Epilogue

A few days after enduring the curious stares from class thanks to the “lover’s hold incident.”

Whether we were lovers or just friends remained ambiguously up in the air, but the time Umi and I spent together had undeniably increased compared to before.

First off, mornings.

Still half-awake, barely conscious after rolling out of bed, the intercom at my increasingly busy house rang.

“Yeah, yeah, Maehara here.”

“Good morning, Auntie Masaki. Is Maki awake?”

“Oh, morning, Umi-chan. Maki just stumbled out with some epic bedhead.”

“Got it. Then I’ll pop in and give him a little wake-up boost!”

“Don’t start practicing your slaps in front of the intercom, now.”

I cut into Mom’s conversation, and Umi’s face lit up instantly.

She wakes up earlier than me and comes to pick me up, yet she’s still so chipper.

“Maki, morning!”

“Mmh, morning. Come on up for now.”

“Yep!”

That’s how it’s been—not every day, but when we’ve got time, we’ve started walking to school together. Though we meet up with Amami-san partway, so it’s not always just the two of us.

Naturally, the jealous glares from others have ramped up, but that’s a different story.

“Pardon the intrusion… Whoa, your hair’s worse than usual. Come here, I’ll fix it.”

“N-No, it’s fine. A little water’ll handle this easy.”

“I’m saying I’ll tidy it up while I’m at it. Here, sit down.”

With that, Umi grabbed her trusty wax and comb, efficiently taming my bedhead.

“…Mom, why’re you grinning to yourself over there?”

“Hm? Just thinking I don’t have to worry about Maki’s future anymore~”

“Oh, is that so?”

I endured Mom’s warm gaze for about five minutes, and just like that, my hair was done.

“There, that should do it. How’s it look?”

“Yeah. Not bad… I think.”

My face in the hand mirror she gave me was as plain as ever, but it was tolerable, I guess.

Instead of the usual messy mop I’d half-comb with my hands, it was a proper tousled style now.

If I could just do something about these deep bags from staying up late every night, it might even be a decent face… maybe.

“Your thanks?”

“…Uh, thanks.”

“Heh, you’re welcome. …You look cool, Maki.”

“—! Flattery’s not getting you anything.”

“Well, compared to earlier, anyway. Like, a 0.1% boost?”

“Hey.”

I want back the heartbeat she just stole from me.

“Oh my, oh my, oh my… hehe.”

Ignoring Mom snapping pics of us with her digital camera, this was how it’d been. It hadn’t been long, but Umi was already settling into the Maehara household pretty well.

Next up would be my turn, but according to Umi, Sora-san had apparently overheard Daichi-san—her dad—gushing about me, and I was starting to feel cornered. Ever since the sleepover incident, Mom and Sora-san had gotten close enough to chat frequently, steadily filling in the moat around me.

For now, I shooed Mom off to work—she’d been teasing me relentlessly—and Umi and I took a moment to relax together.

Why does my usual bland morning black coffee taste faintly sweet today?

“It’s a bit early, but should we head out?”

“Yeah. Yuu just left her place too.”

We finished cleaning up the dishes together and stepped out of the house—together.

Of course, holding hands tightly the whole time.

“…Umi, uh.”

“Hm?”

“About my answer from back then.”

Timing it for when we were alone in the elevator, I steeled myself and brought it up.

Things had stayed vague this whole time, but leaving it unresolved felt off.

“Thanks for saying you love me. I’ve never had friends, I was practically air in class, and my face is nothing special—but getting close to someone as cute as you made me so happy.”

“…Oh. Then maybe it was worth mustering up a little courage.”

If Umi hadn’t found me, I’d probably have doubled down on being a loner, locking myself in my shell. Finishing the festival committee work, slowly changing how classmates saw me—all of it was thanks to Umi and the connections she brought.

A stroke of unexpected luck sparked by that botched self-introduction.

“Right now, I’ve only just made friends, so stuff like boyfriends, girlfriends, or dating—I don’t really get it. I don’t have the confidence yet to proudly say I’m Asanagi Umi’s boyfriend.”

Still, I don’t want to let go of this once-in-a-lifetime bond myself.

“…So, Umi. Sorry for the lame answer, but could you wait just a bit longer—until I can confidently say I like you? I want to stand tall in front of everyone and say I’m dating Asanagi Umi.”

Sure, sneaking around and goofing off like this is fun, but it’s also caused some trouble. If we’re gonna take this a step further, being open about it would be better, right?

“So, you wanna keep things like this for a while longer?”

“Not exactly like this… I mean…”

Since we’re both aware of each other as more than friends now, going back to how it started would be tough. So—

“…Like friends, but with the idea of becoming lovers eventually.”

“Like ‘dating with marriage in mind’? Starting as friends or something?”

“I can’t explain it well, but… yeah, kinda like that, I think.”

Since Umi and I are already friends, I’m not sure if that phrasing fits exactly.

“I see. So basically, you’re cheeky enough to wanna keep me on hold, huh, Maki?”

“N-No, that’s not what I—well, I guess it could look that way… Sorry.”

“Seriously. But since I’m obviously your number one, there’s no changing that, right? I’ll let it slide with just a warning. Lucky you, Maki—I’m a sweet, understanding girl. Anyone else would’ve decked you by now.”

Probably true. Her personality, her looks—she’s way too good for a guy like me.

And this is the “second-cutest girl in class”? The rest of them must be blind.

“Anyway, I get how you feel, so I’m relieved for now. We’ve only been friends for three months, so taking it slow won’t hurt anyone.”

“…Yeah. Hope so.”

“Yep. Let’s go at our own pace, not worrying about anyone else.”

As we stepped out of the elevator, the crisp morning air greeted us.

Another single-digit-temperature morning with strong winds. Gotta stay warm.

“Oh, Maki. You dropped something by your feet.”

“Huh? Oh, sorry. Maybe my house keys—”

—Chu.

The moment I looked away from Umi, a soft, slightly damp sensation pressed against my cheek.

Umi kissed me on the cheek.

“U-Umi… uh, w-what…”

“Hehe, gotcha~”

Pulling away from my stunned face, Umi pressed her index finger to her lips and continued.

“Lips are for when we’re officially lovers, okay? …I’m gonna go meet up with Yuu first.”

“Oh… uh, yeah. Got it, but—”

“Ehehe… Maki, I’ll be waiting.”

With her ears bright red, Umi flashed a shy smile and darted off.

“I keep saying, that kinda thing’s no fair…”

I agreed to going at our own pace, but isn’t this skipping ahead a bit too much?