The Other Side of the Wall

Chapter III

Keigo arrives at Rumi's apartment. He throws himself to her, crying, "God, I didn't know I'd ever miss living with you,"

Rumi laughs, "Well, I missed you too," she strokes Keigo's head while he hugs her. She rubs his back while letting him hug her.

A few minutes pass, and Keigo finally lets go. He sighs and plops his body on the couch, face first, "can I stay over with you and Nagant?"

Rumi still understood his words despite his muffled voice and replied, "why? You've only been in your apartment for a month and a few weeks,"

Keigo sits up, eyes full of rage, "my neighbor has been harassing me and I couldn't take it anymore,"

The smile on Rumi's face disappears after hearing Keigo's words. She leans forward, hands clasped together as she says, "Who am I burying six feet under?"

That's when Keigo realized he didn't know his neighbor's name. He sighed; he didn't need to know. It's not like they get along anyway.

"It's not that serious," Keigo says and sits straight.

Rumi leans on her chair, arms crossed. Keigo knows this stance well.

"If it's not that serious then you wouldn't be here," She raised her brow and crossed her legs, waiting for Keigo to explain himself.

Keigo takes a sharp breath and grabs a pillow. He screams into it before turning to Rumi, saying with the most deadpan expression, "I heard my neighbor having sex,"

Rumi stares at him in disbelief before bursting into which later turns into horror, "Wait, have you..."

Keigo immediately yells, "God! No! Thank goodness I never did! Wait, does that mean? Oh my God!"

"I'm sorry, okay? It's hard to keep your hands to yourself when your partner is beside you. Besides, we had soundproofing," Rumi defends, but the horror on Keigo's face makes her feel guilty. "Look, I'm really sorry, okay?"

Keigo shivers, "I wish you hadn't opened the thought,"

"Anyway, do you want to bring the soundproofing your old room had?" Rumi offers, Keigo brightens, "I can."

"Yeah, we can transport it tomorrow," Rumi stands from her seat and opens Keigo's old room.

"You didn't change anything?" Keigo asks as he lays on the bed.

"Well, it's yours. It feels weird to turn it into something else. It makes me wonder if parents feel this way when they're not ready for empty nesting." Rumi looks around the room as if she has just lost a child.

Keigo rolls his eyes at her in an attempt to hide the mushy feeling he has.

"We can take them off the wall right now if you need them tomorrow," Rumi says, taking out some supplies from the desk.

Keigo quickly stops her, "No, let's take them out tomorrow after my class. I wouldn't want to hear you going at it with Nagant,"

Rumi's face turns red. "Right,"

"Anyway, where is she?"

"At work, she's on overtime since we're planning on going on a short trip next week," Rumin explains, "anyway, you can go to sleep. You two can talk tomorrow."

"Alright, thanks,"

"Good night, Keigo," Rumi says, turning off the light before closing the door, leaving Keigo feeling like a child tucked in by his mother.

-*-

Morning arrives, and Keigo salivates at the smell of pancakes. He walks out of his room and finds Rumi and Nagant cooking. The apartment feels so peaceful that Keigo can't help but miss it.

"Oh, you're awake," Nagant happily runs to Keigo and envelops him in a hug while Rumi takes over cooking.

"I missed you so much," Nagant says, giving Keigo one final squeeze before pinching his cheek, "Rumi told me why you're here. Do you want me to knock some sense into you're neighbor's brain?"

Keigo chuckles, "I wish you could, but I don't want to be kicked out after staying for only a month. Besides, I'm going to soundproof my room anyway,"

Nagant sighs, "Alright, but you know you can always move back with us if you couldn't take it anymore,"

Keigo nods, "I know," he says, and he helps set up the table. He had fun staying with them. It's been a month since he moved, and he's just realized how much he missed them.

Evening rolls in, and Keigo carries the box of soundproof materials.

"Are you sure this is enough?" Rumi asks as they walk to Keigo's room.

Keigo nods, "Hopefully. I'd go insane if it isn't,"

They're in a conversation when they bump into Keigo's neighbor.

"Hey," The neighbor greets, "what's with the boxes?"

Keigo wanted to tell him what they were to make him feel a little guilty but didn't want to waste time talking to him, "they're just uni stuff,"

"Oh, that's good. I thought you were moving out. Anyway, I'm sorry for the noise last night. But I did warn you," The neighbor says. Keigo rolls his eyes.

"Also, I didn't know you had a girlfriend,"

Rumi smiles, "I'm Rumi, Keigo's friend,"

The neighbor's eyes smile widely, replying, "I'm Touya,"

"Touya, nice to meet you. I heard a lot about you. I hope you don't bring Keigo any trouble. We wouldn't want anything to happen terribly," Rumi doesn't hide the threat in his voice. Keigo hoped it'd work, but his neighbor only laughed.

"Usually people say, 'I hope he doesn't bring you trouble,' but you're the opposite. It's quite interesting meeting you two," Touya says as if he wasn't threatened by Rumi's words, "I'll try my best to be quiet, but I can't promise anything,"

Keigo sighs. It seems like there's no way he'd ever get peace in his apartment.

"Well, I trust you'll do your best because I don't like getting my hands dirty," Rumi says, putting her hand on Touya's shoulder and squeezing it tightly.

Touya winces from the pain but maintains his smile. He puts his hand on Rumi's, squeezing her back, and looks straight into her eyes as he says, "I wouldn't want to get mine dirty as well,"

There's tension between them, and Keigo can feel the sparks surrounding them. He stands between them and gently removes Rumi's hand from Touya's shoulder.

"I think we already know each other enough. So, why don't we go back to our own businesses, shall we?" Keigo doesn't look at Touya as she guides Rumi into his room, but he hears a cheeky "goodbye, Keigo. I'm looking forward to bumping into you more!"

"He's such an ass," Rumi immediately says after entering Keigo's room. She sets down the box and punches the air as she speaks, "I want to punch that smug look on his face."

"I know, but you shouldn't have threatened him. What if he makes things worse just to mock me?" Keigo imagines the stress he'd have to deal with if Touya does decide to be an ass.

"Tell me if he gets on your nerves again and I'll punch him back into his mother's womb,"

Keigo laughs at Rumi's words. "Alright, but I sure hope we won't reach that point,"

"Right, you know you can always stay with us if does, we'll gladly welcome you back," Rumi pulls Keigo into a headlock and ruffles his hair.

"Thanks, but I'll stick it out. I'm sure I'll find a way to deal with him," Keigo says while trying to escape Rumi's headlock.

"If you say so. First, let's hope these bad boys can help you," Rumi picks up the box and follows Keigo into his room to set up the soundproofing.