ALL NOVEL Chapter 4 - Reasons to Work Part-Time
“Excuse me.”
While holding Mari, Haruya approached the staff at the information center.
The staff member was a young woman, responding with a perfect service smile.
“Yes, how may I assist you?”
“It seems that this little girl has been separated from her parents. Could you please make an announcement?”
“Certainly. May I have her name?”
“Her name is Mari Higashino, she is four years old.”
“Thank you very much.”
The staff member jotted down the name and age and then smoothly picked up the microphone for the in-house announcement.
In a voice slightly louder than before, she called out to the child’s mother who was somewhere in the shopping mall.
“At present, a little girl is in our care at the second-floor information center. If anyone is accompanying Mari Higashino, four years old, please come to the information center.”
She put down the microphone and handed Haruya a form clipped to a binder.
“Could you please fill out your name here?”
“Understood, well…”
Unfortunately, Haruya’s hands were occupied as he was holding Mari.
To make matters worse, Mari had started to doze off in Haruya’s arms. In addition to the kindness with which Haruya had carried her, the stress of being separated from her mother had made her sleepy.
“I’ll write it.”
Observing the situation, Akiba stepped forward.
She took the binder and pen from the staff member and wrote “Haruya Natsukawa” without hesitation.
Her writing was a bit round and cute.
“The kanji is correct, right?”
“Yeah. They’re all simple characters, but it’s great that you know the full kanji.”
“Well, uh, I’ve memorized everyone’s kanji in class.”
“Amazing!?”
“Uh, sorry, that’s not true…”
Haruya, who was taken aback by her sudden admission, and Akiba, who shrugged her shoulders slightly awkwardly.
Mari was fast asleep in Haruya’s arms.
“What kind of lie?”
When Haruya asked with a laugh, Akiba responded with an embarrassed laugh.
“I didn’t really interact much with everyone, so I thought it would be strange if I knew everyone’s full kanji names.”
“That’s not true at all. I know your full name in kanji too.”
“I-Is that so? But I’m glad you know.”
“Yeah.”
The young information center staff member, who was 27 years old, watched the two of them, who were both somewhat embarrassed, with dry eyes.
She had just been dumped by her boyfriend yesterday and was starting to feel left behind.
Despite her heart being broken by the sparkling college students, she was still a professional information center staff member.
She pointed to a nearby sofa and spoke to them.
“I’m sorry, but could you please wait over there until her guardian arrives? It seems the child doesn’t want to leave you.”
“Of course.”
Haruya replied with a smile, then carefully sat down on the sofa without waking Mari.
Akiba sat next to him.
Due to the size of the sofa not being that large, this was the closest the two had been all day.
A sweet, gentle scent wafted over, constantly reminding Haruya that Akiba was beside him.
“Haruya, you’re good with kids.”
Watching the angelic sleeping face of Mari, who had completely relaxed, Akiba commented.
Haruya nodded and replied.
“I have a younger sister. She’s in second grade, but there’s a big age gap. When my sister was about Mari’s age, I took care of her a lot.”
“Heh, so Haruya has a younger sister.”
“Her name is Hikari. She’s quite cheeky and always bustling around.”
Even as he complained about his sister, Haruya’s face was happy.
There was no sign that he disliked his sister’s presence, in fact, it was clear that he was very fond of her.
Akiba also felt that, and responded with a nod, saying “That’s a good sibling relationship.”
“The reason I started working part-time was actually because of my sister.”
“Really!?”
“Yeah. There was a game console my sister really wanted, and I said I’d buy it for her if she scored 100 on her next test.”
“Your sister got a hundred points?”
“I thought she wouldn’t because math is her weak point. But she seems to have studied hard in her own way, so I had to keep my promise.”
“Wow, you’re a good brother.”
“Stop, it’s embarrassing.”
Haruya laughed with a truly embarrassed expression.
Akiba returned that smile with a gentle one of her own.
Then, in her own way, she asked what she had been wondering about.
“I understand why you started working, but why did you become a rental boyfriend?”
“Do I not suit the job?”
“Not that you don’t suit it, it’s just surprising.”
Despite the slightly failed attempt at reassurance, Haruya blamed it all on his bad friend.
“I was invited by Ryoma.”
“Ah, you’re close with Noda, right?”
“Yeah. He told me there was a good job and it turned out to be this rental boyfriend thing. Sure, you can earn more if you get requests, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s not right for me.”
“But it’s fun, right?”
“I guess… if you say so.”
“I wish he wouldn’t go on dates with other girls for work, though.”
Akiba swallowed those words silently.
She knew why Haruya was working and that their relationship was not yet at a stage where she could convey such feelings.
But Akiba had her own thoughts, which had been triggered by a chance event and had been lingering in her heart.
“It’s nice…”
With a calm and sweet atmosphere, and sometimes a touch of embarrassment and shyness, Haruya and Akiba had a relaxed conversation.
The staff member, who had been absent-mindedly watching them, murmured with dead eyes.
“I want to go back… to being a college student…”
The almost left-behind sister managed to hold back her tears.