He must be very capable.

Page 1 of 3

When she opened her eyes, she saw the familiar ceiling.

Her blurred vision gradually cleared.

Yuko Shimizu stared sleepily at the ceiling for a moment. It was not until a distinct, tearing ache spread through her body that she was pulled completely out of that hazy state between sleep and wakefulness.

Yet she felt neither happy nor disappointed.

Instead, her hands and feet began to grow cold.

“What did I… What did I do last night…?”

As memories of the previous night’s scenes and events returned to her, Yuko instinctively refused to believe they had really happened.

But whether it was the unfamiliar sensation in her body—she had never slept naked before—or the fragmented yet startlingly clear memories, everything proved beyond doubt that what had happened the previous night was real and undeniable.

Yuko’s face was pale.

After drinking so much, it had actually happened.

Shame, embarrassment, regret—every kind of emotion surged through her heart.

She had been as bold as could be the night before; now, she was just as consumed by remorse. What she regretted most was not merely what she herself had done, but that the person involved was the son of her close friend—a boy who had come to help her.

She had effectively stabbed her friend in the back.

No matter how much Yuko tried to comfort herself, there was no way she could truly pretend that something like this had never happened.

Being drunk was not an excuse. Nor was losing her chastity a justification for what she had done. In the end, it had been her fault, and she no longer had the face to meet her old friend again.

Propping herself up, Yuko leaned against the headboard. She clutched the blanket tightly to her chest with both hands, her eyes vacant as countless thoughts churned through her mind. After a long while, she let out a deep sigh and shifted her unfocused gaze.

“Has that boy already left…?”

She murmured the words under her breath.

Of course he had.

More than ten minutes had passed since she woke, sorted through her memories, and spent ages wondering how she could possibly deal with the situation. Yet there had not been a sound from anywhere in the apartment.

In a way, that allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief.

If she had to look Tsukasa Harano in the face right now, she truly would not know what to say. Even if she felt guilty, she could never explain everything so plainly.

At least this spared them both the immediate awkwardness.

But after casually glancing around, Yuko caught sight of the rest of the apartment—and froze.

The apartment was rather small, and Japanese homes had long been designed by architects to compress every inch of space to the extreme. Even from the bedroom, Yuko could see almost the entire living room.

What she saw left her stunned.

The apartment, which had been strewn with clothes and belongings, had been transformed. Everything on the coffee table and the shoe cabinet by the entrance had been arranged neatly. Even the snacks scattered across the sofa had been carefully sealed with clips and placed in rows inside a storage box beside it.

Nor was that all. The reddish wooden floor gleamed faintly in the sunlight, clearly having been mopped.

The entire home was impossibly clean.

It looked as though a professional housekeeper had painstakingly tidied every corner.

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

Yet even that was not the end of it.

After remaining dazed for quite some time before finally coming back to herself, Yuko noticed from the corner of her eye a thick stack of banknotes resting on the bedside table to her left.

The stack was roughly two fingers thick.

A note lay on top of it.

Yuko had already guessed that the money and the note had been left by Tsukasa Harano, but curiosity still led her to reach out and pick up the paper.

Several lines of writing immediately caught her eye.

“Aunt Yuko, I’m truly sorry.”

“I never expected something like that to happen last night. The fault lies with me, but I didn’t know how to explain it, so I left before you woke up.”

“You may not be able to accept what happened right away, but it really did happen. I’m sorry.”

“Also, the money on the cabinet is for you. Yesterday, at the bar, I overheard that you seemed to be having some trouble with your finances and were dealing with an issue involving your house. This should be enough, so please don’t hesitate to use it. It isn’t because of what happened last night. Even if that had never happened, I would still have given it to you. It is the least I can do as your junior. If it isn’t enough, contact me anytime.”

“Tsukasa Harano”

“July 3, 8:00 a.m.”

The handwriting was neat and concise, and appeared quite elegant.

There was responsibility in his words as well.

If it had been anyone else who left such a thick stack of money after what had happened the night before, Yuko would have felt insulted and disgusted. But Tsukasa had known her for only a day, and had treated her with the respect due to an elder. All she could feel was that, despite having been the one to humiliate him while drunk, he had still cared for and helped her afterward just as he had before.

What a good boy he was! And she had ruined him like this! How could she ever face anyone again?

Yuko felt even more guilty after reading the note.

But before her remorse had time to churn for long, the crisp ring of her phone beside the pillow interrupted her thoughts. Even after instinctively picking it up, however, she did not answer at once.

The caller ID had left her completely stunned.

“Chitsubaki Fujitani”

A powerful sense of having been caught in an affair, along with the guilt of someone sneaking around, flooded her instantly. She could not bring herself to look at the familiar name on the screen and even felt like throwing the phone away.

Reason, however, stopped her.

The bright ringtone continued.

Under ordinary circumstances, she would have been delighted to receive a call from her friend. It meant she had someone willing to serve as an emotional trash bin while she poured out all her troubles. But now was different. On top of the guilt she already felt, an overwhelming sense of guilt and unease surged through her.

All kinds of emotions roiled in her heart, making it difficult for Yuko to remain calm. Still, after the phone had rung for more than ten seconds, she steeled herself and answered.

“Chitsubaki.”

“Is that you, Yuko?”

The voice on the other end was gentle.

“It’s me,” Yuko replied guiltily.

Fujitani Chitsubaki sensed something strange in her tone, but did not think much of it. She knew her friend enjoyed drinking, especially to the point of suffering a hangover, so she continued softly, “Did you just wake up? It seems rather early. Am I disturbing you? Why don’t you rest a little longer? I can call back later.”

But Yuko was already feeling guilty, and hearing Chitsubaki’s concern nearly turned that guilt into something tangible. Forcing herself to stay composed, she hurriedly replied, “No, no. I’ve been awake for a while.”

“I see.” Chitsubaki responded softly. Then, without thinking further about it, she asked with a smile, “I’m not calling about anything important. Tsukasa said yesterday that he was going to visit you, but I couldn’t reach him last night, and I couldn’t reach you either. I wasn’t sure what was going on. Was he able to help you?”

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

Hearing that her friend of more than twenty years was still concerned about her, while she herself had taken advantage of her drunkenness the previous day and deliberately done something like that with Chitsubaki’s son, Yuko wished she could find a crack in the floor and crawl into it. She was too ashamed to say a word. Her free hand instinctively tightened around the blanket, and she had no idea how to respond.

“Yuko?”

“Ah? Chitsubaki, I’m here!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just zoned out for a moment.” Yuko hurried to explain, then stammered, “Tsukasa… that boy really helped me this time…”

“Really?”

“Y-yes, he really did. My problem has been resolved. He happened to know the person who was giving me trouble. We were just eating together last night, and it got rather late. Then we had a little to drink, so neither of us was able to answer your calls…”

Yuko fabricated the lie without thinking, and her guilt grew even stronger.

“That’s good. I’m glad it’s resolved.” Chitsubaki immediately followed up with concern. “You didn’t drink too much, did you?”

“No… Last night… I watched him sleep…”

She had indeed watched him sleep. It had simply been too dark after the lights were turned off for her to see clearly. As for his safety, there was certainly no need to worry—after all, they had both been in the same bed.

“Then I really have to thank you.”

Gratitude filled Chitsubaki’s voice.

Yuko’s scalp prickled as she listened. Her conscience tormented her so badly that she nearly blurted out what had happened the night before and then slit open her own stomach. Yet she still did her best to conceal her thoughts, her gaze wandering as she said, “It was nothing. I’m the one who caused trouble for you and Tsukasa.”

“What are you talking about? It’s no trouble at all.”

“I… I owe you so much, Chitsubaki.”

“Don’t talk about owing me anything. You know that ever since he failed at starting his own business and passed the civil-service exam, that boy has become quieter and quieter. I don’t contact him much because I’m afraid of disturbing him. But recently, it seems he quit his civil-service job and started doing something else. I didn’t dare ask too many questions. Since you saw him yesterday, I wanted to ask—how is he doing now? Does he seem healthy?”

Chitsubaki’s voice was gentle, and whenever she mentioned Tsukasa, it became even more patient. Even over the phone, it was clear how deeply she cared for him as his mother.

But the more affectionate she sounded, the guiltier Yuko became.

How could she have done something so heartless and shameless the night before? How could she ever face Chitsubaki again?

Yuko thought miserably about it, yet the vague memories of the previous night rose once more in her mind. Her face gradually flushed as she answered in a low voice, “His body… His body is very healthy…”

“Hm?” The other end of the line seemed not to have heard her clearly.

“No, I mean, he looks to be in very good shape.” Yuko hurriedly corrected herself.

“Did Tsukasa mention what he’s been doing lately? I don’t like prying into his affairs, but from what he’s said, it seems to be going quite well. A mother always thinks her child is wonderful, of course, but after spending time with him, would you say he’s a capable young man?”

At those words, Yuko did not answer immediately. Instead, something suddenly occurred to her, and her heart began to pound nervously. She pressed her lips tightly together and tested the waters.

Several seconds passed.

A sticky sensation reached her fingertips.

Yuko’s expression became complicated. After a moment, she replied hoarsely, “Yes… He really is… quite impressive…”

Page 3 of 3