Extra 4: Signaless

—–Translated by daydrop. Please read on the original site at daydrop.nowaki.net.

“Shitara-san, if you would like some, please drink this.”

“Hmm? Thanks. What happened? Did you buy an extra on accident?”

“Of course not~ This is pretty expensive, you know? I actually bought it for you!”

“Huh? Is today my birthday or something?”

“That’s not something that I would know.”

“Then why?”

“Because it’s funny to see you drinking bubble tea, ShitaP. ShitaP bubble tea… Heeheehee~ It’s too cute~”

“Ahaha~”

“Let’s take a photo together~ Say cheese~”

“Cheese~”

“…So that was the conversation I had with one of our part-timers. I really don’t understand young people’s sense of humor nowadays.”

“Hnn.”

“Do you, Sakae?”

“Dunno.”

His reply was more half-hearted than usual because he was staring at a rundown of the show, trying to figure out if he should change the lengths of the segments and the placement of the commercials in order to deal with the new fall season. It was just some commercials, but they were still commercials. He could make a 2-minute slot 1½ minutes long or make a 1½-minute slot 2 minutes long. Just tinkering with the slots a little could have a pretty big impact on the viewership ratings. Sometimes the timing would require the commercial to end earlier than usual; sometimes it was fine to let it run a little longer. The physical makeup of the audience wasn’t something that could be predicted. And even if it was a small adjustment, if he tinkered with one thing here, he would have to adjust another thing somewhere else, which could cause a chain reaction elsewhere… So it was a pretty difficult puzzle to solve.

There’s a set change before the sports segment, which can be chaotic, so I’d prefer to have 2½ minutes there. But if I switch it to before the special report, then the commercial before the weather segment feels a little off… And I need a sponsorship announcement here too. Ugh, what a pain in the ass.

Sakae had set up camp on the sofa with his laptop on the coffee table, and before long, his consciousness was completely absorbed with the LCD screen. Although he had some awareness that Shitara was saying something to him from the kitchen counter, the words had made absolutely no impact on him. As he stared at the laptop from the sofa, the stool from the counter never entered his field of vision.

…What if I do this? Yeah, that seems like it’ll work.

He wouldn’t give himself a perfect score, but it was enough to satisfy an 80 out of 100. Sakae raised his head and let out a “Hey,” thinking he should get Shitara’s opinion, but all of a sudden he found Shitara standing right there next to him. It surprised him a little because he hadn’t noticed Shitara move from the counter.

“How long have you been there?”

“Sakae.”

“What?”

Sakae had answered him normally, but Shitara slapped him in the head.

“Hey, what the hell?”

It didn’t hurt, but it had happened so suddenly that it made Sakae scowl. It wasn’t funny or playful; it was careless and rough, and it pissed him off. However, Shitara’s gaze looked even more unhappy as he furled his eyebrows and stared down at Sakae.

“I’m going to take a bath,” Shitara said in a low voice and disappeared into the bathroom.

“…Seriously, what’s with you?” Sakae mumbled to himself again. 

What was he so pissed off about? He never got angry whenever he ignored Shitara’s words before, but from the tone of his voice and from his expression, Shitara was clearly unhappy, which was pretty rare.

I’m trying to do some work here. If you don’t want me to ignore you, then pick a better time to start a conversation.

Sakae felt a little irritated, and he decided to leave and go home. He turned around to close his laptop when he realized something.

Oh, right. I was resting my head against my left hand. Actually, I had my hand over my left ear as I propped my head up, lost in thought… Maybe he panicked. Instead of not hearing him, maybe he thought I couldn’t hear him.

Damn, you’re an idiot.

Now that he figured out the reason for Shitara’s behavior, it sort of made him more annoyed, but sort of made him want to laugh out loud. Sakae got up with emotions prickling his heart, headed for the bedroom, and tossed himself down on the bed. The pictures from a long time ago were still taped up on the wall, but now Sakae was used to seeing them, and they didn’t bother him anymore. They were just part of the background. But it was probably different for Shitara.

Idiot.

This thought of his was more emphatic than before. Sakae was about to nod off for a while when he heard the half-opened door swing open, and he opened his eyes.

“…You didn’t even come to try to humor me.”

Shitara didn’t seem to be angry anymore, and he was back to his usual self. And apparently he came to the conclusion that Sakae had figured out the reason why he had been so upset.

“Aren’t I humoring you now? I’m waiting for you here after all,” Sakae retorted with a yawn.

Shitara chuckled wryly at him. “But you just look like you want to sleep.”

He sat down softly, adding a second weight to the mattress. His hand brushed up Sakae’s bangs, the gesture completely different from the person from before.

Always watching which way the wind blows, huh? Well, I guess it applies to me too.

“Just so you know, the hearing loss that I had isn’t the type that relapses.”

“I know that, but when it comes to you, I never know when or where you’ll get stressed out— What are you laughing at?”

“At the contradiction. You’re here getting all stupidly worried, but you’re the one who usually puts me in stressful situations.”

“Well, I can’t argue with that.”

Shitara silently touched Sakae’s ear with his fingers, and then with his lips.

Oh, I forgot to save the edits to the rundown I was working on.

Sakae was pretty sure that he’d forget everything that he had worked on after they finished up, but he decided not to interrupt this moment between them. They could think about the changes to the show together afterwards.

—–Translated by daydrop. Please read on the original site at daydrop.nowaki.net.

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