Our Life That Begins with a Convenient Relationship - Chapter 7

When I arrived in front of the high-rise apartment building with Sakura-san, I stopped in my tracks the moment I looked up.

A tower of glass stretched toward the sky. The sun and the indirect lighting of the entrance reflected off the metal walls, making it shine like a luxury hotel.

…No, it was more than a hotel. This was a “different world” entirely.

“How many floors does this have?”

“Twelve floors. It’s not exactly a ‘skyscraper,’ but I think the view is great.”

Because she said it in such a casual tone, I unconsciously gave her a sharp look.

It felt as if the social gap was being shoved right in my face. With my salary, I probably couldn’t even pay the rent.

Still, she naturally tapped her key card, opened the automatic doors, and walked right in as if nothing were out of the ordinary. I followed her at a bit of a distance, suddenly worried about the dirt on the soles of my shoes.

When I followed her into the elevator, the button she pressed was the third floor.

“So, you don’t live on a high floor.”

“Well, of course not. I’m not afraid of heights, but living way up there is crazy. The rent is incredibly high, it shakes like crazy during earthquakes, and if the elevator stops, it’s total hell. The only benefits are the view, the security, and well, the superiority of looking down on people, I guess.”

“That last one makes you sound like a bit of a jerk…”

I was about to point out that even on the third floor, the rent in this building must be substantial, but the elevator arrived at the third floor in an instant. In the end, I followed her without saying anything more.

The hallway was as quiet as a hotel; I could barely even hear the sound of the air conditioning. Sakura-san headed straight for the room at the very end without hesitating and took a key out of her bag.

Then, she clicked the key into the lock, opened the door—

And before going inside, BAM! She slammed it shut again with incredible force.

“Um, Sakura-san?”

“A-Ah… um… could you wait right here for just a little bit?”

“…I mean, okay. For how long?”

“A-About an hour, I think.”

Standing still in a hallway for that long was impossible. My legs and back were near their limit.

“No. My legs are at their limit, so I’m coming in.”

The moment I reached for the door handle, she frantically blocked the door with her whole body.

“N-No, you can’t! Really, today is…!”

“What is it? You’re the one who asked me to come over, aren’t you?”

“T-That… that’s true, but…”

Her reply was weak. Her voice cracked, making it obvious she was hiding something.

She started mumbling to herself. “Ah, what should I do?” and “It’s over if she sees this,” at a volume I could easily hear.

Eventually, as if giving up, she looked me straight in the eye. Her eyes were a mix of resolve and embarrassment; despite being about twelve years younger, she looked like a child about to be scolded.

Then, she pursed her lips and—

“Um, Sakurai-san!”

“What?”

“I just want you to understand that it’s not usually like this…”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.”

When I gave her a casual reply, she took a deep breath and, with a tense expression, slowly pulled the door handle.

The sight that spread before me was far beyond what I expected.

“Whoa…”

A sound that was somewhere between a gasp and a sigh escaped my lips. What lay before my eyes was the sheer violence of “daily life.”

Convenience store bags were scattered all over the floor. Inside them were leftover food containers, plastic bottles, and even unopened energy drinks. Cardboard boxes were piled up, stuffed messily with daily necessities likely bought online. Piles of mail and documents had caused a landslide on the floor, and in the corner, a vacuum cleaner cord lay tangled and abandoned.

Fortunately, the tops of the table and shelves were relatively neat, but the disaster at our feet ruined everything.

“This is terrible…”

“I-I really do a deep clean once a week, you know?”

“Stop making excuses!”

Even though I was exasperated, for some reason, I was smiling a little.

So, this was the hidden side of the elite woman who was promoted to section chief at a major company at such a young age. While she likely works hard and leads subordinates at her job, she lives like this at home. She’s just a total mess.

Sakura-san’s face was bright red as her eyes darted around.

“It’s true. I’m not good at it, but I’m also busy. Look, I’m a section chief, so…!”

“Yes, yes, never mind the excuses. How many days did you leave it like this?”

“…Maybe a week?”

“This disaster after only one week?”

“…Ah, maybe two weeks…?”

I pressed my hand to my forehead. I felt like saying anything more would make her cry, so I silently tied my hair back into a ponytail and rolled up my sleeves.

“Sakura-san, get me trash bags and gloves. Right now.”

“Eh? N-No, I can’t let you do that, Sakurai-san…”

“Hurry. Up.”

“Uugh… okay!”

I watched her back as she scrambled toward the back of the room, nearly tripping over the trash, and let out a long breath.

I snapped open the trash bag she brought back and crouched on the floor. I opened the convenience store bags one by one, checked the contents, and began sorting the empty food containers.

Beside me, Sakura-san was pacing around, not knowing what to do.

“Um… what should I do…?”

“Do you know the sorting rules?”

“Uh… burnable trash… non-burnable trash… and the other stuff?”

“…That’s fine for now. Start sorting them.”

In truth, I was supposed to be sitting in her prized massage chair right now, elegantly healing my body. Instead, the reality was cleaning with a trash bag in hand.

…But strangely, I didn’t hate it.

Setting a kitchen in order or tidying a messy room—doing those things somehow calmed my mind. It’s the same with my own room, but maybe I just like tidying up someone else’s place too.

“Sakurai-san, I’m really sorry. For making you do this…”

“It’s fine, I’m doing it because I want to. Besides, nobody lives a perfect life.”

“Ugh… you’re so kind.”

“In exchange, make sure you let me use it once the cleaning is done. That massage chair you’re so proud of.”

“Of course!”

She sounded so happy when she replied that I let out a little chuckle.

As I untangled the vacuum cleaner cord, I glanced toward the back of the room. There lay the raw, unfiltered life of a woman who likely has no time to breathe because of her work.

—Once you see a side of someone like this, you just can’t leave them alone.

That feeling began to swell quietly deep within my chest.