“Um… Kawasaki-san…”
Watching as Rika Kawasaki’s attitude only grew harsher after his earnest apology, turning away without even glancing at him, Kaoru Hoshitani felt a wave of helplessness and a headache coming on.
His original intention was simple: to maintain a relatively good, or at least peaceful, working relationship with her—the beloved granddaughter of the Kawasaki Family Izakaya’s elderly owners, and, after all, his colleague whom he saw every day.
He parted his lips, wanting to offer a few more words of explanation to her retreating back, or at least get some kind of response.
But Rika Kawasaki’s tall, straight figure radiated an unapproachable decisiveness; she walked on without the slightest pause, as if she hadn’t heard his faint call at all, vanishing behind the curtain leading to the Kitchen without looking back.
[Forget it… there’s nothing to be done about this…]
With a tinge of disappointment, Kaoru Hoshitani sighed inwardly, swallowing the words he’d meant to say.
He even considered for a moment whether he should try to persuade his girlfriend, Aina Saiten, to come apologize to Kawasaki-san herself, since this whole situation stemmed from her openly hostile behavior.
But as soon as that thought appeared, he could already picture the wary, hostile expression Aina always wore whenever Kawasaki-san was mentioned.
Considering his girlfriend’s sensitive and stubborn nature, and the possibility of sparking an even bigger conflict, he reluctantly gave up on the idea, not wanting to complicate things any further.
Even so, throughout the whole day, Kaoru Hoshitani secretly worried that this inexplicably tense relationship with Kawasaki-san might affect the working atmosphere, or even cause unnecessary trouble.
But when the day’s work finally drew to a close, he was surprised to discover that, aside from Kawasaki-san herself continuing to ignore him with her icy attitude, nothing else had actually gone wrong.
This allowed him to finally relax, and he secretly let out a sigh of relief.
“Kaoru, it’s almost time for you to get off work, right?”
Not wanting to stay too long in the same space as that blonde woman, Aina Saiten had carefully timed her arrival today, showing up at the exact moment her boyfriend, Kaoru Hoshitani, finished his shift at the Izakaya.
She poked her head inside, quickly scanning the area.
Only after confirming that the irritating figure was nowhere in sight did she softly call out to Kaoru, who was wiping down the last table.
“Yeah, let’s go. Goodbye, Mr. Kawasaki.”
Hearing his girlfriend’s voice, Kaoru looked up and offered a slightly weary yet still gentle smile.
He carefully hung the cleaning cloth by the Washing Pool, picked up his Canvas Backpack, and went to the Bar Counter, where Mr. Kawasaki was settling today’s accounts, to bow politely in farewell.
Only then did Kaoru head to the entrance, naturally reaching out to take Aina Saiten’s hand.
Their fingers entwined, the two of them walked side by side into the Street shrouded in night, blending into the sparse flow of people heading home.
On the way, Aina Saiten keenly noticed that her boyfriend’s delicate, handsome profile was shadowed by a slight frown.
The gentle smile that always seemed to linger in his eyes was veiled by a faint, lingering sadness, as if some trouble was weighing on his heart.
She tightened her grip on his hand a little, turned her head, and asked softly with concern, “What’s wrong, Kaoru? Did something… happen at the shop today? You don’t look very happy.”
There was an almost imperceptible tension in her voice, worried that the blonde woman had caused Kaoru trouble.
“Ah…”
At her words, Kaoru Hoshitani let out a soft sigh—so gentle it was like a feather drifting to the ground.
But he quickly pulled himself together, not wanting his girlfriend to worry.
Turning to her, he forced a slightly brighter smile and deliberately replied in a lighthearted tone, “It’s nothing, maybe just a few too many customers today. Standing all day made my feet a little sore. I’m probably just a bit tired. I’ll be fine after some rest. Let’s go home.”
As he spoke, he gave her hand a little shake.
Hearing his words, Aina Saiten’s heart ached for him.
That ache was tangled with a deep sense of powerlessness and guilt.
She couldn’t help but think, if only she were more capable and could earn enough for both of them, then Kaoru—who’d once lived so protected and carefree—wouldn’t have needed to go out and take on a job dealing with all sorts of people.
He should have been cherished more gently.
But the heavy shackles of reality made it impossible for her to say something like, “If you’re too tired, Kaoru, then don’t go anymore. I’ll support you,” no matter how romantic it sounded.
After all, the cold facts were plain: if they relied on her salary alone, the pressure would be enormous, and their quality of life would suffer.
She didn’t want Kaoru to have to struggle because of her.
As long as their tight finances didn’t change, any suggestion that Kaoru quit would be empty words, only bringing them back to the cycle of quarrels and stress over money—solving nothing, and even hurting their relationship.
But Aina Saiten hadn’t told Kaoru that she was already actively looking for a new job and sending out resumes, aiming for higher pay.
She thought, once things were settled, she’d tell him then and give him a happy surprise.
If she told him now, with his cautious and easily worried nature, he would surely object and try to talk her out of it.
She could almost picture him frowning slightly, using his gentle yet determined voice to say:
“Huh? Why suddenly change jobs? Aren’t you doing fine where you are, Aina? You’re used to the environment. There’s a risk in switching jobs—what if you don’t fit in…”
Things like that. She knew him so well.
But that was only natural. From both common social perception and basic instincts, men tended to want their living environment to remain stable and safe, disliking uncertainty and risk.
And from the most primal perspective of survival, a stable and predictable environment was much better for raising and nurturing the next generation than one filled with changes and risks.
It was a tendency written into their genes.
After a long, exhausting day in the city, the weary couple finally returned home. After their showers, they lay embraced together in bed.
Only a single dim bedside lamp lit the Bedroom, its warm yellow glow softly enveloping them as they snuggled together, creating a tranquil and intimate atmosphere.
“Um… Aina, is your waist still hurting?”