The things he didn't tell her

Chapter 17 — The Things He Didn't Tell Her
The following afternoon, Akito returned to Tsukasa's restaurant to collect the photographs he'd taken.
He had barely stepped inside when Tsukasa called from the kitchen.
“If you're here to ask for more money, the answer is no.”
“Good afternoon to you too.”
“Did you finish editing?”
“Almost.”
“Then why are you here?”
“To remind you that photographers need food to survive.”
Tsukasa placed a bowl of ramen on the counter.
“Eat first. Complain later.”
Akito was about to sit when the bell above the entrance rang.
Miko walked in, carrying her usual café bag over one shoulder. Alisa followed, talking animatedly about a customer who had tried to order a drink that wasn't even on the menu.
“I'm telling you, Miko, he looked me in the eyes and asked for a strawberry latte with no strawberries.”
“Maybe he didn't like strawberries.”
“Then why did he order a strawberry latte?”
“Alisa, I don't know. I wasn't there.”
“Exactly! That's why you need to appreciate my suffering.”
Miko laughed.
Then she noticed Akito.
Her steps slowed.
“Oh. Hi.”
“Hey.”
It was strange how two people who had once known nearly everything about each other could run out of things to say in a single second.
Alisa looked between them.
“Wow. You two are getting really good at this.”
“At what?” Miko asked.
“Having conversations that last less than a notification sound.”
Akito snorted.
Miko gave Alisa a look, but the corner of her mouth lifted.
For a moment, everything felt easy again.
Then Tsukasa called out, “Akito, your friend Fuku left something here yesterday!”
Miko turned towards the counter.
“Fuku?”
“Yeah,” Tsukasa answered. “She came with Haru. Nice woman. She was asking Akito about Hana-san.”
Akito looked up from his ramen.
“Tsukasa—”
“What? It's not a secret.”
Miko's expression changed slightly.
“Hana-san?”
“My grandmother,” Akito explained.
“Oh. I see.”
He waited for her to ask something else.
She didn't.
Alisa, completely unaware of the shift in the atmosphere, leaned against the counter.
“Who's Fuku? Another friend we haven't met?”
“Someone who knows my grandmother,” Akito replied.
“Ah. One of those mysterious adults who appear in your life and somehow know your entire family history.”
“That's a surprisingly accurate description of grandmothers too,” Miko said.
They laughed, but Miko's laugh faded first.
Akito noticed.
He wanted to tell her about his decision to visit the village. He wanted to explain that seeing her again had made the idea feel different—that it wasn't simply a visit to his childhood home anymore.
But he couldn't find the right words.
And because he said nothing, Miko began filling the silence with her own assumptions.
Fuku knew his grandmother. She had come to the restaurant with a little boy. Tsukasa spoke about her like someone familiar. Akito seemed comfortable with her.
Perhaps she was part of the life he'd built during those five years.
A life Miko knew nothing about.
She hated that the thought bothered her. They had only just begun speaking again. She had no right to expect him to explain every person he knew.
Still, she wondered why he hadn't mentioned Fuku himself.
“Are you going somewhere?” she asked suddenly.
Akito looked at her. “What?”
“You seem busy lately.”
“Just work.”
“Oh.”
He almost told her then.
Instead, he asked, “How's the café?”
Miko stared at him for a moment before answering.
“Fine. Busy, as usual.”
Alisa glanced between them again, her expression turning suspicious.
“I'm going to order something before this conversation becomes any more painful.”
She walked over to Tsukasa.
Miko adjusted the strap of her bag.
“I should go too. I have an early shift tomorrow.”
“You just arrived,” Akito said.
“I know.”
He stood, uncertain what he was supposed to do.
“Are we okay?”
The question caught her off guard.
“Of course.”
“You don't sound like it.”
“I'm just tired, Akito.”
She said his name gently. That somehow made it worse.
He nodded, accepting the answer because he didn't know what else to do.
“Okay. Get some rest.”
Miko left with Alisa a few minutes later.
Akito watched the door close behind them.
Tsukasa placed a glass of water beside him.
“You're an idiot.”
Akito looked up. “You say that a lot.”
“And yet you keep proving me right.”
“What did I do?”
“You tell people nothing, then look surprised when they don't understand you.”
Akito frowned.
He wanted to argue, but he couldn't find a convincing reason to.
Across the street, Alisa finally caught up with Miko.
“You're doing that thing again.”
“What thing?”
“Pretending you're fine when you're obviously thinking about something.”
“I'm not.”
“Okay. Then tell me why you suddenly looked like someone cancelled your favourite dessert.”
Miko sighed.
“It's nothing. I just realised how little I know about Akito now.”
Alisa's teasing expression softened.
“You were apart for five years, Miko. Of course there are things you don't know.”
“I know that.”
“Then ask him.”
Miko looked down at the pavement.
“What if I ask questions he doesn't want to answer?”
“Then he'll tell you that. You're not going to find out by guessing.”
Miko knew Alisa was right.
That didn't make it easier.
She remembered the boy who used to show her every photograph he was proud of, even when the picture was nothing more than a blurry patch of sky. She remembered how easily they had once talked about ordinary things.
Now she couldn't even ask him where he was going without worrying that she might be crossing a line.
“I don't want to become a stranger to him again,” she admitted.
Alisa slipped her arm through Miko's.
“Then don't decide what he feels before giving him a chance to tell you.”
Miko nodded, but her thoughts remained unsettled.
That evening, Akito sat at his desk with his calendar open.
The date he'd selected for his village visit was circled in blue.
He opened his messages and found Miko's conversation.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard.
I'm going to visit my grandmother next week. Would you like to come?
He read the message twice.
Then deleted it.
He told himself he would ask her when they next met. In person, it would be easier. He could explain everything properly.
Across town, Miko opened their conversation too.
She typed, Can I ask you something about Fuku?
She stared at the words, then deleted them.
If Akito wanted her to know about his life, he would tell her.
Neither sent a message.
And neither knew that the other had almost reached out.
By the time Akito finally put his phone away, the blue circle on his calendar was the only thing that seemed certain.
Next week, he would return to the village.
For now, Miko had no idea.