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?"
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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."
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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?"
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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.
No matter how much Tadano tried, he couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards this woman.
With a much gentler tone than before, Tadano asked the woman,
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"Well, what's the second story?"
"Oh, this one is quite sad. I might cry while talking about it."
"Sadder than what you said earlier?"
"Incomparable. Why, are you curious?"
——
Tadano glanced at the woman, tilting his head. In response, the woman took a deep breath and looked at Tadano with a faint gaze.
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"The second story happened because of a guy worse than those relatives I mentioned earlier."
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This was a story that even Tadano was curious about. Who could be worse than those trashy people? His curiosity was piqued.
As Tadano focused on her, the woman blushed a little, seeming a bit embarrassed, and began her story.
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"Having gone through such experiences from a young age, I couldn't have the ordinary happiness that others have. By the time I went to school, my mom had passed away, and when I finally escaped the sadness, my dad died, and relatives caused trouble."
"That must have been tough."
"Yes. Unable to die, I worked tirelessly from the age of 17 to raise my siblings. I had already given up on school. So, I had no peers to be friends with. There was no one I could call a ‘friend.'"
——
As the woman spoke of her second story, her expression gradually changed. The bright face that was almost unpleasant to look at earlier now became shaded.
She sighed and continued.
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"But one day, I met a man. He was sitting alone in a corner, looking as sad as I did when I was left in the house swept clean by relatives. Maybe because of that, I felt interested in him the moment I saw him. It seemed like he had experienced something similar to be sitting there so sadly."
"…"
"At first, it was just curiosity. But as we talked, I found myself liking him. Perhaps it was the empathy that people who have gone through similar experiences feel."
"But then what happened with that man? You mentioned he was a bad guy, so it probably didn't end well."
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In response to Tadano's words, the woman clapped her hands and said,
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"It didn't end badly. It ended very well."
"Well?"
"Yes. We drank together the first day we met, and the second day, we spent the night together."
"…You slept together after two days of meeting?"
——
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"Strictly speaking, it wasn't sleeping together. We just talked all night. Well, we did sleep a bit too."
"Just talked and slept?"
"Yes."
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Tadano sighed as if he found it pathetic.
Upon which, Yomi burst into laughter, almost spitting on Tadano's face.
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"I-I'm sorry. It's just that your sudden remark was so funny."
"…Forget it. I knew you were an uncouth woman."
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Tadano wiped his face with a handkerchief. At that moment, the dish Tadano ordered arrived. It wasn't something extraordinary, as the place was a humble eatery, but the dish presented as a ‘set meal' seemed rather meager.
The woman pointed at the ramen and asked,
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"Aren't you going to eat? It's delicious here."
"I'm more curious about your story than eating."
"…?"
——
At Tadano's words, the woman paused. Though she had merely expressed her inner thoughts, she seemed quite taken aback.
"Why is that?"
"Oh, no reason. Let's eat while you continue talking. I'm curious about everything, even the fact that you talked all night together."
——
The woman hesitated for a moment at Tadano's words and then continued.
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"At first, he was a cold and awkward guy, but as we talked, I realized he was an interesting and warm person. So, before parting ways with him, I asked him casually. I asked if he could be friends with me."
"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?"
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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."
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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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