The afternoon sunlight was bright, with a cloudless sky of pure blue.
Toyokawa Sakiko sat on a park bench, staring blankly at the sky, not knowing where she should go.
She had just started working hard, finding her first part-time job outside of newspaper delivery, finally making her life gradually better bit by bit.
She had thought this would change her situation, but the father she had placed such high hopes in still couldn't pull himself together.
It was as if the father she knew - that once gentle, considerate, and optimistically positive man - had completely disappeared from this world, replaced by a middle-aged man who drowned his sorrows in alcohol and only immersed himself in his own world.
No matter what she did, she seemed unable to change anything.
Her expectations for her father weren't high at all. She never expected him to repay the 16.8 billion yen debt, never expected him to necessarily achieve something.
As long as her father could work hard to live like a normal person, going to work normally every day, even if he could only find low-paying, difficult work, she wouldn't mind.
Because she would work hard too. At school she would strive for scholarships, eat less normally, not buy unnecessary things, just do housework at home. She didn't even need social activities, and she would go out to do part-time work to help share her father's living pressure.
As long as her father could pull himself together again, she would cheer him on too. Her demands were only this much - why couldn't even this be achieved?
Thinking about it, Toyokawa Sakiko's eyes began burning again, tears stubbornly falling once more, but she refused to admit defeat and forcibly held back this sense of grievance.
She was no longer a child who only knew how to act spoiled and throw tantrums. She wouldn't allow herself to show such weak emotions anymore.
There was no one left in this world she could continue to depend on. She had to become stronger.
Toyokawa Sakiko pulled herself together, shaking off her earlier state. She wanted to take out her phone to see if there were any part-time jobs that would hire her.
Because Sumita Mana had told her she could only spare four to five hours per week maximum to study piano with her. In other words, she would have about 100,000 yen in salary per month.
Although the hourly wage was a bit high, the time was too little, so this money couldn't completely cover a month's expenses. Therefore, Toyokawa Sakiko still needed to continue looking for work.
Toyokawa Sakiko took out her phone and found that Hoshino Miru had replied to her message much earlier.
「Hoshino Miru: Sorry, my sister was pestering me to play games earlier, so I forgot to reply.」
Toyokawa Sakiko was slightly stunned, then planned to ignore his message, but her finger remained on his chat page, not moving.
Soon, there were new messages.
「Hoshino Miru: Hello, is there some concern about reading but not replying here?」
「Hoshino Miru: Let me think.」
「Hoshino Miru: Did you make Mana sign hundreds of albums and plan to sell her autographs to those crazy fans?」
「Hoshino Miru: Miss Toyokawa, please be sure to include me.」
「Toyokawa Sakiko: I didn't do such a thing!」
By the time Toyokawa Sakiko came to her senses, she had already angrily sent the message.
Toyokawa Sakiko realized she had been tricked. She originally didn't want to face Hoshino Miru at a time like this.
「Hoshino Miru: I know, I just wanted you to reply to me.」
Toyokawa Sakiko bit her lip lightly. The emotions she had barely suppressed earlier surged up again all at once. This boy really was a bit annoying.
「Toyokawa Sakiko: It's not that I didn't want to reply. I'm a bit busy right now.」
「Hoshino Miru: Looking for another job?」
「Toyokawa Sakiko: Hoshino-senpai guessed right. I indeed want to find work. Piano tutoring alone isn't enough.」
「Toyokawa Sakiko: You're not allowed to help. I don't want to owe another favor.」
「Hoshino Miru: I haven't said anything yet, but what I wanted to say is, if you find work, don't forget I'm waiting for your sundae treat.」
「Toyokawa Sakiko: A bit unexpected. I thought you would refuse.」
「Hoshino Miru: Why would I refuse? If I were too embarrassed to even eat your sundae, I wouldn't have made friends with you in the first place.」
「Toyokawa Sakiko: So, can I understand that you're urging me to treat you quickly?」
「Hoshino Miru: It's not urging, but rather I'm looking forward to Toyokawa-san being willing to treat me. That would make me very happy.」
Even though he wasn't here, Toyokawa Sakiko still felt her face warming. Even knowing he was doing this deliberately, her heart felt the kind of relaxation and peace that came from casual chatting with a friend, without the earlier oppression.
For no reason, Toyokawa Sakiko suddenly very much wanted to confide her troubles to him.
「Toyokawa Sakiko: Can I tell you something?」
「Hoshino Miru: What?」
「Toyokawa Sakiko: I have a friend who had a fight with her dad today. Because her dad has been drowning his sorrows in alcohol, she got very angry. They just had a fight, then she ran outside. Now she doesn't know what to do in the future, whether to go back, and how to face her dad after going back.」
「Hoshino Miru: Where are you?」
Toyokawa Sakiko was stunned, then became flushed.
「Toyokawa Sakiko: I'm talking about my friend, not myself!」
「Hoshino Miru: I understand. Are you and your friend willing to meet me?」
Seeing this message, Toyokawa Sakiko fell silent.
About half an hour later, Hoshino Miru's figure appeared in the park. He quickly spotted Toyokawa Sakiko.
Toyokawa Sakiko also saw Hoshino Miru. Sunlight fell on the boy's shoulders, making her want to speak but hesitate, because she didn't know why she wanted to meet Hoshino Miru.
Was it because she felt lonely now, so she wanted to see what Hoshino Miru looked like?
Toyokawa Sakiko bit her lip. Just when she thought Hoshino Miru would ask about the reason for the fight, she heard him ask with a somewhat uncertain tone:
"Want to come to my house?"
Toyokawa Sakiko's originally tense pretty face gradually showed a bewildered expression, as if a question mark had suddenly appeared above her head.
"Although I don't know what specifically happened, you don't want to go back right now, do you?" Hoshino Miru explained. "My house has a game console. Instead of staying here in a daze, constantly thinking about those terrible things, why not come back with me to play games?"
"Are you trying to abduct me?" Toyokawa Sakiko felt somewhat amused and exasperated. Hoshino Miru had once again refreshed her understanding of boys.
"I call this visiting a friend's house." Hoshino Miru remained completely unfazed. "Of course, if you're wary of a guy with ulterior motives like me, I can also stay here with you until dark."
Toyokawa Sakiko looked at Hoshino Miru, and he looked back at her.
"Alright, I'll trouble you today, senpai." Toyokawa Sakiko smiled slightly. She felt there was nothing scary about it - it was just going to a friend's house.
Honestly, she was quite curious about this thick-skinned guy Hoshino Miru.
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