Our Professions

She is so pretty. How lucky is the person who can be her boyfriend. The person I am talking about is Masamura Yua. Once an idol, now an actress. She can sing, dance, and act. She is an all-round entertainer. Whenever she stars in a drama, it always creates a buzz and keeps her name at the top of internet searches.

Now, I am watching one of her new dramas on television. Damn, she is so good at acting! How can her crying look so sad and at the same time so beautiful?

“Oh my god! Her acting is superb! Don’t you see that man’s action? How can he hurt Yua-sama’s feelings? I will kill that man if I see him somewhere!”

The person who was talking just now is my sister, Takada Mayu. She is also an actress who just debuted a few months ago.

“Mayu, can you be a little quiet? I can’t watch the drama properly whenever you’re talking,” I expressed my frustration.

“Come on! You should learn how to express your feelings like me so that everyone can know how you feel,” she said proudly.

“How is that related to this situation? Never mind, I want to go back to my room. Tomorrow, I have to go to work. Right, did you tell Mom that you’ll live at my house?”

Mayu said she wanted to live here since it’s easier for her to work than riding a three-hour train to our parents’ home.

“I almost forgot! I’ll tell her later. But now, don’t disturb me! The drama is reaching its climax!” she said as she shooed me away.

Whatever. Then my phone rang.
It was Mom.

“Hello, Mom.”
“Hello, Souma! How are you doing in Tokyo?”

It’s been a month since I last called Mom. Before this, I just used a messaging app to communicate with her.

“I’ve been doing fine. Right, Mayu will be living with me starting today. She said it’s cheaper to live here, and it’s near her workplace,” I took the chance to tell Mom.

“I think that’s best. I always thought someday her savings wouldn’t be enough to support her lifestyle if she continued like before. Living with you might save her money and give her more time to rest,” said Mom.

Before this, Mom had said she was worried about Mayu’s lifestyle, which might cause exhaustion and not enough rest.

“It’s okay now. I’ll try to help her as much as I can,” I tried to ease Mom’s worries.

“I’ll leave her in your care then. If you ever want to talk about anything, feel free to call me anytime,” said Mom proudly.

Now I see from whom Mayu got her confident behavior.

“Okay, Mom. Good night.”
“Good night.”

I put my phone aside and dove into my bed. I really don't feel like working tomorrow.
Takada Souma — right, that’s my name. I work as a math teacher at an elementary school. I’ve been teaching for almost one year. I have always dreamed of becoming a teacher since I was in elementary school. I respect how teachers work hard to guide and teach students to become better people, almost like second parents outside the home. I’m also the homeroom teacher of Class 6-B. I think I need to sleep now. I don’t want to be late tomorrow.

“Souma-niisan, did you talk with Mom last night?” asked Mayu during breakfast.
“Yes. I already told her about you. Right, what will you do today anyway?”
“For today, I’ll have a script reading for my next new drama — as the main actress’s best friend,” she said proudly again.
“Wow, do your best! I have to go to work now. Make sure to lock the door when you go out. Your manager will pick you up later, right?”
“Yes, she said she’ll come at 7:30 a.m. Wait! It’s almost time! I need to get ready right now!”

She looked so rushed that the coffee she drank almost spilled on the table. I hope she’s okay doing her job today.

The school is located two kilometers from my house. I take the bus as my transportation, and it takes about ten minutes to arrive at the school.

When I arrived at school, I could see some students on their way to the classroom.
“Good morning, Takada-sensei!”
That was Fujiwara-sensei’s voice.
“Good morning, Fujiwara-sensei. You look happy today. Did something good happen to you yesterday?”
Unusually, she looked too happy today.
“I will marry my boyfriend next month! He proposed to me last night and asked me to marry him. Look at this ring! It’s so pretty, right?” she said as she showed her diamond ring.
“It looks expensive!” I couldn’t hide my amazement at how the ring looked.
“Of course! He said the price for this ring is almost one million yen!” she said quietly.
“Really?! I almost forgot that your boyfriend is a doctor. How lucky you are to have him as your boyfriend,” I said while looking down.
“Don’t be discouraged, Takada-sensei! Maybe you will find someone you love, just like me,” she said while patting my back.
“I hope so.”

Now, I’m on my way to Class 6-B for the homeroom session.
“Stand up!”
“Bow!”
“Good morning, Takada-sensei!”
“Good morning, everyone. Please have a seat.”

After that, I checked their attendance by calling the names one by one. As I thought, that student didn’t come to school today either.
“Does anyone know what happened to Sakura-san? It’s already been three days, and she still hasn’t come to school.”

Sakura Hana is one of the excellent students in this school. Her absence is surely questionable, as she is a hardworking person. I also haven’t heard anything about her from her parents.

“Takada-sensei! I heard that she is sick, and her parents are still working overseas right now.”
“Where did you hear about that, Motoki-san?”
Motoki Haruto — he is this class’s representative.
“I heard about that from Minami, a student from Class 6-A. She lives in the same neighbourhood as Sakura-san.”
“Thank you, Motoki-san. I will ask her later about Sakura’s condition.”

The girl that Haruto talked about is Yamada Minami. I have heard that she and Sakura-san are best friends.
During recess, I asked Haruto to call Yamada-san to meet me.
“Yamada-san, sorry to disturb your recess time, but can I ask you about Sakura-san?”
I feel sorry to make her come to see me when she is having recess time with her friends right now.
“It’s okay, Takada-sensei. But I have something to tell you about Sakura. She is actually not sick.”
What Yamada-san told me just now made me more confused.
“What do you mean by that?”
“The truth is she doesn’t want to come to school anymore. I have tried asking her the reason, but she doesn’t want to tell me.”
This is a big problem. Why does she suddenly not want to come to school anymore?
“Do you know something? Maybe did someone bully her?”
I hope this is not the reason.
“Sakura is a good girl. She is always kind to everyone, as Takada-sensei knows. I can’t imagine that someone bullied or hurt her. Right, can you help me try to persuade her today?”
“Yes. I will try to persuade her again later,” replied Yamada-san.
“Thank you very much.”

Also, I asked Motoki-san to go with Yamada-san. As someone who is closer to Sakura-san, maybe her heart will open again. I hope I can hear good news tomorrow.

On my way home, my phone rang and it showed Mayu's name.
“Souma-niisan, today I will have dinner with my friend. And I will be home late at night. So, you will have a lonely dinner.”
I could hear Mayu’s sinister laugh while she was on the phone with me.
“Make sure you’re careful, especially — it’s quite dangerous at night to walk alone.”
“Don’t worry! Souma-niisan too! See you later at home! Have a good dinner!”

I think she is the one who will enjoy dinner tonight. Should I make chicken stew for tonight? I have all the ingredients already. Let’s do it!

As I arrived in front of my house, there was someone suspicious. That person was wearing a hoodie, mouth mask, and sunglasses. Don’t they feel uncomfortable wearing that kind of outfit on this kind of hot night?
“Sorry, but can I stay in your house for now?”
It sounded like a woman’s voice.
“I can’t allow someone to enter my house like that, especially someone that I don’t know.”
Why is she acting weird? It looks like she is hiding from something or someone. I don’t want to waste my time here. When I opened my house door, a black silhouette quickly entered my house.
“Wait?! What are you doing just now?”
I felt what she did just now was rude. How can she enter my house like that?
“Sorry, but I have my own reason,” she replied.
“I will call the police. This counts as a crime because you trespassed my house without my permission.”
“Okay! I will tell you right now,” she said while opening her hoodie and sunglasses. After she pulled down her mouth mask, my heart stopped beating. Is this true? My eyes stopped blinking.
“Nice to meet you! Sorry for earlier but I need your help for tonight. My name is Masamura Yua.”
Are you serious?!