When I Was Rejected and Returned Home, My Childhood Friend, Who Should Have Been Distant, Was in My Room - Chapter 1.2: The Lonely Way Home (1)

Chapter 1.2: The Lonely Way Home (1)

My best friend gave my back a few strong pats as I cried. They hurt a little, but right now, that pain felt kind of nice.

“Hey, Masamune, there are as many girls in the world as there are stars, you know?”

“You said that already.”

“Come on, don’t rush things.”

Shogo slowly sat up straight and put his hands on his hips with a sharp look. I could feel something serious coming.

“Masamune, do you know how many women are in the world…?”

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them wide.

“3.5 billion!”

The whole restaurant fell silent for a second. Our eyes met perfectly. And then—

“Pfft… Hahaha!”

The wall holding back our laughter broke all at once. Shogo, too, started laughing just as hard as me, like the tension had finally let go.

“That joke’s from how many years ago?!”

“Who cares? A funny joke’s funny no matter when you do it.”

“Shougo, you—plus, the person who does that pose never says ‘3.5 billion’!”

“Whoa, you’re right…!”

“Ahh, seriously, I’m laughing so hard I’m crying…”

Thinking about it calmly, maybe it wasn’t that funny of a story—or rather, it wasn’t funny at all. But in that moment, Shougo was shining brighter than any comedian.

I saw a little kid at the table behind Shougo peeking at us with a curious look. Sorry, little guy. We’re being way too loud.

“Man, I didn’t think I’d laugh this much.”

“Me neither, I seriously can’t breathe.”

“Why do you sound like you’re suffering too, lol.”

Maybe because of all the laughing, my heart felt like a weight had been lifted. Worrying doesn’t change anything. It felt stupid to stress over choices I’d made in the past.

“Thanks, Shougo. You really are my best friend.”

“Of course, man. We’re best friends, right? This is nothing.”

Saying that, Shougo casually grabbed the menu leaning against the wall.

“Laughing made me hungry. Want to order something?”

“Oh, wait—could it be…?”

“I’m not treating you.”

He turned me down flat, but I still couldn’t help getting my hopes up. I hit him with my deadly puppy eyes, and Shougo let out a reluctant sigh.

“Just for today, okay?”

“Yes! You’re the best, man!”

“I don’t have that much money this month either, so don’t go overboard.”

“Of course! Alright, I’ll have the hamburger plate and—”

“Whoa, what the hell are you ordering right off the bat?!”

＊＊＊＊＊＊

“Alright, you got your glass?”

“Yeah…”

“Just saying—no complaints allowed.”

“Duh.”

Before the food arrived, we went to the drink bar to do a toast. But it wasn’t just any toast. Both of our glasses were filled with drinks that looked like poison. I had a cup that looked like murky matcha latte. Shougo held a glass I made him, with a mix of brown and orange. They both looked disgustingly bad, but it was clear neither of us was going to back down.

“Alright, let’s drink.”

“Bring it on.”

Shougo looked ready, so I braced myself too. This drink was a farewell—once I drank it, I wouldn’t look back at the past. I’d only face forward. The birth of the new Masamune!

“Alright, here’s to Masamune’s new encounters!”

“And to my new beginning!”

“Cheers!!!”

We raised our glasses and drank without hesitation. Then—

“So gross!!”

We chugged it all at once and shouted. We both knew what kind of ingredients the other used, so we didn’t bother asking. Mine probably had Calpis and green tea, with a secret splash of Real Gold. Honestly, I felt bad for the drink companies—it was that nasty. As for Shougo’s drink, I gave him orange juice + vegetable juice + oolong tea. There’s no mercy in this world. But not finishing it would be disgraceful. After saying it was gross, we both emptied our cups in one go.

“Whew…”

“Hey, vegetable juice is totally cheating…”

“Come on, Real Gold was your revenge, wasn’t it?”

“Ah, you caught that?”

“Obviously.”

We laughed together again. After that, it was just our usual vibe.

“But… new encounters, huh?”

“What, no confidence?”

“It’s not that… I just don’t really care about romance anymore. There’s no girl I’m interested in right now.”

“Well, that’d be a problem if there was.”

“True.”

Honestly, I didn’t have the energy for romance anymore. Having Shougo with me like this felt more comforting than anything else.

“But Masamune, aren’t you childhood friends with Himuro?”

“…Where’d you hear that from?”

“Someone in class was like, ‘Hey, those two are actually childhood friends.’”

Whoever started that rumor was a real pain. Himuro and I were childhood friends, sure, but that was it.

“Yeah, that’s old news.”

“Oh—wait, should I not have brought that up?”

Shougo put his hands together like he was apologizing, but I replied like it was nothing.

“No, no, it’s fine. We just grew apart, that’s all. We used to be close, but now we live in totally different worlds.”

“Huh, so that’s how it is with childhood friends.”

“Exactly. That whole ‘always close since childhood’ thing only happens in anime or light novels.”

“Man, way to kill the dream.”

“So yeah, there’s literally no girl in my life right now.”

Shougo looked disappointed, but that’s just reality. I haven’t even spoken to Himuro in years.

“You never know. Maybe you’ll hit a popularity streak soon.”

“If you have to say ‘maybe,’ it’s already a bad sign.”

“No no! That was just a figure of speech!”

“Sure it was.”

As we joked around, our order of fries arrived.