「CHAPTER 7」
Right now, the atmosphere in the third conference room at Marukawa Shoten was
so tense that it hurt. Everyone was silently working with their hands and only the sound
of pens on paper and the sound of screen tones being cut down to size echoed in the
room. The deadline had already passed, but because the printers were willing to wait,
Yoshino and the others shut themselves in the conference room and earnestly worked on
the manuscript.
First, I will finish the rough draft…no, I should ink before doing the rough draft
otherwise the assistants won't have anything to do…Argh, what should I do!?
Yoshino felt irritated with himself for being so indecisive. He was tired and
lacked sleep, so his ability to think was failing, and he couldn't even make simple
decisions.
Yoshino Chiaki - pen name, Yoshikawa Chiharu – was a shoujo manga artist who
took pride in always hitting the top-sale charts and who even had a manga series made
into a drama as well as an anime. He took interest in drawing manga when he had been
only a child. Since his debut as an artist around the time he was in university, he had
overcome many deadlines, but this was the first time he was in such a terrible crunch
time. And that was Yoshino for you, not even imagining that the day would come when
he and his team would be forced to shut themselves up in the publishing company's
conference room and desperately draw in order to make it on time.
“Yoshino, how many more blank pieces of manuscript do you have left?” Hatori
Yoshiyuki, an editor in charge of Yoshino, asked as he erased. Although usually smartly
dressed in a suit, today he wasn't wearing his suit jacket. His necktie was loosened and
the sleeves on his white shirt were rolled up.
Aww…even Tori is looking shabby…
Now that he thought about it, this was probably the first time he had seen Hatori –
his childhood friend whom he grew up with, making them both as close as brothers –
look so exhausted. On top of that, when he thought that this was his own fault, his heart
hurt with guilt.
This crunch time was pretty bad, so when Yoshino said “My drawing skills suck
right now”, Hatori who made it his duty to do the chores, shopping and cooking in time
of help, showed up. Also this time, Yoshino's assistants showed up because they couldn't
disregard these circumstances. Hatori was probably told to just do the erasing, but
Yoshino was still very grateful to him, because Hatori could handle so much labor at
once.
“…Eight…no, seven left…,” Yoshino counted the blank sheets used for the
manuscript which where laying beside him and spoke with great effort. Even talking was
a burden right now.
“I see. You've made quite a progress. A little bit more to go, so hang in there.”
“Yeah…”
Right now, Hatori's encouraging words went in one ear and came out the other. It
definitely wasn't a little bit more to go.
Tori sounds tired too…
But that was to be expected, since just like Yoshino, Hatori had also only got
about an hour of naptime for these past several days. But even then, Hatori cheered
Yoshino on, so Yoshino applauded him. Yoshino's eyelids felt heavy and his hand felt
stiff as he held his mechanical pencil. Although he kept working, there were still blank
manuscript pages left. He couldn't see the future ahead of him. This seemed as if it would
go on for eternity.
This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't agreed to do that at that time…
Regret crossed his mind, but it was too late now. The cause for being even more
at his wit's end now than usual was because he had undertaken an urgent assignment.
Yoshino made that decision, so he knew that he had no right to complain, but at the very
least, he wanted to curse himself for thinking he could do it at that time. The artist who
was supposed to draw the magazine cover and front color insert page was hospitalized
due to suddenly falling ill, so Yoshino was one of the people to be asked to do it instead.
A recent but already popular newbie did the front color insert page, but the cover of the
magazine is a magazine's main attraction, so obviously it can't be entrusted to a newbie,
so Hatori apologetically requested Yoshino to do it.
That day, after finally showing up at the cafe and reaching Yoshino's table, Hatori
gravely began to speak…
* * * *
“Yoshino, I have a request.”
For someone who came just to discuss the plot of the story, Hatori had a very
stern expression on his face, and this worried Yoshino. It seemed that he had some sort of
request, which was difficult to ask.
“Wh- why are you so solemn…?”
“The truth is… I want you to draw the cover for this upcoming issue.”
“When you say upcoming, you mean the issue two months from now, right?”
“No, next month's issue.”
“Huh!? What bullshit are you saying!? The deadline for submitting the cover of
next month's issue is almost here! I mean, Sasahara-sensei should have warned us, right?”
“Sasahara-sensei fell ill and was hospitalized. She's undergoing immediate
surgery and I don't know when she will be discharged.”
“Sur- surgery…,” Yoshino gulped upon hearing such news from Hatori. Many
manga artists greatly destroyed their health while they were young due to living a
disorderly lifestyle.
Because of that, it hit close to home for Yoshino. Besides, it wasn't known when
she would be discharged from the hospital, meaning her work won't be serialized in the
magazine anymore. Surely, she herself was most full of regret. Yoshino didn't personally
know her but liked her work and looked forward to it with each issue. As a reader and as
a fellow artist he wanted to help her but didn't feel like he had the time, so he couldn't
readily agree to this request.
“I understand the situation, but you know best that I have my manuscript to do,
don't you? If time allowed, I would undertake this job, but right now it is positively
impossible for me.”
This month, he had to do the cover page and the cover for the drama CD, so he
felt like he was already late with the storyboard. If he undertook any other assignments,
there was a chance that he would not complete the manuscript on time and the manuscript
was the most important.
“Yes, but I don't have anyone else to ask besides you.”
“Tori…”
“I am begging you,” Hatori said, put his hands on his knees, and deeply bowed his
head.
I feel like the last time he had such a troubled look on his face was the Summer of
last year when he said “I love you” to me….
Yoshino silently looked at the unusual sight of Hatori down turning his head.
“So, Yoshino will you not do it?”
“…Urgh…! Okay, I get it; I'll do it! But just this one favor!”
* * * *
Involuntarily, Yoshino agreed when Hatori lowered his head to him, but even
under usual circumstances he barely made it on time with his manuscript, so in all
honesty, he didn't have any self-confidence that he was going to make it on time now
more than before. Sure enough, his schedule was tight and he was suffering so much he
felt like he was going to die. The magazine cover took a lot of time, but the main reason
he was late with the manuscript was because he didn't finish the storyboard as he had
expected.
Oh no, my hand is starting to feel weak.
He put down his pen for a moment and repeatedly opened and closed his hand. As
he did that, blood rushed back to his hand, and it felt a little bit more comfortable. It was
very hard to stay awake, because his head was all hazy. Yoshino didn't want to complain
so he hid the fact that he had caught a cold and had a fever and was feeling very badly.
Nevertheless, he didn't want to give up on the manuscript. Having used up practically all
of his physical strength and will power, Yoshino exerted himself solely due to pride.
“Hey, Yoshino, your face is red. Are you okay?” Hatori sounded worried as he
handed the draft copy of a manuscript page, which he had just finished erasing the lines
from, to one of the girl assistants. But at this point in time, it was pointless for Yoshino to
say, “Actually, I have a fever…”
So he said, “I'm fine, I'm fine. It's probably due to lack of sleep.”
“I'm sorry to force you…”
From the look on Hatori's face, Yoshino understood that Hatori was blaming
himself. Not wanting to worry Hatori, who was pushing himself just as much as Yoshino,
Yoshino collected himself and replied with a lively tone of voice.
“It's useless to say something like that now. Here, please erase this one too.”
Hiding that he felt sick, he handed Hatori a manuscript page which he had just
finished inking. Hatori took it apologetically, checked to make sure that the ink was dry,
and carefully began to erase. Even though Yoshino's regular assistants helped with the
manuscript as well as Hatori, who was free from his editor job, the prospects of finishing
the manuscript were still a long ways away.
If only Yuu was here right now…No, I thought I had decided I won't rely on him!
Actually, he was in the middle of a mini cold war with his chief assistant Yanase
Yuu right now, so he hadn't seen him for a while and didn't call him for help because it
would be awkward. Yanase was angry about what had happened on their hot springs trip
recently. They had gone to the hot springs for Yoshino's birthday, but many things had
happened and without staying the night, Yoshino left Yanase behind and went home.
Yoshino knew he was in the wrong and wanted to apologize, but Yanase
continued to act sullen by saying, “Forget it!”, so this made Yoshino angry, and with that,
they had stopped speaking to each other. Because Yanase wasn't here, they were not
doing too good during this crunch time. Although he knew that the situation would
improve somewhat if Yanase were here, he did not want to be the one to apologize first.
Right now, it was almost as bad as being so busy that there aren't enough hours in a day,
but he had his pride to protect.
I'll finish this even if Yuu isn't here…!
Just after he swore that and scratched the tip of his pen against the manuscript
paper, he heard a short knock. Editor-in-charge of the Emerald Editorial Department,
Takano Masamune peeked inside the conference room, after modestly opening the door.
He was holding a silver thermos, paper cups and had a bag from the drugstore.
“I brought coffee. I also have energy drinks and jelly drinks, so please let me
know which ones you want.”
It seemed that he had gone shopping while he had been out on an errand. They all
felt ashamed for making the editor-in-charge do such a thing, but thankful at the same
time.
“Takano-san, thank you, you didn't have to…” Yoshino looked up, thanking him,
and Takano gave him a kind smile in return. No matter in what kind of tight situation
they were in, only this person kept a cool countenance, and that was amazing.
“No, it's alright, this is a job for someone who has their hands empty. Besides, this
was quite a huge favor to ask of you, so please let me know if there is anything I can do.
Everyone, please don't hesitate to do so either.”
“Um, excuse me, could I have some coffee…?”
“Ah, me too, please”
At Takano's words, the assistants timidly raised their hands in unison. The girls
must have about reached their limit as well. He didn't want to force them to stay up all
night, and at the end of each crunch time, they didn't get a decent vacation either.
Nevertheless, this time, they came to help him without any complaints. He couldn't thank
the girl assistants enough for coming to assist him each time, even though this wasn't
their permanent job.
“Ah, um, I'll do that.”
But Takano stopped Onodera, who was volunteering to be the coffee pourer.
“I'll do it. You continue on with your work. It doesn't make sense for you to be
responsible for this.”
“…Alright,” Onodera returned to his seat and set about continuing to color in the
white spaces, which he had been in the middle of doing. He had said that he had never
done this sort of job before, but he turned out to be good with his hands and finished a
whole lot more than was expecting to.
“How's it going, Hatori?”
After Takano distributed coffee to the assistants, he spoke to Hatori. After Hatori
was done erasing, he began phototypesetting.
“Still not done. How is it over there?”
Hatori was probably inquiring about the negotiations with the printers. Not too
long ago, Takano said he was stepping out to take care of something and that must have
been his purpose for doing so.
“They said the deadline is tomorrow morning at eight.”
Yoshino, who was listening in, was surprised to hear the time Takano said. If it
was due at eight in the morning, didn't that mean they only had six hours left?
Shit, why doesn't my hand move faster…?
Yoshio desperately moved his hand on paper as he gave them a sidelong glance,
meanwhile wondering if they should drop it or propose to have the part they finished be
published. Nevertheless, it seemed like they had already reached their limit. When he
calculated how many hours they had left, he knew they would definitely not complete it
on time. It was impossible, even if he worked on it at his fastest pace.
Yoshino gritted his teeth, angry at how weak he was. If they drop the manuscript,
Hatori would probably blame himself for asking Yoshino to do the sudden assignment,
and Yoshino's readers, who looked forward to the new chapter more than anything,
would be disappointed. By no means did he want to let them down. His eyes burnt with
regret, but crying wasn't going to solve anything. Just when he bit his lip and desperately
tried not to give up on everything, the conference room door opened without any prior
notice.
“Excuse me.”
“Eh…?”
Yoshino involuntarily turned around at the sound of the familiar voice and sure
enough he saw a familiar face. Not expecting to see this person to show up, Yoshino
involuntarily gaped. He blinked, not believing what he was seeing and rubbed his eyes,
but the person in front of him did not disappear.
“Wh- why is Yuu…”
“What, you're still not done? Hey, give me the stuff that still needs background.
I'll take care of it, so you just focus on your own work,” Yanase snapped as he took of his
jacket and sat down in an empty seat. Yoshino involuntarily stared at Yanase who took
out his supplies from his own bag.
“What's the situation?”
“Ten pages of the manuscript have been completed, but there are still seven blank
ones,” Hatori answered Yanase's question. Out of everyone in the conference room, the
only person who was surprised at Yanase's arrival was Yoshino.
“Got it. Everyone, if you're not busy at the moment, show me what you got so far.
I'll check it over.”
Suddenly, Yoshino asked Yanase, who was giving out orders as he always did:
“Why…didn't you call me…?”
“Stop whining and keep working. I'll answer all your questions later.”
“O- okay.”
Yanase's order was reasonable. Right now, completing the manuscript was the
top priority. Yoshino pulled himself together and concentrated on the manuscript.
* * * *
“Good work, you did great,” Hatori said his thanks as he put all the completed
and checked over pages of the manuscript into an envelope. Yoshino finally relaxed upon
hearing these words.
“Mhm, you helped too, Tori. Thanks.”
“This is my job. Well then, I will look after this.”
“Yeah. I leave the rest to you…”
The finishing touches as well as the phototypesetting was complete, and now
Hatori headed over to the printers with the finished manuscript in his hands. After seeing
Hatori off, Yoshino crashed his head down on the desk.
We really finished…!
As he was working on it, he kept thinking they weren't going to finish, but
somehow they did. It was all thanks to everyone who had helped him with everything.
Takano had returned back to his normal duties by now, having confirmed that the
manuscript was safe and complete, and the only people in the conference room, other
than Yoshino, were the girl assistants, the new editor Onodera, and Yanase. Although the
assistants were happy that they finished the manuscript on time, everyone was exhausted
and had a soulless expression on their face. After every crunch time, he thought it
couldn't get any worse, but this crunch time was so hectic that it vied for first place in
terms of worst crunch time.
“Good work everyone. Seriously, thanks. Oh, thank you to you too, Onodera-
san.” He deeply bowed to Onodera who was standing nearby.
“No, I'm sorry I wasn't very useful…”
“That's not true. You really saved us!”
Originally, Yoshino would pay him for being his assistant, but no matter how
much help Yoshino got, the editors said, “It's my job,” and would not accept the money.
He always asked Hatori what kind of thanks he should give instead, but Hatori's reply
was always. “How about you draw the manuscript on time next time?”
“That makes me very happy when you say that. Oh, you must be hungry, right?
I'll go buy something.”
“Eh? No, it's fine. You're probably tired too, Onodera-san.”
“A shop selling delicious onigiri opened nearby. I'll go buy everyone some,
okay?” said Onodera and quickly left the conference room. He also must be quite tired,
so Yoshino felt sorry for making him fuss over them. Speaking of feeling sorry, he
should apologize to Yanase as well. He nervously began to speak to Yanase who was
quickly cleaning up.
“…Thanks as well, Yuu. You saved us a lot.”
“It's nothing, it's my job,” he answered, which got rid off some of the
awkwardness, but his reply was still cold.
How is he still sulking…?
He thought, but if he said that out loud, he would lose his chance to make up. Just
when he kept himself in check and racked his brain for some sort of topic to talk about,
Yanase was the one to apologize.
“I acted childish, too. Sorry.”
“Eh? Ah, it's okay.”
It seemed that just like Yoshino, Yanase also felt awkward. He was probably
acting cold to hide it.
“I'll be going then.”
“Where are you going?”
“Nakajima-sensei's place. She begged me in tears to come back to her after I was
done here.”
“Eh?! You should rest at least a little…”
It seemed that although he had just gotten through crunch time, he was going to
go work without even a moment's rest.
“They're tight on schedule with their deadline, too, so there's nothing I can do. See
ya, Chiaki. Get some good rest today.”
As Yanase dashed out, Yoshino dumbfoundly stared after him in the same manner
he had stared when Yanase had arrived, but then he heard the girl assistants sigh
regretfully. Involuntarily, Yoshino overheard their conversation.
“Aww, Yanase-san left.”
“We didn't talk to him much today again.”
“There's nothing we can do. Work is work…”
“But, you regret it the most, don't you, Nozomi?”
“Tha- that's not true……!”
The youngest assistant Nozomi who had joined them last year, exclaimed in a
fluster.
Why would she regret it?
Usually, the girls and Yanase didn't talk to each other on familiar terms, so it
seemed that they weren't good friends. The girls didn't show much signs of interest in
manga, so it seemed that there was nothing to talk about…
As Yoshino listened in wonderment, the girls continued their talk about Yanase.
“But Yanase-san is just as amazing as I had expected. His orders are punctual, and
even though he works quickly, he does it perfectly.”
“That's exactly why he's a super assistant. If only I could draw background like
that… Oh, besides, when Yanase-san is here, the atmosphere changes, don't you think?”
“Yeah. Yeah, it does! When I feel that I can't do anything anymore, as soon as
Yanase-san shows up, I feel like everything will be alright or rather, I feel encouraged…”
Nozomi said with a fuzzy look on her face, and the other two simultaneously teased her.
“Aren't you praising him a little too much?”
“Pretty sure you act differently when Yanase-san is here.”
“If you like him that much, you should just confess.”
“Eh?! Nozomi-chan, you like Yuu!?” He was so surprised at the girls'
conversation that he blurted that out loud.
Nozomi hung her head in embarrassment, and the other assistants looked even
more surprised than Yoshino.
“Sensei, you've never noticed until now?”
“It's so obvious, isn't it?”
“Well that's inevitable, isn't it? Sensei is a sensitive person, but kind of an
airhead…” Rie, who had been his assistant the longest, sighed.
“A-an air head, you say…” He certainly didn't pay too much attention to how
people acted around each other, but to have his assistants think of him an “airhead” was a
surprise!
“Wait…! Haruka-san, Rie-san, please don't say such unnecessary things! It's not
like that!”
Haruka pressed the flustered Nozomi further with questions. It seemed that
Nozomi couldn't stand up to both of her senpai, because they had taught her the
techniques of being an assistant.
“Then what it is?”
“I- I respect him… or rather, I admire him!!”
“How is that different?”
“It is…!”
Now Yoshino himself was convinced about Nozomi, who looked really
embarrassed.
Ah…now I see. When you put it that way, she really does act differently.
Come to think of it, whenever she had questions she usually asked Yanase and not
him, and when she made sweets, she offered them to Yanase first.
“Oh yeah, I always wanted to ask this – does Yanase-san have a lover? Sensei,
you're his childhood friend, right? Do you know?”
“Hatori is my childhood friend. Yuu is my classmates from middle school. But if
you want to know, why don't you ask the person himself?” He answered, putting Rie in
her rightful place, and everyone had an expression on their faces like, “You've got to be
kidding me!”
“I can't ask him! It will be hard to bring up such a topic with Yanase-san, won't it?
I mean, that's not something you can just talk about casually…”
“But that's what makes him stoic and cool, right!?”
“Ha ha ha…” He forced a laugh at how worked up the girls were getting. He had
been exhausted until just now, but the minute he heard this gossip he livened up.
I guess he does seem stoic if you look at him from a girl's perspective.
Yanase did appear cool, but that was just what he was like. He thought it was
pointless to interact with people or put the energy to things that he had no interest in, so
he didn't join in with other people's conversations.
“Well, what do you think? Does he have a girlfriend?”
“No, I think he probably doesn't have one right now. First of all, he seems to have
a lot of free time.”
He did assistant work for practically the whole month, and when he had free time
he hanged out at Yoshino's place or went on trips with Yoshino, so he probably didn't
have time to find a lover.
“Really!? I bet you're glad to hear that, Nozomi!”
“Haruka-san, I said that's enough!!”
“I know, but…!”
The assistants were getting even more excited and worked up, so he failed to
mention one other thing about Yanase.
He said there was someone he liked, though…Ah whatever, they look like they're
having fun.
He felt bad about bringing this up when they were so excited and decided to hold
off on telling them what Yanase had confessed to him.
* * * *
“Well then, good work.”
“Good work to you~! Let's do well next month too.”
“Yes. Let's definitely make sure not to be late next time.”
“I- I'll try…”
After eating the bento Onodera brought them, the assistants had gone home.
Alone in the conference room, Yoshino waited for Hatori to return from the printers.
Hatori had told him he could go home, but Yoshino decided that in case there was
some kind of problem with receiving the manuscript, it would probably be best to stay
here so he could deal with it. Besides, he wanted to apologize to Hatori who had also
gone through the trouble of helping him out. The schedule had been thrown out of order
because of the unexpected job that came up, but because he was the one who had agreed
to do it, he was responsible for submitting the manuscript late.
I mean, even if I go home right now, I don't think I could sleep…
He had been tired, but now his weariness had disappeared somewhere. Surely this
was because he had stayed up all night repeatedly so his internal clock was messed up
and his nervous system wasn't working too good either. As he waited for Hatori, he
suddenly remembered the conversation he had with the assistants.
“So Yuu has an unrequited love~ He's as popular as always, huh?”
Yanase had been extremely popular since he was a student. In terms of
unfriendliness, Yanase and Hatori were about the same, but Yanase beat Hatori in terms
of having girls call him out many times after school, and giving him chocolates for
Valentines Day and even their male senpai often favored him. However, he didn't
remember Yanase introducing him to any special lover, so he had never felt any sign of
anyone like that existing in Yanase's life.
I wonder what the person Yuu likes is like?
He wondered about this again but couldn't even imagine it. Back at the hotel, he
had hesitated to ask who Yanase likes, but now it was indeed bothering him. They had
practically never talked about love affairs since they were students. Yanase seemed
indifferent about that, but Yanase is a man, so he must have a girl or two.
“Oh yeah, what was that again…?”
Yoshino suddenly thought back to the scene he had witnessed earlier; the scene
that happened behind the Marukawa Shoten building after he had returned from
delivering the manuscript. It had looked like Hatori and Yanase were kissing on that
rainy day. Most of their silhouettes had been hidden behind an umbrella, but their faces
were so close to each other, so he didn't think he was mistaken about that.
From that incident, Yoshino deciphered that Yanase and Hatori liked each other,
but he might be wrong because they both denied it. They didn't act like they were hiding
their embarrassment. But Hatori said he knew the person who Yanase likes very well, so
maybe it was a person from work?
“Someone Hatori knows very well, huh…? Me? No way!” Yoshino laughed
loudly at this worrisome candidate that finally came out. He wasn't thinking right,
probably because he had just stayed up all night. He suspected that it was because of that,
otherwise he would never think up something like that. He tried to place every member of
the editing department as a potential candidate to be Yanase's lover, but none of the
people fit. The other assistant jobs that Yanase did were with sensei that drew shonen
manga, so he didn't think that those sensei were acquainted with Hatori, a shoujo manga
editor.
If she's so interested in Yuu, she should just date him.
He thought that Nozomi is a nice girl, and Yanase is a really nice guy. They
would make a really good-looking couple. As he thought about such a selfish, none-ofhis-business
thing, Hatori appeared in the conference room.
“Yoshino, you still haven't gone home?”
“Ah, welcome back. Did they receive the manuscript alright?”
“Yeah, we made it somehow. Thanks to how hard you worked,” he said with a
tired smile on his face, and suddenly Yoshino felt flustered. Usually, Hatori was silently
overflowing with anger after each time Yoshino exceeded the deadline, so being praised
by him now confused his.
“Wh- what are you talking about?” He opened his eyes wide in surprise at
Hatori's rare kind words.
Even though he always looks like he wants to say, “You're a shitty manga artist
who goes past deadlines!”…
Hatori continued to apologize to Yoshino, who was confused and not believing
his own ears.
“I'm really sorry this time. I asked an unreasonable favor from you, so…”
“It's okay. We finished it somehow.”
He quickly stopped Hatori who was trying to apologize again. He was happy that
he was being thanked, but he felt uncomfortable at these words because he wasn't used to
hearing them. In order to hide that, Yoshino began to fake going home in an obvious
manner.
“Umm…then I guess I'll be going.”
“Then wait, I'll call a taxi,” Hatori said, and took out his cellphone. But the train
station wasn't that far away, and he generally got car sick, so honestly, he did not want to
go by taxi.
“Oh I don't need a taxi. I want to go shopping on my way home, and it's not the
middle of the night, so I can go home by train- Ngh!” Yoshino stood up as he declined
Hatori's offer, because he did not need to be fussing over him that much, but the moment
he stood up, he got tunnel vision and involuntarily, placed his hands on the desk. His
temple throbbed painfully and then he was hit with a violent headache.
“Are you okay, Yoshino!?!”
“I'm…I'm okay…”
Somehow, he replied with a smile to Hatori who was quick to support Yoshino's
rocky state, but there was nothing he could do about the splitting head pain. Because his
head vibrated when he talked, he couldn't continue anymore.
I feel like my head is splitting.
It felt like the inside of his head was swimming. He was losing his sense of
balance, his vision began spinning, and he felt like he was going to throw up. Yoshino
grit his teeth, endured his bad physical condition, and tried not to think about the pain.
“You don't look okay. I knew it, you're not feeling well, right? Forget the taxi, I'll
take you home myself. Wait a moment.”
Hatori tried to make him sit down in a chair, but Yoshino couldn't support himself
anymore. He let gravity take its course and collapsed down on the floor.
“Yoshino!? Hey, Yoshino!!”
“……….”
He heard Hatori's flustered voice, but couldn't even reply anymore.
Oh yeah, I have a cold, don't I…
He had completely forgotten this, because he had been so happy to finish the
manuscript, but a cold wouldn't go away because of that. This foolish thought popped
into Yoshino's head as he lost consciousness.
「CHAPTER 7」
Right now, the atmosphere in the third conference room at Marukawa Shoten was
so tense that it hurt. Everyone was silently working with their hands and only the sound
of pens on paper and the sound of screen tones being cut down to size echoed in the
room. The deadline had already passed, but because the printers were willing to wait,
Yoshino and the others shut themselves in the conference room and earnestly worked on
the manuscript.
First, I will finish the rough draft…no, I should ink before doing the rough draft
otherwise the assistants won't have anything to do…Argh, what should I do!?
Yoshino felt irritated with himself for being so indecisive. He was tired and
lacked sleep, so his ability to think was failing, and he couldn't even make simple
decisions.
Yoshino Chiaki - pen name, Yoshikawa Chiharu – was a shoujo manga artist who
took pride in always hitting the top-sale charts and who even had a manga series made
into a drama as well as an anime. He took interest in drawing manga when he had been
only a child. Since his debut as an artist around the time he was in university, he had
overcome many deadlines, but this was the first time he was in such a terrible crunch
time. And that was Yoshino for you, not even imagining that the day would come when
he and his team would be forced to shut themselves up in the publishing company's
conference room and desperately draw in order to make it on time.
“Yoshino, how many more blank pieces of manuscript do you have left?” Hatori
Yoshiyuki, an editor in charge of Yoshino, asked as he erased. Although usually smartly
dressed in a suit, today he wasn't wearing his suit jacket. His necktie was loosened and
the sleeves on his white shirt were rolled up.
Aww…even Tori is looking shabby…
Now that he thought about it, this was probably the first time he had seen Hatori –
his childhood friend whom he grew up with, making them both as close as brothers –
look so exhausted. On top of that, when he thought that this was his own fault, his heart
hurt with guilt.
This crunch time was pretty bad, so when Yoshino said “My drawing skills suck
right now”, Hatori who made it his duty to do the chores, shopping and cooking in time
of help, showed up. Also this time, Yoshino's assistants showed up because they couldn't
disregard these circumstances. Hatori was probably told to just do the erasing, but
Yoshino was still very grateful to him, because Hatori could handle so much labor at
once.
“…Eight…no, seven left…,” Yoshino counted the blank sheets used for the
manuscript which where laying beside him and spoke with great effort. Even talking was
a burden right now.
“I see. You've made quite a progress. A little bit more to go, so hang in there.”
“Yeah…”
Right now, Hatori's encouraging words went in one ear and came out the other. It
definitely wasn't a little bit more to go.
Tori sounds tired too…
But that was to be expected, since just like Yoshino, Hatori had also only got
about an hour of naptime for these past several days. But even then, Hatori cheered
Yoshino on, so Yoshino applauded him. Yoshino's eyelids felt heavy and his hand felt
stiff as he held his mechanical pencil. Although he kept working, there were still blank
manuscript pages left. He couldn't see the future ahead of him. This seemed as if it would
go on for eternity.
This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't agreed to do that at that time…
Regret crossed his mind, but it was too late now. The cause for being even more
at his wit's end now than usual was because he had undertaken an urgent assignment.
Yoshino made that decision, so he knew that he had no right to complain, but at the very
least, he wanted to curse himself for thinking he could do it at that time. The artist who
was supposed to draw the magazine cover and front color insert page was hospitalized
due to suddenly falling ill, so Yoshino was one of the people to be asked to do it instead.
A recent but already popular newbie did the front color insert page, but the cover of the
magazine is a magazine's main attraction, so obviously it can't be entrusted to a newbie,
so Hatori apologetically requested Yoshino to do it.
That day, after finally showing up at the cafe and reaching Yoshino's table, Hatori
gravely began to speak…
* * * *
“Yoshino, I have a request.”
For someone who came just to discuss the plot of the story, Hatori had a very
stern expression on his face, and this worried Yoshino. It seemed that he had some sort of
request, which was difficult to ask.
“Wh- why are you so solemn…?”
“The truth is… I want you to draw the cover for this upcoming issue.”
“When you say upcoming, you mean the issue two months from now, right?”
“No, next month's issue.”
“Huh!? What bullshit are you saying!? The deadline for submitting the cover of
next month's issue is almost here! I mean, Sasahara-sensei should have warned us, right?”
“Sasahara-sensei fell ill and was hospitalized. She's undergoing immediate
surgery and I don't know when she will be discharged.”
“Sur- surgery…,” Yoshino gulped upon hearing such news from Hatori. Many
manga artists greatly destroyed their health while they were young due to living a
disorderly lifestyle.
Because of that, it hit close to home for Yoshino. Besides, it wasn't known when
she would be discharged from the hospital, meaning her work won't be serialized in the
magazine anymore. Surely, she herself was most full of regret. Yoshino didn't personally
know her but liked her work and looked forward to it with each issue. As a reader and as
a fellow artist he wanted to help her but didn't feel like he had the time, so he couldn't
readily agree to this request.
“I understand the situation, but you know best that I have my manuscript to do,
don't you? If time allowed, I would undertake this job, but right now it is positively
impossible for me.”
This month, he had to do the cover page and the cover for the drama CD, so he
felt like he was already late with the storyboard. If he undertook any other assignments,
there was a chance that he would not complete the manuscript on time and the manuscript
was the most important.
“Yes, but I don't have anyone else to ask besides you.”
“Tori…”
“I am begging you,” Hatori said, put his hands on his knees, and deeply bowed his
head.
I feel like the last time he had such a troubled look on his face was the Summer of
last year when he said “I love you” to me….
Yoshino silently looked at the unusual sight of Hatori down turning his head.
“So, Yoshino will you not do it?”
“…Urgh…! Okay, I get it; I'll do it! But just this one favor!”
* * * *
Involuntarily, Yoshino agreed when Hatori lowered his head to him, but even
under usual circumstances he barely made it on time with his manuscript, so in all
honesty, he didn't have any self-confidence that he was going to make it on time now
more than before. Sure enough, his schedule was tight and he was suffering so much he
felt like he was going to die. The magazine cover took a lot of time, but the main reason
he was late with the manuscript was because he didn't finish the storyboard as he had
expected.
Oh no, my hand is starting to feel weak.
He put down his pen for a moment and repeatedly opened and closed his hand. As
he did that, blood rushed back to his hand, and it felt a little bit more comfortable. It was
very hard to stay awake, because his head was all hazy. Yoshino didn't want to complain
so he hid the fact that he had caught a cold and had a fever and was feeling very badly.
Nevertheless, he didn't want to give up on the manuscript. Having used up practically all
of his physical strength and will power, Yoshino exerted himself solely due to pride.
“Hey, Yoshino, your face is red. Are you okay?” Hatori sounded worried as he
handed the draft copy of a manuscript page, which he had just finished erasing the lines
from, to one of the girl assistants. But at this point in time, it was pointless for Yoshino to
say, “Actually, I have a fever…”
So he said, “I'm fine, I'm fine. It's probably due to lack of sleep.”
“I'm sorry to force you…”
From the look on Hatori's face, Yoshino understood that Hatori was blaming
himself. Not wanting to worry Hatori, who was pushing himself just as much as Yoshino,
Yoshino collected himself and replied with a lively tone of voice.
“It's useless to say something like that now. Here, please erase this one too.”
Hiding that he felt sick, he handed Hatori a manuscript page which he had just
finished inking. Hatori took it apologetically, checked to make sure that the ink was dry,
and carefully began to erase. Even though Yoshino's regular assistants helped with the
manuscript as well as Hatori, who was free from his editor job, the prospects of finishing
the manuscript were still a long ways away.
If only Yuu was here right now…No, I thought I had decided I won't rely on him!
Actually, he was in the middle of a mini cold war with his chief assistant Yanase
Yuu right now, so he hadn't seen him for a while and didn't call him for help because it
would be awkward. Yanase was angry about what had happened on their hot springs trip
recently. They had gone to the hot springs for Yoshino's birthday, but many things had
happened and without staying the night, Yoshino left Yanase behind and went home.
Yoshino knew he was in the wrong and wanted to apologize, but Yanase
continued to act sullen by saying, “Forget it!”, so this made Yoshino angry, and with that,
they had stopped speaking to each other. Because Yanase wasn't here, they were not
doing too good during this crunch time. Although he knew that the situation would
improve somewhat if Yanase were here, he did not want to be the one to apologize first.
Right now, it was almost as bad as being so busy that there aren't enough hours in a day,
but he had his pride to protect.
I'll finish this even if Yuu isn't here…!
Just after he swore that and scratched the tip of his pen against the manuscript
paper, he heard a short knock. Editor-in-charge of the Emerald Editorial Department,
Takano Masamune peeked inside the conference room, after modestly opening the door.
He was holding a silver thermos, paper cups and had a bag from the drugstore.
“I brought coffee. I also have energy drinks and jelly drinks, so please let me
know which ones you want.”
It seemed that he had gone shopping while he had been out on an errand. They all
felt ashamed for making the editor-in-charge do such a thing, but thankful at the same
time.
“Takano-san, thank you, you didn't have to…” Yoshino looked up, thanking him,
and Takano gave him a kind smile in return. No matter in what kind of tight situation
they were in, only this person kept a cool countenance, and that was amazing.
“No, it's alright, this is a job for someone who has their hands empty. Besides, this
was quite a huge favor to ask of you, so please let me know if there is anything I can do.
Everyone, please don't hesitate to do so either.”
“Um, excuse me, could I have some coffee…?”
“Ah, me too, please”
At Takano's words, the assistants timidly raised their hands in unison. The girls
must have about reached their limit as well. He didn't want to force them to stay up all
night, and at the end of each crunch time, they didn't get a decent vacation either.
Nevertheless, this time, they came to help him without any complaints. He couldn't thank
the girl assistants enough for coming to assist him each time, even though this wasn't
their permanent job.
“Ah, um, I'll do that.”
But Takano stopped Onodera, who was volunteering to be the coffee pourer.
“I'll do it. You continue on with your work. It doesn't make sense for you to be
responsible for this.”
“…Alright,” Onodera returned to his seat and set about continuing to color in the
white spaces, which he had been in the middle of doing. He had said that he had never
done this sort of job before, but he turned out to be good with his hands and finished a
whole lot more than was expecting to.
“How's it going, Hatori?”
After Takano distributed coffee to the assistants, he spoke to Hatori. After Hatori
was done erasing, he began phototypesetting.
“Still not done. How is it over there?”
Hatori was probably inquiring about the negotiations with the printers. Not too
long ago, Takano said he was stepping out to take care of something and that must have
been his purpose for doing so.
“They said the deadline is tomorrow morning at eight.”
Yoshino, who was listening in, was surprised to hear the time Takano said. If it
was due at eight in the morning, didn't that mean they only had six hours left?
Shit, why doesn't my hand move faster…?
Yoshio desperately moved his hand on paper as he gave them a sidelong glance,
meanwhile wondering if they should drop it or propose to have the part they finished be
published. Nevertheless, it seemed like they had already reached their limit. When he
calculated how many hours they had left, he knew they would definitely not complete it
on time. It was impossible, even if he worked on it at his fastest pace.
Yoshino gritted his teeth, angry at how weak he was. If they drop the manuscript,
Hatori would probably blame himself for asking Yoshino to do the sudden assignment,
and Yoshino's readers, who looked forward to the new chapter more than anything,
would be disappointed. By no means did he want to let them down. His eyes burnt with
regret, but crying wasn't going to solve anything. Just when he bit his lip and desperately
tried not to give up on everything, the conference room door opened without any prior
notice.
“Excuse me.”
“Eh…?”
Yoshino involuntarily turned around at the sound of the familiar voice and sure
enough he saw a familiar face. Not expecting to see this person to show up, Yoshino
involuntarily gaped. He blinked, not believing what he was seeing and rubbed his eyes,
but the person in front of him did not disappear.
“Wh- why is Yuu…”
“What, you're still not done? Hey, give me the stuff that still needs background.
I'll take care of it, so you just focus on your own work,” Yanase snapped as he took of his
jacket and sat down in an empty seat. Yoshino involuntarily stared at Yanase who took
out his supplies from his own bag.
“What's the situation?”
“Ten pages of the manuscript have been completed, but there are still seven blank
ones,” Hatori answered Yanase's question. Out of everyone in the conference room, the
only person who was surprised at Yanase's arrival was Yoshino.
“Got it. Everyone, if you're not busy at the moment, show me what you got so far.
I'll check it over.”
Suddenly, Yoshino asked Yanase, who was giving out orders as he always did:
“Why…didn't you call me…?”
“Stop whining and keep working. I'll answer all your questions later.”
“O- okay.”
Yanase's order was reasonable. Right now, completing the manuscript was the
top priority. Yoshino pulled himself together and concentrated on the manuscript.
* * * *
“Good work, you did great,” Hatori said his thanks as he put all the completed
and checked over pages of the manuscript into an envelope. Yoshino finally relaxed upon
hearing these words.
“Mhm, you helped too, Tori. Thanks.”
“This is my job. Well then, I will look after this.”
“Yeah. I leave the rest to you…”
The finishing touches as well as the phototypesetting was complete, and now
Hatori headed over to the printers with the finished manuscript in his hands. After seeing
Hatori off, Yoshino crashed his head down on the desk.
We really finished…!
As he was working on it, he kept thinking they weren't going to finish, but
somehow they did. It was all thanks to everyone who had helped him with everything.
Takano had returned back to his normal duties by now, having confirmed that the
manuscript was safe and complete, and the only people in the conference room, other
than Yoshino, were the girl assistants, the new editor Onodera, and Yanase. Although the
assistants were happy that they finished the manuscript on time, everyone was exhausted
and had a soulless expression on their face. After every crunch time, he thought it
couldn't get any worse, but this crunch time was so hectic that it vied for first place in
terms of worst crunch time.
“Good work everyone. Seriously, thanks. Oh, thank you to you too, Onodera-
san.” He deeply bowed to Onodera who was standing nearby.
“No, I'm sorry I wasn't very useful…”
“That's not true. You really saved us!”
Originally, Yoshino would pay him for being his assistant, but no matter how
much help Yoshino got, the editors said, “It's my job,” and would not accept the money.
He always asked Hatori what kind of thanks he should give instead, but Hatori's reply
was always. “How about you draw the manuscript on time next time?”
“That makes me very happy when you say that. Oh, you must be hungry, right?
I'll go buy something.”
“Eh? No, it's fine. You're probably tired too, Onodera-san.”
“A shop selling delicious onigiri opened nearby. I'll go buy everyone some,
okay?” said Onodera and quickly left the conference room. He also must be quite tired,
so Yoshino felt sorry for making him fuss over them. Speaking of feeling sorry, he
should apologize to Yanase as well. He nervously began to speak to Yanase who was
quickly cleaning up.
“…Thanks as well, Yuu. You saved us a lot.”
“It's nothing, it's my job,” he answered, which got rid off some of the
awkwardness, but his reply was still cold.
How is he still sulking…?
He thought, but if he said that out loud, he would lose his chance to make up. Just
when he kept himself in check and racked his brain for some sort of topic to talk about,
Yanase was the one to apologize.
“I acted childish, too. Sorry.”
“Eh? Ah, it's okay.”
It seemed that just like Yoshino, Yanase also felt awkward. He was probably
acting cold to hide it.
“I'll be going then.”
“Where are you going?”
“Nakajima-sensei's place. She begged me in tears to come back to her after I was
done here.”
“Eh?! You should rest at least a little…”
It seemed that although he had just gotten through crunch time, he was going to
go work without even a moment's rest.
“They're tight on schedule with their deadline, too, so there's nothing I can do. See
ya, Chiaki. Get some good rest today.”
As Yanase dashed out, Yoshino dumbfoundly stared after him in the same manner
he had stared when Yanase had arrived, but then he heard the girl assistants sigh
regretfully. Involuntarily, Yoshino overheard their conversation.
“Aww, Yanase-san left.”
“We didn't talk to him much today again.”
“There's nothing we can do. Work is work…”
“But, you regret it the most, don't you, Nozomi?”
“Tha- that's not true……!”
The youngest assistant Nozomi who had joined them last year, exclaimed in a
fluster.
Why would she regret it?
Usually, the girls and Yanase didn't talk to each other on familiar terms, so it
seemed that they weren't good friends. The girls didn't show much signs of interest in
manga, so it seemed that there was nothing to talk about…
As Yoshino listened in wonderment, the girls continued their talk about Yanase.
“But Yanase-san is just as amazing as I had expected. His orders are punctual, and
even though he works quickly, he does it perfectly.”
“That's exactly why he's a super assistant. If only I could draw background like
that… Oh, besides, when Yanase-san is here, the atmosphere changes, don't you think?”
“Yeah. Yeah, it does! When I feel that I can't do anything anymore, as soon as
Yanase-san shows up, I feel like everything will be alright or rather, I feel encouraged…”
Nozomi said with a fuzzy look on her face, and the other two simultaneously teased her.
“Aren't you praising him a little too much?”
“Pretty sure you act differently when Yanase-san is here.”
“If you like him that much, you should just confess.”
“Eh?! Nozomi-chan, you like Yuu!?” He was so surprised at the girls'
conversation that he blurted that out loud.
Nozomi hung her head in embarrassment, and the other assistants looked even
more surprised than Yoshino.
“Sensei, you've never noticed until now?”
“It's so obvious, isn't it?”
“Well that's inevitable, isn't it? Sensei is a sensitive person, but kind of an
airhead…” Rie, who had been his assistant the longest, sighed.
“A-an air head, you say…” He certainly didn't pay too much attention to how
people acted around each other, but to have his assistants think of him an “airhead” was a
surprise!
“Wait…! Haruka-san, Rie-san, please don't say such unnecessary things! It's not
like that!”
Haruka pressed the flustered Nozomi further with questions. It seemed that
Nozomi couldn't stand up to both of her senpai, because they had taught her the
techniques of being an assistant.
“Then what it is?”
“I- I respect him… or rather, I admire him!!”
“How is that different?”
“It is…!”
Now Yoshino himself was convinced about Nozomi, who looked really
embarrassed.
Ah…now I see. When you put it that way, she really does act differently.
Come to think of it, whenever she had questions she usually asked Yanase and not
him, and when she made sweets, she offered them to Yanase first.
“Oh yeah, I always wanted to ask this – does Yanase-san have a lover? Sensei,
you're his childhood friend, right? Do you know?”
“Hatori is my childhood friend. Yuu is my classmates from middle school. But if
you want to know, why don't you ask the person himself?” He answered, putting Rie in
her rightful place, and everyone had an expression on their faces like, “You've got to be
kidding me!”
“I can't ask him! It will be hard to bring up such a topic with Yanase-san, won't it?
I mean, that's not something you can just talk about casually…”
“But that's what makes him stoic and cool, right!?”
“Ha ha ha…” He forced a laugh at how worked up the girls were getting. He had
been exhausted until just now, but the minute he heard this gossip he livened up.
I guess he does seem stoic if you look at him from a girl's perspective.
Yanase did appear cool, but that was just what he was like. He thought it was
pointless to interact with people or put the energy to things that he had no interest in, so
he didn't join in with other people's conversations.
“Well, what do you think? Does he have a girlfriend?”
“No, I think he probably doesn't have one right now. First of all, he seems to have
a lot of free time.”
He did assistant work for practically the whole month, and when he had free time
he hanged out at Yoshino's place or went on trips with Yoshino, so he probably didn't
have time to find a lover.
“Really!? I bet you're glad to hear that, Nozomi!”
“Haruka-san, I said that's enough!!”
“I know, but…!”
The assistants were getting even more excited and worked up, so he failed to
mention one other thing about Yanase.
He said there was someone he liked, though…Ah whatever, they look like they're
having fun.
He felt bad about bringing this up when they were so excited and decided to hold
off on telling them what Yanase had confessed to him.
* * * *
“Well then, good work.”
“Good work to you~! Let's do well next month too.”
“Yes. Let's definitely make sure not to be late next time.”
“I- I'll try…”
After eating the bento Onodera brought them, the assistants had gone home.
Alone in the conference room, Yoshino waited for Hatori to return from the printers.
Hatori had told him he could go home, but Yoshino decided that in case there was
some kind of problem with receiving the manuscript, it would probably be best to stay
here so he could deal with it. Besides, he wanted to apologize to Hatori who had also
gone through the trouble of helping him out. The schedule had been thrown out of order
because of the unexpected job that came up, but because he was the one who had agreed
to do it, he was responsible for submitting the manuscript late.
I mean, even if I go home right now, I don't think I could sleep…
He had been tired, but now his weariness had disappeared somewhere. Surely this
was because he had stayed up all night repeatedly so his internal clock was messed up
and his nervous system wasn't working too good either. As he waited for Hatori, he
suddenly remembered the conversation he had with the assistants.
“So Yuu has an unrequited love~ He's as popular as always, huh?”
Yanase had been extremely popular since he was a student. In terms of
unfriendliness, Yanase and Hatori were about the same, but Yanase beat Hatori in terms
of having girls call him out many times after school, and giving him chocolates for
Valentines Day and even their male senpai often favored him. However, he didn't
remember Yanase introducing him to any special lover, so he had never felt any sign of
anyone like that existing in Yanase's life.
I wonder what the person Yuu likes is like?
He wondered about this again but couldn't even imagine it. Back at the hotel, he
had hesitated to ask who Yanase likes, but now it was indeed bothering him. They had
practically never talked about love affairs since they were students. Yanase seemed
indifferent about that, but Yanase is a man, so he must have a girl or two.
“Oh yeah, what was that again…?”
Yoshino suddenly thought back to the scene he had witnessed earlier; the scene
that happened behind the Marukawa Shoten building after he had returned from
delivering the manuscript. It had looked like Hatori and Yanase were kissing on that
rainy day. Most of their silhouettes had been hidden behind an umbrella, but their faces
were so close to each other, so he didn't think he was mistaken about that.
From that incident, Yoshino deciphered that Yanase and Hatori liked each other,
but he might be wrong because they both denied it. They didn't act like they were hiding
their embarrassment. But Hatori said he knew the person who Yanase likes very well, so
maybe it was a person from work?
“Someone Hatori knows very well, huh…? Me? No way!” Yoshino laughed
loudly at this worrisome candidate that finally came out. He wasn't thinking right,
probably because he had just stayed up all night. He suspected that it was because of that,
otherwise he would never think up something like that. He tried to place every member of
the editing department as a potential candidate to be Yanase's lover, but none of the
people fit. The other assistant jobs that Yanase did were with sensei that drew shonen
manga, so he didn't think that those sensei were acquainted with Hatori, a shoujo manga
editor.
If she's so interested in Yuu, she should just date him.
He thought that Nozomi is a nice girl, and Yanase is a really nice guy. They
would make a really good-looking couple. As he thought about such a selfish, none-ofhis-business
thing, Hatori appeared in the conference room.
“Yoshino, you still haven't gone home?”
“Ah, welcome back. Did they receive the manuscript alright?”
“Yeah, we made it somehow. Thanks to how hard you worked,” he said with a
tired smile on his face, and suddenly Yoshino felt flustered. Usually, Hatori was silently
overflowing with anger after each time Yoshino exceeded the deadline, so being praised
by him now confused his.
“Wh- what are you talking about?” He opened his eyes wide in surprise at
Hatori's rare kind words.
Even though he always looks like he wants to say, “You're a shitty manga artist
who goes past deadlines!”…
Hatori continued to apologize to Yoshino, who was confused and not believing
his own ears.
“I'm really sorry this time. I asked an unreasonable favor from you, so…”
“It's okay. We finished it somehow.”
He quickly stopped Hatori who was trying to apologize again. He was happy that
he was being thanked, but he felt uncomfortable at these words because he wasn't used to
hearing them. In order to hide that, Yoshino began to fake going home in an obvious
manner.
“Umm…then I guess I'll be going.”
“Then wait, I'll call a taxi,” Hatori said, and took out his cellphone. But the train
station wasn't that far away, and he generally got car sick, so honestly, he did not want to
go by taxi.
“Oh I don't need a taxi. I want to go shopping on my way home, and it's not the
middle of the night, so I can go home by train- Ngh!” Yoshino stood up as he declined
Hatori's offer, because he did not need to be fussing over him that much, but the moment
he stood up, he got tunnel vision and involuntarily, placed his hands on the desk. His
temple throbbed painfully and then he was hit with a violent headache.
“Are you okay, Yoshino!?!”
“I'm…I'm okay…”
Somehow, he replied with a smile to Hatori who was quick to support Yoshino's
rocky state, but there was nothing he could do about the splitting head pain. Because his
head vibrated when he talked, he couldn't continue anymore.
I feel like my head is splitting.
It felt like the inside of his head was swimming. He was losing his sense of
balance, his vision began spinning, and he felt like he was going to throw up. Yoshino
grit his teeth, endured his bad physical condition, and tried not to think about the pain.
“You don't look okay. I knew it, you're not feeling well, right? Forget the taxi, I'll
take you home myself. Wait a moment.”
Hatori tried to make him sit down in a chair, but Yoshino couldn't support himself
anymore. He let gravity take its course and collapsed down on the floor.
“Yoshino!? Hey, Yoshino!!”
“……….”
He heard Hatori's flustered voice, but couldn't even reply anymore.
Oh yeah, I have a cold, don't I…
He had completely forgotten this, because he had been so happy to finish the
manuscript, but a cold wouldn't go away because of that. This foolish thought popped
into Yoshino's head as he lost consciousness.
