Chapter 4:

The Unregretful Friends Outing-2

City of lost goodbye

'I should make it the most fun friends outing.'I say that and all, but… I forgot that I'm just a high school student with only one friend to hang out with. How can I make this the most fun outing!? I'm such an idiot.

"Is there anything you want to do, Yui-san? Like something you wanted to do most before you… um—died?"

Well, it won’t hurt to ask the person in question herself, right? It works out better.

"Something I wanna do… uh—like hanging out in cafés and talking about everyday fun things maybe…"

Uh—I thought she’d say something more specific, but it’s just a simple thing like this… It makes me feel selfish thinking of what I wished, huh. But again, maybe we’re not fully on the same boat either.

"Sure then, let’s go! I know an amazing café you’ll like!"

Haruki-kun suggested us going to the café he likes.

"Sure!" Yui replied with just as much enthusiasm as Haruki-kun.

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We followed Haruki-kun to the café. It’s an old-style place with wooden frames and vintage lanterns hanging at the entrance. The walls are decorated with black-and-white photos and faded posters from decades ago. The cozy smell of roasted coffee and baked sweets fills the air, and soft jazz music plays faintly in the background. It gives a nostalgic warmth that feels both calming and familiar.
We entered the café. There were quite a few customers. Even though it's old-fashioned, maybe its food is just that delicious."Welcome!"A middle-aged man greeted us. He looked really busy with all the customers. There weren’t any other workers around either.

"Oh—Haruki, has your school already ended? Man! Look at the time, I didn’t even notice, doing all the work. I sure am a busy man!"

"Hahaha, you sure look busy. Maybe you should take a break, old man. I brought Akira and other friends today. Will you serve them your best hot chocolate?"

Haruki-kun seems really close with the man. Is he a regular here? That must explain how friendly they are.

"Don’t go calling me an old man! I’m still in my 30s. You brought friends other than Akira? That’s rare—did you finally get a screw tightened in your head? Hahaha. Well, forgive the late introduction. I’m Haruki’s father’s friend, Sou Miyazaki. Great to have y’all here."

He held out his hand to us for a handshake.He looks warm and enthusiastic—just like Haruki-kun. But can he see Yui-san too?

"Same here. I’m Akasuki Hikari."

"I’m Yui. It’s nice to come here too."

We shook hands with him.Just then, a customer called out.

"Coming! Haha, I gotta go now—this time of day gets really busy. Go and take a seat wherever you like. I’ll bring you some of my tasty hot chocolate. In the meantime, decide what you wanna order."

Akira-kun thought of something for a while then spoke up.

"Uh—Sou-san, can we help you out around here? It’d be fun to work in a café together, and it’d be helping Sou-san too. What do you say, Yui-san? You don’t have to if you don’t want to,"

"Sure! If you wanna help out, I won’t say no. Talk it out amongst yourselves then."

Sou-san walked away after saying that.Working in a café sure sounds amazing. But… isn’t Yui-san a ghost? Is it really okay?

"It sure sounds amazing. But… people can’t see me. How can I work?"

She just said exactly what I was thinking.

"In another way, if I think about it… wouldn’t it be thrilling if plates and dishes came flying and served by themselves?"

Oops—I said that out loud.

"Buhahaha! That’s some crazy imagination you’ve got, Hikari-san!"

I know it’s crazy, but you don’t need to laugh like that, Haruki-kun.

"Haha, it doesn’t have to be serving. Yui-san can help with cooking and cleaning alongside Sou-san."

Akira-kun really does give amazing ideas."Sure, then I don’t have any problem with this."

"Okay! Then let us begin our youth adventure!"

Haruki-kun is really exaggerating, but it’s still fun like this. I hope Yui-san is having fun too.

"Also, why don’t we drop the formalities here? It’d make us feel much closer, right? Can I call you Yui?"

"It’s like we’re really friends, hehe. Sure! Then I’ll call you Haruki too."

"I’ll call you Yui-chan then. You can call me whatever you want too."

"Okay, Hi-chan."

Hi-chan? She can come up with better nicknames than Riri. Dropping the formalities really does make us feel closer."

Can I call you Hikari too, Hikari-san?"

"Eh—sure."

Why is Haruki-kun asking me too? Wasn’t it supposed to be for Yui?

"Then let’s get to work. Me and Haruki will do the serving, and Yui-san and Hikari-san will help out in the kitchen."

"I told us to drop the formalities, Akira! You too!"

"Uh-huh, sorry. It’s a bit embarrassing suddenly dropping formalities."

Oh, it was for everyone. That explains it.By the way, I don’t know anything about cooking. Isn’t it better if I help with serving instead?

"I wanna do the serving too!"

"No no. You should help out in the kitchen. We need more hands in there. Also, Yui might get lonely working alone."

"But we can just switch…"

"Don’t worry at all. We’ll take care of this side perfectly!"

Haruki-kun pushed Akira-kun away with him to avoid more questions.Why is Haruki-kun declining my offer like that? It’s almost like he’s trying to hide something.Whatever. I should focus on the work for now!