Chapter 8 Advice

Advice

“Advice…?”

Haruki’s unexpected word makes Sou use polite language unconsciously. He stares at Haruki’s face as if he wants her to say the next word.

“Yes. It’s advice that would be good for Amane.”

With her chin still resting on her hand, Haruki nods. Then she shifts her position and pulls her smartphone out of her blazer pocket.

She unlocks the screen and switches to the home screen.

Looking at the phone, Haruki swipes her fingers across the screen.

We live in a smartphone society, so Haruki is used to using it.

“You should break up with your girlfriend Ito Seira. She cheats on you. What’s worse, she cheats on you with Ishii.”

Haruki carefully places her phone on the desk next to Sou.

The screen of the phone shows a photo. 

The photo was taken at the perfect time and angle when Ishii and Seira were huddled together and walking through the entrance of the love hotel.

In the photo, Seira was holding onto Ishii’s left arm. Her face looked happy.

The love hotel looked familiar.

It was the love hotel that Ishii and Seira had been sucked into that day. The love hotel mixed with the bitter memories of the day Sou saw them.

“Who took this photo?”

Sou pointed at the photo on her smartphone and asked. He wanted to know who took the photo. It was pure curiosity.

Maybe someone else like Sou witnessed the moment when Ishii and Seira entered the love hotel. That’s what he thought.

“I gave the advice, but I can’t answer that question. It’s a secret for now.”

After shaking her head from side to side, Haruki puts her index finger to her lips and smiles mischievously. Her behavior is cute and contrasts with his usual masculine image, creating big gaps.

To be honest, Sou was more than a little dissatisfied. He really wanted to know who had taken the photo he had seen. If Haruki knew, he wanted her to tell him right away.

But he didn’t ask further. He didn’t want to appear stubborn. Besides, his consciousness was more focused on Haruki’s advice earlier.

As time passed, the desire to know who had taken the photo gradually disappeared from his brain.

Instead, the weight of the content related to Haruki’s advice increased in Sou’s brain.

“This is all my advice. I recommend that you break up with that shitty #1. Whether you do it or not is up to Amane. Only Amane has the power to decide.”

As if her business was over, Haruki picked up the smartphone she had put on the desk and then put it back on her uniform blazer.

She looked away from Sou and returned to her udon. She took her chopsticks and started eating again. She slurped the udon.

“Thanks for the advice. I’ll think about it.”

“Yes. You should. It takes time to make a decision.”

After swallowing the udon she had elegantly chewed, Haruki smiled weakly and replied.

Then the two changed the subject of their conversation. They tasted the food they had ordered from each other while exchanging uninteresting conversations about classes, daily life, and other such things.