Kentaro crossed his arms, his eyes fixed on the intruder, silently observing his every move.
Completely oblivious to the shift in his surroundings, Haruki rummaged through Ginger's bag, only to be startled when he finally straightened up and found himself on the receiving end of an intense gaze from the classroom entrance.
"H-Hi!" Haruki guiltily moved to shield Ginger's view of his bag.
Sauntering towards him and the desk, Kentaro coolly asked, "What are you searching for?"
"Nothing."
"Then why were you going through my bag?" Ginger's eyes narrowed with distrust.
Avoiding his gaze, Haruki refused to respond.
Suspicion crept into Kentaro's expression, prompting him to investigate further. Opening his bag, he discovered that the pack of rice balls he had purchased that morning from the convenience store had mysteriously vanished.
"Where's my food?"
"It was cold, so I threw it away," Haruki confessed, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
Ginger stared at him in disbelief. "That happened to be my lunch."
"No, no, I have your lunch right here," Haruki rummaged through his own bag and pulled out a navy blue bento box, placing it on Ginger's desk before stepping back a few paces.
Ginger looked from the bento box to Haruki, telling him, "I'm not eating your food."
"But it's really yours this time," the other boy presented another lunch box, the same black one Ken had eaten from before. "I really did prepare that bento for you."
Kentaro's expression finally changed from indifference to surprise. He was momentarily speechless.
"So, hey, can I eat with you today?" Haruki asked suddenly, anticipation evident on his face.
"If I say no, will you go away?" Ginger countered with a question of his own.
"...No?"
"Then don't bother asking."
"Great!" Haruki's face lit up with excitement. He pulled a chair closer to Ginger's desk, intending to share the same eating space with him.
"In here?" Kentaro raised an eyebrow.
Haruki busied himself with preparing his meal, responding, "Why not? Is there a problem?"
"No, it's..." Kentaro gestured towards the windows. "I always thought you loved the outdoors."
"Yeah, but lunch is almost over, and I didn't expect you to come back so late."
Kentaro gave up and took his seat. "I had to endure a short lecture from the English teacher."
"You actually get in trouble?" Haruki expressed genuine surprise.
"Ha ha," Ginger set aside the note and marker he had been holding and opened his bento. His expression froze when he saw the contents in the smaller section, unsure of how to react. Annoyance flickered across his forehead as he launched his personal attack. "Haruki, what is this?"
Haruki took a look but saw nothing wrong with Ginger's food. "I thought you liked tonkatsu. Didn't you say it was your favorite after chicken curry?"
"Not that."
Haruki inspected the contents again. Apart from the pork cutlets, the main dish consisted of rice seasoned with sesame seeds. In the smaller sections of the insulated bento, there were stir-fried broccoli and an assortment of greens.
Ah, the veggies...
"I hate these, Haru," Ginger reminded him.
Having completely forgotten about the kid's aversion to vegetables, Haruki reached over with his chopsticks. "Right, right, I'll remove them."
"No," Kentaro smacked his hand away, baffling Haruki.
"Eh?"
"You've already prepared them. It would be a waste to throw them away," Ginger said, handling his own chopsticks.
"I was just going to eat them myself..."
Kentaro interjected, "I'll eat them."
Haruki couldn't help but wonder why Ginger had mentioned it in the first place. However, such a small matter clearly didn't bother him. He was relieved to know that Ginger hadn't severed their ties in the end.
Yesterday, Haruki had finally vowed to keep silent about the abusive nanny, and only then did Ken find it in his heart to somewhat forgive him. Was their relationship back on track?
But despite the truce, Haruki couldn't shake off the nagging sensation that he was missing something important.
**
After school that day, Haruki took the initiative to pay Kentaro's classroom another visit, but not for any significant reason. He simply wanted to inform him:
"Hey, Ginger, sorry I won't be able to walk you to the gate today. I'm running late for judo."
Kentaro, already shouldering his bag, raised a bewildered eyebrow. When had Haruki ever done that before?
"Don't miss me too much, okay?" Haruki teased with a mischievous snicker before darting away.
"What the...?" Ginger began, but he abruptly halted upon realizing that he had attracted the attention of his classmates, and awkwardly scurried out of the room.
With no business left at school and yet to join an after-school club, he headed straight for the subway to catch his three-thirty train back home. However, halfway to the station, he deviated from his usual path and chose an alternate route through a deserted alley. It wasn't a shortcut per se; he simply decided to take a different path home.
Why? Only he knew the reason.
*
A fifteen-minute train ride brought him to his neighborhood station, and another ten minutes on foot led him to his house. Locking the door behind him, Kentaro slipped off his dirty shoes but didn't bother with the indoor slippers, dragging his socked feet straight to his room before collapsing onto his bed.
Only then did he release a relieved sigh.
He hadn't run into 'them' this time around either. How long would it take until 'they' figured out that he'd started using another route home? Four days had already passed since his last encounter with 'them'.
Suddenly, his stomach growled, creating another problem for him. Reluctantly, he made his way to the kitchen, not expecting much since he already knew what awaited him.
While his fridge was spacious, all he found inside were two juice cartons, a half-empty milk carton, and three large cups of instant ramen. No real food. Not even a piece of fruit.
His cupboards and shelves were stocked with various non-perishables, but their presence was meaningless if he had no idea how to prepare them.
"Want me to teach you how to cook?"
Haruki's familiar words echoed in Ginger's mind, evoking a tinge of sadness.
Their unexpected bond during summer vacation had brought them so much happiness. There was no doubt they could be even happier now if Kentaro just stopped being... mean. Yet, here he was, ruining it all by giving Haruki the cold shoulder out of the blue.
And he deeply regretted it. Whether his distant behavior was intentional or not, Kentaro was consumed by suffocating regret.
"If you keep acting like this, I don't think we should remain friends."
Yes, that's what he had told Haru, even though Haruki had only wanted to help him.
But no matter what, Haruki kept coming back with a smile.
Kentaro's grip tightened around the refrigerator handle, his teeth clenching in self-loathing.
The few people he had ever connected with in the past had always left him in the end, and Haruki would be no different.
Yeah, it would only be a matter of time. Eventually, Haru would also grow tired.
While these thoughts swam through his mind, a warm tear rolled down his cheek, prompting him to slowly raise a hand and wipe it away, taken aback by his own vulnerability.
This was nothing new, so why did it feel so...
DING DONG!
Snapping back to reality, Kentaro closed the refrigerator door and left the kitchen, wondering who could be bothering him. He hadn't ordered any takeout, and his neighbors wouldn't suddenly start visiting him...
He halted abruptly, hesitant to take another step forward.
What if it's them? Had they discovered his whereabouts?
DING DONG, DING DONG!
"Um, hello? Ginger, are you in there?"
Kentaro's reservations vanished upon hearing the familiar voice. With a mixture of relief and surprise, he swung the door open, revealing Haruki's exaggerated grin.
"So, this is the place," Haru surveyed the interior of the house, peering past Ken. "You weren't kidding when you said it was massive."
Kentaro snapped out of his daze and instantly confronted Haruki. "How... How did you find me? What happened to the club?" Haru wasn't supposed to know where he stayed. Ken never disclosed it to him.
"I ditched," Haruki replied nonchalantly.
"You followed me here?"
Avoiding eye contact, Haruki's response lacked any shame. "Yep."
Ken glared disapprovingly. "Creep."
"Oh, come on. Your wouldn't have told me anyway, so I had no other choice," Haruki casually kicked off his sneakers. "Besides, I have a special mission here."
"What... What are you doing???"
"Just taking off my filthy shoes. Your floor looks spotless, and I wouldn't want to dirty it," he breezed past Ken, acting as if he owned the place. "By the way, this place is even more incredible than I imagined."
"I never invited you inside!"
"And you didn't stop me either," Haruki replied, smirking.
Kentaro was left speechless.
Without wasting a moment, Haruki embarked on his exploration, venturing into every room he encountered, marveling at its grandeur. At one point, while Haruki was inspecting the rooms on the first floor, he caught sight of something through the window and gasped.
"No way, you have a pool too? That's so unfair," he complained.
Kentaro trailed after him helplessly. "Can you see any water in it?"
"Then how do you keep it so clean?" Haruki glanced back and forth between Kentaro and the pool. "It's so maintained."
He's like a toddler; Kentaro thought. "I hire pool cleaners."
"Then you should use it," Haruki clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "Such a waste of good money."
"Could you please leave already??"
Suppressing a snicker, Haruki raised his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay, I will."
Finally!
"But not before I meet your nanny," Haruki turned and headed towards the staircase. "Speaking of which, I haven't seen your room yet. It's not upstairs, is it?"
Kentaro fell silent.
Unfazed, Haruki descended the stairs, determined to find Ginger's room.
"You always complained about my messiness, but I bet your room is even worse—" His sentence trailed off as he caught sight of Ginger's immaculate and tidy room. The only thing out of place was the bag Kentaro had casually tossed onto the bed.
Super neat freak!
His gaze drifted to the desk and chair tucked away in the corner of Ken's room, his attention captured by the imposing presence of the pristine desktop computer.
He wasn't kidding about the computer; Haruki mused.
"Now you can freely tell me to eat my words," he chuckled, approaching the desk. Nonchalantly picking up a nearby sketchbook, Haru flipped through its pages, his eyebrows shooting up in pleasant surprise. "What? Ginger, you never mentioned you were an artist!"
Genuine astonishment mingled with admiration. Kentaro's sketches were a sight to behold, far beyond what Haruki's paralyzed hands could ever produce.
The sketchbook contained an array of drawings: birds, buildings, trees, flowers, and even people. Well, more accurately, one person—a young woman.
"Whoa, Ginger, is this your mom?" he asked, but as he turned to inquire further, he found no one behind him. Where had he gone?
Carefully returning the sketchpad to its original spot, Haruki retraced his steps and discovered Kentaro still lingering on the staircase.
The ginger-haired kid stood there, lost in thought. It was only when Haruki emerged from his room that his gaze shifted to him.
Concern laced Haruki's voice as he asked, "What's wrong?"
"You. Why won't you quit?" Kentaro sighed wearily, too exhausted to muster any anger.
With a faint smile, Haruki replied, "I know you hate it, but I can't help it. I just wish you relied on me more."
A surge of guilt washed over Kentaro, his hands involuntarily clenching. He desperately wanted to tell him the truth, but he knew exactly how Haruki would react. He'd become the person Ken had glimpsed that day...
Scratching his temple, Haruki let out a dry laugh. "Maybe I'm crossing a line again. I'll stop, I promise, for real this time."
Something in that statement tugged at Ken's heart, threatening to spill the truth right then and there. With all his might, the ginger-haired kid restrained himself, maintaining his usual cool demeanor before Haruki could sense anything amiss.
"But I don't regret finding out where you live," Haruki admitted with a shrug. "Following you around was the highlight of my day. I felt like a spy."
"A stalker, you mean?" Kentaro corrected.
"Come on, don't make it weird."
"Sure, whatever floats your boat."
"Man, you're something else," Haruki said, turning to leave for the front door. He crouched down, slipping on his shoes. "Just so you know, I'm definitely picking you up tomorrow morning. We'll be going to school together from now on."
"Wait! What? Hold on—" Ken didn't get a chance to protest as Haruki suddenly feigned deafness and dashed away without looking back.
Haruki had come and gone like a gust of wind.
For a while, Ginger wondered if their entire exchange had been a figment of his imagination. He went to bed that night convinced he may have become slightly delusional.
But the next morning arrived, and there was Haruki, standing at Kentaro's doorstep in full uniform, while the other kid still wandered about in his pajamas.
Clingy. That was probably the best word to describe Haruki Fukuda.
~~~~~~