Chapter 16: I’ll Support You!

Natsume Mio quickly followed Sakamoto Ken out.

Sakamoto Ken walked with his hands in his pockets along the dimly lit residential path.

Although he never looked back, his ears were keenly listening to the movements behind him.

From the sound of the footsteps, he could tell that Natsume Mio was about three meters away from him.

She had tried to quicken her pace to catch up a few times, but after just a few steps, she returned to her previous speed, always maintaining this distance.

Sakamoto Ken knew his strategy had succeeded.

Maintain an appropriate psychological distance with her, not pushing it into an intimate relationship all at once, but enough to keep her thinking about him.

This was the safest state.

This was a lesson learned through blood and tears, summarized by Sakamoto Ken after experiencing the cleaver ending in his previous life.

Finally, arriving at the street corner, Sakamoto Ken stopped and turned around.

Natsume Mio also stopped immediately, watching Sakamoto Ken under the dim light of the streetlamp.

“Do you see what’s in there?” Sakamoto Ken pointed to the area inside the fence by the road.

Natsume Mio tilted her head to look and said, “A cemetery?”

Sakamoto Ken nodded, then pointed to the building covered in rusty iron sheets up ahead.

“That building is where I live,” Sakamoto Ken said.

Natsume Mio quietly looked at the old apartment building under the night sky.

The long-neglected exterior walls, the rusty iron sheets, a few rooms with lights on, and behind it, a patch of woods belonging to the cemetery, looked particularly gloomy in the night.

She actually knew where Ken lived.

The last time she came over based on the memories from her dream, she happened to run into Sakamoto Ken coming out. She was a little surprised at the time; she had only known that his family’s financial situation was not good, but she hadn’t expected him to actually live in such a dilapidated apartment.

But at that time, she was busy tailing him and didn’t think much about it.

Natsume Mio shifted her gaze to Sakamoto Ken, pondering in her heart.

Just now, when Sakamoto Ken asked the manager for a short break, she had actually felt a little thrill of joy, thinking that Ken was going to tell her something important, like… a confession.

She hadn’t expected Ken to bring her to see where he lived.

But, why?

At this moment, Sakamoto Ken continued to walk towards the old apartment building, speaking as he went.

“My parents left me a huge debt after they passed away. Even now, I’m still relying on a pro bono lawyer to help with the lawsuit.”

“Not long after that, I moved here by myself.”

“If it weren’t for the kindness of the manager, I would have had trouble even eating back then.”

“Ken… it must have been hard,” Natsume Mio said in a small voice.

Sakamoto Ken continued to speak as if to himself, “Natsume-san, I actually used to like you.”

“Eh?” Natsume Mio’s steps faltered, then she quickly sped up to follow.

Just as she tried to walk beside Sakamoto Ken, he continued, “You were the prettiest girl in our class.”

She strode forward, a few steps ahead of Sakamoto Ken, and turned back to say to him, “Then… Ken, why didn’t you tell me back then?”

“Because that kind of liking was a very vulgar kind of liking,” Sakamoto Ken said.

“How could it be! Why would liking someone be vulgar!” Natsume Mio said anxiously.

“I purely liked your body, that’s all,” Sakamoto Ken stopped, his eyes scanning the girl before him from top to bottom.

Is… is that vulgar?

Natsume Mio’s emotions were thrown into disarray again.

“Besides, I didn’t think I was in any position to do so,” Sakamoto Ken said, sidestepping Natsume Mio who was standing in front of him.

He took a key from his pocket, inserted it into the lock of the apartment building’s main door, and opened it.

“You see, it’s this kind of apartment. Only the poorest people live here. The rooms don’t even have their own private bathrooms. In winter, you sometimes have to go to the public toilet in the snow,” Sakamoto Ken said, talking to himself.

“I don’t mind…” Natsume Mio said in a small voice.

Of course, she knew about the apartment’s condition. In that particularly real dream, although other things were a bit blurry, she remembered the days she lived here with Ken very clearly.

The public toilet here was a squat toilet. On winter nights, after coming back from the toilet, her entire bottom would be frozen numb.

And then… and then Ken would let her sit on his lap, and it would warm up quickly…

Natsume Mio pouted slightly, feeling that her dream was really just wishful thinking, filled with all sorts of strange, improper thoughts about Ken.

“Come in,” Sakamoto Ken said to Natsume Mio as he stepped into the apartment.

“Eh?” Natsume Mio hadn’t expected Sakamoto Ken to invite her in.

The girl didn’t hesitate and immediately stepped into the apartment.

Looking left and right, sure enough, everything around her was just as she remembered…

Sakamoto Ken led the way, arriving at his room door and opening it with his key.

Sakamoto Ken fumbled on the wall and turned on the light in the room.

“It’s this kind of room. It’s fine for me to live alone, but let alone one more person, it’s not even big enough for one more cat,” Sakamoto Ken said, pointing to the wall by the door. “Look, there’s mold here, and several of the tatami mats inside are broken.”

Sakamoto Ken stood at the doorway, not inviting Natsume Mio to walk in. He spread his hands and continued, “Now you know, right? With my situation, I’m in no mood for a relationship.”

Just as he was speaking, panting sounds came from next door, followed by the creaking of the wooden floor. A woman’s heavy breathing grew louder and louder, eventually turning into whimpering moans.

Sakamoto Ken silently walked out of his home, closed the door again, and took out his phone to check the time.

“You heard the sounds around here. The environment I live in is just this bad,” Sakamoto Ken said as he walked towards the stairwell. “I should get back to the store. You should hurry home, don’t miss your train.”

Natsume Mio still stood愣愣地 at the door of Sakamoto Ken’s room. His figure was no longer visible in the hallway.

In her ears, the sounds coming from the next room were particularly clear, making her face flush red.

There were no lights in the hallway, only the faint glow from a distant streetlamp.

After Sakamoto Ken left, it felt as if the surrounding darkness had thickened.

Natsume Mio quickly went downstairs and ran out of the dilapidated apartment building.

“Ken! Ken!” Natsume Mio ran up behind Sakamoto Ken, panting. “I understand what you mean, Ken! But, I don’t want you to give me any gifts. We can just, just date…”

“There’s nothing to discuss. I have to make money,” Sakamoto Ken said as he walked. “Or what, are you going to support me?”

“Okay, I’ll support you!” Natsume Mio blurted out.

Sakamoto Ken: “…”

Wait, you want to support me too?

Sakamoto Ken shook his head and said, “I’m not the kind of man who lives off women.”

“Is… is that so?” Natsume Mio subconsciously used a questioning tone.

An image surfaced in her mind: Sakamoto Ken getting into a rich woman’s Porsche…

Sakamoto Ken walked into the store without looking back, his reply to Natsume Mio firm and resolute.

“Of course. I will definitely not live off a woman.”

Definitely, this time.

(End of Chapter)