Noise Complaint, Pt. 4

The living room was oppressively quiet. Normally, breakfast with these idiots would be a mess of dumb arguments, terrible jokes, and at least one spilled drink.

Not today.

Today, it was just... chewing.

Well, mostly from Megumi, who was munching away on an onigiri like the room wasn't thick with tension. She even hummed a little, completely oblivious, peeling back the wrapper as she went.

And then—

"Uh... hey," I muttered, brow furrowing. "You're supposed to take the plastic off before you eat the seaweed."

Megumi froze mid-bite, slowly pulling the clear film out of her mouth.

"What the... For real?"

"Obviously, for real."

"Why would they make it clear? It looks edible!"

"It's plastic..."

She shrugged, inspecting the wrapper.

"Could've fooled me. Which it did, cuz it tastes just fine."

"...Seriously?"

"What? It's not like I ate the whole thing."

"You were halfway through it."

"I'm efficient."

"I think the word you were looking for is 'weird,' by the way."

"Wanna get punched?"

"Wanna get evicted?"

She couldn't say anything to that, so she slumped in her seat and let out a subtle, 'hmph.'

I chuckled and returned to my own food, grabbing an onigiri from the bag and unwrapping it as if this were a totally normal situation.

We all settled into a rhythm after that. Casual bites, occasional side comments, and Megumi making increasingly questionable food choices. At some point, without even thinking about it, I glanced up from my rice ball.

Koga and Yue were both watching me.

Not casually. They were full-on staring, their faces stuck somewhere between amusement and smug satisfaction.

"...What?" I mumbled.

Koga smirked.

"Nothing."

And Yue grinned.

"No, yeah. Totally nothing."

I narrowed my eyes, already regretting asking.

"Stop being weird."

They both just chuckled to themselves, like they knew something I didn't. Which, knowing them, they probably did.

I sighed and took another bite.

Breakfast was finally in full swing. The earlier tension had thinned out, replaced by clatters and the occasional murmur of conversation. Koga scrolled through his phone between bites, and I kept my head down, determined to finish eating without further incident.

Yue, however, wasn't having it.

"So, um... Miss Megumi," Yue asked, flashing an awkward smile. "You... like— uh... have any hobbies or whatever?"

She glanced up, but it very much seemed like she would've rather been looking at her food instead.

"Sleeping."

That was all she said.

"Is that so? That's... cool. I guess. Same. Especially as a college student, can't... can't go a day without my naps."

"Mhm."

I almost wanted to find a cave and lock myself inside. The awkwardness was starting to rot my insides.

"But, um... What else do you like to do?"

Megumi shrugged, still focused on her food.

"Not much. I don't know. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not really good at that 'talk about yourself' thing because there's not really much to say. At least, not much that the internet doesn't already know about me."

"A-ah... right..."

The silence that followed felt like it might strangle the entire room. Even Koga glanced up, sensing Yue flailing, but that didn't matter. After all, Yue was never the type to give up so easily.

"Oh! Wait!" she perked up, snapping her fingers. "Okay, random question. I've seen almost all the commercials you've done for skincare products, but which one is your absolute favorite?"

That made Megumi pause mid-chew.

She blinked, then glanced Yue's way.

"Skincare?"

“Yeah! You know, cleansers, serums, face masks — stuff to keep your face looking fresh. You must've tried every single one on the market. So?"—she leaned a bit closer to her—"Spill the beans. Which one's actually worth it?"

Megumi tilted her head, considering it.

"Hmm… I don't really know. I guess I just use whatever's there. Shohei put a slimy thing on my face once, though."

I instantly choked on my rice.

"Oh~?" Yue grinned, eyes narrowing like a cat spotting a mouse. "Slimy thing, huh? Shohei, what have you been getting up to?"

"It was just a face mask! For some reason, she was snooping around with my products and decided to slip on a charcoal mask instead of an actual moisturizing mask!"

"Yep. And it felt nice," Megumi added, popping another bite into her mouth. "Anyway, there are some that are my go-to, but none of them are outright my favorite. I think I've plucked a few from one too many brand names, and I genuinely can't remember the results of most of them. But! I can tell which ones I absolutely abhorred."

"I'm all ears.

And just like that, the two were deep in conversation. Comparing favorite scents, teasing each other over weird products, Yue describing the time she left a peel-off mask on Koga just to watch him scream when it ripped out half his facial hair.

Megumi was laughing, Yue was dramatically reenacting it, and honestly... it was kind of nice.

I sat back, letting the scene play out. It was weird how fast they clicked once Yue found the right thing to latch onto. One minute, it was like pulling teeth, and now it was like they'd known each other for years.

Koga nudged me with his elbow.

"They get along pretty well, huh?"

"Guess so."

Even then, I couldn't help but smile. The room was a little lighter now, and for the first time since the whole disaster started, the morning actually felt normal.

Koga stood up with a sharp breath.

"You two keep at it. I'm gonna borrow Taka for a sec."

"Huh," Yue mumbled with a small scowl. "What's this out of nowhere? What's so important that you have to pull Taka away in private?”

"Don't worry about it, love. Boy talk. Come on, Taka."

"Y-yeah... sure."

Yue shrugged it off and went right back to chatting with Megumi, who honestly seemed to forget I even existed. Not that I minded as long as she was happy.

Koga pulled me into my room and shut the door behind us. He turned around with a weird look in his eyes and set both hands on my shoulders.

"Taka," he said, serious.

"Koga?"

"Listen, man... We've known each other for what? Eight years? I know you. You're not the kind of guy to just bring some random girl home on a whim, let alone a whole freaking celebrity. And you sure as hell aren't the one-night stand type.”

"A one-night… W-what?!"

"I know, I know. I'm jumping to conclusions after twenty minutes of context. Can't help it. What if this is all some reality TV prank? You know... Seeing if the weirdo man who let her into his house would take the bait."

"O... kay. I can say for sure that it's not that."

"Maybe not. Sure. Let's say that it isn't some scheme, and it really did just turn out this way. What about you? Is this a... you know... a rebound thing? An attempt to get over Chiaki?"

I let out a long breath, my stomach twisting.

"Koga... Look at me. That's not what this is. At all."

"Then what is it? You can't keep dodging this forever. Look at it from my point of view. It's very hard not to draw my own conclusions."

I swallowed hard. I wasn't ready to unload Megumi's whole story on him. Not the truth about what happened on that bridge. Not the fact that she almost didn't make it. That's what made me bring her home. That's why she's here.

That's all... right?

"It's... personal reasons," I muttered, avoiding his gaze. "Look, man... All you need to know is that nothing happened between us. She's just a roommate. For now. I promise."

For a second, I could see he wasn't satisfied with that answer. But then he sighed, and a crooked smile slipped onto his face.

"I figured. Just wanted to hear you say it."

"Hah... You should know me better than that by now."

"I do. That's why I'm choosing to believe you despite the obvious signs, like how she's wearing your hoodie."

"O-oh... that..."

"Pfft. I'm messing with you, man. But seriously — Megumi no Hana? One of these days, you're gonna tell me how exactly you pulled her."

"H-huh?! I didn't pull anyone."

Koga grinned, then gave my shoulder a light punch.

"Whatever you say. But for what it's worth, I can already tell that she's miles better than Chiaki. No offense to her, but... You definitely upgraded."

"Dude... Don't say stuff like that where they can hear you."

"You think I'm that dumb?"

"Hell yeah, I do."

"Oof. Brutal."

"You earned it."

He laughed, and I cracked a small smile as I reached for the doorknob. Whatever this situation was... at least for now, Megumi was getting along with them. And honestly, that was more than I could've hoped for.