In a 1DK rental apartment in Nerima District, Tokyo.
A petite girl, wearing hamster-style pajamas, put down her game controller, and without looking up, called out, "Onii-chan, I'm hungry. I want some snacks."
After waiting for a long time with no response, Umaru turned her head and saw the room was empty.
She suddenly remembered that her older brother was working late and wouldn't be coming home tonight.
"Good thing I bought snacks today."
Umaru took out the snacks she had hidden and grabbed a bottle of iced cola from the fridge.
Lying down on a long cat-shaped pillow, she alternated between eating chips and chocolate beans.
When her mouth got dry, she immediately opened the iced cola and took big gulps, "Tonk tonk tonk" sounds echoed as she drank.
She felt the cold soda bouncing in her throat and, with a loud burp, Umaru sighed contently.
"So refreshing~"
No one was around, and the freedom of the night made Umaru feel like this was what life should be.
Rolling over, with her chest pressed against the cat pillow and a comic book in hand, Umaru's phone beeped.
"Who's calling me so late?"
Without even looking, she picked up the phone and tilted her head, holding the phone between her shoulder and ear. "Hello?"
"Did you get home?"
Umaru froze mid-reach for her chips. She blinked a few times, her lips slightly parted. "Kitahara?"
After a few seconds, she heard Takashi's sleepy voice, "Yeah, it's me."
His voice sounded like he was either about to fall asleep or had just woken up, lazy and deep.
"Did you get home?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight."
Is he going back to sleep?
Could it be...?
Umaru quickly asked, "Wait."
"Is there something else?"
"You... you only called to check if I got home?"
Umaru hesitated, wondering if she was overthinking. But she felt that Takashi had called just for this.
"Yeah, what else?"
Takashi's response hit her like a wave.
Her lips parted in surprise, her mouth forming an "O."
After a long pause, Umaru finally remembered she was still on the phone and spoke again.
"You've been waiting this whole time?"
"Yeah."
Unable to stop herself, Umaru cursed, "Are you an idiot? I rejected you earlier, right?"
She had already told him not to message her when he got home, and he had heard that. Why was he still waiting?
"Yeah, you rejected me, so now I can call you."
Takashi's words were so matter-of-fact, with no sense of guilt.
"This is harassment!"
"Then call the police to arrest me?"
This guy was such a troublemaker!
Umaru was starting to lose it.
If Takashi were here, she would punch him twice.
"Doma-san!"
Umaru snapped, "What?"
"I like you."
Hearing Takashi confess again, Umaru felt her face heat up.
She must have been upset by him.
What a weirdo, confessing in the middle of the night.
"I don't like you."
She rejected him again and hung up the phone.
Grabbing some chips, she took a few bites but frowned. Then she reached for the chocolate beans and popped them into her mouth, frowning even harder.
Because she realized the taste had changed.
Hmm, it must have expired.
Those sneaky merchants, selling near-expiration products.
"I'm not eating this anymore."
Umaru angrily stood up and went to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.
When she looked in the mirror, she was shocked.
Her face was as red as a freshly peeled lobster, bright red all over.
"Umaru, you're blushing like a tea kettle!"
She turned on the cold water and splashed her face, wiping it carelessly with a towel.
Then she dashed barefoot, "Tonk tonk tonk!" back to her bed and covered herself with the blanket.
Within three minutes, she lifted the blanket and buried her face into it.
The room was eerily silent.
After five minutes, Umaru suddenly jumped up from the bed, crossed over to the cat plushie that Takashi had bought for her, and began punching it, muttering,
"I like you, I like you... I'm not blind, you said it twice today, didn't you?"
"You shameless guy! Can't you be shy?"
"I'm going to beat you up, beat you up!"
There were many boys who liked her, but Takashi was different from the ones she had met before.
He was passionate and free-spirited, like a fire burning recklessly. He never hesitated to express his feelings, and he wasn't afraid to put his love on display.
This was rare in Japan, where people usually valued modesty and restraint.
Even Umaru could strongly feel that he liked her.
Before today, Umaru had never considered love. But Takashi suddenly barged into her quiet life and wasn't planning to leave.
She didn't know how to deal with it.
…
The next day.
When Takashi opened his eyes, he noticed it was raining again.
It had only rained yesterday.
Today is Monday, time to go to school. Because he had to travel from Chiba, Takashi had to wake up early.
By "early," he meant that his wake-up time was about the same as his usual morning running time.
After checking out of the hotel, as soon as Takashi stepped outside, a strong gust of wind blew the rain toward him.
From time to time, thunder could also be heard.
"Which scumbag is swearing again? Or is that guy with the last name Xiao, the rain god, having a concert in Japan again?"
Takashi looked at the torrential rain in front of him, then at the umbrella the hotel had given him.
He didn't feel like walking to the subway station.
Because he didn't want to get his shoes wet, wearing wet shoes would make him very uncomfortable.
He didn't have any spare shoes in his backpack.
Takashi opened his phone and glanced at his balance.
The ample balance made him feel a sense of security.
Takashi decided to indulge himself a little and take a taxi to the station.
The train sped under the tangled mess of overhead power lines.
The train heading toward school was packed with people.
Worried about being accused of harassment and losing his job, even though he was almost squished into a sandwich, not many men tried to get closer to Kotonoha.
'Not here today either?'
When the train reached Bunkyo Station, Kotonoha looked up at the platform.
But even after the doors closed, she didn't see the boy's figure. She felt disappointed inside.
'Looks like I can't send him off today either.'
She looked at the lemon water she was holding, feeling a bit melancholic, her gaze unfocused as she stared at the subway door.
As she stared, the world around her gradually turned black and white. Everything seemed to lose its charm, slowly becoming weathered.
"Arriving at Kinshi Town Station, please alight and board in an orderly manner."
The train doors slowly opened, and people surged into the car.
Lost in thought, Kotonoha was bumped by someone, and she staggered, almost falling backward.
Fortunately, at that moment, someone reached out and caught her.
After stabilizing herself, Kotonoha looked up, about to say thank you.
But when she saw who had caught her, her world suddenly regained color, and everything became vibrant once more.
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