I just want to quietly draw manga Chapter 366

A week had passed since New Year. It was now 2023.

Haruki had been busy even through the New Year period. His assistants had taken their break, so for a short while, he had nothing urgent to deal with. He spent that time playing a few games, getting some fresh air, going out for light jogs, trying to keep himself refreshed. The rest of the day, he stayed in his apartment, drawing manga or catching up on anime he might have missed.

After New Year passed and his assistants returned, work slowly went back to normal.

That was when he got a call from Kotone.

"If you're free later, come by. You've been stuck at home the whole time, right?"

Haruki thought about it. He had been falling back into the same routine, wake up, draw, eat, draw, sleep. Breaking that pattern, even for a few hours, might help.

"I'll come by."

Kotone's House

The doorbell rang.

Kotone opened the door and let Haruki in. He stepped inside, removing his shoes and following her to the living room. Even though Kotone had only moved in recently, her place already felt lived-in. Everything was in its place, books organized on shelves, a small potted plant by the window, framed prints on the wall. Compared to that, Haruki's apartment still had blank walls and only the necessities.

Kotone came back from the kitchen with tea and placed it on the low table. Haruki handed her a small box of chocolate. Since it was New Year and she had invited him over, stopping by empty-handed would have felt awkward.

"You didn't have to," Kotone said, setting it aside. "But thank you."

Haruki sat on the sofa and took the cup. "How was Osaka?"

"It was normal," Kotone said, sitting across from him. "I just hadn't gone back in a few years. Doing New Year stuff again—going to the shrine with my grandma, eating the usual food—it actually felt like New Year for the first time in a while."

Haruki nodded, sipping his tea.

"How did you spend it?" Kotone asked. "You should've come back to Osaka."

"What would I even do there?" Haruki replied. "Honestly, New Year in Tokyo isn't bad. It feels calmer. Quieter. You should see it sometime." He paused. "I also started doing some light cardio. Jogging in the mornings when I can."

Kotone raised an eyebrow. "You? Jogging?"

"I'm trying," Haruki said.

Kotone smiled faintly. “I ran into one of my old classmates from school while I was there.”

"How was that?"

"They asked for autographs," she said. "And they kept asking if you'd come back to Osaka anytime soon.

Haruki set his cup down. "I don't think I'm going back for a while."

Kotone poured more tea, then stood. "Oh, wait a minute."

She went back to the kitchen and returned with a plate covered by a lid. She set it down on the table and lifted the cover.

The strong smell of onion and pork hit immediately.

Haruki blinked. "Is that pork shumai?"

Kotone smiled slightly. "So there are things you miss."

She sat back down. "I thought you might miss this. You basically lived on instant noodles and 551 shumai back then."

Haruki picked one up with chopsticks and took a bite. The taste hit him immediately, soft, warm, familiar. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed it until now.

"It's been a long time since I've eaten this," he said quietly.

He kept eating, clearly enjoying it, when Kotone spoke again.

"I heard you're making another manga. You're increasing your workload again. Why?"

Haruki chewed before answering. "I didn't want to add another manga, but there was a budget shortage for my anime. I had to."

Kotone frowned. "But I told you before, if you're short on money, you can ask me. Why overwork yourself so much?"

"Don't worry about it," Haruki replied. "I've started doing cardio, so I'm exercising. I'm fine."

Kotone's expression didn't soften. "Cardio alone doesn't fix this kind of workload. I thought we were friends. You can ask for help, you know. You don't have to just give all the time."

Haruki stopped eating mid-bite. He looked up at her and saw her expression. She genuinely looked hurt that he hadn't asked.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I just feel awkward asking."

“But we’re friends, right?” Kotone asked.

“Yes. Of course.”

“Then slow down a bit,” she said. “Take better care of yourself. And ask for help if you need it.”

Haruki looked down at the shumai on his plate. "Okay."

Kotone let the silence sit for a moment, then spoke again, her tone lighter.

"So how are things holding up now? Do you need help managing everything, especially with four manga at once?"

"I'm still serializing four," Haruki said. "But we finished drawing Fullmetal. Right now we're drawing three manga simultaneously, which is harder to manage. This is the first time I've really felt deadline pressure. But I can still handle it."

He paused, then added, "How about you? How's Clannad going?"

Kotone noticed he was still avoiding asking for help directly, but she didn't push.

"It's going well," she said. "The rankings are steadily climbing. The first volume sold better than I expected."

They talked after that, drifting from Osaka to manga and then to nothing in particular.

By the time Haruki checked the clock, a few hours had already slipped by. He stood to leave.

"Wait," Kotone said, disappearing into the kitchen again.

She came back with a box inside a bag. "I also brought you this."

Haruki looked inside. A full box of 551 Horai shumai.

"You didn't have to go through all that trouble," Haruki said. "Bringing it all the way from Osaka."

"I know what you usually eat," Kotone said. "And you haven't been back to Osaka since moving to Tokyo. I thought you might miss it."

Haruki took the bag. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

"Thank you," he said finally.

Kotone smiled. "Just don't forget what I said. Slow down. And ask for help."

Haruki nodded. "I will."

Haruki's Apartment

When Haruki got back, Kenta, Noya, and Hayato were all working at their desks.

He was about to suggest a snack break when Kenta immediately stood up, sniffing the air.

"Haruki, what did you bring? It smells amazing."

Haruki set the bag down and took the box out.

"Is that shumai from 551?" Kenta asked, eyes widening.

Noya and Hayato both turned around from their desks.

"Oh, so that's why you left the house," Noya said, grinning. "I knew it. Only Kotone-san can pull you out like that. She brought this from Osaka, didn't she?"

Haruki didn't bother responding. It was pointless to deny it.

"Let's take a break," he said.

"I've never had 551," Hayato said. "I've heard it's really good, though."

"I had it during my final year high school trip," Noya said. "It was great. Worth the hype."

"My girlfriend brought it back once," Kenta added. "It really does live up to it."

"So instead of sharing, you ate it all yourself?" Noya teased.

"Well, if you had a girlfriend in Osaka, she could've brought it for you too," Kenta shot back.

As they were about to start arguing, Haruki set the tea and snacks down on the shared table.

While eating, Noya asked, "So, Hayato, how is it? Does it live up to what you heard?"

Hayato chewed slowly, considering. "It's really good. The onion flavor is a bit strong for me, but it's still good."

"It'll grow on you," Noya replied. "Give it a few more bites."

After they finished, the room settled, and they went back to their desks.

[Note: Sorry for the inconsistency in uploading. While writing, I started drifting. For example, with the gift of 551 shumai, I ended up looking into details for almost half an hour. I tried to focus, but once I went online to check something, I got distracted and went deeper than intended. I’ll try to avoid that going forward.]