•

A couple of weeks later, Shoji had spotted the young woman sitting alone in the cafeteria. He was on his way out after buying a takeaway latte. At that time, he hadn’t even known her name.

Her hair was down. This time he could see it was shoulder length. She wore a faded denim dress paired with white canvas sneakers. She looked chic and stylish, giving off a different vibe. The fragility he had seen in her at their first encounter was gone. Was it the different hairstyle, or perhaps because she was in her own clothes?

He was about to leave when their eyes met. She waved at him. It would have been rude to walk away, so he went over.

‘Mind if I join you?’ he asked.

She nodded, cradling a cup of coffee in front of her. ‘Please.’

He put down his drink and sat next to her. ‘I didn’t know you were a student here.’

‘I seldom come. I skip a lot of classes.’

‘Don’t like what you study?’

‘Not really.’ She sipped her coffee. ‘It’s just, right now, studying is the last thing on my mind.’ She put down her cup. ‘What about you? Do you like what you’re studying?’

‘Not so much,’ he said, ‘but I’m graduating soon, so it’s all right.’

She was younger than him. The strongest features of her face were her sharp eyes, accentuated with bold, dark eyeliner with winged tips. Other than that, she didn’t seem to be wearing any make-up. She didn’t smile much, which made her seem unfriendly.

‘Sorry,’ he said, ‘I didn’t get your name.’

‘You can call me Yoko. You for sunshine, and ko for child.’

That was specific. Though she did not seem to be the sunny type. ‘Were you born in the summer?’

‘No,’ she said. ‘It was the rainy season.’

‘That’s interesting. Why are you named after sunshine?’

‘No idea. My mother chose it.’

‘Your mother must love warm, sunny days.’

Yoko shrugged. ‘I didn’t have the chance to ask. She died giving birth to me.’

Despite what she had said, her voice held no hint of emotion. It was as if she was remarking on the weather being too cold, or the coffee too sweet.

She tilted her head. ‘Am I supposed to ask for your name in return?’

‘You don’t need to if you don’t want to know it,’ he said.

She pointed at his bag. ‘Your keychain says S.’

‘Ah, a dead giveaway,’ he said. ‘I’m Shoji. Shoji Arai.’

He was surprised that he was still talking to her. It was longer than he’d intended to. He wasn’t good at socialising with new people, especially women. But with Yoko, the conversation flowed naturally. He felt comfortable around her, though he couldn’t explain why.

He glanced at her. ‘What are you doing later?’

‘Don’t know yet,’ she said.

He finished his latte and crushed the paper cup. ‘I’m going back home to make myself dinner.’

‘You cook?’

‘Sometimes. If you’ve got nothing on, you should come over. Jin is away and having dinner alone is boring.’