Chapter 7- Fragments of Hope

The waves rolled in slowly, brushing against Koji’s ankles as he stood alone on the shore.

The sun rose in the distance, spilling pale gold across the ocean. But there was no warmth in it. No hope. Only light for the sake of light.

Koji looked calm—not with peace, but in the way someone looks when he accepted that the guilt won’t leave. That some things follow you forever.

He stayed there for a while. Listening to the tide. Letting the ocean breathe for him.

Then, without a word, he turned back and walked back to his apartment, exhausted.

As he stepped inside the building, voices echoed through the narrow hallway.“You said you’d pay this month’s rent today,” the landlord barked. “What excuse you got now?”

Yumi stood near her door, hands trembling, back pressed to the wall like a cornered animal. Her voice was fragile—barely audible.“I… I thought I’d get paid today. But my boss left town. I didn’t know… I’m sorry. I promise I’ll pay tomorrow—”

“No more tomorrows,” the landlord snapped. “You only got today.”

He stepped closer, his voice turning low. Disgusting.“Or there’s other ways you can pay.”

Koji stopped in the hallway as his eyes widened.

Yumi’s eyes dropped to the floor. Her shoulders shook.“I’ll pay you… today,” she whispered.

The landlord smirked. “Good. Because if you don’t… you know what’ll happen.”

He turned, brushing past Koji with a look of mock apology.“Not your business. You’ve paid up. Three weeks and you’re out. Me and her—we got our own problems.”

Koji said nothing. He only stared, eyes cold with quiet disgust at the landlord.

Then he walked past Yumi, opened his door, and closed it behind him without a sound.

Yumi stood there, frozen, she realized Koji had heard everything. A wave of shame washed over her.

She went back to her room and closed the door behind her.

Then her knees gave out.

She collapsed to the floor in the hallway, alone.

Her breath shook. tears slipping down her cheeks. No excuses left. No energy. No hope. Only shame. Only silence.

Yumi lay on her futon, staring at the ceiling.

The clock ticked on the wall.Tick.Tick.Tick.

Each second was louder than the last.

She didn’t have enough time.

Rent was due.

Her boss had vanished.

She had no one to ask- no family, no friends. No one who'd lend her anything she truly was alone.

The silence wasn’t empty. It was suffocating.

And then—

A knock.

Her eyes widened.

Her breath caught in her throat.

It was him.

It had to be.

The landlord.

Her hands trembled as she stood. Sweat dotted her brow. She didn’t have the money. There was no other way. She’d have to do what he asked. She didn’t want to. She couldn’t. But—

She opened the door.

And there stood Koji.

A paper bag in his hand.

Yumi blinked.“…What are you doing Koji?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Koji didn’t answer right away. He simply held out the bag.“There’s some money in here,” he said quietly. “I sold some of my old stuff. Just… take it.”

Yumi froze. Her mouth opened, but no words came.

She had thought there was no one left in the world who cared.

That she was truly alone.

Her face turned red.

It felt wrong. Like she was using him.

Like he was helping her out of pity.“I… I can’t take this,” she finally whispered.

But Koji shook his head.“Don’t say anything,” he said, cutting her off. “Just take it. Please. It would mean a lot to me.”

Her hands hesitated.“…But I—”

“Don’t let your pride get in the way. Just take it,” he said again.

“You don’t need to say thank you. You don’t owe me anything.”He looked down for a moment, voice quieter now.

“I knew people were suffering before. That people around me were in trouble. But I ignored it. I thought it would all just… go away.”

He looked up again, eyes heavy.“But it didn’t. And now I suffer for it every day.”

He gently placed the bag in her hands.“So please… take it. For my sake.”

Yumi’s fingers curled around the bag. She couldn’t stop the tears now.

“…Thank you,” she whispered.

Koji smiled faintly.“I said don’t thank me. Just pay the landlord. There’s some extra in there too. For you.”
“You’re a good person, Yumi. You deserve better than this.Just… don’t worry. It’ll be alright.”

He turned to leave.

“I’ll pay you back,” Yumi called out, her voice shaking.

But Koji just paused and replied without looking back:“You don’t need to," Koji said. "Take care of yourself. That’s enough."He paused.

"You deserve it. You don’t owe me anything.”He walked away.

Yumi stood in the doorway, face flushed, eyes wet.

She slowly closed her door behind her, clutching the paper bag to her chest.

She had truly believed no one cared. That no one was there for her.

That people only looked after themselves.

But this—

This was something else.

Not pity. Not charity.
 For the first time in a long time, some one had seen her.

And the feeling swelling in her chest wasn’t just gratitude from a friend anymore.

It was something deeper.

Something she couldn’t name.

Not yet.

Time passed.

A faint knock echoed through the quiet apartment. Koji stirred from his bed, the sunlight painting half of his room in warm gold and the other half in grey shadow. He sat up slowly, still caught in the haze of sleep, and walked toward the front door. On the floor, a cardboard box sat beside the shoe rack. An old newspaper lay on top, the headline half visible:“Business tycoon arrested on account of se—”

The rest was obscured.

Koji stepped over it and opened the door.

On the other side, Kenji was already mid-conversation—with Yumi."Ah, sorry," Kenji said, flashing a crooked smile. "I didn’t mean to disturb you. My buddy's just lazy—it takes him forever to get up. Anyway… how are you, Yumi?"

Overwhelmed by Kenji’s energy, Yumi gave a soft reply. "I’m… fine."Her eyes wandered, almost unconsciously, until they landed on Koji standing behind them. Her cheeks flushed red as soon as their eyes met.

Kenji caught the glance and turned to see Koji behind him."Hey man, what took you so long?" he asked.

Koji narrowed his eyes. "It wasn’t that long. You were just busy talking trash about me."

"Hey, I was only speaking the truth," Kenji chuckled.

Then, gesturing toward the door, he added, "You’re the one who took forever to open up. I nearly broke it down."

Koji stepped out. "So the housework’s done?"

"Mostly," Kenji said. "Just a few things left to fix. Let’s get going. By the way—what’d you do with all the old stuff in that house?"

"I sold it." Koji told with a straight face.

"Oh? So you got some cash. What’d you spend it on?" Kenji asked him eagerly.

Koji looked away. "Gave it to someone who needed it."

Yumi’s head dipped slightly. Her face was even redder now.

Kenji looked between the two and raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Well, your money. Do what you want."

As they turned to leave, Kenji paused."Oh, right!" he said, looking over his shoulder. "Hey Yumi, you free this Sunday?"

She flinched. "Y... Yes. I am."

"Perfect. Me and Koji were gonna hang out. Wanna come?"

Yumi hesitated. Her gaze fell to the floor.

"You don’t have to," Kenji added casually. "If you don’t wanna, that’s fine too—"

"I would love to!" she suddenly shouted. Realizing how loud she’d been, her voice dropped to a whisper. "I mean… I’ve got time. I’ll be there."

Kenji grinned. "Sweet. We’ll be waiting then lets go man." as Koji and Kenji walked away.

Later, at the Koji's old house, Koji and Kenji scrubbed the floors, repaired hinges, and cleared out debris."Why did you do that," Koji said suddenly.

Kenji glanced up. "Do what?"

"Don't play dumb why did you invite her. You don’t ask people—especially girls—out like that."

Kenji smirked. "Then answer me this: Why’d you give her all that money?"

Koji blinked. "Wait—how did you—?"

"You told me not to play dumb, right? So don’t do it yourself," Kenji shot back. "Why are you helping her? She’s a stranger. We barely even know her."

Koji sighed and sat down beside the window. "She’s got no one else to ask for help. That much is obvious. I thought maybe… maybe she needed it more than I did."

Kenji paused. "You care about her don't you?" He sighed "Guess you've got a type...girls who make your life harder."

Koji looked at him. "I care that she is a good person that struggles to live day to day because others try to take advantage of her. It's not about romance, Kenji. She's just... someone who deserve better. That's all."

Kenji smirked again. "She looked at you like that."

Koji stood up abruptly. "Don’t make stuff up in your head."

"I’m not. But maybe… you still haven’t moved on from Hana, have you?"That name.

Koji’s chest tightened. His heart froze mid-beat."Don’t talk about her," he said coldly.

Kenji held his gaze. "I won’t. But you’re stuck in the past you need to move on from what happened."

Koji says with tiredness in his voice "Please don't talk about her."

Kenji tries to lighten the mood "Fine I won't. It's in the past" Kenji sighed " You are just like your mother."

Koji sounds surprised "What do you mean."

Kenji’s tone grew distant, softer than before."Do you remember that night? The one when I came here…?"

The scene cut to black.


**FLASHBACK**

The sky had already dimmed to a soft violet as night began to fall. Streetlights blinked awake one by one, and the world took on a warm orange hue.

Koji and Hana walked side by side, their footsteps slow and quiet against the empty path.

"Alright," Hana said with a gentle smile. "Shopping's done let’s go back home."

Koji glanced at her, hesitant. "Do you want me to walk you back home?"

She shook her head. "No, you’re already tired today. Go home and rest. I’ll be fine."

He hesitated again, but nodded.

They parted ways at the next intersection.

As Koji walked alone, he noticed a familiar figure under a streetlight.

Kenji.

He was walking by himself, hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched slightly. Koji instinctively froze and tried to walk away from him then remembered he can't be the same scared kid anymore.

He approached."Hey," Koji said, trying to sound like they were still friends.

Kenji didn’t smile. "Cut the formalities. What are you doing out here?""Shopping. For the fire festival." Koji said loudly his cool persona did not work.

Kenji raised an eyebrow. "Oh. So you meant it then?"

"Yeah," Koji nodded. "What about your kimono?"

"I found one of my dad’s. Fits well enough. Don’t worry about it."

"So… you’re coming with us?" Koji sounded happy.

Kenji’s voice was quiet. "Of course. I made a promise."

Then, after a pause, he added, "But that'll be the last time we're seen together."

Koji looked at him. "I understand."

Kenji's eyes dropped to Koji’s hand. He frowned. "Weird ring you’ve got there. Who gave it to you?"

Koji paused. "No one. I bought it myself."

It was a lie—an awkward one meant to hide the truth between him and Hana."Why are you walking around alone at night anyway?" Koji asked, trying to shift the conversation.

"None of your business," Kenji muttered.

But then—

Grrrkkk…

His stomach growled. Loudly.

He turned his face away. His stepmother hadn’t fed him again.Koji heard it. He hesitated, unsure if he should say anything—but eventually found the courage.

"You… wanna come to my house tonight?" Koji asked quietly. "My mom made some food."

Kenji looked at him, eyes guarded. "What, are you trying to be buddy-buddy now?"

"Yeah," Koji said plainly. "You said we’d stop talking after the festival. But that’s then. I’m talking about now. It's your choice in the end. I am not forcing you."

Kenji stared at him for a moment. His expression unreadable.

"...You’ve gotten bolder," he said.

Koji shrugged. "Just learned to say what’s on my mind."

A long silence.

Then, finally, Kenji sighed. "Fine. I’m starving anyway."

They walked together in silence, the soft glow of windows growing closer. Koji's apartment building came into view, lights glowing warmly inside.

At the door, Koji stepped in first.

Kenji lingered outside for a second, staring at the doorway. He took a deep breath.

Then followed him in.