Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me - Volume 6 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue

The next day, Runa and I met up in Shinjuku at 3 p.m. She’d said she wanted to celebrate my birthday.

She’d actually wanted to take the whole day off from work today, but recently she’d been taking sudden breaks from work quite a lot—what with the MagicalSea visit and seeing Sekiya-san off. She’d apparently worked this morning instead to make up for it.

“Ryuto!” Runa exclaimed once she spotted me in the crowd near the entrance of Bic Camera. She came running to me. “Did I make you wait?”

“No, don’t worry.”

“You always show up ahead of me. Even though I make sure not to be late... How frustrating.”

“Hah hah.”

We got going. Runa’s hand slipped into my jacket pocket. I was still used to keeping my hands in my pockets for warmth because of the winter, so mine was in there too—I held her hand inside.

The weather was much warmer now—apparently, today’s high temperature was to be twenty degrees Celsius. The cherry blossoms in Tokyo were taking a little longer than usual, but it was said they would enter full bloom in a day or two.

Spring was right around the corner.

We passed by the eastern exit that led to Kabukicho and headed to a movie theater. It had been a while since the last time we’d watched a movie together. A famous anime director had released a new movie sometime last year and its long run in movie theaters was about to end, so we’d decided to go watch it last minute.

I hadn’t been to a movie theater since that Valentine’s Day three years ago. Remembering that time made my heart race.

We were about to head to the crowded counter selling tickets in front of the entrance when Runa pulled on my sleeve.

“This way,” she said.

“Huh?”

We boarded a small elevator that nobody had been waiting for, and I followed Runa when she got off the floor she had selected.

“P-Platinum lobby?” I asked, perplexed by the sight of a luxurious white reception desk before us.

“It’s your twentieth birthday, so I splurged a bit.”

“What?!”

After Runa gave her name at the reception desk, the clerk led us to—if you could believe it—a private room.

This room wasn’t wastefully spacious, but there was a luxurious fabric sofa in the center of it. The lighting here felt somewhat atmospheric.

“Wait, wasn’t this expensive?” I asked after the clerk had left and I’d sat on the sofa.

Runa giggled. “Don’t worry, I have a full-time job.” Then, she took out a box from the paper bag she’d had with her. “But...maybe I splurged a little too much, so is this good enough for a present?” She placed the box on the table and opened the cover. “I made a cake. Happy birthday, Ryuto.”

“Wow, this is amazing!”

The cake was decorated in a way that was uncommon in store-bought confections. Its surface was utterly covered with heart-shaped cookies in various pastel colors, with things like the number “20” and “Happy Birthday Ryuto” written on them.

“When Misuzu-chan was in Osaka, she took classes on how to make iced cookies. So I’ve been learning some of it from her recently.”

“‘Iced’ cookies...?”

“Ones decorated with frosting. Like these.” Runa then pointed at the pastel cookies on top of the cake.

“Oh, I see.”

“As for the cake, I kept what the patissier taught me at Champs De Fleurs when I worked there in mind.”

The more people Runa had connected with in her life, the higher her level rose. She’d already been too wonderful before this, and yet she was still growing into an even more attractive woman. I could tell as much from seeing this cake with the iced cookies or whatever—I’d never seen cakes like this before.

“Thank you, Runa,” I said with a smile.

After putting the cake aside, Runa brought her hands together in front of her face. “Anyway, sorry about yesterday... I didn’t think I’d conk out after one highball...”

“Don’t worry about it. Did you have trouble getting up this morning?”

“Nah, I got up at four.”

“What?” I asked. “That’s so early.”

“I had work today, and I needed to make the cake in the morning too. I also had to do my makeup properly. I made the cookies yesterday...but that was why I didn’t get enough sleep and crashed at the izakaya, heh heh.” Runa rushed through her excuses, probably to avoid making me feel guilty. “Also...I was probably tired from some work stuff I had to think about recently.”

“Right, about your job...”

I’d been wondering about her decision all this time. As I finally asked her about it, Runa gave me a nod of understanding.

“Yeah, I told the area manager,” she said. “He was really disappointed, though. But he’s a good person, so he respected my decision.”

“Huh...?”

Does that mean...?

Runa gazed at me with a serious expression on her face. “I’m not going to Fukuoka.”

My gulp was clearly audible in this quiet room we were alone in.

“They officially appointed someone else to the position today. So, I can finally say it to you.” Then, Runa smiled at me. “I’ll stay by your side as always.”

“I see...”

I’d already prepared myself for a long-distance relationship that would last years, so I felt strangely burnt out—I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or demotivated.

Suddenly, I recalled what she’d said to me before.

“I already know what I want to do. But it’s probably a more difficult path than the one I’ve walked so far...so I just can’t make the final call.”

What had she meant by that?

“Are you okay with it?” I asked.

“Yeah. There’s another kind of work I’d rather do.”

At that point, there was a knock on the door and it opened right away. The clerk was bringing the drinks we’d ordered upon coming to this room.

There were two tall glasses of faintly golden drinks with thin lines of sparkling bubbles inside.

“Your champagne.” The clerk also put down another glass that contained individually wrapped luxury chocolates and plates with gelato madeleines before leaving.

“They’re gonna melt... Let’s eat these first,” said Runa. After we ate our gelato, she put down her spoon. “I wanna work with kids.”

“Huh...?” Her unexpected confession made me freeze up with chocolate in my mouth. “With kids...? You mean, like, being a nursery school teacher or something?”

Runa nodded, then smiled a little.

Her eyes were tender and gentle.

“I like children,” she said. “Even I didn’t really know that until I met Haruna and Haruka.” Runa’s gaze rested somewhere near the glasses of champagne on the table, and she had a fond look on her face. “Children are possibilities incarnate. When I look after them every day, I think about what kind of people they’ll bloom into. If she’s playing with her hair accessories, then maybe she’ll be a beautician. Or if she’s playing with a ball, she could be a volleyball player or something. Is that too naive?” After looking at me and smiling awkwardly for a moment, she looked away again. “But as I watch them, one day, I’ll suddenly notice the signs that they’ve grown past the point of no return.” I could see a strong light in her eyes as she said that. “And I feel that there’s no going back for me either. That just like those children, I’m living a time of my life that I can’t turn around and do again.”

Runa’s expression had been serious, but now it relaxed, and she looked at me slightly bashfully.

“Trends move too quickly in the world of fashion,” she went on. “It’s exciting to get to wear new, stylish clothes all the time, but it’s kinda tiring to work in it. Sometimes popular stuff from the previous season doesn’t get attention at all anymore. Like, mentally? I can’t keep up with it so well... Customers still wear those clothes, right? So even though I just recommended those things to them, saying they’re popular...it’s almost like I lied to them. And if I turn around and say that those clothes aren’t popular anymore and get them to buy something else...doesn’t that really make me sound like a swindler?”

I knew well that Runa couldn’t tell lies.

“It’s just a little bit hard to bear.” She smiled in a somewhat forced way. “Like... I dunno. Even I thought I was suited for it. It’s usually pretty fun to talk to customers.”

I’d always thought Runa was a born extrovert and that she was dozens of times better than me at dealing with people...but I could sense just a little bit of social awkwardness in her too. That part of her must’ve been showing itself now.

“But Runa, if you want to work in childcare... Don’t you need some kind of qualifications for that? What about the job you have now?”

“I do, yeah,” Runa replied with a calm expression. “I’ve only finished high school, so apparently, I have to go to a technical school to get qualified. So maybe I’ll ask to step down from being an assistant manager to get more control over my shifts... And if that doesn’t work, I guess I could go back to working part-time. Is that even an option? I haven’t talked to anyone about it yet, so I dunno.”

“I see...”

“I’d need a job to pay tuition and all, so I think I’ll have to study and work at the same time... And I’ll probably be even busier than I am now.” An anxious look appeared on her face—she must’ve been thinking about what was to come. “And besides, I’m not good at studying, so that’s another thing to worry about.” Runa let out an embarrassed laugh.

I’d never thought she’d willingly choose a path that involved studying. That must’ve been how strongly she wanted to work with children.

“Still, I’ve made up my mind,” she continued. “Even if I stayed at my current job while feeling like it’s not quite right, became a manager in Fukuoka, and kept building my career at this company, I’d never end up where I actually wanted to be, you know?” Runa looked me in the eye—it was almost as if she was trying to persuade herself too. “My only option is to work hard.”

“Right...” Seeing the refreshed look on her face, I understood that there was no need for me to say anything special here. “I’m rooting for you,” I replied.

“Thanks!” Runa smiled pleasantly. Her smile was like that of a goddess, one who never failed to charm me. “Now, let’s drink!”

I picked up my glass of champagne.

“Happy birthday, Ryuto!” she said in a gentle tone as she gazed into my eyes, here in this room with no one but us. “To your twentieth birthday...”

As Runa raised her glass, I brought mine next to hers. “And to your new beginning,” I said.

Runa giggled bashfully back. “Cheers. ♡”

The sound of our glasses lightly clinking together resounded through the room. Seeing Runa bring her glass to her mouth, I sipped from mine too.

“How’s the taste of adulthood?” Runa asked, acting like an older woman. She stared at me with curiosity.

So, while it was a little frustrating for me to tell the truth here...

“A little bitter...” I admitted.

Seeing me lick off the drop stuck to my lip with a grimace, Runa gave me a carefree smile.

“You’re so cute, Ryuto. ♡”

Then, she leaned toward me as if taking a closer look at my face and gave me a brief kiss.

***

Before the movie began, the clerk came again and led us to a “Platinum Room”—a private balcony with seats for two.

The awfully soft couch was more than spacious enough for the two of us, and when we sat down, the screen was right at eye level. Looking down, I saw lines of seats for people with regular tickets below. It felt like we were medieval nobles leisurely watching an opera from our balcony seats...not that I’d know how that would actually feel.

“Wow, this is so soft!” Runa exclaimed happily after sitting down. “I kinda feel like I could fall asleep here!”

It was what felt like roughly an hour since the start of the movie when I realized that her words had actually been prophetic.

Feeling something on my shoulder, I looked over and noticed Runa leaning against it. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing rhythmically. She hadn’t gotten enough sleep last night, and she’d also had champagne just before the start of the movie, so those might’ve been partially to blame. She looked so comfortable that it didn’t feel right to wake her up.

I recalled the time we’d gone to see a movie three years ago. I’d lent her my shoulder the same way back then.

So it’s been three years...

There was an unfinished glass of champagne on the table in front of us. Small bubbles kept forming at the bottom of it, showing no signs of stopping. Earlier, in the bathroom, I’d secretly looked up how much renting a Platinum Room was. It apparently cost thirty thousand yen.

“Don’t worry, I have a full-time job.”

“But...maybe I splurged a little too much, so is this good enough for a present?”

Runa must’ve gone so far to celebrate my birthday because reaching the age of twenty was a turning point in a person’s life. The thought of it made me deeply grateful and filled me with love for her. Though she needn’t have done all this—simply having her by my side was enough for me.

I took her hand from her lap and put it on mine, then linked my hand with hers. I looked to see if she’d wake up from that, but she only moved her head a little—there was no sign of her opening her eyes anytime soon. I decided to let her be.

Feeling Runa’s scent and warmth, I refocused on the screen even though I had slightly lost track of the movie’s plot.

***

“Man, I didn’t think I’d fall asleep again!” said Runa, covering her face.

We were having dinner at a Japanese-style restaurant in a building next to the movie theater. We sat across from each other at a table in a private room that Runa had reserved. It was designed after the Kamakura period of Japanese history.

“It’s fine, you were tired and all,” I replied.

“So how’d it end? Did they save the world?”

“They did,” I said. “With the power of love.”

“What happened to them after that?”

“Well... The heroine went home, but they’ll probably see each other at some point.”

“What, why?!” she asked. “They loved each other so much!”

“That’s just how that director’s movies always go, you know?”

“Ehh...” Runa looked unsatisfied with the way the movie had concluded. “I wanted them to get married if their relationship developed so much...”

When Runa watched movies with romantic elements, she inevitably would say that she wanted the involved characters to get married. This was probably what she found so attractive about love to begin with, and I was doing my best to give her the conclusion she desired. I hoped she could let the unsatisfying ending of a fictional relationship slide in the meantime.

Look at me, acting like a poet inside my mind...

“Hey, this is completely unrelated, but...” Runa began, suddenly changing the topic. “I really hated what the area manager said to me the other day!” There was anger written on her face, which was unusual. “I told him I wasn’t getting to see my boyfriend much recently, and he was like, ‘Then he’s definitely going to prostitutes.’”

“What...?”

“You don’t...go to prostitutes...right, Ryuto...?”

“N-No, I don’t,” I stammered.

Her unexpected suspicion had shaken me up and made me falter in saying it, which in turn made me even more flustered.

“Really...?” Predictably, I could see the worry in Runa’s upturned eyes.

“I really don’t.” I nodded deeply. “I don’t like touching people I don’t know, and I wouldn’t want to pay a lot of money for that kind of thing... I-I’m also afraid of getting diseases... But before all that, I have you.”

“But the area manager said all the guys do it.”

Runa was practically tearing up. It was cute, but also pitiable, so I was anxious to prove my innocence.

“‘All the guys’ is obviously an exaggeration... Maybe your area manager really means all the guys he knows, but I probably couldn’t be friends with people like that... At the very least, I don’t think any of my friends among guys go to prostitutes...”

“Really? Like, really really?”

“Yeah... Really.”

As I nodded over and over, Runa calmed down for the time being. “So then, what do you do when you get horny?”

“I look at porn or think about you, and take care of things alone...”

The uneasiness finally disappeared from Runa’s face, and she leaned toward me. “You still do it to me?”

It was an awkward topic, but Runa seemed to like it.

“Even though we’ve been dating for almost four years?” she continued.

“I’ll do it till the day I die,” I replied in desperation.

Runa’s eyes sparkled a bit, but then she puffed her cheeks. “Eh, I don’t like the sound of that. Let’s do things together.”

“What...?!”

Her bold statement made me doubt my ears. I went speechless.

Runa awkwardly averted her eyes from me. “If I go back to working part-time, I’ll get more days off, right? And so... Wanna go on a trip together? In the summer. To Okinawa, maybe. For four days.”

“F-Four days...”

Images of ecstatic nights with Runa on a southern island appeared in the back of my mind for a moment, making me gulp.

“I can’t breathe well when you’re not by my side,” said Runa all of a sudden. Her eyes lingered on the oolong tea on the table. “It’s only when I’m with you that I feel alive.” Her lips formed into a small smile, and her eyes were seductive. “Your heart’s the other half of mine.” Then, her gaze rose, and she looked me in the eye. “It’s been like that for these past two years, ever since we graduated.” Taking bashful glances at my eyes, she added, softly, “So, it’s about time...you know?”

After a pause...

“Yeah,” I said, nodding awkwardly as I heard my heart pound violently, and then proceeded to drink my oolong tea.

After finishing our meal and leaving the restaurant, we descended from the seventh floor to the first and opened the door leading outside.

In order to get back to the street, we needed to go up a set of stairs. At the top of those stairs stood a young man and woman who had their backs to us. Both of them wore completely black, punk-rock-style clothes. Their relationship appeared to be intimate—in fact, the man’s hand was reaching for the woman’s black pleated miniskirt.

In the next moment, he pulled up her skirt, revealing her butt and G-string underwear. His hand then started caressing her fair skin.

As we stood downstairs from them, Runa and I were too astonished by the scene unfolding right before us to look away.

“Ahem.” Runa was kind enough to clear her throat.

At that point, the boyfriend’s hand quickly parted from the woman’s butt, and the flustered couple turned our way.

For ten whole seconds after we’d passed them, Runa and I didn’t say a word.

“It was a pretty good-looking butt. It was nice and small and all,” Runa said quietly.

“Yeah...”

“Wait, you looked too?”

“Huh? I-I mean, it was right in front of us. Of course I did,” I said.

Seeing me get flustered, Runa’s slightly angry face relaxed. She giggled. “I wonder if he couldn’t hold back until they were alone together.”

“Maybe,” I replied curtly. I was still trying to keep my heart from pounding due to the strange encounter.

Holding hands, Runa and I walked toward the station through the Yasukuni-Dori area. It had been warm in the afternoon, but the wind at night was a little cold.

“Wanna go on a trip together? In the summer. To Okinawa, maybe. For four days.”

As I recalled what Runa had said, the warmth in my hands lifted my spirits.

“I guess maybe we’re a bit weird,” Runa said a little awkwardly after a while.

“Maybe,” I added shortly after, managing to keep myself from forcing a smile.

The world functioned on lust. Cities were full of provocative images of beautiful men and women, and when you browsed on social media, it wouldn’t be long until you ran into illustrations of women in sexy outfits.

I seemed to remember reading in some article that men thought about sex once every fifty-two seconds. And while I thought it was probably an exaggeration...

A man’s brain was dominated by sex. It was especially true for young guys like me.

But I feel more than lust toward you. It’s too embarrassing to say just how deep my love for you runs, so I never truly have. But that’s how I’ve felt all along. That’s what keeps the beast in me in check.

I’ve imagined pushing down that dainty yet curvy body of yours and making love to it fiercely enough to make you cry. A scene like that has played out in my head hundreds—no, at least thousands of times.

But whenever I see you in reality, I feel like being nice to you. I don’t want to see you look sad—instead, I want you to always smile happily.

I want to treasure you forever. Your heart, your body, and even every teardrop you shed.

I don’t want random couples passing by to see the precious parts of your body. So when we do things like that, let’s make sure it’s somewhere private. I’ll wait until you’re ready.

That time had finally come. It had to have.

***

April arrived, and my college classes started up again.

I met up with Kujibayashi-kun to decide our schedules for the school year with the list of new classes in hand.

“Kashima-dono, have you had the pleasure of viewing the cherry blossoms at Zojo-ji?”

“No. Are they still in bloom?”

“In full bloom, at that. ’Twas a most splendid sight from Tokyo Tower.”

“I hear you.”

“Would you care to go see them?” he asked. “I shall accompany you if so.”

The view of cherry blossoms throughout Shiba Park from up on the main deck of Tokyo Tower was indeed amazing. There didn’t seem to be a lot of people here who’d come to look at them, so we could hear some of the visitors expressing their astonishment at the unexpected sight.

“It’s spring, all right,” I said, feeling uplifted too.

“One may attest to the onset of spring, but doubt I shall, not till I hear the call of the bush warbler...”

“Huh?” I’d been glued to the scenery beyond the glass, so I was confused by Kujibayashi-kun’s sudden recital of poetry.

“‘They may say spring has come, but I shall not believe it until I hear the bush warbler cry.’ That is the meaning of the poem in Kokin Wakashu, written by Mibu no Tadamine.”

“I see.”

“Bush warblers cry not in our times, so spring is never to come.”

I sighed.

“Much like in the life of yours truly,” he added.

Right. So by “spring,” he means “love and relationships” here.

I felt somewhat apologetic as the distant look in his eye seemed to be gazing somewhere past the cherry blossoms below.

We went to a café located on the main deck, and after getting something to drink, we spread the list of classes out on the table to discuss our schedules.

“Are you taking that third-period on Japanese linguistics? Guess I’ll take it too,” I said.

“But would that not make your schedule a tad too cramped? Now that you will be embarking upon your third year, you will be looking for full-time work, will you not?”

“I’m studying to become a teacher, so taking a lot of classes is unavoidable,” I explained. “I want to only have seminars in my fourth year.”

“Does the prospect of having less time for your loved one not bother you?” His tone stung a bit.

I forced a smile. “It’s okay, she’s busy too. And besides...”

I raised my face and looked toward the window. Beyond the heads of the numerous visitors, I could see the clear sky of the early afternoon and a far-stretching view of Tokyo.

“I’ll be going on a trip with my girlfriend in the summer and spending a few nights there,” I added, keeping my heart from leaping.

“Interesting. I suppose that explains your restlessness.”

“Huh?”

So he could notice? I could tell my face was getting red from embarrassment.

“Will it be your first trip together?”

I got flustered a little under Kujibayashi-kun’s probing gaze. “Y-Yeah,” I replied. “She’s been busy until now...”

“Either way, looking at you, one would think you were excited to lie with her for the first time. It may be your first trip together, but not your first night.”

The look behind his glasses became even sharper—it was frightening, like he was a skilled detective interrogating a suspect.

Seeing that, I figured this might be the time for me to finally tell him the truth.

“Well...” I began hesitantly. “Uh... The thing is...”

Kujibayashi-kun watched me with wariness in his eyes.

“It’s true that...she and I were very much set on doing it since years ago...” I looked down at the list of classes out of embarrassment, but my eyes slid right past the text on the paper. “And I mean, we still are. It’s just...” When I looked up, I saw Kujibayashi-kun still looking directly at me. “This is going to be a bit long, but will you hear me out...?”

At that point, Kujibayashi-kun looked startled. “Now, just a moment there, Kashima-dono.” He raised his hands in front of his chest, gesturing for me to wait. “Surely... Surely I misunderstand...” he said with a look of disbelief. “But, could it be...” Kujibayashi-kun gulped before continuing. “Are you...a virgin fiend too...?”

After he timidly asked that question...

...I nodded awkwardly.