“Nah, you keep it.”
“What? No, I’m not giving it to you—I need you to help me stick it on. I can’t do it one-handed.”
He rolled up the sleeve of his hoodie to reveal a fat bruise on his left hand.
“Shouldn’t you go to the hospital…?”
“I’ll make an appointment first thing tomorrow, but I doubt it’s broken or anything.”
He pointed to the affected area with his good hand, and I carefully applied the sticky side of the cold pack. He shivered slightly.
“Brrr.”
“Well… I’d better go.”
This time I was sure he’d let me leave, but nope, he grabbed me by the hand once again. “Wait, wait, wait, wait.”
“The hell do you want now? I applied your cold pack, didn’t I?”
“You think that’s the whole reason I made you sit and wait for me? No, we’re only just getting started. Actually, I was wondering…” He yanked me back down onto the couch. “Why haven’t you asked me about it?”
“About what?”
“You know, the stuff I have lying around? The interviews I’ve been doing? Doesn’t that make you wonder who I am and what I do?”
No, because I already know. But obviously I couldn’t say that, so instead I answered, “I don’t really care.”
“You should still ask to be polite, you know. Whatever. Basically, I’m a filmmaker. I make everything by hand. And right now, I’m working on a big project with a deadline coming up soon.”
“Okay…?”
“In other words, I’m in a real bind if I can’t use my left hand…so I was thinking you ought to make it up to me by helping out with my work for a while.”
“No thanks.”
“What makes you think you’re in any position to say no?”
“Because like I told you, I’m willing to reimburse you in cash. Just use my money to hire a guy or something.”
“Why is it always about money with you? Money, money, money! Don’t you ever feel like a broken record?”
“No, I don’t.” I jumped to my feet and poked my thumb against my chest. “Look, I’m no billionaire, okay? I work hard for my money. Harder than the average. And as a result, I get paid more than the average, too. So if it’s something I’ve earned through good, honest work, then what’s wrong with using it as I please? Hmm? There’s no shame in it!”
Tsuzuki stared blankly back at me as he processed this passionate declaration. Then he started to applaud.
“What?” I snapped.
“No, I mean, you’re totally right. For some reason you can be really persuasive, you know that?”
“Gee, thanks.”
“What’s your name, anyway?”
I hesitated for a moment, then said, “Owari.”
Little did he know, however, this was just simple wordplay on my part. With different kanji, Tsuzuki could mean “to be continued”; likewise, Owari meant “the end.”
“Gotcha. I’m Tsuzuki, so that’s kind of similar. Or not really, I guess. What’s your first name, then?”
“None of your business.”
“Point taken. Okay, well, could you show up sometime tomorrow night? Anytime’s fine—whatever works for you. I just need a couple hours of your time.”
“What?”
“I promise, it’s very simple work.”
“No, no, no, no! Were you not listening to a single word I said?”
“Sure I was. You’re a funny guy, Owari. I’d hate for this friendship to end so soon.”
Oh, you’d hate it? Because I’d love it, actually!
“Plus, I can pay you…kinda.”
“What do you mean, kinda?”
“I’ll buy you a beef bowl for dinner each night…?”
“Cheapskate.” How idiotic. I got back to my feet, and this time he didn’t try to stop me.
“See you tomorrow,” he grinned from the entranceway.
“No, you won’t! I’m not coming, and that’s final! End of story!”
And yet he kept grinning at me through the crack in the door.
After I got home, I realized I’d forgotten my beef bowl at his house, but I couldn’t find the will to go back for it, much less buy a replacement meal. I was exhausted. Not only did I get dragged into a giant headache, but I missed the debate, too…and worst of all, Tsuzuki wanted me to start doing volunteer work at his house?
Ridiculous. Does he not understand that two hours is a lot of time for a grown adult with a real job? I’m not doing that crap. It’s not my problem… Well, okay, it’s kinda my fault that his hand’s all banged up. Seriously, that bruise looked pretty gnarly… Like, really purple… No, no, no! Don’t think about it! I gotta do my nightly news review!
I plopped down cross-legged on the couch, same as always…but that night, I didn’t hunch over and take my notes. Instead, my mind kept drifting back to Tsuzuki and the way he described his encounter with “Kunieda Kei.” His voice… The way he smiled right before I left… Images flashed through my mind of the long, cold walk back to his place, pushing his busted bike between us…
“Forget it…”
What was it about him that destroyed my focus? For years I had never missed a single day of review, overtime and after-work drinking excursions be damned…until tonight, when I finally threw in the towel and turned off the TV partway through. But even after I crawled into bed, I couldn’t quite fall asleep. My head was throbbing with residual excitement, like I was a little kid on summer break or something.
Thinking about it, I realized it was the first time I’d ever spent so much time being my true self around someone who wasn’t related to me.