[ 4 years ago ]
[15th November, 2010]
Like every other day, Toha came home after basketball practice. He was fifteen back then.
Games, school, friends—that was Toha's entire world.
Era and Hira had been friends since childhood, so Era used to come over to their house often.
A tiny girl with green eyes. They barely talked.
She hadn't visited in months.Toha hadn't even noticed.
Toha wiped the sweat off his body with a towel and dropped onto the sofa, turning on the TV.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Annoyed, he opened the door halfway.
Hira stood there.
"Is this really a time to come over, Hira?"
She pushed the door open and stepped inside.
"I was with Era."
At her words, he looked outside again.
Era stood there—right in front of him.
Something felt different.
Familiar—yet not.
Maybe it was the dress.
Green dress.
Green eyes.
But they didn't match.
Her eyes weren't light green anymore. They were deep.
Too deep—like dark water hidden inside a forest.
He stood frozen for a few seconds. Era was looking straight at him.
He blinked.
From behind, Hira grabbed his hand and pulled him aside.
"Let her come in!"
He looked at Hira. "Uh… sorry."
She stared at him in disbelief.
"You said sorry?"
"Not to you," he replied. "To Era."
Era stepped inside. "It's okay."
Even her voice sounded different. Maybe she had grown taller too.
When she passed by him, her height aligned with his nose.
Toha said nothing and sat back on the sofa.
The two of them went into Hira's room.
He stayed in front of the TV for a long time, but he couldn't tell what he was watching. Probably football.
Or basketball. The referee's whistle kept ringing in his ears.
Era hadn't been this tall before.
Even though he hadn't seen her in a long time, he couldn't remember her face being like this.
He didn't know.
Suddenly, Hira's door opened.
At the sound, he straightened up.
"Toha, have you seen my headphones?"
At the sound of Hira's voice, he finally let out a breath.
"How would I know?" he said. "You never know where you keep your own things."
"Bullshit!" she muttered, rolling her eyes before going back into her room.
Half an hour later,
his eyes had almost drifted shut, even though the TV was still on.
"You watch soap operas?"
His eyes snapped open.
Right in front of him—those same two green eyes again.
"Eraa!?"
His voice came out louder than he intended.
Loud enough that she definitely heard it.
Era leaned casually against the edge of the sofa, one hand resting there, her attention already back on the TV.
"This is actually pretty funny."
He glanced at the screen once, then looked back at her. She turned and smiled at him.
He jumped to his feet without thinking. "Eraa!!"
"Hm?!" She looked up at him, clearly startled by how suddenly he stood.
"Sorry," he said.
"What…?" She looked even more confused.
He shook his head quickly. "No—no. I mean… for earlier. For this evening."
She laughed softly.
"You're talking very formally."
That only made him more nervous.
He used to tease her all the time—hey, little lady—because she was so short back then.
How did he suddenly become this formal with her?
He quickly sat back down on the sofa and forced a grin.
"I was joking."
"Joking?" She smiled again. "By the way, this show really is funny."
She came over and sat beside him on the sofa.
His mind went completely blank. He didn't know what to say, so he said the first thing that came out.
"Yeah…"
"Yeah?" Era repeated.
"No—no."He hesitated.
"Hm?" She tilted her head. "Yes or no?"She asked with slight confusion.
He looked at her face and couldn't read anything.
"Ye-yes. He likes… to… wa-watch TV shows."
Without turning from the screen, Hira said dryly,
"He doesn't like drama, though."
Huh! She doesn't like it.
He should've said no.
He was just about to correct himself when Era, still watching the screen, said,
"But this is funny. I want to watch the rest of it."
"Hm!!!"His voice came out lower almost unsure,Thank God I hadn't said no yet.
"Yeah," he said quickly, a little too proudly. "The characters are really funny."
"What's the previous story?" Era asked. "I couldn't really understand the whole drama."
Oh no. I don't even watch dramas—what story am I supposed to explain now? He thought.
"Uh… the dra-drama's sto-story…" He stammered.
"Actually… it just started yesterday. Ah—new drama."
Right then, the show cut to an advertisement.
Coming soon… stay with us… King Monkey, Episode 201.
After the ad ended, Era turned to look at him.
Slowly, he turned to look at her too.I am finished today,oh no..he thought
She stared at him for a second—and then burst out laughing.
"I get it," she said between laughs.
"You're just like me. You started watching it randomly and liked it."
He laughed along with her, relieved.
"Yeah. Hilarious."
From behind them, Hira said dryly,
Era turned toward her.
"Hira! The drama really is funny."
"Funny?!!" Hira snapped. "I told you to wake me up at eight! It's eight-thirty now!"
Era jumped up from the sofa.
"So—sorry, Hira! I forgot…"
Era started running from Hira.
"I'm sorry… I forgot. How you forgot? Stop… don't run!"
Their laughter and footsteps echoed down the hallway.
From that day on, Era and he always watched the drama together.
Sometimes Hira joined them too—but without a doubt, she understood nothing, just like him.
He laughed, but not at the scenes on the screen. He laughed at Era—especially when she laughed out loud.
Whenever she burst into laughter, he laughed with her.
He started waiting for the advertisements more than the show itself.
During those breaks, it was just Era and Toha, talking about nothing and everything.
All day long, he would wait—for the moment they could watch the drama together.
Or maybe… just to watch her.
Continues...