His serious confession made her feel uncomfortable again. Mizuno was staring intently at her.
“So yeah, honestly, I think I’m lucky right now. Sorry.”
He said this while offering her the cup. She took a sip, and it was her favorite kind of tea. She wondered if he had looked that up too.
“There’s another reason, you know.”
Mizuno took a sip from his own cup and put his hand on the balcony railing.
“I also love that you always open your map app even when your destination is super close.”
A scream from behind him drowned out his words. Wakana tried to turn around, but Mizuno stopped her.
“It’s okay, that just means I’ve caught them. And you probably shouldn’t look. I also love that you neatly organize your notes to learn things and that you draw illustrations to make them easy to understand.”
A terrified, wailing scream echoed, “Gyaah, gyaah!” A mix of low and high voices, like something thrashing wildly around the room.
“I love how you get embarrassed when I see those illustrations, and how you look after all your junior coworkers—even the ones who aren’t me. But I get so jealous. I really wish you wouldn’t talk to anyone but me. I wish all the people who get in the way would disappear, just kidding.”
“Mizuno-kun!”
“I love how you wear earmuffs in the winter, and how you’ve been using the same hand cream forever. I even love how you struggle to find the right words when you try to argue with me.”
“Mizuno-kun!”
Wakana was clinging to Mizuno. He let out a startled “Hah!”
“Mizuno-kun, what are those noises?”
“Oh, s-sorry. Could you let go of me for a second?”
“What’s happening in the room?”
“It’s happening… or maybe they’re standing up… I’m getting all tingly now…”
“Mizuno-kun!”
“Oh, okay, I think it’s over now.”
With that, Mizuno opened the balcony door and went inside. Wakana, following him timidly, almost screamed again. In the dark room, something was stuck all over the huge flypapers hanging from the ceiling. She couldn’t see them clearly, but maybe that was for the best. Countless black shadows were stuck to the flypapers everywhere, squirming as if desperately trying to escape the paper. In the darkness, the shadows wriggled and twisted. Wakana collapsed to the floor.
“W-what is this? It’s… it’s still m-moving.”
“They’re just stuck. Higuchi-san, have you never seen flypaper before?”
Mizuno stepped into the room and began to pull down the flypaper. Wakana remained frozen on the floor, trembling.
“M-Mizuno-kun, are you okay?”
“Yes, but I have to be fast before they get loose and escape. They’re just stuck.”
Mizuno rolled up the strips of paper like a gym mat. A sound like a desperate, wailing scream filled the air, and Wakana covered her ears. It was like being in hell.
“It’s okay, Higuchi-san. I’ll get this cleaned up quickly.”
Wakana, on the verge of tears, nodded. But at that moment, she felt like one of the black shadows caught on the flypaper made eye contact with her. She stared, her eyes wide.
“Higuchi-san?”
Mizuno turned to her. He had already rolled up the flypaper.
“…Oh, no, it’s nothing.”
Wakana shook her head. It couldn’t be. She couldn’t have seen her grandfather, who had passed away when she was a child. Her grandfather had nothing to do with haunted places. It was her imagination. Mizuno crushed the rolled-up paper into a small, tight ball.
When he was finished cleaning up, he lifted the luggage with a grunt and turned to face Wakana, who was still on the floor.
“I’m going to take this outside to dispose of it. Higuchi-san, you stay here.”
“But… but there’s so much. Are you sure you can handle it alone?”
“Haha, are you worried about me? I’m so happy… I’ll be fine. There was a vacant lot in front of the building, right? I’ll burn it there.”
Mizuno laughed gleefully as he hoisted the flypaper onto his shoulder. After he left, Wakana watched from her apartment balcony. It was so quiet, as if she were the only person in the world.
Mizuno was burning the flypaper in the vacant lot in front of the apartment building. In the snowy night, a fierce red light was visible at his feet. Anyone who saw this would surely call the police. She was grateful that it was the middle of the night and no one was around. The snow was even melting only in that one spot, and the flickering red light illuminating him made it look strangely mystical. She noticed he had even brought a bucket, and she had to admit he was surprisingly organized about it. Mizuno waved at her. She couldn’t see his expression, but she pictured his happy face in her mind and waved back reflexively. For some reason, she wanted him to come back quickly.
A little while later, Mizuno came back, rubbing his hands together. Wakana immediately opened the door. His nose was bright red, and he was breathing out continuous puffs of white air.
“I was near the fire, but it’s cold!”
“Okay, okay, I get it. Just come in quickly.”
Mizuno looked at her, his face blank. Then, he broke into a huge grin and reached out for her. She froze at how happy he looked, and then he embraced her. It wasn’t an entirely unpleasant feeling.
“Higuchi-san… can I stay the night?”
He whispered into her ear. She knew what he was implying. She had had boyfriends in college. Mizuno’s low voice, different from his usual tone, seemed to be hinting at what would happen if he stayed. And yet, she couldn’t refuse him like she usually would. Was it the “love-on-a-bridge” effect? Was she just getting carried away because of what had happened and because it was Christmas? Mizuno tightened his arms around her.
“To be frank, I love you, Higuchi-san, so I want to have sex with you. Oh, on the off chance, I brought condoms, so it’s okay.”
“Y-y-you were planning this all along!”
“Just in case. And I’ll never force you.”
Wakana bit her lip. Then she lowered her gaze.
“But I feel bad for you, Mizuno-kun, I don’t love you as much as you love me… Is that really okay?”
Mizuno let go of her body and gently stroked her cheek, as if she were a fragile object. But the arm around her waist was gripping her tightly, as if to restrain her.
“It’s okay. Just fall for me for now… Once you do, I’ll love you so much you’ll never be able to escape.”
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