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Chapter 3 â Interacting With Enami-san \nVolume 1\n<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nI left the manga cafe and walked down the street at night with my face down.\n
It was cold. It had been a long time since I had been outside at this hour. The glittering artificial lights stung my eyes. The area in front of the station is the only entertainment spot around here. There are many game centers, karaoke rooms, and pachinko parlors.\n
Because itâs such a place, there are naturally some unsavory people.\n
I was glad that I was able to take Enami-san to the manga cafĂŠ. She may not be in that much trouble because of her personality, but she shouldnât be wandering around by herself too much.\n
I stopped in front of the arcade.\n
Memories of the past flashed through my mind.\n
Memories of when I was an idiot.\n
When I was a delinquent, I used to play here. Even late at night, I would stroll around without a care in the world.\n
It was a memory I wanted to forget.\n\n
I quickly turned on my heel. After a few steps, I saw a group of men coming out of the arcade. I canât help but turn around at the sound of their voices.\n
There was a group of guys who looked to be about my age. All of them were in plain clothes, but they were probably high school students. The reason I recognized them immediately was that a certain person in the group caught my eye.\n
There was one man, a tall, lanky man. His hair was a loud red color. He looked bored as he watched the others making a lot of noise.\n
He doesnât look happy, nor does he look particularly unhappy. He didnât seem to be interested in the conversation, and he was the only one who kept quiet.\n
I wondered if that was the reason. When he looked up, his gaze met mine.\n
ââŚâŚ!â\n
Thatâs not good. I thought and rushed to avert my gaze.\n
ă\n
They walked slowly toward me. Gradually, their voices became louder and louder.\n
âIt was lame to make a mistake there.â\n
âShut up. Donât get carried away just because you happened to win.â\n
âYouâre so pissed off itâs funny.â\n
Even though it was late at night, the volume was not turned down. Thatâs why I can hear the whole conversation.\n
I felt like I had to leave quickly, but I couldnât move quickly enough.\n
â I want to punch that manager.â\n
âThatâs right. He forced us out!â\n
The game center closes at midnight. I guess thatâs why they had to leave the store. The fact that it was a little after midnight suggested that there had been some trouble.\n
âThe manager was creepy. Heâs fat as shit.â\n
âHeâs sweating all over the place. Heâs scared of us. Then donât do it in the first place.â\n
âHis voice was shaking. I should have hit him.â\n
There was a pause. Then one of the men said.\n
âRight, Zaki?.â\n
At that moment, my shoulders shook a little. The taller man, who had been called Zaki, opened his mouth quietly.\n
âI donât careâ.\n
A low voice. With just those words, I can feel the atmosphere of the place change drastically. The people who had been complaining about the situation earlier instantly fell silent.\n
ă\n
Another man raised his voice.\n
âYeah, right! Itâs enough about that. Rather than that, you knowâŚâ\n
The content of the conversation suddenly changes. Still, the man called Zaki puts his hands in his pockets and shuts his mouth again.\n
The group of people walked past me while overtaking me.\n
I couldnât look up. My throat was getting dry. The wind was unusually cold.\n
I prayed in my heart that he would hurry up and go.\n
ă\n
Donât mind about me, just leave.\n
Despite the voice in my mind, the man called Zaki stopped. The others had walked a little further when they noticed him and called out to him.\n
âZaki, whatâs up?â\n
âNo, âŚâŚ.â\n
Just a few meters away, I see a long, thin back. He looked as if he was thinking about something, then glanced at me.\n
But I donât make eye contact with him.\n
ââŚâŚâ\n
It was a bad idea to pass by the arcade. It was also bad timing. It was a bad idea to leave just as the store was closing.\n
All I could do was pray that he wouldnât come to me.\n
âZaki?â\n
He shook his head at the repeated question.\n
âNo, itâs nothing.â\n
Then he started walking again.\n
The sound of his footsteps was getting further and further away. Gradually, his back became smaller and smaller, and he disappeared into the night.\n
I was finally relieved.\n
I was sure that he had noticed my presence. Thatâs probably why he glanced at me.\n
Itâs been a long time since Iâve seen him, I thought.\n
Recently, I hadnât been out late at night. Even when I did go out, I tried to stay away from the train station.\n
So I was surprised when I saw him unexpectedly.\n
I knew that nothing had changed. He still looked the same and did the same things he did back then.\n
Iâm sure we wonât have anything more to talk about.\n
That was something I had decided a long time ago. Since the day I decided to seal the past in my heart and be born again.\n
I put my hands in my coat pockets. I swallowed the spit and it soaked into my dry throat. My mouth is now dry.\n
Itâs okay. No more interference from each other.\n\n
I start walking towards home again.\n\n
<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nTN: Hmm.. past⌠may be there was a fight by the riverside.. đ\n\n