Episode 2 – [Bicycle shop]
Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817139558323866579/episodes/16817330669141471624
“This is a story I heard from a friend.”
It happened about fifteen years ago.
Near my friend’s house, there was an abandoned house that had been neglected.
It used to be a bicycle shop run by an elderly man who lived alone.
After the old man passed away, no one seemed to be taking care of the place, so the tools and other items were left untouched.
About a year after it was abandoned,
a rumor spread that the old man’s ghost was appearing in the vacant house.
They said he was sitting on a round chair in the back of the first floor, which was the store.
My friend, who was a middle school student at the time, heard the story and found it interesting.
A few of us gathered and talked about how we went to see it but didn’t find anything, or how the bicycle bell rang even though we weren’t doing anything, and before we knew it, we were all going to peek into the vacant house together.
After school, the usual four of us set off together for the empty house while it was still daylight.
We figured it would be impossible to sneak out of the house after dark. It was a straightforward fact, but for some reason, everyone there seemed to be trying to justify it by saying it wasn’t because they were scared or anything lame like that.
The bicycle shop was next to the apartment complex’s park.
It was a two-story wooden building with an orange tent covering the eaves.
The entrance is a sliding door, and you can see the stairs leading to the second floor in the corner of the store.
There was no sign of anyone managing the place, and there wasn’t even a lock on the door.
The four of us entered the dimly lit store cautiously.
Since there was no other place to let in light besides the sliding door at the entrance, it was even darker and harder to see when you stood in front of the door.
The space where bicycles were probably stored was empty. A few broken bicycles that seemed unusable were piled up against the wall.
In the corner, there was a toolbox that was half empty, and some mysterious parts and tubes lying around.
“Is that a chair?”
There was a round chair placed in front of the warehouse at the back of the store.
The synthetic leather was worn out and cracked in places. It was clearly something that had been used for a long time.
Rumor has it that an old man sits on that round chair.
However, at least no one in the room could see any sign of an old man.
I stood back and watched for a while.
The round chair, placed alone in the darkness, was nothing more than a chair.
Still, I couldn’t bring myself to get any closer to check it out.
Besides boredom, there was a faint but definite sense of unease in the air.
“There’s nothing there after all. By the way, which bike was the one that rang the bell?”
B-kun asked in an unusually cheerful voice, shifting his gaze toward the wall.
Everyone followed his gaze toward the bikes, and at that moment.
There was a clatter as something fell over.
A gasp escaped their lips.
They whispered to each other and turned to look at the sound, and saw that the round chair had rolled over.
Of course, no one had touched it.
In fact, no one was even close enough to touch it.
“Maybe a cat got in there?”
C-kun tried to peek inside with a realistic guess, but D-kun grabbed his arm.
“Let’s get out of here.”
“Eh?”
“If we stay here too long, someone might find us. And if something’s broken, we don’t want to get blamed for it.”
It was a reasonable argument, so everyone followed D-kun’s words.
Well, maybe they didn’t exactly follow his words. If it had been their usual mood, someone would have definitely made a sarcastic remark.
But no one there, not even jokingly, voiced any opposition.
They filled the silence with trivial chatter and parted ways at the usual intersection.
They hadn’t gone there out of strong curiosity to begin with.
After that, the topic of the empty house never came up among the group.
However, one of the friends seemed concerned about what had happened that day and asked D-kun about it several times.
They wondered if he had seen something they couldn’t see.
After being asked repeatedly, D-kun finally gave in and told them what he had seen.
On that day, there was a pregnant woman hanging from the overturned chair with a rope around her neck.
She wasn’t just any pregnant woman. Her body looked like that of a young woman, but her head resembled that of an old woman, and her open eyes were staring intently at them.
When his friends heard this, they thought that if they had seen it, they would have screamed on the spot.
From D-kun’s perspective, the scene was so bizarre that it didn’t feel real, and he couldn’t grasp what was happening.
However, he felt that the strange apparition might be the reason why the vacant house had been left abandoned.
The vacant house remained abandoned afterward, but it was finally demolished a year ago.
Apparently, there are no more ghosts at the site.
“—–Was it scary?”
“Yeah, kind of. But the mystery left behind is what makes it interesting.”
By the time the story ended, the tea in the mug had completely cooled.
It was winter, and the cold was more concerning than the fear.
But if someone told me to listen while facing them outside the balcony, I’d have no choice but to run away.
Therefore, I’m standing on the balcony wearing a thick kimono just to listen to ghost stories. What a touching story.
By the way. This ghost story.
I realized halfway through that I’d heard it before.
I’ve been living here for half a year.
If I hear it multiple times a week, it’s only natural that some stories will overlap.
Or maybe he’s forgotten which one he’s already told.
As I thought about this and nodded in agreement, my ears picked up a small murmur.
“Hmm.”
Oh.
Shoot.
I felt a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature, so I quickly pulled my mouth away from the cup.
“But, haven’t we heard this one before?”
“…Really? Did we?”
The voice on the other side of the board suddenly became lively.
Catching the sight of a tongue wriggling at the corner of my eye, I tried to hide my anxiety and added,
“Maybe I’m mistaken, but I feel like I’ve heard it before.”
If my guess was correct, this creature was testing me.
She was testing whether I had listened carefully to the ghost story he had told me—that is, the story of her friend. Was I just tuning it out?
“I was listening, thinking it might be a different version with a bicycle shop, but I think I’ve heard it before.”
No, but you know…
If I may say so…
I don’t think anyone remembers every conversation they’ve ever had with a friend.
My fingers holding the cup were stiff and tense, and it wasn’t just because of the cold.
The smile on my face was also forced, and it wasn’t just because of fear.
“Hmm, now that you mention it, maybe it was the same. Next time, I’ll prepare a different story.”
“Well, it’s good to hear the same story again. I’ll even watch the same video over and over again if it’s interesting.”
“Video…”
“You know, Y××Tube and stuff. Didn’t you know about it?”
“It’s complicated.”
“I see.”
Her voice was back to normal. It seemed her mood had improved.
After exchanging a few more trivial words, I quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Damn it, she’s acting like a mentally unstable girlfriend.
I don’t like people who test their friends, but since I didn’t know where the line was, I couldn’t say anything carelessly.
From beside me, I could hear a faint humming.
Humming? Does she even have a nose? It’s a mystery.
“Takahiro. Thanks.”
“…No, …Yeah.”
“Goodnight.”
“…Goodnight.”
What exactly was that gratitude for?
Too lazy to even think about it, I returned to the room with my cup in hand.
I locked the window and closed the curtains. Today’s bed was perfectly normal.
I poured the cold tea down the sink and refilled the kettle with hot water.
I sat down in the chair in front of my desk, relaxed, and let out a deep sigh.
The past six months had been peaceful, so I had let my guard down completely.
My friend who lives next door is undoubtedly not human.
She could easily kill me, and the twenty-three who escaped must have been driven mad in some way.
If I let my guard down, I’ll end up with the same fate as the human-shaped stain in the bathroom.
“I don’t want to die…”
I muttered involuntarily, then laughed at how ridiculous it was.
I don’t want to die.
Of course not.
My body was completely cold, so I took a bath and went to sleep.
◆ ◇ ◆
My current job is to continue living in that apartment building.
My monthly salary is 150,000 yen. Well, I also have a part-time job, but let’s set that aside for now.
In other words, there is an employer for this lifestyle.
The person who interviewed me after I called that day is named Kando Mitsuki san.
He is a man in his mid-thirties with a gentle face.
Apparently, the handyman business is originally run by his older brother, and Kando san is just a substitute, working as a company employee most of the time.
He has a wife and an elementary school-aged daughter, but they live separately.
Apparently, after being entrusted with the matter of this apartment building, things started to go wrong, and he decided it was better to move away, relocating to another prefecture.
Despite being caught up in his brother’s work, Kando san didn’t seem particularly concerned.
I remember him laughing awkwardly and saying, “It’s just the usual.”
There seemed to be a level of trust between the two that allowed them to laugh off any inconvenience.
Well, maybe that’s just how families are supposed to be.
Kando san was just an ordinary middle-aged man. He had no special abilities and couldn’t see anything.
All that was his brother’s job, and since his brother had gone to Shikoku for some reason and hadn’t come back, he was just doing whatever he could.
It wasn’t Kando san who came up with the wording on the sign, but his brother.
I thought no one would come with such a message, but when I did, Kando san initially worried about me.
[Takara kun, you’re only twenty, right? It’s not an age where you should mess up your life. You should find a more decent job.]
I appreciate his sincere concern, but I came here because I truly didn’t care what happened to me. I felt like I wouldn’t be saved unless something happened, so that’s why I came.
I pressed him, saying, “It’s dishonest to write something like that and then turn me away when I come” and Kando san frowned in embarrassment.
Well, I understand now. Kando san has seen people who have really messed up their lives, so he probably didn’t want to put me, who still has a future (or so he thinks), in such a place.
Even someone in their early twenties with no decent work history must seem valuable just because they’re young.
So reluctantly, I told that person my story. I didn’t want to, but I did.
I told him everything I could remember about how that person had treated me after my father left because I was born.
I had no relatives to rely on, and the scholarship money was about to be squandered—or rather, it had already been squandered, so I couldn’t pay the tuition fees. I somehow managed to withdraw from the program midway through and fled. Recently, they tracked me down and tried to use me as a source of income. Of course, I plan to flee, but I don’t understand why I was in such a place in the first place. No, I do understand, I’ve always thought that if I don’t listen to that person, I’ll die, and I think that will probably continue to be the case, and in fact, I still think that way now.
So, I feel like I can’t be saved unless I’m in a place where something like that could happen.
I tried to explain that as calmly as possible. I think.
I wasn’t sure if I was calm or even if I was able to speak properly at the time.
Kando san thought about it for a while and reluctantly agreed. He was really reluctant. Looking at his face, I could tell he thought I should get a proper job.
In fact, Kando san seemed to think the apartment building itself should be demolished.
Anyway, the only card I could play from my crappy hand was my crappy misfortune.
From Kando san’s perspective, that probably wasn’t convincing enough.
But in reality, the landlord was struggling because there were no tenants in the apartment building, and the older brother who joined the call said, “It’s fine” and no one else had applied who was as certain as I was that their life could go to hell.
That’s why I’m still living in that apartment building today, clinging to life.
When I entered the store, Kando san, who was already waiting, raised his hand lightly to call me over.
Despite being busy, Kando san often creates opportunities to meet with me out of concern. Given the circumstances and the nature of the work, it’s probably a way to check in on my well-being.
As I sat down across from him and bowed my head, Kando san handed me a paper bag.
“Takara kun, please take this. I visited Ryoka san’s place the other day, so I brought back a souvenir.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Kando san refers to his wife by her first name with the honorific “-san.” Since she was his first love, two years older than him, he still blushes when he tries to call her by her first name without the honorific.
He blushes so easily that his daughter sometimes teases her mother by calling her [Ryoka san.]
Every time I hear Kando san talk about his family, I’m genuinely surprised. I’m surprised that “happy families” exist outside of fiction.
No, I know they exist. I’ve seen them before.
But I’m surprised that there are people like that in a position to interact with someone like me.
Now I’m even receiving souvenirs.
Oh, bamboo leaf dumplings. And persimmon seeds.
It was my first time seeing persimmon seeds in a can, so I couldn’t help but take them out and look at them.
“And this is a bonus from the landlord. This is the first time Takara kun has managed to stay here peacefully for half a year, so they’re really grateful.”
“Oh…I’m honored…”
I awkwardly bow my head at the additional envelope handed to me.
Is it really okay to receive a bonus just for living here? I feel guilty toward the people who are working hard.
The money I used to cling to desperately while being yelled at every day is now coming in just for living.
It felt like I’d been suddenly thrown into a world with rules I didn’t understand, and to be honest, it was a bit uncomfortable.
“Um. Do you know what that guy…likes?”
“Besides humans?”
“…..Yes, besides humans.”
“I don’t know….maybe I’ll ask my brother. But why?”
“Well, I got this far thanks to her, so I thought I’d buy something to take back…”
Kando san looked like he had eaten something strange as he took a sip of water from his glass.
I understand.
I know I said something strange.
But as long as I live there, I am undoubtedly her friend.
Thinking about buying something he likes for a friend I know is not that strange. I think. Probably.
Kando, who was staring into space as if trying to recall something, opened the menu and handed it to me while picking up his smartphone.
It seems he’s going to ask his older brother specifically. I feel bad for causing him trouble.
I wish I could ask him directly, but apparently his older brother doesn’t respond to messages from anyone other than Kando san.
He said he thought the reply would come while we were eating, so I ordered the hamburger set meal for now.
It’s a trivial matter, but the very existence of an adult who treats me to a meal is so unfamiliar that I always break out in a strange sweat every time I eat with Kando san. I just can’t seem to get used to it yet.
“Ah, it came.”
As he said, the reply came just as we finished eating.
Kando san showed me the message app screen as it was.
[Only accept food.]
[No homemade items.]
[Something that will sustain your life.]
[How about that?]
[Gummy candies?]
The message was abruptly cut off there.
“Gummy candies.”
I repeated it while staring at the screen.
Gummy candies.
Gummy candies, huh.
As I stared blankly, Kando san also checked the screen and smiled wryly.
“Gummy candies, I guess.”
“Gummy candies…”
Ghosts eat gummy candies, huh.
Well, at least I understood that homemade items are absolutely forbidden.
I’m not sure exactly what constitutes “homemade” but I guess store-bought items are okay.
I thanked him, bowed several times, and stopped by the supermarket to buy some gummy candies on my way home.
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