Just in case—just to be on the safe side—I’d told Miyagi to stay home yesterday.

         When I opened the front door, I saw her shoes at the entrance.

         It was almost evening, and it looked like she was home and hadn’t gone anywhere.

         I took off my shoes and headed toward the shared living space.

         I’d been worried that I might come back after picking up the cake I’d reserved only to find Miyagi gone, but it seemed like that crisis hadn’t happened. If the birthday girl hadn’t been home, the cake would’ve gone completely to waste.

         I put the small round cake in the fridge and knocked on Miyagi’s door.

         Knock, knock.

         After two soft knocks, Miyagi opened the door and peeked out.

         「I’m home.」

         「Welcome back.」

         「I bought the cake.」

         「… You didn’t have to do that.」

         Miyagi said in a flat tone.

         「We made a promise, didn’t we? That we’d eat a round cake together for your birthday.」

         We’d made a few promises on my birthday.

         One of them was that from now on, whenever it was Miyagi’s birthday, we’d get a round cake and finish it together so there wouldn’t be any leftovers.

         And today was the start of that promise.

         Miyagi hadn’t let me swear it on her earrings, but there was no way I was going to break it.

         I wanted to earn her trust.

         More than anything, this promise was important—if I couldn’t keep even this, I’d be worthless.

         And because she hadn’t let me swear it on her earrings, it felt all the more like something I absolutely couldn’t break.

         「I didn’t think you’d actually go and buy one, though.」

         Compared to the weight of my feelings, her voice sounded surprisingly light.

         I couldn’t help staring at her, but she immediately looked away.

         Her voice had been a little low, but she didn’t look like she was in a bad mood.

         If anything, her face was almost expressionless—like she’d left her emotions somewhere else.

         What were birthdays to Miyagi, exactly?

         Maybe it was a day she didn’t even want to be celebrated.

         That thought crossed my mind for an instant.

         「I don’t want to break any of the promises I make to you, Miyagi. I didn’t have work today, and I didn’t suddenly go hang out with my friends either.」

         As if denying the thought that had crossed my mind, I reached out and held Miyagi’s hand.

         That day, Miyagi had looked like she didn’t believe I’d actually keep my promise today.

         So I’d decided I would never break it—no matter what.

         I didn’t have work scheduled in the first place, and I had no intention of going anywhere even if someone invited me out. Besides, my phone was on silent, so I wouldn’t hear it if someone messaged me anyway.

         「What are you talking about?」

         Miyagi tried to pull her hand away, but I tightened my grip.

         「You were worried, weren’t you? That I might come home late from work, or that my friends might suddenly invite me out.」

         「I wasn’t worried, and I never said I was.」

         「Then let’s just enjoy the cake together. It is your birthday, after all.」

         Miyagi was probably still afraid.

         She was trapped in her memories of spending her birthdays alone and couldn’t escape them. Even now, she was likely scared of having the round cake left over in the fridge and seeing it untouched the next morning.

         I’d never seen someone look so unhappy about eating a birthday cake before, and it made me a little uneasy—but I reminded myself this was the right choice.

         「It’s still my birthday even if there’s no cake, you know. It’s not like having one is going to change anything.」

         「It does change things. Birthdays are better with cake, so come on—lighten up a little.」

         「… You didn’t look like you were having much fun on your birthday either, Sendai-san.」

         Miyagi stared at me, and my mind went back to August 23rd.

         I hadn’t been in a great mood that day because Miyagi had said she was going out with a friend. But that feeling only lasted until she pushed me into her room—because the moment I realized she’d been trying to celebrate my birthday, that heaviness in my chest vanished.

         「That’s not true.」

         I said, firmly denying Miyagi’s words.

         「It is true… You looked really unhappy that day.」

         「I was just surprised. I didn’t expect you to do anything for my birthday. It actually made me really, really happy.」

         It had been the happiest birthday I’d had in all nineteen years of my life.

         If I didn’t seem that way at the time, then it was only because Miyagi had done something I never thought possible—my shock must’ve shown more than my joy.

         But it wasn’t about me right now.

         Miyagi’s feelings mattered more.

         「Do you not want your birthday to be celebrated, Miyagi?」

         「… I don’t know. No one’s ever bought a cake for me like this and asked me to finish the whole thing with them before.」

         Her voice sounded unsure.

         「You’ve gotten presents from your friends before, right? Have you never had a birthday party?」

         「Yeah, I’ve gotten presents, but… I don’t really like birthday parties.」

         「Why not?」

         「Because I hate how it feels afterward.」

         「Afterward?」

         Her reason for hating birthday parties was probably the same reason she didn’t like round cakes—

         「Sendai-san, you said you needed my help today, right? What do you need me to do? Just tell me already so we can get it over with.」

         Miyagi cut me off in a rush, like she didn’t want me to say the answer I’d come to.

         「Oh, I was wondering if you could help me with some cooking.」

         I told Miyagi what the “help” I’d asked for before leaving the apartment earlier had been about.

         I didn’t want to dig up any more of her bad birthday memories.

         Today wasn’t a day for talking about unpleasant things, so I took her hand and guided her toward the kitchen.

         「Are we cooking something we’re going to eat today?」

         「Yeah. We’re not having a full-on party or anything, but I want it to feel a little like one.」

         「Isn’t it weird that I’m helping? It is my birthday, you know.」

         「It doesn’t matter if it’s weird or not—it’ll be something you’ll remember. And it’s more fun when we cook together anyway.」

         「I think you’re the only one who finds it fun, Sendai-san.」

         Although she sounded annoyed, Miyagi still seemed willing to help, and she followed me without any objections.

         I wanted to overwrite her birthday memories with new ones—with memories that had me in them.

         I wanted her to feel like having me here was normal, and that next year, and the years after that, we’d spend her birthday together too.

         「… So what are we making?」

         「Karaage.」

         「You really like karaage, don’t you, Sendai-san?」

         「It’s a classic, and it tastes great too. And after that, I want to make some bite-sized pizzas using gyoza wrappers¹.」

         I didn’t plan on making anything fancy, but I wanted it to be delicious.

         A round cake and a small feast—nothing complicated.

         As long as today became a day Miyagi would remember, that was all I needed.

         I opened the fridge to start preparing the food we were going to make.

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1. Gyoza is the Japanese variation of dumplings (or potstickers). They usually consist of ground meat and vegetables that are wrapped into thinly rolled pieces of dough — and this dough is called gyoza skin or a gyoza wrapper. Unlike pizza doughs (which usually consist of the addition of olive oil and other seasonings for flavor), this is just made with mostly water and flour. ↩︎

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