A Mark That Lasts Forever

Jealousy | 嫉妬 section 4

Morning comes, but I don't feel awake. I lay next to Shun, replaying yesterday's conversation about his dad in my head. As soon as I stop thinking about it, I can hear Chiaki's voice again and find myself holding back a sigh of frustration.

Shun stirs. We only manage to say good morning before my alarm clock goes off, signaling it's time to get ready for my lunch shift. Shun pulls the covers off him only for a second before disappearing under them again. He must have gotten up to take his sleeping meds last night for him to still be this drowsy.

I kiss him on the cheek before heading out, which makes him flinch and pop his eyes open.

"I'm heading out," I say softly.

"Have a good day," he says with a sleepy smile.

Manami is already in uniform when I walk into Yumeya. On my way into the staff room, I double-take at the way she vigorously vacuums the floor. She gives me her usual short nod greeting before looking back down at the carpet, a crease forming between her brows while she practically beats the ground with the vacuum. Worried she'll break the machine, I wave to get her attention. She switches it off and looks up at me.

"What?" she says flatly.

"I was afraid you were going to break the vacuum," I voice my concern.

She lets out a loud, heavy sigh and drops the handle to the floor with a loud thump, making me flinch. She sits down at a table booth and crosses her arms and legs.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"My piece of shit boyfriend," she huffs.

Oh boy. What happened this time?

"What about him?"

She pouts. "I found out his ex-girlfriend is a porn star."

"A porn star?" I repeat, a little more intrigued this time.

"Yes!" she practically yells.

"Okay, okay." I bring my index finger to my lips. "So you're upset."

"I'm not upset." Her tone drops. "I'm livid."

"Because he's not the type to care if his girlfriend is sleeping with other men?" I try to reason out.

"She wasn't a porn star when they were dating!" she barks. "She became one recently."

Puzzled, my head falls to the side. "So then she had nothing to do with porn when she was dating your boyfriend?"

I can practically see steam coming out of her nostrils as she nods.

"Then," I try again. "Why are you mad at your boyfriend? You didn't catch him watching her videos or something, did you?"

She shakes her head.

I don't know what to say. I can understand being a little surprised, but can't fathom why she's so angry about something that has nothing to do with her boyfriend now.

"I'm not mad at him!" Manami shouts, making me jump. "I'm mad because now I have to feel self-conscious about my body!"

"Huh?" I utter.

"She's this skinny little thing with massive tits!" she whines as she makes a curving motion before her chest. "Her face is only so-so, but how am I supposed to satisfy my boyfriend when he knows what it's like to sleep with the body of a Goddess?"

My jaw almost drops. That's what she was upset about? Manami never fails to surprise me.

Cursing under her breath, she gets up and goes back to her violent vacuuming. I head to the staff room to get changed, hoping she'll feel a little better once customers start to come in.