Chapter 16: The things couples do at night

Tuesday, 6 May, 20XX - Part 2

The white minivan parked next to our red Kei car.

Yui and I looked at each other. We drew nervous breaths. We had this entire lake to ourselves for the past couple of days.

Who were these people?

The doors opened and four people got out. Two guys and two girls. Based on their age and looks, they seemed to be university students – or high school graduates.

I let out a silent sigh of relief. At least it wasn’t the police.

One of the guys noticed us. He raised his hand and waved. I did the same.

“We’ll have to talk to them,” I said.

“Mh…”

We walked towards them.

“Hello,” I said, unsure of how to approach this kind of situation.

The guy smiled at us. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Murakami Ryu.”

I didn’t know what else to say. I had a giant target on my back. Did they recognize the red Kei car? There are ‘Wanted’ posters in some convenience stores. Maybe my face got put up while we were camping here.

“Are you here to camp?” Yui said and grabbed my arm.

“That’s right.” He looked at Yui and then me. His expression shifted slightly, although I couldn’t really tell what he was thinking. Maybe it’s because Yui was acting like we were a couple. “Is it just you two here?”

I said nothing. I waited for Yui to answer.

“We’ve got two friends joining us the day after tomorrow,” Yui said. “We came first because we had some time off.”

“I see, that’s nice.”

Yui smiled slightly. The corners of her eyes crinkled. The wheels in her head were turning. She was preparing to do something.

Upon a closer look, their minivan was filled with suitcases and boxes, to the point where their windows were blocked.

They weren’t here for a simple camping holiday.

After they had finished unloading their things, we sat around the campfire in camping chairs, making formal introductions.

The guy who came to greet us was called Murakami Ryu. He was a third year student at Tokyo Gakugei University. He spoke with a hint of an Osaka accent.

The other guy, his younger brother, was called Murakami Kota. He was a first year at Tokyo Gakugei University. He and his elder brother both attended a high school with a close relationship with the university, and that’s how both of them ended up studying there.

The two girls were also Tokyo Gakugei students.

The first one was called Kobayashi Yuki. She was a first year student and currently dating the elder Murakami brother. She was in the same major as him, agricultural sciences, and they were currently engaged.

The second girl was Kobayashi Fumi. She was a second year student and dating the younger Murakami brother. After some prodding by Yui, we found out that it was her younger sister, Yuki, who started dating the elder Murakami brother first, and then introduced her to the younger brother later on.

In other words, the two brothers were dating two sisters. All four of them attended the same university.

Tokyo Gakugei University…

“Haruto, wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could go to a top university like Tokyo Gakugei? Don’t worry about tuition fees! Mama will work hard so that you can study.”

A long time ago, mother said those words. She worked hard so I could focus on studying.

In the end, the world gave her so little for her efforts, and all the good grades I earned were for naught.

“That’s amazing. All of you attend Tokyo Gakugei,” I said.

“Ahaha,” Murakami Ryu, the elder Murakami brother, scratched the back of his head. “It’s not that amazing, seriously.”

“Getting into university is hard,” the younger Murakami explained. “But once you’re in, you don’t need to study that hard. You just need to hand in your assignments on time, and those aren’t that difficult.”

“Oh, aren’t the lectures tough?”

“Most of us are too busy working part-time jobs,” Kobayashi Yuki, the younger Kobayashi sister, said.

“That’s true,” Kobayashi Fumi agreed. She let out a big sigh and leaned back in her camping chair. “Rent, utilities, transport, food – everything is so expensive in Tokyo. We barely have time to study.”

“Ah…I see,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment.

Mother wanted me to attend university so I could find a good job later on. She wanted me to have a better life. She worked herself to death trying to save enough money.

The reality of university felt like an insult to her efforts.

I gritted my teeth. Silent anger rose within me.

It was Yui who asked the most important question.

“You are here because of those emails?”

The four university students looked at each other and nodded, as if to make sure that it was okay to tell us this.

It was the elder Murakami brother who answered.

“After the traffic light incident, we decided it’s better to leave the city before May 8. We wanted to go camping anyway, so the timing works out well.”

“If nothing happens on May 8, then we will just go back,” the elder Kobayashi sister said.

“I hope the world ends,” the younger Kobayashi sister whined. “I don’t wanna go to those lectures anymore. It feels like my head is about to explode.”

The entire time, Yui said nothing. Her smile had fallen away, her expression inscrutable.

“You two are high schoolers, right?” the younger Murakami brother asked.

I froze. Was it okay to answer that question?

I suppose there was no hiding it. Yui and I did look younger compared to them. And university students especially, who were high schoolers themselves only a few years ago, can easily tell that we were still high schoolers.

I glanced at Yui. She nodded.

“Mh, yeah. We’re high schoolers,” I said. “Our parents are away on business during Golden Week, so we decided to go on a camping trip…just in case something like the traffic light incident happens again. Ah – I have a driver’s license and this is my father’s car.”

“How nostalgic!” Kobayashi Yuki exclaimed. “I wish I could’ve gone camping with my classmates in high school.”

“But we’re camping as university students,” her boyfriend, Murakami Ryu, said.

“That’s not the same! There are some things that can only be experienced when we’re in high school! Like uniform dates. After graduation, the precious uniform is just a costume.”

“I don’t understand you…”

“Hey! That’s a problem! We’ve been dating for a year already! We’re engaged!”

Everyone laughed.

Yui’s stoic expression broke. She cracked a smile, then laughed.

What was she thinking?

For dinner, the six of us made curry with rice, then we went to sleep in our tents. The four of them had two tents, one for each couple.

I hoped that we wouldn’t be able to hear what they did at night — the things couples do at night. It would make things awkward for us since Yui and I weren’t actually dating.

“Hey, Yui.”

We lay side by side in the tent. Somehow, the mood was somber.

“Hmm?”

“Why did you say that we were dating? During self-introductions.”

“I never said that.”

“You grabbed my arm.”

“Oh.” She said nothing for a moment, the silence of the night filling the air. “I just thought things will be easier if they think we’re a couple. We wouldn’t need to explain so much to them, and it’s safer that way. That’s also why I told them that we’re expecting friends to join us. This way they’ll think twice before trying anything.”

“I see. That’s really smart of you.”

“Haruto.”

“Yeah?”

“What do you think of them? The four university students.”

“They seem like nice people.”

“Really?”

“I don’t know.” I took a breath. I might as well tell the truth. “I was disappointed by how frivolous they were. My mother wanted me to go to university. It was her dream to see me graduate. It’s kind of disappointing to hear how they don’t actually learn much.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

She turned to face me.

“No, it’s not.” She had a serious expression. “Your mother worked so hard, and it was all for a lie. It’s unforgivable.”

I smiled sadly.

Thursday 8 May, 20XX - Part 1

On Thursday morning, we received a message from that email address.

It began with:

“Dear all,

Please look forward to the end of the world.”