Grrr…
The rebellious growl of an empty stomach pulled Sato out of his deep thoughts. He glanced at his phone and raised an eyebrow.
It was already 4:00 PM and he hadn't even eaten lunch.
Sigh…
He let out a long breath, put down his pen, and stood up to stretch. His body creaked like an old, rusted machine.
Grimacing, he pounded his shoulders and knees, then shuffled to the kitchen to make himself a quick cup of instant noodles. After scarfing it down, he headed out the door.
…
Homura Shop
This was a traditional Japanese sweets shop Sato had found near the apartment. Nestled in a quiet residential area, it had an old-fashioned look: simple and quaint, even a bit aged. It sold classic wagashi, or Japanese confections.
The moment he stepped through the noren curtain, a delightful aroma greeted him. Behind the glass display cases lay rows of exquisitely crafted sweets. A gentle-looking middle-aged woman in a white apron stood behind the counter.
"Welcome," she said with a warm smile.
"Hello," Sato nodded politely, then turned his attention to the sweets inside the case.
Tsk… these look pricey.
His gaze shifted slightly. He stared hard at the price tags beside the sweets. Even though he wasn't exactly poor anymore, he still winced a little inside.
But this wasn't money he could avoid spending.
"I'd like to get a few sets of these as gifts, please. Could you box them up nicely?"
"How many would you like?"
"Three should be enough."
Traditionally, when moving into a new place, you greet your neighbors directly above, below, and on either side. But since Gabriel lived next door, there was no need to visit her again.
"Alright," the shopkeeper nodded.
She seemed like a chatty person, starting up a conversation while carefully packaging the sweets.
"I don't think I've seen you around before, are you new to the neighborhood?"
Sato was scrolling through recent news on his phone when he paused at her question, then nodded.
"Yeah. I moved here alone to attend school."
"Alone?"
She looked up at him, eyes wide with curiosity. Her stare made Sato feel slightly uncomfortable, so he turned his head a little.
"My family lives in a mountain village in Akita. Due to an aging population and the lack of young people, the local high school closed down. If you want to continue your studies, you have to go to school in the city. I happened to want a change of scenery, so I enrolled in a private high school nearby."
"I see. Sigh…"
The shopkeeper looked impressed but then suddenly let out a helpless sigh, as if remembering something.
"What is it?" Sato asked, curious.
She rested her face on her hand, looking exasperated. "My eldest daughter is about your age, but she's so hyper, always bouncing off the walls like a wild child."
"She's really a handful compared to you."
A wild child, huh?
Sato chuckled to himself. Looking at the mix of fondness and exasperation in the woman's expression, he couldn't help but smile.
"She sounds like someone who's carefree and full of life. That's not a bad thing at all, plenty of people would love to have that kind of energy."
"You're right," she replied, visibly cheered by his words, breaking into a soft laugh.
Being able to let her daughter live so freely must have been a point of pride for her too.
Just then, hurried footsteps rang out from outside, growing louder with every step, followed by ragged breathing.
Sato turned toward the noise, curious. The shopkeeper, however, seemed to realize what was coming, her face tensed slightly.
The noren curtain was flung open, and in came a girl with vibrant orange hair tied in a side ponytail. She threw something onto the counter with a clatter and leaned forward, gasping for air.
"Hah… hah…"
The girl opened her mouth, trying to say something but couldn't get the words out.
She took a few more deep breaths, then suddenly lifted her head, her chest still heaving.
Only then did she notice Sato. Her big, ocean-blue eyes blinked at him with mild curiosity before she turned to the shopkeeper and said,
"Mom, I'm going over to Umi's house!"
And just like that, she turned and sprinted out of the store without waiting for a response.
It wasn't until she was far down the road that the woman snapped out of her daze, blushing as she shouted after her:
"Honoka! When are you going to act like a proper young lady?!"
But the whirlwind named Honoka Kosaka was long gone.
The woman sighed and looked at Sato with a weary smile, clearly second-guessing the agreement they'd just reached.
"See? I told you, there's no such thing as 'pure-hearted.' She's just a total maniac."
"Hmm… maybe you could call her energetic instead," Sato offered with a dry chuckle.
It was one thing for a parent to say that about their child, but it felt impolite for a stranger to agree. It could come off wrong or even offend them.
The shopkeeper beamed at him, eyes twinkling.
"You really are a gentle person."
Gentle? That counts as gentle?
Sato stifled a laugh. That was a pretty hasty conclusion, wasn't it?
At that moment, the shopkeeper finished wrapping the sweets and pushed a neat stack of gift boxes toward him with a cheerful smile.
"That'll be 12,000 yen." (83.6$)
"Oh, sure!"
Sato held back his pain and forced a smile as he handed over the money.
After bidding the shopkeeper goodbye, he stepped out of the sweets shop. Glancing back once, he muttered to himself:
That was expensive… like, borderline highway robbery.
Checking the time on his phone, Sato began making his way back to the apartment.
By now, most neighbors should be home.
Socializing… what a headache.
Sato sighed.
He'd never been the best at dealing with people. Even if he sometimes seemed like a soft-hearted nice guy, he generally preferred to keep his distance from social entanglements.