Volume 4 - Me, Her, and our Changing World
Chapter 7
When Saki asked, “Hey, my phone’s about to die, can I borrow yours for a bit?” and Chinatsu handed it over, it felt like the usual kind of exchange between them.
Getting up to grab a drink afterward was also something completely ordinary and nothing about that small action should have changed the usual friendly atmosphere of the day.
But when Chinatsu came back, she immediately noticed the difficult expression on Saki’s face. Her instincts, or rather, her inner “relationship radar” screamed that something was wrong. Rena and Yuuko were both looking at Saki with uncertain expressions, as if they too didn’t understand what was going on. Since it didn’t seem like anything in their conversation had caused this, Chinatsu decided to ask directly.
“Um… Saki? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Setting down her cup, Chinatsu sat across from her diagonally.
“…What is this supposed to mean?”
Saki’s voice trembled slightly as she pointed at Chinatsu’s phone, seemingly trying to suppress the intense emotion she held inside. On the message app screen, the most recent message at the top was from an account named Satou Hajime.
She must have accidentally opened it when a notification came in while trying to message someone else. The first line visibly said ‘I’m heading out now’, likely a message Hajime had sent when he was leaving for his part-time job.
And in that instant, Chinatsu realized exactly why Saki looked like that. Hadn't she just thought it herself a moment ago? That Satou’s profile picture was the same as Hajime's. So, of course, Saki had connected the dots in the worst possible way.
“I knew you were hiding something,” Saki said in a low voice, “but I didn’t think you were the kind of person who’d betray me like this.”
Hearing Saki’s words, Chinatsu immediately denied it.
“...No, that’s not it! While Hajime is indeed someone really important to me, he’s not the same Satou you are thinking of…”
“Huh? That doesn’t make any sense… Hajime is Satou-kun, isn’t he? When you… said you had someone special to you… don’t tell me it was Satou-kun?! What the hell is this?! Were you just laughing behind my back this whole time?!”
“I told you, it’s not what you’re thinking of! Please, just listen to me!”
But it was already too late, the moment she realized she’d phrased it badly, Saki shouted, as if everything she had been holding back had burst out.
“Just earlier, he left a message in the training camp group chat, saying that he was going out with his family… and I can even see the same profile picture! So what’s with him messaging you privately with ‘I’m heading out now’?! No, forget it! Now I understand why you kept turning down contact info from other guys, saying you wouldn't add anyone but your boyfriend! But this... this hurts more than anything! I'd rather you just told me the truth than walk on eggshells around me like this!”
“...I told you, it’s not like that! The Hajime… I’m dating is my classmate and he just happens to have the same profile picture, that’s all! I’ve barely even talked to the Satou-kun from the basketball club! Please, Saki, you have to believe me!”
Chinatsu tried desperately to calm Saki down, who already looked on the verge of tears.
But—
“Don’t give me that! How am I supposed to believe something like that!? And why the hell are you even bringing up ‘number two’ all of a sudden? That’s probably the worst excuse I’ve ever heard in my whole life!”
“...You’re wrong! He’s not a ‘number two’ or anything! Take what you said back, Saki!”
Chinatsu had wanted to explain herself properly, but Saki's words had made something snap inside her, and her words only came out as a shout.
“So what if I call him that?! Why don't you stop telling weird lies and just say it clearly? That the guy I like is your boyfriend!”
Hearing Chinatsu yell back at her completely broke Saki's self-control, regardless of whatever Chinatsu had wanted to say.
Chinatsu’s thoughts were spinning. Why, why did it turn out like this? While at the same time, she couldn’t stop the irritation rising inside her at how Saki’s words felt like insults toward Hajime.
“Wait, Saki-chan! Chinatsu-chan isn’t lying! It’s true! I’ve seen her on a date with the Satou-kun from our class!”
Sensing that she had to step in before things got any worse, Yuuko, who had been left behind by their rapid-fire argument, had instinctively jumped in to defend Chinatsu.
As Saki and Chinatsu fell silent at Yuuko’s sudden interjection, Rena spoke up calmly.
“Then why not confirm it directly?”
“Confirm it…? How…?” Saki shot back.
“Well… why don’t we just call Chinatsu-san’s boyfriend here? If the person who shows up is indeed Satou-kun from our class, then wouldn’t that mean that she’s telling the truth? Besides, honestly, I don’t really think Chinatsu-san is the type who would tell such a lie either.”
“No…!”
However, Chinatsu found herself rejecting Rena’s suggestion.
“...And why is that? Although I understand that he may have more important matters to take care of, isn’t our current situation also considered important? If you just refuse without any logical reason, it will only reinforce Saki-san's suspicion that you are lying.”
As Rena said this with a puzzled look, Chinatsu desperately tried to explain the reason for the words that had slipped out so quickly.
"Hajime... unlike us, actually works and makes a living for himself. I just don’t want to take away his time over something like this.”
“...I don’t believe you. He’s working? Maybe you meant you just can’t call him because he’s out with his family, right?”
“I told you that’s not it! He has nothing to do with the Satou-kun you’re thinking of! Why won’t you just understand!?”
“Because I’ve always… I’ve always known! That you weren’t being very honest with me! That even though you always gave me advice and thought that you supported my feelings for him honestly and that you were really on my side! I trusted you, Chinatsu! This is just too cruel!”
“Because I’ve always… known it… deep down! That you weren’t being honest with me. Even so, I trusted you. You listened to me, you cheered me on... I really, truly believed that you were on my side… But, this… this is just too much!”
Finally, Saki's sharp eyes began to overflow with tears. It was the first time Chinatsu had ever seen Saki cry.
Seeing that, a memory from middle school instantly flooded back to Chinatsu's mind.
Back then, too, the one who cried ended up being ‘right.’
That thought made her mind go blank, and the words she should’ve said just wouldn’t come out.
(Why… why is this happening…)
Rena quietly tried to comfort the crying Saki. Yuuko sat with a troubled look as she looked at her phone before glancing back and forth between Chinatsu and Saki.
Chinatsu thought that she should have just called Hajime as they suggested. But all she had been thinking was that she didn't want to waste his time on something so trivial as this.
‘So much for treating everyone equally. Is this what I get for it? Even my own friends don't believe me. Is this payback for my past? I haven't done anything right. Not a single thing.’
Her thoughts spun in circles. The silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity, the air thick and heavy. Just as Chinatsu was about to fall into despair...
“Chinatsu!”
It was a voice that absolutely shouldn’t have been heard there, yet one she could never mistake. When she turned toward it, eyes wide in disbelief, she saw Hajime standing there, out of breath, looking at her with genuine worry.
Saki, who had been crying, and Rena beside her both stared blankly at him, stunned. Chinatsu, too, could only gape.
“Hajime? Wh–what… why are you here?”
Words of questioning spilled from her mouth.
“Well, I’d just gotten to work when someone messaged me saying you were in trouble. There was a taxi right in front of my workplace, so I just jumped in and came straight here. Haha… that was probably the first time in my life I’ve ever said, ‘keep the change.’”
He said it lightly, with a small grin but Chinatsu’s heart sank further.
“That's… I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine. I called the manager, and asked the senpai I swapped shifts with over new year’s to cover for me. When I told them my girlfriend was in trouble, they didn’t even ask, they just said, ‘Go.’”
“I… I didn’t want to bother you over something like this. I even told myself I’d handle things on my own… I’m sorry… I know your time is important, and I…”
Chinatsu felt pathetic.
All this over a small misunderstanding with her friends and she’d made Hajime leave work for it. She hadn’t wanted to lean on him. She’d wanted to be someone who could stand beside him, not someone who’d weigh him down.
But more than anything, realizing how relieved she felt to see him come for her made the tears she’d been holding back finally overflow.
“Hic… I’m… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry for dragging you into something like this…”
Her sobs broke out like a child’s, the only thing she could manage to say through the guilt. She knew she shouldn’t cry, she had to be strong if she wanted to stand beside him, but she couldn’t stop.
“It’s okay… aah, hey, Chinatsu, stop crying for a sec and listen to me. It’s okay, really.”
Hajime hesitated for just a moment, then gently pulled her close, pressing her face against his chest and holding her tenderly, as if to soothe her.
As she found herself impossibly comforted by that warmth, Chinatsu still managed to let out a sound.
“But—”
Before she could continue, Hajime interrupted softly.
“It’s really fine. You’ve got it all wrong, Chinatsu. I certainly value my time, and of course, I value my job too. But you’re more important. You’re the kind of person I’d drop everything for, the kind of person worth spending money, trust, and time to rush to. So don't worry about such things, okay?”
There he goes, Chinatsu thought.
She thought back to that day, to the moment she’d been at a complete loss, holding an abandoned kitten in her arms. From that moment on, and forevermore, the only "Satou Hajime" who ever mattered to Chinatsu was the Hajime standing right in front of her. He had always been the one who always came to her rescue, the one who always knew the exact words she needed to hear.
