「Miyagi.」

         I called her name, and she answered, “What?”

         Then the room went quiet.

         Just like we’d promised earlier, Miyagi had come to my room after dinner.

         But instead of sitting beside me like she usually did, she was seated diagonally across from me.

         I could tell she was in a bad mood before I even said anything.

         「Do you want me to pour you some more soda?」

         I sat up from where I’d been leaning against the bed and reached for the empty cup on the table. But before I could touch it, Miyagi—who had been sitting silently until now—spoke in an unfriendly tone.

         「Didn’t you say there was something you wanted to talk about?」

         She asked. She wasn’t looking at my ears anymore. Her eyes were fixed on the tissue box with the platypus cover sitting on the floor.

         「Yeah.」

         「Then hurry up and get on with it.」

         Miyagi’s voice was so cold it felt like the temperature in my body dropped.

         I hadn’t even said the words “part-time job” since I’d gotten home, yet Miyagi already knew that what I was about to tell her wasn’t going to be pleasant.

         I let out a quiet sigh.

         Back when I’d first gotten my tutoring job, I’d been able to tell her without any trouble.

         But now, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

         I was even more of a coward now than I’d been back then.

         Unlike my tutoring job, this one was temporary and would only last for a month. It should’ve been the kind of thing I could just tell her about and brush off with a smile.

         I didn’t need Miyagi’s approval to take on a part-time job; if I wanted to do it, I could, and if I didn’t, then I didn’t have to.

         「Don’t get quiet, Sendai-san. Hurry up and tell me already.」

         Miyagi spoke in a low voice.

         Just because I was about to take on another part-time job didn’t mean Miyagi would automatically hate me for it. Even if she did get upset, it would only be for a little while. She’d told me to quit my tutoring job before, but I still hadn’t done that, and things were fine.

         「Okay… the thing I wanted to talk to you about is…」

         I pushed all my excuses out of the way and tried to get the words “part-time job” out, but they still wouldn’t leave my mouth.

         Miyagi had become such a big part of that I couldn’t even bring myself to say it.

         「What is it, Sendai-san?」

         Miyagi asked, her eyes glued to my earrings.

         I took a deep breath in, then exhaled.

         「… It’s related to work.」

         I managed to get part of what I wanted to say out, and I started poking at the chopstick rests on the table. Instead of meowing, the orange tabby made a small clink as it bumped into the white cat beside it.

         「Is it about your tutoring job?」

         「No, a different one. It’ll only be for a month, but… I’m thinking of taking on another part-time job.」

         「Why are you telling me this?」

         「I felt like it was better to let you know.」

         「You can do whatever you want—just like when you decided to pick up that tutoring job on your own.」

         「You’re right, but I still thought I should tell you.」

         「Okay, you told me. Now what?」

         Her sharp, prickly tone stung my ears.

         Miyagi’s mood kept getting worse, and mine was sinking with it. It felt like we’d gone from the third floor all the way down to the ground floor— and were about to keep digging straight into the Earth’s mantle.

         If I kept avoiding what I really wanted to say, I felt like I’d never be able to say the words “part-time job” ever again.

         「I want to know your thoughts on me working another part-time job.」

         I said bluntly as I looked at Miyagi, who was sitting diagonally across from me.

         「And I want you to keep the promise you made me this morning.」

         Her voice sounded even more irritated than before.

         「What promise?」

         「You said that if I let you put my lip balm on me, you’d do any one thing I asked.」

         「Right, I did say that.」

         「Yeah, so keep your promise and listen to me. Don’t work another part-time job.」

         「That’s not within common sense.」

         I said as a memory came to mind.

         On the day I told Miyagi I was going to start working as a private tutor, I promised I’d accept any punishment from her, and that ended with me having to pierce her ears.

         What I needed to tell her today was a little different, but the situation felt almost the same.

         「So you’re saying you’re not going to give up on taking another part-time job?」

         Miyagi frowned.

         「Yeah.」

         「If you’re going to do it no matter what I say, then why does my opinion even matter?」

         「You have a point there.」

         It shouldn’t have mattered, but it did.

         I wanted Miyagi’s permission.

         Even though I had no intention of obeying her if she told me not to work, I still wanted her to tell me it was okay.

         And because of that, I decided to ask her a question.

         「What are your plans after you graduate, Miyagi?」

         「What does that have to do with your part-time job?」

         「I’ll get back to that later, so answer my question first.」

         「I don’t know. Work, probably.」

         Miyagi’s words left out the part I wanted to know most. I didn’t know if she was doing it on purpose, but when I asked, “Are you planning on going back home?” to get at what she was avoiding, Miyagi mumbled,

         「… What about you, Sendai-san?」

         「I don’t plan on going home even after I graduate, so I’m going to look for a job here. And even if I can’t find one, I’m still not going back. That’s why I want to work here while I can and save up some money.」

         No matter what kind of relationship we ended up having, I wanted to work as much as I could so I could keep living with Miyagi forever.

         But I kept that thought to myself.

         If I said it out loud, I was afraid it would scare her off.

         「I see.」

         「What about you, Miyagi?」

         「… I haven’t decided yet.」

         Her voice sounded uncertain, but I wanted her to give me an answer right away.

         But I knew if I pushed her, she’d probably say she planned on going back home.

         「I see.」

         I replied.

         Then, in a tone that didn’t even try to hide her displeasure, she said,

         「So why’d you bring that up? What do you want from me? If you have a reason for wanting to work, then just do it without worrying about what I think.」

         「I want you to tell me it’s okay if I take another job.」

         「I don’t want to.」

         「Do you really hate the idea that much?」

         Miyagi looked away from me. Then she picked up the platypus tissue box and threw it at me.

         It hit my leg.

         「You’re not even keeping the promise you made me.」

         She said, like a sulky child, as she reached out to pull the tissue box back toward her, so I grabbed her hand.

         「Look, I’ll do anything you want—anything except turning down the job offer.」

         「Really? You’ll do anything?」

         「Yeah. Whatever you want right now, I’ll do it.」

         I said with a smile, still holding her hand, but Miyagi’s gaze drifted away until it landed on the platypus tissue box.

         I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, and she didn’t say a word.

         「Miyagi.」

         When I called her name, she slipped her hand out of mine.

         Her gaze, which had been fixed on the platypus, turned toward me.

         But she still didn’t speak.

         She just stared at me for a moment, then looked away, then back at me again.

         Somehow, I had a very bad feeling about this.

         「— Tell me if you’ve done it to yourself since then.」

         She spoke so quietly I almost asked her to repeat it, but I caught myself before saying anything.

         I didn’t need to ask what “since then” meant.

         She was talking about the day she touched me.

         And I knew what she meant by asking if I’d “done it” to myself too.

         She had to be referring to what I’d accidentally told her that day.

         「… You really think I’m going to answer that?」

         Knowing exactly what she meant made it hard to give her a straight answer.

         「You’re the one who said you’d do anything I asked for.」

         「You’re just trying to make things difficult for me, aren’t you?」

         It wasn’t the kind of question she should’ve been asking right now.

         And I doubted it was something she genuinely wanted to know, either.

         She was probably just picking a question she knew I couldn’t answer easily, trying to corner me into keeping the promise I’d made her earlier by not taking the part-time job.

         If that was really her intention, then Miyagi didn’t understand me at all.

         The job was something I needed for my future, so I couldn’t accept her telling me not to work.

         But almost anything else—from her questions to her demands—I could accept.

         That included this one too.

         It was embarrassing, and I hesitated, but if Miyagi really wanted an answer, then I’d give it to her.

         「You can think whatever you want. As long as you answer it, I won’t tell you not to take the job anymore.」

         Miyagi said quietly, gripping the platypus’s hand.

         「You better not go back on that.」

         「I won’t.」

         Her voice was firm, so I took a deep breath.

         As I exhaled, I turned my face away from her.

         I glanced at the platypus’s hand in Miyagi’s grip before answering her honestly.

         「… I have.」

         My voice came out softer than I expected. The moment the words left my mouth, a wave of embarrassment hit me so hard my whole body felt like it was starting to burn up.

         She didn’t say anything.

         And because she stayed silent, I could hear nothing except my heartbeat pounding out of control.

         Feeling uneasy, I looked back at her. Miyagi looked genuinely surprised, as if she never imagined I would actually answer.

         「— When you did it… what were you thinking about?」

         Miyagi’s words came out a little unsteady, but I heard them clearly. I didn’t owe her an answer to that follow-up question, and she had to know it wasn’t something she should even be asking.

         「Sendai-san.」

         But she called my name again, as if refusing to let me run away without responding.

         「Just about the times I did it with you.」

         I answered in a single breath. Miyagi looked like she still had more to say, so before she could get a word in, I added,

         「That’s enough. No more.」

         「I still had more questions, though.」

         「I promised I’d listen to one thing you wanted from me, didn’t I? And I even answered a second question on top of that. So that should count as keeping my promise, right?」

         I said as I shifted over and sat beside her. She kicked my leg.

         She was clearly still in a bad mood, but she didn’t move away, and she didn’t kick me again.

         「… I guess.」

         Miyagi muttered, looking annoyed.

         「October’s going to be busy for me, but the job’s only until the school festival is over. I’ll tell you whenever I’m going to be home late, too.」

         「You promise?」

         「Yeah, I promise. I’ll even swear it on your earrings.」

         I leaned in and kissed Miyagi’s ear. Then she pushed me away by the shoulder.

         「There’ll be a punishment waiting for you if you break that promise, you know.」

         「Okay.」

         I replied, and Miyagi continued holding the platypus’s hand instead of mine.

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