You Came with the First Spring Breeze... - Episode 4: The Usefulness of My Ex-Girlfriend

Episode 4: The Usefulness of My Ex-Girlfriend

I woke up to the sound of the kitten meowing.

I had apparently fallen asleep without realizing it.

The last thing I remembered was the sweet, gentle breathing of Aki sleeping next to me. When I gently ran my fingers through her hair, she rubbed her cheek against my hand in a kitten-like gesture.

The sunlight, like orange juice, filtered through the curtain, casting a short shadow on the bed.

From the living room, I could hear Haru meowing loudly. Was she hungry?

I left Aki, who was still peacefully asleep in bed, and headed to the living room. I was surprised to see Haru standing on her hind legs inside the cardboard box, scratching at the edge.

“Aki—Aki! Come here! Hurry! Hurry!!” I couldn’t help but shout.

I heard Aki slowly stretch and groggily wake up behind me.

“Hurry, hurry!!” I urged.

I wanted her to see how Haru was standing firmly on her back legs and scratching the cardboard.

Aki, rubbing her sleepy eyes, stood behind me and gasped with joy.

“Wow, amazing! She’s getting better!”

I moved Haru to the makeshift litter box I had made out of newspaper, and Haru enthusiastically dug at the spot with her front paws.

“Yay! This is so great!” Aki said, her voice still sleepy, as she hugged me from behind, causing me to almost fall into the place where Haru had just gone to the bathroom.

It was just before noon.

After sleeping for over eight hours, both of our bodies felt light, as if we had completely forgotten the exhaustion from yesterday.

I fed Haru some warmed milk, then left Aki in the room and went to get my car from the coin parking. I was a little uneasy about leaving Aki alone, but since Suda had promised not to do anything further—especially after the police had gotten involved—it seemed unlikely that he would make any more moves.

I picked up my car and returned to my apartment.

Of course, my ex-girlfriend Nao was there, but—

I hadn’t forgotten, but I was still shocked to see her shoes lined up at the entrance.

The room was dark, with only the sunlight coming through the window to illuminate it.

Nao was lying on my bed in an uncomfortably casual position. She wore black loungewear that barely covered her most intimate parts, looking as if she had just fallen asleep.

“Nao, Nao! It’s already noon. Wake up!” I shook her body.

With a startled expression, she jumped up.

“Ugh, what time is it?”

I pointed to the wall clock, which showed exactly 1 p.m.

Nao dug out her phone from under the pile of cushions next to the bed.

“Whoa! I have so many missed calls!”

“Is it Suda?”

“Yeah.”

Apparently, he had been calling multiple times, which suggested that he was at least somewhat concerned about her whereabouts.

“What do you want to do? Are you going to go home?”

Nao shook her head, indicating no.

“I thought about it a lot yesterday. I think he’s acting suspicious. I think he’s cheating. I need some time to think about my feelings.”

“I see. I’m fine either way. Just don’t tell Suda where I live.”

“Got it.”

Nao said this and sank back into the bed.

I packed some clothes, daily necessities, and a book I hadn’t finished reading into my bag and left the room.

I didn’t kick Nao out on purpose; it was part of my plan. I still didn’t know the full details of her relationship with Suda, but there was a chance I could use this information.

Nao had a habit of accusing others while ignoring her own behavior, and she could be annoyingly chatty and loose-lipped. With a little probing, she might reveal some secrets about Suda.

I decided to occasionally “retrieve” my belongings from the apartment and use the opportunity to gather information.

I wasn’t a strategist or schemer by nature. I usually considered myself a pacifist.

Still, it was a little scary how many ways I had already come up with to bring Suda down.

As I descended the stairs to the parking lot and looked ahead, I caught a glimpse of a familiar man’s profile.

I instinctively stopped and quickly pulled the nameplate with “Ikeheira” written on it from the mailbox.

He hadn’t noticed me yet.

I hurriedly turned around and ran back up the stairs.

I also removed the nameplate on my own door.

Peering over the waist-high wall of the hallway, I saw that the guy was parked near a convenience store.

How did he find out about this place?

Could it be GPS?

Maybe Nao’s phone had GPS activated.

If that’s the case, Suda might not want to let go of Nao. GPS usually only gives a general location, so maybe he’s searching around the area without knowing the exact place. He probably didn’t expect Nao to be in such a shabby apartment.

From the parking lot of the convenience store, Suda seemed to be focusing on a nearby luxury apartment.

I went back to the room I had just left and told Nao:

“Suda is outside. Is the GPS on? If you don’t want to go back to him, you should turn it off right away.”

Nao immediately jumped up from the bed and started fiddling with her phone.

“Oh! I forgot about that. It’s on.”

“You should probably avoid going out for a while. Just use Uber Eats.”

I said this, left the room, and went out.