Volume 1 - CH 14

After eating breakfast, we left the house.

“Can we stop by the place I used to live with him first?”

As soon as we left the house, Hayashi proposed this to me.

“Him” refers to the ex-boyfriend whom Hayashi had been calling “that person” until recently. After graduating high school, Hayashi initially lived alone but started a romantic relationship with her ex-boyfriend, whom she met one day, and began living with him at his place.

I was a bit puzzled when Hayashi suggested going to his place. I thought we were going on a date today, but was I being dragged along to help with moving instead?

Well, it doesn’t really matter either way.

“It’s probably not what you just agreed to.”

“Did you learn to read minds?”

“Huh? That’s lame. Gross.”

…That’s disappointing.

“I want to stop by his place to change my clothes.”

“Clothes?”

The clothes Hayashi is currently wearing are the ones I bought for her when she started staying at my place.

“I want to dress up since we’re going on a date.”

I see. That’s what she meant. I understood.

Hayashi once despised using things her ex-boyfriend had bought for her, but I guess she had no choice.

However, the term “dress up” coming from her, who was once called the queen, was a bit amusing.

Following Hayashi’s instructions, we boarded a train from the nearest station and rode for three stops. We got off the train, left the station, and walked for a while before Hayashi stopped.

“Are you okay?”

Hayashi’s face, which had guided me up to this point, looked somewhat pale. It was natural. The room where she lived with her ex-boyfriend is a place engraved with strong trauma for her. In hindsight, stopping by here just for our date is quite a risky decision.

“…Let’s stop, Hayashi. If you get any more sick, the date won’t be enjoyable at all.”

“I’m going.”

“You’re stubborn…”

“I told you.”

Hayashi showed me her pale face and moistened eyes.

“…I want to enjoy our date together.”

With a determined look, Hayashi started walking.

As expected from a working adult, her ex-boyfriend’s place was a fairly neat apartment.

Hayashi used the spare key she had to unlock the entrance and the apartment door.

The room was a bit dusty, probably because no one had been there for a while.

“Come in.”

“…Eh.”

I pinched my nose.

“I don’t like dusty rooms.”

“Are you a germaphobe?”

“Not at all. It’s just that being in a dusty room makes my eyes itch.”

“…Are you really going to leave me alone here?”

Hayashi forcefully grabbed my hand and pulled me into the room. As expected, the room was a bit dusty.

Suddenly, I found it odd. Hayashi had lived in this room. Surprisingly, she was as clean as me, and she was quite diligent with housework. Despite her living here, how could the room become this dirty?

From the time Hayashi took refuge in my room until her ex-boyfriend was arrested, approximately a week had passed. In other words, that guy hadn’t properly cleaned the room during that week.

…Disgusting.

My feet felt heavy, but I couldn’t leave Hayashi alone, so I followed her. Since she used to live here, she walked straight to her destination.

She probably entered the room that used to be their bedroom. A double-sized bed was situated behind the door, and I felt a bit weird seeing it.

Hayashi opened the closet in the bedroom. It seemed her clothes were inside.

For a while, Hayashi rummaged through her clothes on the spot, deciding what to wear today.

It seemed like Hayashi was fine now. I felt relieved but also at a loss for what to do. Without thinking, I peeked into the trash bin next to the bed.

“…Ugh.”

“What?”

Startled, I let out a small scream, and Hayashi reacted to it.

“No, it’s nothing.”

In the trash bin, there were a few rolled-up tissues. On top of those tissues, there was something used.

…Well, it’s natural for a couple living together to do that kind of thing. I understood that when she told me she was living with her boyfriend at the convenience store.

However, seeing the actual discarded item from someone else was a bit graphic. Disgusting. That was my honest feeling.

“…You’re easy to read.”

I tried to play it off, but Hayashi looked at me with a sceptical gaze. She quickly stood up.

“What?”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Ignoring my attempt to stop her, Hayashi started walking and then peeked into the trash bin I had tried to cover.

She probably saw the used condom and fell silent. Her body, which had been leaning against mine, didn’t move at all.

“…Don’t worry about it. It’s normal for a couple to do that, right?”

I said, trying to reassure both Hayashi and myself.

“Well, you weren’t here, so it couldn’t be helped. It’s his fault for not disposing of it properly. Yeah.”

Hayashi didn’t respond to me for a while.

“…Hayashi?”

Hayashi’s arm, which had been leaning against me, was now wrapped around my back.

“…What’s wrong?”

“…On the morning after you took me in, I threw away all the trash.”

Understanding what she wanted to say, I immediately closed my mouth.

She had taken out the trash for collection. Of course, that included the bedroom trash… Being as diligent as she is, she wouldn’t have missed anything.

So that means… this was used after her boyfriend and Hayashi had separated.

“Thank you, Yamamoto.”

The strength of Hayashi’s embrace tightened even more.

“Someone like him should be locked up in prison for the rest of his life.”

“Yeah… Achoo!”

Without considering the mood, I sneezed.

(TL/N: ruined the mood smh)