Chapter 54: 54. Haruka Hear Us Having A Wonderful Night (She Don’t Feel Weird About It)

Wednesday morning arrived like a typical second-week morning when you’ve begun to grasp the rhythm of a new place: less surprising and more functional.

Mike was ready by 7:40 and, for the first time since Haruka’s arrival, realized he hadn’t heard her knock at 7:45, 7:50, or at any time close to either.

He stood at his door for a moment. Then he knocked on unit five.

There was a longer pause than usual before the door opened.

Haruka stood in the doorway looking like someone who had attempted sleep and been only partly successful. The flatness around her eyes and the slightly disheveled appearance of her hair, which was normally neat even at this hour, revealed everything before she spoke.

She looked at him.

He looked at her.

"Good morning," Mike said.

"Good morning..." Haruka said, in a tone that was technically correct and carrying several additional layers of meaning that she was apparently deciding how to handle.

She went to get her bag. Mike waited in the doorway.

Thereafter, they made their way downstairs in a silence that had a distinct quality—not comfortable, not hostile, but rather the kind that exists between two people when one of them knows something and is trying to figure out how to mention it.

They were outside and had been walking for about four minutes when Mike said, "You’re quiet."

"I’m always quiet in the mornings," Haruka said.

"That’s weird..." Mike said. "From what I remembered, it’s not this quiet."

She adjusted the strap on her bag. Another thirty seconds went by.

"The walls in this building," she said carefully, "are quite thin, you know?"

Mike processed that. ’Holy fuck, she heard us, hahahahaha!’

’The funniest shit ever is to let a Japanese neighbor hear us having sex like wild animals, but eh, it’s my fucking plan anyway to make her slowly frustrated or even annoyed.’

"I discovered this last night," Haruka continued, looking straight ahead at the transit station in the middle distance. "Somewhat against my will."

"I see," Mike said.

"I did not sleep very well," she said. "This is related."

A short silence.

"I’m sorry," Mike said.

She glanced at him sideways, and her expression contained something that was not quite an accusation but was close to it. "I didn’t know you had someone here."

"It’s recent," Mike said.

"Apparently," Haruka said, with a dryness that was entirely uncharacteristic.

Mike looked at her. "You want to ask something." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Several things," she said. "I’m deciding which ones are my business."

"You can ask," Mike said. "I’ll tell you which ones aren’t."

She seemed to find that acceptable. "Is she someone from the building?"

"She is," Mike said.

Haruka’s steps slowed by about half a beat. "Don’t tell me it was the landlady."

It wasn’t a question.

Mike said nothing, which was confirmation enough.

Haruka pressed her lips together, absorbing this. "Oh wow..."

"Okay," she said.

"Okay?" Mike said.

"I mean—" She paused. "I have a lot of thoughts..."

"But most of them are probably irrelevant." She looked at him sideways. "Was it good? The night?"

’Why the fuck did she ask that? Of course having sex is always good, especially when a man like me loves to take control and dominates.’

Mike looked at her. "That’s a direct question."

"I’m a direct person," she said. "And I already heard enough to have an opinion, so you might as well confirm or deny."

"It was a good night," Mike said.

She nodded like someone marking an answer on a form.

"That’s what I thought." Another few steps. "She seemed happy this morning, by the way."

"I saw her in the lobby. She looked—" Haruka considered the word. "Lighter."

"Good," Mike said.

"She made you breakfast?" Haruka asked.

"She only made sandwiches on Monday, apparently," Mike said. "Today she just said good morning."

"That’s more interesting than sandwiches," Haruka said.

"How so?"

"Sandwiches can be professional," Haruka said. "Good morning at six AM from someone who looks lighter, well, that’s kinda personal."

Mike looked at her. "You noticed a lot for someone who didn’t sleep well."

"I notice things when I’m tired," she said. "My brain doesn’t stop."

"It just gets less filtered." She adjusted her bag again. "Like right now I’m noticing that you look completely fine and I look terrible, and somehow you’re the one who had the eventful night."

"You look fine," Mike said.

"Don’t do that," she said.

"Do what?"

"Be nice about it... I have eyes, you know." She pulled out her phone briefly to check the transit time, then pocketed it. "I looked in the mirror this morning and thought, wow, okay, the walls are thin, and this is what that costs."

Mike almost smiled. "You’re handling this very well."

"What’s the alternative?" She glanced at him. "Being upset about it doesn’t help anyone."

"And honestly—" She paused. "This is a new country. New building. New everything. I came here knowing things were going to be different."

"You just didn’t expect the landlady," Mike said.

"I did not expect the landlady," she agreed. "But I also didn’t expect my neighbor to be whatever you are, and here we are."

"Whatever I am," Mike said.

"You know what you are," Haruka said. "You’re just waiting to see if I’ll say it out loud."

As they arrived at the transit stop, the platform buzzed with its usual morning crowd. They positioned themselves near the edge and waited.

"Go ahead," Mike said. "Say it."

She looked at him with the frank, open expression that was distinctly hers. "You’re the kind of person who has a good night on a Tuesday with the landlady and then walks to the transit stop looking like nothing happened at all."

She tilted her head. "That’s a specific kind of person."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"I haven’t decided yet," she said. "But... I don’t think so..."

"It’s just—" She thought about it. "In Japan, I would know exactly which category you would fall into, but here, I’m less certain."

"What category would that put me in back home?" Mike asked.

She gave him a look. "It refers to the type of person my mother would advise me to be cautious around."

’Fucking knew it...’

"And yet here you are," Mike said. "Walking to the transit stop with me every morning."

"Yes, well." She looked at the approaching transit. "My mother is not here. And you’re still a good neighbor."

"Despite the thin walls," Mike said.

"I’m choosing to see it as a learning experience," she said. "About the building. And about you."

The transit arrived, and they boarded. She settled into her seat, pulled out her phone, and then looked up.

"She came to you, right? The landlady. You didn’t—"

"She came to me," Mike said. "Her choice."

Haruka nodded, satisfied. "Okay... Good..."

She went back to her phone. Then, without looking up, "She deserves to feel lighter. She always looks tired."

"She does," Mike said.

"So." Haruka lowered the phone slightly. "Is this going to be a regular thing?"

"Because I need to know whether to buy earplugs or just accept the situation."

Mike looked at her. "I’ll be more considerate."

"That’s not actually an answer," she said.

"Buy the earplugs," Mike said. "As a general life investment, and not specifically because of this situation."

She stared at him for a moment. Then she laughed, short and genuine, the kind that comes out before you’ve decided whether it’s appropriate.

"That’s terrible advice."

"It’s practical advice," Mike said.

"It’s both," she said. "Most of your advice is both."

She settled back in the seat. "Okay... I’m choosing not to think about it further because I have two assignments due Thursday."

"That’s sensible," Mike said.

"I thought so." She looked up at him briefly. "Just be considerate about the noise."

"That’s all I ask."

"Deal," Mike said.

"And maybe warn me next time," she said. "So that I can put music on."

"You’re being very mature about this," Mike said. "But if I warn you... isn’t that going to make you feel awkward about it?"

"It’s fine... I’m being practical," she said. "Being dramatic doesn’t help anyone sleep."

"And I already lost one night." She looked at the window. "I like sleep when I’m tired."

"I know," Mike said. "Ain’t we all?"

"You like it too," she said. "You just don’t need as much of it as normal people."

"I don’t," he agreed.

She was quiet for a moment. Then, with the curious directness that had been there from the first morning, "Was she—does she make you happy? In some way?"

Mike looked at her. The question was genuine, not pointed.

Haruka was asking because she actually wanted to know, the way she always actually wanted to know.

"She’s interesting," Mike said.

"That’s not what I asked," Haruka said.

"It’s the most honest answer I have," Mike said.

She thought about that. "Okay," she said. "I can accept that."

She went back to her phone. "For what it’s worth, I think you make her feel fulfilled. The lighter thing. That was real."

Mike said nothing.

"You don’t have to say anything," Haruka said. "I’m just noting it."

She scrolled through something. "You do that a lot, you know. Make people feel like they’re the most noticed in the room. It’s a positive quality."

"Most people don’t notice I’m doing it," Mike said.

"I’m Japanese," she said, without looking up. "We notice everything and we just don’t always say it."

"And yet you say it," Mike said.

"I’m practicing being direct," she said. "Ren says I’m too indirect sometimes."

"I think he’s wrong, but I’m trying his way for a while." She paused. "I think in this case his way is better. It’s more efficient."

"One of your favorite words," Mike said.

"The best word," she said. "Say what you mean. Get to the point."

"Same outcome, less time spent being anxious about it." She finally put the phone down and looked at him properly. "Like right now... I could have spent the whole transit ride being weird about last night."

"Instead I asked you directly, you told me, and now I’m fine."

"Are you sure that you’re fine?" Mike said.

"I’m fine," she confirmed. "A little tired, but still fine."

She tilted her head. "You could learn from that, by the way."

"From what?"

"Being direct," she said. "You’re good at it when you want to be."

"But sometimes you let people figure things out slowly when you could just tell them." She glanced at the window. "Next stop is ours."

They stood.

"Haruka," Mike said.

"Yeah?"

"You’re a good neighbor," he said.

She looked at him, her expression genuine and unguarded—the kind that revealed everything, a version of herself she hadn’t yet learned to control and probably shouldn’t have to.

"I know," she said, and stepped off the train.

[DESIRE LEVEL: HARUKA KANATA — 27/100]

Five points from an uncomfortable morning, a conversation about thin walls, and two people deciding to be straightforward about something inconvenient.

He put the phone away and followed her through the gate.