Episode 12 - Seeping In
#12 - Seeping In
Yesterday, past midnight, Yu-ra called me.
She seemed a little tipsy, and out of nowhere she told me that I was apparently quietly popular at the company.
She said I was tall, worked out, and looked better than expected in a suit.
'The "better than expected" part bothers me a little, though.'
Still, hearing a compliment felt good.
Especially since it came from Yu-ra.
Ever since I got my ability, I'd caused a few incidents, and I'd nearly been caught using it at the gym, so I found myself wondering whether I'd been looking too cautious or withdrawn lately.
'Did she say that to cheer me up while tipsy?'
Yu-ra did have a quietly caring side, so that was possible.
She also brought up the story about a designer who used to like me, but honestly, I still wasn't sure about that one.
She'd asked me to get coffee, so we got coffee together, and she'd asked me to eat, so we ate together. That was all. Was that really so obvious?
'If she'd liked me, she would have confessed.'
'Right?'
Anyway, according to Yu-ra, my image at the company wasn't as bad as I thought.
'Heh heh— I've still got it.'
My mood had lifted a little, that much was true.
And yesterday, she also asked me all sorts of things about Ri-na.
Whether the two of us had worked out together, whether we'd had dinner together, even whether we were going to work out together again. Seeing how detailed her questions were, she was clearly worried because of my ability.
Yu-ra had already caught me using my ability once, and Ri-na had actually seen the white line, so I understood why she was concerned about me causing another incident somewhere.
'I made her worry for nothing.'
I should be a bit more careful when testing my ability from now on.
===
On weekend mornings, I often went to the municipal sports center pool not far from my place.
The price was cheap, the facilities were decent, and most importantly, I could use the massage chairs for free.
Honestly, that was the important part for me.
There were five massage chairs in total, and if you came on a weekday afternoon, they'd be occupied by the elderly, making it hard to find an empty one. But today, luckily, two were open.
'Two open spots today.'
I picked a seat with a good view of the TV, sat down, and started the massage chair.
The basic usage time was 15 minutes, but there was no one waiting and there were even empty seats left.
'Adding about five minutes should be fine.'
-Whirr.
The backrest reclined, and the rollers traveled up my back.
"Ahh... that's nice."
While I was at it, I used my ability a little, raising the sensation in my neck and back slightly above normal—about 1.2 times, by feel.
-Whirr.
"...Hngh."
'Now this is public welfare.'
Instead of morning variety shows, the TV was playing economic news. I was listening without much thought when a familiar company name reached my ears.
Here is today's economic news.
The comprehensive IT and medical corporation [Lumesion] announced that it has completed Phase 3 clinical trials for a dementia treatment that suppresses the progression of dementia in its early stages.
Lumesion previously announced results in the field of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder treatment as well...
'Oh.'
'I should buy some of that company's stock next week.'
They say buying stock after good news hits is typical retail-investor behavior, but still, I took out my phone and checked the stock price first.
"...Oh boy."
Sure enough, it had already risen quite a bit since last week.
'Already priced in.'
Still, with news like this, I thought it might be worth jumping in briefly on Monday.
I had a little cash balance left, so I could get in and out quickly.
What if it dropped right after I bought?
"..."
A brightly smiling clown flashed through my mind.
'Win or lose, I'm going for it.'
-Beep.
The massage chair's time ended. I used the remote to return the reclined backrest to its original position and was about to get up when a small logo attached to the side caught my eye.
[LUMESION]
"...Huh?"
'This is Lumesion too.'
They say you should usually buy stock in companies whose products or services you use yourself.
"..."
'At this point, isn't this basically a sign telling me to buy?'
Of course, plenty of people believed in signs like that, bought stock, and watched their accounts melt, so for now I just added it to my watchlist.
Then I sent Yu-ra a message.
[NanoChat]
Me: Yu-ra! Good morning
Me: You seemed to have had a bit to drink yesterday. How's your stomach?
Me: (Otter emoji patting worriedly)
Me: I came to the sports center this morning to swim.
'She drank late last night, so she's probably still asleep.'
I waited a moment, but it didn't seem like a reply would come right away, so I put my phone away and went into the pool.
===
-Growl.
When I finished swimming and came out, it was a little past 10 a.m.
'I'm hungry.'
It seemed better to hold out a little and eat a combined breakfast and lunch.
Hamburger. Pork bone soup. Pizza.
'Hmm— what should I eat?'
While I was seriously agonizing over one of life's important choices, my phone rang.
-Buzz.
Yu-ra was calling.
"Hello, Yu-ra. I just finished swimming and came out. Perfect timing, right?"
As I answered the phone and stepped outside the sports center, I felt a little surprised, and my voice rose along with it.
"Good morning, Se-ryu-u."
Her voice was slightly drawn out.
"Did you just wake up? You seemed to drink a lot yesterday. Are you okay?"
"No, I've been up for a while. I didn't actually drink that much yesterday, but I went to bed late, so I'm a little sleepy."
"That's a relief. Are you still at the pension?"
"Yeah. We're almost done cleaning up, so we're about to head out."
Through the phone, I could hear several people talking.
"Didn't you say you had more plans this morning?"
"We just did a quick cleanup and finished. We ate breakfast and did all the cleaning too."
"So now you're splitting up into cars like yesterday?"
"That got a little complicated. Two of the people who brought cars yesterday left early. One got a call from home at dawn and left first, and another said they had to leave urgently in the morning, so it's hard to fit everyone into the remaining cars."
With two drivers gone, they were apparently short on vehicles.
"So a few of us are going to take a taxi just to the station and transfer there."
"Taking a taxi from Daebudo to the station? Are you going that way too, Yu-ra?"
"Yeah. Probably...?"
Taking a taxi from Daebudo to the station, then transferring to public transit again, all while carrying luggage, sounded like a real hassle.
I didn't have any particular plans today anyway.
"Then I'll come pick you up near the station."
"...It'll take over an hour, you know?"
"It's the weekend. Let's go for a drive."
"Hehe— I knew it. There's no one like Se-ryu."
I heard a small laugh through the phone.
"...When you say it like that, it's a little pressuring."
"Why-y? It's a compliment."
"Then send me the address of which station."
"Okay. We'll take a taxi and head out soon too."
After a brief pause, Yu-ra lowered her voice a little.
"But Se-ryu, let's not meet right in front of the station. If I stay behind alone waiting for someone, the company people will definitely ask what's going on."
She'd apparently talked about relationships with the company people yesterday, and it seemed the aftermath still lingered.
"Then where should we meet?"
"There's a cafe a little ways from the station. I'll send the others off first and go there."
"Then send me the cafe address. I'll come to the front of it. Let's have lunch together while we're at it!"
"Ooh— I'll look up good Daebudo restaurants at the cafe!"
"Yes yes. See you in a bit!"
By the time the call ended, I'd arrived at my studio apartment. I quickly changed, grabbed my car keys, and headed out to Daebudo.
===
For a weekend, traffic wasn't too bad, so I arrived earlier than expected.
I parked at the large cafe Yu-ra had told me about and went inside.
-Jingle.
I didn't even need to look for where Yu-ra was sitting.
Yu-ra had her long wavy hair tied back naturally and was wearing a light beige dress. She was sitting on the terrace with a view of the sea, and with her skin glowing healthily in the sunlight, she stood out even from a distance.
Even so, the first thing my eyes went to was, of course, her familiar face.
'...Is she doing a photoshoot?'
I stared blankly for a moment, and maybe because she'd been watching the cafe entrance, Yu-ra spotted me right away.
"Se-ryu— over here!"
She even waved as she called out.
I walked over to the terrace, and once I got close, I spoke in a slightly quieter voice.
"...Yu-ra, maybe it's because of the ocean behind you, but you look even prettier."
"...You can drop the first part and just say the result."
Yu-ra made a slightly pouty face, then soon smiled softly.
"You must be tired on a weekend, but you came all this way. Thanks, Se-ryu."
"I came because I wanted to. Did you order a drink?"
I was about to ask while looking at the menu, but Yu-ra, as if she'd been waiting, held up the vibrating buzzer she'd been hiding.
"For Se-ryu, an iced Americano with two extra shots, and for me, a grapefruit honey black tea. And I also pre-ordered a sweet cookies-and-cream slice cake that we both like—."
Yu-ra wiggled the buzzer and playfully scrunched her eyes and the bridge of her nose.
"You came all the way here, so I can't let you buy the coffee too. If I mooched coffee off the person who came to pick me up, I'd be a terrible person."
Seeing that she'd pre-ordered according to my taste to match my arrival time, it was a small consideration, but it strangely warmed my heart.
Still, it felt a little unsatisfying to just let it pass.
"Hoo... I was going to report you to HR for workplace harassment, summoning me all the way to Daebudo on a weekend."
I deliberately sighed as I continued.
"I'll specially put it on hold."
-Smack.
"Ack!"
At my playful answer, Yu-ra smacked my shoulder once, then pulled out a chair for me to sit comfortably.
"You know I'm joking, right, Yu-ra?"
-Beep beep.
The buzzer went off just then, so I brought over the drinks and cake.
-Slurp.
I was thirsty, so I took a big sip of coffee. Yu-ra, who had been quietly watching me, suddenly spoke.
"But Se-ryu, why do you keep using formal speech?"
"...All of a sudden?"
"I already switched to casual speech. But we've gotten this close, and you're the only one still using formal speech... isn't that a little weird?"
Yu-ra slowly stirred her drink with the straw and glanced at me.
"You switched so naturally that I just went along with it."
"See. You're doing it again."
The corner of her mouth lifted slightly.
"Then should I switch?"
"Yeah."
Her answer was quick, but after saying it, she just fiddled with her straw.
But then, thinking about it, I realized something odd.
"But Yu-ra. Do we even know how old each other is?"
"..."
The straw stopped.
"...Now that you mention it, I don't know exactly."
"But you switched to casual speech?"
"...That was because there was a time before when the employees tried guessing each other's ages. Your name came up then too, and everyone said you seemed about my age, so I just assumed we were the same age."
Yu-ra, looking a little embarrassed, subtly averted her eyes.
"...Without even checking?"
"Back then, it felt a bit awkward to ask. And you didn't say anything either."
Her voice trailed off a little.
"I'm thirty-one."
"..."
Yu-ra's eyes widened slightly.
"Really?"
"Yes. What about you, Yu-ra?"
"...Twenty-eight."
"..."
This time, I quietly looked at Yu-ra.
"So you're three years younger than me? But up until now, you've been using casual speech so naturally..."
"No-o— I didn't know."
Yu-ra cut the cake for no reason.
"Would you not have switched if you'd known?"
"...Hmm."
Yu-ra thought for a moment, then smiled playfully.
"Why? Would Se-ryu prefer it if I called you oppa-a?"
"Oh— that sounds pretty good, actually."
"...Really?"
"Yes."
Yu-ra poked the cake with the tip of her fork for no reason.
"...I don't think I can do it."
"Why not?"
"Calling you oppa is a little..."
Her voice trailed off.
"...Embarrassing."
Her ears turned slightly red.
She'd brought it up herself, but she was apparently the one more embarrassed by it.
"That's a shame."
"What's a shame."
"I wanted to hear it at least once."
"...I don't know."
Yu-ra took a sip of her grapefruit honey black tea for no reason.
After fiddling with the straw for a moment, Yu-ra spoke again, this time a little more cautiously.
"Instead, can't you speak casually now too, Se-ryu? It's a little weird that I'm the only one using casual speech while you keep using formal speech."
"Hmm..."
Thinking about it, she was right.
"Then I'll switch from now on."
"Okay."
"...Like this?"
Yu-ra's eyes widened slightly, then the corners of her mouth slowly rose.
"Heh heh."
"...Why are you laughing."
"No. It's just, you switched faster than I thought."
"You told me to."
"Well, yeah."
It was just a change in speech style, but strangely, even I felt a little awkward.
Then it suddenly occurred to me that the form of address was also ambiguous.
"Then isn't it strange that I'm still being so formal when I say your name?"
"Yeah, just call me Yu-ra."
"Yu-ra?"
"Yeah."
I tried rolling it around in my mouth for no reason.
"Got it, Yu-ra."
"..."
This time, Yu-ra's hand stopped completely.
Just moments ago, she'd been the one telling me to speak comfortably, but now that I'd even called her by name like that, she seemed a little more embarrassed than she'd expected.
"...What?"
"Nothing."
Even as she said that, the corner of her mouth was slightly lifted.
'She's the one who told me to.'
I smiled too and picked up my coffee.
We'd seen each other at the same company for years, but today was the first time we'd learned each other's exact ages, and now both the formal speech and the form of address had changed at once.
It seemed like a trivial change, but strangely, I felt like we'd gotten one step closer.