[With a sum of money in hand, you began looking for a place to live.]
[Staying temporarily at Lisa's home was possible.]
[But...]
[Two girls living together was fine. Adding a young boy made things complicated.]
[You didn't want to drag your friend into trouble.]
[Now…]
[With two hundred thousand yen, you considered renting a place.]
[After searching on your phone, you found a cheap apartment for only thirty thousand yen a month, and it was spacious, around sixty square meters.]
"This must be a stigmatized property, right?"
Seika stared at the simulation screen, watching her fearless younger self, and swallowed hard. Her legs felt weak.
Honestly, it was ridiculous.
She was twenty-eight, and she still couldn't handle ghosts or anything scary.
[Your young self didn't know that three months ago, a woman living alone had committed suicide in that room. She couldn't bear the weight of her life and hanged herself inside.]
Seika felt her whole body turn cold.
In the middle of summer, she shivered.
[The landlord figured no normal person would ever move into such a place, so she listed it for cheap online.]
[But she never expected to encounter someone like you.]
[In fact, when she got your call, the landlord was scared. She even wondered whether you had done something wrong and were choosing a cursed house to hide.]
[But then, when she saw the child beside you, she imagined an entirely different story.]
[A young mother abandoned by a scumbag, forced to use her meager income to raise a child in a haunted apartment.]
[Truly, you made her want to cry.]
[The landlord rubbed her reddened eyes and said she could lower the rent even more, to twenty-five thousand yen a month, but she needed two months paid upfront.]
This landlord sure had a dramatic imagination.
To be honest, Seika didn't think living in a stigmatized property was that bad.
What, was there really a ghost inside?
People should trust science.
And even if there was one, who cared? She was safe. It was the simulated Seika who would suffer.
[You paid fifty thousand yen and signed the contract, successfully moving into your new home.]
[While cleaning, you realized you never asked the boy's name.]
[Hearing your question, the boy paused mid sweeping, then introduced himself.]
[His name was Kitahara Toru. Since his mother died early, he had chosen the name himself.]
"Toru?"
Seika immediately thought of the real world.
But she couldn't imagine that the handsome, brilliant boy she met yesterday…
Had such a tragic, hidden past.
…Maybe not.
Maybe it was just someone with the same name.
She continued the simulation to see where it led.
[You didn't press further. His past was certainly full of pain. You didn't want to open his wounds.]
[After cleaning, you noticed a pile of salt in the corner.]
[You also noticed an obvious patch on the ceiling. That was where the rope had hung.]
[And talismans attached to the closet.]
[You froze, slowly putting the pieces together.]
[You finally understood why the place was so cheap.]
[A house where someone died… how could it be expensive?]
[The landlord assumed you knew and didn't explain anything, but you really didn't know!]
[Oh no oh no oh no!]
[If there was a ghost here, what would you do?]
It's over.
Seika couldn't help feeling amused.
Seeing her simulated self's despairing expression, she almost burst out laughing.
[While you stood frozen.]
[Toru calmly bent down, gathered the talismans and the pile of salt, packed them up, and prepared to throw them away.]
[While tidying, he glanced at the clothes in the closet and thought that maybe the old clothes could be sold to a secondhand shop.]
[As you realized the boy was braver than you, your pride took a hit.]
[Unlike you, afraid of ghosts.]
[Toru loved this home. After months on the streets, this was the first time he had ever lived inside a real room.]
[More importantly.]
[Yesterday, you didn't abandon him.]
[During his wandering, he had met many people.]
[Kind people bought him bread. Cruel people mocked him or threatened to beat him.]
So pitiful.
And so gentle…
Even after being treated like this, he still kept going.
[For months, Toru refused help because he didn't want to be sent to an orphanage.]
[Starving, freezing, hovering at the edge of death, this young boy waited for a god to save him.]
[In the original path of life, you wouldn't have been that god. You two would never have met.]
[But now, you encountered him.]
[You became the god he waited for. In return, he would devote his life to you.]
Watching the simulation,
Seeing Toru's serious eyes and his heartfelt thoughts,
Seika fell silent for a long time.
He was so pitiful…
How desperate must he have been to seek salvation from something as unreachable as a god?
[You stopped dwelling on it and carefully checked the apartment for any dangers. After a thorough inspection, you relaxed.]
[Aside from having had a death inside, the place was perfectly fine.]
[The gas worked. The inner bedroom was large enough for a double bed.]
[The living room even had a brand new flat screen TV hanging on the wall.]
[You spent the whole day cleaning. At night, the two of you went downstairs to a nearby ramen shop. Because of your small appetite, you ordered one bowl and shared it with the boy.]
[Before bed.]
[In your rebellious teenage heart, you decided to live in this haunted apartment for a year or more, until your mother accepted your dream and stopped forcing you into college exams.]
[But unexpectedly.]
[The next day.]
[Your mother supported your decision and no longer forced you to take the exam.]
Mom…
Seika felt complicated emotions stir inside her.
Her mother had always been good to her, but she never noticed and took it for granted.
It wasn't until she lost her mother later that the regret nearly broke her.
She could only hope…
That her simulated self wouldn't repeat her mistakes.
[Now, the fifty thousand yen you paid for two months of rent became pointless.]
[But it was fine. Even if you didn't stay there, the child could. A perfect place to hide your treasure boy.]
[When you returned home, you saw your mother exhausted and pale. She hadn't slept all night after you didn't come home and hung up her calls.]
[You felt deeply guilty.]
[In the end, you promised your mother you would take the entrance exams next year.]
[After that, you worked part time, studied, and raised the child all at once.]
[Just like that, half a year passed.]