The next day, we closed the café a bit earlier as planned.
I had asked Kagami to come a little later.
No matter how much Kagami blended in with the students, she was still my mom. Even if she had a youthful sense of style and a bit of a cute side, an adult is still an adult.
Having been satisfied after clinging to me all day yesterday, Kagami listened to my words today.
Thanks to that, we all gathered together in outfits that seemed like they were from a café a century ago… No, to be precise, it might have been hard to see those outfits even in a café.
We munched on food from other classes with cream all over our lips, and while wearing maid outfits, we took a seat in another maid café.
Today, Nanami also helped out at our café, so she was dressed in the same maid outfit. Shii still hadn’t enrolled in our school, so she didn’t work at the café, but I changed her into a maid outfit I had prepared beforehand since it would look a bit out of place if she was the only one in a different outfit while we all wandered around together.
Anyway, we planned to do something similar at the café next year, and by then, Shii would also be a club member.
Sota was… alone in his school uniform. But it wasn’t much of a problem. Our school’s uniform, the sailor uniform, was almost extinct by the 2000s. Sota’s gakuran uniform was quite similar to our ‘literary café’ maid outfit.
If the literature club doesn’t fade away up until the 2020s, perhaps this café could become a landmark of our school? A few years, or even ten years, might seem a bit short, but once it reaches twenty years, it would be something that simply can’t be ignored.
I wonder if I should come back every year to check.
“What are you thinking about so seriously?” Yuka asked, noticing I was lost in thought while the kids were chatting nearby.
Habitually, I almost said, ‘It’s nothing,’ but decided to change my mind.
After all, it wouldn’t be a problem for the kids to hear, would it?
“I wonder how it’ll be in about twenty years.”
To be honest, there was a part of me that felt a little scared.
Reality doesn’t flow just as we wish it to. Even if the story ends happily, we can’t predict what will happen in reality afterwards.
I have to live in this world for my entire life.
Just because it’s the 2020s doesn’t mean all problems will be solved. In fact, some issues might worsen, and there’ll be incidents that can clearly be called tragedies along the way.
Twenty years. Will I be able to come back and happily visit this school with all the kids?
“You’re talking about an incredibly distant future…”
Yuka responded with a somewhat dazed expression.
Although she said that, it seemed like she was subconsciously picturing that era too.
“Is there anything you want to do in the meantime?”
“…Yeah.”
Again, instead of fumbling with a ‘no,’ I answered that way.
First of all, YouTube came out this year.
Actually, I had already filmed some videos but hadn’t uploaded them yet. Though Kagami had bought me a computer, I still found video editing a bit cumbersome, so all the files were just sitting there as they were.
Thinking about the first-mover advantage, maybe it’d be better to upload as early as possible, but personally, I’d like to prepare a bit more and upload it properly.
Maybe from the year after next would be better timing. If I can stabilize my entrance into the university, I could freely film videos.
I want to consistently go watch animations opening in theaters. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I was little.
Unlike Hollywood blockbusters that cost hundreds of millions to billions, Japanese animations tend to open later in Korea. Sometimes, the DVDs come out in Japan long before they’re released here.
I’m already watching new animations on TV…
Personally, I’ve wanted to do things like stay a day at a PC café and experience whatever I can when I come on a trip to Japan.
Of course, there were even more things I wanted to do with my friends.
“I see.”
Noticing my expression, perhaps feeling that it was all genuine, Yuka smiled.
“You’ll definitely be able to do all that.”
At Yuka’s words, I nodded.
“Yeah.”
We walked together.
Even though it was a school festival, the location was limited.
It had been enough to enjoy everything in about half a day yesterday.
But still, we had fun and enjoyed again.
All the things that happened today were also included in everything I wanted to do over the next twenty years.
The future becomes the past in the blink of an eye.
*
“Okay, okay, everyone, come a little closer.”
Kagami, who arrived in the late afternoon, said this while holding a camera at the end of the hallway.
The café was already closed, and there were no customers, but we had been wearing maid outfits all day. Surely we should capture at least one photo together.
Actually, I had brought my camcorder and filmed the kids throughout the day.
Honestly, I hope that in twenty years, we can all gather again and watch the video. Looking back, it would surely be extremely embarrassing.
Embarrassing, and nostalgic.
Because it was a youth that would never come again.
Thinking that way made my heart race. It was even a bit scary.
Next year, when we take pictures again, Izumi and Kaoru might not be there.
Even if they are, it wouldn’t be as students like us.
They would probably meet us both as university students and as outsiders from a different school.
It’s not like our relationships would end. We would continue to meet and hang out, but… it wouldn’t be the same as now.
And so, the passage of time frightens me. It’s both exciting and scary.
Click.
The camera made a shutter sound.
“Mom.”
“Yes, my daughter.”
“Come over and take a picture with us.”
The kids laughed at my words.
Yeah.
I didn’t want Kagami to step back just because she was taking the picture.
Kagami smiled just like the kids, then fiddled with the camera for a moment.
It seemed she set the time or something; she quickly moved over to our side and stood in place.
We all made a peace sign in front of the camera—
Click.
This time, even Kagami got captured in the photo.
*
Before cleaning up the club room, we left behind photos and videos.
The collection we made. The table we set up. The wall we decorated. All these would disappear once today passes.
Even after a long time, I wanted to remember that we all worked hard together for many things.
And—
“And, all thanks to Izumi-senpai.”
“Uh, wait, are you filming? Uh, hey, peace.”
Suddenly the camcorder pointed at her, and a flustered Izumi barely managed to smile and make a peace sign.
“Peace, peace! This will be the last event of the year.”
This time, Kaoru joined in too.
Everyone was still so young and cute.
“Okay, Koto Ne, I’ll film you too.”
Yuka took the camcorder from my hands and filmed me.
“Um…”
Once the camera was on me, I wasn’t sure what to say.
After thinking for a moment, I shyly smiled at the camcorder and said.
“Today, the cultural festival was really fun. So much so that I’ll remember it later.”
“…..”
When I said that, the kids went a little quiet.
Did I say something strange?
Feeling anxious, Kagami clapped her hands.
One by one, they started clapping and each said something.
“Wow! It was fun!”
“Good job, everyone!”
“Ah, it was really fun!”
“…..I won’t forget.”
Koko, Mako, Harumi, Yuuki.
“I’ll work hard again next year!”
“I’ll do my best too! I’ll follow the seniors’ lead!”
“You all really worked hard. Good job.”
“…..Yeah, I enjoyed it too.”
Tsuneda, Shii, Sota, Nanami.
“…..”
Kagami, who was just smiling warmly with me and Koko.
“…..I’m really glad I came to this school.”
And finally, although her face probably wasn’t captured, Yuka’s voice would have been recorded unmistakably.
I snatched the camcorder from Yuka’s hands and filmed her face.
Yuka, whose eyes were a bit watery, quickly covered her face.
I made sure to record even that moment clearly.
…Indeed.
I was truly glad to be reborn here because I could meet everyone like this.
*
“Koto Ne, what are you doing?”
As I returned home and was tinkering with the computer, Kagami peeked over my shoulder.
It seemed like I was the one who could handle the computer best at our house. Kagami could manage simple machinery decently enough, but she struggled with installing and operating programs on a computer, feeling shy about English. She was good at surfing the internet, though.
Koko initially showed little interest in computers.
“I’m editing videos.”
Though really, it was just basic programs stitching together the videos and inserting the photos I took in between.
I planned to keep all the original videos as they were, but it seemed acceptable to upload this first video to a streaming site.
I had gotten permission from my friends too.
I didn’t have any solid plans to start actively working yet, but I thought a vlog wouldn’t be too hard to do.
“……Everyone looks great.”
As I watched a video that was a little under ten minutes long for confirmation, Kagami said from beside me.
“Yeah, everyone looks great.”
To be honest, the video quality couldn’t be called amazing. It was acceptable for this era, though.
But that was enough for now.
I logged into the site.
With a little fluttering heart, I pressed the upload button.
With this, a time capsule that I could open in twenty years had been created.
Well, it’s just a video that could be opened anytime since it has been uploaded, anyway.
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