When Last Night Didn't End

Episode 3: 勝ち方と負け方

Rin stared up at the bulletin board lining the wall. Their section adviser told them to explore the clubs as freshmen in college, so he dropped by the recruitment area on his way to lunch.

"Astronomy? Man, I dig it," Ryon, his friend straight from high school, said beside him. Ginger hair and not a speck of freckles on his pale face—that's how Rin would describe him. "What about you, Naggy?"

Rin winced at the nickname. It's one of the things he hadn't been able to shed when he graduated. He almost skipped orientation knowing Ryon would be attending the same university and be in the same degree program as him all the while knowing what kids in the neighborhood called him. There's also this sneaking suspicion at the back of Rin's head that nobody in his alma mater even knew what his surname really was.

He shrugged the meaty hands sitting atop his shoulder. Ryon's a big man, after all. Rin couldn't take on all that muscle. "Nothing really stands out," he admitted with a sigh. "I'll just sit recruitments out. It's more fun staying at home."

"You said that back in the bin," Ryon reasoned, stalking after Rin when the latter peeled off the boards and continued towards the cafeteria. Hands in his pockets, Rin prepared to tune out the next argument out of his friend's lips. "I thought you aim to turn a new leaf now that you're a freshman? Come on, live a little."

Rin rolled his eyes. "I'd rather farm at home than sit around in the campus baking cookies," he said.

Ryon clicked his tongue. "You and your games," he said. "My mom would hate having a son like you."

"You should go and join me," Rin nudged his friend's shoulder with a grin. "Be a rebel. Come on, live a little."

Ryon frowned when it settled in his thick skull how what he said would have affected Rin. Petty? Maybe. But it sure taught his friend a lesson. Rin blew a breath and pushed his hair off his forehead. This thing just wouldn't sit still. Should he try gelling it? "Look, I'll join one if anything interests me," he said. "Something about games. Or flowers."

"Gardening?" Ryon blinked.

Rin crossed his arms. "No. Flowers," he said. "Studying them, identifying them, arranging them. Stuff like that."

His friend scratched the back of his head. "So..." his expression was far-away to show he was struggling. "Gardening."

Rin's shoulders deflated. Somehow he had lost his friend at some point in the conversation. "Forget it," he waved a hand in the air. With his height, his fingers only reached his friend's chin. "Let's go. I'm hungry."

They were almost to the cafeteria when Ryon perked up. "How about the programming club?" he said.

Rin looked at his friend like he had just grown antlers. "Do you see me around codes and data? It's going to be a disaster," he said. "I mean, I can handle games and stuff, but I don't think making them is a good fit."