Nausea

Still lost in her dreams, Aira rested her body and mind after a long day of serving a spoiled, incredibly annoying kid named Renji Ishikawa, the new boss at the café where she worked.

Aira wanted to enjoy her moment of sleep until the sun came up to greet her, but an unexpected event occurred.

KNOCK!!!

KNOCK!!!

KNOCK!!!

For the last minute, the front door of Aira's apartment had been knocked on loudly, like someone collecting a debt, disturbing her peaceful sleep. The noise forced her to wake up.

Rubbing her eyes, Aira's hand fumbled along the bedroom wall, searching for the light switch.

Once the light turned on and the room became bright, her moon-like eyes squinted sharply as she focused on the time on the clock, which read 4:30 AM.

Who's the crazy person knocking at this hour?

Visiting at such an early time was inappropriate, especially when collecting rent money.

It felt as though time didn't matter at all.

Without realizing her appearance this morning, Aira walked sluggishly, dragging her slippers towards the front door, which the person outside kept knocking on.

"Hold on!" Aira yelled hoarsely.

She turned the door key, then peeked outside to see who had come. Aira found a young man with raven-coloured hair. He wore a famous, expensive grey shirt and shiny black loafers, completing his elegant and classy look.

"Why did you take so long?!" Renji scolded, arms crossed in front of his chest, unaware that he was causing a ruckus at someone else's house so early in the morning.

"You?!" Aira growled, pointing at Renji's face in anger.

Her eyes narrowed sharply. "Do you realize what time it is?" she asked angrily.

"4:39 AM," Renji answered casually, glancing at his expensive watch.

"Oh my God! It's still early, Renji!" Aira screamed in frustration, tugging at her hair.

"Renji-Kun, call me with the suffix 'kun,'" Renji corrected her, which only annoyed Aira.

"Whatever!" Aira shouted.

Suddenly, Renji smiled mischievously as he looked Aira up and down. "Are you teasing me?"

"Shut up! Don't change the subject."

"Look at your appearance, Hime," Renji said, pointing directly at Aira's chest.

Aira's face turned bright red, not realizing that her outfit was very revealing and seductive.

BLAM!!!

Aira quickly slammed the door, startling Renji.

"Open it!!" Renji shouted, knocking on the door loudly again, causing more noise.

"Go home!" Aira ordered.

"Open the door, or I'll break it down!" Renji threatened.

"I'll call the police if you dare do that," Aira retorted, not backing down.

"Do I need to buy all of this ugly, dilapidated apartment just to make you obey?" Renji shouted angrily, once again frustrated because Aira wouldn't listen.

Aira hated this most about Renji's personality, making things seem easy because he felt he had so much money and could get whatever he wanted.

"It's still too early. Please go home."

"No!" Renji responded stubbornly.

Aira's head throbbed, and her blood pressure was rising. "What do you want here at this hour? Can't you just let me have some peace in my home?" Aira snapped.

"I just want to have breakfast with you."

"But it's still too early."

"I must be at the airport by 7:00 AM for my first flight."

Aira sighed softly. "Wait a moment, I'll change clothes first."

"No need to be shy, haven't we...?"

"Shut up!" Aira interrupted while opening the door. "Come in! Stop talking and making noise in someone else's house."

Renji walked in behind her, his dark eyes scanning Aira's house. It was small and cramped, with no luxurious or expensive items displayed anywhere. There wasn't even a television—it was so dull to be in a house without entertainment.

Sitting down on the tatami mat, his eyes continued to roam around the living room. "My horse stable is more spacious and nicer than your house," he said innocently, criticizing Aira's home.

It was already morning, and he had knocked on her door and disturbed her precious rest. He was insulting her house by comparing it to a horse stable. "Well, I'm comfortable living here. Just be quiet and don't talk or comment about anything," Aira replied, annoyed that her home was being compared to a horse stable.

How big could Renji's horse stable be for him to dare insult her home?

"Wait, I'll make breakfast for you."

"I didn't ask to eat here; I just wanted breakfast together."

"It's the same thing. Besides, you're eating my food. If you're not asking for breakfast, then what?"

"Stop talking so much, time is passing." Aira sighed, walked to the kitchen, grabbed the blue apron next to the fridge, and began cooking.

Twenty minutes later, Aira returned with two Omurice plates and set them on the table. Renji lazily looked at the food, and Aira noticed his strange expression. "Why aren't you eating? Don't like it?"

"Can't you cook something else besides this?" Renji asked, complaining because he was tired of eating Omurice.

"Eat it if you want. If not, don't eat it," Aira replied nonchalantly, spooning a full bite of Omurice into her mouth.

"I want a sandwich."

"Eat this or don't eat at all."

"Is this how you treat your master?"

"This is my house, not a café, so you can't order me around," Aira replied, still focused on eating her breakfast too quickly.

Renji stayed silent, but his eyes watched Aira intensely as she ate, propping her chin up.

Stopping mid-chew, Aira looked at him in confusion. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Watching you eat makes me feel full."

Rolling her eyes in boredom, Aira sighed softly. "Eat, or I'll never cook for you again."

Renji immediately reached for the spoon beside his plate and began scooping some Omurice into his mouth, chewing slowly. "It's good," he said.

Aira smiled slightly. "In that case, finish it, don't leave anything behind."

They continued eating silently, but secretly, Renji kept stealing glances, mesmerized by Aira's appearance. Even though her face wasn't made up, she had a naturally beautiful look, something rare in girls these days who loved to wear makeup.

"Thank you for the meal."

Aira cleared Renji's dirty plate. "You're welcome. Next time, if you want to come over, let me know in advance. Don't show up unexpectedly, making a ruckus early in the morning. Thankfully, no neighbours came out angry."

"Sorry. But I came to have breakfast together and tell you I'll be in England for two weeks for business."

Aira furrowed her brow, curious. "How's your school?"

"It's not an issue because the school belongs to my family."

Aira grunted in annoyance. "So arrogant!"

"While I'm gone, you cannot work from home," Renji ordered firmly.

"Okay. But this week, I want to go to Fukushima Prefecture to visit Okaasan's grave."

"I'll have some of my men escort and guard you."

"No need, I'll go by myself. I'm not a rich young lady or the child of a government official who needs to be escorted."

"Alright, I'll allow it, but there's a condition."

Aira looked at him suspiciously. "Don't ask for anything weird."

"When I return from England, I want us to go on a date."

"Huh?! A date? With a kid like you?"

"Don't call me a kid. It annoys me to hear that because you were born 7 years before me."

"Alright. Sorry." She chuckled.

She glanced at her watch, which was almost 5:30, and it was time for Renji to head to the airport to catch his flight.

"I have to go," he said, getting up and walking toward the front door with Aira following behind.

"Be careful on the road, and don't forget to bring souvenirs."

"Is that all?" Renji asked, his face disappointed.

Aira furrowed her brow, confused by his sad expression, like a child asking for something. "Am I supposed to act like what? Crying and wailing as you leave?" she asked, snapping.

Without saying another word, Renji grabbed Aira's neck, pulling her close and pressing their lips together for a few seconds.

"You forgot to give me a goodbye kiss. I'm leaving, and I'll contact you when I arrive," he said as he swaggered away, waving his hand with a big smile. "Byee~Hime."

Aira's face turned bright red, and she clenched her fists tightly at her sides.

"RENJI NO BAKA!!!!" she screamed in anger.

.

.

.

She dashed to the bathroom, holding her mouth. Sitting on the toilet, still wearing her pyjamas, she vomited everything in her stomach. However, it was just a thick yellow liquid because she hadn't eaten anything that morning.

Slowly getting up from in front of the toilet, she turned on the faucet in the sink to splash water on her face to freshen up.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror with a feeling of sorrow. Her face looked pale with dark circles under her eyes and dry and pale lips—she didn't look beautiful at all. No wonder her ex-boyfriend chose her best friend over her.

She clenched the side of the sink tightly, her knuckles turning white, cursing herself as memories of her ex-boyfriend lingered. Now, the blond-haired man was happily with another woman. What was the point of remembering him, let alone regretting their broken relationship?

Huh, how stupid to still hold on to even a little bit of feeling for that jerk.

She grabbed her blue-handled toothbrush from a small cabinet next to the sink, put some toothpaste on it, and started brushing her teeth, not forgetting to rinse afterwards.

"Haah~" She exhaled into her hand, checking her breath to see if it smelled terrible.

"Fresh," she said as she sniffed the minty scent from her breath.

Finishing brushing her teeth, she cleaned her face with the facial wash she'd used since high school. It was good and affordable, perfect for her budget as a worker with a modest salary.

After finishing up in the bathroom, it was time to fill her stomach after everything that had come out earlier.

While dragging her Panda-shaped slippers, she made her way to the kitchen.

When she arrived at the kitchen, she immediately reached for the large white refrigerator beside the stove.

She quickly opened the fridge door and peeked inside to see what ingredients she could use to make breakfast, but it seemed she had forgotten to shop for the week. Inside the fridge were only two bottles of mineral water, a 1-litre milk carton, an open box of chocolate cookies, and two eggs.

She sighed softly, grabbing the carton of milk and a few pieces of chocolate cookies before closing the fridge door.

She took a ceramic cup with a bunny design from the shelf and poured the white liquid, which was milk, into it. But as soon as the edge of the glass touched her lips, a wave of nausea hit her because of the smell of the milk.

She quickly placed the glass on the table. "Uugh~" She held her mouth while dashing to the bathroom, trying to hold back something that wanted to come out of her stomach, even though she had already thrown up everything, leaving nothing inside.

"Ueegh~"

This time, her body felt completely weak and drained of energy. She wiped her mouth after rinsing, her breath slightly hurried, and she felt like her acid reflux was worsening.

"I think I need to see a doctor," she thought, worried.

Before going to Fukushima, it might be a good idea to go to the hospital first to check her health condition, which had deteriorated drastically over the past week. Her body had been feeling exhausted quickly, her appetite had decreased, and every morning upon waking up, she would throw up, even though her stomach had nothing in it, not even water.

…