Indeed, there he was, standing awkwardly with the rest of his teammates. They wore the university sports jacket, medals hanging around their necks. He was on the far left with one arm around the person next to him. He couldn’t remember the guy’s name. It’d been a long time.

‘You look great,’ his mother said, seemingly forgetting their earlier disagreement. ‘How I wish I’d been there to see you.’

He was relieved she hadn’t taken the argument too hard. ‘No parents come for such a small event.’

‘I need to photocopy the page and frame it,’ she said, clasping her hands. ‘Or do you think you can call up your club and ask for the negative?’

His mother’s enthusiasm made Shoji embarrassed. ‘Let’s not bother them. You can have the book and cut out the page.’

‘No, you should keep it. These are precious memories.’ She flipped the page and looked at the female members’ photographs. ‘Did you date any of these girls? You had a girlfriend back in university, didn’t you?’

He paused, feeling a familiar ache. ‘She was never in any clubs.’

‘What happened to that girl? You seemed serious about her.’

He shrugged. ‘Sometimes things don’t work out.’

His mother mumbled in agreement. She didn’t press any further.

Shoji crossed his legs and leaned against the wall. From this low angle, the white hair near his mother’s neck was visible. She had a pot of black dye in her bathroom and touched up her roots twice a week, but that section was hard for her to see. It wasn’t obvious, but it made him realise his mother was getting old.

‘Hey, Shoji.’ She turned to him. ‘Isn’t this girl a beauty?’

He peered at the book. His mother was pointing to a young woman at the centre of a photograph. Despite being in a group picture, she stole the limelight. There were a few medals around her neck, and she was carrying a huge bouquet. Her sharp face and delicate features were familiar.

He searched for her name. There it was. Sachiko Hayami. Ah, one of Jin’s girls. He’d seen her twice, coming into their apartment. ‘She was my university flatmate’s girlfriend. Do you remember, the son of the confectionery businessman?’

‘Ah, yes. You did tell me about him. Are they married now?’

Jin? Married? Shoji resisted the urge to laugh. ‘I doubt it. He’s a commitment-phobe.’

‘Sachiko Hayami … Sachiko Hayami … Is she an actress, or a model? I think I’ve heard her name before.’

‘I wouldn’t be surprised, but I rarely watch television.’

Shoji looked at the rest of the girls around Sachiko Hayami. One of them was Liyun. Standing a little behind Sachiko, she wasn’t smiling. She wasn’t even looking at the camera. It was as if she had been caught in a bad moment.