Chapter 165:

Chapter 165:

As if entranced, Tadano walked toward the building Yomi had entered.

Then, at the door, a woman who seemed to be the madam, the one who had greeted Yomi earlier, called out to Tadano.

—

"Oh, a cute young man. What brings you here?"

—

Her words were friendly, but there was annoyance in her voice. It seemed like she was silently thinking, ‘He doesn't seem to have enough money to come to our establishment.'

When Tadano didn't respond, the madam approached slowly. As she came close enough for the scent of heavy makeup to be noticeable, she spoke to Tadano in a subtly suggestive tone.

—

"Are you coming in? But our place is quite expensive. If you go inside that alley, there might be a place suitable for a young man. How about going there?"

"I'm not here for that... No. I'll just go."

"Yeah~ If you need anything, I can recommend other places..."

"No need."

—

Tadano glanced briefly at the building and turned away. He didn't have any particular thoughts or emotions. He had followed Yomi to understand his purpose, to learn what she did at night.

As Tadano distanced himself a few steps from the madam.

—

"Oh, madam. It's been a while."

"Ah! Shinno-san, it's been a while since you came. Why did you come so casually?"

"I've been busy with work. By the way, did Yomi come to work?"

"It hurts my heart when I see your face and you immediately look for another woman."

"Hahaha!! Sorry, sorry."

"It's okay. Yomi is much prettier than me anyway. Luckily, Yomi has a lot of free time today. Go on in."

"Oh, really? I picked a good day to come, considering I was just passing by. Haha!"

—

A pause.

Tadano stopped at the name ‘Yomi.'

—

‘Is he going to meet that woman?'

—

Suddenly, Tadano's footsteps didn't come to a halt. It wasn't that he felt bothered by Yomi meeting another man or harboring such innocent thoughts. In a place like this, meeting other men was a natural occurrence.

But for some reason, it bothered him. Unusually so.

After sighing, Tadano turned back towards the madam. As he approached, the madam squinted her eyes, then asked Tadano with an extended gaze.

—

"Why? Do you really want me to recommend another place?"

—

"No. How much for one here is enough."

"...?"

—

While the confident Tadano spoke, the madam, intrigued, smiled slyly.

—

"Young man, this place is a bit expensive. It's not a place where someone like you can just come in. Don't take it the wrong way. Do you understand what I mean?"

—

It wasn't an explicit dismissal, but a clear warning. However, Tadano remained confident.

—

"I have the money."

"So, with the money you can afford to spend... huh?"

—

As the madam was about to dismiss Tadano again, she hesitated when she saw the bundle of money he pulled out of his bag. It was all the money the professor had given him for travel expenses.

—

"Young man, are you really going to spend all that money? Aren't you overdoing it?"

"Is this not enough?"

"No, it's not that... but looking at you, you seem like a student. Spending such a large sum might make your life difficult later. I don't want to see a young friend spend all his money on a night of fun."

"Don't worry about it. Besides..."

—

As Tadano was about to continue, he looked towards the door Yomi had entered.

—

"...I want to see a woman named Yomi."

"Hmm? Do you know Yomi? Have you been here before?"

"It's my first time. Isn't that okay?"

"That's not it... The customer who just went in seems like he's going to call Yomi."

"Then I'll wait."

"How many hours it'll take? I don't know how long that customer will keep Yomi."

"It doesn't matter. I have time."

"In that case... Let's go in together. I'll arrange a room for you."

—

Holding Tadano's arm, the madam led him into the building.

From the outside, the building had colorful and provocative lights, but inside, it had a surprisingly calm atmosphere.

As the madam guided Tadano to the counter, a counter employee greeted them.

—

"Madam personally bringing in a customer, that's a rare sight."

"Hoho, it's because it's a cute young customer on his first visit. I brought him in, afraid he might get lost. Is room 1 available today? Book it for him. The reservation is under Yomi."

"Um... Madam, Yomi just left with Shino-san."

"For how many hours?"

"Five hours."

—

Madam glanced at Tadano. It seemed like she was asking if he could wait for five hours.

Tadano nodded nonchalantly.

—

"It's okay. I can wait."

"Alright. Then the next reservation after Yomi is for this young gentleman."

"Understood."

"But even if you're waiting, we can't have a customer sitting quietly in the room for five hours. Would you like to talk with the other girls while waiting?"

"That's fine."

—

Madam shrugged at Tadano's firm answer.

—

"Well, then take a deep breath. We'll bring you a customer."

"Yes, madam."

—

As Madam headed back outside, the counter employee guided Tadano inside.

"Hohoho!"

"Hahaha!"

Inside, intermittent laughter mixed with the scent of women and the aura of men. Though Tadano had been to such places before and initially didn't pay much attention, for some reason, the laughter felt awkward and uncomfortable.

—

"Here we are."

—

Tadano nodded slightly and entered the room.

It was a typical tavern with tatami mats and paper sliding doors. The only difference was its remarkable sophistication.

Inside the room, Tadano randomly found a place to sit and absentmindedly stared into space.

—

‘Why did I come here?'

—

No clear reason came to mind.

Lying down on the soft futon spread across the floor, Tadano looked around. The fragrance, possibly from a sprayed perfume, emitted a nameless flower scent from the floral-patterned blanket.

In a strangely suffocating state of mind, Tadano let out a long sigh. His thoughts were tangled with various things. His head hurt so much that he decided to sleep.

However, sleep didn't come easily. With closed eyes, time passed.

One hour, two hours.

And several more hours after that.

—

Knock, knock.

“Oh? You smiled just now! You did, right?”

“As if.”

“Oh, another lie. How can someone keep lying with the same expression without changing at all?”

—

Once again, laughter almost burst out, but Tadano managed to maintain his composure. Yomi stared at him as if expecting another amusing response.

But instead of laughter, Tadano asked Yomi,

—

“Do you treat other customers the same way?”

“Do I? Oh, do you mean being friendly like this?”

“Yeah.”

“Of course. Considering how expensive this place is. You know it too. In a place like this, where you spend that much money for just drinking tea and chatting, you should be treated warmly.”

—

Yomi spoke dismissively as if asking such an obvious question was unnecessary. Tadano felt uncomfortable again.

Whether Yomi sensed his unease or not, she promptly reassured him,

—

“But I won't play pranks like I do with you.”

“And?”

“I'll just talk. Today, it's about what was tough for you, what you struggled with, words of encouragement—those kinds of things.”

—

With these words, the discomfort in Tadano's heart intensified.

Perhaps realizing his feelings, Yomi immediately requested,

—

“However, I won't make jokes like I do with you, okay?”

“Why?”

“Just talking. We're not sitting close today. Our shop rule is to keep a minimum of 50 cm between us.”

—

While speaking, Yomi moved away from Tadano, as if asking, ‘Is this okay?'

As the distance increased, Tadano could regain his usual casualness.

—

“Then why do you play pranks on me?”

“Because we're friends.”

“...Friends?”

“Yes. Don't you know that phrase? ‘Once you meet, it's a coincidence; twice is fate; three times is destiny.'”

“...”

“We've already met three times, so it's destiny. So, friends or maybe more than friends?”

—

Rubbing her chin, Yomi pretended to think deeply.

—

“Once you meet, it's a coincidence; twice is fate; three times is destiny, right? It's not destiny just meeting three times.”

“Oh, no, just three times is-.”

“Well, then everyone in the world must be destined. Everyone meets three times at some point.”

“Oh... Now that you mention it, that makes sense. Destiny must involve meeting three times by chance.”

—

Yomi seemed to realize something important and lightly tapped her palm with a fist. Tadano, looking at Yomi with a blank expression, let out a sigh mixed with laughter.

—

"So, this is why this woman is popular."

—

This woman, who made even himself, who hated the world and himself so much, smile a little. That's how much positive energy she emitted. Perhaps, that's why he found himself chasing after her because of this energy.

—

"Maybe I... came after this woman because of this energy."

—

While Tadano was seriously contemplating Yomi, Yomi was gesturing wildly and chattering happily all by herself. Surprisingly, there was not a single negative thing in her story.

After listening to Yomi's story for a while, Tadano stood up and said,

—

"I guess I'll be going now."

"What? Already? I just came in."

"I've heard everything I wanted to. It was a much more enjoyable and informative time than I expected. Thanks."

—

Speaking rapidly, Tadano headed towards the door. Yomi, taken aback, fluttered her hands as if trying to stop him. Seeing Yomi's reaction, Tadano, holding the doorknob, asked,

—

"Would anything bad happen to you if I leave first?"

"It's not like that... If you leave early, I might have to take more customers. It's not that I don't like it because I can earn money, but still... Since you've come all this way, it would be nice if you filled up the time."

"If that's the case, I'll tell the counter. I'll say you've worked hard today and ask for a break for you."

"..."

"Is that okay then?"

—

When Yomi didn't say anything, Tadano lowered the doorknob.

At that moment,

—

"Wait, just a moment. I also have something I want to ask you."

"Curious about me?"

"Yes. That... "

—

Yomi, stroking her finger, asked Tadano while glancing at his reaction.

—

"What happened to you that you had such a difficult expression at the ramen shop? I'm curious. It was a similar expression to how I used to be in my age group. I used to think I was the most troubled person among my peers."

—

Tadano, holding the doorknob, stared into space. He had just been freed from some unpleasant memories, but now they were forced back into his mind.

Naturally, Tadano didn't want to talk about his own story.

Phew.

Sighing, Tadano turned his head towards Yomi.

Yomi's eyes revealed a truly innocent curiosity and a hint of concern. After gazing at those eyes for a while, he finally spoke.

—

"I won't share a light story with someone I just met today. The concept of having a friend is something I no longer possess, and even if I did, it would involve a difficult tale to tell."

"Why don't you have any friends? I thought we were friends. It's a bit disappointing."

"It's challenging to call someone a friend after meeting them only once."

—

Tadano's tone was noticeably different from a little while ago, as cold as when they first met. In response, Yomi rose from her seat and approached Tadano.

From a close distance, Yomi stared directly into Tadano's eyes and spoke.

—

"So, if we happen to meet twice by chance, will you call me a friend? You said that if it's twice by chance, it becomes fate."

—

Her voice contained a mixture of emotions, though there was no trace of bitterness. It was more like she wanted to confirm something. Tadano nodded lightly as he momentarily locked eyes with Yomi.

—

"Sure. If we happen to meet twice by chance, I'll say it then."

"..."

"But that's unlikely to happen. Fate isn't created that easily."

—

Tadano spoke firmly, and Yomi, who was scrutinizing him, remained silent. When a brief silence settled, Tadano continued.

—

"If there's nothing more to say, I'll be going."

"Then I guess I'll hear your story soon."

"What does that mean?"

"You said you'd tell your story if we happen to meet twice by chance, right?"

—

With a light smile, Yomi's unique expression, she whispered something to Tadano, seemingly amused by his reaction.

—

"I have a good sense, so I have a feeling we'll meet again soon."

"..."

"It's a coincidence, and it might happen in a completely unexpected place."