Even so, we are living in the present

Chapter 2 – Incoming call from a friend

After a twenty-minute walk, he arrived at the apartment where he lived alone. Upon unlocking the front door and entering, he washed his hands and went through the refrigerator. There was a leftover pumpkin stew that he had made yesterday. Taking out the deep dish containing the stewed pumpkin, he heated it in the microwave, placed the white rice he had prepared by the rice cooker in a bowl, and set a simple, ready-to-eat meal on the living room table before switching on the television.

Since living by himself, his meal proceeded unhurriedly.

Instead of background music, the news broadcasted uninteresting events on a daily basis. Each time a similar incident was reported, with no progress being made.

After finishing the meal, he would take a short break, turn off the television, and take a shower. This was the lifestyle that was repetitious each and every day. Once accustomed to it, he didn’t think much of it anymore.

Having finished dinner, he watched the television for a while and then switched off the TV before showering.

“…?”

The vibrations of his smartphone reverberated under the table.
Thinking it was a rare occurrence, he checked the screen and found the words “Saiki” on it.

Saiki Tomoya. He was a boy in the same class as him, and he resided quite close to the dance school that Yuu attended.

With his brightly dyed hair and pierced ears, he possessed a light-hearted personality that was opposite to Kyosuke. Nishiki was the one who approached him to exchange contact information.

“… Hello?”

The call came in unexpectedly and made him wonder what it was about. On the other end of the line, there was some kind of commotion in the distance. A siren-like sound could be heard. It seemed to be a mixture of noise.

“Ichinose! You, get over here right now! Sonohara is!” Nishiki said impatiently, and the call was instantly disconnected.

Could it be the effect of the radio waves?

Without knowing why, Kyosuke stormed out of the room, his smartphone in hand.

He didn’t even recall whether he had locked the door or not. But the thought that something might have happened to Yuu, an unwanted possibility, flooded his mind and sent him into a panic.

The speed at which he had been running had somehow shifted to full speed.

​───────

It was approaching 8 pm.

The sky was still obscured by dark clouds.

The site was a large, two-lane intersection right next to the dance school. The area was buzzing with the lights of ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks. It was so raucous that he didn’t even have time to consider what had transpired there.

A massive crowd of onlookers had already gathered, obstructing Kyosuke’s path and forcing him to halt before he could absorb the details of the situation.

Gazing slightly into the distance at the paramedics and police officers hustling and bustling around, he spotted a cracked and charred blackened burn mark in the intersection that was most likely a car.

“… No way.”

“Ichinose!”

A voice in his heart almost questioned whether that was the same car that Yuu’s father typically drove, but the voice of Saiki reached his ears and he swallowed that thought.

He turned back to the person who had made the call and gripped the other party’s shoulder.

“Saiki, what happened to Yuu?”

“Didn’t you recognize that car? Apparently, he was involved in that.”

“Ha…?”

At Saiki’s words, Kyosuke’s eyebrows rose and wrinkles formed between his brows.

At this time of the day, he should be attending his lesson. Judging by the absence of damage to the dance school, it was odd that he had been involved in an accident.

“By the time I came to my senses, Sonohara was already near the car. He told me that the burned-out car was his father’s vehicle and that it had been crashed into from behind when it stopped at the red light. There he was struck from both sides at a green light, and the car burst into flames, and then suddenly exploded, and the explosion sent Sonohara… Hey! Ichinose!”

Yuu was wrapped up in the explosion. There is no way he could survive something like that.

Kyosuke had lost all sense of composure. He couldn’t hear Saiki’s words all the way through and lunged at the paramedics beside the ambulance.

It seemed that when unrealistic fears became a reality, he was afraid to be present.

“Yuu, where’s Yuu!”

“Um… Yuu, is it?”

“It’s Sonohara! Sonohara Yuu! I heard he was caught in the explosion of a car crash! I’m his classmate and childhood friend, Ichinose Kyosuke! Tell me about it!”

Yes. At the scene of the accident and near the ambulance, there was no trace of Yuu. That fact only fueled Kyosuke’s anxiety.

In an attempt to soothe the impatient Kyosuke, the paramedic firmly grabbed his shoulders with both hands and directed his earnest gaze into Kyosuke’s pupils.

“If that’s the person, he has been brought to the hospital earlier.”

T/N:

Saiki Tomoya

High school 2nd year student/180cm
Classmate of Kyosuke and Yuu.
A sunny and light-hearted character.
He is a cheerful guy who treats everyone with open arms.
With the exception of Yuu, he is the only guy who can pinch Kyosuke’s cheek.
His dream is to be blessed with a happy family in the future.