boyutpedia Page 81
Page 81
Eriri glanced at him one last time, a little reluctant, then quickly caught up with him: "Hey, you idiot Yuto, why are you walking so fast! Wait for me!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha and Kato Megumi followed.
The four figures gradually disappeared into the distance, but the filming on the beach continued.
……
"Okay, that's all for today. Thank you all for your hard work!"
With the director's command, Mai Sakurajima finished filming for the day.
She took the towel from her assistant, dried herself off the seawater, and then put on a bathrobe.
"Mai, you're in great shape today, the photoshoot went very well," said her manager, Kazuko Sakurajima, Mai's mother, as she approached.
"Thank you," Mai Sakurajima replied politely.
She went to the rest area, sat down, and drank some water.
But the image of that boy from just now involuntarily surfaced in her mind.
The boy standing in the crowd, looking at her with a complex and profound gaze.
Why do I feel a tightness in my heart when I see him?
That feeling was both familiar and strange, as if it came from the distant past, or as if it were just an illusion.
"Mai? What are you thinking about?" Sakurajima Kazuko asked.
"It's nothing," Mai shook her head. "I'm just a little tired."
She stood up, preparing to change her clothes.
But that feeling of palpitation lingered for a long time.
In recent months, she has been having strange dreams.
In her dream, she seemed like a puppet, devoid of any emotion. Then, someone appeared, took her hand, and led her out of the darkness.
They walked together on the beach, cooked together in their apartment, and shared a white cat.
The emotions in her dream were so real that she would feel a sense of loss upon waking.
She even had a fleeting thought about getting a cat, but gave up because she was too busy with work.
As for cooking, she has always been able to do it without needing to learn it specifically. However, she rarely cooked for herself before, but has recently started trying it.
She didn't know why she was experiencing these strange changes, and could only attribute it to excessive work pressure.
She thought that perhaps she could take a good rest while she had fewer announcements recently. She remembered that in April, the school asked her if she needed to continue to take a leave of absence this semester, and her mother gave an affirmative answer.
However, after the summer vacation ends, maybe I can go back and experience campus life again?
Today, when she saw that boy, her dream and reality seemed to overlap for a moment.
The boy's face gradually overlapped with the face of the person in the dream.
“Impossible,” Mai Sakurajima muttered to herself. “It was just a dream.”
She forced herself to stop thinking about it and quickly walked into the changing room.
She is a professional actress; she knows how to control her emotions and how to put aside those inappropriate thoughts.
However, when she closed the dressing room door and saw her slightly pale face in the mirror, she couldn't suppress the inexplicable bitterness in her heart.
……
By the time we got back to the guesthouse, it was completely dark.
Grandma Matsumura had already prepared dinner for them, which was, as always, a sumptuous seafood meal.
However, after all the physically demanding activities in the afternoon, none of them had much energy left, and they were rather quiet during the meal.
Especially Yuto Itsuka, although he responded to Kasumigaoka Utaha's teasing with a smile, Megumi Kato keenly sensed that his smile was somewhat forced.
Is it because of Mai Sakurajima whom I met this afternoon?
Kato Megumi observed him silently, without asking any questions.
After dinner, everyone discussed it and decided to go for a soak in the hot springs. The temperature was a bit cool tonight, so a short soak wouldn't hurt.
The hot spring at this guesthouse is located on the other side of the courtyard, and it is divided into men's and women's baths.
"Ah, finally I can soak in the hot springs!" Eriri stretched.
"Sawamura-kun, don't fall asleep while soaking in the hot spring, or it will really turn into a sauna," Kasumigaoka Utaha reminded her.
Eriri glared at her, then pulled Kato Megumi along quickly toward the women's bath.
Yuto Itsuka smiled and walked alone towards the men's bath.
The men's bath was empty.
He cleaned himself thoroughly and then slowly walked into the hot spring pool.
The water temperature was just right; the warm spring water enveloped his body, dispelling his fatigue and gradually relaxing his mind.
He leaned against the pool wall, looked up at the night sky, and the image of Mai Sakurajima reappeared in his mind.
The two were so different that he was glad she didn't have those painful memories, but he couldn't help feeling a sense of loss.
"That's still too sentimental," Yuto Itsuka chuckled self-deprecatingly.
He then let out a long breath and submerged his head in the water.
……
The women's bath area is much more lively.
"Wow, the water temperature is just right!" Eriri sighed contentedly as she soaked in the hot spring.
Kasumigaoka Utaha stretched out her stunning figure in the water, drawing frequent glances from Eriri.
"Hmm? What are you looking at, Sawamura-kun? Are you a little envious?" Kasumigaoka Utaha noticed Eriri's gaze and deliberately puffed out her chest.
"Who...who's envious!" Eriri instinctively covered her chest with both hands.
"Oh, Sawamura-kun, don't feel inferior. After all, flat-chested lolis are a rare resource~"
"You!" Eriri was so angry she wanted to splash water, but she was afraid of getting her hair wet, so she gave up.
Kato Megumi quietly sat in the corner, watching the two bicker, a faint smile on her lips.
"Kato has a great figure too, you can't tell at all when she's wearing her uniform," Eriri said, looking at Kato Megumi with a hint of envy.
Indeed, Kato Megumi's usual attire is rather conservative, so you wouldn't guess that she has such a voluptuous figure under her uniform.
Kato Megumi thought for a moment and said, "Eri's skin is very fair, and her hair is very well-maintained. I'm very envious of her."
Eriri raised her chin smugly after hearing this.
“However…” Kato Megumi changed the subject, “Itsuka-san seems to prefer Kasumigaoka-senpai’s type.”
"Wh...what?!" Eriri instantly bristled. "Yuto would never like that kind of scheming old woman!"
"Oh dear, how do you know that junior doesn't like him? Did you ask him?" Kasumigaoka Utaha asked back.
"I...I didn't ask, but I just know!"
"So that's what you guessed? But I think Kato-senpai is right. I also think that the way you look at me is unusual." Kasumigaoka Utaha deliberately tossed her long, wet hair that clung to the mountainside.
"Stop being so presumptuous! Yuto... he's just... 〥Shirin VII Private ba4..." Eriri wanted to retort, but couldn't find the right words.
"Just what?"
"I just think you're weird! I usually look at weird people like that too!" Eriri finally managed to say after a long pause.
"Pfft—" Kato Megumi couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Kato! What are you laughing at!" Eriri said, embarrassed and annoyed.
"It's nothing, I just think you two have a really good relationship," Kato Megumi said.
"Who's on good terms with her!" Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha exclaimed in unison.
The three laughed and joked for a while, then gradually calmed down.
“Speaking of which, Mai Sakurajima, whom I met this afternoon, is really beautiful,” Eriri suddenly said.
"Yes, she truly deserves to be a popular actress who debuted as a child star," Kasumigaoka Utaha agreed.
"Don't you guys think that Itsuka's reaction was a little strange when he saw her?" Kato Megumi said.
Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha were both stunned for a moment.
"Strange? Is it? He was just staring blankly, wasn't he? That guy gets stunned when he sees a beautiful woman, isn't that a normal reaction?" Eriri said dismissively.
“No, that’s not the case.” Kato Megumi shook her head. “Itsuka-kun’s eyes… how should I put it, it was like he had known her for a long time.”
"Know her? How is that possible? Mai Sakurajima is a big star, how could you possibly know her, junior?" Kasumigaoka Utaha also thought it was unlikely.
She then looked at Eriri, her childhood friend.
Eriri shook her head: "Where is that idiot going to meet a big star?"
"Maybe it's just my imagination." Kato Megumi didn't say anything more, but simply submerged her body in the water.
After soaking in the hot spring, the group changed into yukatas and returned to their rooms.
"Ah, so comfortable! I feel like I've come back to life!" Eriri lay on the tatami mat, rolling around like a puppy.
"It's getting late. We need to get up early to go hiking tomorrow, so everyone should get some rest," said Itsuka Yuto, standing at the door of the girls' room.
"Huh? So early? I wanted to play games a little longer." Eriri said somewhat reluctantly.
“We can play games anytime. We’re going to Mount Omuro tomorrow,” said Yuto Itsuka.
"Alright," Eriri had no choice but to give up.
……
Mai Sakurajima finished her workday and returned to her apartment.
After taking a shower, she lay in bed, but couldn't fall asleep.
The image of that boy lingered in her mind.
She simply sat up, turned on her computer, and typed "Toyonosaki Academy" into the search box.
She thought she might remember him because she had seen him at school before.
Although she took a leave of absence this semester, she still occasionally attended classes during her first year, so maybe that's when I saw her at school.
She opened the school's official website and browsed through photos of the students.
Suddenly her gaze fell on a photograph.
That was the entrance ceremony for this year's first-year students. There were hundreds of people in the photo, and it would normally take a long time to find them.
But Mai found him very quickly.
The boy's handsome profile stood out so much among the students that it was impossible to look away.
it's him.
But... he's a first-year student, which means I've never seen him at school.
She then clicked on the photo's details and found the student roster by class; he was a student in Class B of the first year of high school.
There were forty students in the class. She didn't know his name, so she glanced at it casually, but a moment later, a name caught her eye.
Five Rivers Seal 3 Owl Fins (Nine) Stroll (Two) Leisurely Fight.
“Itsuka… Yuto…” she murmured the name, the feeling of familiarity in her heart growing stronger.
She felt like she'd heard that name somewhere before.
Was it in that dream?
Mai Sakurajima rubbed her temples, trying to recall the details of her dream, but only some blurry fragments remained.
She sighed, glanced at the photo again, and then shut down the computer.
Regardless, she decided to find out who this boy really was.
……