A sigh left Haji’s mouth as he realized that he couldn’t revert the current situation. He already let gumi in and at this point, it would be rude if he drove him out of his house. Another sigh, and then he closed his eyes in frustration, awaiting gumi’s judgnt on his dismal place that couldn’t even be called a ho.
"Hey, w...what’s this?!" gumi exclaid, her eyes darting here and there as if every dirt caught her eyes. Haji flinched in response. "Don’t tell you live here in this pigsty?!"
’Eh??? Pigsty? Shouldn’t she be thankful that I saved her from those n? Who knows what could’ve happened if I weren’t ho? And now... is she criticizing my place right now? Well, I guess...Even I do it all the ti.’ Haji coughed, everything in his mind didn’t co out of his mouth, however. "How rude, this is my place." He simply answered.
gumi didn’t react at all despite Haji’s straightforward answer. Instead, she started looking around, keenly, as if her eyes were that of a hawk’s. anwhile, Haji just stayed right behind the door, observing her every movent. His heartbeat spiked, realizing that gumi was obviously looking for proof of whether he’s a delinquent or not. Her intentions were crystal clear in her eyes, after all— that mischievous yet focused gaze, she’s plotting sothing and Haji could sense it.
The nook and cranny of the living room were carefully scrutinized. Fortunately, Haji didn’t forget to close the door to his room, otherwise, gumi would’ve examined it as well.
"What’s this?" With a slight suspicion, gumi gazed at Haji from head to toe before holding out a small sachet filled with white powder. It was pretty obvious what she thought about at the sight of the suspicious substance.
"That’s iodized salt. Ten yen apiece." Haji didn’t dilly-dally around with the answer since gumi was one click away from calling the police. "Why would you even think I own sothing like that? Don’t you know I’m poor enough as it is?"
"Then, care to explain this?" gumi asked once again, this ti, she was holding a bottle of beer.
"Water, you can open the cap and sll it. As I said, I’m hanging by a thread as it is, do you think I have the luxury to buy beer? If I had the money to buy beer, I’d much rather buy a al for myself." Haji defended himself a second ti, but he was beginning to get curious about what gumi would pick up next. And that’s why he didn’t tell her to stop.
"Then, how about this one? Are these..."
"Don’t...even...say it. Those are candies, candies, okay?" Flustered, Haji imdiately interrupted gumi and denied her suspicion. Since there was a slight discoloration on the candy wrappers, it was easy for soone to mistake it for sothing else.
Before gumi could ask another question, though, Haji imdiately put on his jacket and opened the door. "I have to go, do you want to drop you in school, or are you going anywhere else?"
"Hmm... and where are you going?" She asked, rubbing her chin while staring at Haji. Although there weren’t any signs of delinquency in his house (except for how filthy and dusty it was)
"And why do I need to tell you?" Haji’s brows furrowed.
Of course, he couldn’t outright tell gumi that he was working as a construction worker in the mornings. "I’m going, make sure you lock the doors when you leave."
"So the rumors were true after all." She muttered, sighing in disgust.
"Rumors? What are you talking about?" Haji stopped short just when he was about to step out of the door. There were a lot of rumors involving him that he couldn’t tell what gumi was talking about. His curiosity piqued, he turned around and eyed gumi.
"That you’re eting with won in questionable clothing!" She continued. "Now that you said that, I don’t think I can trust your words about these being candies. Just you wait, I’ll tell Akamine-sensei about this."
’This is such a pain! What’s wrong with her?’ Haji scratched his head, he could feel a headache surfacing in his mind as he got a bit annoyed. "Look, gumi, don’t you think you’re being unreasonable here? I an, if I were that kind of person, I’d have done sothing to you by now. And don’t forget, you still owe one after I saved you from those three guys. Not only that, you might not know this but you’re the first person I let into my house. This past year, no one except has entered this house except ... so if you’re going to accuse, shouldn’t you at least thank first?"
gumi averted her gaze from Haji. Only now did she realize that she was alone in an enclosed space with a guy. She blushed, but she maintained her strong front. "Hmph! Why are you calling by my first na?" She couldn’t refute what Haji said, so she decided to nitpick him calling her by her first na.
Haji shrugged as he continued his one-sided speech. "Well, think all you want, but I’m leaving right now." He calmly responded. "If you want to take you to school or to your place, this is your last chance. If you don’t want to then, just don’t forget to close the door when you decide to leave."
"Hmph!"
"Well, have it your way then... gumi," Haji snickered, calling her by her first na for the second ti, riling her up even more. Even though no one said it, he knew he won this ti around against gumi. Not only did he get away from calling her by her first na, but he also got away from teasing her. What’s more, she couldn’t retaliate so that was an added cherry on top.
Satisfied, Haji breathed in a breath of fresh air as he got out of the house. It was his first day of work after his much-needed rest at the hospital. Up until now, he still has no idea who his benefactor was but he didn’t really think too much about it. If he would’ve known, he would’ve swallowed the words he said to gumi. He owed her one before she owed her, after all.
’Mmm... aren’t I missing sothing here?’ Haji then asked himself a few minutes on his walk. All the colors drained from his face as he covered his mouth in embarrassnt. Apparently, he realized it a little later compared to gumi— that he just let gumi inside, and for a mont back there, they were both alone in an enclosed space. Haji’s face instantly reddened.
User Comments
0 comments from readers