Part 6

She picked the phone up and changed her mind what felt like a countless times. Stopped counting after the fifth one. Eriko wanted to call him, but knew she shouldn't. They had rules, agreements. Each followed their own, so there would be no complications and problems, so they could maintain this so-called relationship. Eriko felt like shooting herself and the relationship in question.

"You haven't touched your lunch.", Her good friend and colleague Maki was starting to worry.

"I'm not really hungry.", Eriko pushed the lunch box away.

"You'll faint if you keep going like this. You're not sleeping, you're not eating. The workload is gonna be the death of you. At least tell me what's going on. You might feel better."

Eriko looked at her for a long time, weighing all the pros and cons. It's not like she didn't trust Maki but a story like hers wasn't easy to share. "Me and my boyfried…we have some issues.", That was the safest and easy to digest version of things.

"Thought it might be something similar. Wasn't aware you had a boyfriend."

"Things between us are a slightly…complicated."

"Do you like him?", Maki asked.

"A lot. I believe I love him."

"Does he feel the same way?"

"Actually, I'm not sure…We've never really discussed that."

"Unlike us, men have a hard time expressing their feelings. It's perfectly normal to not be aware of them. Maybe what he needs is a situation in which he can be made aware of how he truly feels."

Eriko gave her friend a strange look.

"You know, like in movies. Suddenly, the guy realizes he can't live without her and confesses his love. Something like that."

"You watch too many dramas, Maki.", Eriko shook her head with a slight smile, "Weirdly enough, discussing a topic that weighs on your mind can be therapeutic."

The rest of their conversation was far more upbeat and the two headed back to work after finishing their lunch. "A similar situation, huh?", Eriko meditated on the thought as they walked together.