Chapter 1

On a rainy night, a woman with long black hair stood in the corridor of the apartment building.

Honestly, I was seriously scared. At around two in the morning after working late, the sight was intense enough to make me scream for the first time in years, but I recognized the suit she was wearing.

"Are you Ms. Saotome from next door?"

"Uh, ah, next door... Sorry, it's Saotome, yes."

She turned around as if startled, blinking her eyes while brushing the rain-soaked hair from her cheeks. Indeed, it was Ms. Saotome who lived in 603 next door.

We didn't have much interaction just because we were neighbors, but it seemed she remembered my face.

However, while I understood the "uh," the "ah" was quite novel.

"Are you coming back from work? It's quite late."

"Yes, well, sort of."

"Sort of?"

Considering how drenched she was, there were several concerning aspects, but it wasn't something I should pry into. We both had work tomorrow, after all.

"Good night, then."

"Yes, good night."

I took out my key and inserted it into the keyhole of the doorknob.

Turning it would unlock the door, leading to my home, which contained only a computer, a cactus in a pot, and the bare minimum of other items.

Ms. Saotome, who lived next door, didn't follow the usual routine that all the residents of the apartment building would do. She stood there, staring at the door.

Is this it?

"Did you lose your key?"

"No, I didn't lose it."

I had expected a common reason, but it seemed I was mistaken.

"I just left it at my business trip destination, which is a three-hour commute away..."

"So you were just standing here, unable to do anything?"

"I'm sorry..."

"Even if you apologize... Did you try calling the place where you left it?"

I asked, but it was already two in the morning. The city was asleep except for salarymen like me.

"My phone and wallet are in the same bag as my key... I can't use a public phone, and even if I could, no one would answer."

"Even if they did, it wouldn't solve the problem immediately, right?"

"Yes..."

Ms. Saotome nodded stiffly, her expression as hard as stone, looking like a lost child.

I remember meeting Ms. Saotome for the first time when she moved in last spring.

I was initially delighted to have such a beautiful neighbor.

But the connection was lost because my job left me no time to return home.

I didn't realize she was this kind of person.

"Anyway, you'll catch a cold if you stay like that. I'll lend you some money, so please stay at a business hotel tonight."

"But I can't impose on you like that..."

"I can't just leave you. I'll get a towel, so please dry your hair while I call a taxi. Is that okay?"

"Yes, thank you very much."

I don't usually lend money, but this time it couldn't be helped.

As I was about to enter my apartment to get a towel, I noticed Ms. Saotome's mouth moving.

It didn't seem like she was trying to say thank you.

"Ms. Saotome?"

"Ah, yes!"

"Take a deep breath."

"Su-"

"Exhale."

"Ha-"

"Take a big breath."

"Su-"

"Exhale deeply."

"Ha-"

Deep breathing is great. It can calm a person down in a short time.

And it's free.

"Okay, then."

"Um, I have an important job tomorrow."

"Yes?"

"I need some documents that are inside my apartment."

"Hmm?"

"Without them, my company might go bankrupt."

"Great crisis, isn't it?!"

I couldn't help but exclaim, more serious than I thought, and quickly looked around. Fortunately, no one seemed to have woken up, so I relaxed.

There was no other choice.

"Ms. Saotome, do you have anything on your balcony?"

"Balcony? No, nothing in particular."

"I'll go from my room to your balcony, break the window, and open it from the inside. Is that okay?"

"Eh, yes!?"

Ms. Saotome's surprise was probably due to both breaking the window and crossing the balconies on the sixth floor.

But there was no other way (a week later, I learned about 24/7 locksmith services, and my whole body went limp).

Most importantly, I couldn't leave someone locked out of their own home.

"Please come to my place for now. It's better to have the landlord present to avoid any trouble later."

"But it's dangerous..."

"I'll just step on the railing and cross the partition. There's no need to worry. You won't fall in the rain."

"Then I'll do it myself."

"No, you can't."

I immediately rejected her offer.

I'm sorry, but I couldn't imagine Ms. Saotome gracefully crossing the balcony. If she fell, a black-haired ghost might haunt my room.

"Besides, there's one more thing."

"Another thing?"

"I haven't cleaned up..."

"Let's go. I'm home."

"Wait, are you coming in?"

My 605 room wasn't exactly something to be proud of, but the lack of clutter was a blessing.

I stuffed the necessary tools into my pockets, opened the window lock, and a bit of rain entered the room.

"Let's confirm. I'll break the window, enter the room, and open the door from the inside. Got it?"

"Please, but if it seems too difficult, please give up immediately."

She bowed her head, seemingly resigned. I nodded and stepped onto the balcony.

The sound of the wind and the rain hitting me, and the slippery footing caused a moment of fear, but I grabbed the partition and lifted my body in one motion.

"A, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah..."

...I was concerned about the screams coming from behind me.

"I'm going."

"Yes, yes!"

"Here goes!"

The height of six floors wasn't a distance. Using the partition as a pivot, I rotated my body and landed on Ms. Saotome's balcony in about three seconds, which felt like thirty minutes.

I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart and looked around the balcony. There was nothing of note, just a quiet air conditioner unit.

"Are you okay!?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Wow... You're a real man..."

Ms. Saotome, is that really the kind of evaluation you give a man in his mid-twenties?

"I'm going to break the window now, so please wait at the front door."

I responded to Ms. Saotome's voice, barely audible from the other side of the partition, and took out the tools from my pocket.

Gloves, duct tape, and a crowbar. That's all.

"Wipe the moisture from the window, tape it, and put on the gloves."

I covered the area near the lock with duct tape and pressed it firmly. This would prevent the glass from shattering and reduce the risk of being reported.

Preparations complete. Now, the final step.

"Smash it with something like a crowbar!"

It was a real crowbar, but for some reason, those words came out of my mouth.

And the conclusion is, the window glass was harder than I thought.

"My hand, my right hand..."

I held my tingling hand. I thought it would shatter easily, but the momentum was lost. Ms. Saotome was waiting at the front door, and I couldn't give up after all this.

"One, two, three!"

A feeling of a crack.

"Three!"

The modern glass, or rather, the non-crystalline glass, shattered under the three consecutive strikes. As expected, the shards didn't fly, but hung on the duct tape.

I carefully inserted my hand, avoiding the sharp edges, and unlocked the window. I was lucky it wasn't the type that couldn't be opened from the outside.

Finally, I stepped into Ms. Saotome's apartment, which exceeded my imagination.

"Wow..."

The floor was covered with cardboard boxes.

Almost empty bookshelves and cabinets.

And empty plastic bottles.

It seemed she had only unpacked the essentials after moving in and had been living in the available space while leaving the empty bottles on the floor.

The caps were all closed, so it wasn't unclean, but the appearance was quite end-of-the-line.

"Um, yeah. It's fine, though."

I had imagined the room of a hardworking, beautiful woman with long black hair to be more modern and tidy. In a way, it was quite modern.

"Ring, ring"

"Um, did you get in...?"

My frozen brain was jolted back to reality by the intercom. Ms. Saotome was at the front door, and I had completely forgotten she was the owner of this unique room.

"I just got in. I'll open the door."

I unlocked the front door and opened the doorknob. On the other side, Ms. Saotome, who was quite petite, was fidgeting nervously.

"Did you see it?"

Her question, asked with a look up, was obviously about the state of the room.

"Well, you have a rather efficient way of living."

Ms. Saotome's face, which had been pale, turned red all the way to her ears.

"Ugh..."

"Come in for now. I'll seal the window with duct tape and leave."

I pulled Ms. Saotome into the room by her cold hand, which indicated she had been waiting for a long time.

"Come on, take a bath. You'll catch a cold if you don't. It would be a shame to be sick after getting the documents."

"Yes... I'm home..."

"Welcome back. It was quite an ordeal today, wasn't it?"

"…!?"

My casual response made Ms. Saotome, who was about to take off her low-heeled black pumps, freeze.

"I'm home."

"Welcome back?"

Why did she say it again? I responded again.

"I'm home."

"Welcome back."

"I'm home."

"Welcome back."

Did she like it?

I wondered if someone could actually like it, but it seemed she did, given how she repeated it.

"It's been ten years since I heard it..."

It must have hit a nerve.

"Well, it's true that you don't hear it often when you live alone."

"Can you say it one more time?"

"Sure, I can say it as many times as you want."

"Really?"

For some reason, Ms. Saotome, who is older than me, seemed to be regressing to a childlike state.

By the way, nowadays, locksmith services can come to your place within 15 minutes, even at night. If you enjoyed this, I would appreciate it if you could bookmark it and leave a comment. Thank you.

April 17, 2020 Update:

A manga adaptation by Mr. Takanobu Nodai is also being serialized!

https://comic-gardo.com/episode/13933686331624729973