Chapter 28: We met again.
"Hiro?" Furuya Rei, holding two bottles of drinks, handed one to Morofushi Hiromitsu, who was leaning against the windowsill in a daze. Noticing the thoughtful look on his friend's face, Furuya Rei asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"…Ah, thank you." Morofushi Hiromitsu took the chilled drink, no longer looking out the window, but turning his back to the night view and facing Furuya Rei. "Hmm…Do you remember those two people we met this afternoon?"
"Yes, I remember." Furuya Rei walked to Morofushi Hiromitsu's side, his golden hair dazzling under the light. He asked, "What happened to those two?"
"They called my name first, and then said they had mistaken me for someone else... Judging from their tone and manner, they were probably calling a close friend, right?" Morofushi Hiromitsu analyzed. "But my surname is the same as yours, Furuya, which is a relatively rare surname... We look alike and have the same surname, so it seems unlikely?"
Morofushi Hiromitsu only has one older brother, but the two people he met during the day looked to be about his age. If you're asking about Taka'aki, there's no need to use "brother"; just say "older brother."
Moreover—although it's not appropriate for a younger brother to say that, Morofushi Hiromitsu really doesn't think anyone could speak to his older brother so naturally in such a slightly frivolous (?) manner, especially when the person is a junior of the same age as him.
"Should we ask the others?" Furuya Rei tilted his head, his blond hair swaying. "They don't look like locals from Okinawa. Maybe they go to the same school as us?"
"...No need, it's too much trouble." Morofushi Hiromitsu smiled gently. "Speaking of which, Zero came to see me...?"
"Yes, the teacher said we'll meet in ten minutes and explained the schedule for tomorrow in advance."
"That's about right, let's go."
"Good."
This is the time when most junior and senior high schools arrange school trips, the difference being only a few days earlier or later, and it's normal for a few schools to have overlapping trips. This is also why Morofushi Hiromitsu and Furuya Rei couldn't confirm whether the other person was a classmate from their school.
Okinawa is only so big, and school trips are a well-established program, with the same few places to visit and do.
Compared to visiting tourist attractions with the group, free time is what these restless high school students prefer most.
They're going back tomorrow, so the teachers have been a bit more lenient, and today was almost entirely free time.
"Shall we go take a look over there later?" Hagiwara Kenji said with a smile to the three female classmates beside him, holding the project introduction given by the teacher.
"Great! That's exactly what I'm interested in!"
"Can I take a picture with Hagiwara-kun later?"
"Wow—you're so cunning, Yuzu! I want one too!"
"In that case... um, may I make a small request?" A girl with shoulder-length hair pointed softly to the two boys who had once again been squeezed a few meters back: "Morofushi-kun and Matsuda-kun... together too?"
Hagiwara Kenji paused, then relaxed. "Great! It's a rare opportunity to come all this way; it would be a shame not to commemorate it—"
"Sora'aki-chan, Jinpei-chan! Let's take a picture together later!" Hagiwara Kenji raised his voice a little.
Matsuda Jinpei glanced at Morofushi Sora'aki: "Did you hear that? What do you think?"
"I don't care… but please don't take pictures in the sun," Morofushi Sora'aki made the request.
"Okay." Matsuda Jinpei raised his voice slightly, speaking to his friend who was less than five meters away, "Let's find a sunny spot to take pictures later!"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "..."
Morofushi Sora'aki's lips curled down, and his upturned cat-like eyes stared intently at Matsuda Jinpei, who was deliberately speaking ironically. His usually quiet blue eyes seemed a little lighter in color under the sunlight.
Under that gaze, Matsuda Jinpei couldn't stand it anymore. He touched his arm and said, "Alright, let's find a shady spot later... But photos look better in good lighting, right?"
"It's okay, Matsuda will look good even without sunlight."
"...No, don't use words like 'good-looking' to describe men."
"Pretty?"
"Isn't this the same thing? Can't you just say 'handsome'?"
"Jinpei-chan will be smug and doesn't want to talk about it."
"...Don't be so blunt at times like this!"
"How can you comment on Jinpei-chan's face without mentioning me?" Hagiwara Kenji casually leaned in: "I fell in love with this face at first sight! At the time, I thought it was such a shame that his face was injured—ah, did I mention that when I met Jinpei-chan, he was beaten black and blue?
"You said it yourself." Morofushi Sora'aki blinked, "That I was the one who beat him up."
"...Why does Morofushi sound so arrogant?" Under these circumstances, it was hard for Matsuda Jinpei not to clench his fist.
"Because that was my first time fighting." Morofushi Sora'aki looked at Hagiwara Kenji: "So, Hagiwara, do you like my face?"
Hagiwara Kenji gave a thumbs up: "I like it too! Just looking at the two of you makes the air feel fresher!"
"...Can you stop being so mushy?" Matsuda Jinpei rubbed the goosebumps that had risen on his arms.
Hagiwara Kenji smiled even more broadly: "Alright, you two handsome guys, may I have the honor of taking a picture with you?"
Just ahead, those girls have looked this way many times.
Taking photos of boys and girls alone could easily lead to misunderstandings, so in the end, several people took group photos, the girls took individual photos, and there were also photos of the three of them together.
Taking photos was merely a means of remembering memories; Morofushi Sora'aki wasn't that interested. Cameras of that era didn't have high resolution and came with built-in soft-focus filters.
One of my female classmates brought an instant camera that I don't know if I need to go to a photo shop to print it later. As long as I take the picture, I can get a palm-sized photo.
This camera is quite popular among young people these days, and it's been nicknamed "Checky".
"Let me see—oh no, I didn't take this one well! You're not allowed to look!!" A female classmate snatched one of the photos, her face flushed.
Just like when Morofushi Sora'aki was playing around with two friends, the three girls also got along very well. At this moment, they ignored the people standing around and started playing around and chasing each other.
But amidst the chasing and playful antics, the girl with the Polaroid camera suddenly stopped: "Huh? It's stuck? The photo won't print!"
Hagiwara Kenji noticed this and came over to take a look: "What's wrong?"
On the other side, Morofushi Sora'aki, hiding in the shadows, fanned his face with his hand, sweat trickling down his forehead and causing a slight itch: "It's so hot."
"...Can't you just be a little more patient?" Matsuda Jinpei revealed his crescent-shaped eyes. "I'll go back with you?"
"…You play with Hagiwara, I'll go to that shaved ice shop over there." Morofushi Sora'aki pointed in a direction, and Matsuda Jinpei squinted and looked around.
The shaved ice shop that Morofushi Sora'aki indicated was a bit far, but it was still within the range the teacher had requested—or rather, even if it was beyond the range, Matsuda Jinpei wouldn't be able to stop him.
"I'll go with you, it's pretty boring here…" Matsuda Jinpei, who originally wanted to leave with Morofushi Sora'aki, noticed that the camera on the other side seemed to be malfunctioning, and he decisively changed his mind: "Okay, you go first, Hagi and I will come to find you later."
"...forgetting friends for the sake of beauty."
"This word doesn't seem appropriate for this time of day." Matsuda Jinpei dismissed Morofushi Sora'aki, heading towards the shaved ice shop: "Alright, you said it yourself, get lost."
Morofushi Sora'aki couldn't stand the weather in Okinawa, especially now that it was summer and the already high temperature in Okinawa was even hotter.
After Morofushi Sora'aki walked away, Hagiwara Kenji belatedly looked up and asked, "Where's Sora'aki-chan?"
"He went to cool off. What's wrong?" Matsuda Jinpei's eyes were fixed on the small camera. "Let me see."
"Hey! I can handle this!" Before Hagiwara Kenji could finish speaking, he looked at his friend who had taken the camera directly from his hand, feeling utterly helpless.
Without any suitable tools at hand, Matsuda Jinpei simply found a place to sit down and began the most basic disassembly and inspection with his own hands.
"Oh, this part is crooked... Wait a minute." Matsuda Jinpei's eyes would become exceptionally sharp and captivating when they encountered things that interested him.
Hagiwara Kenji stood to the side, watching his friend who had completely captured the attention of the three girls, and shook his head: "I really lose to you..."
It wasn't a very complicated problem, and Matsuda Jinpei solved it in five minutes. He tried to print out the photos he had taken earlier, and the photos printed out successfully, but just then a gust of wind blew the photo that hadn't yet displayed an image away!
The photograph swayed gently in the wind, eventually falling at someone's feet. The person bent down to pick it up, and at that moment, the image, which would normally take 1-2 minutes to fully develop, began to slowly appear.
This is a candid photo. Kenji Hagiwara is tilting his head and talking to Jinpei Matsuda, who is slightly shorter than him. Matsuda has his arms crossed and looks impatient. Right next to them, Morofushi Sora'aki is standing sideways, pulling at his collar to try and let the air touch his skin. At that moment, he notices someone taking pictures and looks at the camera with his upturned cat-like eyes.
The photo perfectly captured Morofushi Sora'aki's profile, but because the camera couldn't directly reproduce many colors, the blue of his eyes wasn't fully shown. The person who found the photo was clearly stunned. He stared in surprise at the boy in the photo, his cat-like eyes, similar to the boy in the photo, widening slightly. He subconsciously looked up in the direction of Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei.
The other three girls also saw his face in this situation and noticed that he looked similar to their classmate. They were equally surprised and exclaimed, "Huh? Morofushi—he looks just like Morofushi-kun!"
"Speaking of which, does Morofushi-kun have any brothers?"
"I don't know."
Morofushi Hiromitsu handed the photo to Hagiwara Kenji. Unlike yesterday's wariness, this time, Morofushi Hiromitsu had a smile on his face, his blue cat-like eyes crinkling, and he politely took the initiative to ask, "Excuse me... who is this student in the photo...?"