THE QUESTIONS

“What a hottie!” Sakura screeched.

“Shhhh!” Nanami immediately covered her mouth. “What are you doing? Are you trying to let him know you have a crush on him?” she hissed.

Sakura chuckled. “I don’t have a crush on him but his body… O M G!”

Nanami blushed. She couldn’t refute her friend’s words. Even her heart fluttered seeing the man’s defined body.

“Let’s go and do our work. We don’t have all day,” she said as she pulled Sakura to the kitchen.

Sakura was still excited about Hiro's relative.

“Who do you think this relative is? Hiro’s cousin? It can’t be his uncle. I mean look at him. He looks young. He can't even be in his 30's. He must be younger.”

She kept talking about Ren the entire day.

Nanami couldn’t stand it anymore. “Will you please stop it already? Go and wipe the bookshelves already. I’ll be gone for a minute.”

Sakura turned to look at her. “Hmm? Where are you going?”

“I’m going to the grocery store to buy rice and some vegetables. I won’t be late.” After that, Nanami went out.

“Geez, leaving me with an unknown man in a house. She has no sense of danger,” Sakura muttered while shaking her head.

She went to the library and wiped down the furniture as she was instructed to do.

“Nanami is such an idiot. When Mrs. Yoshida wanted to hire a servant to clean the house, she should have let her. Why does she have to take care of this big house on her own?”

She complained while working. No one heard her. So, she took this chance to vent her anger.

“I know she loves Hiro, but it doesn’t mean you have to act like a mistress before you get married. Now, look at me. I just wanted to spend some time with you and for that, I have to act like a cleaning lady. Just my luck. Achoo!”

She sneezed when the dust tickled her nose and rubbed her nose until it turned red.

She was thinking of getting out of the library when she heard a voice.

“Your friend, where did she go?”

That deep voice shook her head. She jumped and turned around.

Noticing Ren, she let her guard down. “Oh, it’s you. I was just startled by your sudden approach.”

“I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention,” Ren apologized. “Why are you alone?”

Sakura answered, “Nanami went to buy groceries to cook for you. She will be back soon.”

She scanned him from head to toe. He was wearing a gray t-shirt and black pants.

‘Tsk, he is completely covered. It’s not fair,’ she thought, feeling disappointed.

“I see. Do you have school tomorrow?” Ren asked.

Sakura shook her head. “Nope, our winter vacation has started. No more school. Only fun!”

“Holidays are fun. Do you come here regularly?” Ren inquired.

Sakura replied, “We do actually. It has become our duty to come here and clean the house. Do not fret. We won’t bother you,” Sakura tried to ease his worry.

Kogami Ren coolly said, “I’m not worried. I won’t be home every day either. Is this area safe?”

“Haha!” Sakura laughed at his question. “This is the safest place on earth.”

“There was an incident a few days ago. Didn’t you hear that?” Ren casually mentioned.

“Oh, you are talking about the murder.” Sakura was downhearted. “Akira was a good woman. What happened to her and her son is just unforgivable and unforgettable.”

Her words piqued Ren’s interest. “You knew the woman who was murdered?”

“We all knew her. She was a friendly neighbor. I used to give her son chocolate whenever I saw them. The child didn’t deserve such an ending.” Sakura let out a deep sigh.

Ren tilted his head to the left side. “Neighbor? Do you live around here?”

Sakura nodded. “I do. My house is two blocks away from here.”

“The incident happened over on the next block. Were you aware when she and her son were killed?” Ren probed further.

‘Why is he so interested in the murder incident?’ Sakura wondered. ‘Oh well, he is a guy. He must be interested in stuff like that.’

“No, I don’t have a clue. Even though I walked past the block, I noticed nothing out of the ordinary that night. I should have. Then, I would have called the police and saved them.”

She covered her face in regret.

Ren inquired, “Do you always go home late?”

“I usually hang out with Nanami after class, and later I go to my karate club. Sometimes, I spar with other school karate club students. That’s when I go home late. The same happened that night.”

“And you saw nothing suspicious?”

“The dog was barking as usual.” Sakura scratched her head, trying to remember if she saw anything unusual, but couldn’t remember a thing.

Ren was about to ask more when they heard Nanami’s voice from outside the room.

“Sakura! Where are you? I need your help here!”

“Nanami is here. Just wait for a yummy lunch.” Sakura gave Ren a toothy grin and left the library.

After she left, Ren remained for a long time. Numerous thoughts circled around his head.

Sakura went downstairs and met Nanami in the kitchen.

“That didn’t take long,” she commented seeing the groceries in the kitchen.

“I rode Hiro’s bicycle,” Nanami answered as she unpacked the meat.

“What are you going to cook today?”

“Nothing special. I didn’t have enough money to buy many ingredients. So, I’ll do rice and beef stew.”

“Oh, how much I missed your cooking!” Sakura was thrilled. She came closer and rubbed her arm against her friend’s and said, “Can I have a taste after you are finished cooking?”

Nanami knew her friend very well. She smiled. “I’ll cook enough for the three of us.”

“You are the best!” Sakura cheered up.

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“You are indeed a great cook,” Ren praised Nanami’s cooking after lunch. “I haven’t eaten this much in a long time,” he confessed.

Nanami was pleased with the compliment. “I’m glad you liked it. I’ll leave the rest in the fridge. You can warm it up for dinner."

“Thank you.” Ren wiped his face and got up.

Soon after Nanami and Sakura left, he changed his clothes and headed out.

He spotted a taxi nearby. He went in.

The taxi driver asked, “Where would you like to go?”