4

The bell above the butcher shop door rang again when Naoki stepped inside.

The cool air met him immediately, much heavier than the warm afternoon outside. It always felt like entering a different world. The front of the shop looked tidy enough, the glass display case polished and cuts of meat arranged neatly in rows. But the deeper sounds of work came from the back.

Steel against wood. A knife striking bone. The low buzz of the freezer unit.

Takeshi Shibata stood behind the counter as usual, sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms, apron tied tightly around his waist.

Across the room a younger man crouched beside the counter, bouncing Hana gently on his knee.

“Careful,” Naoki said with a grin.

The apprentice looked up immediately. “She likes it!”

The boy’s name was Genki. Seventeen years old, still finishing school but working afternoons and weekends at the shop. His hair stuck up in stubborn angles, and his hands carried the small scars that came from learning to work around knives - or perhaps from a rougher start in life..

Genki had younger sisters at home. Two of them, both under ten. Since Hana had started visiting the shop with Naoki, Genki had taken to her immediately.

“She grabbed my finger earlier,” he said proudly.

“That’s because you waved it in front of her face,” Takeshi said without looking up.

Genki ignored him.

“Hana likes me,” he insisted.

Naoki set his bag down and stepped closer.

“She likes anyone who makes funny faces.”

Genki puffed his cheeks and crossed his eyes.

Hana squealed.

“See?”

Takeshi glanced over briefly before returning to the cutting board.

“Don’t drop her.”

“I won’t!”

Naoki slipped behind the counter and washed his hands at the small sink beside the prep table. The rhythm of the shop continued steadilyy around them.

A customer entered and ordered half a kilo of sliced pork. Takeshi wrapped the cut in butcher paper with quick, practiced movements before passing it across the counter.

Genki carried a tray of marinated chicken from the refrigerator and began placing the packages neatly in the display case.

The Shibata Meat Shop had been running longer than Naoki had been alive. Takeshi had inherited it from his father.

The work followed a routine that repeated itself every day. Morning deliveries arrived first. Large boxes of meat from regional suppliers, packed tightly in ice. Takeshi inspected each cut carefully before signing the order sheet. Only the best portions made it to the display case.

After that came the cutting. Deboning. Trimming fat. Separating portions for different customers.

Some meat went straight into the display case for local shoppers. Other portions were packed carefully for nearby grocery stores that didn’t have their own butchers.

The back room freezer held larger cuts hanging from steel hooks, slowly aging in the cold air until they were ready to be portioned.

By midday the shop shifted again. Takeshi began preparing the seasoned meats that regular customers loved. Thin slices marinated in soy and garlic. Spiced pork ready for grilling. Chicken mixed with herbs and sesame oil.

Those packages filled the right side of the display case, ready for families who wanted something quick for dinner. The shop never truly stopped moving. Naoki had come to respect the quiet discipline of it.

He noticed the empty container sitting beside the cutting board.

“You already ate,” he said.

Takeshi grunted. Genki looked impressed.

“You made that food?”

Naoki nodded. “For Aiko.”

Genki bounced Hana gently again.

“You’re always cooking for her.”

Naoki smiled. “She works hard.”

Genki studied him curiously. “How did you even get married to someone like her?”

Takeshi snorted softly. “That’s what I’ve wondered for years.”

Genki brightened. “Tell me the story.”

Naoki leaned back against the counter. The shop had slowed slightly, the late afternoon rush not yet begun.

Hana grabbed Genki’s shirt collar and pulled it toward her mouth.

“Hey!” Genki laughed. “That’s not food.”

Naoki watched them with quiet amusement before answering. “I knew Aiko since high school.”

“Really?”

“We weren’t close then.”

Genki tilted his head. “Why not?”

Naoki shrugged. “She was always busy. Studying. Planning her future.”

He wiped his hands on a clean cloth as he spoke. “I didn’t really have a future then.”

Genki frowned. “You were smart though.”

“Smart doesn’t always mean confident or lucky. I worked hard, though.”

Takeshi paused his knife for a moment.

“Continue,” he said.

Naoki chuckled softly. “I promise there’s nothing inappropriate. In university we ended up in the same campus library one night.”

Genki leaned forward eagerly. “And?”

“And she asked if anyone knew where the reference books were.”

Genki blinked. “That’s it?”

Naoki nodded. “I happened to be closest.”

Genki groaned. “That’s not romantic at all.”

Naoki laughed. “Maybe not.” But his expression softened. “She kept asking for help after that.”

“What kind of help?”

“Homework. Carrying books. Fixing her bicycle.”

Genki grinned.

“So you were like her assistant.”

Naoki shook his head. “Something like that.”

The memory warmed him.

“Whenever Aiko needed something, I just… happened to be there.”

Genki tilted his head. “You planned it?”

“No.”

Naoki thought about it for a moment. “My body moved before my heart understood why.”

Takeshi’s knife paused again. Genki laughed.

“That’s cheesy.”

“Maybe.”

Naoki didn’t mind at all. He had always been happy to be of service to Aiko.

“She would ask me for small things.”

He counted them off on his fingers.

“Walk her home.”

“Help move apartments.”

“Drive her to clinical training.”

Genki nodded slowly. “And you always said yes.”

“Of course.”

“Why?”

Naoki looked toward Hana. His voice softened. “Because it was Aiko.”

Genki frowned thoughtfully. “But you gave up a lot too, right?”

Naoki shrugged. “Not really.”

“Didn’t you quit your big company job or something?”

“She said she didn’t know how she could handle everything alone after Hana was born.”

He leaned forward slightly. “So I stayed.”

Genki studied him with wide eyes.

“You just changed your whole life like that?”

Naoki nodded. “Of course.”

Takeshi spoke quietly without looking up. “You always did whatever she asked... Or not yet asked.”

Naoki didn’t argue.

“Yes.”

Genki bounced Hana again.

“She must really love you.”

Naoki looked down at the baby. His voice softened almost to a whisper. “I hope she does.”