[Warning 15+]
Part Six
―With the Same Energy as Before, Wearin' a Smile
Chapter 216
The Weekend
―With the Same Energy as Before, Wearin' a Smile
Chapter 216
The Weekend
A weekend morning.
Even with the Cultural Festival right around the corner, days off weren't much different from usual.
Havin' just finished hangin' up the last of the laundry, Hayato shivered at a sudden gust of wind. It was a cold breeze that really made you feel fall settlin' in deep.
Hayato shifted his gaze toward the outside. The trees scattered below were changin' their leaves to full-on fall colors.
"Man, it was just hot out the other day."
Lately, whenever Hayato washed the dishes, his hands would get numb from the cold.
If you zoned out for even a bit, winter felt like it'd be here in no time.
Mulling over that as Hayato headed back to the livin' room, he found Himeko there. And she wasn't in her pajamas either—she was dressed to go out somewhere.
Hayato hadn't heard anythin' about Himeko havin' plans to go anywhere today.
Huh?, Hayato tilted his head in confusion.
"Himeko, you headin' out somewhere?"
"Yeah. Saki-chan hit me up a bit ago askin' to hang out."
"What about lunch?"
"Nah, I'm good. I'll just figure somethin' out on the fly."
"Oh, gotcha."
With that, Himeko pattered on out of the house.
Looks like Saki was gettin' pretty used to city life too.
Left by himself, Hayato sank into the sofa, flicked on the TV, and casually flipped through a few channels.
When Hayato stumbled across a cookin' segment, he stopped there.
"Hmm, a quick dish where you just layer pork and eggplant on a big plate and pop it in the microwave, huh... ...Drizzlin' sesame oil over it seems like it'd give it great flavor. Tossin' on some green onions or sesame seeds would probably work too. Yeah, I'll give it a shot next time I'm busy."
As Hayato muttered to himself and pictured the taste while ponderin' what side dish would pair well with it, the cookin' segment eventually wrapped up.
Next up was a special feature on department store cosmetics, and since Hayato had zero interest in that, he turned off the TV and flopped his body back onto the couch.
Hayato glanced around, takin' in the room with just his eyes.
The room was squeaky clean since Hayato'd finished cleanin' while the washin' machine was runnin'. Sortin' the trash was done too, and no other chores came to mind. Even the assigned homework had been wrapped up last night.
Hayato was left with absolutely nothin' to do.
"...Man, I'm bored."
Without thinkin', Hayato let out a heavy sigh along with those words.
Haruki was apparently headin' out today too for a Cultural Festival Outfit Meetin' with the girls in class. Hayato remembered how passionately she'd rambled over dinner last night about how to accurately recreate Brigit-tan's moe points.
Just as Hayato flopped down usin' the armrest as a pillow, his smartphone buzzed with a group chat notification. It was from Iori.
'Bored!'
Hayato let out a chuckle at Iori's signature blunt way of talkin'.
'Btw, Isami-san's also at a Cultural Festival Outfit Meetin', right?'
'Yeah, exactly. Ema said since everyone else is a beginner at makin' stuff like this, they gotta hit up a cosplay shop first to see real outfits and get a solid picture of the final product, then go to a fabric specialty store to check fabric prices and balance their budget. So she headed out early this mornin'.'
'Woah, super pragmatic. Isami-san's really got her act together.'
'Looks like Ema actually enjoys playin' the organizer role.'
'Huh.'
On the flip side, Hayato recalled his childhood buddy who could do nothin' but gush about her fave, lettin' out a dry laugh thinkin' about how much trouble she was probably causin' today.
'So yeah, I'm totally bored out of my mind. Got no shift today either.'
'I wrapped up all my chores too, so I'm pretty much twiddlin' my thumbs.'
'Oho? Then let's hit the town. Any place you wanna go?'
'Hmm, let's see...'
Prompted by the question, Hayato let his mind wander through various possibilities.
Ever since comin' to the big city, Hayato'd experienced all kinds of stuff.
Karaoke, movies, shoppin', pools, all-you-can-eat yakiniku. None of that was stuff Hayato could've experienced back in the countryside.
Even so, that was still just the tip of the iceberg. That's how massive the city was.
Hayato knitted his brows.
Then, out of nowhere, his lengthened bangs caught his eye. Hayato casually grabbed a lock of hair.
'Hair salon.'
Even as Hayato typed it out reflexively, he made an awkward face, realizin' that was a no-go.
Hayato was interested and knew he really needed to get a haircut soon, but a hair salon wasn't exactly the kind of place you'd drag a buddy along to.
Right as Hayato typed out 'My bad, never mind.', a message from Kazuki popped up.
'Oho, nice. How about we make today Hayato-kun's makeover day?'
'Hoho~?'
"Huh?"
A dumbfounded voice echoed through the livin' room before Hayato could stop himself.
'See, Hayato-kun, didn't you ask me to recommend a salon before?'
'I mean, yeah, I did say that, but...'
'Hey, is that the place Kazuki's Big Sis frequents too?'
'Yup. I go there pretty often too.'
'Now that sounds interestin', I wanna get done up there too.'
'Wait, is it cool if we just show up out of nowhere? Don't you gotta make a reservation for places like that?'
'Let me give them a quick call to check.'
While Kazuki was callin' to check, Iori was all hyped up, typin', 'I wonder what kind of place it is?' 'Will Ema be surprised?', while Hayato was fidgetin' over this unexpected turn of events.
Eventually, right around the time Hayato finished brewin' tea to calm his nerves, Kazuki's reply came through.
'Got the reservation, but if we're goin' today, we probably gotta head out right away?'
'Oh? Where are we meetin' up then?'
'Um, I'll send an email.'
'Gotcha, I'll get ready and head out right away.'
And so, for some reason, Hayato ended up headin' to a hair salon with his buddies.