{Our Days Apart (1-1)}

One Friday night, I joined a drinking party with my university friends, and there was Satou-san too.

But that doesn’t mean we were drinking together.

Sato-san is already working full-time, while I’m still a struggling university student. Regardless of the nature of our relationship, there are barely any connections between Satou-san’s and my current circumstances. She has to commute by train, while I can walk or bike to my university.

Considering that Satou-san still lives at home, perhaps it’s not so surprising that such coincidences happen.

I had planned to join the party late because of my part-time job.

After finishing my shift, I rushed to the chain izakaya (Japanese-style pub) near the station around 7 p.m. The party had already started by then, and as I was greeted with, “You’re late, Yamaguchi!” I apologized and took a seat. Right next to our raised tatami seating area, there she was.

Satou-san was surrounded by a group of adults at the next table.

How did I realize it was her so quickly? Because Satou-san tends to stand out. With her perpetually carefree demeanor, her endlessly friendly smile, the ponytail she never seems to change, and her extremely unpolished sense of fashion.

Most other girls my age wear makeup and become more fashionable as they grow older.

But Satou-san remains plain and awkward. Whenever we go shopping together, I help her pick out clothes, but since it’s a weekday today and she came straight from work, she’s wearing a gray hoodie dress that she probably chose herself.

The idea that “being plain makes you stand out” might sound contradictory, but to me, who’s used to seeing stylish girls at university, a girl like Satou-san is easily noticeable even from the corner of my eye. Just like today, I sensed her presence almost instinctively.

The noisy izakaya made it hard to hear even the conversations from the next table.

The people around Satou-san seemed to be mostly middle-aged women, probably part-timers from the bento shop where she works. There was just one man. A young guy with a short, slightly delinquent hairstyle was sitting next to Satou-san, drinking beer from a mug. Satou-san, sitting in a polite kneeling position, appeared to be drinking orange juice.

Despite spotting her and observing in detail, Satou-san hadn’t noticed me at all.

She didn’t even look my way.

She was intently eating yakitori, paired with orange juice. What a combination.

“—Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi.”

My name was called, and I snapped back to reality.

I turned to find the organizer, a friend of mine, looking at me with an amused smile.

“Spacing out even though you’re late. What are you drinking?”

“Ah… sorry. Well then…”

While answering, I glanced sideways at the table next to us.

Satou-san still hadn’t noticed my name being called. The izakaya was too noisy for her to hear.

“Orange juice, please.”

I decided to copy Satou-san.

The organizer gave me a disbelieving look, but it was just how I felt at the time.

I often have drinking parties with my university friends.

It’s usually with people from the same seminar, or friends from clubs, sometimes with friends of friends, or seniors. There’s always a large crowd, and it’s not uncommon for someone I meet for the first time to be mixed in.

In those cases, everyone has their reasons for attending; not everyone is just there to drink. Most people, including myself, don’t suddenly become studious or serious just because they’ve started university.

“Yamaguchi, which high school did you go to? East? You’re smarter than I thought!”

The girl sitting next to me was chatty.

With her short, silky hair, a lively and adorable smile, and perfectly done makeup, her long lashes, and colorful nails, she embodied a cute, feminine charm. The contrast made her all the more endearing.

Satou-san, on the other hand, has no such contrast. What you see is what you get. Sure, there’s more to her than just her carefree demeanor, but still—

Between conversations, I found myself stealing glances at the next table.

Satou-san was still eating yakitori, seemingly unaware of me. Occasionally, she was handed a dish by one of the older women sitting across from her and bowed her head, looking a bit shy.

Though she started working right after high school, it seemed Satou-san was being treated well at her job. While she’s not a bad person, her lack of perceptiveness makes her difficult to understand, and I’d quietly worried about how that might affect her at work. Since she rarely talked about her job, I was even more curious, but seeing this now put my mind somewhat at ease.

“…Hey, Yamaguchi. Are you listening?”

Called back to the moment by the girl next to me, I forced a friendly smile.

“Ah, sorry. I’m just tired from work.”

“Ugh, don’t talk like an old man!”

I felt bad for disappointing such a cute girl, but I hadn’t come to this party to hit it off with anyone. I already had a girlfriend, so I wasn’t looking for a new connection.

Sometimes you get dragged to these parties when they need more people. That’s what happened tonight, even though I was tired from my job. I don’t dislike parties or talking to girls; I even find it fun, but the whole “social obligation” aspect can be a pain sometimes.

I wonder how Satou-san feels. I hope she’s enjoying her workplace gathering tonight.

“Why aren’t you drinking, Yamaguchi? Are you health-conscious?”

The girl next to me eyed my orange juice.

I gave her a faint smile and replied, “Just… a mood thing?”

Then, almost reflexively, I glanced at the table beside us.

Satou-san was smiling.

She seemed to be chatting with the delinquent-looking guy beside her. While he didn’t seem to be smiling, Satou-san was laughing joyfully.

Satou-san doesn’t have hidden sides or secrets. She always shows the same friendly smile, regardless of who she’s with. But seeing that unchanged smile from afar, I felt an unexpected pang in my chest.

Something about it…

She looked like she was having such a good time.

I’m genuinely happy Satou-san gets along with her coworkers, but seeing her laugh with another guy, especially a young one like that with multiple piercings, made my mood drop.

Satou-san and I don’t talk much about each other’s lives. We avoid it, maybe because it reminds us of how we’ve grown apart. So, I’ve made a point of not asking, and since she doesn’t complain about her job, she usually just shares the latest TV shows or manga she’s into.

Our time together is fun and fulfilling, and I thought that was enough—but not knowing about her work made moments like this more unsettling.

Are she and that guy close? Do they talk often at work? These questions filled my mind.