The Matter of Starting to Live Together With a Long-Time Friend From High School After Becoming a Working Adult

“――Wait? You can take a break from work starting today?”

The next morning, at the breakfast table, what Arikura brought up was something completely unexpected. I couldn’t help but repeat it as it was, but Arikura just smiled awkwardly.

“Yeah. The president said so.”

“President? That call earlier, could it have been from the president?”

“To be precise, my boss called, and it felt like the president changed immediately.”

Well, either way, it’s still surprising. It’s true that it’s from the president herself, but more than that, being told to take a break… According to Arikura, they were in the middle of a hectic work period.

“I can’t believe it, but… being made to take on the responsibility for the work…”

“No, no! No, I thought that at first too, but that’s not it!”

Oh, is that not the case? That’s somewhat reassuring for now, but there are still things that are hard to accept just like that.

It seemed that Arikura picked up on my expression, as she straightened her posture and tightened her expression.

“Last night… Katase-kun, you said you met that girl, right?”

“Are you talking about that kouhai?”

“Yeah. To be honest, the scene at that time was all over SNS.”

“SNS? Why again…?”

“It seems that a passerby was recording a video out of curiosity.”

“Ah.”

I see, so that’s how it is. A woman is trying to make a move on a man—if I don’t know any better, it just looks like an interesting story.

Even so, it’s a video. If I’m in it too—there’s nothing I can do but hold my head in my hands.

“Seriously?”

“Ah, but don’t worry. Almost none of Katase-kun was filmed.”

“…What do you mean?”

Rather, I think I was more like the central figure, but was I perhaps hiding behind something? But that was right in front of the ticket gate at the station, and it was quite a spacious area.

“It might be easier to understand if you actually see it.”

Arikura turned on her smartphone and showed me the relevant SNS post.

There, in that place――

“There’s nothing more terrifying than having that done to you by a complete stranger.”

“…Huh?”

“Alright. I’m off.”

Arikura taps the screen and stops the video. That was definitely the interaction from last night.

“Is this the video… Yeah, I hardly appear in it.”

“It feels like the face is perfectly hidden.”

Indeed, Arikura is right.

I was being filmed from just behind and to the side, and as I turned around and started walking, there happened to be a pillar right there, so while my figure was captured, my face wasn’t clearly visible.

It would probably be quite difficult to identify me just from this video.

“On the contrary, the woman is perfectly in the frame.”

“Yeah… I was surprised when I saw it too.”

“Just to double-check, this is that kouhai we were talking about, right?”

“There’s no doubt about it.”

“I see.”

I cross my arms with a sigh.

“Well, what can I say… I figured out that the scene from last night was recorded.”

“You’re calmer than I expected, aren’t you?”

“It’s not that surprising, is it? It’s an era where you can easily do things like this with just a smartphone.”

“Indeed.”

It seemed that Arikura felt the same way, nodding with a wry smile. I think it’s ethically wrong, and the fact that I don’t know where or how I’m being filmed can even be scary.

“Still, that kouhai is perfectly in the frame… There’s no privacy or anything, so is this a big problem in itself?”

“Rather, the problem lies ahead.”

“Ahead?”

In other words, there was some interaction after I left. To demonstrate that, Arikura plays the continuation of the video.

“――! What the heck did that man say!?”

After a good few seconds had passed, the kouhai girl, seemingly unaware that she was being filmed, started shouting while looking in the direction I had run off to.

“Even though I’m being nice to him, does he have that kind of attitude? That attitude is unacceptable! Seriously, that’s why people who seem like they don’t earn anything are just no good!!”

What a way to put it. If I were a guy who was making a ton of money, I wonder what kind of reaction you’d have then?

Unfortunately, it’s quite accurate, so I really can’t say anything.

“Honestly, things have been going so poorly lately! I was just relaxing after pushing the mistakes I made onto senpai, but now that senpai has collapsed, all the repercussions are hitting me, the kouhai! Thanks to that, my beautiful after-five time has been completely ruined! What on earth did I do to deserve this, seriously!!”

Is it just me, or has anyone else lost the will to even comment anymore?

When I quietly glanced over, Arikura’s expression had gone beyond bitterness to one that seemed almost pitiful.

By the way, the kouhai just turned on her heel and went through the ticket gate.

And then the video ended there.

“In other words… this ended up on the internet, huh?”

“That’s how it is.”

Arikura put down her smartphone and finally held her head in her hands.

“It seems they’ve also figured out who that kid really is, and the company is in complete chaos.”

“Does that mean the work they’re doing now is going to get messed up too?”

“They said they would somehow manage that part. Since we’re already in the final stages, they will convince the other party and make sure they complete the project.”

“Maybe they can somehow avoid the company’s huge losses.”

“Well… it might just barely work out.”

No, even just not getting disqualified after all that is pretty impressive. It means the company Arikura works for is that reliable.

“The president was quite considerate too. The fact that my name wasn’t mentioned in the video is at least a small relief.”

“I feel like it’s quite a gray area, though.”

“I feel the same way.”

Indeed, not having the name out there might be significant, but almost everyone knows who the kouhai is.

It might just be a matter of time before the connections are revealed from there.

Ah, could it be――

“Was being told to take a break for a while also meant to let things cool down?”

“There might be. They didn’t state it explicitly, though.”

“Hmm.”

“Also, they apologized too. They said they were really sorry for making me endure unnecessary things for so long.”

“That’s great to hear!”

“Yeah.”

In other words, the president made that decision out of concern for Arikura’s well-being.

Well, well, she really is fortunate to have such a good president. It seems there are people who are looking out for her properly.

It must be a great relief that Arikura didn’t end up drawing an unnecessary bad luck ticket.

“By the way, even though she’s a kouhai, there’s no way she came out of this unscathed, right?”

“Yeah. It seems like they’re going to summon her and interrogate her harshly from now on.”

“…The police, huh?”

Well, it’s true that it has developed into such a big problem. So, it seems like it’s finally time for the kouhai to pay her dues.

“By the way, I have no intention of defending that kid either. This time, I really want them to be thoroughly punished.”

“People like that have a tough image, but…”

“Well, who knows? Kids who talk a lot tend to be more sensitive.”

“You still say things so casually, as always.”

“No, no, it’s not that great.”

“I didn’t mean to compliment you or anything.”

Anyway, it seems that the concerns I had have been completely resolved all at once. Somehow, it feels like Arikura also has a clearer expression now.

At this rate, won’t my support be rendered unnecessary soon?

It’s a joyous occasion, but… I can’t help feeling a bit lonely.

“Well, in that sense, I’ve been off for a while.”

“That’s great. It’s a good opportunity to rest, isn’t it?”

“Yeah♪ So, in conclusion――”

Arikura smiled broadly and then pointed decisively at “that” lined up on the sofa.

“Let’s spend the whole day today playing games together♪”

“…to?”

No, I had a feeling about it since this morning too.

The home console with detachable mini controllers in red and light blue is set up on the living room table in front of the TV, so I thought they would probably play it.

I just thought that was something Arikura would do alone, but――

“What? I have to do it too?”

“Of course! I went out of my way to stop by Shinjuku yesterday and bought a new one just in case something like this happened!”

After saying that, Arikura pulled out a box for the controller. It was a splendid genuine one, and it was expensive!

She came back a step ahead and bought that, huh?

“You have the same game console, right, Katase-kun?”

“…But it’s the mobile version.”

“Then there’s no problem. Since we can finally relax, let’s have a blast today!”

It seemed like no matter what I said, it was pointless now—there was nothing I could do but sigh.

“Got it. I’ll clean up after.”

“Yay! Then I’ll go ahead and start the game for us♪”

“Okay, okay”