Chapter 1

“Thanks for your work.”

“See you tomorrow.”

The hot suffocating wind of May caresses my cheek, almost making me wish I could stay a couple more hours at my job. Spending six hours inside the convenience store, with the air conditioner at max power and the calm of a Tuesday, clientless morning, made me forget we were in the middle of the summer.

If you ask any young person, being free after 5:00 PM during a weekday would be glorious. It would mean they could spend the rest of the afternoon having fun; going shopping to the practically empty stores, enjoying a movie with the cinema almost to myself or having a drink with my friends at a bar. Sadly, I am not your average young person; I am a 25 year-old good-for-nothing single male, with no friends and no money. Being free so early means that I have to spend the rest of the day all by myself and I hate myself.

“If I go home now, I will end up taking a nap and then I won’t be able to sleep at night.”

I mumbled to myself in front of the entrance to the station, pondering if I should go home of loiter around the city to waste time. Only one place comes to my mind during these moments, Akari Ramen.

Akari Ramen is a small shop, located three blocks away from the convenience store where I work. I discovered it by accident one day when I was trying to find a used bookstore I heard about on a blog. After that, I became a regular because of their cheap prices and its lack of customers during the day.

“Welcome… oh, it is just you Taoyama-san.”

“Hi Boss, how are things going?”

There is another reason I like to come here, the owner. The person I just called Boss is a friendly middle-aged man named Matsubara Shinji. He looks and talks like your typical corporate drone, that is why everyone calls him boss. He once told me he only opened this place to fulfill his childhood dream after retiring from a prestigious company. He did not look that old, so it was inspiring how he managed to win at life and climb the corporate ladder all the way to the top at his age.

“As usual, you are the first customer today.”

“Do I get a discount for that?”

“In your dreams. I am working on a new dish, Tantanmen, do you want to taste it?”

“Do I get a discount if I do?”

Boss just laughed and began serving my plate without answering. Our interactions are always like this, at first I was uncomfortably nervous to have this scary dude talking to me as if he was my closest friend, but after a while, I started to enjoy the conversation more than the food. Boss has this bartender power that makes you speak your mind as soon as you sit on the counter.

“Do you want to kill me, this looks too spicy.”

The green plate in front of me, full of a shiny red soup and thick noodles, even made my nose itch with its smell.

“My clients are usually drunk so I wanted to try something spicy this time.”

“Then I am going to need a beer, Boss."

I hesitated before grabbing the plate and carefully blew on it.

"Here goes nothing.”

As expected, the ramen was too spicy for me. Tears began to drop from my eyes and my nose started running after just a spoonful.

“Too much?”

“Ugh… too much…”

I could not talk because my tongue was on fire and I almost heard my stomach complaining with each mouthful. As if Boss could read my mind, a plate of gyozas was served next to the bottle of beer.

“Don’t you have work tomorrow morning Taoyama-san?”

“No, I changed my day off with Minami-senpai this week.”

“So, you haven’t given up with her.”

“Forget about that, she got a boyfriend on Christmas night. I am just doing her a favor as the nice coworker I am.”

“I see, so that is why you didn’t come here at all during January. You must have been crying inside your room the whole month.”

Does he think I am teenager? Although I did cry for a couple of days after seeing the profile picture of Minami and her boyfriend on Line.

“How are things going with the wife Boss, did you prepare the surprise?”

“Yes, I have everything ready. We are going to spend the weekend at a fancy hotel with hot springs. She thinks I am taking her to see a friend from my old job.”

Last week, Boss told me her wife birthday was coming soon and he wanted to plan a surprise for her. I spent that afternoon helping him look for ideas on my cellphone.

“Good luck. I can’t remember the last time I went to the hot springs.”

“The last time we went, it was with our daughter. It was difficult to convince her to stay home this time.”

I wonder, if my life had gone different, would I be happily married and starting a family right now? Whenever I come here, I like to imagine myself as this old man, being a happy member of society like everyone else.

“I am sorry Boss, I cannot finish this soup.”

“You have to pay for it either way.”

Just like that, with the two of us laughing and teasing each other, is how I spend most of my boring, lonely afternoons.

“Good night Minami-senpai.”

“Night Taoyama-san. Wait, you are opening tomorrow right?”

“Yes, the manager is taking vacations.”

“Nice. I am leaving my pink bag here, can you give it to my boyfriend? I will ask him to come pick it up for me in the morning.”

“Sure, no problem.”

I am sorry Boss, I guess I am a teenager after all because I feel like crying right now. I grabbed my things and said goodbye to Minami once again, what a way to start the week.

“Maybe I should go grab a beer.”

I reluctantly walked towards my usual destination with the taste of defeat lingering in my mouth. Hoping that hearing Boss brag about his stories from the love trip to the hot springs would make me feel better, or at least would get me sad enough to go sing the pain away at the karaoke later tonight.

Upon arriving at the intersection, I noticed something strange. The lights outside the shop were out and only the small door at the entrance was slightly open. A shadow, reflected upon the dimly lit street, showed that someone was clearly wandering inside the place. Thinking it was a robbery, I took my cellphone out and ran all the way there until I almost bumped into the potential criminal rushing out of the shop.

“I am so…”

Before I could finish my sentence, I noticed the person standing in front of me was a beautiful woman wearing an all-black suit. I was speechless; her golden hair almost illuminated the street with its own light and her tight skirt accentuated her long curvy legs.

“Is Boss… I mean Matsubara-san here?”

“I am technically Matsubara-san, but I assume you are looking for Shinji, correct?”

“Um… yes.”

She was speaking with an annoyed tone, which made it even more difficult for me to respond.

“Are you his friend?”

“I guess? My name is Taoyama Naruki. “

I do not know if he considers me his friend, but it felt awkward to say I was just a regular client with nothing better to do than coming to this place every week.

“It doesn’t matter either way. You are the first person to come look for him so I might as well tell you.”

The woman closed the door of the restaurant and stood in front of me with a serious expression.

“Shinji and his wife died on Sunday. They were coming back from a trip and a drunk driver took them out of the road. The police found their car yesterday morning.”

The woman voice lacked all emotion. She reported the facts as if she was a news anchor talking about a complete stranger.

“I am Yuka, her little sister by the way. I guess he never talked about me before.”

Yuka started to walk away, leaving me standing there frozen, not being able to process what I just heard. The trip Boss planned with such enthusiasm and love killed him and his wife. Why on earth did God decide to do that, why is this happening to them.

“Do you want to come? I am going to his house, the funeral is over but you can still say goodbye to him if you like.”

Her words finally returned me back to reality and I could no longer stop the tears from flowing. The beautiful face in front of me finally showed some emotions as Yuka handed me a handkerchief.  

My only friend in this world is dead.