For You Who Hate Autumn
Penulis: 未来屋 環 (Miraiya Tamaki)
Sumber: Syosetu
――"Hey, do you really understand what you're saying?"
"For You Who Hate Autumn" / Miraiya Tamaki
“I really hate autumn (Aki),”
The person walking beside me—Fuyushima-san—said that out of nowhere.
By the way, my name is written as "亜季" and read as "Aki," which also means "autumn."
Of course, I don’t think there was any deep meaning behind what he said, but it wasn’t exactly pleasant either.
“Really? I think it’s a nice season.”
“Isn’t it kind of a lukewarm season, unlike summer or winter?”
Who was the one complaining about how hot it was just a little while ago in summer?
I found his simple-mindedness kind of adorable, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
He furrowed his brow in annoyance and said, “What’s so funny, Takanashi?” to which I replied with a smile, “Oh, nothing.”
+×+×+×+
Fuyushima-san is a senior in the same light music club as me.
He’s aiming to be a professional drummer, and he’s really good at it.
He’s tall, muscular, has long hair, and his rough manner of speaking makes him seem intimidating at first glance, but he actually has a pretty kind side.
Even though I’m a beginner in the same band, he’s taught me a lot. Since we finished the school festival at the end of last month, we’ve been practicing for the next winter performance.
It was two weeks ago that he invited me to a piano concert.
While we were cleaning up the studio, we ended up alone, and he casually handed me a ticket, saying, “Are you free on this day?”
I was so surprised by the unexpected invitation that my eyes widened. Fuyushima-san awkwardly added, “My drum teacher gave it to me.”
“I mean, it’d be pointless to go alone, and since you play the keyboard, I thought you might be interested.”
“—Ah, yes. Then let’s go together.”
“…Yeah.”
He responded briefly and quickly left. As I watched his large back shrink into the distance, I carefully tucked the ticket into my wallet.
+×+×+×+
“The concert was really wonderful. Thank you for inviting me.”
When I said that, Fuyushima-san replied curtly, “Well, I got the ticket for free.”
“Please thank your teacher for the ticket.”
“Yeah, I will.”
As we walked side by side, I felt a strange sensation.
Come to think of it, this was the first time we’ve ever hung out alone on a day off.
I glanced at him, and he was walking with a furrowed brow, as if deep in thought.
The black leather jacket he wore, suited for the cool weather, only added to his imposing presence.
When I checked my watch, it was already past 12:30.
Just as I was about to ask if he wanted to grab lunch, Fuyushima-san met my gaze.
“Takanashi.”
“Yes?”
“Uh… what about lunch?”
“…Huh?”
—Could it be that he had been waiting for the right moment to ask this the whole time?
I couldn’t help but laugh at his intense expression.
When he pressed me, “Don’t you have anything you want to eat?” I held up my bag like a badge of honor.
“Actually, I brought a bento, so let’s eat in the park.”
“—Huh? A bento…?”
Fuyushima-san blinked in surprise.
He probably hadn’t expected this. Looks like the surprise was a success.
“Sorry, do you not like it?”
He shook his head vigorously.
He didn’t seem to dislike the idea, so that was a relief.
The park was lively with families enjoying the weekend.
We found a bench near a tree with beautiful autumn foliage, and sat down side by side, leaving room for the bento between us.
As I pulled out the bento from my bag, I felt his sharp gaze on me.
I hoped he would enjoy it.
“—Here you go.”
At my words, Fuyushima-san snapped out of his daze and looked at me.
“You made all of this?”
“Well, the fried chicken is frozen, though.”
After hearing my answer, he turned his gaze back to the bento.
I followed his gaze and looked at the contents too.
The first bento was filled with rice balls.
One was wrapped in seaweed and filled with okaka (dried bonito flakes), and the other was mixed rice with autumn salmon.
I had considered using salmon flakes but thought I’d make the effort to grill fresh salmon, flake it, and mix it with chopped shiso leaves and white sesame seeds, sautéed in soy sauce, before mixing it into the rice.
I would have liked to keep the salmon in bigger chunks, but I thought it might be difficult to eat if there were bones, so I went with this. In the end, it looked more appetizing anyway.
The second bento contained side dishes.
Autumn offers a bounty of delicious vegetables, so I grilled them and made a marinade. Pickling is nice, but grilling brings out the flavor of the vegetables better, and it’s a regular dish in the Takanashi household. The lotus root was crispy, the maitake mushrooms were flavorful, the eggplant was tender, and the pumpkin was perfectly soft.
There was also a generous helping of dashi-maki tamago (Japanese rolled omelet). To add a bit of texture, I mixed in chopped pickled ginger and green onions.
As I confessed earlier, the fried chicken was frozen.
Still, I thought it needed more meat, so I included enoki mushrooms wrapped in bacon and pan-fried in butter.
After checking the contents, I glanced at Fuyushima-san. He was staring at the bento, completely still.
I prayed there wasn’t anything he disliked, and handed him a pair of chopsticks.
“Here you go, Fuyushima-san.”
He silently accepted the chopsticks, put his hands together in a small prayer, and said, “Itadakimasu,” bowing his head.
His unexpected politeness caught me off guard.
Then, he began eating enthusiastically.
As I watched from my special front-row seat, I felt glad I had made it.
“—Ah, that was delicious. Thank you.”
He said as he put his hands together again.
After finishing the pear I had prepared as a palate cleanser, I replied, “Thank you as well for today.”
“I’m not sure if it was enough to repay you for the piano concert, but I’m glad if you liked it.”
“No, seriously, it was so good I’m honestly moved. You’re amazing, Takanashi.”
Then, Fuyushima-san stood up and headed toward the vending machine.
In the meantime, I took out a small container I had hidden in my bag.
When he returned with a small bottle of tea, his eyes widened again when he saw the container.
“What’s that now?”
“Dessert.”
I popped open the lid to reveal sweet potato steamed buns made with honey.
Fuyushima-san muttered, “Seriously?”
And thus began the second round with the hot milk tea he had bought for me.
It was my first time making the steamed buns, but I thought they turned out really well. The chewy texture of the dough and the subtle sweetness of the sweet potato complemented each other perfectly.
When I glanced over, I saw that Fuyushima-san was silently devouring the buns.
His expression looked so much like a child’s that I couldn’t help but laugh.
He usually has such an intimidating aura that keeps people away, but sometimes, he shows a completely innocent side like this.
“Autumn is such a great season with so many delicious foods. It’s called ‘the harvest season’ for a reason.”
When I said that, Fuyushima-san, having finished the steamed buns, turned to me and said, “You’re right.”
“I think… I’ve come to like autumn (Aki).”
Let’s review once more.
My name is written as "亜季" and read as "Aki," which also means "autumn."
Of course, there was no deeper meaning behind his words.
—But still, it didn’t feel bad.
“Yes, I like it too.”
When I answered and glanced over at him, his ears seemed to have turned slightly red as he sipped his milk tea.
The harvest season is only just beginning—I smiled softly to myself.