Penguins were always so cute.

         Of course, today was no exception.

         I felt like I could watch the little penguins waddling around on top of the small castle-like building and the ones swimming in the water forever.

         But Sendai-san wasn’t looking at the penguins at all.

         This was weird.

         She was definitely acting strange.

         This was all wrong.

         「Sendai-san, stop taking pictures of humans and start taking pictures of the penguins.」

         I glared at her as the shutter on her phone clicked noisily.

         The zoo wasn’t a place for taking pictures of me.

         「I am taking pictures of the penguins, too.」

         「No, not “too.” They should be the only things you’re taking pictures of right now.」

         「You’re so stingy, Miyagi.」

         Sendai-san said as she took another picture.

         Of course, the phone’s camera was pointed at me, so instead of a picture of the penguins being saved to her phone, it was yet another picture of me.

         I took off my gloves, pulled my phone out of my pocket, and pointed it at Sendai-san, who had taken far too many pictures of me.

         I tapped the shutter button, and with a single click, a picture of Sendai-san still holding her phone was saved to my phone.

         「Hey, if you’re going to take pictures of me, at least give me a heads-up.」

         「If I did that, it’d just give you time to put on a smile.」

         「Isn’t it better if I smile for the camera, though?」

         「You don’t have to do that.」

         「Putting that aside, I bet the picture you just took of me didn’t even capture my face properly. If you’re going to take a picture of me, at least make it a good one.」

         Sendai-san said, then put on a smile as if to say, “Here, take a picture of me now.” So I raised my phone and took a picture of the penguins instead of her.

         「Hey, that was your cue to take a picture of me, not the penguins.」

         Sendai-san said, sounding dissatisfied, so I quickly snapped a picture of her while she wasn’t smiling.

         「… I wanted you to take a picture of me while I was smiling.」

         「I like it better when you don’t smile.」

         Sendai-san’s smile today was really bothering me.

         Even though we’d finally gotten the chance to come to the zoo, I felt the need to complain to Sendai-san, who seemed to be putting on one of her forced smiles.

         「Why? Wouldn’t it be better if you had a picture of me looking like I was having fun at the zoo?」

         「I think you look fine the way you normally do.」

         「It’s only natural to want to look like I’m having fun if I actually am having fun, though, isn’t it?」

         Sendai-san was right, and I knew she was only putting on that smile for the sake of a single picture. But the reason I was complaining about it was because I could never tell whether she was actually having fun or not.

         The Sendai-san I was with today reminded me of the version of her I’d seen back in high school.

         That was the feeling I got.

         Back in high school, Sendai-san was friendly with just about everyone. She was always smiling whenever she was with Ibaraki-san, looking like she was having the time of her life at school—but she was different after school. She showed me a side of herself that she never revealed at school.

         What I wanted from her today wasn’t the Sendai-san who smiled to please other people. I wanted the real one.

         「That being said, let me take a picture of you looking like you’re having fun too, Miyagi.」

         She said cheerfully as she pointed her phone camera at me again.

         I wasn’t sure what she found so amusing about this, but she kept trying to take pictures of me instead of the animals.

         Well, at least she looked like she was having fun.

         All I could hope was that her smile was a true reflection of how she felt. If it wasn’t, I’d rather she didn’t smile at all. If she was bored at the zoo, I’d much rather have it show on her face.

         「Did you forget what I said? You should be taking pictures of the penguins, not me.」

         Sendai-san belonged to me, and she shouldn’t ever be looking at anyone other than me, but today was different. Since we’d come all the way to the zoo, she should be looking at the animals.

         Besides, I couldn’t get used to the idea of someone as eye-catching as her taking pictures of me.

         If anything, I should’ve been the one behind the camera, while Sendai-san should’ve been the model.

         Sendai-san was far more photogenic than I was, so anyone looking at us would probably think our roles should’ve been reversed. Yet for some reason, she always chose to be the one taking pictures of me instead of having her own picture taken.

         I wasn’t good with this.

         I wasn’t good with the way Sendai-san pointed her phone camera at me, and I didn’t like the sound of the shutter clicking.

         But even so, I let her take pictures of me today.

         Since she’d come all the way to the zoo with me—even though she didn’t seem particularly interested in animals—I figured the least I could do was let her point her phone at me.

         「I’m going to take a picture of you with the penguins, so smile.」

         She was asking the impossible of me.

         I thought I could at least manage a small smile, but I couldn’t even do that.

         Sendai-san moved a little farther away and called out my name.

         「Miyagi.」

         Reluctantly, I turned my gaze toward Sendai-san and her phone camera, but instead of smiling, I let out a small sigh. At that exact moment, I heard the shutter click.

         「Did you manage to get the penguins in the shot too?」

         I asked before she could take another picture and tell me to smile again, and Sendai-san came back to my side.

         「I did. You know, since we’re here, why don’t we take a picture together?」

         「Together?」

         「Yeah. I’ll try to get the penguins in the shot, too. And after this, I’ll take lots of pictures of the shoebill and send them to you. So, can we take a picture together?」

         I glanced around.

         It wasn’t as crowded as the aquarium had been during summer break, but there were still plenty of people taking pictures at the zoo. There were families, as well as groups of friends and couples huddling close together to take selfies, yet for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to agree right away.

         A picture of the two of us together felt completely different from having her take pictures of me alone.

         「Don’t you think you’ve taken enough pictures of me?」

         「I haven’t taken one with you yet, though.」

         I looked over at the blue earrings Sendai-san was wearing.

         The earrings were a mark showing that she belonged to me.

         They weren’t exactly a collar, but they served to show that she was under my control.

         Along with that mark, they made Sendai-san faintly resemble a borzoi with a beautiful coat of fur. Right now, I was the only person she was looking at, like a dog waiting for its master’s command. It was an attitude that suited the beautiful blue earrings I’d picked out for her, but today, I wasn’t looking for her to be submissive.

         「… Fine, take it.」

         There were plenty of things I wanted to say, but I swallowed them and moved to her side. Our shoulders brushed against each other as Sendai-san took a picture of us together with the front-facing camera on her phone.

         「I managed to get the penguins in the shot, too. Wanna head over to the shoebill enclosure now?」

         「Okay.」

         I replied curtly, and Sendai-san flashed a smile as bright as the sun before she started walking.

         Unable to move my feet, I gripped my blue scarf tightly. I watched her back as she walked ahead, but a moment later, she turned around.

         「Miyagi? Are you tired or something?」

         Sendai-san asked gently as she came walking back toward me, still frozen in place.

         「I’m fine.」

         I replied quietly, then let go of my scarf and took a step forward.

         Right foot, then left, then right.

         Sendai-san walked beside me as I slowly made my way forward.

         She was being as kind as she always was.

         The only thing Sendai-san wouldn’t give in to was when it came to her part-time jobs. Other than that, she almost always listened to me and did whatever I told her to. Even today, she had come with me and was seeing the things that I wanted to see, all at my pace.

         Perhaps that was only natural considering she belonged to me, but if she really hadn’t wanted to come today, she could’ve just said so. She didn’t have to come to the zoo with me.

         And yet, she always followed my lead and put my wants first.

         I knew how selfish I always was, but for some reason, it bothered me today. Sendai-san was always looking out for me, and for some reason, that left me feeling dissatisfied and uneasy. It was something that had been bothering me even before we came to the zoo.

         「Look, Miyagi, a shoebill!」

         Sendai-san said as she pointed straight ahead.

         Following her finger, I spotted a long-legged bird with a massive beak. I quickened my pace toward the fence separating the shoebill from the crowd and raised my phone, pointing the camera at a bird that looked like it had just woken up with its feathers in a complete mess.

         「… It’s quite active.」

         I murmured as I snapped a picture of it.

         I’d always imagined shoebills as the type of bird that hardly ever moved, but this one was walking around and even catching fish from the pond.

         It was surprising.

         「It’s a lot more energetic than we thought, huh?」

         I nodded in agreement with Sendai-san.

         Even though the shoebill didn’t look like it had the best sense of balance, it looked cute whether it was moving or standing still.

         「Sendai-san.」

         「What’s up?」

         「Are you actually taking a proper look at the shoebill?」

         I slipped my phone back into my coat pocket and shifted my gaze from the large bird to the person standing beside me.

         「I am.」

         She said as she pointed her phone camera at me.

         Click.

         The moment I heard that familiar sound, I immediately slapped her shoulder.

         「You’re taking pictures of me again? You’re supposed to be taking pictures of the shoebill.」

         「Okay, okay.」

         Sendai-san gave me what could only be described as a half-hearted reply before pointing her phone at the shoebill and starting to take pictures of it.

Seeing how obediently she did as I told her, I couldn’t help but think that she really was just like a dog.

         「Are you having fun, Miyagi?」

         Sendai-san asked, her eyes still fixed on the shoebill.

         「Yeah.」

         I needed to stop thinking about Sendai-san so much.

         There was a real, live shoebill right in front of me. I wasn’t looking at a picture of one or watching a video of one. I had actually come all the way to the zoo and was seeing it for myself, so there was no reason I shouldn’t be enjoying it.

         Sendai-san wasn’t doing anything unusual. This was just how she normally acted. There was no point in letting it bother me so much.

         I took my phone out of my coat pocket and turned the camera toward the shoebill instead of Sendai-san.

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Chapter debt: 77

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