CAHPTER 9 & 10 : TAHAJJUD, ANOTHER OLD FRIEND

 "Arrggghh…" Hisao yawned as he walked out of his room and headed to the kitchen to find something to eat. However, he suddenly stopped in front of Yuuma's room. He noticed that the light was still on and wondered why Yuuma was still up at night.

 "Knock…"

 "Knock…"

 "Knock…"

 Hisao knocked on Yuuma's door room.

 "Yuuma… Are you still awake? Yuuma…" Hisao called Yuuma and tried to open his room's door. When he opened the door, he saw Yuuma in the middle of prayer, just as he had seen him at the Shimizu Restaurant. Glancing at the clock, Hisao noticed that it was almost 4 a.m. He was curious but decided to let it go and went to the kitchen. The next morning, Yuuma was busy preparing breakfast, and Hisao had just woken up when he smelled the food and went out of his room. Suddenly, while cooking, Yuuma realized that Hisao was standing behind him and staring at him.

 "Morning freak. Are you hungry?" Yuuma greeted Hisao while mocking him because he was annoyed when he saw Hisao staring at him.

 "Oh, Ya… I guess so…" Hisao felt awkward when Yuuma realized he was staring at him.

 "Yuuma… Were you praying in the middle of the night yesterday?" Hisao wonders if he saw Yuuma last night.

 "Oh, yes. Tahajjud." Yuuma replied shortly after.

 "Tahajjud? What is that?" Hisao still wonders what Yuuma did last night while his mouth is full of food.

 "It is late-night prayer" Yuuma answered the question with a short reply when he also tried to eat his food.

 "Are you must, do it?" Hisao started to be curious about it.

 "No, the circumcision prayer is like the Dhuha prayer as I told you before. You can perform it as an extra prayer to feel more at ease and content when faced with challenges in life." Yuuma tries to explain to Hisao.

 "Your heart will feel calm when you make a prayer?" Hisao keeps questioning Yuuma.

 "Yes, when you put all the burden or problems behind and let God help you out of the mess. You never feel worried about anything thus you will feel relief and calm." Yuuma tries to explain more to Hisao while he continues eating his food.

 "Can I do that too?" Hisao kept wondering and started to feel interested in it while he also continued to feed his food.

 "You mean the prayer?" Yuuma started wondering about all Hisao's questions.

 "Yes, the prayer. What else do you think? Do you think I also can feel relief and calm when I do the prayer?" Hisao wondered if he could feel calm and relief if made a prayer as Yuuma did.

 "Of course, when you started to believe in god" Yuuma looked at Hisao and smiled when he answered Hisao's question.

 "So, I need to believe in God first before I do it?" Hisao keeps wondering.

 "No. You can do it without believing as a training or trial or whatever people call it but if you want to feel relief, calm, and content in whatever you are through in your life, you need to try to believe Him first." Yuuma tried to explain more about believing in God.

 "I see… Hey, Yuuma… Do you think she will come today?" Hisao understood Yuuma's explanation and suddenly changed the topic to the lady he saw last time.

 "Who?" Yuuma wondered who he was talking about.

 "The lady… Jess beautiful Ms." While taking a bite of his food, Hisao asked Yuuma for clarification about the woman they were discussing.

 "Maybe" Yuuma answered shortly when he also took a bite of his food.

 "I hope so…" Hisao said with hope. However, a week had passed since the incident, and neither the lady nor her assistant had visited the Shimizu Restaurant. Despite this, Hisao continued to wait eagerly every day, but she never came. As he waited for the lady, suddenly, he received a phone call from someone.

 "Hello! Eerrmm… Okay, I'll come next month… Eerrmm…" Hisao hung up the call with a sigh.

 "Who is it?" Yuuma asked Hisao who called him as he brought Hisao a drink and sat across from him.

 "My boss. It's been 2 weeks since he asked me to take a break for a while. Now he is asking me to go back to work. He said many of my clients ask for me and wait for me to return. Hhhmmm…" Hisao replied to Yuuma's question and sighed once again.

 "What's wrong with that sigh? Are you tired of your work?" Yuuma, curious about Hisao sighed while he drank his drink.

 "No. I'm okay. I'm good with my work. It just… I still have not met with her until today. I… I want to see her. I… I have a lot of questions to ask her… but she still has not come until today." As he looks out of the restaurant window, Hisao feels disappointed that he has not yet met her. He hopes to see her outside of the restaurant.

 "Don't worry. I'll let you know if she or her assistant has come." Yuuma tries to cheer him up and give him support as a best friend.

 "Yaa…" Hisao feels so hopeless.

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 After staying at Yuuma's house for a month, today is the day that Hisao needs to return home.

 "I'll miss you, Yuuma…" Hisao cried when hugging Yuuma and didn't want to let go of him.

 "Yaa… Just get out of my house now." Yuuma tried to push out Hisao from his side.

 "How… How could you, Yuuma? We are the best housemates ever now. How could you kick out your housemates just like that?" As Hisao sobbed and sulked, he held Yuuma tightly, making it hard for him to breathe. Yuuma eventually feels irritated and forcefully pushes Hisao out of her house. As he was about to leave, Yuuma unexpectedly said something that deeply touched Hisao's heart.

 "Hey, Hisao… You can come to my house anytime you want. You know the passcode, right? You know… You are not alone, you still have me as your best friend." Yuuma said it awkwardly.

 "Yuu… Yuumaaaa…" When Hisao heard what Yuuma said, he felt so touched that he wanted to cry and hug him again. However, Yuuma quickly closed his door when he saw Hisao trying to hug him again. Hisao arrives at his house and notices that it is quite different from Yuuma's house. Unlike Yuuma's house which is clean, tidy, peaceful, and cheerful, Hisao's house is a mess. The sink is full of unclean dishes and there are piles of clothes scattered around the house, with clean and dirty clothes mixed. Additionally, Hisao's house is gloomy and dark, creating a different atmosphere from Yuuma's house.

 "Uugghh… I started to miss Yuuma already" Upon seeing his quiet and gloomy house, Hisao sighed and began cleaning everything on the floor.

 The next day, Hisao returned to his normal routine. He wakes up at 5 am and goes for a jog. After that, he prepares breakfast, takes a shower, and gets ready for work, before 7. Then, he arrives at his office at 8 a.m. and begins his work as a lawyer. Hisao often deals with his clients' issues, finding solutions to their conflicts and disagreements. Despite being so busy, Hisao completely forgot about his best friend, Yuuma, and the woman he wanted to meet. As a result, he missed Yuuma's call and didn't answer it. One day, Hisao receives a new client file from Mr. Hiroshi. As he looked at it, he recognized a familiar face and name from his childhood like Yuuma, Yamada Youta, another old friend.

 Chuo, Tokyo - At the coffee shop, Hisao is waiting for his old best friend Youta. He patiently waits for Youta for half an hour, eager to see him again. However, Youta does not appear. While waiting, out of a sudden a man approaches and sits at the same table as Hisao.

 "Sorry, I'm late. I woke up late today." Youta sympathized with Hisao for having to wait for such a long time. Furthermore, Youta was unaware that Hisao, whom he met today, was his old best friend because he did not make eye contact with him. Youta simply sat down and scanned the area looking for a waiter to order from.

 "Yamada Youta?" Hisao calls Youta's name while Youta is still looking for the waiter.

 "Waiter! Ermm… Yes, it is me." Youta calls a waiter and realizes a person in front of him is calling his name. Then he turned his face to that person and was stunned when he saw someone in front of him, his old best friend.

 "Wata… Watanabe Hisao??" Youta tries to recognize his old best friend.

 "Yes, it is me!! It's very a long time since since our last day in college, Youta. You are still late like usual, haa??" Hisao responded to Youta's question and teased him about his old habit. The two laughed and were happy to see each other again.