The Morning Glow Burns with Youth

Episode 3: The End of the Boom, Gathering Shadows

"We regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you a position at this time..."

A cold rejection notification popped up on his smartphone screen.

Ayumu lay spread-eagled on his bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling.

It was a rejection letter from a safe, stable company that was supposed to offer good time-performance.

"Well, I guess life isn't that easy," he sighed dryly.

His smartphone vibrated slightly, announcing a new message from Misaki.

Without unlocking the screen, he checked it on the notification bar.

"Good job today! Didn't you get the interview results? Let's grab tea after you're done!"

Ayumu flipped the phone face down and closed his eyes.

He simply didn't have the energy to play the "cool, easygoing boyfriend" and laugh it off as usual.

Not wanting to show his pathetic, rejected self, he left her message on read.

A few days later, in the afternoon, on the veranda of his family's traditional Japanese house.

While Ayumu was away in the kitchen to brew cold barley tea, only Misaki and Seiichi were left on the veranda.

Staring blankly at the sunflowers blooming in the corner of the garden, Misaki gently set her smartphone face down on the table.

"...Grandpa. Ayumu has been a bit down lately, hasn't he?"

"Neither of us is doing great with job hunting. But if I show a worried face, it’ll only pressure him, so I always try to smile and say, 'It’ll all work out.'"

"In this day and age, girls have to protect their own lives too."

"I know it would be a burden for Ayumu if I leaned on him too much, so I purposely avoid asking deep questions about the future. But sometimes I wonder... am I just acting like a 'good, low-maintenance girlfriend'?"

Seiichi looked gently at Misaki's profile and sipped his tea quietly.

"You are very kind, Misaki. It is because you care for him so much that you cannot show your weakness."

"I'm not very cute, am I? Honestly, I'm terrified about the future, and there are days when I just want someone to tell me it's going to be okay."

"I try to convince myself that keeping a smart, calculated distance is the right way to avoid getting hurt."

At that moment, the sliding paper door of the tatami room opened softly, and his grandmother, Yumi, her white hair tied up elegantly, appeared.

On her tray sat two simple, handmade ohagi (sweet rice balls) as a treat.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Misaki-chan. It must be boring just having tea with Grandpa.""

"These ohagi have been Grandpa’s favorite since the old days. Eat something sweet and relax a little.""

Yumi sat gently beside Misaki, and wrapped Misaki's slightly cold hand with her own wrinkled, yet surprisingly warm hands.

"Misaki-chan. I was the same way long ago. I didn’t want to cause any worry for Seiichi.""

"Even when my hands swelled red and cracked from the freezing well water in winter, I desperately hid those rough hands under my apron and forced a smile. I didn't want him to dislike me, and I didn't want to be a burden to him.""

Wrapped in Yumi's warm palms, Misaki felt a gentle heat welling up deep in her chest.

"But you see, the moment we truly became a 'family' who could support each other wasn't when we were laughing with pretty, polished faces.""

"It was only after we stopped hiding our pathetic weaknesses and messy realities, laid them bare in our own hands, and accepted them together.""

Seiichi nodded deeply from the side, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Yumi's hands.

"Yes. From the night Yumi stopped hiding her chapped hands and squeezed mine tightly, our true journey together finally began.""

A single tear escaped Misaki's eye, dampening the edge of the plate holding the ohagi.

"Misaki. Ayumu is a bit unreliable, but he wants to support you much more than you think.""

"Take off that mask of the perfect, smart girlfriend. Crash into him with all your fragile, raw warmth.""

From the kitchen, Ayumu returned with a pitcher of cold barley tea, calling out, "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

Misaki quickly wiped her eyes and looked back at him, not with her usual dry smile, but with soft eyes harboring a quiet resolve.

1953, Winter.

From the massive chimneys of the factory, the smoke had vanished with an eerie stillness.

The fierce war had reached a truce, and the "war procurement boom" that had shifted the world abruptly ended.

The once-thriving small factories were going bankrupt one after another, and an ominous silence hung over the town.

"I hear they're starting layoffs next month."

Through the thin walls of the apartment, the neighbors' whispered rumors could be heard.

This was an era with no social safety nets.

Unemployment instantly meant the collapse of their lives in this single room—namely, starvation and death.

Furthermore, from various corners of the apartment, the persistent coughing of tuberculosis—a life-threatening disease at the time—echoed through the night.

Inside his freezing futon, Seiichi stared up at the dark ceiling, his body stiff with dread.

(If I get laid off... If I contract that disease... What will happen to Yumi?)

No matter how hard he tried to look ahead, the future was shrouded in a dark, ominous fog, revealing nothing.

The freezing winter wind rattled against the apartment window.

Shivering in the cold, Seiichi and Yumi kept the window tightly shut, staying quiet as if running away from their true feelings.

📖NextChapter:https://note.com/ttukumoo/n/n2ec2b469ccdf
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🌐 Original Japaneseher:https://note.com/juicy_laelia8513/n/n8eb96238344c

"Thank you so much for reading to the very end!"💗