‘Uh-huh.’

The conversation ended there, and the office was once again still. Distant chatter from the construction site nearby filled in the gap. A man shouted that lunch break was over.

‘I’m going to leave soon,’ Yoshioka eventually said. ‘You should go home too.’

Soon, the workers’ voices vanished, swallowed by noises from heavy machinery.

•

Shoji stared at the scene in front of him. Cardboard boxes stacked on top of each other filled the living room. Hardly any space left to walk.

Liyun came out of the kitchen and greeted him cheerfully. ‘You’re back. I’ve made dinner. I cooked some Peranakan food. I hope you like it, but if you prefer to stick to Japanese cuisine, let me know.’

Shoji walked past her into the spare bedroom. All his stuff was gone, replaced with a futon, a coffee table, and some cushions. She’d even put up a white curtain patterned with tiny roses, which looked oddly similar to one in the apartment he used to share with Jin.

‘What is this?’ he asked in a flat tone.

‘Kind of messy right now, but I should be done by tomorrow. Oh, since you don’t have any curtains, I went to buy some,’ she said. ‘You’re so strange, Shoji. How could you not have curtains? Anyway, I wasn’t sure if the size would fit, so I only bought them for this room. After I’ve finished unpacking, I’ll get more for —’

‘Liyun,’ Shoji cut her sentence. ‘Did you pack away my things without asking?’

‘You were busy. I didn’t want to bother you.’

He clenched his fist. ‘This is the first and last time I’m going to say this. Do not touch my stuff.’

‘Hey, I was trying to be helpful. I didn’t have any bad intentions.’

‘Who cares about your intentions? The road to hell is paved with good intentions.’

Liyun looked startled. Shoji felt his heart race. He was surprised by his anger.

‘I’m sorry, I …’ His words trailed off. He sighed in frustration and went to his room. How on earth had he ended up in this situation? He threw himself on the bed. Agreeing to let Liyun stay here had been a grave mistake. He made a mental note to talk to her tomorrow. This arrangement wasn’t going to work.

•

Shoji woke up in the middle of the night. His room was dark. He dragged himself over to the light switch, then opened the window.

The road was empty. Streetlights shone on the asphalt. He looked up. A faint, waning moon hung in the sky, accompanied by dim stars. He thought he’d seen the same view in the past, back in Fukuoka.

‘Hello, there,’ Shoji whispered. ‘We meet again.’

The cold night wind blew into his face, returning his greeting.

His stomach growled. The alarm clock showed 2.41 am. Shoji stretched and went out of the room. If his memory served him correctly, he had some instant noodles stashed somewhere in the kitchen.

It was only after he turned on the lights that he remembered the mayhem from earlier. Luckily, Liyun had put the cardboard boxes to one side. Otherwise, he would have tripped over them.