Chapter Two; A girl called Yui, Part 1.

I was standing right in front of the convenience store where I worked, looking inside.

From there, I watched Yui greet the guys on shift, wearing a face mask and a cap, as usual.

She nodded, thanking the guy, he said something to her, then walked away from her. She stayed there.

The guy walked out the front.

Yui waved goodbye.

Once they were gone, she kept waving.

"Wait..."

Could it be?

"Is she looking at me?" I asked, excited.

I waved back at her, and she stopped waving.

I walked inside.

"Good evening," I greeted.

"Good evening, Ryu-kun," she greeted back, a bit more affectionately than my dry greeting.

She took off her face mask and gently removed her cap.

She undid her ponytail, letting her hair loose.

She was really beautiful.

Long brown hair that framed her round, shiny honey-colored eyes, her pale and round face, her blood-red lips, soft and plush-looking, seemed like the ticket to a new experience, and her body... was voluptuous.

G-cup? No, maybe F-cup, they were in that range, her breasts.

She was about 1.55m tall, much shorter than me, but her legs were thicker than those of a gymnast like Chie or Inue.

Her weight... I guess around 65 kg?

Although those two masses... they might weigh around 5 kg on their own...

"Ryu, is something wrong?" she asked, looking at me with those puppy eyes.

"No, it's nothing..." I said.

It was a bit strange to have a woman so close to my face, usually... they were a bit further away.

She was already wearing her work uniform; I went to the bathroom and quickly changed.

I walked back to where she was, putting my things into a bag.

No one else had arrived yet.

"So, what do we do?" she asked.

"For now, let's sit down, read something while people come in, don't you think?" I replied.

If it weren't for being used to having beautiful women around, I'd probably fall completely in love with her.

But my heart still belonged to Chie.

And by beautiful women, I mean my two older sisters, one was a model and the other a professional basketball player, if there's one thing they, like me, didn't lack, it's genetics.

My mother was an athlete and my father a policeman, both blessed with great height and bodies to match...

About my mother, I've only heard that; the few memories I have from that town where we used to live before her death are somewhat blurry and confusing.

It doesn't seem like she had many friends there, I vaguely remember one or two, but not really anyone, and no one has tried to find me, so it's probably true that she didn't have many friends.

Probably more because of the imprinted memory of a beautiful hill late at night, talking under the stars with that girl.

We walked to the counter.

One hour, two hours, three hours passed.

Around 11 PM, a group of girls arrived.

About 5 of them, all quite petite from my point of view, of course.

"Hey, did you see Misutani?" one asked.

The other replied.

"She confessed to Shizu."

"How funny!" said one, laughing at what seemed to be a situation of rejection.

I looked down, feeling a bit bad hearing that.

"Hey, you guys, don't make fun of that, it's not funny..." one said.

Apparently, they were college students.

They bought some things and left the store.

Yui didn't say anything during the purchase, I was the one who attended to them.

Although she had been like this since the first day she arrived, she couldn't address people properly; when she did, it was in a rough and somewhat forced manner.

The image of a robotic Yui talking to a customer came to my mind.

"Heh heh," I smiled.

"Hey, did you see that guy?" one commented just after they left.

"He's quite handsome..."

"He was staring directly at you, Erika."

"Huh? Me?!" another girl nervously asked.

Damn... don't they realize that everything can be heard? I thought.

Besides, the thing about him staring directly at one of them is a lie, hey.

When the girls left, Yui sighed deeply and leaned against the counter, resting her chest on it.

She said something quietly that I couldn't quite understand.

Which wasn't entirely new, she did it regularly.

As if she asked me something, she'd probably say something like "Huh? It's nothing," so it was quicker not to ask her anything.

The noise dissipated.

I looked outside, seeing there was still one girl left.

She stared at me through the glass.

I smiled at her and waved goodbye.

She shivered and her eyes widened.

She quickly hid her face and started running somewhat cutely towards her group of friends.

"You're quite popular... Ryu..." Yui commented.

"Do you think so?" I replied.

"Isn't it true?" she asked.

"Mhm, I think it's easier to seem attractive as long as you don't really know the person," I replied.

"But you're a really nice person, Ryu..." she commented.

"Do you think so?" I asked.

"Hm," she replied.

"You're not so bad yourself," I replied, being a bit rude.

She looked at me, locking her eyes with mine, her eyes shimmered a bit, and a bit of her bust was exposed, after all, she was leaning her chest on the counter.

"I didn't mean that in a physical way," I said.

"I know, I know," she replied, waving her hand.

"But it's not like it would be a lie if I said it," I clarified.

"But what I mean is... you're also very kind, Yui," I replied.

She straightened up, and while clapping, she replied.

"Ara, I'm glad to hear that," with a smile on her face.

For a moment, I thought it was the sunset sun.

I don't know if it was her brown hair being illuminated by the lights of the store, or her honey-colored eyes looking at me, but she seemed as shiny as the imposing summer sunset sun.

Truly a feast for the eyes.

Anyone would kill to work in my position.

But for me, it was something common, sometimes tedious. Her attitude reminded me a lot of a friend's attitude, and I didn't really like that attitude.

I hate it... when they say something halfway or under their breath and don't clarify.

"But you'll be better when you can properly serve a customer," I said.

"Uh, you're really mean, Ryu..." she said, in a sad tone.

I chuckled a bit, and she started laughing too.

"I'm going to do inventory," she said.

"Let me help you," I replied.

We started doing inventory intermittently while attending to customers until the end of the work night.

When we were both dressed to leave, waiting for the guys from the other shift, I headed to the fridge, took out some cans of soda, looked for a pack of cigarettes, and grabbed two or three beers.

"Yui, can you sell me this, please?" I asked.

"Hm, of course..." she said

She stood next to the counter and handed me a transparent bag.

"Pass me the paper ones," I said.

"Hm?" she replied, passing me the paper bag.

I grabbed the cigarettes and beer and put them inside the paper bag; the rest of the items I left outside, within the same bag.

"What's wrong? Don't you like people knowing you do these kinds of things?" she asked.

She stepped out, took my bill, rang it up, and returned my change.

"I'm not that kind of jerk," I replied.

By "jerk," I meant the type of person who likes to hide their flaws or present an almost artificial image of themselves to others.

"Uh, then?" she asked.

"That way, the flavor stays better," I replied.

"I see," she said, with her usual playful tone.

Through the glass, we could see the other two guys coming towards the store.

She quickly tied her hair back into a ponytail, put it through her cap, and then put on her face mask.

We bid farewell to the two, walked together to a corner.

"Hey Ryu..." she said just as we parted ways.

I turned back.

"What's up?" I replied.

She remained silent.

She opened her mouth to try to say something, but stayed like that for a few seconds.

It seemed as if the words had been snatched away from her.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's... nothing," she said.

"See you tomorrow!" I replied, turning back.

"Oh, see you tomorrow," I said standing there, awkwardly waving my hand in farewell.

I started walking home, looking at the dark and somewhat lonely path.

I reached my small apartment complex around 3 something in the morning.

Just below the stairs, I heard a noise.

"Come on... I know you like it," a male voice said.

"You're funny hahaha," a girl, sounding like a drunk woman.

I started walking up the stairs.

"Come on, but you know, protection," the girl said.

Ugh, it was my neighbor next door.

Boy, did he enjoy life.

When I reached the corner where they were, I could see them kissing.

The girl pulled away from him and stared straight at me.

"Tsk!" I heard from the guy, accompanied by a hit on the stair railing.

I walked past the four murderous eyes staring at me, steadily climbing the stairs.

When I reached the hallway, I heard a voice.

"Wow, is he your neighbor?" the girl asked.

"Why do you care?" the guy replied.

I entered and closed the door.

Same old, same old, I moved to the shelf, grabbed a ramen, put it on to heat, put the sodas into the mini-fridge, except for the three beers.

"Oh damn, I forgot my new razor," I muttered under my breath.

Just as I did that, after about 10 minutes, the same old music started playing.

Rock and roll, a song by "Cigarettes After Sex."

He had good taste, I had to admit, both in music and women, but he was a complete jerk, in my opinion.

"Damn..."

Same old, I wouldn't be able to sleep early tonight.

In vain, I kicked the wall.

I took the last spoonful of instant ramen into my mouth.

Just as I did that, moans started coming from the other side of the wall.

"Yes, yes..."

It was barely audible.

Damn it, that guy should die for doing something like that, right next to me.

"I better go buy my razor," I said.

Of course, after all, the store where I worked was still open.

I went out, went to the convenience store, bought my razor and some junk food, and they were still there, doing their thing.

"Tsk."

I grabbed the beers in the bag, and two cigarettes, and headed to the park across from my house.

It was a bit cold, so I put on a coat and a hat on my head.

I looked for the bench where I usually sat to pass the time, while the guy next to me finished his "business".

A bench somewhat separated from the others, poorly lit by a damaged lamp that flickered quite a bit.

I sat down, with the bag in hand, and the cigarette box in my pocket.

"If a cop comes by, I'm in trouble..."

I thought.

Just thinking that, the lamp stopped flickering and finally went out.

Well, that's even better.

I opened the beer slightly.

sip

"ahh, I really don't like it that much," I said.

I took the first one, and left it under the bench.

I took the lighter from my pocket and lit it.

While it was lit, I noticed that I had mistaken the soda cans for a beer, so I had only brought one.

"Well, it doesn't matter that much," I said, taking the cigarette from my hand.

A gust of wind passed, burning the tip of my thumb, feeling an incandescent pain in the nail.

"Damn," I said.

I dropped the lighter.

I bent down, still sitting on the bench, in the middle of the darkness trying to find it.

It had been a short time since the lamp had gone out, so I still wasn't used to the darkness.

Suddenly, a quite bright lamp shone in my face.

"Hey, you."

A silhouette of someone on a bicycle, staring at me.

I wrinkled my face, while covering it with my right hand.

"Oh, sorry," he said.

He turned off the flashlight, and almost as if it were premeditated, the lamp turned on again.

He, stared at me.

"What are you doing out here at night?" he asked.

"I live across the street," I said.

"And?"

"A noisy neighbor."

Even though I lived across the street, you could still hear some of the music the guy next door played, the surrounding apartments were empty, no one wanted to live there.

But the guy seemed to have something with the owner of the complex.

"I see," he said.

He looked at a soda that was on the bench, in sight.

He held his bike in his hand.

"Would you like some?" I asked.

"Sure, although I shouldn't be doing that," he said.

He approached, leaving his bike leaning against the lamp.

Finally, I looked at his face.

He was an old man, typical.

His square face, he wore glasses and wore his prefecture police uniform.

The only weird thing...

His eyes... they had no life.

They didn't reflect anything, he had deep circles under his eyes.

I recognize those eyes...

I see them every day in front of the mirror, someone who lives without reason or motive, just living because they have nothing better to do.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, instinctively.

"Ah, is it that noticeable?" he asked.

"A little..."

He smiled, and started scratching the back of his head, in a natural way.

His eyes contradicted his way of acting.

"I haven't slept well lately."

"I see, you should take better care of yourself, old man," I said.

He came closer, and took the place on the bench.

I passed nervously, trying to disguise what I was doing just a few seconds ago.

"Here," I said, passing him a grape soda can.

"Thank you..." he replied.

"My daughter... used to tell me the same thing," he said.

He held the can with both hands, staring at it, while resting his elbows on his legs, which were open in a V shape.

His tone sounded somewhat nostalgic and distant.

"And you, do you live alone?" he asked.

"Yes..." I answered.

"Your family?" he asked.

"My mom... died-"

"Oh, I'm sorry, it wasn't my intention, my condolences," he said quickly and politely.

"Don't worry, she died when I was a kid... then we moved from the town we lived in... I don't remember much about her."

"I see..."

"My father... uh... it's a bit complicated," I replied.

"You're older?" he asked.

"This...?" he asked.

"I know your father, but not really, apparently..."

"I see..."

Of course, he's a cop, it was normal, right?...

"I'll turn a blind eye, but stop smoking," he said.

He extended his hand, and made a "give it to me" gesture.

So... he had found out, I thought.

I took my hand and took from the pocket of my jacket, and took out the cigarette box, and gave it to him.

"Missing," he said.

"Even the lighter?" I exclaimed.

Well, although I should be grateful that he didn't do something worse.

"Here," I said, giving him the lighter.

"Thanks," he said.

He quickly took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it.

He inhaled deeply.

And exhaled, creating a cloud of smoke that rose slowly, disappearing into the air.

I looked at him, and he seemed like a cop from a detective series about to die, taking his last drag of a cigarette.

"Old man, you shouldn't smoke," I said.

"Don't call me old man, I'm not that old yet," he said.

He lowered the cigarette and pondered for a moment.

I stayed watching.

"My daughter used to tell me that too," he said.

"Your daughter?" I asked.

"It's nothing," he commented.

Again, he brought his hand to his mouth, inhaling and exhaling again, though this time he did it faster.

The cigarette was already halfway gone.

"Young people, they're all the same," he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"They think today is everything," he said.

"Uh?" I questioned.

"They make a mountain out of a molehill..."

"I'm not that foolish," I told him.

"I don't know, I think you might be..." he said.

Some time passed, and the cigarette was finished.

"Well, I have to go," he said.

"Send my regards to your daughter," I joked.

He laughed and scratched his head.

"I'll tell her I met a young man when I visited her."

"Haha, sure," I said.

"But stop smoking first."

"Alright, alright."

"That sounded fake, to be honest," he said.

He got up and stretched.

He took his bike and rode away on it.

The lamp went out again.

"Darn it, I better leave," I said.

I almost fainted from the scare I got.

If it were another cop... maybe I would've gone home again.

But... that cop seems not quite right.

He looked a bit... how to explain it... a bit off.

I watched as the policeman's back disappeared from my sight, not even saying goodbye.

I got up and went into the hallway.

The noise had stopped, the music was no longer playing.

I entered my room.

Completely dark, trash everywhere, I picked up the bag with the empty cans and left them around.

I walked to my bed and lay down on it, falling into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, in a corner near Ryu's apartments.

A policeman looked solemnly towards the apartment complex.

"So... this is it," he said, as if someone were listening.

A few hours later.

Just another night at work, as always.

We weren't busy at all, no customers had come in for about 2 hours.

But today was a bit heavy.

The boss, my uncle, asked us to cover the next shift, and he promised to compensate us similarly when we needed it.

It was 4am and we were still there.

We had to hold out until 7am.

I was tired, not sleepy, leaning my elbow on the counter.

Yui stretched and laid her whole body on the counter, like a lazy student resting on the desk.

"Such laziness," she said.

"You could have said no," I commented.

"It's just... you would have been alone," she said.

"It's not a problem, you could have gone to rest," I replied.

She felt a bit odd, as if she were trying to hide something.

She only wore the cap, not the mask, although she usually wore neither inside the store.

I found it amusing to see her change in attitude.

With me, she was relaxed and spoke normally, but for some reason, she became really shy when a customer arrived, becoming clumsy in her speech and her elegant way of doing things, almost hypnotic, disappeared.

"But... I didn't want to leave you alone," she said.

Still lying on the table, she turned to look at me.

Her chest was partially exposed, her shirt being pulled by her arms, but she hadn't noticed, apparently.

"Uhmm, if you say so," I said.

I looked up, trying to avoid looking.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's nothing," I said.

I was really used to seeing breasts, yeah.

My sisters used to walk around the house almost naked and seemed totally unconcerned, but this case was different.

"Uh... were you looking at me, Ryu?" she asked, with a tone and a mischievous look.

"Not really, I just don't want to see," I said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, isn't it disrespectful?" I asked.

"Hmm... I see."

"Huh?" I asked.

"It's nothing, really," she said.

Something a bit weird happened, a bug landed right on her nose.

She stared at it, focusing her two eyes on the respective corners, focused on what seemed to be a giant cricket.

"Wait..." I said.

"..." she said nothing.

"Ahhhhhhhh" she screamed.

Her body started to shake and she babbled.

Although the bug left with the noise and the first attempt to clap, she still believed it was there, something totally normal when you have a phobia of those kinds of things.

"Wait, wait," I said, trying to calm her down.

She slipped and fell, with her hands on my chest.

I fell with her too.

I was a bit weak, I hadn't exercised in months and survived on junk food and occasional decent food delivered intermittently.

We fell into a somewhat uncomfortable position.

She stared into my eyes, her breasts pressed against my chest, her round, shiny eyes looking at me.

I could hear her breathing clearly, feel her warmth, feel the soft sensation of her breasts.

I closed my eyes, totally embarrassed.

I was as red as a tomato.

"Wait, wait... think of something else, think of something else," I thought repeatedly, with my face completely wrinkled and red as a tomato, with my eyes closed.

In the distance, someone could be heard saying goodbye to another person.

She quickly got up, completely flushed.

I did the same, also with a red face.

The customer arrived, entered, and greeted us.

I returned the greeting almost weakly.

"Darn, darn..."

I couldn't calm the pounding of my heart, and the incandescent feeling running through every corner of my body.

She kept looking down, staring at her feet.

The night passed quietly.

A few hours later.

Yui and I were ready to leave, the people from the next shift had already arrived, we had changed clothes and everything.

In the staff room, we were eating something, sponsored by the boss.

"Hey... Ryu," she said.

"Hmm?" I replied.

"Are you good with computers?"

"A bit... why?"

She looked down, and somewhat timidly, she asked me.

"Could you help me with a problem I have with mine?"

"Mmm, sure, bring it," I said, thinking it was a laptop or something similar.

"I want... you to come to my house," Yui replied after a moment of silence.

"Oh, I see, sure, why not?" I replied.

"I'm glad to hear that," she said cheerfully, clapping her hands with a somewhat pretty smile.

"Tomorrow I'll say where we'll meet!" she said.

I say somewhat pretty because I could barely see her.

Not... not yet... I couldn't see her face.

Without being able to think of the sensation of her soft breasts.

Darn...

We prepared to walk, just at the entrance, she came up to me, taking my hand.

She whispered a phrase in my ear, one that someone had told me in the past.

"After all... you're not so stoic," she said, softly and somewhat... oddly... slowly, gently exhaling with each word.

She started running with her hands behind her hips until she stopped a few meters ahead.

"Goodbye!" she said, bidding farewell.

I stood there, those words echoing in my head.

A memory of Chie's voice came to mind.

With it, a sharp headache, making me bring my hand to my head, scrunching up my face and feeling a bit unwell.

Every memory of the "Week of Calamities" remained intact in my mind.

I couldn't... stop torturing myself by thinking about it.

"Chie..." I said, almost collapsing on my legs.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked the guy who had come out to see what was going on with me.

"It's... nothing," I said, starting to walk away.

"Goodbye," I said softly.

Sleep and the headache made my vision blurry.

Walking, step by step, towards my apartment.

Just as I was heading towards my apartment, at the corner intersection, I bumped into someone.

She was wearing a school uniform, long black hair, slim figure.

I couldn't see her face clearly.

"Don't you see where you're going, stupid?!" I said.

I had a headache, I was sleepy, and the evocative phrase of old memories from the past had completely ruined my mood.

Perhaps... it wasn't that I was doing okay either.

I felt more miserable and unwell every day.

"Hey..." she said.

Her voice sounded somewhat familiar.

I couldn't make out her face well, everything looked dark, her face, her hair, her voice.

On the ground, I saw that she had dropped several things.

She quickly picked them up and took them.

"Sorry," she said, then ran back where she came from.

"Wait... why did she go back the same way?" I thought.

I think I better go, I thought.

After all, if she was so unreliable as to not realize someone was coming around the corner walking, what could you expect, I thought in a resigned tone.

I reached where I lived.

I walked up the stairs, step by step, and suddenly voices invaded my ears, a woman and a man.

"Hey... when will we see each other again?" asked the girl.

"Hm, it depends on you, you know where I live... just let me know when you want to come," he replied.

"For a free house?" she asked.

"Of course, you know it."

Darn, this guy is on another level! I thought.

Although I wasn't really interested in having many women.

I think I'd be totally fine with Chie.

Speaking of her... what is she doing?

I hope she's doing well....

I arrived where the two people were talking.

They were just before the stairs.

They noticed my presence, both staring at me.

The guy, as always, for some reason, staring at me as if he had anger or hatred towards me, something like that.

"Tsk."

She clicked her tongue.

"Ah, good morning," said the girl.

"Good... morning," I said dryly and almost quietly.

The guy didn't return the greeting.

I passed by them, walking softly.

Just as I reached my room, I heard the girl.

"He's cute, is he your neighbor?" she asked.

"Yeah..." she replied.

"Can you introduce him to me?" asked the girl.

"Wait... I don't even know him, besides, are you stupid?" he commented, with an angry tone.

I inserted the key into my door and drowned out the voices of the people from my ears.

I entered my room, tired, still feeling a bit blurry.

I kept walking, reached my room, with a bag of things I had brought from work, I arranged them in the pantry.

"How?" I asked myself.

"Nah, better leave it for when I wake up," I thought.

I walked to my bed, looking at the scene with my blurry vision.

Trash here, trash there.

Dirt over there.

Empty bed, with my sheet, my faithful companion that accompanied me since I was a child, a reminder of my mother.

I lay on it, completely exhausted.

"What... am I doing with my life... darn it..." I whispered, just as I was about to fall asleep.

I want... to feel that it's okay to be alive... for a change...

Darn it...

A year ago.

"Hey... Haru, how was it?" I asked.

Haru had just arrived at the restaurant where we worked after school, a part-time job.

With his helmet in hand, and leaving the boss's bike in the back, he came in looking at me through the glass again.

"Hm, it went pretty well, got a good tip."

"Good job, ready?" I said.

I needed help arranging the merchandise, and he had arrived just at the right time.

There were some vegetables and non-perishable items that the boss had ordered to be arranged in the storage area.

I greeted the truck guy and started unloading things with Haru.

"Hey... Ryu..." he asked.

"What's up?"

"Ha..."

He exhaled tiredly, just like me; after all, talking while carrying heavy things is a bit tiring, obvious.

"Do you have plans for Sunday?"

"Nope, Chie's busy with a family commitment, and Inue... you know."

I meant that I never invited her to anything because Haru liked her.

"I see, do you want to go out?"

"Mhm, why don't you go out with Inue?" I asked.

I was worried about how slowly things were progressing, mainly because of Haru always working, and when he wasn't, he was doing something for his sisters.

The few free times he had, we went out, but they were too few.

"It's Lily's birthday, we're going to visit her," he said.

"Oh, I see, you should have said that before, then. What time?" I asked.

"By 8am, what do you say?"

"Sure, let's go."

"Thanks for coming."

"Don't mention it, besides, we're brothers, right?" I said, lightly hitting his shoulder as I smiled.

"Don't say weird things, let's go," he said, scratching his cheek.

"Wait... why are you blushing?" I said, teasingly.

"There you go again, saying those things like it's nothing."

"Don't you think so?" I asked.

"I'd say so, sometimes I even think that my sisters like you more than they like me," he said.

"I don't think so, sometimes I think Nae doesn't like me..." I said, playing the role of an elderly person whose grandson dislikes him but tries to make him happy.

"Well, we'll see what we can do to get Nae to open up to you a little more," he said.

"Yeah, but for now... let's keep going, we still have a lot left," I said.

We both smiled.

Present, Ryu's house.

"It's so hot..."

I just woke up from a somewhat pleasant dream...

A bit unusual, usually I would have "that" nightmare that made me wake up on the verge of tears every day

The heat made me consider spending some money on myself, although I had decided to do it minimally.

Remembering the dream, I got up, feeling a little better than usual.

People don't lie when they say that what you dream has a great influence on how you wake up. It's good to feel a little better.

Although... depending on how you view that dream, it can be worse than a nightmare...

Ring... ring...

The screen of my phone lit up, capturing my attention, turning my eyes toward it.

"Yui."

It was her calling.

I took the phone, letting it ring a little longer, until finally answering.

"Hello?"

All I heard was a slightly interrupted breath.

"Hey... hahh... Ryu..."

A tired, somewhat hoarse voice spoke.

"What's wrong?" I asked, somewhat concerned.

"I think... that... it won't be necessary for you to come..." she said.

"Why? What's wrong?" I asked.

"I woke up... sick..."

"Huh?"

Sick...

"What's wrong?"

"Fever... headache... dizziness..."

"Did you catch a cold?"

"I guess... the boss... was..."

Her voice stopped, and something fell to the floor.

"Ryu... I'm sorry..." a sobbing voice sounded in the background.

"Hey, hey?"

There was no response.

I spent a few seconds in silence trying to hear something, but I didn't.

Where did she live?

I didn't know. Once she proposed that we live together as roommates, I rejected her, after all... a woman and a man living under the same roof... doesn't sound bad, but... what if Chie found someone like that?

I would definitely feel very bad, think the worst.

By the worst, I mean that maybe the love she showed me, the things we did weren't more than just a momentary thing, and not a pure and genuine feeling, like I thought those things were.

Definitely, if someone were to start a new relationship, or deepen an existing one, it would have to be her.

I would definitely be the second to "forget" what we once were.

After all... after the "week of misfortunes," I couldn't face her...

She... told me she lived nearby, in a rather large apartment, big enough for two people.

But... where was it?

My mind was confused, there were times when I didn't remember what I had said from day to day.

I brought my hand to my face, looking at our conversation, searching for someplace where she might have told me where she lived.

But... I couldn't find anything.

Today, she would finally show me where she lived, she would call me and we would meet on a corner, but... it didn't happen.

Just awake, I picked up my phone and called my uncle, maybe he knew where Yui lived.

"Hello?!" I asked.

"What's up, Ryu?" he asked.

"Do you know where she lives?"

I asked clumsily.

"Huh? Calm down, think about what you're saying before you speak," he grumbled.

My uncle was a man of little patience, and there was nothing he tolerated worse than stupidity.

"Yui... Do you know where she lives?" I asked, after doing what he said.

Think... before you speak.

"Yeah, why do you need to know? Are you playing Casanova?" he asked.

My uncle spoke almost like a mafia man.

"No, she's sick... and I thought of visiting her."

"Ah, I see... she lives in..."

My uncle told me that she lived two blocks beyond the alley where I lived, around a corner.

In an apartment complex a little better than where I lived.

Without bathing, just splashing water on my face, I went out into the street in search of Yui.

In the corridor, I grabbed my flip-flops and opened the door.

The midday sun blinded me, covering my face from the sun, wrinkling with a piercing pain.

Halfway there, I remembered that I had forgotten my phone.

"Damn."

But I didn't turn back, I was almost there.

From the corner, I looked at an apartment, on the second floor of a building, the first of which was a restaurant.

I knocked.

I climbed a staircase on the side of the building, so as not to bother the tenants of the restaurant.

At the door, I began to knock frantically.

"Knock knock."

"Quiet."

"Yui?!" I shouted.

Still, I didn't hear anything.

I tried to force the door, but I realized it was open, so I entered carefully.

It was dark, it smelled of dust.

A single ray of sunlight entered through a gap in the window, in the corner of a curtain.

"Yui?" I asked.

No one answered.

I kept walking down the hall.

Until I found her, lying on the floor, right at the doors of the hallway.

I quickly approached her and crouched down.

"Yui, Yui?" I asked as I touched her forehead.

She was hot.

She was burning up.

She slightly opened her eyes.

"Ah... Ryu?"

She asked.

"Yui, should I take you to the hospital?" I asked.

"No... please..."

She said.

"Do you have a reason?" I asked.

"Yes..."

"I'll take care of you, if you don't get better soon, I'll take you to the hospital."

"No... don't..."

She spoke softly, tiredly, without strength.

I took her by the back of the neck and under her legs, and lifted her.

She exhaled and rested her head on my neck.

"Where's your bed?" I asked.

She gently raised her hand and pointed to where her room was.

I looked around.

Something bothered me.

Something seemed out of place in her room.

It was tidy, there was nothing on the floor, nothing like that.

But...

There were so few things it seemed like nobody lived here.

If it weren't for a few dishes here and there, I wouldn't know anyone lived here.

I entered her room, which was isolated respectively from her bathroom, kitchen, living room.

It was much larger than my apartment, it even had another room there, surely the one she had mentioned I could stay in and live as a roomie.

The feeling of loneliness saddened me as I walked through her house.

My loneliness was self-determined. But hers?

How was it? How could someone live like this?

I don't know, I don't want to think about it, I don't really want to know... but... what if something happens if I don't ask? Will that happen again?

I don't want... that to happen again, I don't want something to go irreversibly wrong again, I want to hold onto, at least this time, whatever I can within my grasp, even if it breaks my arms.

"I'll help you until you get better," I said to myself aloud as I walked with Yui in my arms.

I entered her room, a somewhat different image.

Her clothes were scattered everywhere, things from the nightstand were scattered on the floor, her bed was disorganized, the sheets were on the ground, everything was messy.

"Don't... look..." Yui said.

With embarrassment, she told me not to look.

"It doesn't matter... I'm not someone who can be embarrassed or feel anything about something like this," I said.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"If you saw my house, you'd understand," I told her.

She fell silent.

"I'm going to put you down here for a moment," I said.

"Okay..."

I started to tidy up her bed, and she yelled at me.

"Wait!"

A somewhat disheartened shout, but strong enough to call it a "shout."

She reached out her hand.

But it was a bit too late, I had already seen what she didn't want me to see...

But... it wasn't anything new to me.

After all, I grew up with 4 women permanently living in my house, I've seen worse things.

"Don't worry, this kind of thing doesn't bother me," I said as I rolled up the sheet.

"But it bothers me!" she said.

She started throwing things that I was picking up from the floor near her.

Although... she had so little strength that it didn't matter if they reached me or not, and when they did, it was gentle.

I rolled up the sheet, put another one.

I approached her again, and laid her on the bed.

Her body felt warm, and shaky, I also noticed that she weighed a bit more than I thought, approximately.

"Thank you..." she said as I put her on her bed.

I covered her with a large sheet, which had previously been lying on the floor.

"You're welcome," I said.

I started to pick up her clothes, including underwear.

Dirty, by the way.

"Hey, don't touch anything..." she said.

"Are you embarrassed?" I asked.

She covered her face with the sheet.

"Yes..."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything weird," I said.

I gathered all the clothes in a basket that was there, until there were few things left scattered around.

"I'm sorry," she said.

She started talking a little more, maybe she'll feel better.

"Why?" I asked.

"For everything..."

"You don't have to apologize," I said.

I left the room with the basket of dirty clothes, she stayed there looking at the door.

"Well, where's the washing machine now?" I asked.

I didn't want to bother her anymore, so I'd just look around.

I walked through the house, looking once again at the lonely landscape.

"Has she ever been sick?" I thought.

Now that I remember, she missed work several times, didn't report it to my uncle, it wasn't that common or frequent, but there had been two or three times, the longest being 3 days, and the shortest only one.

I wonder...

Does she have no one else to rely on?

I found the washing machine, put the clothes inside, and turned it on.

I walked to the living room.

I looked at the table, covered in dust.

I ran a finger over it, and the finger was completely covered in dust.

Really... it's as if nobody's living here.

Only in her room, you could say someone lives.

I searched for a small towel, moistened it, and headed to where she was.

"Are you asleep already?" I asked, opening the door.

I could see her eyes open, looking at me.

"So not..."

"I was, but you woke me up," she said softly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Mhm, mhmm," she said, shaking her head.

"Look, I brought a damp towel," I said.

She was still burning up, I realized after touching her.

Her breathing was still rough and slow.

I placed the towel on her forehead, and she seemed a little more rested.

"Thank you," she said.

"Don't thank me yet," I replied.

"Hmm?"

"I'm going to get some saline solution, and something to make for you."

"Wait..." she said.

"You haven't eaten anything yet, right?" I asked.

"No..."

"Well, I'm off."

I crossed the door again, exiting.

"I'm off," I said before leaving through the front door.

For the first time in a few months, I finally said this again.

I went to where we worked.

I bought lunch, ingredients to make curry.

Then, I went to the pharmacy, buying saline solution and some medication for Yui.

I described the symptoms to the doctor, I also didn't omit that she was on "those days."

The doctor told me it could be weakness.

The heat, the lack of care, and incidentally "her days" had led her to collapse and fall into this state.

It made me worry a little more, and decide that it was best to take her to the hospital.

I arrived at her house.

"First, I'll make something to eat," I said, getting ready to cook.

While I was cooking, I went to change Yui's towel, who was sleeping.

I changed it, and woke her up.

"Yui... Yui..."

She opened her eyes.

"What's wrong?" she weakly spoke.

"I brought some things," I replied.

She didn't say anything, her gaze seemed lost.

I made her lift her head, and made her take the saline solution, the pills, and lay her down again.

I left her room again.

About twenty minutes later.

I said I was going to cook...

I acted so cool...

But...

"What is this?!"

I asked myself looking at the plate I had just created.

It looked so simple and fake, the food, that probably jail food would be more appetizing to eat.

"Ring... ring..." a cellphone rang.

Another ringtone to mine, I foolishly searched for my cellphone in vain, remembering I left it at home, I didn't bring it.

I searched until I found it.

Yui's cellphone.

"Dad" was calling.

Just as I arrived, the call stopped ringing. Just as I was about to put it in my pocket, I unintentionally slid my finger across the screen, unlocking it.

"Wow, what a novelty, hardly anyone leaves their phone without a password these days."

My eyes briefly flickered to the phone app, noticing it had 367 missed calls. 167 from her mother, and 100 from her father. All within a few months.

But...

The number of missed calls overwhelmed me. I felt a slight dizziness.

"What the...heck?" I muttered under my breath.

No...

It couldn't be... How in the world...?

There were no more calls. I desperately checked her chat history, hoping to find someone else she talked to. But there was only our conversation. At least, over the phone, I was the only person she talked to.

Damn it...

I served two plates of food and a bowl of chicken soup I had made, anticipating she might refuse solid food, so it was better to be prepared.

"I'm coming in," I said.

She was awake.

Approaching her bed, I left the food on the bedside table, which had nothing on it because everything was on the floor. I grabbed another small table nearby, placed it next to her bed, and arranged the food on it.

She stared at me the whole time.

"So... can you eat?" I asked.

"No, feed me," she said.

Although more assertive, she still seemed weak.

"Alright," I said.

"Wait..." she said, with a slightly timid and high-pitched tone.

"What?"

"Are you really going to do it?" she asked.

"Yes, isn't it obvious?"

"Uh-huh..." she said, making a 'V' with her mouth.

"I see, I see..."

Don't strain yourself too much, you still have a high temperature.

"Ah, right, I bought this," I said, pulling out a thermometer.

"What is it?"

"A thermometer," I said.

"Can you do it yourself?" I asked.

"No..."

"You're still weak, right?" I said.

I grabbed the thermometer and placed it under her armpit. As I touched her, I felt her soft skin, her armpit was clean and smooth...

I think I might be developing some weird fetish...

Nah, better not.

"39.3°C," I said.

"Hah..."

"It's high," I said.

"After lunch, we're going to the hospital," I said.

"No... I'm not going..." she said, with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Alright..."

"Feed... me," she said.

She was acting like a spoiled child.

"Okay, okay," I said.

I held her abdomen and supported her neck, positioning her comfortably to eat.

"You're... quite familiar..." she said.

"It's okay, I grew up with four older sisters, I've seen everything a woman has," I said, although it wasn't something I was proud of, I said it with pride because in the end, it had served me for something.

"But... I don't have brothers..."

"Oh, I see... sorry if I made you uncomfortable," I apologized.

I grabbed the spoon and gave her the first bite.

"Mm," she said.

It gave me a bit of tenderness to see her eating somewhat timidly.

"By the way... your father called," I said, pretending to be ignorant of the fact that I had looked inside her phone.

Her eyes, previously sparkling, dimmed.

Her face darkened.

"Did you see?" she whispered.

"What did I see?"

Her eyes swirled in a gloomy manner, and she bit her lower lip.

"I didn't see anything, I didn't see anything," I said twice.

She stayed like that for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry, I just saw that someone called and you didn't answer, but I saw 'dad', I didn't see anything else, I didn't do anything," I spoke.

Lie, I did.

I'm sorry, Yui.

She turned and looked down.

"Hey, are you eating?" I asked.

Trying to lighten the mood a bit, as I felt I had brought it down with my imprudence.

But...

I don't think I can get her reaction out of my head.

But for now, it's better to change the subject.

"Hmm," she said.

Her eyes returned to normal.

"I'm sorry..." she said, after I gave her another spoonful.

"Why?" I asked.

"For being so weird..."

"Oh, that... don't worry, everyone has their problems, right?" I said.

"Mm... do you have problems too, Ryu?" she asked.

"More or less," I replied.

"About which you can't talk?"

"About which I DON'T want to talk," I emphasized.

"I see..."

Surprisingly, she finished all the food, including the curry attempt I made.

"I thought you wouldn't eat what I made at all," I confessed.

"Why? It's delicious," she said.

For some reason, I felt a little happy to hear those words.

I didn't consider myself a good cook, but I was glad she liked it.

"I'm glad."

After she ate, I cleared the dishes, washed the dishes, and went back to the room.

She was still awake, lying down, coughing a bit as I entered.

"Hey..." she said.

"What's up?"

"No, nothing..."

What a weird girl...

I bent down and started organizing her room.

"You don't have to... do that..."

"Don't worry, I'm doing it because I want to."

"It's not... about that," she said, with a voice that seemed like she wanted to tell me something.

Before she could say anything, I noticed what was scattered on the floor.

She remained silent, and so did I.

Damn it...

I'm not prepared for this.

Two or three pills.

I know them well.

Better leave it like that, I don't want to talk about it anymore...

But... this time I won't make the same mistake.

I quickly took out the top drawer of her nightstand and put all her things in there.

I picked up the shards of broken glass, a glass, and a mirror.

I approached her again.

It was already a bit late, around 5 pm.

"Ryu..." she said.

"Don't worry, I won't judge you for anything, I won't ask anything either," I said.

"It's not that..."

"What is it?"

"I'm... dirty... I want to take a bath..." she said.

"But you still have a fever..." I said.

She started breathing a bit heavily.

Her fever had dropped a lot; she could now sit on the bed with her legs stretched out. But her arms were still a bit weak, and she couldn't get up on her own.

"Do you really want me to bathe you? I can do it with a wet cloth... but..." I said.

She turned to look at me, with a face that I couldn't decipher what she was trying to communicate or say to me, nor even the slightest of her thoughts.

"Didn't you say you had seen everything a woman can offer?" she asked.

Damn it.

"To be master of your silence, or slave to your words" I've heard that phrase.

Now I understand it perfectly.

"Y-yes, b-but..." I stuttered, intimidated by what was in front of me.

My sisters' breasts were irrelevant to me; they never aroused any kind of feeling in me. Their dirty laundry, too, the things they left lying around, neither. But...

All this time.

I've been enduring the embarrassment, and more than embarrassment, suppressing the feelings inside me.

I think... I better think of her as a sick person, and maybe I can get over this situation...

Closing my eyes, thinking about other things...

"But?" she said.

"It's okay, it's okay, I'll do it," I said.

"Take me to the bathroom, then," she said.

"To the bath??" I asked.

"Yes."

Silence on my part.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Didn't I sa-"

"Okay, okay," I said, finally giving in.

I would have to endure a little more.

After all, I had a knack for these kinds of situations.

'Poker face of a moderately popular guy.'

Also, there were my ironic and unpleasant responses to try to dampen interest in me, but... I don't think I can use them now...

That's what every handsome guy needs to maintain an air of disinterest in the girls around them.

After all, when I was in school, girls surrounded me, and in crowds, personal space would probably blur, and, well, there would be too much contact sometimes.

There are two ways to deal with this.

Embarrassment or becoming impassive.

To not ruin my school life, I had to learn to put on a poker face in compromising situations.

When I entered the room again, I was faced with a scene that totally destroyed everything I could have imagined.

Her body... was incredible.

Her curves were so defined, with such detail... it made me think only of her.

Her face, vulnerable and somewhat tender.

Her lips accentuated with their cherry color against her whiteness.

I saw beads of sweat trickling down her body.

Sitting on the bed, only covering her waist.

"Are you going to stand there... or are you going to help me?" she asked.

"Uh... um... ah..."

I didn't know what to say.

I also didn't know what to do.

I didn't want to make her feel alone, nor did I want to say no.

But... this...

Aquí tienes la traducción del texto al inglés, teniendo en cuenta el trasfondo de cada oración para usar los pronombres adecuados:

Is it not too much?

A thought fleetingly crossed my mind.

"Are you going to shame a woman like that?"

Of course not.

I won't.

I decide, grabbed the towel, and approached her.

About five minutes later.

"hahh, hahhhh"

i was heavily exhaling already in the bathroom hallway.

The gentle touch of her skin beneath her left breast or the right one.

I don't think I'll forget it.

She has... a body...

"Handmade"

That's the only thing I can think of to describe it.

As I closed the door, waiting for her to get dressed.

I collapsed onto my knees.

I covered my nose.

Blood came out of it.

I survived... barely.

I searched for a rag I had in my pocket.

A towel.

I put it in front of my nose, drying the blood that came out of it.

A stream came out, for a short period of time.

When I looked at the blood, I remembered the owner of this towel.

Haru, a towel she had given me to wipe my forehead, after shifts or when I made deliveries.

Wow...