Chapter 2:

Their Rhythm

Mayuka To Ryu (繭価 と 龍)



Ryu sat up and rubbed his eyes that barely welcomed the sunray. Everything was a little hazy, including how he got here. As his eyes wandered around, he recognised the layout of this room. It definitely did not belong to him. Unlike his room which has less furniture, this room has two bookshelves and a side table. 

This is Mayuka's room. Only Mayuka loved having the bed facing the windows horizontally.

On the side table, Mayuka left a small note under Ryu's phone.

'I'll be at Kaimei Public Library until evening and straightaway start my tutoring. Don't wait for me.'

Ryu stared at the note, weird that he could hear her monotonous and colourless voice in his head as he read it. Mayuka was a good student. He knew that the cram centre loved her as much as the students. She has been working there since they were freshmen. There was nothing new, just an additional job at Kaimei Public Library.

He made the bed and grabbed his phone. There were some emails from the boys but there wasn't a sense of urgency to reply now. As he walked out of Mayuka's room heading to the kitchen, he noticed a new whiteboard hanging behind the door. Colourful sticky notes were everywhere on it. The longer his eyes fixed on the board, the more it hit him. 

It was Mayuka's summer schedule.

Monday to Wednesday – Kaimei Pub. Lib (8AM – 3PM)
Monday, Tuesday & Friday – Sasaki CC (7PM – 9.30PM)
Saturday & SundayWS Pharmacy (9AM – 5PM)
Make sure to sleep before 11.15 PM or your health will ~X_X~

Ryu giggled. A truly hectic summer schedule. He could reaffirm himself that he wouldn't be able to work as hard as Mayuka. And he believed that if he couldn't, he shall never be in her ways.

"I'll cook something and go to Kaimei," Ryu decided.

. . . . .

Mayuka was greeted by a group of high school students when she was going through a list of people who have missed the due date to return books that they borrowed. She bookmarked their registration numbers with the library system and noticed that most of them were Kaimei Academy students themselves. It eased her job as she only had to forward the registration numbers to the student department of Kaimei.

"May I help you?" She looked up and exchanged looks with five female students. Although it was summer break and the high schools were also on holiday, these girls wore their school t-shirt. It was written 'SGHS', short for Seishen Girls' Highschool.

They were in distress. "Umm, please excuse us," one of the girls spoke up, "we were sitting there. Can you see those boys near the literature section... over there?"

Mayuka got up from her seat and followed the girl's index finger that was pointing towards a group of male students. They conquered the whole table with a huge paper and unfamiliar tools which Mayuka believed were architecture tools. Perhaps they were completing a blueprint. Although she was behind the counter that separated her from the female students, she could see the boys were a disturbance.

"Are they disturbing you?" Mayuka inquired and received a guilty nod. It has always been this way. Those who were noisy never felt guilty. However, those who wished for a quiet space would move on and eventually, exited the library. Weren't libraries served as a place to think and work in silence?

Mayuka nodded and assured them that she would talk to the boys. She walked confidently towards the group and as she got closer, she immediately noticed that they were an older group, probably university students around here. It was understandable for the younger girls to be in hesitance. 

There were only five of them yet they used the long table for themselves that was supposed to fit ten people. She was right when she thought that the boys were conquering the space.

"Excuse me," Mayuka voiced out slowly. Five heads looked up all at once, gazing at her. "This is a common space. I'm sorry to say this but you're causing discomfort to other people around you." They blinked and exchanged looks with each other. "If you don't mind, we have the discussion room with a round table that could fit your group. It's also soundproof there." Mayuka was expressionless but her tone was adequately neutral for any subtle irritant.

"Really?!" One of the boys squealed. "That'll be great."

Mayuka was a little surprised that the boys agreed without much hassle. They packed their tools, books and stationery, along with gleeful giggles as they followed Mayuka. On their way to the second floor through the stairs, Mayuka caught that they were freshmen at Kaimei Technology University and currently attending a summer course to prepare for an international competition. 

They were very cheerful and sometimes, inquired many things to Mayuka spontaneously. They asked if the public library still operated until 3 A.M. and Mayuka corrected them, explained that a new policy has been introduced. The library would welcome the public from 0800 until 2300. They whined and complained how it was much easier back then when Kaimei Public Library operated for longer hours.

"But this is our first time using the discussion room!" Some of the boys chorused. Mayuka informed them that the discussion rooms used to be for commercial purposes, one needed to pay to use them, however, the higher-ups decided to allow the discussion rooms for public needs without charges.

Mayuka also highlighted the booking system for the rooms. The boys were fortunate that there were two empty discussion rooms. They were commonly occupied and one way to reserve them was through the online booking system on the Kaimei Public Library portal.

"Wow, you know a lot of things, Tsukushi-san!" One of the boys complimented her after reading the name tag on her library vest. "We all attended Kaimei Academy and never knew these things."

Mayuka tapped a card and it unlocked the discussion room glass door. "Here's your key card. Please make sure to return this at the counter before you exit."

"What if we forget and bring it back home?" The boys were being playful. However, their mischievous act was halted when Mayuka shot them an empty and cold look. She was neither angry nor irritated. It clearly signalled that she was not interested to be friendly. There was no wind of hostility yet the boys reminded themselves to remain polite. "W-We are s-sorr-"

"No problem," Mayuka cut off, "You won't forget because there's a sensor at the card. The siren will warn us if you exit without returning the card. Now, please excuse me." She ended the clarification with a bow and left them in the room.

For a couple of seconds, the boys got tongue-tied.

"Woah," one of them finally breathed out freely as Mayuka faded away from their sight. "She's truly a cold one!"

. . . . .

When the watch on her wrist vibrated, Mayuka gave it a soft pat and saved all the files before she logged out her staff account on the desktop. It was 3 P.M. and her shift has ended.

Her colleagues were still bustling with their endless tasks. A few minutes ago, the senior librarians just finished their weekly meeting and looked dead on their feet. She caught some words such as 'revamping the library', 'new system', 'contemporary layout', and much more which led to the idea that Mayuka would witness a scarce transformation of Kaimei Public Library. Did she consider herself lucky? Yes, she did. Did she want to be a part of the changes? Yes, she wanted to be.

"Tsu-chan," one of the staff called her. "Aren't you going home?"

Mayuka was a bit startled as she got immersed in listening to their rants. Or to be more well-defined, eavesdropping on the staff's complaints. As she saw that more and more staff were looking at her, she stood up, cleaning the scattered papers on her table and made her way to the locker room after thanking them. She took off the library vest and hung it inside the locker with her name.

While skimming through the notifications on her phone quickly, she heard some light chuckles of the male staff who were probably taking a tobacco break at the smoking compartment next door.

"Tsukushi was pretty uptight with that adorable face of hers," one of them commented. "If she could be a bit cuter, I believe she could secure a permanent position as soon as she graduated."

Another staff added, "But I heard that she is an education student. Doesn't that mean she's planning to be in academia? I saw her resume and she's pretty impressive, given that kind of background."

That kind? Mayuka has stopped scrolling through her phone. Sometimes, she hated her pinna for being so sensitive to sound and vibration. Mayuka was taken aback. It has been two days since she started working here and there were already unpleasant commentaries about her. Besides, she was only a part-timer. Why would she become a topic for their tobacco break? She was punctual and hardworking but why did the male staff care about her look? Why not praise her ability to adapt and comprehend the complex library system with minimum guidance? Why did-

"Tsu-chan," Librarian Toshio Misawa appeared, "Do you acknowledge an acquaintance named Tanaka Ryu?" She posed the question carefully as she studied the younger lady's expression. Toshio was hoping that she could make a wild guess about their relationship based on Mayuka's response. Unfortunately, Mayuka did not react unusually as she heard that name. If Toshio did not pay enough attention, she would assume that Mayuka and Ryu were strangers.

Mayuka was still overwhelmed with the Whys on her mind that she could only give a weak nod. She shifted her gaze back at her locker, packed her things before shutting the aluminum door slowly and walked out of the locker room. As she reached the counter, Ryu was standing there, scanning the posters at the entrance board. For a second, Mayuka felt that all the unsettled dissatisfaction she held towards the male seniors vanished. Like old magic from a fairy that discarded bad spells of wicked wizards. Ryu was that fairy.

Ryu could sense that someone was watching him and he spun around. He was greeted with Mayuka's expressionless feature yet her eyes were gleaming with indescribable emotions. While he was looking around just now, he noticed that Kaimei Public Library was more hectic than other nearby libraries. People come and go. Therefore, Mayuka would probably get worn out after her shift. Ryu flashed her a warm smile and a wave. His tender gaze welcomed her with a quiet 'okairi' even before they reached home.

. . . . .

They walked to the nearest convenience store and bought two cans of cola before occupying the seats provided. Ryu noticed the silence spell that Mayuka cast. She was staring at the road yet almost got hit by a bicycle if Ryu failed to pull her on time. Either exhaustion was the issue or something else, Ryu could only guess.

Mayuka opened the can and gulped it. The hurtful tingle on her throat was comforting as the cola went through her oesophagus. She wanted to cough badly but she held herself. While Ryu took out his metal straw and enjoyed a little sip of the cola. He would keep the liquid in his mouth for a while until it reached thermal equilibrium and swallowed it, not worrying about getting any kind of brain freeze.

"Ryu," Mayuka put down her empty can. Ryu hummed. "Do you think I'm a... cold person?"

Ryu quickly tried to find her gaze but her eyes were avoiding him. "Something happened, Mayuka?"

Mayuka did not refute. Neither did she agree. "Sometimes, I wonder how you see me," she confessed, "Ryu could date anyone. Someone who is more lovely and would not have problems enjoying summer with you. It makes me wonder, why me?" She was not done yet. "Even your friends, last night, got intimidated with me. I didn't blame them. Understandable."

It was difficult and impossible to figure out the answer. All the reasons he gave would be pointless because he acknowledged that Mayuka was currently in denial. Are you not confident with me or yourself, Mayuka? Ryu clenched his jaw.

"Say, Ryu."

Ryu sighed. He wanted to have a late lunch with her. However, right at this moment, he wished he could throw the lunchbox he prepared at whoever made Mayuka doubt herself. "Shall we take a break?" Ryu replied.

The evening sunray hit her skin through the glass window of the convenience store as Ryu repositioned himself from the seat. His head was blocking the sun from blinding her but when he slightly moved, it shot into her pupils and demanded her to close her eyes.

And just like that, Mayuka realised. She has depended so much on him. "Take a break?"

"Hmm," Ryu nodded. "Take a break from each other. So that we can think clearly and not feeling guilty for neglecting one another."

Neglect? Does Ryu always feel that way? Mayuka was astounded. Ryu's voice was affectionate when he spoke to her. Even when he was angry, he preferred to stay silent as he believed that hurtful words resided for eternity in one's heart.

Why you? The question is not 'why you', Mayuka. Why not you? Ryu pushed the lunchbox deeper into his tote bag. He was not hungry. He lost his appetite. Unlike Mayuka who was expressionless and quiet, Ryu was expressive and had so many things to say. Unlike Mayuka who could not get many things done at once including listening while eating, Ryu had no issue multitasking. In fact, it was his strength. Ryu always thought that they were fine. Perhaps due to Mayuka who did not talk much, now, it suffocated him when she suddenly threw the baggage of emotions at him.

"Does 'take a break' mean breaking up?" Mayuka's voice was shaking. She could feel her blood was rushing under her pale skin. It was not the summer heat; it was the fear of returning Ryu's spare house key back to him. And taking back hers from him.

Ryu blinked, baffled with the inquiry. "N-No!" His tone slightly went up. He was getting emotional. "No, Mayuka. Don't you know that I will die first if we break up? It's me, not you!" Ryu pushed his spectacles that were sliding down.

"Take a break is to avoid us from reaching that breaking point." Ryu lost composure and placed the lunchbox he had prepared on the table. It caught Mayuka's attention. "Mayuka, I don't know what happened at your workplace. I don't know who made you question your worth. I don't know anything unless you tell me. Mayuka is so reserved that you barely complained. Sometimes, I would pray for a superpower to read minds. So that, you won't have to speak your mind but when you came to me like this..." Ryu tilted his head and blocked the sunray from blinding her. "Don't you think it's unfair to decide something for me?"

Mayuka was confounded. She tried to recall every word that she threw at Ryu just now and her mind highlighted several lines which suggested the unfairness Ryu was talking about. Ah, Ryu's right. As she scrutinised those baseless accusations that came out as ridiculous questions, she was not hoping for an answer at all. She realised that no matter what Ryu responded, she would accept them as appeasement because her heart quivered. She was doubting herself.

She has been shrugging off people's opinions about her since she was young. Her father told her countless time that she should not think much about how others viewed her as long as what she did was right. She started as a confident young girl who slowly crumbled as she reached her teens. When she excelled in academics and received more respect from her peers, the confidence greeted her again. However, when she started her freshman year, once again, she walked towards the bottom point of the invisible confidence amplitude.

"I... I'm sorry," said Mayuka in a solemn voice that was barely audible. She reached for the black tote bag that she bought for Ryu during her club visit to Hokkaido months ago. She peeked into it and saw two lunchboxes, one in blue and the other in green. There were also two puddings Ryu made the other day.

"I saw your note and summer schedule. Today's Tuesday and I figured out that you won't come home before heading to Sasaki Cram Centre. I wanted to eat with you," Ryu hid his reddened cheeks behind his hands, "I hope I'm not getting in your ways with your summer jobs."

Mayuka shook her head and grabbed the green lunchbox. It was their unwritten rule that green belonged to her while blue was Ryu's. She put the blue one in front of him and served the chopsticks on a piece of tissue paper next to their food containers. As they devoured the meal hungrily, Mayuka started sharing about the restless shift she had in Kaimei Public Library, including the tobacco talk with Ryu.

For a moment, they both realised that the role has changed. It used to be Ryu who spoke, Mayuka listened. Now, Mayuka spoke while Ryu listened. 


A.A.Androun
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