Chapter 1: Fuka Watanabe is the President of the Gardening Club
Her back is beautifully straight.
When asked about her first impression of herself, she reflexively answered, "I haven't really thought about it, but maybe it's because my mom was strict about that kind of thing."
It was April, right after Yukito Oki had become a second-year student at Minami Itabashi High School.
In a conversation with her classmate, Fuka Watanabe, they ended up revealing their first impressions of each other. When she candidly mentioned her beautifully straightened back, Fuka Watanabe seemed to make a face as if it was not a pleasant memory.
"Also, during club activities now, my back is always hunched, and my posture has definitely gotten worse."
She said this with a smile, her cheeks glowing with sweat, and her face stained by the soil as she resumed working on the flower bed and plant pots.
"Oki-kun, are you really going to take a picture of me with my back hunched after talking about that?" she asked.
Yukito Oki captured that moment through the lens of his old film SLR camera.
"I just want to take a few trial shots of the work."
Despite her displeasure, Fuka Watanabe did not refuse the camera.
"If you're going to take a photo for a contest, could you at least take it when I'm dressed cutely? It doesn't have to be when I'm all sweaty and covered in dirt like this."
The reason was that Fuka Watanabe had agreed to model for Yukito Oki, the only member and president of the photography club at Minami Itabashi High, for a photo to submit to the Tokyo Student's Usual Life Photo Contest.
It was a photo contest limited to high school students living and studying in Tokyo, and this was Oki's first time entering a serious competition as a second-year student.
When he decided he wanted to enter, the image he had in mind was "Fuka Watanabe, engaged in gardening club activities."
"I think the moment when someone's charm really shines through is when they're doing something they love. In that sense, I think you're really charming right now, Watanabe-san."
"Charm...!"
Under the strong spring sunlight, Fuka Watanabe quickly turned her face away from the lens in fluster.
"Your first impression, Oki-kun, is that you seem quiet but you're actually pretty bold and not easily scared."
Had he said something that upset her? Thinking about it, he had more or less said that the way she looked— something she might not find pretty— was better, so maybe it hadn't left a good impression.
While thinking this, he continued to hold the camera. Through the viewfinder, he saw Fuka Watanabe look at him again, her cheeks slightly puffed out.
"Do you say that to everyone who’s been a model for you?" she asked.
Even though she was upset, he ended up taking a picture of her puffed cheeks, and she glared at him again.
While the film camera's slow process of confirming the photo was frustrating, he felt like he had captured a good expression.
As he fiddled with the exposure for adjustments, she asked him another question.
"Oki-kun, are you listening?"
"No, sorry, but I don't say that to everyone. After all, you're the only one who agreed to be my model, so I’ve only said it to you... I mean..."
"R-Really? I see... I see."
It was unclear if she understood, but she softened her expression and returned to her work.
Some time passed. Through the camera's viewfinder, the sweat on Fuka Watanabe’s dirt-streaked cheek was shimmering.
It was late for noon but still too early for sunset; the soft light of the day and the breeze crossing the shadowed area behind the school gently ruffled her bangs, revealing the calm eyes that were usually hidden behind them.
"Watanabe-san..."
Oki's finger naturally pressed the shutter, and the hand holding the camera slowly lowered.
At that moment, Fuka Watanabe, who was standing next to several flower seedlings, lifted one with both hands, about to place it into the flower bed.
"Huh? What is it?"
This was a shot that Oki, trying to take photos of Fuka Watanabe as a model, could not afford to miss.
In the viewfinder, Fuka Watanabe was glowing.
Ah, as expected.
This camera always revealed to Oki the beautiful and wonderful subjects he could truly appreciate.
It was, without a doubt, the perfect moment for a shot that day.
"..."
"Oki-kun, are you done with the photos?"
However, Oki did not press the shutter. He slowly lowered the camera. Having been taking pictures freely up until now, his sudden silence caught Fuka Watanabe’s attention, and she looked at him curiously.
"I..."
In a world where everything beautiful is often seen through a camera lens, Oki felt that this single moment was something he had to see only with his own eyes.
"I like you, Watanabe-san."
It felt as though time had stopped.
No, it was only Oki who felt that way. Because, as soon as Fuka Watanabe processed his words in her mind, her face turned bright red, as if boiling from within. Oki’s heartbeat also began to race.
"Eh, uh... just now, Oki-kun, you said you... liked... me... ahhh!?!"
"Ah... huh!? N-No, I mean, no, that’s not it! I mean, it’s not like that, but... well, it’s not that I didn’t mean it, but—uh!? Um, Watanabe-san!!"
"Hyah!?"
Fuka Watanabe, too, was stunned, her eyes wide open and her whole body frozen in shock from the sudden turn of events.
Oki took a deep breath, turned toward her, and kneeled on the ground.
"Y-Your uniform is going to get dirty!"
"I-I don’t care about that right now! W-Wait, can you please listen to me!?"
Yukito Oki, who had bitten his words in embarrassment, turned as red as Fuka Watanabe, and he stammered, "O-o-o-o-okay, okay, calm down, Watanabe-san!"
In response, Fuka Watanabe flustered, her reaction just as frantic, and she nervously bit her words as well.
"Uh, uh...!"
After the two of them panicked for a while, they each placed their precious items—the camera and the flower seedlings—on the ground to avoid dropping them.
Fuka Watanabe regained her composure a bit faster and, still flustered, said,
"Fuh... Ah, um... about that, Oki-kun..."
Oki's gaze, which had nearly fallen away in embarrassment, was stopped by Fuka Watanabe's voice.
"Oki-kun, you said 'I didn’t mean to say it like that,' so that means... you had a better way you wanted to say it, and you must have been somewhat mentally prepared, right? But... for me, it’s different."
"T-That is..."
"I’m... really, really nervous. I didn’t expect you to say something like that at all."
While saying this, Fuka Watanabe, still wearing her work gloves, tried to cover her face with both hands.
"That's why... I’m probably more nervous than you."
"W-Watanabe-san..."
Despite her hesitation, Fuka Watanabe held back from covering her face and, instead, fixed her gaze directly on Oki.
"I... I've never had a boy say something like that to me before... So, my mind is all over the place, and I might not be thinking clearly. That's why..."
Fuka Watanabe lowered her hands, which had tried to hide her face with determination, and, without caring about getting her tracksuit dirty, sat down on the ground in a formal posture. She then spoke.
"Please, tell me. What is it about me that made you like me?"
Oki couldn't determine the exact emotions behind the slight tremor in her voice.
However, the way she looked at him with such intensity seemed to carry a genuine affection.
"Um... It might be a bit long, but is that okay...?"
Fuka Watanabe nodded slightly.
Both of them blushed like freshly bloomed tulips, and Oki hesitantly began to speak. His words traced back to about six months ago, in October of the previous year, when they were both first-year students.