Book 5: Chapter 7: 29th of October (Thursday) – Asamura Yuuta
Roughly a week has passed since Narasaka-san’s birthday party. After I woke up in the morning, I changed into my uniform and headed over to the bathroom. We’ve reached the season that makes your feet cold whenever you walk on the floor. I thankfully possessed enough drowsy willpower to keep walking, and I shaved in front of the mirror and put on face lotion. After that, I combed my hair to keep it fresh. ‘Keeping it fresh’ in this case just meant removing any traces of bed hair and calling it a day.
Ever since the cultural festival, I’ve learned from Ayase-san and made it a routine to take proper care of myself in the morning. After doing that for a while, I realized that I was practically the only one not following through with proper skincare.
“I never would have imagined that that would be Dad’s.”
The blue and transparent bottle standing on the washbasin was men’s face lotion. I was utterly baffled. Not to mention that it had been standing there long before he met Akiko-san. I remember him saying that he has to deal with customers from time to time. I really can’t underestimate him. And similarly, I realized that I was actually the type of person to not care about things that weren’t directly related to me.
I should probably show more care to the stuff around me. Or rather, my desire to evoke affection from others has been far too low up to this point. Ayase-san said I was perfectly fine the way I am right now, but I don’t want to make any compromises when it comes to my feelings for Ayase-san. I want to work harder, even if it’s just at my own pace and in my own ways.
As a comment in that regard, the side of the washbasin was now crowded with other bottles and cups that were now not just from me and my old man, but also from Ayase-san and Akiko-san. It’s one of the things that made the realization that my family had grown really set in. When there’s two more people living with you, the number of objects in your vicinity grows similarly. Even more so since it’s not just two men living here. Seeing all the cosmetic goods I’d never even heard of left me baffled. Let alone the fact that, according to Ayase-san, she doesn’t even keep most of her makeup and skincare products here in the bathroom. Honestly, what else could they even be using?
After we finished breakfast, Ayase-san left the house before me, and I followed afterwards, leaving a significant distance between us. I pedaled my bike through Shibuya. It’s the time of year when the breeze blowing against me isn’t comfortable and soothing anymore. Instead, it’s quite chilly. One more month and that chilly breeze will change to a freezing wind. I parked my bike at the usual place, arriving at my classroom exactly five minutes before classes started. I started preparing for my classes. Maru walked into the room, probably having finished his morning practice, and sat down on the chair in front of me.
“Morning, Maru. Finished with morning practice?”
“Yep. Well, same business as usual, no biggie.”