Wishing for a Little Love ~ It's Going to Take Some Time, Part 1
1260 Words
After a hearty dinner...
The rest of the night is spent playing one of the visual novels I've held off for a long time, as a way to reward myself for a successful submission.
The title of the visual novel, by the way, is A Thousand-year Love.
After a somewhat insignificant filler scene...
One of the heroines makes the confession out of nowhere.
“I love you so much that I'd wish you were my actual big brother...”
If I remember correctly, she did have an actual big brother, but she had so many familial issues with him.
And thus, she runs into the arms of her childhood friend, whom she looked up to as her big bro.
Talk about awkwardness...
After having my fill, I get myself into bed and head off into dreamland.
Now that I've hit an important milestone, I'm taking it easy, as I look forward to the continuation of Harumi's radio contest story.
But still, I mustn't rest on my laurels.
I still have to acquire the materials needed to actually build my proposed machine.
Tuesday.
The day is somewhat insignificant, besides buying the necessary materials to my project.
Thanks to tips from my classmates, I already know which places to hit for my engineering needs.
Essentially, what I'll be building for the rest of the semester is a prototype.
Thus, I would be looking for some materials straight from the scrapyard to save on costs.
The micro-controller I bought a few hours earlier is a tad expensive, since it's a more advanced model packed with extra features such as weather sensors.
Once more, I head home, with the freshly-bought micro-controller as well as a discarded baking dish in hand.
The dish will be home to a sample of an agricultural land.
As for the tubes that will channel the water...
A classmate of mine referred me to a plumber who was planning to throw away some scrap PVC pipes.
He said I can pick them up at his place tomorrow.
Good. My project's all falling into place one by one.
Meanwhile, I take a peek at Harumi's unit.
That's odd. She's not home yet.
Maybe she's on overtime or something?
“Heeeeey, Gunpei! Sorry I'm late!”
Oh, what good timing.
“What happened?”
“Haah.. haah... I was just buying headphones for one of my classmates at the last minute. So can you please give me a 10-minute break? We'll start late, at 6:10 pm.”
“Sure, no prob.”
Oh well. I have to prepare for unexpected circumstances like this.
Ten minutes later.
Harumi and I are in our usual spot for our storytelling sojourn.
“So... let's get right back to Woopwoop-kun.”
“Yeah, I reckon that I don't like the show's rampant toilet humor. What were the censors doing?! Have they slept throughout the entire screening process?!”
“Well... different strokes for different folks, I guess. You don't like toilet humor, while others are fond of them. They're especially fond of the oldest joke in the world.”
“No, you don't have to tell me that. Anyway, we're getting derailed too much. So about that plush doll...”
“Ah, you wanna know how DJ Keito got the giant plush he eventually gave away? I have a solid answer for that. He got it directly from the creator of the anime himself, and he later told the creator that he'll just give it away, and the creator was fine with that.”
“Uh-huh. So then... what did you do to ultimately win the prize?”
“It should be obvious, right? Train my fingers to be the fastest ever, put the DJ's hot-line on speed dial, and employ my phone's built-in voice command system.”
“Man, all that for a plushie.”
“Dedication knows no bounds. If there are any, it's the type to override reason and harm others.”
“So anyway, I was fortunate enough to get in first and hear DJ Keito's voice on the line for the first time. It was soooo intense, you know! But of course, I had to keep my calm. The DJ then asked me the question of the month: 'Who is the voice actress of Yoko Yokobori, the character who appeared in episode 29?'”
“And you knew the answer by heart.”
“Absolutely. Yoko's voice actress is Eriko Nishikata. And I nailed the answer right! You could've imagined the elation I had upon the DJ saying 'YOU WIN!' to me.”
At least he didn't say “YOU'RE WINNER!”
“So the next day, the plushie was delivered right into my old house's doorstep. I couldn't wait to open the package and feel the plump softness of my favorite character!”
She's really feeling it, as she leaves my unit temporarily to most likely get the plushie she treasures the most.
And I'm proven right.
“And I always keep in mind to give Woopwoop-kun a hug everyday, and to give him the TLC he deserves. And thus, my story ends here.”
“Nice. You employed your own key to victory, so to speak.”
“And... by the way, Gunpei.... I wanted to tell you that Woopwoop-kun also acted as my source of solace a year later.”
“Solace? What happened to you? Got jilted or something?”
“It's more than just that.”
She's hugging the plushie tighter as she begins another story of hers. And it's certainly not elating, judging from the tone of her voice and the look on her face.
“I... I had a boyfriend once.”
Not surprising.
“He was a dashing young man named Jin. He was what many would call 'The Alpha of Inugazaki High', since he was the quintessential number one in terms of looks, academic standing, and extracurricular activities.
“Of course, he was highly contested among all the other girls, as well as some guys who batted for the other side.”
“So how'd you manage to fall for him... or possibly the other way around?”
“It was by sheer coincidence, really.”
***
I lived just a block away from his residence. And thus, I was afforded a full view of whatever he was doing. Of course, I had to take care not to invade his privacy.
By the way, his house is so spacious – considering land prices here in Japan are outrageously expensive – so I presumed his family is loaded.
His house even boasts an outdoor garden – which is both a flower and a fruit/vegetable garden combined into one.
One day, after school, I had a chance to take a look at him, doing his gardening hobby.
And he was shirtless at that time.
And that means...
I could take a glimpse of his aaaaabbbbsss.... buuuuutttt... peeeecccsss.... laaaaattsssss.... and biiiiiiceeeepsss.
I knew he was so hot... but not this freaking hot!
Needless to say, I was all caught up in delirium.
If only I had something in order to take a closer look at his heavenly body...
Ah yes! A pair of binoculars or even a telescope will do.
And before you ask, negative implications of invading someone's privacy were blocked out in my mind, simply because being head-over-heels for him was the number one thing on my mind.
So I rushed towards my dad, who was repairing some lenses, and asked him if I can borrow his pair of binoculars.
“What will you be using them for?”
“Uhh... I'll take a peek at the birds!”
“Alright. Return them to me when you're done!”
“Sure, dad!”
And so, with no hesitation, I focused the binoculars' lenses at his body.
No sooner I became...
***
“OK, OK, enough of your fawning about his body. We're now at seven o' clock.”
“Aww. You just said that because deep inside, you're jealous of his body.”
“Nope, nope, nope. Look into my eyes, please. Are these the eyes of a jealous man to you?”
“...OK. I believe you.”
“Now then... let's resume the storytelling tomorrow. And please concentrate on the story itself instead of some guy's body. Good night.”
“Nighty-night.”
As we head back to our own quarters, I think to myself...
“Man, you had a boyfriend, and you're still fawning over him due to his looks that are miles better than mine. What were you thinking?!”
- Writer
