Chapter 56: Beautiful Girl at the Fireworks Festival (Part 3)
On the way back from the convenience store to where Ryoji and Moeka-chan were waiting, Togo walked ahead while Sakurako-chan walked beside me. But since I was staring intently at my smartphone screen, my pace gradually fell behind the two of them.
What should I do?
That was the first thing that came to mind when I saw Aoi-kun’s message.
How should I reply? What was he thinking when he sent it? If I were at the fireworks festival, what did he want to do about it?
I couldn’t grasp his intent at all.
If I replied, would it immediately turn into a “let’s meet up”? …No, that’d be way too sudden. I doubt Aoi-kun came alone, and it’s not like he’d ditch his friends just to meet me.
Maybe he was just curious—asked on a whim—and it would end there once I replied. That seemed more likely. In that case, replying normally should be fine.
I typed out a short message: “I came with friends.”
As always, I fumbled with the flick input. The message I managed to send was so blunt it hardly felt like something a girl would write. Just as I sent it, Sakurako-chan, noticing I’d fallen behind, spoke to me.
“Something wrong? A message?”
“Y-yeah.”
She simply said “Hmm,” then glanced at my face and smiled knowingly.
“That was from Aoi-kun, wasn’t it?”
“Eh!? How did you know!?”
People around me are seriously too perceptive—sometimes I wonder if they’re all mind-readers! No, way too perceptive!
Seeing me flustered, Sakurako-chan covered her mouth and laughed.
“Because, Ayumi-chan, your face looks exactly the same as it did before you faced him at the inn. I could tell right away—‘Ah, she’s thinking hard about something, she’s troubled,’ I thought.”
“Ugh… Was my face that obvious?”
“It really was.”
I wish I could fix this habit of showing everything on my face…
“So, what did he say? Something like ‘let’s go to the fireworks together’?”
“No, he just asked if I came to the festival. Seems like he’s here too.”
Togo, walking ahead, turned around.
Hey, no need to react that much!
Ryoji and Togo—why do they both get so invested whenever it’s about Aoi-kun and me? Is he really that interesting to them?
“Ayu-chan, are you going to see that Aoi-kun later?”
“Eh? Now? No, I’m not.”
I answered immediately. Togo looked relieved.
“I see. But… are you sure, Ayumi-chan?”
Sakurako-chan looked a little surprised at my answer.
I nodded quietly. After all, I promised everyone I’d come to the festival with them first. Running off to meet someone else halfway through just didn’t feel right.
But what if Aoi-kun said, “I want to see you right now”? Even then… I could only say no.
“I see. Then Aoi-kun still has some work to do, huh?”
Sakurako-chan said that while watching my reaction.
Still has some work to do? I mean, we’ve barely spent any time together—what’s he supposed to do? He has been messaging me a lot, though…
Then suddenly, my phone buzzed again inside my drawstring bag.
Startled, I quickly took it out. Another message—from Aoi-kun.
“Would it be okay to talk a little after it’s over?”
“What did Aoi-kun say?” Sakurako-chan asked immediately.
Well, after our previous conversation, it’s not hard to guess who sent it.
Even Togo was now staring at me.
Why is everyone so curious about my situation? It’s not like I have many connections outside of Sakurako-chan and the others in the cooking club…
“He asked if we could talk a bit after the fireworks end…”
“I see. We don’t really have any plans after that, so why not go?”
Hmm… I thought about it.
Honestly, I kind of wanted to hang out and chat with everyone after the fireworks too.
I don’t dislike Aoi-kun—but it’s not like I especially like him either.
It wouldn’t be right to give him false hope if I don’t feel that way. But at the same time, it feels wasteful to completely ignore someone who’s trying to get to know me.
“…Maybe I will.”
After a moment’s hesitation, I decided on that.
“Ehh? But won’t we want to talk about the fireworks afterward? It’ll be weird if Ayu-chan’s the only one who’s gone!”
Ugh… I’d just made up my mind, but Togo’s words made me waver again.
He had a point. Saying goodbye to everyone right after the fireworks end would be kind of lonely. We’d probably all be excited after watching them—and I’d want to talk too.
“U-uhh…”
I found myself hesitating again.
Wh-what should I do? Right now, more than anything, I just want to hang out with everyone. I feel bad saying it, but meeting Aoi-kun isn’t exactly my top priority.
“Come on, why not go? You don’t get many chances to talk with Aoi-kun, do you?”
She had a point. It wasn’t far distance-wise, but it’d take some time and effort to get there. If not for an event like this, I probably wouldn’t have another opportunity to see him at all.
I still couldn’t decide what to do.
Alright! Sitting here agonizing won’t help. If I can’t choose one or the other, then I’ll just do both!
“Sorry, Togo-kun. I’ll just go talk with him for a bit and come right back, okay?”
I smiled lightly at him.
Togo gave a small nod, though his “Oh? Uh, sure” sounded uncertain. But that was fine. I figured I didn’t have to ditch everyone and spend all my time with Aoi-kun. He already knew I came here with friends, so he probably wouldn’t expect me to give up all my time for him.
“Ayumi-chan, don’t push yourself, okay? You’ll be fine?”
Sakurako-chan looked a little worried.
“I want to chat with everyone too. I’ll just say hi to Aoi-kun for a bit, that’s all.”
“If that’s what you want, then it’s fine. Honestly, I want to hang out and talk too.”
Sakurako-chan said that with a slightly bashful smile.
See? Everyone does want to chat together. Just knowing I have a place within that “everyone,” and that they feel the same way I do—that’s enough to make me happy right now.
I typed out my reply:
“Since I’m with friends, just a little while is fine.”
Almost immediately, a message came back.
“Thanks, even though it was sudden. I’ll message you again after it ends.”
After reading his reply, I noticed Sakurako-chan watching me out of the corner of her eye—probably waiting for me to say how it went.
“He said that’s fine. So I’ll go meet him for a bit after it’s over.”
“Grrr… Still doesn’t sit right with me,” Togo muttered.
“The fireworks are about to start! Let’s hurry back,” Sakurako-chan urged us.
It’s hard to move quickly in a yukata, but I picked up my pace anyway, my wooden sandals clacking softly against the ground as I hurried after them.
Almost at the same moment we rejoined everyone, the first firework shot up into the sky. Talk about a close call—we made it just in time. Still, in the end, I didn’t get Ryoji to buy me any candied syrup. Grr… what a shame.
A deep boom echoed through the night as a brilliant flower of light burst open above us. The impact was completely different from watching fireworks at home. I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the overwhelming beauty.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it, Ayumi-chan?”
Sitting next to me, Moeka-chan pointed up at the sky. I nodded.
We watched the fireworks one after another, snacking on sweets as we did. Aoi-kun must be watching them somewhere too, I thought idly.
“So pretty,” I murmured, gazing up at the dazzling sky.
“You’re prettier,” Ryoji muttered beside me.
I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Haha! What’s that supposed to be? Don’t just drop a random line like that out of nowhere!”
“Wha—! I’ve always wanted to say that at least once, okay!?”
Just because you want to say it doesn’t mean you actually should, you know!
By then, Sakurako-chan and Moeka-chan were both laughing too, while Togo simply nodded in quiet agreement. Seriously, what’s with the guys tonight!?
More fireworks went off in succession, bursting into brilliant colors that lit up the night. The whole festival ground glowed brightly beneath the shower of light.
And in the middle of it all, I suddenly felt someone’s eyes on me.
“Ryoji, what’s wrong?”
“Nah, it’s nothing.”
Ryoji looked a little flustered, quickly turning his gaze back toward the sky.
I tilted my head, a little curious about what that was all about.
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