal.
“I see. Well, I guess it was tough.”
So, without showing any concern, I smiled, and the two of them looked surprised.
“? What’s wrong?”
I asked, thinking I had said something strange. They exchanged glances.
“No, it’s probably not my place to say this, considering I just ranted, but people rarely show concern like that.”
“Yeah, most people either said they had it tougher or just brushed it off.”
“Ah, I see what you mean.”
It seemed my reaction was unusual, and I let out a wry smile.
No, my standard, which judged their reactions as rather mild, was probably a bit skewed.
“It’s alright, isn’t it? To have someone like me around.”
“Yeah, it’s fine. But it throws me off a bit.”
“For me, I’m just glad Megumi-chan has calmed down.”
“Hey, Fumiko! What do you mean by that!”
“I mean, think about me, who has to listen to you complain when you get dumped by men and drink yourself silly.”
“You said it now!”
“If you have a problem, then there’s no group date next week.”
“I am terribly sorry!”
“You change your tune quickly.”
This is normal interaction, not something that happens within a company. I realized that was the norm here.
For a moment, I felt like they were living in a different world, but then I realized it wasn’t that different.
Watching my classmate immediately prostrate herself, I set aside my empty glass and was about to order another drink when a menu was smoothly handed to me.
“Ah, thank you.”
“Long time no see, Tanaka.”
“Ah, Egawa. Long time no see.”
It was Egawa, the handsome man I had been talking about, who handed me the menu.
Egawa’s appearance changed the atmosphere of the women sitting opposite us.
“Can I sit next to you?”
“There’s no reason to refuse.”
“Great.”
Thinking I’d provide a little time for the women, who were adjusting their hair with casual gestures, I looked at the menu Egawa had given me.
“Are you drinking something?”
“Hmm, then, I’ll have a Shandyrgaf.”
“I’ll have some Japanese sake.”
I asked Egawa what he wanted to drink, and he told me. The drinks would likely arrive within a few minutes after ordering them from the server.
As I was thinking about that,
“Can I sit next to you too?”
A soft, gentle voice came from beside me.
Following the voice, I saw Hanabishi-san holding her glass, a smile like a cherry blossom blooming on her face.
“Ah, I’m fine, but what about everyone else?”
“Sure.”
“It’s fine, but…”
“Me too.”
“In that case, I’ll join you.”
For some reason, the two most central figures from the past had gathered here.
I wondered if I had done something wrong, but I decided to just go with the flow.
Today’s Quote
Recalling the past is always enjoyable.
Thank you for your continued feedback and for pointing out any typos.
This arc will conclude in the next volume, or perhaps the one after that.
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*The first volume of the book is published by Hayakawa Bunko JA.
It was released on October 18, 2018.
The e-book version was released on October 31st of the same year.
The second volume was released on December 19th.
The third volume was released on February 20, 2019.
The content has been revised and expanded from the version posted on Shousetsuka ni Narou, with the addition of an unpublished interlude.
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A comic adaptation is being serialized in Kodansha’s “Young Magazine The Third.”
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