We exited the same way we’d come, then returned to the front gate.
“That took quite a while,” said Issa. He’d been waiting in front of his car.
But he must have noticed the redness around Sayu’s eyes, because he didn’t say anything else as he settled into the driver’s seat.
Sayu and I piled into the back.
Phewww… Sayu heaved a great sigh.
“…You okay?” I asked, and Sayu nodded slowly.
“Yeah. I’m all right.”
Issa buckled up and turned around to look at Sayu.
“So… We can head home now, right?” he asked her.
Sayu gulped and hesitated for a moment. Then she dipped her head low in a nod.
“Yeah… Let’s go.”
“All right,” Issa said quietly, nodding back. Then he turned the key to start the engine.
From that point on, all three of us were silent.
The tension weighed on everyone—not just Sayu, but Issa and me, too.
Sayu’s stories had given me all kinds of ideas about what her mother might be like. But at the end of the day, the only thing I knew about her was that she’d treated her daughter harshly.
The more I imagined the kind of verbal abuse Sayu would endure when she got home, the more terrified I became. I just hoped that if things went too far, I’d be able to protect her as an adult.
I was still skeptical about whether I’d be allowed inside at all… But if I was, I would do what I could. As an outsider, I felt there were some things that only I could say, and it would be my job to say them.
As always, I remained uncertain about my place in Sayu’s life. I might have been an outsider, but we’d also developed a close relationship through living together for so long.
There had to be something that only I could do for her.
After about ten minutes on the road, we entered a quiet residential area, and soon after, the car came to a stop.
“We’re here,” said Issa. He was the first to get out.
I followed suit, then took a look at the house standing in front of us.
It was a stylish, white, detached home with two stories—not a huge mansion but not cramped, either. It seemed pretty plain for the CEO of a major corporation, but it was more than enough for a family of four.
Sayu, who’d taken considerably more time to leave the car, joined me in staring at the house. She was clearly anxious.
Noticing this, Issa gently asked her, “Are you okay?”
Sayu gulped a few times before she was able to get anything out.
“Yeah…,” she said, nodding weakly.
She didn’t look okay in the slightest, but at this point, there was no turning back.
I gave her a firm pat on the shoulder.
“You’ll be fine. Your brother and I are here with you,” I told her, and at last, she managed a faint smile.
“I guess so. Thanks,” she replied. She took a determined step forward.
Issa shuffled ahead and reached the entrance of the house before Sayu could get there. Then he put his key into the lock and opened the door with a clank.
Issa and Sayu stepped ahead into the house, while I stood holding the door. It felt wrong to go in without the owner’s permission.
“Mom! We’re home!” Issa called out in a loud voice.
From where I stood behind them, I saw Sayu instinctively hide behind her brother’s back.
Soon, we could hear noisy footsteps coming from the back of the house. Then Sayu and Issa’s mother appeared.
“Mom, I’ve brought Sayu ho—” Issa began, but without even taking the time to listen to him, their mother rushed down into the entryway where the shoes were kept, still in her house slippers.
The next instant, I heard a crisp smacking sound. Sayu’s mother had slapped her daughter across the face. Both Issa and I were in shock. Then she began screaming at the top of her lungs, overcome with rage.
“Where the hell have you been?!” she yelled, grabbing hold of Sayu. “Everyone’s been gossiping about us, and it’s all your fault!”
I couldn’t believe those were the first words out of her mouth.
Sayu seemed too frightened to say anything back.
It wasn’t hard to imagine the woman tearing her daughter to shreds if we let things proceed like this. That was when Issa, just as astonished as I was, made a move. He seemed to have finally remembered why he was there.
Smoothly throwing himself between the two of them, he declared, “Cut it out, Mom! We have a guest!”
Shocked by this announcement, Sayu’s mother finally noticed me. She looked perplexed.
She offered me a slight bow, then eyed me suspiciously.
“And who might he be?”
She looked at Issa as she spoke, making it clear who the question was for.
“This is Mr. Yoshida,” Issa explained. “He took care of Sayu for a long time. I insisted that he come with us.”
It surprised me to hear him lie about why I’d come along, but I soon realized he’d probably done it for my benefit. If he said it was his idea, she might be more inclined to hear me out than if she knew I’d invited myself.
After hearing Issa’s answer, she fixed me with a heavy gaze and scoffed.
“So you ‘took care of’ Sayu, did you?”
It wasn’t hard to guess what she was implying. But I’d prepared myself for such accusations, and I was able to stay calm and bow.
“My name is Yoshida.”
She glared at me for a few seconds, then sighed and nodded in my direction.
“Come on in,” she said curtly and quickly withdrew into the living room.
Issa sighed, looking a little relieved.
“Please do come in, Mr. Yoshida,” he said.
“Sorry to intrude…”
Now that I had permission, I finally stepped into the house and closed the door behind me.
Taking the lead, Issa removed his shoes and proceeded inside, as if inviting us to do the same. But Sayu was still standing by the front door, rooted to the spot.
“Are you okay?” I asked, and she moved her head up and down robotically, her eyes fixed on some point in front of her.
“Mm-hmm.”
She had an intense look in her eyes, but it was hard to tell if it was sadness or rage. This expression was new to me, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it for a moment.
But before long, I remembered something. I was here to encourage Sayu to move forward.
“Let’s go,” I said, gently rubbing her back.
She gasped in surprise, and her expression softened a little.
“Yeah.”
She flashed me a small, if awkward, smile and nodded.
Then she followed Issa, and the three of us nervously entered the living room.