Chapter 36: Christmas

"Merry Chris—"

"Merry Chris—"

Kana-chan and I poured champagne into the glasses we bought just for this day and clinked them together.

"Yay!"

"Yay!"

We took a sip of champagne, then applauded each other with a cheerful clap clap clap.

"Thanks for preparing all this. Seriously, this is amazing."

The table in front of us was covered with all sorts of dishes.

"I might’ve gone a little overboard. And we still have cake too."

Yeah, even back when I was a guy, I couldn’t have finished all this food alone.

"Thanks. I’m really happy."

"No problem. Shall we dig in?"

"Yeah. Let’s eat before it gets cold."

As we ate, we chatted casually like always.

"By the way, Kana-chan, what are you doing for New Year’s?"

"Ah, I’ll go back to my parents’ place on the 31st and probably come back around the 2nd. What about you, senpai?"

"I’m heading home on the morning of the 30th. I’ll probably be back around the 2nd too."

Work starts on the 4th, so that sounds about right.
Hopefully, I’ll figure something out before then…

"I see. Then maybe we can go to a shrine together on the 2nd or 3rd?"

"That sounds nice. Oh, and if you’re staying here until the 31st, you’re free to use this place however you like."

"Thank you. But I’ll head home. Even though, honestly, I’ve barely used my own apartment lately."

Seriously.
Kana-chan has practically been living at my place and hardly ever goes back to hers.
Actually, I’ve never even been to her apartment—I don’t even know where it is.

We kept eating after that, but of course, we couldn’t finish everything.
By the time we were done, about half the food was still left.

"I’ll clean up. Let’s put the leftovers in the fridge and eat them tomorrow."

"Yeah."

Tomorrow’s still Christmas anyway, so that works.

"Just a sec. Once I finish cleaning up, I’ll bring out the cake."

Kana-chan said that and began tidying the table.
While she was busy, I slipped into the bedroom, quietly took the present I’d hidden in the closet, and returned to the living room.
I acted as if nothing had happened, sat down on the sofa, and waited for her.

After a while, Kana-chan came back holding a cake.

"Can’t have Christmas without cake!"

She set it down on the table.

"Wow, that looks amazing. You’re seriously talented."

It looked good enough to be sold in a store.
She could’ve been a professional pâtissier.
But then, if she had, we probably never would’ve met—so yeah, let’s not go down that route.

"Hehe. Really? Thank you."

"Kana-chan, you’re amazing."

"Fufu, I’ll cut it up now."

Kana-chan sliced the cake and placed pieces for both of us on plates.

"Looks so good~"

Calories don’t count today.
No matter what, I’m eating this.

"Here you go."

Encouraged by Kana-chan, I took a bite.

"So good! Seriously amazing!"

"Thank you! I worked hard on it!"

Yeah, it’s incredible.

We kept eating the cake until we were completely full.

"Let’s save the rest for later."

"Yeah, we’ll eat it tomorrow."

"I’ll put it in the fridge. Senpai, want another drink?"

I could still go for a bit more…

"Sure. There’s still champagne left—let’s finish it together."

"Okay."

Kana-chan put the cake away and returned with the bottle.

"Merry Chris—"

"Merry Chris—"

We clinked glasses again and drank.

"Kana-chan, thanks for putting so much effort into everything today."

"No, no. I had fun."

"And thanks for always helping me out too."

As I said that, I gently took her hand.

"Well… I do it because I enjoy it. I like cooking and cleaning."

"You’re such a good girl."

I patted Kana-chan’s head.

"Hehe. Really?"

"Yeah. And since you’ve been such a good girl, here’s a present."

I handed her the gift.

"Ah, thank you so much! Can I open it?"

"Go ahead."

Kana-chan carefully unwrapped the paper and opened the box.

"Wow… it’s a necklace. It’s so pretty."

"Yeah. I thought it would suit you."

"Can I try it on?"

"Go ahead, go ahead."

Kana-chan picked up the necklace, lifted her arms behind her neck, and clasped it in place.

A faint shimmer reflected off her chest as the pendant caught the light.

"It looks perfect on you."

"Thank you so much! I’m really happy!"

Kana-chan nodded with a bright, beaming smile.

"I’m glad you like it."

"And actually, I have a present for you too, senpai!"

She said that and reached into her bag, which was sitting near the sofa, pulling out a box wrapped in red paper.

"Ooh, what could it be?"

"Hehe, it’s a present from Santa for a very good girl. Here you go."

Kana-chan—er, Santa Kana—handed me the box, and I accepted it.

"Can I open it?"

"Go ahead."

I carefully unwrapped the paper and opened the box.

Inside was a silver wristwatch.

"A watch!"

"You didn’t seem to have one, so… here you go."

Now that she mentioned it, I really didn’t.

"Thank you!"

I took the watch and fastened it around my wrist.

"It looks great on you!"

"I love it!"

Hehe, score one for me!

"Hehe, I’m glad you do."

"Yeah."

We leaned back against the sofa, holding hands and resting close together.

"I’m really glad I started dating you, Kana-chan."

"Me too… I’ve been having so much fun that I stopped going home."

She wasn’t exaggerating.

At this point, more than half the stuff in this apartment belonged to her.

"Hey, Kana-chan—your place is a rental, right?"

I was pretty sure she’d mentioned that before.

"Yes. It’s an apartment."

"Then maybe you should just cancel your lease?"

"Cancel it?"

"Yeah. The rent’s kind of a waste, right? Let’s just live together."

We were practically living together already.
It just didn’t make sense for her to keep paying for another place.

"That’s true… If you’re okay with it, I’d love that."

"I am. I want to stay with you forever, Kana-chan."

From now on, and always.

"Hehe, that sounded like a proposal."

"You can take it that way if you want. You’d make a great wife, Kana-chan."

"Ehehe…"

Kana-chan laughed sweetly, her smile soft and bashful.

"Maybe so. Actually, I’ve had a dream since I was a little girl."

"Oh? What kind of dream? To own a cake shop?"

"I like cakes, but that’s not it."

So that’s not it, huh…

"Then what?"

"To be a bride. Every girl dreams of that at least once, right?"

Can’t say I ever did.
Well… obviously.

"I think that’s a wonderful dream."

"When I first joined the company, things were really hard for me."

Huh?
That was sudden.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I was the only woman there. Everyone was so distant toward me."

Ah… yeah, that makes sense—wait, huh?

"Th-that must’ve been tough."

"Yes. But even back then, you treated me kindly, senpai. You taught me so much."

This is… bad.

The “past” Kana-chan’s talking about—

"Well, I was your supervisor, after all."

"Yes. Thank you so much for that. You were good at your job, and you taught me everything so carefully. Even when I couldn’t finish something on time, you stayed late to help me."

"That’s… part of the job."

That’s what a supervisor is supposed to do.

"That’s why, when you asked me to help you that day, I was really happy. I was happy that you relied on me."

The day we started dating.
Right… that was when I asked her to stay late and help with my work for the first time.

"I should really be the one apologizing for that."

"No, not at all. I was happy. And I was even happier when you confessed to me afterward. Because I already liked you too, senpai."

"Thank you…"

Truly, thank you.
But…

"I should be the one saying thank you. I’ve had so much fun being with you. That’s why… I thought, if possible, I’d like to stay with you forever. And somewhere along the way, I started to wish you’d make me your bride, to make that dream of mine come true…"

"Yeah… I’d want that too."

This is—

"That’s exactly why it feels strange. Senpai, you’re… a girl, aren’t you? It doesn’t make sense. None of this makes sense. The person I fell in love with, the senpai I remember… was a man."

"My memories… are they wrong? It’s strange, but I remember it clearly—the first time you held me. It hurt a little, but I was so happy, so warm. And yet… you’re a woman now. It’s strange… everything’s strange."

"Even now, it’s strange. I gave you that wristwatch as a present. I picked it out carefully, thinking it would suit you. But honestly, it doesn’t. Because it’s a man’s watch."

Yeah… she’s right.

"Kana-chan…"

"Senpai… who are you?"

What do I do…