Chapter 7: If a Meteor Falls, That’s When It Happens

December 23rd.

I spent the day fidgeting, unable to settle down, as I faced my first outing in seven months.

Tomorrow, I would be taken to the place I wanted to go. But when I was finally given the freedom to choose, I found myself at a loss.

Since it was a special day, I wanted to go to a special place.

After much deliberation, I realized I didn’t have such a desire.

Just being able to walk under the sky with Senpai would make it a wonderful day.

Once I thought that, I stopped worrying.

I decided on one place I wanted to go, and the rest could be left to chance.

I spent the day researching the town we’d visit tomorrow, looking up what it had to offer whenever I had the time.

The laptop spread out on Senpai’s desk. As I stared at it, engrossed, I became unaware of the outside world.

What brought me back to reality was the loss of weight on my lap. Kurosu-ke had silently gotten up and left.

Finally noticing the presence behind me, I turned around.

“Hey, I’m home.”

“W-welcome back…”

I was caught off guard by Senpai’s sudden return.

I glanced at the bottom right corner of the laptop. It was just past 7 PM.

“Uh… you’re early today.”

“Well, today’s a special case.”

I quickly stood up from the chair and held out my hands to Senpai. After taking his coat, Senpai headed straight for the shower.

Today wasn’t Friday, but I had been told yesterday that Senpai would stop by Gami’s shop, so dinner wasn’t needed. Still, Senpai had been working late recently, so his early return was unexpected.

I breathed a sigh of relief, glad I hadn’t been lying on the bed when he arrived.

After preparing the usual hangover remedies, I took a shower while Senpai returned from the bathroom.

The bathroom was filled with steam and heat, as Senpai had just used it.

Getting naked in a place where an adult man, not even family, had just bathed. When I first moved in, I found it embarrassing and always waited a while before using the bathroom.

Now, it had become a normal part of my daily life.

“Ah…”

Realizing I had forgotten my underwear after leaving the bathroom had also become a rare but regular occurrence.

It had become a habit to prepare my clothes in the changing room by evening. I always laid out Senpai’s clothes, but I couldn’t do the same for my own. While shirts and shorts were fine, I couldn’t leave my underwear where Senpai could see it.

At first, I would wear the underwear I had planned to wash and change again in my room.

Now, accustomed to this life, I would put on my underwear after returning to my room. Cleanliness outweighed momentary embarrassment. I couldn’t stand the thought of putting on used underwear after just cleaning myself.

Compared to before, I had become much bolder.

The sliding door to Senpai’s room, which led to the living room, was open. As I quietly tried to open the door to my room,

“Whoa… no way.”

Senpai’s surprised voice made me stop.

“I can’t believe it’s still there.”

“What’s wrong?”

Curiosity won over my embarrassment at not wearing underwear. Hiding behind the door, I peeked into Senpai’s room.

“Remember the story about what I did in high school?”

“Yes.”

Senpai only turned his head toward me.

“I made my TV debut back then.”

“You mentioned that, among other things.”

“The news segment from that time has been uploaded to a video site.”

“What, really!?”

Excited by the discovery of this treasure, I rushed into Senpai’s room.

At that moment, I completely forgot about my state of undress.

◆

It had been days of overtime, but today I was allowed to leave on time.

No matter how much I tried to hide it, taking paid leave for Christmas was too obvious. Even Katagiri-san teased me enviously, telling me to enjoy a wonderful night without worrying about Tokuda. That’s how I was sent off.

Instead of going straight home, I stopped by Gami’s shop.

This week’s Friday was the 25th. I wouldn’t have time to visit the shop that day. There were things I wanted to talk about, so I went to see him, thinking it would be the last time this year.

As I was leaving, he casually mentioned that the news segment from our TV debut had been uploaded to a video site.

It was footage from our youthful days when we made our TV debut.

“Wow, this is so nostalgic.”

Two high school boys sitting on folding chairs.

One was, of course, me, and the other was Gami. His body, hidden under a dress shirt, hadn’t yet undergone its transformation.

Their faces were blurred for privacy, but I could vividly remember Gami’s serious expression as he nodded beside my talkative self.

“Wow, I look so young.”

I couldn’t help but voice that thought. Even though I hadn’t seen my own face, it appeared in my mind alongside Gami’s.

I hadn’t bought a graduation album, so I didn’t have any childhood photos.

I was a child who hated photos. I even felt disgusted at the thought of having my picture taken. It was a physical aversion.

I didn’t like my face, but I didn’t hate it either.

That’s why I never understood why I disliked having my photo taken.

But now, I realized the reason.

It wasn’t my appearance I disliked—it was my life.

I hated my parents.

I hated my teachers.

My classmates… were just like my face.

I didn’t want to capture moments I didn’t want to remember. Maybe I felt aversion because I had no one to share those moments with.

I never thought the day would come when I’d look back at my past with amusement.

Ah. In that sense, maybe that incident was indeed my only youthful memory.

After all, looking back, it’s something I can laugh about now.

“You really do sound younger than you do now.”

Watching my past self, whose face wasn’t even visible, I heard a soft chuckle from behind.

“So, Senpai really was a high school student, huh?”

“Of course. Did you think I dropped out or something?”

“I thought you might’ve been homeschooled.”

“You little…”

I frowned for a moment but quickly relaxed. It was just a joke, so there was no need to get angry.

“Senpai. One more time, just one more time.”

“Alright, alright.”

When the video ended, Rena excitedly asked to watch it again. I replayed it, and she fell silent like a well-behaved moviegoer.

I was satisfied after one viewing. I leaned back in my chair, no longer leaning forward toward the screen.

“Hmm…” I almost groaned.

An unfamiliar, soft, and pleasant sensation enveloped the back of my head.

“Ah…”

A faint voice escaped, not from me.

Rena, who had been leaning forward to watch the screen, must have rested her ample chest against the headrest.

I understood how this situation had come about.

The problem was the warmth of her skin, separated only by a thin layer of fabric.

While men’s underwear typically refers to pants, women have another type. It was clear Rena wasn’t wearing hers.

The sensation of her against the back of my neck was too vivid to brush off with a joke. I couldn’t bring myself to pull away, as if under a spell.

So, I waited for Rena to move first. Hearing her embarrassed voice would help me regain my composure.

I could joke, “Thank you,” as usual.

But that moment never came.

“You really… look so young, Senpai.”

Her voice, strained with forced calm, reached my ear.

I couldn’t hear my own voice from the speakers.

My heart was pounding loudly.

Was it mine? Or was it Rena’s? Both heartbeats were so intense, I couldn’t tell them apart.

“Senpai… one more time.”

Did I imagine her saying she didn’t want to pull away? Following her heated tone, I replayed the video.

Whether she truly wanted to watch it again, Rena leaned forward once more.

Her hand slid from the backrest to my shoulder, pressing down as if molding to the shape of my neck.

A quiet, deep exhale brushed against my ear.

The warmth that seeped into my eardrum sent a sensual shiver through my brain.

I couldn’t see Rena’s expression.

But it was clear she wasn’t innocently giggling at my younger self.

Her attention was no longer on the screen. I wasn’t so dense as to miss that.

The third replay ended.

No request for another viewing came.

The suffocating silence finally got to me.

“Rena…”

“…Yes?”

Her sweet voice carried a hint of expectation.

“I was actually planning to do this tomorrow…”

“…It’s fine with me.”

Rena responded to my incomplete sentence, letting her hand slip from my shoulder. She clasped her hands around my neck.

“It’s fine.” What she meant was obvious. She was okay with moving tomorrow’s plans up to today.

“I’ll apologize in advance.”

My vague wording clearly didn’t match her response.

“Starting next month, I’ll be a lot busier.”

“…Huh?”

I suppressed the rising desire. I could’ve gone along with the mood, but I wanted to save special things for special days.

Her voice, tinged with disappointment, cooled the heat in my brain.

The atmosphere shifted, and I finally regained my composure.

I wanted tomorrow to be just a fun day.

“If I get fired from this company, I won’t be able to recover. I’ve always believed I’m just a bottom-tier office worker.”

So, it was better to bring this up now.

“But my boss told me that’s just an excuse because I’ve never had to struggle for a better job.”

“An excuse?”

“When he said that, I realized he was right. I’ve never been desperate for money.”

To earn a living in this society, you have to endure hardship. I hated that.

No matter how much I struggled, the happiness I could gain from this society was limited. Even if I worked twice or three times as hard, the rewards wouldn’t increase proportionally.

“But now, I want money.”

One day, I started feeling that my life was lacking.

“My salary isn’t enough to casually buy a game console. It’s too pathetic for a grown adult. I realized that.”

When I glimpsed my mentor’s life, I saw the answer.

The reason my efforts didn’t yield proportional rewards was because I was walking through life alone. My life was so impoverished that the weight on my shoulders didn’t even amount to one.

It was a 0.1 life. Even if I worked ten times harder, I’d only gain one unit of happiness.

It was a terribly inefficient way to live.

“Overtime pay alone isn’t enough.”

Suddenly, my life became richer. By working just twice as hard, the happiness I gained multiplied.

Naturally, I started wanting more.

“So, like in a web novel, I decided to rise from the bottom.”

“Rise from the bottom?”

“I’ll dethrone the current leader and create Team Tamachi.”

That’s why I accepted Sasaki-san’s proposal.

I’ve never worked hard before. I didn’t think someone like me could suddenly become a team leader and succeed.

But my boss believed in me. He said he’d back me up and told me to give it my all.

The person who said they’d be in trouble if I left was even happy about my promotion. I wouldn’t be thrown into the deep end immediately, but they promised to train me thoroughly.

“I’ll probably be coming home on the last train every day. And even that won’t be enough—I’ll have to study on my days off too.”

“Is that okay? Do you really need to work that hard?”

She sounded worried about why I was pushing myself so much.

“It’s the price I have to pay for not working hard before. I don’t want to feel any more pathetic, so I want to settle this now.”

Everyone lives like this.

It’s my fault for not believing in those divine words. The debts I’ve accumulated in life can’t be paid by someone else.

If I can’t go back to the past, I have to start paying them off now, while I’m motivated.

“So, I’ll apologize in advance. I’ll probably cause you some trouble, and I won’t be able to take care of you like before. I’m sorry, but please bear with it.”

That’s why I needed to apologize.

Our relationship wasn’t equal by any means.

It wasn’t about the benefits we brought each other.

No matter what, we were an adult and a child.

The debts an adult hadn’t paid. Making a child shoulder that burden was an inexcusable folly.

At least, that’s how it was in this country’s social norms.

“I understand.”

Rena murmured softly.

“If Senpai wants to work that hard, it’s fine with me.”

She wasn’t angry or exasperated at my inadequacy as an adult.

“No matter how hard it gets, I’ll support you.”

It was a declaration that she would share the burden with me.

“Thank you. I’m counting on you.”

“But promise me one thing.”

She tightened her arms around my neck and leaned into me.

“As you know, I’m a bit of a needy person.”

She chuckled at her own flaw.

“Please make sure to give me attention outside of work.”

Her voice was sweet, almost pleading.

Working hard meant less time for easy, enjoyable moments.

A more wonderful future might be waiting ahead. I had endured and endured, believing in that, but one day, my happiness might be snatched away.

If the ground beneath my feet crumbled, I might lament, “What was all that hard work for?”

But if I worried about that and indulged in easy, comfortable moments, a brighter future would never come.

Everyone lives like this.

For now, I wanted to believe in that and strive for happiness, even if it meant enduring hardship.

“Yeah, I promise.”

Well, if a meteor falls, that’s when it happens.