Chapter 12 The Morning After

The Morning After

The next morning.

“Ugh… My head hurts…”

Holding my head, I trudged along the path to university.

Yesterday’s drinking party had been a lot of fun, but I’d gone overboard and drunk more than usual. Now, I was dealing with a full-blown hangover.

What’s worse, I’d drunk so much that I’d almost completely forgotten what we talked about during the party. I just hoped I hadn’t said anything weird…

“Sigh, I really need to learn some self-control next time… Huh?”

As I muttered to myself, I noticed Nagi walking ahead. Picking up my pace, I caught up to him.

“Hey, Nagi!”

“Eh? Oh, good morning, Taiki.”

“Morning! Want to walk to campus together?”

“Sure, yeah.”

With Nagi’s approval, I fell into step with him as we made our way to university.

“Man, last night’s party was such a blast! Thanks for coming!”

“Yeah, I had a great time too. Fufu, but you drank quite a lot last night. Are you feeling okay? Any signs of a hangover?”

“Ah… Well, I’m a bit hungover, haha. Also, it’s kind of embarrassing, but I drank so much that I barely remember anything we talked about…”

“…Eh? Seriously?”

“Yeah. So, I didn’t say anything weird, did I? If I did, I’m really sorry…”

“No, not at all. You didn’t say anything strange, so don’t worry. But… do you remember anything about how I was sitting?”

“Sitting? Hmm… What about it? Were you sitting in some unusual way?”

“Ah, uh, no! It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it!”

“Huh? Well, okay. If you say so, I won’t think about it.”

I shrugged, but Nagi looked flustered as he hurriedly brushed it off.

Judging by his reaction, though, it seemed like I might’ve said or done something strange. Still, I decided not to press him on it—it was probably better not to know.

(Hmm, maybe I should switch the subject. What would be a good topic…? Oh, I know!)

“Hey, I’m free this weekend. If you are too, want to go for a drive and grab something good to eat?”

“Eh? Oh, sorry. Thanks for inviting me, but I’ve a part-time job this weekend…”

“Ah, I see. No worries. I’ll ask you another time, then.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

When I brought up the idea, Nagi apologized with a sheepish look. I just smiled and said,

“No need to apologize. By the way, I didn’t know you had a part-time job. What kind of work is it?”

“It’s in food service… well, at a café. My relative owns it. Because of that, whenever they’re short-staffed, they call me in without much notice. Honestly, it’s tough. They really take advantage of me because I’m family.”

“Oh, so it’s a family café? Yeah, having a relative as your boss sounds like it’d come with a lot of sudden demands. That must be rough.”

“Haha, exactly. It’s a lot to handle sometimes.”

Nagi smiled wryly as he spoke. From his tone, it sounded like his relative was working him pretty hard.

“I see. Oh, here’s an idea—how about I visit your café sometime? I’ll order tons of your recommended dishes and drinks!”

“Eh… What!? You’re coming!? N-No, I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t…”

“Huh? Why not?”

“W-Well… it’s just embarrassing to have a friend see me at work. And if I mess up and break something, my relative would be furious. So… could you please not come? I’m begging you!”

Nagi bowed his head, clearly desperate to keep me away from his workplace.

Seeing how serious he was, I couldn’t push the issue.

“Alright, I get it. If you feel that strongly, I won’t go.”

“Phew… Thank you!”

“Uh… sure?”

I reassured him, and Nagi instantly brightened up, smiling from ear to ear as he thanked me.

(Well, I guess I can understand why he wouldn’t want a friend dropping by just to tease him at work.)

Still, I bet his café is super popular, especially with girls. With Nagi as a waiter, I’m sure they’d go crazy, and the café must be doing great business.

(Haha, no wonder his relative wants to make the most of him as their handsome waiter.)

Imagining Nagi in his waiter uniform, I chuckled to myself as we continued chatting casually on our way to campus.