Chapter 2: The Omen of a Storm

When Hojo casually mentioned a girl’s first name, Sudo’s eyebrow twitched. She glared into space with a sour expression, sipping on her lemon sour. Feeling the tense atmosphere, I thought.

…Maybe calling girls by their first names casually isn’t always a good idea.

After eating and drinking for hours, we finally disbanded around 8 PM. A drunken Kinami kept bragging about his girlfriend as Hojo dragged him home.

The room was filled with the smell of takoyaki. I opened the window for ventilation, letting in the humid night air. Under the white streetlight illuminating the night, small moths gathered.

“It was fun!”

While I was gazing absentmindedly outside, Nanase had quietly come to stand beside me.

She seemed genuinely happy today. I was glad to see that she had found friends she felt comfortable with. Remembering her high school days when she studied alone made me feel nostalgic.

“Oh, by the way, Sagara-kun. Sacchan suggested we all go to Lake Biwa during summer break.”

“Lake Biwa? Why?”

“You can swim like in the sea and have a BBQ on the beach! Hojo-kun will drive us. So, Sagara-kun… want to go?”

“Hmm…”

I pondered Nanase’s question. I wanted to fulfill her wishes, but honestly, I wasn’t too excited about it. I leaned more towards “not wanting to go.” I dislike the heat, and the idea of having a BBQ at Lake Biwa with extroverts made me dizzy. Even though my social circle had expanded a bit, my nature hadn’t changed that much.

As I hesitated, Nanase continued with a smile.

“Also, I’m thinking of buying a new swimsuit. All I have is the school swimsuit from high school PE class.”

Her words instantly tipped my inner scale in the opposite direction. I prefer yukatas over swimsuits, but of course, I’d love to see Nanase in a swimsuit.

“…Alright, I’ll go.”

When I answered, Nanase cheered, “Yay!”

“I can’t wait! What kind of swimsuit should I get?”

Hearing that, I couldn’t help but imagine Nanase in a swimsuit. Though she usually dresses conservatively, I know she has a surprisingly good figure. While daydreaming, Kinami’s words echoed in my mind.

──Having your girlfriend live in the same apartment must be awesome. You can do whatever you want.

…No, no, what am I thinking? Letting Kinami’s thoughts corrupt me isn’t good.

“…By the way, Sagara-kun.”

Suddenly, Nanase peered into my face. I tried to appear calm while desperately pushing away the image of her in a swimsuit, “What?”

“How about we start calling each other by our names…?”

“Eh?”

Her sudden proposal made me widen my eyes. Maybe she was affected by what Kinami said earlier.

“If you don’t like it, we don’t have to! It’s fine as it is!”

Nanase waved her hands frantically in front of her face.

Although it was annoying that Kinami’s words triggered this, maybe this was a good chance to switch to using first names.

“No, it’s fine. Let’s use our names.”

“Uh, okay… Souhei-kun.”

She said with a shy smile that made my heart skip a beat.

Being called by my first name felt strange. Except for my family, no one usually called me by my first name. However, I didn’t dislike it. It made my name feel a bit special.

“…You can call me too…”

Nanase looked at me with expectant eyes. I took a small breath and said her name.

“…H-Haruko-san.”

“Call me without ‘san’!”

“…H-Haruko.”

“Yes,” Nanase replied with a smile. It felt strange saying her name. Maybe I’d get used to it with time.

“…I’ll head back to my room. Goodnight… Souhei-kun.”

I considered calling her name once more but ended up just saying “Goodnight.” Nanase waved and left the room, her floral skirt swaying.

…I can’t even call her by her name smoothly.

Once alone, I whispered “Haruko” to myself. Even though no one could hear, I felt incredibly embarrassed.