After letting Nitta-san pull me around for ten minutes, the surroundings turned familiar to me.
Well, that was an exaggeration since the place wasn't exactly a maze or anything. The relief I felt when I saw everyone's faces were genuine though.
"Ah, there you are! Maki! Nitta! Over here!"
Nozomu, who noticed us before the others could, called out to us while waving his hand. At that moment, everyone turned their eyes on us.
"Maki…"
I managed to go back before they set off the fireworks. A worried-looking Umi rushed over to my side, touching my cheeks, as if trying to confirm my existence or something. After a while, she let out a sigh of relief.
Nitta-san also let go of my sleeve at that moment, all while pretending as if nothing happened.
"Dummy! I was so worried!"
"Sorry… I promise I'll be more careful…"
"…Stay beside me for the rest of the day, got it?"
"But, what if I want to go to the toilet?"
"Did I stutter?"
"…Fine."
It was my carelessness that led to me getting lost, but that didn't stop Umi from going into her overprotective mode and clung to my hand tightly.
This situation wouldn't change anytime soon. Hell, she might keep doing this whenever we go out from now on. Everyone's warm gazes already made me feel embarrassed, but it wasn't like I could just push her away. I had no choice but to accept my fate for now.
Also, while I was lost, the people who were going to join us later had already joined the rest of the group. They waited until Umi calmed down before greeting me.
"Heya, Maki-kun~ Your first fireworks festival has turned a little messy, hasn't it? Are you okay?"
"Sorry for causing this mess, Amami-san. Also, glad that you made it in time for the festival… And, I assume that this is your father? I don't believe we have met yet…"
"Ah, right. When you came to my birthday party, he was busy at work. Anyway, um, this is Maehara and this is…"
"I'm Amami Hayato. I've heard about you from my daughter. She said that you're a good friend of hers. Thank you very much for befriending my daughter. You can call me 'Oji-san' or refer to me by my first name, I don't mind."
"…Okay, Hayato-san…"
I knew that Umi and Nitta-san referred to him as 'Oji-san', but I wasn't comfortable doing the same. So, I decided to refer to him like how I referred to Eri-san, by using his first name.
This was the first time I had ever met him in person and he seemed slimmer than in the pictures. He was as tall as Eri-san, around 170 cm. For someone that tall, he seemed more 'fit' than 'bulky.'
From my father, Riku-san, Daichi-san and Nozomu, all the males that I knew were in the 'bulky' category, so I felt a certain affinity with Hayato-san.
He had a short and neat hairstyle. His appearance really suggested that he worked as a civil servant.
Of course, I didn't mean that in a bad way.
"Anyway, Dad, are you going home already? We've come all this way together, why not stay and watch the fireworks with the rest of us?"
"I would love to, but Eri is waiting for me back at home. What about you? Are you sure you don't want me to pick you up after this is all over, Yuu?"
"Yes. I want to have fun with everyone for a little longer! I'll notify you when we're done though, so please tell Mom about it too!"
"Okay… Sorry for the inconvenience everyone, but please take care of my daughter for a while."
After bowing politely to all of us, Hayato-san quickly left the venue. Considering how bubbly and cheerful Amami-san and Eri-san were, I had thought that Hayato-san would have a similar personality to them, but he was actually a serious person.
Since he was Amami-san's father, he was obviously a good-looking man, but from the outlines of his face, it was obvious that he couldn't be considered 'youthful' anymore. There were faint wrinkles on his face that clearly reflected his age.
"So, how is it, Maki? What do you think of him?"
"I don't know… He seems more easygoing in his pictures, but he's actually more uptight than I thought. Though, I could tell that he's kind. He even treated us politely too— Ah, sorry, Amami-san, I just babbled on, didn't I?"
"No, it's fine! My dad is more easygoing at home, he's joking a lot too! But, whenever he meets someone for the first time, he's always like this. Not because he's trying to be distant though, he's just shy!"
"He's just like you."
"I'm not that shy anymore around strangers! Stop teasing me, Umi!"
That said, I was glad to find out that I was wrong about Hayato-san. It turned out that he was just like me, someone who felt reserved when there were strangers around.
Every male adult in my life were different kinds of people, including Hayato-san, but I could relate to him the best compared to the others.
We were similar to each other, save for our faces. It felt like I was seeing a grown-up version of myself.
"We've secured enough seats for everyone, so come over here~ You too, Yuu-chan, don't be shy~"
"Okay~! C'mon, Shizuku-san had called us already~! I'm so hungry right now! I couldn't eat much for lunch because of Rocky!"
"Right. For now, let's forget about the matter of you getting lost, Maki. Instead, we'll have fun together, how about that? Don't worry, you'll forget it easily over all the food and drinks we bought! There's also the fireworks!"
"…Thank you, Umi."
"Hehe, you're welcome!"
Although we were a little off schedule, we managed to enjoy the festival while eating the food we had bought.
Thanks to Shizuku-san, we could secure a place to sit and I could sit next to Umi. Together with everyone, we watched the same night sky.
The sky was cloudy, so we couldn't see many stars in it, but that wouldn't stop them from starting the fireworks.
It was currently 7 pm. Everyone in the venue was waiting for the first shot in excitement.
"…It's starting, Maki."
"…Mm."
We secretly intertwined our fingers, enjoying our first fireworks festival together while flirting under everyone's noses.