I went out for drinks with some friends from college.

That night, I ended up walking one of my friends, Ika Niwaki, all the way home. "…………"

We were in a taxi. "……snooze……snooze……mumble"

Right next to me... Niwaki was asleep.

She gave her address and fell into a sleep before ten minutes had even passed.

And by the time ten minutes were up, she was in a deep slumber. "……hmm…ah…hmm"

Niwaki's head was resting on my shoulder.

Looking at her again, it was obvious that seven years hadn't made any difference—she was even more beautiful now than before.

Her skin was snow-white, her features were perfectly symmetrical, and her eyelashes were long.

Her breasts seemed to have grown a whole size larger since we were in college.

The touch of her shoulder against mine felt softer than it did back then, too.

Her alcohol-laced breath came out softly between her lips, and the scent of her hair wafted up, tickling my nose with a sweet, fruity fragrance.

To be honest, I don't feel a complete lack of sexual attraction to her.

But laying a hand on a woman who's drunk asleep is something I wouldn't do.

"Customer, we've arrived."

Shortly after, the taxi stopped in front of Hinokawa's home.

It seemed she lived in an apartment complex within the city limits.

After settling the fare, I shook Hinokawa's shoulder. "Hey, we're here." "Mmm..."

But no matter how much I shook her shoulder, Hinokawa didn't wake up.

"Your boyfriend there, why don't you hurry and wake up your girlfriend?"

The driver said with irritation. He wasn't my boyfriend, sure, but whatever.

But Hinokawa showed no sign of waking up, and staying any longer would be a bother.

"...I apologize in advance. Okay, here we go."

Giving brief notice, I stepped out of the taxi once to lift her onto my back in a piggyback style. "...Mmph" "Surprisingly light."

I felt a soft yet firm elasticity against my back.

With each of her breaths, that yielding softness pressed rhythmically against me.

...I’d better set her down before this gets any more complicated. "Hey, what floor is it?" "Wheee..."

"I didn't mean which way up, I mean which room on which floor?"

"Mmm— nyan-nyan-maru nyan-nyan." Room 707, apparently.

Whether from the alcohol or just plain exhaustion, Niekawa’s mind was foggy and slow.

Carrying her on my back like a sack of potatoes, I made my way into the apartment building.

I stepped into the elevator and rode up to the seventh floor.

The entrance hall was quite spacious, and the interior looked rather upscale.

I got out of the elevator and reached room 707. "Niekawa. Where are the keys?" "Ugh... kee...?" "Keys! The keys!" "Ukeeee..." "Are you a monkey or something?"

Fumbling around, Niekawa dug through her handbag and pulled out her key case.

I used the key to unlock the door and managed to get us inside without incident. "Niekawa, pardon the intrusion." "...Huh." Almost there now.

I led her toward the back of the room.

For a woman living alone, the apartment had an unusually high number of rooms and was quite spacious.

I found what looked like a bedroom and stepped inside.

The interior was extremely minimalist: a desk, a full-length mirror, and a bookshelf.

By the window stood a single, large bed that looked expensive.

I brought her to the bed and laid her down on her back. "...Mm... Mm..."

Even lying on her back, Unegawa's breasts retained their shape.

No, this is wrong. Staring at a sleeping woman’s chest like that is unacceptable. "Well then, I'm heading home, Unegawa."

I had been invited to stay over, but with her passed out cold, there was nothing I could do.

I turned to leave... but. "...Hey"

Unegawa suddenly gripped my hand tightly. "Huh? You..."

"...No. ...Don't go" Unegawa was still asleep.

Tears were spilling from the corners of her eyes.

"Please... Okaya-kun... Don't go that way. Stay by my... side."

...She was sleeping soundly. She must have been dreaming.

In her dream, was she holding me back?

Where am I even trying to go?

Even if I asked her when she woke up, she probably wouldn't know. "……"

Holding my hand, telling me not to leave... I couldn't shake her off.

At the very least, I would stay here until she woke up.

I pulled out my smartphone and contacted Akari and the others.

After sending a LINE that I'd be home late, a thumbs-up sticker came back. "Phew..." Munakawa didn't seem like he'd be waking up anytime soon.

That said, sleeping in the same bed was out of the question. And then, right at that moment. "Huh...?"

As I casually glanced over, my eyes caught on a bookshelf next to the bed.

Self-help and business books, the kind of dry, heavy titles……mixed in among them was that.

"Why the hell is this here……"

I gently released her hand, careful not to wake Inukawa.

Slowly rising to my feet, I approached the bookshelf.

The book I pulled off the shelf was a light novel. The author's name was……[Okata-ni].

It was a book I had written and published back in college.

"Why is my book here……?"

There were three copies of [Okata-ni]'s light novel stuck on the shelf.

All of them were marked as Volume 1. But there was no second volume.

For all three series, it stopped right after Volume 1. "…………" I picked up my debut work.

Flipping through the pages……the colophon bore a date from seven years ago. Naturally, it was the first edition.

Since we never did a reprint, the first edition is all that exists.

——Okaya-kun, I bought it. Your debut novel.

I remembered the time Inugawa had bought me a book back in college. The pages turned with a light para....

On the back cover was a signature written in marker: 【Okata Nii】.

"Here's my signature, Okaya-kun. Look, I bet you're going to be an amazing writer someday, so I wanted to get it while I can."
"……An amazing writer, huh?"

I wondered what kind of mood I had been in when I signed Inugawa's book back then.

It was seven years ago. I didn't even remember anymore.

...And yet, seven years later, here I am, living not as a writer, but as an editor. That is the fact, and that is all it is. ★

"I'm so, so sorry! Okaya-kun!"

A few hours later, Inugawa woke up.

The moment he opened his eyes, he frantically checked the disarray of his clothes, then let out a sigh with a disappointed expression for some reason.

We had already moved to the living room.

"I'm sorry for being such a burden." "Don't worry about it. You're my friend, right?"

I sipped the coffee Ninogawa had brewed for me.

The living room was spacious and impeccably clean.

There were no clothes left on the floor in the hallway, not even a speck of dust to be seen. "Um, uh..." Ninogawa had changed into her casual clothes.

An oversized hoodie and shorts.

She had let her hair down from its updo, leaving it straight.

With her hair down, she looked surprisingly young again.

"Okaya-kun, um... I... didn't say anything weird, did I?" "Weird what?" "I-I mean..."

...When I had been lying in the bed, she had told me not to leave. Was that what she was thinking of...?

No, but if someone pointed out your sleep-talk, it would make you feel embarrassed.

"No, nothing at all. You were sleeping so peacefully." "...Really?"

She stared at me with a skeptical, intense gaze.

"Uh-huh. If I'm lying, feel free to throw me across the room."

"Na— I’m not going to just throw you, okay..."

"Oh? But didn't you use to throw guys off during college who were too persistent about hitting on you?"

"A-That’s different! It’s because they were being insistent and cornering me..."

We spend a while indulging in nostalgic reminiscence.

"Still, what surprised me the most was that you two weren’t dating." "Why wouldn't we have been?"

"Why not? He’s got great personality, looks good, and is rich. Isn’t he a prime catch?"

"...Back then, I had someone else in mind." "Is that so? Who?" "...You’re an idiot, seriously."

Kazakawa lets out a resigned sigh of disbelief.

If it wasn't the Prince, I have no idea who it could be.

"...Didn’t you ever think for a moment that it might be me?" "Eh?"

"～～～～～～～～！ I-I mean... nothing! That never happened!"

Kazakawa turns beet red and shakes her head vigorously.

I waved my hand dismissively to deny it. Come on, there’s no way that’s true.

There was no way a gorgeous college girl like Nukigawa would fall for a guy as socially awkward as me.

"It was fun... university days. We went to so many places together with Shirouma-kun and Okaya-kun."

"Right. The Prince was also aiming to be a writer, so we did interviews and he took us on all sorts of trips, didn't he?"

"Hatsumi, Izu, Sapporo, Kyushu, Okinawa... we sure went to a lot of places."

"Yeah, we even used night buses. ...Actually, sorry for asking this so late, but was it ever a burden sticking around with us?"

"Why would it be? I wouldn't have had the chance to travel together with Okaya-kun if it wasn't for work interviews. She was always buried in writing, part-time jobs, and... looking after Nagano-san."

"Nagano-san" was Misae's maiden name.

In university, she hadn't joined any clubs.

So the Prince or Nukigawa were her only options for fun.

Besides that... there was Misae, and she devoted her time to her novels.

"...Hey, Okaya-kun. Are you not having any regrets?"

Out of nowhere, Nierikawa blurted it out. "Regrets?"

"...Giving up on my dream."

My dream. That is, becoming a writer. Making a living as a writer.

Nierikawa knew that I had aimed to become a light novel author.

He also knew that I had finally achieved my wish and published a book.

After all, we were friends who attended the same university. "Wait here a sec."

Nierikawa stood up and headed toward the bedroom.

When he returned, he was clutching my debut work in his hand. ...I looked away.

That's the last thing I wanted to see: my debut book.

"You still had that book on you, huh?" "Yeah, I do. It's a treasure."

Nierikawa hugged my debut work tightly against his chest.

"It is, after all, the very first signed copy of Okata-sensei's work."

Yunigawa caresses the cover with a look of tender affection.

She had taken such good care of my book. And for that... I was sorry.

"...Treating it like that makes no difference to its value." "Ogani-kun..."

"It's just a work by a writer who vanished in their first year... an unsold title..."

Seeing the concern on her face, I... reflected.

What right did I have to spout nonsense like that at someone else?

"...I'm sorry. The alcohol must be hitting me. Let's go back before I say anything stranger."

I stood up and started to leave Yunigawa's room. But... "Wait."

Thump, Yunigawa hugged me from behind.

She held onto me tightly, refusing to let go. "Ogani-kun, don't go." "No... I'm going."

"How do you intend to? The last train went a while ago."

It was already past midnight by the time she woke up, so it had been hours since then.

After getting caught up in conversation, we completely missed the last train. "I'll just walk home," I said. "...No." Niwaka's grip tightened further.

When I turned back, she looked up at me with moist eyes and said.

"I don't want to send you off. ...Stay here tonight... okay?"