**The next morning – 8:12 a.m.**
The tiny apartment was still dark when Haruto woke up. The guilt from the previous night had not left. It sat heavy in his chest like a stone, pressing down on him until breathing felt difficult. He kept seeing the same image: Jennifer sitting on the sink, legs spread wide, pouring her own menstrual blood into a cup, then adding it to the curry she cooked for him. He had eaten that blood. He had swallowed her period blood without knowing.
The thought made his stomach turn.
He stood up, his naked body glowing in the faint morning light, and walked to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth twice. He washed his face. He looked at himself in the cracked mirror and felt disgusted.
*What kind of person am I?*
He had been eating a woman's period blood every day for weeks. He had been comfortable with it. He had been happy with it.
The guilt felt heavier than before.
