As I was re-reading Hasegawa-san's text, Yui-san barged into my room without any warning. I hid my phone immediately.
[T]"Ah! W-what are y-you doing h-here?"
[Y]"Oh my, did I interrupt something?" she said with a smirk on her face.
[T]"No, y-you didn't. W-what do you w-want?"
[Y]"I was joking. You don't have to be so serious."
[T]"W-well, if you weren't s-such a nuisance, I w-wouldn't b-be."
[Y]"It's because you're fun to tease."
[T]"W-what's fun a-about that?"
[Y]"I can't quite put my finger on it."
[T]"Ugh, w-whatever. Why d-did you c-come here a-anyway?"
[Y]"No, particular reason. I just wanted to come in."
[T]"T-then let me ask a q-question. H-how long do you plan on s-staying here?"
[Y]"What if I answered, forever."
[T]"I'd j-jump off a c-cliff."
[Y]"Jokes aside, I'll go back home when everything settles down."
[T]"So, your j-just gonna r-run away?"
[Y]"Don't make it sound like it's that easy to deal with this!" she shouted while tears were starting to form in her eyes.
[T]"S-sorry..."
[Y]"If it was that easy, then why couldn't you have done it then? What do you even know about our family? At this point, you're not even helping anymore. You're just forcing your ideals on us."
Yui-san left the room, slamming the door on her way out. I froze in place as hundreds of thoughts passed through my mind. I didn't know what to do at that moment. But the only thing clear to me was I messed up.
I contemplated what I had done to the point where I forgot about the meeting with Hasegawa-san. Then Aoi came into my room.
[A]"What happened? Why is Yui-san crying?"
[T]"We j-just had a q-quarrel."
[A]"I don't know what is it between you two, but patch things up before morning."
[T]"I'll t-try."
Aoi leaves the room while I just sat there in silence. I stayed like that for a while. Then suddenly my phone rang. It was Hasegawa-san. I panicked and immediately answered the call.
[H]"Where are you? It's already 10.:15. Where are you?
[T]"I forgot. I'm c-coming."
[H]"Hurry up. It's freezing out here."
I took a deep breath to calm myself down and focus on my meeting with Hasegawa-san. I got my crutches, but as I was about to sneak out, Yui-san opened to door. The timing couldn't have been this worse!
[Y]"Tanaka-san, about a while ago, I'm sorry I vented out on you."
[She noticed that I was trying to head out of my room.]
[Y]"Oh, sorry, were you going to the restroom?"
[T]"Y-yeah."
[I lied. It was the best course of action since I must not let Yui-san know about the meeting. But I guess this is also a good time to apologize to her too.]
[T]"Yui-san, I'm a-also sorry. I s-shouldn't have m-meddled too m-much."
[I apologized to her, now what? I still have to meet up with Hasegawa-san.]
[Y]"No, it was my fault for being too stubborn."
[T]"It was my mistake. I'm sorry."
[Awkward silence was beginning to fill up the atmosphere.]
[Y]"Oh, yeah, you were going to the restroom, right?"
[T]"Uh, y-yeah."
I'm in the restroom, a good thing I brought my phone with me. I proceeded to let Hasegawa-san know the situation I'm in.
[H]"So, let me get this straight. Yui is staying at your place, and you can't sneak out because she's there?"
[T]"Generally speaking, yes."
[H]"I can't believe I'm doing this, but leave your front door unlocked."
[T]"What are you planning?"
[H]"I'll try to sneak in your house."
[T]"Can't we meet up tomorrow instead? Does it have to be now?"
[H]"Just trust me on this one."
[T]"You didn't even answer my question."
[H]"I'm heading to your place now. Make sure the door's unlocked."
Is she a burglar or something? Why does it have to be our place? I already have Yui-san staying over. I guess I'll have to deal with it.
Quietly as possible, I head to the front door to unlock it while avoiding being seen by Yui-san. Everything went smoothly. I should go back to the room now.
As I got back to my room, Yui-san was there waiting for me.
[Y]"Oh, you're back."
[T]"Y-yeah, d-did you w-want to talk a-about something?"
[Y]"I wanted to have a little chat with you."
[T]"Sure, I a-also wanted to t-tell you something t-too."
[Y]"Then that goes for the both of us."
[T]"I k-know, I already a-apologized, but I'm s-sorry."
[Y]"As I said, it was my fault for being stubborn. I had so many thoughts in my head that I got carried away."
[T]"But it was---."
[Y]"We aren't getting anywhere with this. It's both our fault. End of story."
[T]"I guess t-that's one w-way to end it."
[Y]"I mean, there's no point if both of us keep apologizing."
[T]"Good p-point. Now, w-what was it t-that you wanted to t-tell me?"
Just as Yui-san was about the start talking, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. It's probably Hasegawa-san, I thought to myself. I check the notification, and it was her.
[H]"I hid somewhere in your living room. Where are you?"
Yui-san noticed that I was reading something on my phone.
[Y]"What are you reading there?"
[T]"Oh, it's j-just a message f-from my friend. Sorry, b-but can you g-give me a minute?"
[Y]"How about let's just continue this tomorrow?"
[T]"Are y-you sure?"
[Y]"Yeah, I was also starting to get sleepy."
[T]"G-goodnight then."
[Y]"Goodnight."
Yui-san left the room. Finally, now I only have to deal with Hasegawa-san. I checked if the coast was clear before I went into the living room. It seemed like everyone was in their rooms. I continued to go to the living room and gently said Hasegawa-san's name. Right in the corner, there stood a silhouette slowly coming closer.
[H]"Yo, Tanaka-san. It's been a while."
[T]"Y-yeah."
[H]"Oh, you can speak a bit more clearer now."
[T]"I'm p-pretty sure you're not h-here to praise my v-voice."
[H]"It's been a while since we last talked. Let's be at ease here for a moment."
[T]"How c-could I be at e-ease if there's a lot g-going on?"
Suddenly, the lights in the living room turned on. As I looked back, it was Yui-san.
[Y]"Long time no see, sister..."