A breath of fresh air

“Those muffins are so good! What the hell are they putting in those?”

“Don’t worry, I’m going to check out where the catering came from so we can have them weekly.”

Standing with two of her friends, the redhead was constantly stuffing her mouth with food while her partner analyzed each appetizer as if she wanted to discover its entire atomic composition. Nami felt at peace despite the constant chatter and the soft sound of live music provided by a small orchestra. Honestly, it was refreshing to hear someone else play for a change instead of doing it herself.

It wasn’t until a few minutes ago that the pianist could truly enjoy the bliss of the after-party. Once she stepped into the ballroom on the top floor, she was flooded by people eager to praise her performance. As much as she was grateful for the attention and compliments, it was a bit overwhelming.

Now, it was much more peaceful. Everyone had split into groups scattered across different parts of the room. Nami could see her coworkers laughing and teasing each other. On the other side, Mr. Nakatani was probably buttering up potential future sponsors. The only person she couldn’t spot was—

“Those VIPs sure love to chatter. I thought I’d never get away from them.”

Turning around, Nami saw none other than the missing person, Atsushi. He looked a bit tired—probably from putting up those fake smiles and the cheerful attitude he uses strictly for business interactions. It must have been wearing him out.

“Not worried we’ll be the next ones to tire you out with our chat?” the pianist challenged him.

“Considering your friend over there has her mouth stuffed with muffins and her partner is watching her in case she starts choking, that’s two fewer mouths open,” he chuckled slightly, albeit a bit uncertainly.

Having known him for a while, Nami could guess he was probably worried she’d be offended by him making fun of her friends a little too much.

“Don’t jinx it! Back when Aya and I lived together, we went to an all-you-can-eat buffet. I almost had to call an ambulance for her!” the brunette giggled, accepting her blond companion’s joking sneer to reassure him she wasn’t offended.

“Hah. Anyway, I was actually heading out to the balcony to get some fresh air, but I thought it’d be rude not to congratulate you and give my praises, etc., without the audience first.”

“How thoughtful of you,” Nami chuckled. “But you know what? I think I wouldn’t mind stepping outside for a moment as well.”

She turned toward her friends, who now seemed to have the muffin incident under control. Raising her hand slightly to catch their attention, she nudged her head toward the balcony. Aya nodded but waved her hand to decline the invitation to join them outside. Just as Nami had guessed, if Aya had found a spot by the buffet, she wouldn’t leave it until the end of the party—that was just how she was.

“So, shall we go?”

Nami nodded, and with that, they left the bright lights of the ballroom.

The chilly wind greeted them almost the moment they stepped onto the balcony. It was just the beginning of fall, so it was still fairly warm during the day, but the nights were no longer as pleasant. It wasn’t much of an issue for Nami at the moment. Despite the sudden chill, she quickly adjusted to the lower temperature outside. It must have been all the adrenaline from the event that made her blood feel like it was boiling.

“You won’t be cold?” Now leaning against the railing, the freckled man asked, concerned.

“I’m still running on excitement. It still feels so unreal to me.”

“Good. I’ve been waiting to hear something of yours for way too long.”

“You’re exaggerating!”

“I really am not,” he said, shifting his position to continue leaning on the railing. Now, instead of facing the city, he was looking at the ballroom visible through the enormous windowed door. “I’ve been to every concert and competition you’ve participated in, but again and again, you wouldn’t repeat what you did that one time with your—how did they call it?—‘mistake,’” he said, making air quotes with his fingers. “You really forced me to approach you directly just to hear something brand new from you.”

“Hey! That kind of makes it sound like you didn’t like any of my other performances. That’s rude!” Nami pouted.

“Oh, come on! They were boring and repetitive! Surely you felt bored playing the same old tunes over and over again!”

“I like playing them! There’s nothing wrong with having some stability in life,” she argued.

“I’m not hearing a denial about being bored with it, though,” the man smirked.

“Well, I…” Lost in thought for a moment, Nami decided to change the subject. “You’re a bit of an ass, aren’t you?”

“I might be—” he started, but the pianist cut him off.

“But you’re not only that, as I’ve come to realize over time,” she continued. “You’re not just an entitled rich douchebag like I first thought.” She looked up at him. He seemed displeased with all the jabs she was throwing his way but decided to let her finish. “You’re passionate when you set your mind to something, and you helped me break free from the safe choices I kept hiding behind. I was scared for so long to experiment and surprise people. I thought that sticking to what I was good at was more than enough, but deep inside, I was frustrated—at myself, at everyone around me who didn’t want to challenge me…” Nami closed her eyes for a moment. “It’s funny. I don’t even know where you work or what your last name is, yet I feel like I understand you better than people I’ve known half my life. Strange, isn’t it?”

“You could’ve always looked me up; it’s not that hard,” he teased.

“I thought about it once,” the brunette chuckled, “but I think I prefer getting to know someone without stalking their social media. I’m quirky like that.”

“I appreciate that more than you might think,” the blonde said, standing up to stretch before walking to face Nami for the first time since they’d stepped outside. “People are way too nosy, and once they find out certain things about me, they completely change their approach. It’s… annoying as hell.”

“I don’t mind not knowing everything. We’re friends, aren’t we? I don’t push my friends to talk about things they don’t want to.”

“Friends, huh? That’s nice.”

Without thinking, Nami followed her instincts and hugged the now seemingly happy Atsushi.

“Wha—?”

“Once again, thank you for helping me make tonight a reality.”

“It’s, uh…”

Realizing he wasn’t comfortable, given his stuttering and the way his hands awkwardly hovered above her back, she quickly pulled away.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve asked if you were okay with hugs,” she said, flustered.

“No, no! It’s fine! I was just caught off guard!” he reassured her. “Also, it’s getting a bit chilly, so maybe we should head back inside? I’m hoping to grab at least one of those muffins your friend is so obsessed with—if there are any left,” he laughed.

The rest of the party was spent in mindless chatter. When Nami finally returned home, she didn’t have the energy to do anything but flop onto her bed, too tired to change into more comfortable clothes or wash off her makeup.

It wasn’t until the day before the Soulmate Festival that she realized she hadn’t been wearing her Soullet since the concert.