“I bet you really wanted to kiss me some more, huh?”

How did Yuichi know what he had been thinking? It was strange. Kanae wrapped his arm around Yuichi’s neck.

They kissed all the way down to the first floor.

Kanae was used to the packed train. He had been surprised at first, but now he didn’t think anything of it. He got on at peak times, so it was typical that he couldn’t move at all. But the time on the train was his only free thirty minutes.

From Kanae’s house to the station, it was a ten-minute walk. Then thirty minutes on the train. And from the station to campus, it was just less than twenty minutes on the bus. Adding in waiting time, it took just about an hour.

Yuichi lived in a place only twenty minutes away from campus, so he always rode his bicycle. Bus or train took forever and he didn’t have any experience riding the train at rush hour. As such, he kept complaining that it was too cramped.

“How do these people put up with this everyday?”

“You get used to it. You usually stay at my place on the weekends, so you’ve never had to get on the train during rush hour.”

“Yeah. I’ve never dealt with rush hour my entire life.”

“There’s no way to avoid it. When you start going to work, you’ll have to get on the train in the morning.”

“Then I’ll just join a company that doesn’t work regular hours.” Kanae sighed at Yuichi. He knew that Yuichi always had some kind of alternative.

“I can’t even move my arms.”

“Wait for the next stop.”

There were so many people changing trains at the next stop that they would at least be able to move their arms for a second until new passengers got on. Of course, it would go back to being crowded.

When they got to the next station, people shuffled off the train. There was a brief pause, then the next group crowded in. He never liked having to push his way to the door if he was trying to get off at his stop. He didn’t have the confidence to push others out of his way, so he always stood near the doors. When the door closed, Kanae took a breath.

“The doors won’t open on this side at the next station. So I always stay here. I can lean on the door and get out easily when it’s my stop.”

“I see.” Finally able to move a little, Yuichi listened to Kanae and then looked thoughtful for a moment. Then he grinned. “Hmm, I see. Yes. That would work.”

“What?”

Kanae eyed Yuichi.

“How many minutes until we get to our stop?”

“We only just got on! You want to get off already?!” Kanae laughed, but Yuichi was still smiling.

“Just tell me. How much longer?”

“A little over twenty minutes. Why?”

“That is just about right.”

Yuichi had a broad grin on his face and glanced around quickly. The majority of the car consisted of tired salary men, so the people sitting down were sleeping and those who were standing were entirely zoned out. The only perky ones were the high school and university students.