[Senei's Point of View]
After Yorumi left for work, I kept cleaning up the mess. So many things had piled up—faded memories, buried emotions. Digging through each one was exhausting. But in the end, it was done.
Yorumi never said I could stay at her place outright, but… she gave me her house key. Still, I couldn't bring everything with me. I'd figure it out after paying the rent.
☔ "Huh?"
👵 "Your friend already paid for it."
☔ "Who?"
👵 "Hmm, I forgot her name… a woman… I'm pretty sure she's the one who brought you back here."
☔ "Yorumi…"
👵 "Yes, yes, that's it!"
👵 "Anyway, your rent's all set. You're free to go once you finish packing."
☔ "Right… Thank you, and sorry for the trouble."
👵 "It's fine, dear. Take care of yourself."
☔ "I will..."
So... Yorumi paid it off… How humiliating. I've troubled her so much already. She must still be at work right now—I'd better finish this quickly.
[That night, at Yorumi's house]
Alright… my stuff's in this corner for now. I hope that's okay.
🌊 "I'm home."
☔ "Welcome home, Yorumi."
🌊 "Mm. I'm going to bed. You've eaten, right?"
☔ "Y-yeah. There's still food on the table if you're hungry."
🌊 "I'm going to sleep…" /walks straight to her room
☔ "Yorumi!"
🌊 "What?"
☔ "Thank you."
🌊 "...You're welcome."
☔ "Here's your money."
🌊 "? I didn't give you any money."
☔ "You paid my rent."
🌊 "Oh right, I almost forgot. Get ready for a job interview tomorrow morning."
☔ "W-what??"
🌊 "You're getting a job. I'm not covering your living expenses, so you'll have to work."
☔ "But… I only have these clothes…"
🌊 "??? Then what were you thinking? Do your laundry! You have enough money—didn't it cross your mind to wash your clothes?"
☔ "...Okay."
☔ "I just… don't want to owe you anything."
🌊 "...You don't owe me anything."
☔ /eyes begin to water
🌊 "If you feel like you do, then repay me by living a better life."
☔ "..." /deeply moved
🌊 "I'm tired. Going to sleep."
☔ "Good night."
[The next morning]
🌊 "You ready?"
☔ "I think so."
☔ "You still haven't told me what kind of job it is."
🌊 "Well... yesterday..."
[Yesterday – Yorumi's Point of View]
It was an incredibly busy day. I hadn't slept, and I was dizzy. But I think I managed to do my job just fine—until I got a nosebleed.
👤 "Whoa, you're bleeding!"
🌊 "Ah—sorry! I'll be back in a second!"
👤 "Geez, are you working all by yourself?"
🌊 "Uh… I'm really sorry."
Maybe my boss heard, because when I was about to leave, he called me over.
🗣️ "Yorumi, got a minute?"
🌊 "Yes?"
🗣️ "I know you've been working here a long time, and I should've noticed. Handling this many customers alone must be exhausting. I'm thinking of hiring another waiter—how does that sound?"
🌊 "!!?"
🗣️ "I won't post a listing right away if you know someone. Working with a friend might help your spirit."
🌊 "Seriously??"
🗣️ "Yeah. If you have a friend who needs a job, bring them in. Otherwise, I'll post an opening soon."
🌊 "I do! I know someone—I'll bring him in tomorrow!"
🗣️ "Sounds good."
[Back to today]
🌊 "And that's what happened."
☔ "A waiter, huh..."
🌊 "Yup. Oh, and don't worry—while I've worked there, I've never seen another Vivelune fan."
☔ "Another?"
🌊 "I'm the only one."
☔ "Oh."
🌊 "So no need to worry about someone recognizing your voice."
☔ "You paid attention to that…? That's kind of touching."
🌊 "You'll earn money, you'll have a routine, and you can work on your music as a hobby."
☔ "You're right… That might actually be better."
☔ "Thank you, Yorumi."
🌊 "...Whatever."
🌊 "We're here."
(At the bistro)
🗣️ "So you're Yorumi's friend?"
☔ "Yes, I'm Yugazane Senei. I'm looking forward to working with you."
🗣️ "You're older than I expected… I didn't think Yorumi had older friends."
🌊 "Ehh—he's an online friend! We met in person just recently, he was in a tough spot."
🗣️ "I see. Well, as long as Yorumi's showing him the ropes, that's fine."
🌊 "Yep, no problem at all."
🗣️ "Great, then I'll leave him to you two."
🌊☔ "Yes."
Yorumi was a good teacher. I also noticed that whenever I got nervous, she'd hold my hand gently and say, "It's okay." It had been so long since I properly interacted with people. It was a bit overwhelming—but with Yorumi there, I felt like I could manage.
[That night, back at home]
☔ "You're taking time off?"
🌊 "Yeah. I've got a break coming up next week."
☔ "What about me?"
🌊 "You'll still be working. That's why you've got 7 days to get used to things."
☔ "Alright..."
🌊 "You're okay with sleeping on the couch for now?"
☔ "Of course. It's comfier than the futon I used before."
🌊 "Obviously. That futon was falling apart. You threw it out, right?"
☔ "Yeah, I did."
🌊 "Good."
Today felt… new. For the first time in a long while, I felt alive. Some of the customers' jokes even made me laugh. I didn't think working would be this… enjoyable.
🌊 "Yaaawn."
Haha. Also tiring. But I'll try again tomorrow.
☔ "Yaaawn."