Softer Smile

The cafeteria buzzed softly with midday chatter, the clink of trays and cutlery filling the air. Warm sunlight filtered through the wide windows, casting gentle beams across the rows of white tables. Seated near the window, Daichi set his tray down with his usual quiet. A plate of karaage, steaming and golden, beside rice, and miso soup sat on his tray. Across from him, Sora carefully opened her homemade bento box.

Inside, it was a small work of art: neat rows of tamagoyaki rolled into perfect yellow spirals, small cherry tomatoes glistening like rubies, heart-shaped carrot slices placed beside steamed broccoli, and tiny rice balls shaped like smiling pandas, complete with seaweed details for eyes and ears. A little food pick in the shape of a bunny held a juicy strawberry, finishing the cute ensemble.

Daichi's freckled face softened with a small smile. "That's… beautifully decorated."

Sora giggled, a faint blush on her cheeks as she placed her chopsticks together. "Thank you, Morikita-san. It may look beautiful, but… I'm not confident enough to say my cooking is good."

Daichi chuckled low in his throat, shaking his head slightly as he popped a piece of karaage into his mouth. "At least you can cook. I survive on takeaway food and convenience store bento."

"Well, at least you don't have to worry about cleaning your kitchen so often, right?"

"That's a good point."

Their eyes met for a moment before both of them burst into warm laughter, the sound mixing into the hum of the cafeteria.

And not far away, at a table tucked closer to the center of the room, Hasegawa sat with Kitagawa-san and Mutou-san. His sandwich lay half-eaten in his hands, but his hazel eyes were elsewhere—flicking again and again toward Daichi and Sora.

Something about them felt… off. Not bad, just… off. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Hasegawa, do you hear me?" Kitagawa-san's voice broke into his thoughts, making him blink and snap back to the present.

"Huh? Sorry, what?" Hasegawa leaned forward, sandwich paused halfway to his mouth.

Kitagawa-san gave him an amused look. "I was asking about the status of the raw materials for the machine body cage. Sales keeps pushing us to ship early."

"Oh, that—"

Before Hasegawa could answer, Mutou-san groaned beside him, rubbing the back of his head. "Sales keeps pushing my section too, asking for the earliest vessel we can get. It's a pain in the ass."

Kitagawa-san sighed, crossing his arms. "You tell me— they're crazy. If the machine isn't ready yet, it's risky to rush to catch a booked vessel. Then, they'll blame us."

"Tch… I'm seriously gonna kill them if they dare pull that."

Hasegawa let out a low, heavy chuckle, finally leaning back in his chair with a stretched-out sigh. "The raw materials should arrive at the port tomorrow. I pushed the shipper to go via the fastest route."

"Oh, that's good."

He grinned a little. "But of course, Morikita-san wasn't too pleased with the arrangement. The documents are critical—he said. And that his side's already facing a congested warehouse."

Still, his eyes drifted again toward Daichi's table.

"Even so," Hasegawa added with a smirk, "He obviously can't say no to me."

Kitagawa-san raised an eyebrow, a playful gleam in his eyes. "Did you click Iida-san's name to threaten him?"

Hasegawa laughed openly now, shaking his head. "Nah, he'll always nag and complain, but eventually he works on it."

His gaze lingered across the room once more, where Daichi was now quietly eating while Sora beamed beside him. A strange, bittersweet warmth tugged at Hasegawa's chest.

"He's always like that," Hasegawa murmured absentmindedly, a soft smile tugging at his lips. "But somehow… he's softer than before."

Kitagawa-san and Mutou-san exchanged a quick, curious glance, brows slightly raised at Hasegawa's words.

But neither of them asked. They simply went back to their lunch, the hum of the cafeteria continuing around them. And all the while, Hasegawa's eyes kept drifting back to Daichi, and the quiet smile Daichi didn't even realize he wore.