Kazehara Tetsu kept walking, his gaze wandering aimlessly over the shelves, not expecting to find any songs he knew.
In the end, he spotted few familiar song titles, but he did spot someone he knew at a listening station nearby.
Shiranami Chihiro.
She stood alone at the innermost listening station, her back to him.
Shiranami Chihiro was also holding several albums she had picked out.
She wore the listening station's headphones, her attention entirely on the music flowing through them, her shoulders moving ever so slightly with the melody.
Clearly, she had not noticed at all that someone was approaching her.
That made sense.
Once the headphones went on, the outside world was shut out.
The music section was quiet to begin with, and the floor was covered in soft, nonslip mats that made footsteps almost inaudible.
Immersed in the music, she naturally showed no reaction whatsoever to someone appearing behind her.
Kazehara Tetsu had only been browsing, and now that he had run into someone he knew, a friend of Ichinose's at that, he thought he would go over and say hello.
He strolled to a spot a short distance behind her, then took another two steps forward before stopping again.
He did not speak right away or reach out to tap her.
After all, she had her headphones on and was immersed in the music by herself. Speaking suddenly or tapping her shoulder now might startle her.
After a moment's thought, he decided he could wait until she finished this song and took off her headphones before saying hello.
So he simply stood a little behind her to one side, waiting quietly.
The music section remained quiet.
The playback indicator moved across the listening station's screen as a track neared its end.
Shiranami Chihiro stayed where she was,