𝐔𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐨 𝐔𝐬 𝐀𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 | 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐮 𝐌. 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Chapter 4: Unable To Do It

"Matsuzaka-san, I have a favour to ask you." the manager told Satou one evening.

Satou was at attention. The manager flashed her a wry smile before continuing. "As you can see, Mitsuboshi-kun is not here today. None of us can contact him. We need to find out what's happened to him, but we also need someone to fill in for him. Since you're such a capable worker, I think you would be suitable. So, Matsuzaka-san, I'm asking you to work overtime." the manager explained, keeping up her fake, preppy voice. Satou blinked a few times before replying. "I thought that you said there were no overtime hours-" she began.

"Yes, I did, Matsuzaka-san. But in this case, I'm not asking you to work simply because I want to. I'm asking you to fill in for somebody." that smile of hers. Satou could tell it was purely fake. She didn't want to argue, so she silently nodded at her manager's instructions. She was upset. Working overtime meant she would be going home later than usual. What would Y/N think? Would they worry about her? She swore to only put a smile on their face, never a frown. The manager clapping her hands together brought Satou back to reality, quite harshly.

"Thank you so much, Matsuzaka-san! You can start today. I have some paper work to attend to, so I'll leave you it~!" the manager chirped, turning around and giving her a slight wave. Satou grimaced slightly. She couldn't even inform Y/N of the arrangements before she began. It left a sort of bitter taste in her mouth, and a bitter feeling in her heart. Satou hated the feeling. Satou's eyes glanced to the girl beside her. She had on a shit-eating grin on her face. Ah, that girl must have told something to the manager to get her into this mess. Satou was a very smart girl. It didn't take too much time for her to connect the dots. That girl told the manager something that made her angry, and now she was taking it out on Satou. It was probably that love confession.

But that didn't explain why Mitsuboshi was gone. Satou knew he was a sensible person, surely he wouldn't be brooding about a mere rejection at home. It clicked. Satou saw the manager with Mitsuboshi the other day. She was taking him to her office. Based on the manager's smirk and Mitsuboshi's uneasiness, something must have happened to him. But what exactly is the motive here? The manager needs to have some sort of reason for behaving in such a way. But what?

Satou thought about all this as she scrubbed down a table. It was dark in the cafe. Only a few lights were on so that she could clean easily. Suddenly, water splashed onto the table she cleaned, making it all dirty again. Satou turned sharply and saw that same girl. "Oops, I'm so sorry, Matsuzaka-san! That was totally an accident!" she apologized insincerely. Satou silently stared as the girl tilted her head, opening her menacing eyes. "But this is a warning. You're not dumb, I know that you know. Don't tell anyone that I snitched, okay?" she said. Satou turned her gaze down towards the table and started cleaning again. That bitter taste in her mouth was getting stronger, and that feeling in her heart was growing. It was eating her from the inside.

After her shift, Satou ran home. It was already 8 pm, way past her dinner time! Y/N must be worried sick at home. She panted as she ran, desperate to see how Y/N was doing. She burst into her apartment and saw her beloved, sitting on the floor, rubbing their eyes sleepily. "Y/N-chan?" Satou asked in a panicked voice, throwing her bag to the side and crouching down, wrapping her arms around Y/N's trembling figure. This seemed to alert Y/N. "Satou-chan..? Ah, you're finally home. I was getting a bit worried." Y/N said in a tired voice, looking up at Satou.

It was horrible, seeing Y/N like that. Shivering from the cold, sleepily rubbing their eyes, seeing them so weak. Satou didn't want to see them like that anymore. It broke her heart.

But unfortunately, Satou had to bear seeing them like that. Working overtime really weighed her down, and she couldn't come home on time. It made her sick to her stomach. Every single day, her manager would give her a new job to do. Scrubbing the toilet, cleaning the windows. Satou would have to bear with the bitter smells, the bitter sights. She hated working overtime, but there was still a bit of hope left. One day, her manager would give her a large paycheck, thanking her for all her hard work. She would be able to buy wonderful things for her beloved, she would be able to see their adorable smile instead of their weak, pained face. Imagining the happiness on her beloved's face when she bought them presents motivated Satou to do well. But still, coming home and seeing them shivering by the door was something horrible to witness.

"Y/N-chan!"  "I'm home, Y/N-chan!"  "Hey, Y/N-chan!"  "Y/N-CHAN!"

Throwing the door open. Seeing a weak person shivering by the door, their face going a sickly pale from the cold. Stepping inside. Embracing the person so that they would be warm. Having to see a weak, sick smile instead of a happy, cheerful one. Going to bed without saying vows. Waking up. Going to school. Going to work. Working overtime. Rushing back home. Repeat.

Today was a particularly difficult day. Her manager had put her in charge of cleaning every single toilet in the cafe. They were poorly maintained, and Satou had to scrub them until they were sparkling white again. By the time she was finished, she was shocked to see that the clock in the cafe read 9:45 pm. It was almost 10 pm! Y/N must be scared to the core for her. Satou pratically threw her school uniform on and burst out of the cafe. Rushes of adrenaline pumped through her body, making her panic. It was so late, and Y/N was waiting for her at home! Tears suddenly rushed to Satou's eyes as she recalled seeing their weak figure by the door. She reached her apartment and threw the door open, desperate to see her beloved Y/N.

A blanket was around them. Their face was pale, and tired. They were shivering. It almost looked like..they were dying. "Satou-chan.." the noise of the door had caused them to stir a bit. But they felt too tired to open their eyes. They remained against the wall. Satou stood there in shock. Her bag slowly slipped off her shoulders and fell to the ground with a loud thud. There was still hope. Tomorrow was pay day. She would get her paycheck. She would be making money.

That's right. She could show it to Y/N and hear them say 'I'm so proud of you!'. She could feel them hugging her out of joy. Yeah, she just had to deal with it for a while longer. Satou knew. 'If I keep working this hard, only for me to come home to Y/N-chan like this,' she thought solemnly,

'I'll go crazy.'