Throughout my last week in the mansion, Moriyama-san and Fujisaki-san helped me pack quite a few clothes and basic stuff, like a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, and other things to survive a few weeks without spending much money. Father had transferred a little money into my account, but I was only going to use it when absolutely necessary.
I also searched for apartments, including the cheapest options, but all of them required me to have a secure and constant source of income—which made sense. Then I remembered that Hisaki was planning to move out of his aunt's and uncle's house. I asked Suzuka for his number and messaged him about it. He replied that he was about to start working the next day and was going to be able to get an apartment. After playing hard to get, he agreed to let me live with him.
However, he expected the process to take at least one week, so I had to look for a temporary place. My first thought was Suzuka, but her house was already quite cramped and we would've had a hard time not touching each other.
I asked Tarō-san, Sae-san, Hashimoto-san, and Rem-san, but they all couldn't do it for various reasons. Unexpectedly, Kawahara-san immediately said yes. Her house had an empty room with a bed and her parents accepted. It was a relief.
The morning of my departure arrived. I hadn't slept well, but I still got out of bed early. I showered, ate, exercised, and played a little on my PC for what seemed would be the last time for a long while. As I played, Sakakibara-san knocked on the door.
"Come in," I replied.
He entered and closed the door behind him. Luckily, I was playing a single-player game, so I was able to pause it.
"I apologize for interrupting."
"It's fine. Did you need something?"
"I wanted to make sure everything was ready for you to leave, Koji-sama."
"Yes. Both my backpack and the suitcase are about to explode."
"Good," he smiled. He then sighed.
"Sakakibara-san?"
"I'm sorry, I can't help but feel sad. This reminds me of Otsune-sama's situation. I wish it could've been avoided, but at least you are on good terms with your parents. Kind of. I hope this gives you the opportunity to grow. Both you and your father."
"I'm just as excited as sad to leave you all as well, but I believe it's a great opportunity."
We stared at each other in silence for a moment.
"Be careful, Koji-sama. We'll be waiting for you to visit us."
"I will. Thank you."
He smiled. "I don't have much more to say, but I'm sure they do."
He pulled the door open for Fujisaki-san to appear behind it. She was crouching down a little, with her ear placed on the door.
She giggled. "I can explain."
"Fuji-chan!" Moriyama-san yelled. "What have I told you about spying?"
"Eh?! But you—"
"There's no need to lie, Moriyama," Sakakibara-san said. "Just step inside and tell Koji-sama what you want to say."
Hesitant, they walked in and bowed in front of me.
"Sorry," Fujisaki-san said.
"I want to apologize as well," Moriyama-san added.
"It's fine," I replied. "You have something to say?"
Moriyama-san nodded. "Koji-sama, is it okay for me to hug you?"
"Oh. Sure. I guess I should stand up—"
As soon as I stood up from my chair, Moriyama-san jumped at me and squeezed me as hard as I had ever been squeezed. Shocked, I returned the hug.
"I'm going to miss you," she said.
"Me too."
She stepped back. "The house won't be the same without you. But I understand you need to grow. It's just that you grow so fast, just as Otsune-sama."
I was at a loss for words. "Yeah…"
A snuffle suddenly sounded. It was Fujisaki-san, swiping her tears with her hands.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Yes, it's just… I know I haven't been here for long and just thinking how sad everyone is, is making me sad. Obviously, I'm going to miss you too. Can I hug you?"
"Sure."
She approached and hugged me, though not as tightly as Moriyama-san. Also, she kept snuffling on my ear until she stepped back a few seconds later.
"I should leave before I cry more. See you soon, Koji-sama."
"See you," I replied.
After exchanging smiles, she left the room.
"I should follow her," Moriyama-san said. "Be sure to visit soon."
"I will."
She and Sakakibara-san left, closing the door behind them.
I sat down again and quickly swept the tear off my cheek.
This is for the best. And it's not like I'm not going to see them again.
One hour remained until twelve o'clock: the time I planned to leave. I spent it playing more.
In a blink, it was time. Father knocked on my door and opened it.
"Are you ready?"
I closed the game, turned off my PC, and grabbed my backpack and the suitcase. Pulling it on its wheels, I took one last look at my room and walked out. Father closed the door and we headed downstairs as he reminded me to be careful and to call him if anything happened.
However, once we walked down half of the stairs, someone called Father.
"Jiro-kun," a man happily shouted.
He stood next to the front door in the hall and Sakakibara-san stood beside him.
"Daiki? What are you doing here?" Father questioned.
"Is that any way to welcome your beloved cousin?"
Cousin?
"There's no need for a welcome if I didn't invite you," Father replied as we walked down the remaining stairs.
Daiki-san smirked. "I apologize if I'm interrupting something, it wasn't my intention. But I believe we have business to settle. As soon as possible."
Father sighed. "Fine. Koji, go ahead and leave. Send me and your mother a message when you get to your friend's house."
"Sure."
"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Daiki-san asked.
I replied, "I'm—"
"No," Father interrupted. "You're here to do business, so let's do just that."
I looked at Father but he didn't look back at me. I understood I had to leave. Daiki-san and I glanced at each other before I walked to the door. Sakakibara-san nodded at me with a smile and I did the same.
Once outside, I stood behind the door and leaned against it with my ear.
"Now you're invading my home?" Father asked.
"I was allowed in, so I wouldn't call it an invasion. Anyway. Did you finally make a decision?"
"Yes. You need to lower the price."
Daiki-san laughed. "Let's be honest, you're the one that is going to lose. My company is popular enough to survive without your partnership."
"We gave you that exposure!" Father yelled.
"You're a grown man, Jiro-kun. You should control your emotions. Look at it this way: giving you a low price is going to give my company a bad reputation. I think you can understand something as basic as that."
Father sighed. "I need to sit down."
They walked away and I stopped hearing them. Even with that information, I didn't understand much. I didn't even know if I should've known, but I was curious.
"Koji-sama," Yoshimura-san called behind me.
I jumped. "Yoshimura-san. How long have you been there?"
"I should be the one asking that. Were you spying on your father's business?"
"Y-Yes. Do you know anything about it?"
"I… shouldn't talk about that."
"Just this once. I'm about to leave; do it as a last favor."
He let out a long sigh. "I don't know much, only things I've overheard from discussions between your father and Sakakibara-san. Maeda-san, your father's cousin, is the owner of the most popular bread brand in the country. They recently started to make more flour-based products, so their popularity sky-rocketed even further. Because of that, they are asking your parents for more money to keep making bread for their restaurants. Suddenly not having bread on the menu would definitely harm the restaurants' reputation."
"Can't Mom and Father hire other people to make bread?"
"Probably. The problem is finding someone that makes it just as good as the most successful company in the country. That and your father's pride being crushed by losing a deal like this."
"I see."
"I should stop talking about it. Let's go."
In silence, he accompanied me to the gate and outside the estate. I requested a taxi on the app and he waited with me. We talked about old and recent memories, making me realize how much things had changed.
The taxi arrived. The driver got out of the car to help me put the suitcase in the trunk. Yoshimura-san opened the back door for me and I climbed in. I rolled down the window.
"Enjoy your independence, Koji."
"I will. And I expect you to have taken a step forward with Fujisaki-san when we see each other again."
"Just leave already," he smiled.
The driver got back into the car and drove off.
I couldn't say goodbye to Fuyu. I'm sure Sakakibara-san, Moriyama-san, Fujisaki-san, and Yoshimura-san will take good care of him. Maybe even Father, too.
We arrived at Kawahara-san's house after a while. The driver helped me take the suitcase out of the trunk before driving away.
I approached the small gate and rang the bell. Kawahara-san stepped out a moment later to open the gate and we walked inside. She guided me to my temporary room to leave my stuff and showed me around the house to know where the kitchen and the bathroom were. Her parents were nowhere to be seen.
Before I knew it, a week had passed. Kawahara-san spent most of her time at home and I got to meet her parents. We ate dinner a few times. They were serious and straightforward, just as Kawahara-san, but they were kind.
I also found out that her father was a video game director—one of the most popular ones, to be exact. Personally, I didn't like it that much and I told him my opinion. He was understanding and we even talked a lot about video games, which made me want to work in the industry—or at least try—but I didn't know what I was going to work on.
I was bored most of the time, so I walked and exercised outside quite a lot. Suzuka and I met a few times, though we could only talk at a park since we didn't have much money to spare.
Finally, Hisaki messaged me to give me the address of our apartment. I thanked Kawahara-san and her parents before leaving. I packed my stuff and took a taxi to the apartment.
I climbed the stairs of the building and knocked on the door with the number Hisaki had sent me. He opened the door and I stepped inside. The apartment was quite small, but it had two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room; enough for two people.
We chatted during the day and I made dinner with the stuff I found in the fridge. There wasn't much, so I did my best. He wasn't impressed, yet he didn't complain. I told him we needed more ingredients and he wanted to give me the money to buy them, but I preferred to buy them with my money. That was the least I could do until I got a job.
We entered our rooms and I chatted with Suzuka until I fell asleep. I invited her to come the next day.
She arrived on time the following morning. We sat at the table in the living room and chatted a little about myself and Hisaki's new job at a veterinary clinic. Then I asked about her parents' situation.
"How is the bakery?"
She sighed. "Not good. There's nothing much my parents can do."
"I know. Actually, I have an idea. There's something I haven't told you because I wanted to do it in person."
"Hm?"