French Cup: A Neighborhood Story

Chapter 88: -Gyeong-Wan- If This is Heaven

He'd called it a perverted game. That we were using his children. Accusing them. I'd caught them red-handed, but had no evidence. He said I had no claim to damages, but Kazuya did. Matsuda-san was upstairs now, probably laughing about our meeting. Laughing at us.

To say they'd probably tracked that piece of firecracker home on one of their shoes. Our general manager saying that to Matsuda-san. Telling him to be as well informed of my accusation as he could, as if to prepare himself. Deconstructing those pages to make the words he'd said, calling it a game. 

I'd written that statement as a courtesy to the hotel before going to the police, in the small hope that the hotel would be more proactive, since it involved guests who were minors. Some kind of organized effort. A united front. I don't know what I'd been hoping for. I'd been in a panic. I'd been in my emotions. 

I'd paced around my room for who knows how long. Deep in my thoughts, going over the events. It was now day three, and my wits were coming back. Able to think clearer. But, every time I thought about Kazuya they fell apart.

Him coming to see me at the hotel. That must have been hard. I always was the one to go see him. I didn't want him to have to come here. Yet, I had to talk to him. Yesterday, we'd exchanged phone numbers "just in case", as he'd said. I was happy to have it, to finally know it. I'd already memorized it. When he'd input it into my phone, he'd put a heart after his name. Was that just for me, or did he do that to everyone's phones? 

I wanted to see him somewhere else. Somewhere safer. Somewhere far away. Somewhere with a sense of safety, where he could be more comfortable. But, where was that? 

Maybe somewhere noisy, where nobody would be paying attention to us. Certainly not here. Every time I thought about bringing him here to talk now, it sent shivers up my spine. Knowing the Matsudas were right upstairs. Their opinions of us, real. 

Eventually, the morning rays crept into the room. The soft white of the see-through curtains became brighter. In my mind, I remembered that I had a to feed a creature who also lived here. So, robotically, I knelt down and put kibbles into the bowl. I filled the other one with fresh water. I went to the bathroom and emptied his kitty box of mess. These other things to do, somehow they cleared my mind more. These things I had to do, just like any other day. Grateful Kuro was here so that I could do something else. 

When I came out of the bathroom, Kuro was there chewing on kibbles. Strangely as I knelt down again, he didn't move away. Gently, my fingers touched his back. As he ignored me, my fingers patted his smooth fur a couple of times. 

I righted myself back up, staring at him below me. We stayed like this for a while. So incredibly, he didn't run away. 

In the late afternoon, I invited Kazuya to go to an arcade. I didn't know if he'd accept. I'd have completely understood if he wasn't in the mood. An arcade was a cheerful place. I honestly didn't want to go there either, but I determined that it'd be so lively that no one would look at us. There'd be so many people there, that maybe we'd feel safe. People doing their own things, off in their own worlds. No one would target us...

I'd spent my day behind the front desk. By now, everyone knew about what I'd been through. So oddly, most of them appeared to be on my side. No one acknowledged it exactly, but everyone was friendly just as they had been. In fact, Minami and Tomoko were more accommodating toward me than ever before. Their actions said they felt bad, and that they stood with me. Minami even bought a water for me from our expensive shop, using her own money. They tried to take over most of our duties, showing me how much they'd learned. They still had some questions, but I was so proud of them. Tomoko even said she'd be training with our night auditor tonight, since she'd been showing the hotel some interest in that role.