Chapter 4

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

Onion here~

Well, here’s my status. There’s a lot to say, and I’m not sure how many people actually read this, but yeah.

Well, enjoy the chapter.

Translator: Onion

Editor: Onion

Oh, and don’t forget: “CTN #” means it’s one of my common translator notes. I’ll try doing [#;CTN#] for a TL note. The first number is for the actual note, CTN# is so you can just check the list, see what it is, then skip the note.

Basically, if it doesn’t have “CTN#” in it, it’s an actual translator note.

The Person Sitting Next to Me and the Mobile Phone

“Yamaguchi-kun is really fast at typing.”

I heard a surprised voice from the next seat.

I stop typing on my phone, and look over to the desk to the left to me.

When my eyes meet hers, my desk neighbor, Satou-san, jumps a little bit.

“Oh, sorry. Did I interrupt you?” (Satou)

“No, not really.” (Yamaguchi)

I answered while shaking my head.

I had actually just finished. I spoke to Satou-san while sending my message.

“I’m really not that fast. There are a lot of people who are faster than me.” (Y)

Mobile phones are tools for communication. Of course the faster you reply, the better.

Since short phrases are exchanged in real-time, even a short delay in sending a message can make someone feel anxious or irritated, and some people even complain about it. It’s annoying to have people fuss about me leaving others on Read without answering, so I respond as soon as I read a message.

“I think it’s fast enough.” (S)

Satou-san tilts her head.

“At least, it’s faster than I am. There’s not enough time during lunch break, so I always have to take it home and then answer there.” (S)

“Is that so?” (Y)

While responding plainly, I thought that it was a very Satou-san-like thing to do.

She’s just that kind of person.

Everything she does is slow and clumsy, not to mention the outcome is mostly bad.

She’d probably be spending too much time thinking about what to send.

But after thinking that far, I was a little surprised.

“Satou-san, do you have a cell phone?” (Y)

A high school student that doesn’t have a cell phone is a rare thing, but the question of whether Satou-san can actually use it comes first. I’m sure she hasn’t even read half of the instruction manual.

“Yeah, I have one.” (S)

To my surprise, Satou-san nodded.

She answered brightly while patting the pocket of her uniform.

“I usually turn it off and put it in my pocket because I don’t have time at school.” (S)

“Heeeh.” (Y) [1;CTN#2]

That Satou-san, using a tool of modern civilization.

Honestly, I can’t stop imagining her fumbling over the keys while typing.

“That’s why, when I saw Yamaguchi-kun typing with one hand, I thought it was amazing.” (S)

Satou-san continued while smiling.

“That’s nice. I bet that people Yamaguchi-kun replies to are glad.” (S)

Looking at her carefree smile makes me uneasy for some reason.

I bet she’s thinking some pretty rude stuff. [2; CTN#1]

I turn my eyes back and answer.

“I guess so. What about it?” (Y)

“Because anyone would be happy with a fast reply.” (S)

I wonder about that. Rather, I thought it’s only natural for me to be fast.

Because mobile phones are known as “mobile”, you can’t not respond when someone reaches out to you.

If someone expects a reply from you, you have to reply as soon as possible.

I thought it was just basic manners of human communication, so I’ve never thought of the other person’s feelings.

“I’m happy when I want a reply and get one back really fast. That there are people that rush for me, it really makes me feel connected.” (S)

Satou-san said.

“My typing is really slow. I take a long time thinking about what to say, how to say it, so I end up thinking one word at a time and it takes a long time.” (S)

She laughed cheerfully, talking in a praising tone. [3;CTN#1]

“That’s why I always reply at home. The other person can spend a long time to think about their reply. And all day I ask myself ‘how should I reply to that message?’” (S)

She speaks to me, who has stopped typing, sounding like she was having fun.

“‘What’s the point of having a phone’, people say and laugh at me.” (S)

Of course, there’s no point in her having a cell phone.

Maybe Satou-san never had a cell phone in the first place.

But, doesn’t that mean she’s still connected to others?

She spends such a long time thinking about a response to a message.

Doesn’t that mean that she’s always thinking about the other person, so her feelings are always connected?

For the person who is connected with Satou-san, it might make them happy to see her thinking about them all day.

I rushed to look over to her.

“Satou-san, that’s-“ (Y)

But at the most important moment, the phone in my hand started ringing, with a short ringtone.

The words I wanted to say got stuck in my throat.

“Ah, sorry to bother you when you’re busy.” (S)

Satou-san smiled, as if telling me to move on.

All I can do is look at my screen, and strangely feel annoyed at the weather stamp that shows on my phone. [4]

But, that’s right. This has nothing to do with me.

Just because we sit next to each other doesn’t mean that Satou-san and I would understand each other. Our paces are too different for that. So much that such a gap exists, even in the same way of communication.

It’s strange that I want to ask Satou-san whose message she’s thinking about, and what kind of reply she’s thinking over.

It’s not that I’m not curious about what those clumsy fingers are replying to.

But I couldn’t see the need for getting her contact, so I ended up not speaking.

TL notes:

[1] – I can’t translate this well. It’s basically a sound for “is that so” but without them actually saying it.

[2] – This one was SUUUPER hard. I had no idea if it was Yamaguchi himself thinking rude things, or if it was him thinking Satou was thinking something rude. Since Yamaguchi is so prickly, I went with the blame-the-other-person route.

[3] – “Praising tone” doesn’t seem quite right, but when I checked other translator things, it came up as that too.

[4] – This one’s a doozy. Not really. He’s probably messaging on LINE, and he was sent a weather-related emote/sticker (called a stamp in Japan). I can change it to Sticker if that works better.

<-Prev | ToC | Next->

Like this:Like Loading...

Published by omniscientonion

Domo domo~

I translate sometimes, I guess. I read a lot, but don't really make much of an impression or comment on anything, so probably nobody realizes.

View all posts by omniscientonion

Published

<time class="entry-date published" datetime="2020-02-08T12:00:00-06:00">February 8, 2020</time><time class="updated" datetime="2020-02-07T20:07:19-06:00">February 7, 2020</time>