Wash Your Own Underwear Yourself ~ 10, Middle School Mindset of Wanting to Marry Someone You Love After All ④

'Actually, I'm on the shuttle bus right now, too, heading to RSR!'

'Are you serious? If the artists we want to see overlap, shall we go together?'

'Once I arrive, I want to go to Sambomaster first.'
'Me too! Sambomaster is a must, right!'

I never expected things to go so smoothly. According to the agency's rules, the next step should be lunch, but having an irregular situation like this is probably fine.

I told the writers in the tent area that I would go see the live performance first. While I was exchanging my ticket for a wristband, time was running out. I rushed toward the venue in a panic, and I received a message from Q, with whom I had exchanged LINE contacts in a hurry.
'I'm near the camera tent. I think the entrance will be crowded, but it's quite empty if you come to the back.'

Relying on that, I pushed through the crowd. During our matchmaking meeting, we were both in suits and dresses, but this time it was outdoor gear for the festival. Thanks to having shared our outfits in advance, it was easy to find each other.

'Q-san!'

'Kugami-san, you made it!'

Before we could even talk, the live performance began. I put my luggage at my feet and watched the stage, feeling light.

Q-san and I are close in age. That means the songs we listened to in our youth are the same. Sambomaster, who has worked on famous songs like the theme song for the drama Densha Otoko and various anime songs, got the venue excited from the very first track.

Although I tend to look like a middle-aged woman attending a school observation day when I take matchmaking photos, I actually like having fun, contrary to my Japanese-looking appearance. I even raise my voice at lively concerts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, cheering was prohibited, but this year, it was allowed.

'Sekai wa Sore wo Ai to Yobundaze' and 'Seishun Kyousoukyoku'—these are all songs I listened to in my student days. My heart remembered my youth, and I jumped up and down to the rhythm. Q-san was surprised to see me like that, but he also seemed to be enjoying the music.

The artist's set time was a long 60 minutes. There was some MC time, but I only exchanged a few words with Q-san. When the live performance ended and the wave of people heading to the next stage began to move, we finally had a conversation.

'Sambomaster is great, isn't it?'

'It really is. I'm glad we made it in time.'

It seems Q-san has reserved a tent site and plans to stay for three days and two nights for the festival. He said he has built a tent village with close friends, including the oldest man he talked about during our matchmaking meeting.

'Where are you pitching your tent, Q-san?'

'If you're near the Sun Stage, you can hear the music from the tent, right? I don't move from there, so I intentionally chose a place a little further away.'

Unlike me, a casual festival-goer, he is a regular who participates every year. He happily mentioned that he had also booked a sauna. We confirmed which other artists we planned to see, promised to go together if the timing worked out, and then parted ways.

Carrying a large bag filled with gifts, I headed toward an acquaintance's tent. The acquaintance mentioned here is D-san, the organizer of the drinking party I attended at the end of June, and their group's tent.

This year's lineup included my fellow writer D-san and their drinking friends, a variety of people regardless of their profession. I had prepared ingredients for the BBQ. Those who do not work shall not eat; if I am to leave my luggage in the tent, I must show my gratitude.

'Listen to this, it seems someone from my matchmaking activities is here at RSR.'

'Really!?'

'And I listened to Sambomaster with that person.'

'Sambomaster on a matchmaking date!?'

This year's summer festival is a bit different. With midsummer days exceeding 30 degrees Celsius every day, it was going to be a hot day for both body and soul.


'...and that's how it went.'

'Matchmaking at a festival, Tamaru-san, you're amazing.'

'It was a coincidence, though. But I went to see other artists with Q-san too.'

The second live performance was back number. The Sun Stage, the largest at RSR, was packed with people aiming for the famous artist.

'I'm with my friends in the sheet area, would you like to join us, Kugami-san?'

Invited like that, I joined his group. The sheet area requires you to secure a spot early in the morning, but it has the advantage of allowing you to enjoy the live performance without worrying about your spot afterward. I was called to the designated place and enjoyed the back number live performance with Q-san and his group.

'Introducing someone you're matchmaking with to your own group, Tamaru-san, you must be quite liked by him, right?'

While being told that by D-san and the others, the two days of RSR ended. I went out for drinks with Q-san afterward, calling it an after-party.

Because we had shown each other how much we had let loose at the concert, the barriers between us were long gone. We shared our thoughts on RSR, and he talked about his next plans as a music lover. I parted ways with him, saying he had a long-distance business trip starting tomorrow, and waved, saying, 'See you again.'

'...That sounds good, Q-san.'

'After that, I sent a thank-you LINE message. I told him to take care on his business trip.'

It was marked as read. However, there was no reply.

According to Sakurada-san, he is a popular member, so he must be receiving messages from various women. Since I have experienced the busyness of starting activities myself, I decided to wait and see for a bit, and that brings us to now.

While walking and talking with Kominami-san, we had arrived at Sugatami Pond before I knew it. The Daisetsuzan volcanic group has many active volcanoes, including Mount Tokachi. Sugatami Pond literally reflected the flowers in a water mirror, and the contrast between the rising volcanic smoke and the greenery was vivid.

'Well, shall we go around once?'

'...It's cold no matter how much I walk.'

'Right, let's go back without pushing ourselves.'

The walking path is divided into several sections, and if you turn back halfway, it's about a 30-minute walk. I became interested in climbing Mount Asahi while looking at the flower fields, and I thought I would at least like to bring cold-weather gear next time.

I captured many alpine plants and spectacular views with my camera, and our trivial conversation continued. My life as a corporate slave has finally ended, but if things continue like this, I will have the same nightmare next year. My top priority right now is to get my health back in order, but my motivation for work has withered away over the months when I couldn't even find time to write.

'I could quit my job and go back to resort work, but... back then, I still had freelance work.'

'Tamaru-san, you were always working hard in front of your PC, weren't you?'

The manuscript I wrote while living a resort life in Furano was successfully published as my third work. At that time, I had royalties from my first and second works, so I had some income to rely on even if I lived a somewhat unstable life.

'Now, my freelance work isn't going well at all, so I'm hesitant to lose a stable income.'

'Well, we have to earn our own living, after all. Freelance work doesn't bring in money consistently, does it?'

Kominami-san doesn't know that I am a novelist. I think about telling her, but every time, unpleasant memories from the past resurface, and I haven't been able to say it until now.

However, I learned during RSR that it's not good to deceive people about my work as a novelist.

Between live performances, I was drinking at D-san's tent. The conversation had developed from Q-san to my matchmaking situation, and I was just telling them about the usual flow of my matchmaking meetings.

To hide the fact that I am a novelist, I write in my profile that I do creative activities as a side job. However, since I talk about the actual content during the matchmaking meeting, everyone comes up with the 'creative activities' they can imagine in their heads.

The most common one is oil painting. Next is pottery. I guess those are easy to imagine because creative activities equal making things.

'I'm often thought to be an illustrator, and I just reply that it's something like that.'

'...Tamaru-san, is that really okay?'

As the drinks flowed, D-san said that.

'Tamaru-san, you're not an illustrator, right? And the people you meet in matchmaking hope you are an illustrator. It means they think creative activities are a side job you can do on the side.'

'I didn't mean to...'

However, what she said hit the mark. Men you meet in matchmaking often think of side jobs as easy work to make some extra cash. They push their ideals without knowing how hard it is to be a painter, potter, or illustrator. Don't you often hear about people being asked for free to quickly draw a poster for the neighborhood association?

Before I knew it, I might have been complicit in that way of thinking.

There is no such thing as a creative activity you can do on the side. Everyone is seriously aiming for that world and honing their skills. Haven't I also been offended when someone found out I was a novelist and said, 'You're just writing on a posting site, right?'

I wear the skin of another creative activity to avoid being told this and that by outsiders about royalties or my next job. That is extremely disrespectful to people who work in that field.

I have resistance to calling myself a novelist to someone I meet for the first time.

However, should I tell my close friend Kominami-san?

'The freelance work I do is...'

But what if she says, 'When is your next publication?' again?

Even though I met a friend I can trust, what if that friend corners me again?

Kominami-san, who was admiring the mountain avens, looked up at me as I hesitated.

'You don't have to force yourself to say it. I know you want to hide it and that you're working hard.'

I felt relieved by her mature response. When the day comes to tell her, I will tell her properly. Deciding that in my heart, we got on the ropeway going down.

You have to be careful when talking about creative activities in matchmaking. Even if you don't need to call yourself a novelist unnecessarily, you must not forget to respect those involved in that field.

And someday, the day will come when I have to tell the person I've become close with through matchmaking about my work as a novelist.

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