I have my first dinner shift in the evening. This time, my support for the day is Manami. She introduces me to other staff and badmouths Tamura while telling me about all the funny things that happened around the workplace in the past. By the end of the day, I feel far more comfortable in my uniform than I did on training day.

“You pretty much have everything down now,” Manami says. “I think you should be fine on your own next time.”

I’m nodding in agreement when the door chime catches our attention. Shun standing in the doorway with his choker and oversized hoodie reminds me not to get too comfortable.

Manami motions for me to follow her.

“Uh,” I stammer, taking a few steps in the opposite direction.

“What’s wrong?” she asks.

Shun watches us with an expectant look.

“Let’s go,” Manami tries again, her hand now on my back, compelling me forward.

“Hello, Mr. Adachi.” The tone of her husky voice rises as we approach Shun.

“Hello, Ms. Horie,” he greets her before his eyes switch to me. “Hey, Makoto,” he says in a rougher tone.

I stand one or two steps behind Manami, convincing my own eyes to compete with his.

Manami looks over her shoulder at me, forcing me to lose the staring contest.

“You two know each other?” she asks.

“We live together,” Shun answers before I can say anything.

I wince and witness Manami’s smile fade. She looks between Shun and me with raised eyebrows.

“We live in a shared house,” I clarify. “With four other guys.”

“Oh,” she giggles. “I almost thought you were…”

There is an uncomfortable silence. I glare at Shun while he smirks.

“Nevermind. I’ll show you to a table.” Manami clears her throat and motions to Shun to follow her.

Once seated, Shun doesn’t try talking to me. Instead, he appears to be sketching something while slowly consuming his food. So slowly that he’s still there as my shift comes to an end. I escape to the staff room to change out of my uniform, hoping to slip out of the restaurant without him noticing. However, when I exit, Shun is already at the register, another coworker ringing him up. I try to sneak by, but when I’m on my way down the street, I look over my shoulder and see him illuminated by street lights as he follows closely behind me.

I sigh. Not this again.

“Why are you in such a hurry, Idol Wannabe?” he calls out to me.

I refuse to respond. The stamping of his feet against the pavement echoes off surrounding buildings and I know he’s running to catch up with me.

“Hello?” He comes up to my side.

“Why are you following me?” I try to speak with a level voice, keeping my focus straight ahead.

“Aren’t we headed in the same direction?”

Irritated, I pick up speed, transitioning into a run.

“Hey!” he calls out from behind me. He’s fast, at my side again in no time.

“That doesn’t mean we have to walk together!” I shout over the thumping of our feet. So much for keeping my emotions in check.

Shun is laughing and running at the same time, looking genuinely amused. This makes my blood boil even more.

“You’re really fucking annoying, you know that?” I yell.

“I’m trying to be!” he says proudly.

A few bystanders are turning their heads toward us as we continue to cause upheaval through the residential street. We slow our pace when we reach our house, both of us panting. I step up to the door first, fumbling for my keys in my pockets. Where did I put them?

“Too slow.” Shun pushes me out of the way.

He unlocks the door and enters the house first, then stops directly in front of the doorway to take off his shoes. I use my forearm to push him aside so I can get through. I’m able to slip out of my shoes quicker than he can and am about to step up from the entrance before he elbows me out of his way again. We’re both out of breath as we swear and grumble at each other. Kenji sits and watches us from the kitchen table.

“Welcome back,” he says as if Shun and I aren’t ready to kill each other.

Shun stomps through the kitchen and down the hallway, followed by the sound of his door closing.

Unlike Shun, I say hi to Kenji before returning to my room. The first thing I do is check my phone. My heart skips a beat when I find a LIME friend request from someone with the username “Eririn.” The profile picture is of Eriko leaning over a balcony, a body of water below her. My thumb hastily taps on it.

Eriko
Hi Makoto! This is Eriko.
U remember me right? Lol

She suddenly added me on LIME? I quickly back out of the chat to check my other messages.

Koki
Hey i gave Eriko ur LIME
Hope u dont mind

He hopes I don't mind? He couldn't have done better! I quickly switch back over to my chat with "Eririn" to type a reply.

Makoto
Hi Eriko 😀
Of course I remember u! lol
Whats up?

Eriko
Nothing much!
I just heard from Koki today that
ur an expert at making macarons
Ive actually been trying to make
them but cant seem to get it right
Can u teach me sometime? 🙏

What? Was that really the only thing Koki could think of? I try to recall if I've ever even tried a macaron before.

Makoto
Sure! Ill teach u someday 👍
Btw r u free tmr or sunday?
Wanna go for dinner?

"Read" appears next to my messages almost instantly after I send them, but a minute or so passes before my phone vibrates again.

Eriko
Sorry i have plans this weekend
But im free on friday after class.
Does that work?

I'm holding back the urge to dance around my room as I double-check my schedule for next Friday.

I spend my Saturday exploring the streets of Shibuya and Harajuku while trying to hide my smile every time my phone vibrates. I buy a new outfit from a thrift shop in the backstreets before heading to a cafe to sit down and browse Intogram posts for ideas on where to check out next. I’m only half focused on the posts, though, as I continuously switch back and forth between them and LIME every time I get a new message from Eriko. If she’s replying to me this much, she must be into me too, right? I have a good feeling about Friday.

When I get home, Magnus is standing over a boiling pot, examining a package of instant noodles. He flashes me his huge smile.

“What did you buy?” he asks, eyeing the paper bag in my hand.

“Just some clothes,” I say, showing him my recent purchase.

“Ah.” He smiles even wider. “You have a nice fashion style.”

“You think so?”

I’m pleased with the compliment. Being from a small town, most of my fashion inspiration had only come from Intogram. I’ve tried really hard to dress well since moving here.

We have a brief chat about how people dress in Norway and Hokkaido. He has something positive to say about every kind of person and clothing, giving me the impression that he’s a really good guy. The total opposite of Shun.

Once he sits down at the table with his food, I head to my room.

I spend my first week of classes adjusting to school life, working shifts at Yumeya, chatting with my roommates, and messaging Eriko. All the usual stuff.

Sunday is the first day since moving to Tokyo that I don't run into Shun even once. After that, I get the feeling I'm seeing him at home and work less and less, but I'm still forced to remember his presence once the trouble Junichi and Daiki warned me about begins.

On Monday, I open the fridge to find a post-it note on my milk carton. Taking it out of its compartment, I discover it's much lighter than I remember it being.

Sorry, I thought it was mine and accidentally drank it.
– Shun

My name is written on the carton in big fat letters directly above the note. Sighing, I grab the magnet pen off the fridge door and use it to reply at the bottom of the post-it.

You can have the rest.

On Tuesday, I run my clothes through the laundry while cooking dinner. When I return later, I find them in a wet pile on the floor in front of the washing machine.

On Wednesday, I'm welcomed home by a bag of garbage sitting in front of my room door with another post-it note.

Dear Idol Wannabe,
Could you throw this out for me?
Thanks.

I push the garbage across the floor with my foot until it’s against Shun’s door, then fetch a bag of trash from my own room and slide it up next to his. Unfortunately, Kenji finds the garbage before Shun does and comes knocking on my door, ordering me to throw it out and stop picking on Shun.

On Thursday, my toothbrush is missing from its cup in the bathroom. I search all around the sink and inside the shelf behind the mirror but don’t find it until I toss a tissue into the trashcan and notice a bright orange toothbrush peeking out from under other garbage. The following day, I find my new toothbrush has joined the old one in its grave.

Shun’s “pranks” are annoying, but my mind is made up—I’m not moving out no matter how irritating it gets. Doing that would only make him think he’s won. He has to get tired and give up at some point, but just in case, I move my shoes out of the shoebox by the front door and into my room. It would suck major balls to have vinegar poured on them.

After buying my third toothbrush at the convenience store, I find Magnus in the kitchen. He’s standing with his back against the counter, looking down at his phone. I smile and raise my hand in preparation for his usual cheerful greeting, but he shows no reaction to me at all. He lets out a long sigh.

“Hey, Magnus,” I try to get his attention as I kick off my shoes.

“Oh, hey,” he says, finally looking up from his phone. His smile seems forced.

“Something wrong?” I ask.

“Ah, sorry,” he apologizes. “I just got news that my grandma is ill and might pass away soon.”

“Oh.” I pause, taken aback by the sudden sad news. “I'm sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t worry. I'll be fine,” he says, the sides of his mouth twitching.

I wonder if it’s okay for me to pry into his privacy despite still not knowing him well.

“Are you close to her?” I ask.

He looks down, his normally bright face darkening.

“Yeah, she often looked after me when I was a kid.”

“Oh.” I don’t know what to say, but I don’t want to go to my room and leave him alone. “Are you planning to go back to Norway to see her?”

“I’m not sure.” He hesitates. “I don't know how easy it will be for me to get time off work. The flight is expensive, too.”

I try picturing myself living in a foreign country and my grandma falling ill. Just the thought of it saddens me.

“I think you should try to take time off and go see her.”

My opinion forces itself out of my mouth before I have a chance to consider his feelings. He raises his head to look at me.

“If you don't go now, you may never see her again,” I urge. “You should go. Make a few more memories together with her now, before you don't have the choice anymore.”

He stands in silence. His eyes are still on me, but I can see the deep thought behind them.

“Yeah, maybe I should,” he finally says.

“If you don’t, you might regret it later,” I add.

“Yeah, you're right. I guess it’s still hard for me to imagine losing someone.”

“It's hard to imagine it before it happens, but once they're gone, it hits you really hard.”

He tilts his head. “Did someone you know pass away before?”

“Ah no, actually,” I say, almost feeling embarrassed for not having the same experience, but I can still recall Shinjiro's glazed eyes when he finally broke down trembling, face gaunt from weeks of not eating. That was the moment he understood she wasn’t coming back.

“Nothing like that has happened to me, but my best friend's mom went missing when we were in elementary school,” I say. “They never found her.”

Magnus’s eyes widen and he begins to ask something, but then it dawns on me that I don’t have a lot of time before I need to leave for class. I check the digits on my phone and apologize before going.