It was around 8 PM, and Kaname was walking toward a senbei shop. He saw several bicycles were parked in front of the shop. There were also a few people standing in front of the shop, smoking and chatting. Kaname approached and politely greeted them.
"Ah, Tokui-kun. I heard Kikugawa-kun is ill?" Mr. Horii, who ran an inn near the lake, asked after they exchanged some words.
Kaname nodded. "Just a common cold, but thank you for asking."
"Hmm, it gets cold pretty quickly this year, huh," Mr. Ubukata chimed in. "I was so worried when he got a relapse at the store.
Kaname blinked. "His asthma relapsed your place? When did this happen?"
Mr. Ubukata tilted his head to the side, remembering. "When was it? Was it last week? Or was it the week after? I sent Hideta to drive him home."
Kaname frowned but quickly schooled his expression again. He bowed in gratitude to Mr. Ubukata. "Thank you and sorry for troubling you, Ubukata-san. One of these days, we'll go to your house to thank you."
"Eh, it's nothing. Didn't Kikugawa-kun send my wife a pudding? Just consider it even." Mr. Ubukata dismissed Kaname's politeness while laughing. He then looked up to the sky. "I hope it won't snow tonight. Too cold."
His comment got an 'amen' from the others. They lingered for a while more until someone called for them to get in.
The shopping alley had an association for the business owners. Along with time, several others business owners around the area, also joined the association. Their current chairman was Mr. Ubukata, the supermarket owner. They met monthly to discuss policies, events, community, fund-raising, etc. Members of the association took turn in hosting this monthly meeting, and that night, it was the senbei shop owner's turn.
Initially, Kaname wanted to skip tonight's meeting because he didn't want to leave Naoki at home. Naoki's fever had gone down earlier in the day, and his face already shown some colours again. Still, Kaname was worried that Naoki's fever would come back during the night, but Naoki convinced him to go. Moreover, there was Kei around so Naoki wouldn't be alone at home. After some back and forth, Kaname was convinced to go.
The meeting was held at the living room on the second floor. Together with Mr. Horii, Kaname took a seat near the back. He waved at his older sister and Naoki's father, then shifted his seat closer to them. His older sister told him that it seemed there was an important announcement tonight. Kaname raised a brow while Naoki's father let out a non-commital hum.
Mr. Ubukata opened the meeting by giving a report on the festival. He looked very happy because the festival, albeit the fireworks was canceled due to the snow, it was still considered a successful one. Next, there were also reports on security issues and other reports which Kaname didn't pay much attention to. His attention was drawned to the person sitting two persons left from Mr. Ubukata. It was the man he saw that morning in front of Hummingbird.
Remembering the newspaper's man told him that day, Kaname wondered he probably was here to represent his father. This conclusion was supported by the fact that Mr. Makita, the kimono shop owner, wasn't in between the people present. However, a son representing his family's business in the business owners association was hardly something big. What piqued Kaname's interest was the way that person dressed: he was wearing a suit. His overly formal appearance certainly drew attention in such a setting.
He got his answer when after Mr. Mori was finished with monthly finance report. Mr. Ubukata uncharacteristically took a pause before turning to the person in suit, and allowed him to take the floor. He introduced himself as Makita Shinji, but didn't mention his relation with the kimono shop which made some people who knew who he was, raised an eyebrow. Instead, he introduced himself as a marketing representative of a company which headquartered in Sapporo. He told them that the company wanted to expand their CSR program and helped mid and small business owners like them by expanding their businesses. Their region had several tourist attractions, this fact alone showed that they had big potentials.
A couple of people present were intrigued but many didn't give too much response. They kept calm and listened, nodding occasionally. This was not the first time they received such an offer, and they already knew that this kind of offer was usually very short-term. Not to mention, they were usually asked to keep the sponsor's name plague or billboards as if the support was still on-going while it was the other way around in reality. Kaname and Naoki never accepted such offer. Since the beginning, they had clear view of how and what they wanted their bed&breakfast to be, and it had nothing to do with an offer from big company with such a system. Even if they wanted to make a big change, they would think of a way on their own.
Due to only very few people were reacting in a positive way, Makita's face turned a bit dark. Mr. Ubukata smiled, thanked Makita, and told him that they would discuss about the offer between themselves first. He also asked Makita to leave his contact information. Mr. Ubukata was very polite so Makita couldn't say much more. He nodded and smiled, politely greeted the whole room before leaving.
Mr. Horii shrugged. "If the offer was in the form of buying the land right beside my current inn, I probably would consider it," he said jokingly.
Some people laughed at his words because most of them already knew what answer they would give. Still, Mr. Ubukata reminded them to think about it, and talked with their families. He had to said it, because after all, the decision was back in the hands of each business owners. Kaname also laughed at something his sister said which went along what Mr. Horii just said. After saying goodbye to them, he went home.
*****