{Our Monday Morning 2}

After finishing breakfast with a fried egg on toast, Miyu begins getting ready for work.

“Atsushi-kun, I’ll use the bathroom first,” she says.

“Go ahead,” I reply.

I watch her head to the bathroom from the sofa. Most mornings, she leaves the house before I do, so I don’t mind her going first, but it’s typical of her to ask for permission each time.

When she goes to work, Miyu puts on some makeup, albeit just a little compared to girls her age. She applies foundation, draws her eyebrows, gives her eyelashes a slight curl, and finishes with a hint of color on her lips for a natural look that suits her. Someone who isn’t very close to her might tilt their head in confusion, wondering what exactly has changed.

But I can tell the difference.

When she comes out of the bathroom, she’s all made up and looks more mature.

“I’m done. Atsushi-kun, it’s your turn.”

“Thanks.”

I had already washed my face before she woke up and fixed my bedhead. Since I only need to brush my teeth in the bathroom, I finish quickly. Even though we live together, I still don’t want to show her my messy side too often. It’s one thing when we wake up together on a day off, but still.

As I brush my teeth at the sink, I see myself in the mirror, my hair neatly styled, and I secretly wonder if this is something that’s only happening for now.

There might actually be quite a few things that are limited to this early stage of living together.

Miyu waking up only after I’ve roused her, and me getting ready while she’s still asleep—these may be things that won’t last forever.

Eventually, we’ll both get used to living together, and she might be able to get up on her own or even feel fine about spending time with messy hair. According to my dad, I’ll start shaving every day in a few years—he was like that himself, and if that’s true, I might end up spending time in front of her with stubble. I can’t really imagine that happening.

But I’m not afraid of change.

Why? Because she and I have already spent a long time together. I vividly remember what kind of person I was when I first sat next to her in our second year of high school, and I know well what kind of person she was. I think we’ve both changed quite a bit since those days, and at least for me, I really enjoy the changes in both myself and her.

So, I’m sure I’ll enjoy the changes to come as well, and the fact that these moments are fleeting.

I hope Miyu feels the same way.

Every morning at 7:30, she leaves the house.

She takes a bus to the station, and from there, she takes a train to the office district where she works. It takes about five minutes to walk from our apartment to the bus stop, so she says leaving at this time is usually enough to make it without a rush.

“Well, I can’t be as relaxed as I was in high school,” she says as she heads toward the entrance, and I chase after her to see her off.

Miyu’s work outfit consists of a beige coat, a modest dress, and low-heeled shoes. She doesn’t have to wear a suit, and she says she wears a uniform at work anyway. I haven’t seen her in her work uniform yet, but according to her, it’s “a bit flashy and embarrassing.”

After putting on her ballet flat-like shoes, Miyu turns around and looks up at me.

“See you later!”

When I say that, she smiles for a moment before suddenly looking away shyly.

“Somehow… it seems like you’re more put together than I am, Atsushi-kun.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your hair is all neat, and you look like you could just walk outside like that. It’s impressive.”

Of course, I’m looking decent because I woke up early to get ready, but she doesn’t need to feel embarrassed. It’s something I enjoy doing.

“You look pretty too, Miyu. You’re cute.”

“That’s… not what I meant, but I’m happy to hear it.”

Flustered by my words, Miyu mumbles on.

“I just feel like I’ve been slacking off for longer. Seeing you looking good makes me think I should be more put together too.”

I’ve never really thought of her as being lazy, though.

But if she’s worried about it…

“Then maybe I’ll try being a bit messy too, like sending you off with bedhead.”

I say this on a whim.

Suddenly, her eyes widen in surprise, and then she gently smiles.

“I can’t imagine a messy Atsushi-kun.”

“If you want to see it, I can show you, but I worry you might get tired of me.”

“That’s not true. I’d be fine with you however you are.”

Miyu says this with conviction.

Her straightforwardness leaves me momentarily speechless.

Yet, she immediately starts to feel shy about her own words and flusters.

“W-well, I’m off now!”

Her face flushed red, she hurriedly steps out the door.

Once the door closes and I’m left alone in the entrance, I stand there for a moment.

In my mind, I keep replaying Miyu’s words from earlier—I really think she’s changed a lot. I never imagined she would express her feelings so clearly.

Surely, we will continue to change in the future. We might start showing each other our messy sides, and more importantly, I believe we’ll discover new sides of each other that we didn’t know before, which will make me fall for her all over again.

Thinking about such a future, I leave the entrance feeling good.

For now, it’s time for laundry and cleaning.

This morning seemed especially fun.