Draft 1: Noguchi-san and Kitasato-san

I am staring at him through the thin paper.

I wonder if he realizes I'm looking at him.
I want to meet him, but I'm shy.

So I think I'll stay like this a little longer.

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Oh, Kyoko-san, have you seen the new banknotes yet?

Tatsumi-kun says.
The 'kun' is only in my heart.

Not yet.

One came my way, so I'll show you later.

Oh, I'm so happy, I haven't seen them yet.

Then, I'll give it to you.

" G i v e . i t . t o . y o u "

We are senior and junior at our part-time job.
Even though he is older, to me, his junior.

What does it mean to say, 'I'll give it to you'?
He's giving me a banknote.

It's incredibly powerful.
Being given a gift, or having someone buy me a juice,
I've had those experiences, though not many,
but this isn't in exchange for anything,
and it's not like crowdfunding where he's saying he supports me.
Even from family or relatives, there was always a reason, like it being New Year's or pocket money, or because it was a special occasion,
and there was always a purpose, like 'buy something' or 'save it.' That's when I'd receive money. I wonder if I've ever just purely been given money before.

I'd love to see the new banknote, but are you sure?

That's the ordinary response I end up giving.

That's fine.
I'll show everyone around here before I take it. See you later.

In the locker room, I thought maybe I had misheard,
but I reconsidered and decided it probably just meant an exchange.
Inside my wallet were Yukichi, Higuchi, and Noguchi.
I forgot to ask who the other person was.

If 'I'll give it to you' really means 'I'll give it to you,' then it's probably a thousand yen.

Should I hand over Mr. Noguchi?
When I sent that message,
the reply came back, 'Yes, please do that.'

I'm so glad I didn't misunderstand.

When I got back from the hall, Mayu said she was holding onto it and handed me an envelope.
A very thin brown envelope.
It wasn't as transparent as glassine paper where you can clearly see the outline, but it was thin enough that Mr. Kitasato's outline and the '1000 yen' text were faintly visible.

Not handing over the cash directly,
and not taking the bills out of the envelope either,
just enough to make me think, 'Oh, I see.'

The way they were considerate about this was exquisite, and it made me have a strange misunderstanding that they were giving it to me.

Just 'what if,' you know.

If we make eye contact, they might notice.
Today, too, I look at Mr. Kitasato from outside the envelope.

Tatsumi-kun said we should keep it as a memento until the new bills are in circulation. Even when they are, I'm sure I won't be able to use this Mr. Kitasato.

What are you talking about?