Chapter 176:

Chapter 176:

What made her so happy? The woman continued to smile brightly, looking at Tadano.

Seeing her, Tadano sighed and gazed at the store's door.

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"Just leave."

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Having lost his parents, deceived by someone he thought of as a brother, and betrayed by a trusted friend, Tadano felt an instinctive aversion to bright people.

Above all, Tadano just wanted to quietly have a meal without engaging in conversation with anyone. So, it would be a wise choice to leave before the food arrived.

But leaving wasn't that simple with the woman in front of him. No, she bothered him. "Haruna Yomi," who consistently looked at him with joy.

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"You don't even know me, but pretending to have a story or acting like we're close, I don't like it. And above all... that smile. That's what I dislike the most."

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Tadano glared at the woman, grinding his teeth.

The smile of a person who knows nothing about the ways of the world and possesses only a positive mindset. It was the happy smile he used to have before his parents passed away and before he became disappointed in humanity.

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"A person who can smile like that dare say they have a story?"

——

A person with a real ‘story' couldn't smile like that.

Tadano wanted to correct her expression. He wanted to tell her what a real ‘story' was, to change her cheerful face into a dark one.

Tadano slowly opened his mouth, staring at the woman.

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"Earlier, the people coming to this ramen shop, they all said they had a story."

"Oh, you finally thought of talking to me? You kept glaring at me, so I thought you wouldn't talk to me."

"Don't say useless things. Just answer the question."

——

Tadano's words lacked courtesy.

But the woman continued to make jokes.

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"Sure, I'll only answer the question."

"Fine. Earlier, everyone here said they had a story. Can I hear your story?"

——

Tadano expected the woman to say something absurd. To say that her story was just that, and he had experienced something much sadder. So, if she had been sad about that until now, she should expect much more sadness in the future.

However,

The words that came out of the woman's mouth were something Tadano couldn't easily dismiss.

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"I have two stories. First, it's a family story. My dad was terminally ill. My mom, who worked herself to the bone to save him, was brutally murdered one day, not just any murder, but the culprit disfigured her face so badly that even I couldn't recognize her."

"..."

"After that, my dad also died. I'm seventeen."

——

Her story was more profound than his own. Tadano couldn't bring himself to ridicule the woman.

When Tadano, without saying anything, looked at her, the woman continued.

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"After my dad died, suddenly relatives came looking for us. At first, I thought they were there to take care of me and my younger sibling."

"If you thought that at first... it wasn't the case?"

"No. The relatives came to steal money. They didn't even attend my dad's funeral; they just took everything valuable left in the house. Not a single yen was left."

"Trashy people."

"Not all of them are like that. There are worse people than those."

"There are worse people?"

"Yes."

——

The woman answered with a smile. Tadano wanted to ask who those people were, but the woman's words were faster.

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"But that's not all."

"Not all?"

"Yes. After my dad's funeral, a little later, one day, my chest started to ache, and I went to the hospital. They told me I had the same illness as my dad. I became terminally ill, just like my dad."

"..."

"That's my first story."

——

Even as she spoke these words, the woman continued to smile, as if she couldn't make any other expression.

"Just friends, even though you found him interesting enough to tempt you? Not lovers?"

"How could I ask someone I met only twice to be my lover? Besides, as I mentioned earlier, I'm terminally ill. It's a bit much to ask a dying person to be in a relationship, don't you think?"

"...I guess so."

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"Yes. And I thought being friends was enough. It was a chance to have a presence called ‘friend,' something I had never experienced. But..."

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The woman chuckled, her shoulders shrugged.

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"He rejected me."

"Rejected? But you said let's be friends. It's hard to become friends after just one accidental meeting."

"The first meeting was a coincidence, but the second one wasn't. He came to see me intentionally. What a funny guy, right?"

"Funny isn't the word. He seems like an annoying guy who talks too much. Going by what you said earlier, he must be quite a useless guy, going on and on."

——

Tadano poured himself a drink as he spoke. This time, as when Tadano mentioned ‘useless' earlier, the woman burst into laughter.

Fortunately, Tadano didn't get sprayed with saliva this time. However, the laughter lines on her face didn't easily fade away.

Looking at her face, Tadano asked,

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"Earlier too. I was talking bad about that guy, and you laughed. Is he that funny?"

"Yes, he is."

"Why?"

"Well... I'll tell you in a bit. My second story isn't finished yet."

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Tadano nodded, gesturing for her to continue.

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"Anyway, we didn't become friends, but I got a promise. If we happen to meet somewhere by chance next time, he promised to become friends then. I don't know what he meant by it, but to me, it was a precious promise. It was the first promise in my life to have a ‘friend'—something I had never had before."

"I see. I understand."

"Thank you. Thanks for understanding my feelings."

"It's not strange to understand. So, did you meet that man again?"

——

Tadano asked, but the woman couldn't answer. Whether it was an inability to respond to the question or her speech gradually faltering since she said, ‘I understand' a while ago, only the woman knew.

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After remaining silent for a while, the woman struggled to open her mouth.

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"We met again. Truly by chance, in a place I never expected. But... that man couldn't remember."

"Couldn't remember what? The promise?"

"No, me."

"He couldn't remember you? The woman he spent a night with?"

"Yes. He couldn't remember... anything. Not the stories we shared, not my name, not my face."

——

The woman, who had been speaking calmly, suddenly covered her mouth and began to cry. Tadano was momentarily surprised and bewildered by the abrupt change in her demeanor.

However, it was only for a moment.

Tadano could understand the reason behind the woman's sudden tears.

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‘This woman... she must have liked that man.'

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Whether it's a day, two days, or a year, falling for someone doesn't always require a special trigger or a long time. The saying that one can fall in love at first sight isn't groundless.

Especially if someone thought of the person as their first ‘friend,' it's natural to feel heartbroken if that person doesn't remember them.

Tadano awkwardly handed a tissue to the woman. She took the tissue with trembling hands and wiped away her tears.

Then, with swollen eyes, she looked at him.

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"But you know what's even sadder than that?"

"Something sadder?"

"Yes."

——

The woman smiled sadly.

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"The sadder thing is that the man listening to this doesn't realize that it's his story."

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