| Izumi | (Sigh... I’m so sore... I didn’t think hide-and-seek would end up being so much exercise....) |
| (But I need to do the grocery shopping or we won’t have any food. Time to pull myself together and go.) |
| —Huh? |
| Misumi | .... |
| Izumi | (Is that Misumi-kun on the roof...? He’s climbing up such dangerous places again...) |
| Misumi-ku~n, that’s dangerous. What are you going to do if you get hurt before the performance? |
| Misumi | Nn~... Sorry~.... |
| .... |
| Izumi | (Huh, he came down without a word of complaint... That’s unusual. Usually he would invite me to join him.) |
| (Kazunari-kun isn’t the only one who’s out of it; Misumi-kun also hasn’t been acting in top condition. I wonder if something happened?) |
| ...Misumi-kun, could you come shopping with me? It’s a lot to carry by myself, so I’d be really happy if you joined me. |
| Misumi | Sure~. |
| |
| Izumi | .... |
| Misumi | .... |
| Izumi | (I thought so; he’s less energetic than usual.) |
| Misumi-kun, did something happen—. |
| ??? | By any chance, are you Sumi~kun? |
| Izumi | ? |
| Misumi | Who are you~? |
| Kazunari's father | Ah, I’m sorry for greeting you out of nowhere. I’m Miyoshi Kazunari’s father. |
| Izumi | Kazunari-kun’s father!? |
| Kazunari's father | Are you related to the theater troupe? |
| Izumi | I’m Tachibana, the troupe leader and Director. |
| Kazunari's father | Oh, my, thank you for always taking care of Kazunari. |
| Izumi | No—! Thank you. |
| (He gives off a completely different impression than Kazunari-kun. He seems really serious.) |
| Misumi | Kazu’s father, why do you know about me? |
| Kazunari's father | Kazunari always shows me photos and flyers of Summer Troupe. I’ve heard a lot of stories about you, Sumi~kun. |
| Misumi | I see~. |
| Izumi | Are you here for work? |
| Kazunari's father | No, I’m here to visit Kazunari’s university exhibition. |
| Izumi | Eh, it’s around here? |
| Kazunari's father | Yes. |
| Izumi | Misumi-kun, since we’re here, do you want to take a look? |
| Misumi | Yup! |
| Kazunari's father | Please do; Kazunari would be delighted. I’ll lead you there. |
| Izumi | Thank you very much! |
| |
| Misumi | Ah! I found Kazu’s painting! |
| Izumi | Woah.... |
| Kazunari's father | What a lovely painting... Ah, I’m being a doting parent. |
| Izumi | No, not at all! |
| I already got to see the finished painting, but it makes such an impact when it’s framed like this. |
| Misumi | Kazu’s paintings are always beautiful and cool~. |
| Izumi | His flyers and homepage designs are always popular; he’s an essential part of our troupe. |
| Kazunari's father | I’m glad to hear that. |
| ...May I tell a short tale of the past? |
| |
| Unlike now, Kazunari was a withdrawn child in elementary school. He hardly had any friends. |
| |
| But his grades were excellent, and our relatives had high hopes for his future—he was the sort of prodigy who got comments like, he’ll be a doctor or a governor ambassador one day. |
| |
| Over summer vacation, he wouldn’t swim at the pool, go out to play, or head to the park. He stayed at home to study; if he did go out, it was to the library to keep studying. |
| |
| He would finish his homework during the first week of vacation, but he still spent every day at his desk.... |
| |
| I was proud of Kazunari’s diligence, but I was also concerned of his lack of childishness. That’s why I invited him out on a walk one day. |
| |
| I had hoped that seeing other children by the park or by the cheap candy shop would make him want to play, but contrary to my hopes, Kazunari expressed absolutely no interest. |
| |
| “Phew....” |
| “Father, is something wrong?” |
| “No... Today’s another hot day, huh.” |
| |
| “Let’s cool down over there.” |
| |
| In order to change the topic, I invited him to the small art gallery that caught my eye. |
| |
| The gallery was cool and perfect for a break, but it must be a boring place for Kazunari. |
| That was what I thought. But unexpectedly, Kazunari was fascinated by the paintings on display. |
| |
| I remember being truly surprised when I saw him so absorbed, walking around with shining eyes and reading every caption. |
| |
| He had never reacted this way to any toy that I bought for him. |
| |
| It was the first time I saw Kazunari like that. |
| |
| Soon after that, I bought Kazunari art supplies for his birthday. |
| It was the first time Kazunari had begged me for something aside from study tools. |
| |
| Kazunari's father | After that, in addition to studying, art became a part of Kazunari’s life. |
| I was surprised by Kazunari’s sudden transformation after graduating middle school, but.... |
| I was happy when he told me he wanted to play more and paint more in college. |
| He was finally interested in something other than studying—that’s what I thought. |
| Well, he ended up choosing an arts university because he thought it would be challenging and worthy of studying, but.... |
| Some of our relatives who knew Kazunari in his childhood were disappointed; they would say, art is an unstable career—but it didn’t bother me at all. |
| Izumi | I see.... |
| Kazunari's father | Did Kazunari speak to you about his study abroad opportunity? |
| Izumi | Ah, yes. |
| Kazunari's father | I was a little surprised when I heard he didn’t know what to do about it. |
| The old Kazunari would have eagerly flown out to an environment where he could study art even more. |
| ...I suppose this means he’s found something that he can be just as passionate about as studying. |
| It seems wrong for me as a parent to rejoice over his struggle to choose, but.... |
| Even so, he found something precious aside from art and studying— |
| Misumi | ??? |
| Kazunari’s father | I’m so happy that he joined the troupe and met his troupemates. |
| Misumi | ...Kazu is a precious friend to me, too. |
| Kazunari's father | Thank you. |
| It might have been fate and not just coincidence that we walked into that gallery that day. |
| Because that was how Kazunari met art; and that is what ultimately drew him to the troupe, to Sumi~kun and his friends. |
| I’m glad Kazunari treasured his own feelings from that moment—being drawn to art—instead of thinking about a stable career. |
| Izumi | I’m sure Kazunari-kun could take the path he truly wanted to follow because he had such a supportive father. |
| Kazunari's father | That gives me confidence as his father. |
