"Gosh, this is so good!" I said, my mouth full.
I almost forgot how vegetables and warm, gooey cheese tasted.
"I'm glad you like it," Lumi replied with a smile.
"Wow, you already finished your part?" I asked in surprise, chewing another bite. I couldn't tear myself away from the pizza.
"Well, after today's events, I guess I got unusually hungry," he joked, then laughed.
Just as he finished speaking, the doorbell rang. Lumi stood up and went to the peephole. Meanwhile, I kept eating my pizza.
"Excuse me," said another male voice, slightly nasal in tone.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lumi get a bag full of cold drinks and snacks.
A tall, thin man with dark navy hair and glasses entered the apartment. Surprised, he pointed at me and shouted:
"So this is your entire research subject?!"
I gave him a confused look.
"Yes, and what of it? Could you not shout? Someone might think strange things are going on here," Lumi replied from the kitchenette.
I heard the hissing of opening drinks.
"And what exactly are you researching? How many kids will this moth give you?!"
"Jealous, are we?" he teased lightly, laughing afterward.
The glasses-wearing man hesitantly approached the table, as if he was afraid of me. Meanwhile, I, unfortunately, finished the last slice of the delicious pizza.
This strange person made odd, awkward movements toward the table, as if I were giving off some terrifying aura. Eventually, after all his awkwardness, he sat at an angle from me.
"This was so good, I regret it's over!" I said with joy. "We'll have to order from there again next time!"
"We?" the glasses-wearing man repeated suspiciously.
"Sure, but you know, we shouldn't eat this stuff too often, or we'll gain weight," Lumi replied with a smile, placing a can of cold soda in front of each of us, brought by the man with glasses.
"We?!" the guest exclaimed in disbelief.
"Just drop it, Atan," Lumi said, sitting next to me.
I lowered my head, my face burned.
Now it looked like he was introducing me to his friend, as if we were…
…no, what am I even thinking?
Atan adjusted his round glasses.
"Right now, you need to tell me what kind of research you're doing," he said in a grave tone. "I need to assess its… morality."
"Eh, you've always been a stiff. You even come to a friend in a shirt and suit pants," Lumi replied, laughing.
"It's just my style!" Atan replied, as if offended. "Now tell me, where did you get her? And what kind of research is this?"
"Her?" I asked, surprised. "But I'm a guy."
"With that high, delicate voice? You must be dreaming!"
"Th-thanks for the compliment… I guess," I replied shyly.
Lumi sighed.
"It's a study on taming insectoids. Since they can't have their own apartments, maybe this way we can integrate them into society?"
The loud and impulsive Atan fell silent. He stared at the table for a moment, clenched both fists, and then said:
"To come up with something this crazy… only you could do it! And how exactly is this taming supposed to work? How did you bring her here?"
"Atan, stop clowning around," Lumi said, slightly irritated.
I felt I had to speak up. I wanted the world to know how much Lumi had already done for me, even though we'd only known each other for two days.
"Lumi saved me from death," I said quietly, my voice slightly shaky.
"Thousands of insectoids die every day and he saved you?" Atan asked suspiciously. "Something's not right."
"He's telling the truth," Lumi replied. His tone showed growing anger. "And don't talk about their deaths like statistics. It sounds like you don't care at all."
"Because I don't."
"Honestly, I don't understand why you came here," Lumi said even more sharply. "You were supposed to apologize, but I see you just came to ruin my day even more. I was nice enough to tell the government workers not to give you trouble over a false call."
"F-false?!" Atan blurted out, surprised. "What if this moth actually hypnotized you, or tried to take over your apartment? Then what?"
"We don't have those abilities," I replied embarrassedly, laughing nervously.
"Moths are gentle and don't bother anyone," Lumi said. "I agree that some insectoids can be a threat, just like some humans, but there are also many good ones. That's all we need to know about them."
Atan took a few long sips of his soda.
"I can't believe you went down this path."
"If you don't like it, you can stop hanging out with me. I don't see any obstacles," Lumi replied coldly.
Atan drank again, probably more out of nerves than thirst. He looked at me once more and then sighed:
"Fine, I'll assume he's safe,or at least somewhat domesticated, if he hasn't attacked me yet."
Lumi and I laughed at the same time, which slightly surprised Atan. He probably wanted to sound serious, but it came out the opposite. After our shared laughter, we looked at each other with understanding, my face flushed so hard that I quickly looked away.
I'm starting to feel like meeting him really was a gift from fate…
"I came to tell you that the boss gave a bonus and let a few people go," said a less tense Atan. "He said he'll ensure a solid severance for you."
"Severance? What do you mean, I got fired?! But I worked so hard!"
"I know how you feel, but today you left work early. The boss doesn't tolerate that, so even though you were doing exceptionally well... you understand. The severance is just a gesture of appreciation from him."
"And he tells me this through one of his employees?!" Atan asked, raising his voice.
"L-Lumi it will be fine, you'll definitely find something new…" I said shyly, trying to comfort him, though I probably failed again.
"Not just in words," Atan said, digging through his pockets. He handed Lumi a folded paper. Lumi unfolded it as quickly as possible. The document was titled "Disciplinary Termination of Contract."
Lumi gripped the paper so tightly that it crumpled where he held it.
I looked at him with genuine worry and sympathy.
Atan finished his drink.
"I'll go now. It was nice talking to you," he said, then left.
"How dare he!" Lumi shouted, pounding his fist on the table as the glasses-wearing man left. "How could he… this was my only absence from work, for heaven's sake."
"Lumi… I'm sorry. This is all my fault. You left everything to save me, right?" I asked timidly.
He looked at me and didnt't say anything. His gaze showed nothing, and that worried me the most.
"I knew I should leave. I just keep causing problems for everyone, I can't do anything right. You saved me from death, and now you'll lose your job because of me, I'm sorry. Maybe it would have been better if you had let me die back then," I said, then… started crying.
I didn't want Lumi to suffer because of me or go through such terrible things.
I could feel sadness and pain myself, but not him. I didn't want his smile and positive attitude to ever fade
"Don't say such things," he said gently, placing his large hand on my shoulder.
I couldn't hold back. I pulled my chair closer and hugged him.
Lumi began telling me that everything would be fine and that it wasn't my fault.
I should be the one comforting him right now.
I am so pathetic.