They would stop at the foot bath, and then head for the shops to buy a little dessert or something to satisfy their peckishness. Often they would find so many delicious treats in the shops, they would overeat on the way home. Eat a lot, run a lot. That was how Kanna got through high school. Often they would head for Shinsui Park by the shore, cups of ice cream in hand. There they would sit on a semicircular wooden bench on the terrace, eating their ice cream before it could melt.

"So good!" Kanna would say, without even thinking.

"Even the way you eat it makes it look so good!"

"Ice cream after running is just the best!" Kanna would say, squinting. "So good!!"

"Do you think it would be just as good if you hadn't run?"

"Nope. Running makes it taste 50% better."

"No way. Maybe I have to start running too." Miya put down her ice cream and ran toward the water. Kanna did the same. Kanna could run faster, so she easily overtook Miya, a serious look on her face. But Miya wasn't bothered. She would laugh out loud. This was the pattern they developed: Miya would run, and then Kanna would run and catch up with her. In no time, Kanna would be way ahead. Looking at Kanna, small and far away, Miya would laugh so hard her sides would ache.

"Your ice cream's gonna melt!"

"Gotta eat it!"

When they finished their ice cream, they would talk and talk until the sun was down. After sunset, Sun Beach would be lit up, creating a dreamy atmosphere.

"Don't you just love this?"

"Shall we take a selfie?"

At Kanna's suggestion, the pair take a photo. They walk along the lit-up Moon Terrace, and the Sky Deck. They take a lot of pictures with the camera in Kanna's phone.

"Do you mind if I post these on Instagram?"

"Not at all."

When they posted pictures on social media like this, they would get "Likes" and other comments from classmates—and boys—they didn't usually talk to. Kanna was happy. Everyone knew she and Miya were friends. She felt special.

"What about over there?" Miya says, pointing to the statue of O-Miya and Kan'ichi.

"What?"

"Shall we take another picture there?"

The statue depicts a famous scene involving two characters—Kan'ichi and Omiya—from Konjiki-yasha, a popular novel of the Meiji Period. Kanna and Miya take another picture there. Kan'ichi and Omiya. Kanna and Miya. They remark on the similarity of the names.

"I wonder why Kan'ichi kicked Omiya?" Kanna says.

She can remember having heard the story once, but she can't remember how it went. Miya finds the explanatory plaque at the foot of the bronze statue.

"It says something here about reliving a painful parting," she tells Kanna.

"A painful parting..."

Miya does some more digging on her phone and learns that Kan'ichi’s fiancée Omiya had betrayed him. Omiya had married a rich man instead of Kan'ichi, Miya reads from the phone. Kanna expresses disapproval.

"That's not what I would call a 'painful parting.' Omiya did a terrible thing."

"I wonder if she didn't really love him."

"She must have loved money more," Kanna says, without really thinking about it too deeply. "Maybe she had some good reason," Miya opines.

"What would you do, Kanna?"

"Huh?"

"If you were Kan'ichi, would you be angry?"

"Sure. Wouldn't you?" Kanna continues thinking. What would it mean for there to be someone you loved so much that when they did you wrong you hated them and wanted to kick them?

"But honestly, I can't imagine," she adds.

She can picture, though, the feeling that you could not live without someone. What she had felt when her mom died, that she could not go on. Today that would be her father, or Miya. If one of these people, so important to her, were to die, what would she do? The thought makes her anxious. Kanna starts to speak, without really knowing what she wants to say.

"Let's stay friends forever, okay?" she says.

"Huh?" Where's that coming from?"

"If we were to end up like Kan'ichi and Omiya, that would be really devastating. I mean, at one time they were in love."

"I see what you're saying. Yes, it would be devastating."

"Just devastating."

Just thinking about Kan'ichi and Omiya, the two of them start to get depressed, but they pull out of it, saying, "Let's take some more pictures!"

Miya poses like Kan'ichi, and Kanna poses like Omiya. They even shoot some video. Miya makes a face like an ogre, and acts like she is about to kick Kanna. Kanna screams, "Don't!"

"You got it! You got it!" Kanna checks the photos and, satisfied, posts them online.

The two of them had an unexpected reaction to the photos of themselves, posing in front of the statue of Kan'ichi and Omiya. Overwhelmed by the large number of Likes and comments they received, Kanna found herself unable to get enough sleep. Simply put, their photos went viral.

Most of the comments are directed at Miya. Saying she is "like a model." Her smile is "too cute." Things like that. All kinds of things. The photos also stir up a fuss at school. Everybody is talking about them. Kanna feels quite proud.

"Miya, you should do something with your account. I bet you would have a lot of followers now."

"Is that so."

"I'm sure of it. Tons."

Encouraged by Kanna, Miya starts paying more attention to her social media accounts, and just as Kanna predicted, she soon has lots of followers.

All the kids in school start to follow Miya, and even others from other schools nearby. Miya can no longer walk through Atami without being recognized. People say things to her.

"You're famous!" Kanna says.

"People are weird," Miya counters, modestly.

At first Miya is bothered by all the attention, but over time, she gets used to it. When the two of them step out together, they continue to take pictures and upload them to the internet. They find themselves frequenting spots that are "Instagrammable." They go to the Acao Forest and swing on the swings, with the sea in the background. They go to Kinomiya Shrine and take pictures in front of the large, ancient tree named Ookusu. They post all their commemorative photos on social media. The more photos they post, the more memories they have. Their friendship seems to be growing deeper. They are all caught up in their own world, clicking and posting photos. It reaches a point where they are no longer looking at each other and interacting. Instead, they are totally involved with their images on the screen, and the comments on their phones.

Miya in particular is becoming extremely popular. One day, as they are doing their usual run through town, a man in a suit comes up running from behind them. At first, they do not think he is chasing them. Then they realize how much effort he is putting into keeping up with them. He is shouting something to them. They go faster, to get away from him, but he keeps coming.

"Wait! Just a minute!" They grow scared, and run even faster. They reach the commercial street, with its crowds of people, but the man is still after them. "What is he up to? What is going on?" They are panicking. A shop owner, someone they know, notices. "What's the matter?" he asks.

"A strange man is chasing us!"

A crowd of adults soon circles around the two anxious girls, who are obviously alarmed.

Another group surrounds the suspicious man. "Hey, you! What do you think you're doing?" one of them asks him. "What's going on here? I'm going to call the police."

The man is drenched in sweat, and struggling to catch his breath.

"You've got it wrong. I'm sorry," the man says.

"What do you mean we've 'got it wrong'? You're the one chasing down a couple of high school girls."

"Yes," he gasps. "I'm sorry. I just, I just need to talk to Miss Miya for a minute. I apologize. Here is my card," he says, drawing a business card from his breast pocket and handing it to his interrogator. The business card says he represents a major talent agency. It is a well-known agency, representing many actors and actresses Kanna and Miya would recognize from television shows.

"If Miss Miya were to join our office, I am certain she would be a big success. I'm sure of it."

The man speaks rapidly, still sweating profusely. Miya is still wary, but she accepts his card.

After the man leaves, Kanna is still on edge, but she says, "Miya! You've been scouted!"

Miya is still staring at the business card, perplexed. "Yeah," is all she says.

"What do you think? You interested?"

"Maybe. I am just surprised."

"I think you should do it. You'd be really popular!"

"I don't have the guts to do that," Miya says, shaking her head. But she cannot take her eyes off the business card.

Later, Miya tells her parents about the encounter with the man. His name was Tominaga. If Miya signs up with the agency, he will look after her, as her manager. At first, she would have to commute to Tokyo for work, but if things at work got really busy, she might think about switching to a school in Tokyo. At first, her parents say a few things that make it seem like they are not keen on the idea, but as soon as they sense Miya is actually pretty interested, they say whatever she wants to do is fine, they will respect her wishes. They say if that is what she wants to do, they support her fully. Miya has never done anything like this before. She gets her hopes up. She may be on the threshold of something new.

After wavering for a bit, Miya decides to sign up with the agency. Work starts with some modeling for magazines, and then she takes some acting lessons. The agency sets up new social media accounts for her, that they manage. Her workload gradually increases. She misses a lot of club activities at school, and she has less time to spend with Kanna.

For Kanna, on the other hand, nothing has changed. She keeps up her athletic training as usual. But things are not the same without Miya. Maybe it is just that, without Miya, Kanna feels like something is missing.

Kanna's teammates ask, "Is Miya away again?"

To which Kanna says, "Yeah, looks like it." Everybody else seems to think there is nothing they don't know. Lately, though, Kanna has been finding it hard to get in touch with Miya. She never seems to know where Miya is, or what she is doing.

People tell her, "Miya is really part of entertainment world now." Kanna cannot quite get over that. She feels like Miya has gone somewhere far away.

For days now, Miya has not come to school. She stays in Tokyo for work. Why has she not told Kanna? Thinking about this, Kanna realizes she has not heard anything directly from Miya in some time. But perhaps there is nothing she can do about it. It is the last day of school before vacation.

For the first time in ages, they ride home from school together on the train. It is awkward, as if they no longer know what to talk about together. Because they have been spending less time together, there must be millions of things they could talk about, but they can't think of any.

"How've you been?" Miya asks.

"Not bad. Pretty good, actually," Kanna replies, stiffly. But was she? Kanna feels the distance between them.

"And you?"

"Huh?"

"Well. Have you been? Well, that is."

Kanna feels the words emerging from her own mouth are somehow unfamiliar.

"I'm great. Yeah. Sure! Well, the truth is, I've been doing all these things I've never done before, and it's a little tiring. But it's a lot of fun."

"Is that so," Kanna says, but then she falls silent again. Not that this is a particularly difficult conversation, but Kanna is somehow at a loss for what to say.

"Wanna go to Sun Beach?" Miya suggests.

"Sure."

"I'd love to go see the sea."