Summer Night Dinner

“Good thing I cleaned up this morning. Do you want some tea? Or—how long do you intend to stand at the entrance? You can come in now?”

I remain standing by the doorway as she stares at me.

“Are you sure you’re inviting me in?” I finally gain the courage to ask.

“I already said that you can come in. Is there a problem?

I’m not sure if there is a problem. I feel like even if we were just friends, she would still invite me into her apartment without hesitation because that’s how nice she is. In fact, she seems to be the type of nice who gets exploited by the people around her. It worries me.

“Do you prefer to eat out after all?”

She asks in such a sad tone that I start to feel bad. There’s no going back now, I guess.

“No. Here is fine. I’ll help you out.”

I put down the paper bag that I have been carrying, then take off my shoes.

Inohara’s apartment is quite small. The hallway leads to a room that is basically her bedroom. On the right side of the hallway is a kitchen counter and her refrigerator. The left side is the toilet and bathroom.

I stop before I reach the bedroom and turn back to place the paper bag on the kitchen counter.

“Before I forget, this is for you.”

She looks inside the paper bag, then pulls out a box. She inspects the box first, then opens it.

“How did you—this is so cute!” she exclaims as she holds an orange-shaped mug delicately.

“It even has a lid. Where did you find this?”

Her voice is loud and high, and I can tell that she’s delighted with my gift.

Thank goodness.

“I found a café that sells mugs as gifts. Fortunately, this design is still available. It would take a month if it wasn’t.”

“This is so cute. I’ll definitely take care of it. Now I feel scared to use it. I don’t want to accidentally break it.”

“You have to use it. I’ll truly appreciate it if you use it every day. If it breaks, I’ll just buy you another one.”

The next moment, a warm feeling envelops me. It’s unexpected, but it’s definitely not unwanted. It’s a familiar feeling that I’ve almost forgotten, the feeling of being embraced by genuine kindness and gratitude

How does she always manage to bring out all these emotions in me?

I wrap my arms around her and pull her closer. She buries her face on my chest, probably out of embarrassment. It’s quite endearing.

“It’s just a mug,” I say.

“It’s not just a mug. It’s an orange-themed mug. You obviously looked for something that you know I would like. That’s so sweet of you,” she says, her voice coming out muffled.

“You’re a romantic type, aren’t you?”

She lifts her face up to look at me.

“You don’t like that?

“I’m not a romantic. I only do what I think is best, so don’t expect too much. 

“You don’t give yourself enough credit. You should learn to appreciate your own efforts. Anyway, we should make dinner now.”

She smiles, and I reluctantly release her from my embrace. I want to hold her a little bit longer. Maybe I can do that some other time. For now, I offer to help her cook the instant ramen. It isn’t a complicated process, but she accepts my offer with a sweet smile.

The moment we finish, we sit down on her low table with our bowls of instant ramen and another bowl of peeled hard-boiled eggs. She brings out a bottle of tea and immediately fills her new mug. Just watching her happily sip tea in her new mug gives me joy. The way she expresses her happiness is slowly becoming my favorite thing about her.

I want her to always be happy.

“Let’s eat now,” Inohara says.

“Of course.” But before I pick up my chopsticks, “By the way, can I address you by your first name from now on?

“Sure,” she replies quickly. “I’ve been calling you by your first name, so it’s only fair for you to do the same.”

“I didn’t do it because it feels strange. It’d be like talking to the feminine side of me.

“Oh, how about using a nickname then? Couples do that, right?

“That sounds worse, so no.”

She picks up her chopsticks and gently stirs her instant ramen.

“I don’t want you to call me Nocchi because that sounds too friendly.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” I pick up my chopsticks and stir my ramen. “I'll call you Nozomi from now on.

“But you said it feels strange.”

“It’s fine now. If you’re the feminine part of me, I’d gladly accept that. At least you’d get to be my other half.”

I slurp the noodles, then get a piece of hard-boiled egg.

“It’ll get cold if you don’t eat now,” I say, but when I lift my eyes to her, she looks shocked, and her cheeks are flushed.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

She abruptly rose to her feet.

“I’ll go to the toilet real quick.”

“Okay."

Baffled, I watch her disappear into the distance.

“What happened to her?”

It’s fine now. If you’re the feminine part of me, I’d gladly accept that. At least you’d get to be my other half.

“Oh, is that the reason why?

Maybe I phrased it wrongly. It probably sounds like a marriage proposal to her. But I don’t plan to rephrase it or take it back.

I might have to take responsibility in the future, though.

I remained seated while waiting for her. I turned to the bed behind me and found the sheep that I won from the crane game. It is tucked under the blanket like a child.

It looks like someone found a good home.

On my left side, below the bed, a printer sits on top of a blue four-layer chest drawer. I stand up to look at the papers on top of the printer. They’re printed stationery and stickers.

“So this is her design.”

In one of our conversations, she mentioned that she had always loved drawing and making designs, so she decided to start a small print-on-demand business.

“She’s actually good.

I’m in my second year of a graphic design course, but I feel like a complete beginner as I look at her designs. Color has never been my strongest point, so I’m amazed at her choice of colors.

“It’s actually cute,” I say.

“It seems you found my products,”

I turn around as Nozomi goes back to her seat. She looks calm, as if she didn’t get flustered and escaped to the toilet. At least it didn’t take too long for her to recover.

I go back to my seat, bringing the stationery and stickers with me.

“Are these new designs? This sheep definitely looks familiar to me, I ask.

“You noticed?” Her eyes shine in excitement, and her voice is on high pitch.

“The sheep plushie that you won for me inspired me to draw a new character. I’m so grateful to you. This isn’t available yet though. I printed it for myself. I’ll ask Ayumi first before I put it up on the site. Ayumi is a close friend by the way. She runs a stationery shop and she sells my physical products on her shop. The last batch that I brought to her shop sold out today so she ordered more. That is why I got paid today.

“I see.”

We stay silent for a moment to finish our meal.

This is actually fun.

As someone who isn’t fond of going out, this setup makes me feel more comfortable. Nozomi seems to be an extrovert—just like every girl that I dated before—so I expect her to ask me to go to different places that I’m not interested in. However, Nozomi invited me to eat at her place, and so far she hasn’t mentioned anything about going out on a date at least once a week.

She’s strangely different.

“Nozomu, you go to university, right? You haven’t mentioned what your course is,” Nozomi utters while pouring tea on her mug and then on mine.

“Graphic designs. I’m on my second year.”

She pauses, then turns to me. Slowly, she puts the bottle on the floor, then grabs the stationery and stickers on the table. She takes all of it and places it under the table.“

"What are you doing?” I ask.

“You shouldn’t have looked at my design. Now I’m conscious of what you think of it.

“I think they’re great.

“You’re just saying that because I’m your girlfriend.

I prop my chin on my hand.

“Do I look like the type who would compliment a girl just because she’s my girlfriend?"

I can see the uncertainty in her eyes. Her brows furrow.

“I don’t know. It’s not my place to judge you.”

She’s genuinely a nice person.

“I’m still a student, but from what I’ve learned so far, I can tell that you have a good eye for designs and art. Besides, you’re already earning with your designs. People buy your products because they also think they're good. There’s still room for improvement, so if you need help, just tell me.”

“Okay. Thank you,” she says timidly.

We both smiled at each other. We speak no words, but I feel like we understand each other well enough. It’s like the connection between us is instantly there.

I hope we can make it last.

“I have to package some orders, and I don’t want you to be going home late, so is it okay?

“I understand, but what about the dishes?” I stand up.

“Don’t worry about it. I can do it.

“I’ll pick you up after work tomorrow. Let’s eat dinner at my place some time.”

She nods, then stands up to walk me to the door.

“I can walk you to the station,” she offers while I am putting my shoes on.

“It’s fine. I can’t let you walk back alone.”

“Okay.”

I stand up and face her. I’m a lot taller than her, so she has to look up for a bit for our eyes to meet.

“Take care,” she says softly.

“I will see you tomorrow.”

She nods in reply. That’s the signal for me to go. I should turn around, open that door, and leave. However, a part of me wants to stay even if I shouldn’t. I know we’ll see each other tomorrow, the next day, and the following days after that, but I can’t help but feel a little lonely. I’ve never felt such a strong need to be with someone until tonight.

So this is what genuine attraction feels like.

I slide my arms around her waist and hold her tight. Gently, I brush my lips against hers. It’s light and quick, but it feels like it lasted longer. When I move my head back and lock my eyes on hers.

“Are you still going to tell me that you’re not a romantic?” she says with a sweet, teasing smile that I didn’t expect at all. I thought she would be flustered again and push me away.

“You sound like you anticipated my kiss.

“Kind of. I have a feeling you’re going to do it. When I hinted that you needed to go home, you looked very reluctant to leave.

Did I make it obvious?

“Well then,” I said, letting her go and taking a step back. “I will go now. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow, Nozomu,” she says with a smile.

I open the door and step outside.

This has been a very long day.