Is Everything Okay?

Mika came out with the bags in his hand. Saya was waiting for him and was surprised to see the bags in his hand.

"You bought quite a lot."

 "Well, it might be a bit, yeah." 

After placing the bags in the basket, Mika calmly resumed his seat.

"Are you ready?"

 "Y-yes, do we still have a long way to go?" 

"No, we're almost there." 

Mika rode the bicycle together all the way to Mika's house. When they arrived, Curiously, Saya inquired,

 "Wow, do you live alone in this spacious big house?"

 "Yes." 

"Isn't it scary t- sorry, I forgot."

 After leaving the bicycle, they entered the house. Mika was thinking to himself, 

What should I do now? Should I just give her the umbrella and send her off but she said she would help. I think she prepared food for me, so I should do the same. She must be tired after coming from school."

"Make yourself at home." 

"Okay, thank you." Saya looked around. There were ship models and sea paintings in the hallway. Mika put the groceries in the kitchen. 

"Hey Mika, I need to wash my hands. Where's the sink?"

"At the end of the hallway, on the left."

 "Okay, thanks."

 Mika was still thinking about what to do.

The general rules were clear: cook a meal, then start coding, and when it's done, give her the umbrella and see her off. But there was a problem. What should he cook? The only things he knew how to make were pasta and omelet. Maybe making pasta would be fine. He took out the ingredients and started chopping the tomatoes.

Meanwhile, Saya had arrived. 

"Wow! Are you cooking?" 

"Yes." 

"Hmm, what are you making?" 

Saya came closer to Mika and looked at the chopped tomatoes. 

"Pasta." 

"Good choice. Is there anything I can help with?"

 "Um, I don't think so."

 "O-okay then... Can I explore inside a bit? I was interested in the ship models in the hallway."

 "Oh, sure." 

Mika was preparing the meal while also thinking about what he should do.

I've never had a guest before, and I have no experience. The most logical thing to do would probably be to act like they do in movies and TV shows.

 Mika had mixed the pasta ingredients and was waiting for it to cook while watching the TV behind him. 

"Hey, Mika." 

"Yes?" 

"What exactly do you do with that system upstairs?"

 "System?"

 "The computer system." 

"Oh, well, I do whatever I need to do with that system." 

"Mika, I understand that... I'm just a little amazed. Compared to your system, mine is like a small office computer." 

"Uh, yeah, it could be." 

What should I say here? 

"Anyway, what are you doing now?"

 "I'm watching TV while waiting for the food to cook." 

"I-understood. Well, at least let me help, you haven't set the plates yet. I can do that."

"Oh, okay, I can help too."

 They prepared the table together. The meal was also ready. Saya exclaimed excitedly,

 "It looks amazing." 

" Thank you." 

***

They finished their meal together. 

"Thank you for the meal." Saya looked at Mika happily. 

"You're welcome. Anyway, I'll start cleaning up." 

"Wait, let me help."

 Saya also began gathering the plates. After clearing the table, they went to Mika's room.

 "Hey Mika, you should be proud of yourself."

 "Why?" 

"A girl enters your room." 

"So?" 

"Um, wait a minute, have you had girls in your room before?" Saya looked at Mika in astonishment.

 "No, you're the first one." After Mika calmly said that, he turned to the computers. When he turned around, he saw Saya grinning.

 "Why are you grinning?" 

"W-what g-grinning? Th-there's nothing." Saya tried to change the topic, feeling embarrassed.

 "How can I help?"

 "I'm going to connect my spare computer for you now. I can also give you one of my monitors if it suits you."

"A spare computer?"

"Well, it's my old computer. It's not brand new, but it gets the job done."

 "Oh, I see. Sure, no problem." While Mika took care of the computer, Saya looked out the window. Finally, they connected the computer, and everything was ready. 

"You can download the applications you'll use and customize them as you wish."

 "O-Okay, thank you. By the way, Mika." 

"Yes?"

 "Can you show me the codes you wrote today?"

 "Oh, sure."

 They continued working and completing the website until sunset.

***

The website was finished, and the photos and codes matched perfectly. 

"Well, there don't seem to be any errors, but I'll fix them if any come up." Mika examined it carefully. 

"Phew! It's finally done." Saya yawned. 

"Yes, thank you for today." 

"You're welcome. By the way, when will the products arrive?"

 "I'll place the order tonight, and they'll probably arrive within three days. I'm going downstairs to make coffee, would you like some too?" 

"If it's not too much trouble, yes, please. Thank you." 

Since Mika was going downstairs, Saya started going downstairs with him. Curiously, she asked, 

"You said you would store the products in the garage, right? I hope they fit."

 "I think they'll fit. Do you want me to show you?"

 "Sure." Mika showed Saya the garage.

 "It's HUGE!" 

"Uh, yeah, they used to fit two cars and a portable caravan in here."

 "Wow! Well, anyway, it looks like they'll fit comfortably." 

The sun had set, and the reddish glow it cast on the sky was gradually fading away. 

"Here you go." Mika handed Saya the coffee. 

"Thank you." They sat together on the couch and started watching outside.

"Hey Mika, what will you do if this work you're doing doesn't succeed?" 

"Hmm, I don't know... I guess I'll try something else with a different code."

 "So you don't intend to give up trying..." 

"Well, yes, my goal is to regain these feelings, even if it's a small possibility." 

Saya silently looked at Mika. Her eyes widened, and her voice trembled as she asked,

 "H-how do you plan to regain them?"

 "With money." 

"I don't understand?" 

"If I have a lot of money, I'll have all kinds of possibilities at my disposal, and I can try different things to regain those feelings."

 "T-that's absurd."

 "Why would it be?" 

"Emotions aren't something you can gain with money. They're not a commodity... I mean, you can't buy love or affection with money." 

"Well, as I said, I'm talking about certain emotions and feelings. I don't think I need both of those." Mika said it with clarity and directness.

 Saya couldn't believe what she was hearing. She looked at Mika in astonishment, her face falling. With a mix of frustration and anger, she said, 

"What's the point of love, being in love, or having other feelings without love? What sets you apart from being a mere piece of wood or even a tree?" At that moment, Saya's phone rang.

 They looked at each other, and Saya, with irritated eyes, looked at her phone and answered it quickly, 

"Hello?"

 Mika was looking at Saya.

Why was she pushing so hard? He already believed that these so-called feelings were nonexistent, and to him, things like love were simply foolish. They were nothing more than a role where people chased each other, putting on strange behaviors to appear their best to the other person. 

Saya turned her back and spoke in a trembling voice, speaking softly, 

"Is everything okay?" 

Saya appeared on the brink of tears. "Okay, I'm coming right away." She hung up the phone quickly and turned to Mika. 

Her eyes were filled with tears. 

"Did something happen?" Mika asked directly.

 "I-I have to go. I'm sorry." 

Saya hurriedly headed towards the door. 

"W-wait!" Mika got up and started running after her. 

"I have to go now, I have to go urgently, it shouldn't have happened... It shouldn't have been like this."

"What happened?" 

"I-I can't explain now, I shouldn't explain. I'm sorry, Mika, I have to go. Goodbye. I promise I'll make it up to you later." Saya started crying. 

Mika didn't know what to do. 

How does one handle a situation like this? Finally, thinking it must be an emergency, he said,

 "O-okay, be careful on your way. Also, don't forget your umbrella-"

 But by that time, Saya had already left and started running down the street. 

Observing her departure, Mika muttered to himself, 

What is happening?