"Sigh…"
"You're sighing a lot today, aren't ya? Did somethin' happen?"
I was startled as Asami, who was standing idly beside me, suddenly spoke.
"Huh?"
"Whadya mean 'Huh?" You were just sighing dramatically again." "No, I wasn't."
"Yeah, you were. You doin' it unconsciously?"
Asami brushed the hair on her shoulders back with an annoyed expression, tilted her head, and asked again.
"Did somethin' happen?"
"No… Well, it's not like something happened…" I said as I recalled yesterday's events.
Yesterday, Yoshida-san came back home after having dinner out. On top of that, he came home quite late.
He didn't mention who he had dinner with, so I casually asked him when he got back. I found out it was Yoshida-san's ex-girlfriend from high school.
When he got home, Yoshida-san apologized repeatedly for missing dinner and immediately went to take a shower, something he rarely does. After showering, he laid on the bed deep in thought for a while before going to sleep.
A sudden dinner out. Coming home late. Behaving unusually.
Individually, each wouldn't be that out of the ordinary. But collectively it raises some suspicion.
Did he really just eat dinner? Or, if not, what else did he do? It was agonizing to consider the possibilities.
"Well, whatever Yoshida-san does elsewhere, it's not something I should ask about."
I told Asami about yesterday's events, including how I felt uneasy for some reason. Even as I spoke, no one came into the store. It's not like this is
a store that would be busy in the first place, but it seemed slower than usual today.
Suddenly realizing that the usually talkative Asami wasn't responding, I looked towards her and found her looking at me with her mouth open.
"W-What's wrong?"
"Sayu-chaso… Isn't that…"
Asami furrowed her brows, seemingly trying to say something difficult.
As I tilted my head, the door to the office opened and Yaguchi-san came out.
"I'm off break now."
Yaguchi-san looked like he just woke up, talking in a voice that had no energy behind it.
"Hmm… Looks like it's not busy. Asami-chan, you should take this chance and go on your break."
"Alright, I'll take my break."
Asami nodded and waved before entering the office.
I was wondering what she was about to say but decided I could ask her again later.
"I'm surprised. My nap was so good." Yaguchi-san said as he stretched.
"Well, you looked really sleepy before the break." "When it gets humid I get sleepy…"
"Huh? How does that work?"
"I don't know but it's been like this since a long time ago. But I'm wide awake now so I should be able to last until the end of my shift."
Yaguchi-san nodded with his arms on his hips and looked towards me. "Are there any tasks left to do?"
"No… We finished most of it already."
"As expected… You two are hard-working so you wouldn't be talking behind the counter if you had tasks left to do huh."
Yaguchi-san chuckled and looked outside, before tapping on my shoulder. "It's here again."
"Huh?"
"Look, the luxury car."
I looked outside and saw the usual luxury car coming in to park. "Oh, you're right. I think it's the first time seeing the moment the car
arrives."
"Yeah, that's right… Oh?"
Yaguchi-san raised his voice. The reason was clear.
The rear door of the luxury car, which always just parked there, opened. "Will they come in to buy something today?"
Yaguchi-san said jokingly, while I also stared at the rear door. I wondered what kind of person would come out.
A man in a suit slowly got out of the car. A white shirt with a blue tie. A black hair with a tinge of brown…
The instant I set my eyes on his face, I felt the blood drain from my body.
When the man closed the rear door and took a step towards the store, I instinctively squatted down to hide behind the counter.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
Yaguchi-san looked down towards me, confused. I couldn't say anything, so I just sat there cowering and trembling.
Looking back and forth between me and the man outside, Yaguchi-san tilted his head.
"You know him?"
I answered with a small nod. "You don't want to see him?" Another nod.
Yaguchi-san quickly walked to the office door, opened it casually, and spoke in a hushed voice.
"Stay down and get into the office."
I looked at Yaguchi-san's face, surprised. He didn't look down and just said "Hurry up." I realized that he was trying not to alert the man to my presence, and hurriedly crawled into the office.
Asami, who was sitting inside, looked at me, stunned. "H-Huh? What's up?"
"W-Well…"
Momentarily in a safe place, I was finally able to speak. I was surprised at how fast my heart was beating, and my breath was shallow too.
Why?
I thought about the man who got out of the car and broke out in a cold sweat.
What's my older brother doing here?
*
"Welcome!"
With a dull voice, I greeted the man in the suit who walked into the shop. It's good if he just came to buy something, I thought. Observing the man from the corner of my eye, he walked towards the counter without hesitation.
"Welcome."
I smiled towards the man in front of the counter. There was a similar fake smile plastered on his face.
"Apologies for bothering you during work. I'll hand you my business card."
He reached into his inner suit pocket and brought out a business card holder before handing me a single card from within. At this point, it was clear that he didn't come to buy anything.
"Hmm…"
Nodding awkwardly, I took the card with one hand [1]. I'm simply a convenience store employee. I don't care about business etiquette.
『 Ogiwara Foods Co. Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Issa Ogiwara 』
His card was written plainly in a simple font.
I tried to keep my face expressionless, but internally I was a bit agitated. Ogiwara Foods. It was a frozen food company anyone would know without needing to think hard. A CEO of such a company, showing his business card in such a remote convenience store. What kind of situation was this?
Even though I was confused, I felt like I already knew the answer. The hint was Sayu-chan hiding in the office behind me.
"I'd like to ask you a question."
CEO Ogiwara said, still maintaining his fake smile.
"I'm looking for a girl named Sayu Ogiwara. Does she work here?" Just as I assumed. I let out a sigh.
I thought it was weird for a high schooler to be on the run for months without anyone searching. It turns out they were searching for her after all.
Though at this point, this had nothing to do with me. What's more, I don't like the aura of the man in front of me.
"I haven't heard that name before. Maybe it's a different convenience store."
As I said that, CEO Ogiwara raised an eyebrow.
"We did some investigating and confirmed that she works here…"
"I think you made a mistake with your investigation." "Where's the store manager?"
It was an expected question. Conveniently, the store manager was on leave today. He said that "We did some investigating," but the fact that he didn't come on a day where the store manager was present showed carelessness. It didn't seem like they were used to this sort of thing.
"He's on leave today. If you want to tell him something I can help you…"
I replied without changing my expression. He stared at me like he wanted to say something, then let out a forced sigh.
"I see. If that's the case, tell him I'll come again another day."
"No matter how many times you come, our store doesn't have a girl like that."
"I'll confirm that with the store manager. I'll be leaving, then."
The CEO hid a sense of displeasure beneath his smile as he said farewell. "…Not even buying anything."
I muttered, watching his back as he left.
The luxury car departed as soon as he got in. All the times it was parked there so far must have been to confirm that Sayu-chan was working here. It's hard to imagine the CEO personally coming here all the time. It could have been his secretary coming here to observe while he worked.
I was surprised that Sayu-chan is related to the CEO of Ogiwara Foods. He looked quite young. Could he be her father? If he was the father, it might be a complicated family. Thinking along those lines, I remembered the expression on his face.
Behaving unassumingly, yet carrying on with an air of confidence that he would win. That's what I hated the most.
The more the person succeeds in all other areas, the more I want to make them fail somewhere. I'm rotten to the core, so I get annoyed when I see people in the upper class like him.
"Oh, yeah…"
I suddenly remembered that Sayu-chan was still hiding in the office. I walked to the store entrance and went outside. Looking around, I confirmed that the luxury car was completely gone before going back into the store.
Opening the office door and taking a peek, my eyes met with those of Sayu-chan, who was sitting against the wall and hugging her legs. She looked completely terrified.
"You can come out now." "I-Is he gone?"
"Yeah."
"I-I see…"
I looked sideways and saw Sayu-chan breathe a sigh of relief. I went back to the counter.
This has become a big deal now, I thought.
Being searched for and having her location pretty much known, she doesn't have much time left.
Plus, that guy who's letting her stay… I forgot his name, the serious guy. Depending on what happens, he might not make it out without some trouble.
I wondered about what might happen…
Then I thought, this has nothing to do with me.
*
"Big bro?"
"Yeah, my older brother."
I spoke with Asami quietly in the office. "So, your big bro's out there?" "Yeah…"
"T-To look for you?" "I-I think so."
Seeing me nod, Asami groaned while wrapping her hair around her finger. "If your family's lookin' for ya… you better go back home."
Asami glanced over after she said that. "…You still don't wanna go back, right?"
"That's right… How should I say it? I'm not ready yet." "I see."
Asami nodded and remained silent. Then, she reached out to hold my hand. Her hands were warm.
Amidst the silence, I could hear the voices of both Yaguchi-san and my older brother through the other side of the wall. Though no words could be made out.
It seems that my older brother came here looking for me. He's here.
Throwing my phone away wasn't a good idea after all. He was already worried about me, and more so after not being able to contact me anymore.
At the time, I couldn't withstand the repeated "Come home" messages
from my older brother. I didn't have any resentment towards him, but I just didn't want to go back to that house under any circumstance.
The office door opened and Yaguchi-san's face appeared. "You can come out now."
I felt a weird sense of security, seeing Yaguchi-san's smiling face as he said that.
"I-Is he gone?"
"Yeah."
"I-I see…"
I confirmed, just in case, then felt relieved but powerless. I let out a sigh immediately. Yaguchi-san looked at me with a neutral expression then left without saying a word.
"Ah, I need to go back too. I-It's like I skipped work, sorry…"
"Why are you sayin' sorry? Plus, even if ya go we'll just end up chatting since it's not busy today."
"Y-Yeah, you might be right…"
"It's fine, just go. Go. I'm gonna study right until break time's over so don't bother me."
Asami said as she pointed at her textbooks spread out on the table. I felt guilty for disturbing her.
"I'm sorry I disturbed you." "It's fine, it's fine!"
"Thanks… for keeping me company." Asami grinned at my words.
I left the office and returned to the store. Even though I knew he already left, I can't help but look around.
"That person… is he family? Is he your father?"
Yaguchi-san asked in a casual tone as he stood in front of the cash register. I didn't want to hide the details since he did help me, so I answered honestly.
"No… he's my older brother."
"I see, you older brother. I thought he looked too young to be your father."
After nodding a few times, Yaguchi-san showed a playful expression. "He's a handsome man, isn't he? I guess it's in the blood. Is everyone in
your family good-looking?"
I looked away, embarrassed at Yaguchi-san's teasing tone. "Please don't tease me!"
After saying that, I remembered something more important that I should be saying instead.
"T-Thanks for helping me just now."
Yaguchi-san raised his eyebrows at my words, showing a fake look of surprise.
"Nah, it's not like I helped you." "But you hid me from my brother." "Well, as a result, yeah."
Yaguchi-san chuckled.
"I hate guys like that, you know?" "What do you mean… 'Like that'?"
Yaguchi-san thought over what he was going to say.
"People with power, who think they can get other people to do whatever they want. I think."
Yaguchi-san showed a helpless smile.
"I'm too much of a pleasure-seeker. I think everyone should just live according to what they find pleasure in. That's why, if he wants to forcefully take away Sayu-chan, who doesn't want to go back yet, I won't cooperate." Yaguchi-san rarely said something so clearly. Then, his face darkened.
"Still, it's not like I can help you with anything. Feigning ignorance is the best I can do."
Yaguchi-san looked at me sideways. His eyes didn't seem as calm as usual.
"He's serious. A serious adult is scary." "…You're right."
"It's only a matter of time before you have to run away."
Yaguchi-san became silent after he said that. Then, he showed a sudden grin.
"Well, it has nothing to do with me though."
Yaguchi-san said as he tapped my shoulder while passing by. He went to the beverage refrigerator. Watching his back, my thoughts swirled.
It's only a matter of time before you have to run away.
As Yaguchi-san said, I don't think I have much time left after my older brother appeared here today.
At last, this endless flight has come to an end. Yoshida-san and I thought that I would be the one to decide the moment to go back home. But reality wasn't as simple as that.
It seemed like I was underestimating the gravity of the situation.
Even as I reproached myself, it wasn't easy for me to sort out my feelings. The end of my escape from home will be over sooner than I thought, and part of me found it impossible to bear it.
The cold air from the air conditioner blew on me, giving me goosebumps. For some reason, I felt very cold.