“I love you.”

             “My apartment is to the left of the electricity pole across from here, after you walk straight down this road. Do you live in that mansion, Arita(有田)-san? We lived quite close by, didn’t we?”

             The kouhai (someone with less experience, be it school or workplace. Usually translated as ‘younger cla.s.sman’, but in this case someone with less work experience) happily smiled as his pupils underneath the frameless eyegla.s.ses narrowed a little. His eyes, which weren’t big to start with, narrowed like threads when he smiled. After getting off the train at the same station, they walked together because their way home was the same. The weather was terrible since the morning, so stars couldn’t be seen in the cloud-covered sky, and only streetlights faintly shone within cold air that held wetness.

             It was the end of November, in which winter started to show itself. The kouhai who walked bent over, as if he were burdened by his body that easily reached 190cm and that was wrapped by blue-gray suit, sighed. One strand of neatly brushed hair fell near his ear. His large earlobes were faintly colored, be it because of the cold weather or because of the alcohol in his blood.

            “It became quite cold. I heard that this winter will be much colder than the last year’s.”

            “Oh, really?”

             The wind that brushed his neck was cold than his thought, so Arita Manabu(有田學) withdrew his neck unconsciously. His kouhai, who was more than 10cm taller than Arita, was also making his body smaller.

             His hair that smoothly fell across his forehead got in his way, so Arita roughly pushed it up as he brushed it with his hand. His bangs grew when he just left them alone because it had been too bothersome to get them cut. When he had a lover, he had been glooming himself carefully, but when he broke up with her last summer, he stopped caring for his appearances as well.

             A female co-worker who had been with them for three years quit because of her marriage, so they had a farewell party today. After hearing that they were headed to karaoke place, Arita made an excuse that “he had something to do” and left after eating. His kouhai Hirose Akihiro(廣瀨明弘) left with him, as if he were joining him.

             He’s two years younger than Arita, so Hirose was 28 years old this year. Arita couldn’t help but acknowledge the speed of time’s pa.s.sage as he thought about how it had been already 6 years since he taught him about their work with all his energy.

             At the time that Hirose entered the company, their department wasn’t as big and they were in charge of both paperwork and actual contracts, so they didn’t separate their work into specific areas of expertise. Arita mostly worked with field works, but somehow he was appointed to educate Hirose, who specialized in desk works, and he taught him work man-to-man. Hirose was an old-fashioned and serious man who was quiet, but he was very clear of speech when he had to be. He was a kouhai who was hard to find one of these days.

             There were three new workers who entered the company along with Hirose. Hirose was the worst in that he didn’t know how to take the easy way out. Contrary to his relaxed face, he was a perfectionist. Arita was anxious himself, since he couldn’t tell his relentless kouhai to just take it easy. He wondered if he couldn’t be more crafty about his work.

             But even though Hirose took his time, he definitely came up with results that answered to the times he spent. In the end, he was trusted more than the other workers who did the work easily.

             They talked often the first 1-2 years. But their company policy changed midway so deskwork and field work were separated, and even though they used the same office, their superiors became different. When their department and type of work they did became all different, they had less change to meet with each other, so naturally they stopped talking to each other.

             3 years after he was admitted to the company, Hirose had been transferred to a branch company in the suburbs. He returned this year’s July. Arita wondered if Hirose will be okay when he returned, since he seemed as relaxed as ever and he knew that while he was a skilled worker, he worked slowly. But contrary to his worries, Hirose resumed work immediately and became familiar with his work.

             They brokenly resumed conversation about neutral talks of their world, and when he finally realized his surroundings, he saw his mansion right in front of him. Arita said at the corner of the road that turned into the narrow pathway, “Then, see you tomorrow”, and Hirose carefully stopped him by saying, “Um…”

             “I’m not drunk.”

             Sure footing, clear p.r.o.nunciation, and cheerful conversation. Hirose definitely didn’t seem drunk.

             “You don’t seem drunk.”

             Arita c.o.c.ked his head to the side, wondering where that came out of nowhere. Hirose who had been lowering his eyes, as if he felt uncomfortable, raised his face.

             “I love you.”

             A clear sentence that couldn’t be replied with, “What do you love?” or “Who do you love?” Arita thought to himself, “It’s bothersome.” They were looking at each other, and Arita saw Hirose’s serious eyes, so he couldn’t laugh it off, nor could he just leave it be by pretending that he didn’t hear. He didn’t have anything to say, so he continued to stand. Hirose looked at Arita without moving, his face quite serious as if he were waiting for a reply.

             “Then, please sleep well.”

             The voice overlapped the words that Arita finally managed to squeeze out. Hirose shyly smiled and ducked his head lightly, then he turned his back to Arita and walked away. He quickly walked away before he heard he obvious retort,but you’re a man. Arita stood, confused out of his mind. Only after his turned back disappeared from his line of vision by turning the corner did he remember to be extremely angry.

             “What the h.e.l.l is wrong with him?!”

             After he spat that out, Arita freely kicked the electricity pole to his right with his heel in a fit of anger.

~ To Be Continued ~
The speed should pick up once we get past all these introductions (which were h.e.l.l to translate, since the terms were unfamiliar to me TvT;;) and get to the good stuff, in which Arita angsts and Hirose slowly but surely catches his heart. ^-^