*Sake : Japanese alcohol drink
“AAGHH!” Akiko screamed, covering her face with her hands and shaking her head, not wanting to accept the kiss. But Kenji grabbed both of Akiko's hands and pulled them away from her face."What more could you expect from that family? I already told you to stay here and forget about them! Am I not enough?" Kenji's voice softened, but Akiko was already too scared, and her body trembled even more.With a final act of desperation, Akiko shook off Kenji's hands and managed to free herself. Kenji was drunk, so his grip wasn't strong. Akiko easily pushed Kenji aside. Without looking back, Akiko ran as fast as she could to her room and shut the door.Panting, Akiko crumbled once more. She sat down, hugging herself, trying to calm her trembling body and hold back the sobs that were almost escaping her lips. "Why..." Finally, the sobs came with tears.Akiko felt so alone, and the world seemed so terrifying. It was the same feeling she had when she saw Yuto remain silent and Kaede say cruel th
"Shokuji o tanoshinde." (Enjoy your meal.)Akiko bowed and then stepped back with a smile on her face, adjusting the kimono she was wearing. The outfit was a bit troublesome because Akiko wasn't used to it, but the kimono was a requirement for her job at the restaurant.The restaurant's uniform was chosen because it had a classic theme, serving authentic traditional Japanese cuisine with decor that strongly evoked the atmosphere of ancient Japan.At first, Akiko had doubts about whether she could do the job, as her only experience wearing a kimono was during a few summer festivals she had attended with Rie.But after two days and some tips from the other waitstaff at the restaurant, Akiko quickly adapted and could now perform her tasks smoothly—even running while wearing the kimono without messing up its shape. Akiko also enjoyed the work environment at the restaurant. It was so busy that she quickly forgot about the miserable aspects of her real life."Akiko, please bring this to roo
"What happened to your hand?" As they passed each other near the kitchen, Kenji noticed Akiko's bandaged index finger."A cut from a broken cup," Akiko said as briefly as possible, then bowed and quickly fled. She was en route to work at the station. Of course, Akiko hurried out, trying to prevent Kenji from asking further questions or getting any ideas about stopping her.She already regretted waking up late that morning, likely due to crying for so long the previous night. Losing one of her jobs had nearly driven Akiko back to the brink of despair.But now, Akiko had regained her resolve for the day. She deliberately took the morning shift at the convenience store so she would have free time later to look for another job. Akiko might try asking at another restaurant or store. She wouldn’t give up on just one job. She didn’t want to extend her stay at Kenji’s place any longer. Akiko had a new goal: to sleep soundly in her own apartment soon.Over the past few weeks of living with Ken
Kenji sat on a shiny, dark leather chair, his expression blank, staring at the two people bowing before him. However, Kenji's silence only made the two of them appear even more anxious. They knew that a silent Kenji was more dangerous than a talking one.“Which one of you injured her hand?” After a prolonged silence, Kenji finally posed the question. The two people in front of him grew increasingly nervous, exchanging glances. His question only poured fear into their mounting anxiety.“I... I did, Sandaime” (Third Generation Leader).The man with a tattoo on his cheek answered hesitantly, bowing again.“Yamada? What did you do to her?” Kenji leaned his head back, now focusing solely on Yamada.“I kicked a piece of a broken cup, but the girl was holding it. Her hand was cut as a result." Yamada explained, bowing even deeper—more than ninety degrees.Kenji lowered his crossed legs, sighing. The small movement made Yamada recoil, terrified of what Kenji might do. But Kenji did nothing un
To tidy herself up, Akiko smoothed her clothes. She had done this several times since she first noticed the appearance of the Shingi Fusaya Real Estate office.Akiko worried about her appearance, realizing that the company was much larger than she had imagined. The information she had found on the internet yesterday was incomplete.The company occupied a five-story building in Tokyo's main business district, where the land and property prices were undoubtedly very high. Shingi's ability to occupy an entire building meant that he was truly powerful. This work environment would be vastly different from working at a convenience store or a restaurant, as she had before. Akiko felt out of place when she first arrived.However, when she showed the interview letter in the lobby earlier, it was confirmed that she was in the right place. The letter was acknowledged, and Akiko was quickly escorted to the HR department on the third floor for her interview. The interview itself was also differen
“Didn’t you input the data here yesterday? This house isn’t considered expensive.” Akiko pointed to another folder, helping Riko, who looked confused.“Ahh…” Riko sighed deeply, then opened the folder Akiko had indicated, and, of course, finally found the data on the house in front of them.“Impressive. You’re learning quickly,” Riko praised. Akiko smiled shyly but was pleased to hear it.“I thought this house would be considered expensive given its size,” Riko said as he opened the data on his tablet.Akiko had already moved on, starting to measure the width of the gate. She bent down and carefully noted the measurements. Fieldwork was indeed part of her new job. Luckily, for outdoor activities like this, Shinigi provided black pants as part of the uniform.Akiko had initially been puzzled when she imagined having to work outside in that short skirt. When she saw that pants were included in the uniform she received, Akiko liked her new office even more. This was clearly reflected in
"Excuse me, but what do you mean by saying that?" Akiko stood up and stared at Mori.Of course, Akiko understood exactly what Mori meant. This wasn't the first time Mori had said something like that. Akiko still remembers the conversation between Mori and the HR woman yesterday. Her presence was suspicious.But Akiko would not accept insults because she really hadn't done anything unusual. She was here because she had been summoned. She didn't know how or by whom she had been called. And clearly, Akiko felt she had worked very hard to catch up and learn. Hard work was no straightforward task."You heard what I said, didn’t you? You don't belong here...""Sorry, but why do you think I'm not a suitable fit? Have I made any mistakes in the past few weeks? Is there a poor performance on my record?"Akiko was bold because she knew her work was nearly flawless. Akiko might have made mistakes in her first week of training, but they were minor. After that, Akiko guaranteed everything was pe
“No! I will keep working, and you have no right to interfere.” Akiko responded just as firmly, then turned away and walked faster toward her room.Akiko didn’t want to argue any further. She didn’t want praise for all her hard work, but she certainly didn’t want to hear any more scolding. Akiko wanted to decide her own life going forward."Kiko-chan!” Kenji shouted. Akiko’s reply had clearly been too bold.“Come home earlier, or...” Because Akiko was already out of sight, Kenji didn't finish his sentence.He didn’t follow her, but he was still annoyed when he heard the loud clatter of a cup hitting the wooden table afterward. Kenji grunted and picked up his phone, dialing Ryu.“What’s going on? Since when do you call me from your cell phone at home?” Ryu answered, surprised. He knew very well that Kenji usually used the landline to call him when he was at home.“It’s broken,” Kenji replied curtly. There was no way he was going to mention that the telephone had been floating in the poo
“Himawari! Natsu!”A ten-year-old boy let out a loud shout when he discovered two other children hiding behind the bushes beneath the tree.“Kenzo—big brother!”Natsu was startled to see Kenzo suddenly appear. He pulled the girl, Himawari, beside him to stand, intending to run away, but Kenzo stopped him.“No! You’re making Okaa-san worried. You have to go back.” Kenzo grabbed Natsu's arm.“But Himawari is scared. She doesn’t want to go to school,” Natsu pointed at Himawari, who was now sobbing.“Hima-chan.” Kenzo knelt down and gently stroked Himawari's head, which was bowed down.“School isn’t scary. You’ll meet many new people and make new friends,” Kenzo coaxed softly until Himawari looked up to meet Kenzo's gaze.“But… but… I want to be with Natsu. I don’t want to go to school…”
“This place isn’t bad.” Kenji didn’t outright refuse, but his reluctance was evident.“Indeed, I will make sure this place will never be bad for those children. However, Kenzo stands apart from these children. They are kids who truly have no family and are forced to live here. Kenzo has me. I am his family. I am the only family Kenzo has."Akiko didn’t want to acknowledge this while remembering Kenzo's mother’s actions, but Kenzo was still the child of her mother’s younger sibling—her family. No one else was her blood relative as of now.“I can’t forget that fact and pretend Kenzo is someone else. It will haunt me in my sleep,” Akiko urged again.Kenji fiddled with the car keys beneath him while staring at the back of Kenzo's head, who was now trying to draw something with crayons on a new piece of paper.“I know you hate his mother—I do too. But you don’t hav
“I still don’t want to do this,” Kenji grumbled.“I know, but I’m sure you also know that this is the right thing to do,” Akiko replied, looking at her husband, who was now unbuckling his seatbelt. Although they arrived two minutes earlier, neither of them got out of the car.The decision they—Akiko—made was indeed a significant one. Akiko needed to calm herself. Kenji had left the choice to her, but he was still going through it with a heavy heart.“Come on, let’s go.” Akiko finally opened the door and stepped out.Children playing in the yard rushed over when they spotted her.“Tanaka-san! What did you bring today? Candy? A storybook?”A chorus of voices greeted Akiko. She often visited the orphanage with gifts, so the children expected her to bring something.“I brought something in the car for you, but it’s a secret. You can…”
“I don’t want to sleep with you.” Ryu repeated the question in disbelief because it seemed too absurd. He shook his head while rubbing his face.“I think your ability to draw conclusions isn’t very sharp right now,” Ryu said.“No!” Kyoko was obviously offended. Although it wasn't a direct insult, Ryu had implied that Kyoko was stupid.“Don’t be angry; I understand. I would be disappointed if your mind was entirely calm at the moment.” Ryu smiled with satisfaction.“I’m calm!” Kyoko retorted.“You just asked about my desire to sleep with you. I think that’s quite a disturbance that’s keeping you from being calm.” Ryu left his suitcase and approached Kyoko, who suddenly panicked and stepped back.“Don’t deny it. You won’t succeed in making me think otherwise.” Ryu chuckled softly at her panic.“I don&
“Don’t open it now. You’ll get wet.” Ryu raised the hood of Kyoko's raincoat just in time as a large amount of water splashed toward where they were sitting. It was as if someone had poured a giant bucket of water on them.The orca whale show they were watching involved jumping out of the water. Of course, when they fell back, they splashed a lot of water toward the audience.Ryu clapped like everyone else, appreciating the hard work of the giant mammals, but Kyoko didn’t clap at all—not even when the show ended.“Didn’t you like it?” Ryu inquired as they exited, discarding their soaked raincoats.Ryu grabbed a small towel handed out by the staff, then used it to dry Kyoko’s hair and neck. Although Ryu had covered her hoodie just in time, some parts of Kyoko’s hair and neck were still wet.“You don’t like aquariums. I’ll note all of that.” After waiting for a
"I want to go home."Kyoko suddenly spoke up just as Akiko finished applying pink lipstick to her lips.“Huh? Why? Did you forget something?” Akiko straightened up, confused, as she glanced at the kimono Kyoko would be wearing.Kyoko's kimono was simpler, with only a hair ornament as an accessory. It wasn’t as elaborate as the one Akiko had worn when she got married in Utoro.Ryu had planned for their wedding to be similar to Akiko’s, but they had compromised for a more modest ceremony at the city hall. Ryu knew Kyoko's feelings about temple buildings, so he wouldn't dare force anything. Besides, the reception would still happen; just the ceremony would be different.Nobody objected to the decision. Everyone agreed as long as the wedding took place, including Akiko. Even though her expensive kimono was a bit much for a city hall wedding, she was still happily helping Kyoko.“Everything's ready. I just need to pu
“You must be crazy!” Kyoko stood up and paced back and forth in the living room, trying to recall if there was any sign that Ryu wasn’t serious.But everything was serious. Ryu had even sent her a photo of the kimono he would wear on their wedding day. When Kyoko saw the photo, she thought Ryu was insane, as discussing kimono patterns would escalate their deception.In the end, Kyoko made her choice, wanting to end the pointless discussion. But it turned out that the discussion was important.“Are you just going to sit there?!” Kyoko yelled angrily, glaring at Ryu, who was calmly sipping beer and munching on peanuts he had brought earlier.“What do you want me to do?” Ryu frowned.“Cancel everything! Call them all! Cancel it!” Kyoko sat back down next to Ryu and then attacked him, reaching for his waist.“Hey, wait! Don’t get aggressive all of a sudden,” Ryu was, of cour
Ryu shook his head, while effortlessly unlocking Kyoko's apartment door once more by simply inputting her birthday—the day after tomorrow.He had repeatedly reminded Kyoko to change the password, which was extremely easy to guess. Not just once—like when he first broke in to find the listening device—but several times since.Now, Kyoko no longer lives in Tokyo. Since becoming actively involved in Kuryugumi and assisting Kenji and Ryu, Kyoko had relocated to Osaka, where she now primarily worked.However, Kyoko hadn't been working regularly since visiting her parents, and no one was pressuring her to do so either. Kenji didn’t give any orders, leaving everything up to Ryu.The apartment’s security was truly weak, especially since there was still no sound, despite Ryu walking into the room for several moments. It was evident that Kyoko had fallen asleep due to the late hour. Ryu had come straight to the apartment after returnin
Akiko adjusted herself in front of the mirror, gazing at the new kimono she would wear the day after tomorrow.The kimono was custom-made for her, so naturally, it fit perfectly. But Akiko wanted to see if the color matched her expectations. And indeed, everything was perfect. It fit her body beautifully and didn't feel heavy or hot, which was crucial considering it was still summer.The modern kimono, with a white base, was adorned with pink cherry blossoms. Akiko had even prepared hair accessories filled with cherry blossom designs to complete the look.She wasn’t wearing the hairpiece yet, but when she tried placing it on her head, the pink color matched perfectly with her black hair. Everything was set. She had also prepared clothes for Natsu and Kenji.BANG!Akiko flinched and dropped the hair accessory she was holding. The loud noise from the sliding door startled her.Luckily, Natsu was in the next room, so he wouldn’t be