I Met You After the End of the World

Side Story

Why Does the Rain Smell So Good?

Sayaka and I sat in the car together, driving through the countryside in the rain. Rice paddies surrounded us, the lonely road like a river carving its way through the fields.

The rainy season had arrived.

Ever since I was a student, I’ve always loved and hated the rainy season.

The rainy season cooled down the summer heat. This way, I wouldn’t arrive at school covered in sweat. It wouldn’t be sweltering hot in the classrooms either. The smell of the rain would hang in the air, creating a nostalgic atmosphere.

But since it rained all the time, it also meant I’d arrive at school with wet socks.

I hated wearing wet socks at school. It got to the point where I kept a spare pair of socks in my shoe locker, just in case I needed it.

“Yamada-san, what are you thinking about?”

“Hmm? I’m driving.”

“You look like you’re thinking about something.”

So she was able to tell if I was thinking about something. Was I that easy to read?

“I was just thinking about how going to school with wet socks is really annoying.”

The rain was so heavy that we could barely see the road in front of us. The windscreen wipers were completely overwhelmed. The headlights might as well have been turned off.

“Heee…” Sayaka sounded lethargic. Maybe the rainy season had sucked away her energy. “I remember one time, it was raining so hard that my uniform got completely soaked on the way to school. It was really annoying.”

“Oh, how did you dry it?”

“Our class only had one blow dryer. All the girls had to share it. It took ages to dry everything. And – ” She paused for a moment, considering if she should continue to tell me the rest of the story. “And all the boys were staring at us.”

“Why were the boys – ah…”

Sayaka was wearing her summer uniform right now. A short-sleeved sailor-style shirt. White shirts were often a little see-through when they got wet. The boys in her class must’ve gone crazy seeing that kind of thing.

I gulped.

That must’ve been a beautiful sight to behold…

“Yamada-san, what are you thinking about?” There was an icy edge in her voice. The temperature in the car dropped rapidly. Even without looking at her, I could tell that she was staring daggers at me, her expression on the verge of disgust.

I looked around, desperate to change the topic, for my life depended on it.

“N-Nothing! I was just thinking it might be better to stop for now. It’s dangerous to drive in this kind of weather.” I pointed ahead. “Look, there’s a bus shelter.”

“You’re right,” she said, her voice filled with suspicion, but she fortunately let it go for now.

I stopped the car. The rain had intensified. It felt like the raindrops were going to punch a hole through the roof of the car. We got out and hid underneath the bus shelter.

“Uwah, I’m already soaked!” Sayaka exclaimed. She raised her hands to her chest, water dripping off every part of her body.

Even though going from the car to the bus shelter only took a few seconds, we were both soaked already.

Water dropped from my chin, my hair wet, my shoes soaked.

I really hate wet socks…

“We should’ve stayed in the car,” Sayaka said. “Wait, why did we try to hide in the bus shelter?”

“I don’t know.” Then an answer came to mind. “Maybe it’s because high school students sometimes hide in bus shelters when it rains too hard?”

“Yamada-san, you’re a middle-aged man, not a high school student.”

Middle-aged man.

Those words stabbed me.

“Kuh…” I put a hand to my chest.

Sayaka’s shoulders shook with gentle laughter.

“I’m joking. Yamada-san, you don’t need to look so hurt. You look very good – for your age.”

For your age.

“Gah…” That was the killing blow. I staggered backwards until I fell on the wooden bench.

Sayaka sat down next to me, grinning from ear to ear.

“Do I really look that old?”

Her grin fell.

“N-No, don’t take it so seriously. I’m sorry. You look good! You’re nothing like those oily old men on the train. You’re handsome, Yamada-san!”

“Really?”

“Mh!”

It felt like she was a hostess trying to soothe a customer.

What kind of adult was I, being comforted by a JK?

We sat on the wooden bench, listening to the rain fall. The metal sheet roof of the bus shelter vibrated, the violent drops hammering the roof. The scent of rain filled the air. Even though it was summer, the temperatures were dropping rapidly. Without a word, we inched closer together. The scent of the rain mixed together with her feminine scent.

I glanced at Sayaka. She gazed at the rain. There was something wistful in her eyes; certain words rested at the edge of her lips. I decided to wait.

“Yamada-san, did you ever hide from the rain in a bus shelter when you were a student?” Sayaka asked suddenly.

“I don’t think so. My friends and I just hid in the convenience store whenever it rained too hard. Back then they didn’t seal the magazines shut with tape, so we could read manga while waiting for the rain to stop.”

“Heee…a lot of convenience stores in Tokyo didn’t even sell magazines before the end of the world.”

Around the time when I started university, everyone began to use smartphones to read. The sight of people reading small paperback books on the train disappeared. Only old men from the Showa era continued to read physical newspapers.

“I still remember when I was in primary school, I’d sometimes find a copy of Jump left behind by someone on the train,” I said.

“Heee! Things like that actually happen?”

“Mh, yeah.” I paused and then asked, “What about you?”

“Hmm?”

“Did you ever hide from the rain like this?”

Sayaka stayed silent for a moment, then nodded.

“Mh, yeah. Sometimes.”

Did she hide from the rain like this with her friends? Or with her ex-boyfriend, Satoshi?

I decided not to ask. It would just make me sound like a jealous old man.

Besides, even if she did hide from the rain with her friends, those very same friends also turned their backs on her when the virus began to spread, and everyone began to discriminate against her because of her accent.

Sayaka clapped her hands together, as if to dispel the heavy mood that had crept in.

“Do you know what this means, Yamada-san?”

“What do you mean?”

“You get to live a part of your youth that you missed!”

“Huh?”

“Hiding from the rain in a bus shelter while walking home from school is nostalgic, right? It’s much better than hiding in a convenience store. Even I feel a little nostalgic.”

“You’re a high school student! It’s too early for you to talk about feeling nostalgic!”

We looked at each other and laughed.

We sat together, shoulder to shoulder, listening to the rain. Suddenly, I didn’t mind having wet socks anymore.

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