บท 3: Call From The Past
The bus drove away with Haruto sitting inside, lost in thoughts, his gaze fixed intently on the notification of Baku's message. With a determined expression, he tapped the notification to open it.
Baku's message says "Hey Haruto, I hope you're doing well. I wanted to let you know that this weekend our school is hosting a grand get-together for all previous students. I, along with some of our other classmates, will be attending. It'd be great if you could join us!"
Haruto stared at the message for a moment before replying, "Hmm, could you send me the list of classmates who are attending the event?"
Baku quickly read Haruto's message and, after a few moments of typing his reply came saying, "The event is scheduled for this saturday. Since today is Monday, we have six days. So people are still signing up, but here's the list of those who have expressed interest so far."
Haruto gazed at the message with growing curiosity as Baku continued typing. Haruto's anticipation heightened until, suddenly, Baku sent him the list.
Haruto quickly examined the list, scanning through the names of the students. When his eyes landed on "Kanna," his gaze locked onto the name, and his eyes widened in surprise. Suddenly he felt a pang of sadness, lowering his phone he closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat…
Haruto arrived at the grocery store and entered the staff room. He removed his jacket, donned his cap, and started putting on his apron. Suddenly, a 27-year-old male colleague appeared in front of him and asked, "Haruto, why are you late?"
"Hey, Makoto," Haruto greeted.
"How can you be so calm?" Makoto asked, a hint of frustration in his voice.
Haruto remained silent, concentrating on wearing his apron.
"You're an hour late. The boss is really angry," Makoto continued.
Haruto sighed, "So what?" He said "He's never happy—always angry."
"And you're just giving him an opportunity to vent all his frustration on you," Makoto replied.
Haruto didn't respond, continuing to adjust his apron.
"Harutooo!" a voice called out from Makoto's back.
Makoto's eyes widened in shock as he swiftly stepped aside, revealing a stern 70-year-old man who stared intently at Haruto.
Haruto stood straight, his face expressionless. The old man approached and stood directly in front of him, shouting, "You're late again! This is the eighth time you've been late this week!"
Makoto looked on, a bit confused, while Haruto kept his gaze lowered, listening silently.
"If this keeps happening, I'll have no choice but to throw you out of this mall," the old man continued firmly. "Consider this your final warning, you dumb lazy kid."
Haruto remained silent, his gaze fixed downward.
The old man turned around and exited the staff room. Makoto and Haruto exchanged glances.
"Eight times late in a week? I think the boss's math is off," Makoto said.
"Everything about the boss is off," Haruto replied.
Makoto smiled and said, "Alright, let's get to work then." Haruto nodded in agreement, and they both exited the staff room.
At the checkout counter, Haruto worked as a cashier, scanning groceries and handling transactions. Despite his lack of enthusiasm and visible disinterest, he continued to perform his duties.
Hours passed, and as night settled in, Haruto was scanning items at the register.
"Hey, is that you, Haruto?" a voice called out.
Haruto's eyes widened in surprise as he looked up and saw a 23-year-old man smiling at him.
"Yeah, who are you?" Haruto asked, visibly confused.
"I'm Yusuke—Yusuke Tachibanna," the man smiled. "We were classmates in middle school."
Haruto's eyes widened in recognition as he realized who the man was. Nervously, he said, "Yeah, Yusuke, nice to see you again."
Yusuke beamed and pulled Haruto into a warm hug, drawing curious glances from those around them.
Haruto, slightly uncomfortable, said, "Hey, Yusuke, could you let me go, please?"
Yusuke released Haruto from the hug, his face lighting up with excitement. "It's been years, buddy! I'm so thrilled to see you. I've got so much to talk about. Hold on a second," he said, quickly searching through his pockets.
Haruto, clearly uneasy, watched as Yusuke pulled out a card and began writing something on its back. Once he finished, Yusuke extended the card to Haruto and said, "Here, take this."
Haruto took the card and saw a location written on it.
"Come to this place tomorrow," Yusuke said, his excitement palpable. "We'll have dinner together—I've got a lot to talk about."
"Sorry, but I'm kinda busy," Haruto replied, seeming nervous.
"No way, you've got to come!" Yusuke countered, brimming with enthusiasm. "If you don't, I'll just come here tomorrow and drag you along by myself." He laughed heartily as he said it.
Haruto shot Yusuke with a forced smile, his discomfort evident.
Yusuke patted Haruto's shoulder and said, "Alright, I need to head out now, but we're meeting tomorrow, understood?" He turned and started walking away still laughing.
Haruto, looking uneasy and perplexed, watched Yusuke's departing figure…
Late at night, Haruto opened his apartment and, heading straight to his bed and collapsing face-first without bothering to turn on the lights. His eyes remained shut as he let out a deep sigh. With a groan, he retrieved his phone from his pocket, opened Baku's inbox, and scrolled through the list. His gaze settled on Kanna's name.
After a moment of thinking, he typed out, "Where is this event, and how much is it per person?" before sending the message to Baku.
Haruto then returned to the main message screen and began scrolling absentmindedly.
After a minute, his eyes landed on Kanna's inbox. He clicked on it and saw her message: "I want to meet you at the park near our school. Please be there in half an hour." Haruto stared at her text, and his gaze fell on the timestamp—which was eight years ago.
In the darkness of his room, his eyes remained fixed on the message, the passage of time weighing heavily on him…
The alarm rang in Haruto's room, who slowly opened his eyes, the morning sunlight streaming onto his face.
Sitting up on his bed, he struck his alarm with a forceful punch, shattering it in frustration. Just then, his phone buzzed with a new notification.
Haruto picked up his phone and saw a message from Makoto. He opened it to read: "Where are you? The boss is furious. Hurry up." Upon reading the message, Haruto clenched his teeth in frustration and slammed his phone onto the bed, covering his face with his arms in depression.
Suddenly, a realization struck him. He quickly grabbed his phone again and saw that Baku had also sent him a message.
His message says "The location is still not decided, and it's 2,000 yen per person. Haruto, you should definitely join us. We're going to have a great time, trust me. I'm really looking forward to seeing you again—it'll bring back all the fun memories we shared together."
Haruto smiled as he recalled all the fun moments he had shared with Baku. With a warm smile, he typed out, "Alright, I'm in," and sent the message. His expression was one of genuine happiness.
Later, Haruto stepped out of his apartment, locked the door, and began walking towards the public bus stop.
As he sat on the public bus heading to work, a notification popped up on his phone. He checked it and saw that Baku had invited him to join a private group.
Haruto smiled as he accepted the invitation and joined the group named "Reunion Batch 2018." As he read through the messages, his smile widened, seeing that most of his classmates were chatting and having fun. He couldn't help but feel a sense of joy as he read their lively conversations.
Baku then posted an updated list in the group chat. Haruto opened it and began to examine the entries.
His name was now on the list, and as he scanned further, he saw Kanna's name listed right below his. Haruto's eyes widened as he was gazing at her name, shocked to see his and her name being together…
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