And then I was reminded of something important. Something that hadn''t so much escaped my attention as it had been deliberately pushed to the background. I mean... I knew it all along. Today I was supposed to meet with Leo. It wasn''t a forgotten plan, there was no surprise here, no "Oh shit, I made an appointment and now everything went to hell." No. I knew. And yet... I sat here with Megumi.


    Not because I forgot. Not because something fell out with me. I just... didn''t want her to feel bad. I didn''t tell her that.


    She didn''t need to know. Because what would it have changed? She wouldn''t be offended. She wouldn''t have made a fuss about me. She wouldn''t have said anything to suggest to me that anything was wrong with her. But... she would feel it. And I would feel it too. Not in words, not in looks. In those micro-gestures, in the subtle changes in tone, in the brief moments of silence that would not be silence in themselves, but something more.


    Megumi wasn''t the kind of person who said something hurt her. She didn''t show it. But that didn''t mean it couldn''t be seen. Because the truth is... it could always be seen. If one wanted to. And whether I wanted it or not, I could see it. She wouldn''t be sad. She wouldn''t be upset.


    But it would be something there. Intangible, not fully visible, but present. She would make that delicate movement of her hand, as if she were tweaking something inadvertently. She would blink a little longer than usual. She would laugh a second too late. No one but me would notice. But I would notice. And it would annoy me.


    So instead of meeting Leo right away... I went out with her. Because Megumi is... Megumi. She''s always been there. She was by my side before I even learned what it meant to have someone by my side. She was the person who always found me, even when I didn''t feel like being found. She was the one who wouldn''t give me a break when I tried to pretend I didn''t care about anything myself.


    She didn''t ask if she could appear in my life. She just did. And over time... it became normal. I didn''t think about it. It was like air - you don''t think about it until it starts to run out.


    Just like it was normal that she never told me directly that she wanted me to notice something. Instead... she waited. She gave me space, but at the same time she was always close. It was this strange balance - she gave me room to breathe, but never allowed me to move completely away. And yes, she was sometimes persistent.


    Sometimes she tested my patience to the limit.


    Sometimes she put me in situations where I had no chance of winning.


    Sometimes she entered my life so brazenly that I didn''t even notice when I stopped defending myself against it.


    Sometimes she would have conversations with me that I couldn''t win, because even if I was right, she was right - and that was the more important one.


    Sometimes she would get me into situations I didn''t understand, but before I knew it, I was already in them and had no way out.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Sometimes she would hurt me with her elbow, and then blame me for standing in the wrong place.


    Sometimes she would take my things without asking and give them back with such conviction as if I was the problem for even asking.


    Sometimes she commented on my life with such certainty as if she had full license of it and the right to control every aspect.


    Sometimes she would deeply analyze my life and my choices, then conclude that "I''ll do it my way anyway, but it was good to talk."


    And sometimes...


    If I ever write an autobiography, I''ll give her a chapter under the title "Socially accepted violence against men - a case study." Or not. She would still take it as a compliment. And then she would take it as motivation. No, thank you.


    Anyway... she always was. And maybe that''s why... today, without thinking about it, I just went out with her... And now I''m thinking to myself... is this some intangible, non-verbal commitment that I never made, but which, it turns out, I nevertheless abide by? Or is it simply an instinct of self-preservation? Because if it''s the latter, I''ve done damn poorly. Because here I am. Beaten down. Humiliated. Harassed. And I don''t even know if it was worth it.


    When the last echo of her cry of "ARATA!!!" reverberated through the air, I decided it was probably a good time to change the subject. I slowly unscrewed the bottle of Coke, pretending to analyze the label as if I had just processed something extremely complicated, and took a sip.


    - In truth, I had plans today. - I glanced at my phone, as if I had only now remembered something. - I''m meeting Leo.


    She froze. Of course she froze. Her eyes widened gently and her shoulders tensed slightly. For a second, her fingers hovered over the bracelet she had unconsciously touched until then. A minimal, barely noticeable moment of hesitation. Her breathing became shallower.


    She didn''t say anything immediately. That in itself was suspicious. Her lips tightened slightly and her eyebrows raised gently. Eventually, however, her face returned to normal, but the expression in her eyes remained alert.


    - Ooo? - She raised an eyebrow, as if she had just heard something irrelevant. - Leo? We haven''t seen him in a long time.


    I leaned more comfortably on the bench, crossing my legs and pulling out my phone. Tapping the screen, I pretended to be engrossed in writing a message.


    - Well, that''s it - I said, tapping out a short message. - I texted him that we were sitting in the park. He''s going to stop by here.


    I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. Mina: neutral. But her fingers... She touched the bracelet again. Gently. Barely noticeable. But she did it. Her fingers gently brushed the silver chain, as if seeking comfort in it.


    And then it hit me. She hadn''t done this before. From the moment she reminded me of her unfortunate accessory, she stopped touching it. Only now, when I mentioned that Leo would be joining us, her fingers returned to the thin silver chain.


    Funny. If it had been anyone else, I wouldn''t have even noticed. But it was Megumi. And I knew her all too well. She didn''t say anything, but her body betrayed her faster than she had time to realize it.


    Which is to say, though. She liked to spend time only with me. Not in a pushy way. Not in a way that was obvious. But still. And now that our little private chaos was about to be enriched by a third person... She reflexively grabbed something that was related to me.


    I twisted my head, looking at her with a slight smile.


    - Something wrong?


    She blinked. Her hand immediately moved away from the bracelet, as if burned by fire.


    - Hm? - Her fingers immediately let go of the bracelet, as if nothing had happened. And yet... it happened.


    I did not respond immediately. Instead, I took note of it. I wrote this little detail down in my mind, as if I had just discovered something I didn''t already know.


    Would I do something about it? No. Should I? Sure. But that would be too easy. Instead... I just smiled.


    - Nothing.


    And I took a sip of cola again. Because sometimes some things are too interesting to spoil.