“Hana! Give me the cup noodles!”
Maru took my cup noodles that I had already finished. I had eaten everything, even the broth, so there was nothing left inside the cup. Not even a single bit of the usual toppings remained.
“Why…?”
I asked Maru, puzzled. But soon, I found the answer. Maru pulled out a plastic bag and neatly packed away the trash from the food we had eaten. Since it wasn’t a famous mountain summit, there was nothing at the top—no buildings, not many people, and nowhere to throw trash.
That meant there was no place to dispose of garbage. But you can’t just throw trash anywhere, so Maru had brought a plastic bag to collect the trash and take it back down. After stuffing everything in, Maru tightly sealed the bag and put it in the backpack.
It was really heartwarming to see Maru’s effort to protect nature. For some reason, seeing that made me feel proud. Protecting the ecosystem might seem like a small thing, but it’s not unimportant. If everyone had this mindset, maybe the Earth would become cleaner.
Of course, my thoughts got a bit too grand. It’s just about not littering on a mountain summit, and here I am talking about saving the Earth. I held Maru’s hand, and we started descending from the summit.
Going down was much easier than going up. I remember hearing that descending is actually more dangerous than ascending because of the higher risk of injury. So, Maru and I took it slow. No need to rush and risk twisting an ankle.
And just like that, my short hike ended. The good thing was that there was still plenty of time left in the evening to eat dinner. Plus, Maru could leave work on time.
—
*Humming*
I was lying in bed, playing on my phone. Waking up early and scrolling through my phone felt like a beautiful life. Honestly, if it weren’t for the bland food, I might’ve slept in like a bum. And maybe because I’m in a child’s body, I tend to fall asleep before dawn.
Back when I was a guy and unemployed, my daily routine was sleeping at 3-4 AM and waking up around noon. But now, it’s different. I wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, fill my stomach, and then return to my room. After a satisfying breakfast, I’m wide awake.
So, naturally, lying in bed and playing on my phone or watching TV became my daily routine. And I really felt the generation gap when it came to vacation homework. Back in my day, vacation homework was a lot. Writing a diary was the basics, and then there were reports and craft projects.
I vividly remember cramming all my vacation homework a week before school started. But now, it’s different. Maybe because I’m in first grade, but all I got was 10 pages of math problems from the teacher.
It only took 10 minutes to finish. It seems like the concept of vacation homework has faded over time. Kids these days don’t even know about “No-To” (no school on Saturdays). If you sent them back 20 years, they’d learn what “No-To” means. Back then, going to school on Saturdays was normal.
Of course, this is a generational gap only someone who’s gone to school twice can feel. Unless it’s university, going to school more than once is impossible. This is something only possible if you die and come back to life. I’m pretty sure I’m the only person in the world who’s gone to elementary school twice.
As I was rolling around with my phone, someone opened the door and came in. I hid under the blanket and peeked to see who it was.
“Hana… are you sleeping?”
It was Haru. I wrapped myself in the blanket, only my face peeking out, and said, “No! I’m not sleeping!”
I greeted Haru with a grin. Haru seemed to be looking for something, pacing around. Losing patience, I asked what Haru wanted. Clearly, there was something, but Haru was having trouble saying it.
“Haru, what’s up? Do you need something?”
“Um… yeah, there’s something I really want you to do.”
“What is it?”
Haru sat on the bed and patted my head. I liked the feeling of Haru’s hand on my head.
There was no particular refusal or such reaction.
“I hope you can participate in the event.”
“Event?”
“Yeah. Today, Boss Sehee is hosting an event.”
“Then I want to go too!”
“Really?”
“Yeah!”
An event sounds fun and exciting. I was already getting excited. I didn’t know how long it had been since I last participated in an event. Maybe it was because of the school vacation, but I had plenty of time. I nodded at Haru’s words and got ready to go. Rolling around in bed from the morning didn’t suit my personality.
Of course, lying in bed and playing with my mobile phone was fun enough, but participating in Boss Sehee’s event also seemed quite fun. I was curious about what kind of event it was. So I asked Haru.
If it was an event related to studying or something that required using my brain, I was ready to bail immediately. Once words are spoken, they can’t be taken back, but I could do it. Since I was in the third grade of elementary school, if I insisted, I had the right to skip things I didn’t like. If you’re jealous, just become a third grader again. Of course, only I can do that.
“Hmm… It’s a grape event, I heard? The grapes from Hana are so ripe that they’re holding an event!”
“Grapes? Sounds delicious!”
From what I heard, it seemed like they were holding an event before officially selling the grapes nationwide. Various media outlets were also coming. After grabbing people’s attention like this, they planned to ship the grapes nationwide starting next week. That’s so like Boss Sehee. If there’s nothing to stop her, her drive is no joke.
“Then let’s get ready!”
“Yeah!”
I changed my clothes to match Haru’s outfit. Haru had a princess-like style that didn’t suit me at all. It felt like I was cosplaying. Of course, when I looked in the mirror, I looked very cute and pretty. My base was just that good.
Even if I wore clothes made of cheap fabric, my natural charm would make them look like luxury. No matter how times change, fashion is completed by the face. If you have a good face, any clothes will look elegant. Of course, if you wear really terrible clothes, it won’t look good, but if an average person wore them, they’d look like trash.
“Hum hum~”
I hummed a tune and looked at my reflection in the mirror. A cute girl in a skirt was reflected in the mirror. It felt like dressing up a game character. My body didn’t feel like my own. Only I can feel this way. There’s no one else living in a different body like me.
“Hana! Are you ready?”
“Yep!”
I saluted like I did in the military and looked at Haru. Haru looked surprised and took my hand.
“Hana, where did you learn that salute?”
If I said I learned it in the military, I’d be treated like a lunatic, so I just said I saw it on the internet. Haru nodded and accepted it.
——————————————
“There are so many people…”
Haru said as we arrived at the destination and saw the crowd. As Haru said, the place was bustling with people. Fortunately, the place we were heading to was a parking lot with fewer people. Other parking lots were full, but luckily this one seemed to be VIP-only, so there were fewer cars.
“Hana, let’s get out!”
Once the car was parked, Haru unbuckled her seatbelt and said. I also unbuckled my seatbelt and got out of the car. The event seemed to have already started. I held Haru’s hand and started walking to check out the event.
Grapes were scattered everywhere, as if inviting us to eat as much as we wanted. I was curious about the taste, so I tried one.
“Oh, it’s delicious!”
“Really? I’ve never had grapes before.”
Haru also ate some grapes. They were so delicious that her eyes widened.
