Shoji heard someone press the switch. The light turned on. He got up and saw Yoshioka, still wearing the same clothes as yesterday. He was limping. A dark patch stained his shirt’s left pocket.

‘You look awful,’ Yoshioka said. ‘Are you so drunk you forgot today is Saturday?’

Shoji laughed. ‘I should be saying the same to you.’

Yoshioka pulled up a chair on wheels and sat in front of Shoji. ‘I missed the last train. I wanted to walk home but, in my drunken stupor, I headed to the office instead.’ He scratched his overgrown stubble. ‘I probably spend too much time in the office. This place feels more like home than my own apartment.’

‘You’re crazy,’ Shoji said. Their office wasn’t exactly near the reunion venue. ‘How long did it take?’

Yoshioka laughed. ‘Less than three hours.’

‘Not bad.’

‘I can’t feel my legs. They’ve turned to jelly.’ Yoshioka gave Shoji a long, hard look. ‘What are you doing here on a Saturday?’

Instead of answering, Shoji asked, ‘Do you know how I left the party?’

‘Not really. You told me you wanted to walk to the station together, but when I looked for you, you were gone. I figured you were too tired and left first.’ Yoshioka glanced at Shoji. ‘Why are you here? You’ve clearly been home, showered, and changed.’

Shoji shrugged. ‘I had to leave my apartment and couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.’

‘You spend too much time in the office too.’ Yoshioka paused. ‘Did something happen? No one comes into the office on a weekend for no particular reason.’

Shoji stared at the stain on Yoshioka’s shirt. The dark red colour made it looked like dried blood, but it was probably red wine or meat sauce. ‘I was so wasted last night I brought home a cat.’

‘A cat?’ Yoshioka repeated loudly. ‘What kind of drunk brings home a cat?’

Shoji sighed deeply. ‘This kind?’

‘Interesting. Tell me about it.’

An image of Liyun came to mind. Her damp skin gleaming in the morning sunlight. She had a peculiar way of walking, as if she were avoiding invisible booby traps.

‘She’s a strange cat,’ Shoji finally said.

‘If it’s a rare breed, you should sell her to a pet shop. Problem solved.’

Shoji rested his head against the back of the sofa, feeling more and more exhausted. Yoshioka moved to sit next to him.

A few minutes passed before Yoshioka said, ‘You look troubled.’

‘Do I?’

‘Yeah.’

Shoji thought of Liyun, and then of Yoko. If Yoko were here, how would she react? She probably wouldn’t forgive him. Even he couldn’t forgive himself.

All he wanted was to see Yoko again. Even if she was going to swear at him for cheating on her, even if it would take him forever to earn back her trust, he would put up with anything. If only he could find her.

But what if she had never returned to Tokyo? Perhaps she’d been waiting in Akakawa. No, that couldn’t be true. Shoji took a deep breath. Was there nothing more he could do? Apart from Uncle Hidetoshi, who had specifically instructed him not to contact him, was there no one else he could reach out to?