“Yeah...I..I live in apartment 218, why?” I asked. His voice...is cute.

“Your...um, friend is knocking at my door.” The man states and covers his mouth. “Please come now, he is causing a disturbance throughout the neighborhood.”

Fucking Yamato...urgh, shit.

“Um alright, who are you?” I raise my hand to my forehead, “You’re not related to the landlord, are you?” Please don’t be related to the landlord...please….god no.

The man quietly clears his voice and adjusts his collar shirt. “I’m your neighbor across the balcony. Apartment 202…” He pauses, “...you’re the one who I waved to this morning.”

“C-Correct,” I pull back my hair, “Well, I’ll get home soon. May I have your name, please?”

“Nozomi Hideki,”

“Jinki Hidemi,” I tell him. “Thank you for telling me, I’ll be there soon.” I close the phone.

Shit...are you fucking serious…

Running and walking to catch my breath, I couldn’t stop thinking. Ran past the officer and ran past the old lady who always tells me how her husband is doing.

“I need to catch someone! I promise I’ll talk to you tonight!” I tell her as I run.

It’s worse when you know someone who is gonna cause so much trouble. Yamato is that kind of person and is willing to just ruin things for others. It’s annoying sometimes.

I run up the stairs past the first floor to the second. Standing there was Yamato knocking on my door and trying look through the peephole.

“Yamato!” I yelled in a whisper. “Get over here now!”

Yamato’s eyes glowed, his blue bright eyes were shining and getting big. Running towards me, he pulls me into a bear hug and nuzzles me. “Hi-Hi-chan!”

“No,” I said stern and tried to push him off. “You fucker, get off now.”

He pulls away and gives me puppy eyes, “Hidemi, don’t get mad…” Yamato raises a hand to touch my arm, “I miss you…”

I don’t care.

“Look, Yamato…” I brush his hand off and looked across the balcony. My neighbor who came out to water his plants once more. Shit. “...just go back to the dorms.”

“What?”

“Yamato, I’m not asking much, okay?!” I groaned. Shit..I cracked.

Yamato stayed quiet and turns to the side, exhaling and inhaling. “You never want me to visit you anymore…”

“You have exams and you’re always complaining that you need money--”

“No, no!” He shouts, “You should be happy I’m coming either way!” He fixes his collar shirt and buttons it, “I knew you'd get mad this time! You don’t even care about me anymore!”

“Oh yeah, I don’t care anymore!” I shout, too. “You’re always partying every time you come here and this time--oh guess what? A fucking hickey!” Pulling the collar on the left aside, the hickey showed. Full blasted purple and pink and visible. Yamato pulls away and pushes my hand. He covers his neck with a hand and looks at me shockingly and takes a step back. His cheeks were red. In his eyes, you could tell how the vision of memories from last night. And whatever that was, he knew how he got that hickey and how drunk he was that night.

Exhaling, I turned away and walked down the stairs. “Go home, Yamato.”

No text messages, no phone calls and not a mention of the boyfriend or the name. Everyone in the office stared as I came back after an hour of lunch break. Manager scolded me but didn’t ask me what went on before. It was nice to see that my coworkers were trying to comfort me by talking about other things and talking to me how my story was going. And of course, I asked about their story, too. One of them got their book published and they’re happy that all their friend supported them all the way.

“Pft, Yamato has no clue what I do for a living…”

They were shocked when I said that and asked if I wanted to talk about it. I said no because...well, that’s about it. He never asked and he doesn’t even ask how I make money to pay my rents and to give him money time to time. We’ve been dating for how long? For almost 4 to 5 years. You would be surprised how you would think couples would last that long. It’s so shitty though. Yamato for the past year has been trying to talk to other girls. It’s what I’ve been told by my friends who are still at the campus for their 4-year college program. I didn’t bring it up to Yamato until something was up. And that was when he went on a date.

“Yamato, why didn’t you tell me?” I said on the phone. My voice was quiet and calm. Before, I was watching funny videos of cats and dogs. I didn’t really know how to respond to Yamato.

“I-I thought you would get mad--”

“I just wished you told me and things would’ve been alright.” I sighed and moved around, “Understand that I rather be told by you than by someone else.” I tell him.

“O...Okay…”

He still didn’t tell me. My friends asked me if I was going to do something. I told them to watch if he does something stupid. “We’ll laugh at the end,” I said.

“Hidemi, he tried to have sex with someone!”

“Aren’t you going to do something at least?”

I shake my head and sip my drink, “Eh...he hardly gets any cuter when he’s hurting me…”

“Hidemi, this isn’t right. You should just break up with him.” They worried.

I smile and fix my hair, “I’m fine.”

It was just all lies. I’m hurting but right now, I don’t care about our relationship. It’s interesting how he’ll go this far to make sure I’m okay when I’m trying to push him away to see if he’ll care to just give me a kiss.

The last we had a kiss? Well...I don’t even fucking know. Maybe a 2 or 3 months ago? He doesn’t even remember to say ‘I love you’ when we go to sleep. Or in general. Those days were the days when we were in love for about 2 years. I’m not even sure if we’re in love anymore. I still hold on to him even though he probably doesn’t. I do get jealous that he parties and grinds girls...but I rather make him see how much it hurts that he leaves me like that. People are interested about Yamato when I tell them that I’m in a relationship. Though, I don’t anymore. I just feel like everyone around us thinks we’re going to get married and live off so happily. The thing is I don’t want to marry him. I don’t see him as a husband I could ever marry. It may be just now but who knows. It could just stay the same.

08:35 PM

Walking down to the officer post, I knocked on the door. “Yo! I got the drinks!” I waited for a sec and they opened. It’s the officer who was on a date, Seth the transferred officer from another city. He has nice purple dyed hair and I hate it. Then again, I love it.

“Hey, Purple~!” I pull up the bag of drinks and snacks. “Can I come in?”

Seth leans on the side of door and smirks, “Oh look who it is, it’s Miss Hidemi.”

“Well! I thought I was married!” I sarcastically played it. He’s an asshole. My little asshole at least. “Can I come in, Purple head?”

He smiles and pulls me in with his hand, “How are you by the way?” He chuckles and closes the door. The blonde policeman was sleeping cozily on the table with a blanket over him. I set the bag down and leaned down to poke him.

“Eh, how he is?” I chuckle quietly, “Is he alright?”

Seth nods and pulls a seat for me, “He told me the kids played with him.”

“On duty?” I took the drinks out along with the snacks, “Warren, wake up. I got the drinks like I said this morning,”

Warren, the blonde police officer moans and snuggles back into his arms. How cute.

“Five more minutes...and don’t...judge…” He yawns, smacking his lips happily.

It’s interesting how they are good friends and they get along well in the work field. Warren and Seth worked in the small booth for about a year when I arrived and it’s quite interesting how they got along well. I mean they’re supposed to work together and get along, but getting along with the people, too? It’s kind of amazing.

“So Seth, Warren tells me that you were on a date?” I ask.

Seth’s cheeks blossom red and he pulls a seat, “Y-Yeah, I did.” He grabs his favorite drink and turns the cap with the sizzlingly sound. “My date was wonderful, to be honest, she was sweet and...ah…” He’s smitten. What an adorable little purple head.

“What’s her name?” I opened the soda can and settled it down to fizzle. “Do you have a picture of her?” Seth quickly gets out his phone and scrolls through. His eyes light up and cover his face as he shows it. Warren quickly looks up and leans over near me, “Ooo~ She’s hot.”

“She’s pretty, wow.” I chuckle and take Seth’s phone, “I love her hair, damn. What’s her name, Seth?”

“Her name is Jumin, she’s korean transfer student.” Seth smiles and takes his phone back, glancing at the phone. “Don’t judge but she’s only 19,”

“Whoa! Hold on, old ass!” Warren gets up from his seat and puts up a hand, the STOP sign. “You’re dating a teenager?!” Warren snaps his fingers for Seth’s phone. “Hurry up, you pedo!”

I couldn’t stop laughing and popped open the bag of chips, “Goddamnit, Warren! You got some game for some 30-year-old!” Seth’s not 30, he’s close to my age. Though making fun of him so fun.

“I’m not 30 and her birthday is coming on soon,” Seth makes it clear for us all. “She’s really fun to be with and when she speaks japanese, it’s cute.”

Warren and I just...stare. I lean close to Warren, “Ugh, someone is in love. We got to cut him out of our life.” Warren just laughs his ass off after that comment I said.

Seth pouts and sips his bottle and puts the cap back on, “I thought you had a boyfriend, we should’ve cut you out of our life.” Warren agrees; nodding his head. Fucking Warren—you kiss ass.

I shake my head and put a chip in my mouth, “Things are complicated with us,” Shrugging it off, they looked worried at me. “What? I don’t like talking about him,”

“Hidemi, did something happened?” Seth tilts his head. See, this is why every lady falls for this purple head. He’s caring. Also, he’s a purple cabbage head that everybody wants.

I tell them everything to what happened in the morning until the end of my lunch break. They’re surprising quiet and every time I vent to them about my problems, they would comment on everything. It’s only this time they didn’t.

Warren sighs and crosses his arms as if he was a strict father. “I told you he was a dumb head. Every time he visits you, he just asks where you live since he keeps forgetting. Maybe I should just send to him off to another place.”

“Now come on, her boyfriend is trying to make an effort to visit her and—” Seth tries to put an effort to make us see the different side. But…

“Did I tell you—he had a hickey on his neck?” I mumbled softly. I put my leg against the table edge and drink. “He’s cheating on me…”

Warren is like the protective father when it comes to problems. Seth is like the loving mother when it comes to problems. It’s nice to have friends close by, to be honest. I sighed and look at them both, “Don’t worry, I rather not deal with him at all.”

“Why don’t you just dump him?” Warren suggests.

“I don’t know,” I shrug.

Seth leans in close to me, “Dump him please,” Eye contact.

I look away and shake my head, “I can’t, guys.” A weak smile, “I don’t know, it’s just a weird feeling that I hang on to him.”

“I just want him to realize how things are without me as he’s in a relationship with me,” I said.

They both shake their heads, “That’s why you dump him.” Seth says. “You’re just hurting yourself more as you’re in this relationship with him…”

“Is that what you want, Hidemi?” Warren asks.

Yeah...I do.

It’s past 10 and we all leave the booth. Locked and packed, Warren tells me he’ll walk me home in case something happens to me. “Why do we call you Warren, Warren?” I chuckle. I’m not drunk, it’s just really late. Warren smiles and walks with his hands in his pocket.

“Well I just like the name and I would prefer everyone to call me that.” He looks at me. He has a flashlight out and flashes it on the ground. “Hey, let me ask you a question.”

“Mhmmm...sure, ask me.”

“If you didn’t date your former boyfriend...who would you date?”

I gave him a look and thought. I would be single, I mean who wanna date this?

I chuckle to myself and looked at Warren, “Single as a pringle, kid. I mean who would date me? No one and for some reason, I got Yamato.” I exhale loudly and cover my yawn.

“No, I mean...out of the people you met…” Warren chuckles, “Who would you date if you had the chance?” Ohh...that’s what he meant.

“Okay, gotcha.” I nod and thought about it again. “Hmm, well probably my Manager….Jeremy….ehh, he’s annoying...maybe Seth…”

“Wait, seriously?!”

“What? Who wouldn’t love that cabbage head?”

“You’re right.”

We chuckle to ourselves and smiled. I gave him a look, “You, too.” Who wouldn’t want to date Warren?

He stops and gave a proud smile. “I knew it.”

I laughed and punched his shoulder, “See that’s exactly why you’re single, you’re such a dickbag!”

“Am not!”

“Oh whatever!” I laughed and...as we stopped, I saw my neighbor across the balcony...just waiting. We both looked and just stared. I looked at Warren and smiled quietly. “And probably my neighbor, too.”