Ch.004 – Once Blind, the Fool Now See – 02

The day after their small talk in a park, as always, Renji standing by beside the car. But before he could even get his usual half-hearted greeting out as he opened the car door, Reika beat him to it.

“Good evening.” She said first, calm and composed, even looked at him properly albeit just a bit.

“O-Oh… good evening…?” It caught him off guard.

…It wasn’t like her to greet first, was she ever, before…?

He circled back to the driver’s seat, start driving, and after a short moment of hesitation—like someone gently tapping a landmine with a stick—he asked.

“So… how was your day?”

“Guess.”

He glanced at the rearview mirror. No clues. She looked calmer as ever.

“...Bet it sucks.”

“Oh, good guess,” she replied, her tone unexpectedly playful. But after that she eventually asked—

“How’s Tetsuo doing?”

Renji answer immediately with a scoff. “Still cookin’ like a DJ in a kitchen rave.”

“Hm.”

“What? If you’re that curious, go there for lunch sometime.”

“If I had time.”

“You still have time to tend flowers.” He let out offhanded joke with a chuckle, he didn’t realize how sarcastic it sounded until it was already out of his mouth.

…Oh… Shit me…

There was a pause. A dangerous one.

When Reika sigh and breathe in gathering the force and about to fire back, Renji cut with stammering words.

“W–Wait! My bad. My bad!! Didn’t mean it like that. You don’t have to say it. I already feel your knife on my back—”

“Exactly.” she said, while swallowing whatever insults she about to throw at him, shutting the conversation down like a steel door.

“… Uhh… You say you don’t have time for lunch, yet you keep ordering it? Do you even eat it?”

“Of course I do.”

“But didn’t you say you’re often out at meetings till evening? Sometimes even late?”

“We live in a modern world, mister. Fridges. Microwaves. Revolutionary stuff,” Reika said with dry and tired tone, like someone explaining the obvious to an ignorant child.

“Huh... that so…”

“I’m not a picky eater.” she added with even drier tone.

Still, he hesitated, trying to pick the right words. “That’s not what made me thinking—”

I bet shit like Noblesse oblige…?

“You thought I was ordering it out of courtesy and throwing it away,” Reika cut in before he could finish. “Or gave it to a staff member. Or... a pet.”

Wow... that’s exactly what I thought…

Renji blinked, again impressed—and slightly unnerved—by how well she read his mind.

“…You have a pet?”

“No.”

“......”

He was starting to get the rhythm of her now.

“Okay, fine... I’m sorry for thinking that way.”

“I ordered it because I like it.” Her voice softer this time.

“Yeah yeah... And… How’d you even find Tetsuo’s place anyway? It’s not exactly on main road.”

“Just happened by one day when I was hungry.”

“Sure you did...”

“I’m not lying.” The edge was back in her tone.

“I’m not doubting you, alright? I’m just... processing. It's hard to imagine someone like you stumbling into anywhere.”

“You’ve had this air of quiet accusation ever since.”

“Sheesh... okay, okay...”

After he take a look at his GPS, making sure he took the right lane, he continues. “When was the first time you went to Tetsuo anyway? I don’t think I was even delivering to your office last year.”

“Last April, and you worked there before that, right?”

“...Guess you heard some things from him?” Renji glanced at her through the mirror.

“Yes. But I want to hear it from your side.”

Damn... Do I really have to...?

Renji waited until they hit a red light before pulling the handbrake. His fingers tapped the steering wheel land he let his eyes wander to the crossing and passing car in front of him, then finally said—

“...He helped me a lot. Old man Tetsuo.”

At the sound of his voice shifting into different tone, Reika leaned back into the seat, resting her head and settling in to listen.

“The first time I met him was spring last year.”

That was all he said before the light turned green again. He eased the car forward through the intersection, silence returning for a few blocks before he spoke again.

“I’d been bouncing between part-time jobs back then. One to the next. Never stuck—Tetsuo was the first guy who smiled when he saw me. Actually smiled after reading my CV.”

“Bad resume?”

“Not bad. Just... ‘nothing impressive’ kind. One of those resumes that makes people sigh or throw pity stares. Honestly, I preferred the annoyed ones. At least that felt honest.”

A long pause, Renji seems to recall some of those moments before phrasing it.

“—Then Tetsuo just said, ‘When can you start?’ Heh… Surely, old man had a screw loose.”

That last line came softer, more distant as he chuckled.

“And it was around Christmas. December last year. Come to think of it... just about this time of year… Anyway, Tetsuo offered me a shot at another job—said it was good step up for me.”

“And you took it?”

“Yeah. I did. At first I was worried he’d have a hard time replacing me. But he just waved it off like he always does—‘Not much order anyway,’ he said.”

They passed a tunnel, shadows streaked the dashboard like a strobe. Renji said in a defeat. “And then… somehow, I ended up back at his place last month.”

“So that explains why I never saw you before.”

“Yup... but I’m glad you became a regular there.” He gave a small nod as he glances back at her for a split second.

Reika’s tone shifted slightly, tinged with confusion. “What’s this all of a sudden?”

“Well... the old man might not show it, but sometimes I got the feeling he was about to shut the place down.”

“That’s just your assumption at play again.”

“Yeah. Probably… Still worried anyway.” He said while half-laughing.

“He told me he keeps it open because he loves cooking.” Reika responded with something different—firm and confident. And it made Renji pause.

...Yeah... wait. Why did I never ask him that? What he really felt about the shop. All this time, I just worked there like a stray drifting through... Guess I’m a shithead after all...

He pushed the thought down and replied with a casual chuckle, “Sounds like him, alright.”

“Why did you return to Waragyo, then? Didn’t the job Tetsuo found for you supposed to be better?”

Renji's smile faded slightly. “Yeah. It was.” But he left it at that.

The silence that followed stretched out long—far longer than before. The city moved past them in lights and shadows. Reika eventually glanced up at the back of his head, studying his posture.

“Am I not supposed to ask about that?”

Renji gave it real thought. Then he answered without turning. “Do I have to answer that one?”

“If you feel like it.”

“...I don’t feel like it,” he admitted, then added dryly, “Sorry. But hey—thank you for your consideration, Your Highness.”

The sarcasm was light, but enough to mark the awkwardness settling in between them. Until Renji cleared his throat and steered the subject elsewhere.

“Well... I’m more curious about you, actually. Why someone like you chose to frequent that place?”

Reika didn’t answer immediately though, after tapping on her phone for a while, she replied with a smile.

“Is it that surprising?”

“It is. For someone like you? Definitely.”

“… It really is... just a coincidence,” she said, almost a murmur. Then, a little clearer, “Warai Gyoza Honpo. Was the first place I saw when I felt hungry that day.”

“And it just happened to suit your taste?”

“I did—I just took a liking to it. That’s all.”

He glanced at the rearview mirror, catching her clear reflection. She was staring out the window, her slightly somber expression clearly hides something beneath.

Fair enough... We both have things we don’t want to talk about.

“Old man Tetsuo must’ve been surprised seeing you walk into the restaurant for the first time.” Renji tried to stave off the mood by making a light joke.

“He did, already closed and still cook me some meal, haha.”

“Old man seems like he will cook to some robber too if they hungry I bet. Heh…”

“I can imagine that.”

After they both forced a laugh that seems only to serve the purpose to ease the mood, Renji went quiet for a moment, then said slowly.

“I can’t answer why I quit the job Tetsuo found for me… But… I can answer why I’m back at his place…”

“Why?” Her voice was steady, not intrusive—even if the topic grew heavier.

“Tetsuo’s kinda like... a father to me, I guess.”

Reika didn’t respond at first, but a faint smile touched her lips. She leaned slightly to one side, head resting near the window. “Hmm.”

Renji let the quiet linger, missing the way Reika looks at him from the backseat, then spoke again—this time even softer, as if thinking aloud.

“You know... it’s the kind of place you can run back to... if everything else goes wrong.”