Chapter 2: A Chance Encounter at the Pharmacy

Two weeks had passed since the class reunion.

The lingering feelings from that night should have faded back into everyday life by now, and yet, every so often, Sayo would suddenly remember Haruki’s smile.

In the group chat contact list on her phone, the name Haruki Koyama was still there, untouched.

It was early afternoon at the pharmacy.

As usual, Sayo was accepting prescriptions and entering information into the register for payment when a familiar voice suddenly made her look up.

“…Excuse me, I have a prescription for some cold medicine.”

The man in a suit standing before her lowered his mask slightly.

—Koyama.

His name surfaced in her chest faster than she could breathe.

“Matsubara?”

His eyes widened in surprise, and a smile naturally appeared on Sayo’s face as well.

“I knew it… Koyama.”

For a brief moment, silence passed between them across the reception counter.

There were other patients around them, yet to Sayo, his was the only voice she could hear.

“It’s been since the reunion. Never thought I’d run into you here.”

“Seriously. …Are you feeling okay?”

“My throat’s been hurting a little. I got some medicine prescribed at the hospital, so I stopped by here.”

Sayo checked the prescription, entered it into the computer, and proceeded with the payment.

All the while, she desperately tried to hide how quickly her heart was beating.

After paying and receiving his bag of medicine, Haruki opened his mouth with a slightly hesitant expression.

“We didn’t really get to talk much last time, so… if you’re free, want to grab dinner sometime?”

Sayo’s heart gave one strong thump.

“Yeah… sure.”

“I’ll add you from the class reunion group chat.”

Haruki gave her a small nod, put his mask back on, and left the pharmacy.

The moment the automatic doors closed behind him, Sayo realized that a small warmth had begun to spread deep inside her chest.

A little while later, her phone vibrated briefly.

《Thanks for today. I’ll message you again.》

The moment she read it, Sayo’s expression naturally softened.

—Maybe it wasn’t just a coincidence.

That feeling quietly began to fill her heart.

From that day onward, messages from Haruki began appearing on Sayo’s phone from time to time.

《Finished work?》

《I’m in Osaka on a business trip this week.》

《Is the pharmacy open on Saturdays too?》

Their conversations were short and trivial.

Even so, every time a notification sounded, Sayo couldn’t stop her heart from lifting.

Her fingertips trembled ever so slightly as she typed.

(Was Koyama always like this…?)

Back in high school, compared to the other boys in their class, he had always seemed calm and mature.

But at the time, simply exchanging glances with him had been more than enough to make her nervous.

Twelve years had passed since then.

And now they were exchanging messages like this—

Just as she was about to turn off the screen, another notification appeared.

The sender was Eita Saito.

《Matsubara, how’ve you been? That reunion the other day was fun.》

《Let’s actually go out for dinner sometime.》

The lighthearted tone of his messages made Sayo smile wryly.

Eita had always been cheerful, the type who naturally livened up everyone around him.

At the reunion, they had exchanged contact information as part of the natural flow of conversation.

—But…

At that moment, she remembered Haruki’s gaze at the pharmacy.

She was certain that he had been watching from a distance that day.

(How am I supposed to respond…?)

Still unsure, Sayo sent Haruki only one message.

《Thanks for today. I hope you feel better soon.》

His short reply came almost immediately.

《Thanks for worrying about me. You really haven’t changed, Matsubara.》

The glow from the screen seemed to gently warm her heart.

Meanwhile, Eita’s unread messages remained there, quietly growing heavier in the back of her mind.

That weekend, after finishing work and returning home, Sayo changed into comfortable clothes and began boiling some water when her phone vibrated.

The name Eita Saito appeared on the screen.

—A call.

(What should I do…? I should probably answer.)

She brought the phone to her ear, and an energetic voice immediately came through.

“Hey, Matsubara! Is now a good time? Thought I’d call and talk for a bit.”

“Yeah, it’s fine, but… what’s up?”

“You know that dinner I mentioned before? How about sometime next week? There’s a really good yakitori place near my gym.”

She had no particular reason to refuse.

And yet, she found herself hesitating.

“…Let me check my schedule.”

“Okay! I’ll message you again.”

The call ended in the same cheerful tone.

His overly energetic voice lingered in her ears, leaving a faint restlessness in her chest.

The sound of boiling water brought her back to reality.

Just as she turned off the heat, another notification sounded.

This time, it was from Haruki Koyama.

《Matsubara, are you free next Friday? Want to go out for drinks?》

A short message.

That alone was enough to make her heart jump.

It was the same kind of invitation, and yet Haruki’s message had no unnecessary embellishment.

It reached straight into her heart.

(…What should I do?)

She pictured her calendar in her mind.

If she accepted both invitations—

What would happen?

Haruki had been someone she had quietly cared about since long ago.

But she didn’t dislike Eita’s cheerful personality either.

In the end, Sayo replied only to Haruki.

《I’m free. It’s been a while, so let’s go for drinks.》

After closing the screen, she felt relieved.

But at the same time, a strange sense of guilt brushed lightly against her chest.

She had not yet fully realized that, by the following week, she would find herself wavering between two invitations.