Chapter 7 - Good luck!

After Ryo and I had satisfied ourselves and the bed was soaked with our lustful fluids, silence was all that remained as we got dressed.

I could still feel my heart racing, a remnant of what had just happened, but Ryo's expression made me realize that something was wrong. As she fastened her bra, she was avoiding looking at me directly.

"Ryo-san, I..."

She took a deep breath, interrupting me, and adjusted the straps of her dress a little too tightly. "That will never happen again. That was a mistake."

"A mistake?"

"Yes. It shouldn't have happened."

My chest tightened. What was I supposed to say? It didn't feel like a mistake to me. In fact, it had been incredible. And it shouldn't have been a mistake for her, either. After all, she and her husband had agreed to do it with a stranger so that she could get pregnant.

'Does she think it was a mistake because she liked it?'

Ryo picked up the bottle of water from the dresser, took a sip, and then ran her hand over her face, as if trying to organize her thoughts. "I... I have to go. The money will be on the counter. Leave the key under the potted plant next to the entrance."

I laughed humorlessly, running a hand through my hair. "If that's how you were going to act afterward, why did you call me here?"

Ryo opened her mouth to reply, but then closed it. She seemed to struggle inside. Finally, she just looked away and picked up her bag. 

"Bye, Nishida-san."

I watched her leave the room, leaving the door open behind her.

The smell of what we had done was still in the air, mixed with the heat of the small, stuffy room. But somehow, it no longer seemed comforting, and something told me that this story wasn't over yet.

Anyway, I got what I wanted. The money. So I took the 100,000 yen, turned off all the lights, and locked up the establishment as I left, leaving the key exactly where she had asked.

When I arrived at my apartment, still light as a breeze after what had happened with Ryo, the annoying sound of loud knocks immediately greeted me at a door.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

I sighed. 'Nothing like coming home to sweet old home...'

As soon as I approached, I saw a short, stocky man in a wrinkled shirt and with a shiny bald head impatiently knocking on my apartment door. He was muttering something to himself, clearly losing patience.

"Ah, Mr. Watanabe! What a pleasant surprise! Why are you knocking on my apartment?"

The old man spun around when he heard my voice. "Mr. Nishida! At last! Do you think you can avoid me forever? The rent is due, and I've already warned you I won't tolerate late payments!"

"Late payments? But it hasn't even been a month since I moved in!"

"I told you the rent has to be paid on the 15th! It doesn't matter if it hasn't been a month!"

I took a deep breath and my hand went straight into my coat pocket, from where I pulled out my wallet. "Oh, right... Here's your precious 80,000 yen."

The landlord's eyes widened for a moment, but his expression didn't soften. He took the money and counted it quickly, his calloused fingers running over the bills.

Then he snorted, shaking his head. "You think that solves everything, kid?"

"Well, isn't it the rent payment?"

"Yes, but if you pay late in your first month, it's already a problem. This building is in high demand because it's close to a college. I've already got a new tenant interested, a medical student who can pay in advance without giving me a headache."

"What? Are you saying you're going to evict me even if I pay?"

He crossed his arms. "The contract says I can terminate the lease at any time if I think the tenant is unreliable. And you, my dear, don't seem trustworthy at all. I don't even know if this money came from selling drugs or not!"

"How dare you accuse me..."

"You go out every night and only come back in the morning! I bet that if I report you to the police, you'll be in a big trouble."

My jaw tensed. "Then why the hell did you take my money?"

He shrugged with an annoyingly smug smile. "To cover the contract breach, of course. Consider this a warning: you have two days to leave."

"So that's it? I pay up and still get kicked out?"

Old Watanabe was already turning his back, walking down the corridor nonchalantly. "Don't make a fuss. You've already had your chance. Good luck finding another place with your record."

Annoyed, I opened my door and slammed it shut as I entered, feeling my patience drain away.

'Great. Just great. A week before college starts, I need to find a new place to stay. Life as a poor person makes it hard to stay out of trouble.'

I threw my keys on the table and fell back on my bed without thinking.

Then I picked up my phone and opened my contact list. There was only one person in town I could call a friend: Carl. And he was the only person I could talk to about all my problems.

With a sigh, I tapped Carl's contact name and waited. The phone rang a few times before a sleepy voice answered.

"Hello...? Bro, do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Fuck you, Carl. I need a favor. My landlord kicked me out of the apartment. Will you let me stay there for a while?"

The silence on the other side was enough for Nishida to realize that the response wouldn't be favorable. 

"Man... I can't. My parents own the apartment, and I promised I wouldn't make a fuss. I've already had to convince them to let me live here alone. Imagine if they found out there were people sleeping on the sofa?"

"It would only be for a while. Until I find something for myself to stay." 

"Sorry, man. But I don't bring anyone home because there's a camera in the living room, so they'd find out and evict me."

I closed my eyes, rubbing my temple. "Okay. Thanks then."

"Wait, what happened?"

"I'll explain later." I hung up before Carl had the chance to ask more. 

With little choice, I scrolled down my contact list and found the name of an acquaintance from work, Haru. He was the guy who always knew about jobs, someone who needed a helper, or a quick temporary gig. I called, and Haru picked up almost immediately.

"What's up, Nishida! Hey, bro. Need a job?"

"Not today. I need a place to stay. My landlord threw me out."

Haru laughed on the other end of the line. "Really? Dude, I'm looking for a place too, so if you find something cheap, let me know."

"So, we're in the same shit."

"Yeah. Good luck, man."

I hung up and stared at the ceiling. 'There's no way. I'm going to have to look on my own.'

We were in a modern world, so obviously I went online to do some research, and it wasn't very encouraging. The prices in Tokyo were too high, and most of the decent places were too far away. I reset the filters to narrow down my options: maximum 80,000 yen, small studios, no entrance fee...

Nothing.

I increased the budget to 100,000 yen. Still nothing nearby.

120,000. A few options came up, but they all required ridiculous three-month deposits or were too tiny. 

That's when I saw a different ad: Room available in a shared house - 50,000 yen.

I was looking for an apartment, since apartments were usually cheaper than houses in Tokyo, so I hadn't seen this ad before.

The description was simple. No kitchen, just a bedroom and a bathroom. The bedroom had a shared entrance, but the tenant wasn't allowed to wander around the house, so the bedroom was the first door into the house. That wasn't a problem.

It was located one subway station away from where I was staying, which meant that I could still walk to college if I ran out of money.

It was small; it was simple... and it was cheap.

Nishida clicked the button to arrange a visit the next day.

'If I have a microwave, I can survive.'

With that decided, I closed my laptop, let out a long sigh, and threw myself on the bed. Tomorrow, I would see if this place was even remotely habitable or if it was a junkie's boarding house.