Manager Morikawa watched with great interest as Miss Lin pulled out her wallet with a pained expression to buy a cup of hot tea. Then, Miss Lin's expression shifted instantly as she feigned generosity, handing the tea to Miko, who was wrapped in a towel and huddled in a chair.
That little money-grubber act made Morikawa unable to resist letting out a soft chuckle, covering her mouth with a towel.
She pulled up a chair to sit beside Miko and gently began drying the girl's wet hair.
"I won't pry too much into the details,"
Morikawa's voice was as soft as a feather, "but as an adult, there's one thing I must confirm—" Her expression turned slightly serious, "Were you harassed? Do you need Sister to contact the police for you?"
Beside them, Miss Lin also pricked up her ears.
Though she didn't know the specific reason, the bone-deep terror Miko had displayed earlier was definitely not faked.
Miko kept her head down, her fingers unconsciously twisting the edge of the towel, ultimately remaining silent.
"If you don't want to talk about it, then don't for now," Morikawa continued to gently comb through her long hair, "but remember, if you encounter something you can't handle, you can always ask an adult for help."
As she spoke, she glanced at the peeking Miss Lin and couldn't help but smile. "This clerk lady might seem a bit unreliable, but she looked quite heroic just now."
Miss Lin flexed a bicep that showed no visible contour through her uniform, boasting from the side, "As expected of me."
Morikawa Sayoko had already mastered the art of ignoring Miss Lin's occasional abnormal behavior and remarks.
She simply pointed helplessly at the girl's soaked left shoulder. "Go to the locker room and change into my spare uniform first. Don't catch a cold."
Only then did Miko notice that half of Miss Lin's body was drenched—it turned out that earlier, the umbrella had been deliberately tilted toward her side the whole time.
"Th-thank you..." Miko thanked her softly, her voice weak but sincere.
It was nearly five o'clock.
After Manager Morikawa went to the breakroom to handle the inventory sheets, Miko sat quietly next to Miss Lin inside the checkout counter. Like a well-behaved fledgling, she silently watched the profile of Miss Lin's face as she worked.
Her body, which had been shivering from cold and fear, had already returned to normal.
With the fear fading, Miko's true nature as an introverted high school girl began to show.
Though she didn't initiate any topics, she would respond softly to every question Miss Lin threw her way—though mostly with a brief "mm" or a nod.
On the surface, Miss Lin seemed like the type of central figure with a wide circle of friends.
But the reality was that Miss Lin was socially inept and a passive, gloomy person. After racking her brain to throw out four or five topics to avoid an awkward atmosphere, her brain was like a squeezed lemon, unable to even produce a polite pleasantry.
Feeling an inexplicable pressure under Miko's golden gaze, Miss Lin, who could only pretend to be busy by randomly clicking the register to make 'beep-beep' sounds, started blathering nonsense.
"Ahaha, Miko, you looked really pitiful at the bus stop just now, like you'd seen a ghost."
Miko's body gave a violent jolt, and a few drops of hot tea spilled from her cup.
Miss Lin noticed her pupils contract suddenly and her lips tremble uncontrollably; the girl seemed to be instantly pulled back into some terrifying memory.
'Crap, crap.' Sensing she'd hit a landmine, Miss Lin hurried to crouch down and look into Miko's eyes, imitating Manager Morikawa by gently placing her hand over Miko's hands as they held the cup.
She tilted her head up slightly, looking directly into Miko's panicked eyes—those almond eyes that usually looked a bit lazy were now filled with a firm tenderness.
"It's okay," Miss Lin said, softening her voice and unconsciously rubbing the back of Miko's hand with her thumb. "I'm here, Sister Morikawa is inside, it's very safe here."
Miko stared blankly at the face so close to hers, drawing a sliver of security from those eyes. She slowly lowered her head, her voice as light as a fallen leaf:
"Just now... I saw something I shouldn't have..."
The convenience store lights remained as bright as ever, but in Miss Lin's eyes at that moment, they seemed inexplicably pale and piercing.
The shadows of the shelves seemed to wriggle eerily in her peripheral vision. Even though she knew it was just psychological, she couldn't help but feel that those shadows were heavier than usual.
A baseless chill climbed up her spine, causing her to unconsciously stiffen her shoulders.
Ordinarily, the materialist Miss Lin would never be shaken by such words.
But right now—looking at Miko's watery golden eyes, the fear contained within was too real, causing her long-held beliefs to waver slightly.
"Ah... is that so... I see. Maybe Miko just saw it wrong," Miss Lin said dryly.
[Impossible. Miko's eyes... they give me a very special feeling.] But her inner thoughts were the exact opposite of her words.
"And you know what?" Miss Lin forced a light tone to change the subject. "In my country, it's 'not allowed to become a spirit,' you know." These words were meant for Miko, but also to convince herself.
[But ghosts and spirits are two different things...] her reason coldly retorted. Even more frightening was the realization that she was actually seriously considering the possibility.
"It's fine, Miko. In our country, we also have a saying: 'If you haven't done anything wrong, you don't need to fear a ghost knocking at your door.'" It was still a pale comfort.
[But what about this child?] She looked at Miko's lowered head; those slender shoulders were still trembling slightly.
What kind of heinous thing could a girl like this, who even spoke so softly, have done?
Miss Lin's thoughts were immersed in the conversation from just now, and for a moment, she couldn't think of any more words of comfort.
Silence spread between the two of them. The fluorescent lights of the convenience store emitted a faint electrical hum, making the silence feel even more pronounced.
While the current situation wasn't enough to completely shatter her years of materialist conviction, the doubt in her heart was like a stone thrown into water, creating ripples.
Miko also realized her words might have troubled the other person, so she hurriedly looked up and forced a smile. "Y-yes, maybe I just saw it wrong. Please don't mind it. Um... it's getting late, my mom texted me to hurry home."
With that, Miko hurriedly picked up her bag and prepared to leave, but she suddenly stopped as she turned. Her slender fingers unconsciously twirled the ends of her hair.
"Miss Lin... can we exchange contact info?" Her voice grew smaller and smaller. "Line or Ins is fine... I'm really grateful for today. Some other day... I'd like to treat you to a great dessert shop..."
This sudden invitation caught Miss Lin, who was still lost in thought, completely off guard.
"Ah! Of course!" she replied flusteredly, then blurted out: "But my phone is in the locker. How about you draw the QR code for me...?"
Realizing what a moronic thing she'd just said, Miss Lin quickly corrected herself: "No! I mean... you can write down your phone number or Line ID, and I'll add you when I get back!" The tips of her ears burned with embarrassment.
Miko pursed her lips and smiled, taking a notepad from her bag to carefully write down her contact information.
When she handed over the slip of paper, her fingertips were still trembling slightly, but her eyes were much brighter than before.
Though she had encountered something terrifying today, meeting such a kind and interesting person was perhaps a form of solace.
Watching Miko's figure gradually blend into the night, Miss Lin unconsciously gripped the slip of paper in her hand.
The convenience store glass reflected her worried expression—the sight of that slender figure walking alone into the darkness made her feel inexplicably uneasy.
Manager Morikawa's voice came from behind: "You two, do you want some oden? Where's Miko? Did she leave?"
"Ah, yes," Miss Lin turned around hurriedly. "Maybe she has a curfew at home."
She slapped her cheeks hard and put on a high-energy smile again: "But I'll eat it! Can I have Miko's portion too? I'll send her my thoughts on the oden later~"
Morikawa shook her head with a helpless smile. "Help yourself. Remember to use my ID to register it." She reached out to straighten Miss Lin's crooked collar. "You can get off work after you eat. Good work today."
After eating the food bestowed by the great Morikawa, Miss Lin stood beside her with pious gratitude, pressed her palms together in a bow, and said,
"I'm heading out then, Sister Morikawa. Good work today. And thanks for the oden, Sister Morikawa, love ya~"
Having finished her shift, Miss Lin was full of energy again. Today's income of 5,750 yen made her steps feel a bit lighter.
After boarding the train back, she couldn't wait to add Miko as a Line friend using the note she'd left.
After getting off at Roka-koen Station, Miss Lin, carrying the oden that had originally belonged to Miko, hummed a song as she walked home with a brisk pace, until she passed by a small park—
A rustling sound suddenly came from the bushes, mixed with an eerie "kon kon" sound.
The sound made Miss Lin stop with a strange look on her face.
Although the events of the day had caused a crack in the worldview Miss Lin had built over 18 years, and she felt a sliver of wariness regarding supernatural things, the situation before her still exceeded her imagination.
However, that 'kon kon' sound still made Miss Lin nearly lose her composure.
To put it this way: similar to how 'woof' represents a dog's bark and 'meow' represents a cat's meow back home, 'kon kon' is the Japanese onomatopoeia for a fox's cry.
But no dog would actually use human pronunciation to say 'woof' clearly.
And if one day a cat says the word 'meow' to you in perfect Grade 1 Level A Mandarin, then things are bad—you've encountered a fake cat.
Despite how bizarre the situation was, Miss Lin, a high-intensity internet surfer whose brain was filled with memes, couldn't help but set the oden cup on a bench behind her, cup her hands around her mouth, and shout: "Great Chu shall rise—!"
In the silent park, there was only the rustling of the night wind through the treetops. After waiting for a while without getting the expected response, a disappointed Miss Lin could only grumble inwardly, 'Uncultured Japanese fox!'
She turned to take back her oden and make a quick getaway—as for going into the bushes to investigate to the end?
Sorry, Miss Lin had no interest in imitating those horror movie characters who find creative ways to die, dragging her IQ down to the same level as those protagonists who voluntarily move into haunted houses, explore alone at midnight, or insist on touching cursed objects.
But as she turned around, Miss Lin saw a fox with fur that shimmered with a faint cherry-blossom pink sitting quietly on the bench.
Its body was no different from an ordinary fox, except its pointed ears were exceptionally long and quivered slightly in the night wind. Its smooth fur flowed with a pearl-like luster, and a fluffy tail swept lightly across the seat of the bench.
Those golden beast-like pupils shone startlingly bright under the moonlight, appearing like both a messenger of the gods and a spectral entity of the dark night. It seemed to have only one tail, but at the base of the tail, there were eight clusters of unusual long hair.
By all logic, after experiencing so many irrational things in one day, Miss Lin should have recoiled in fear and fled from everything that made her uneasy upon seeing such a bizarre fox—
If she hadn't seen the overturned oden at the fox's feet.
That was Manager Morikawa's special "Sister's Heart Oden"! Radish boiled until flavorful, soft beef tendon, springy chikuwa, and fried tofu soaked in broth—a luxury set worth over 1,000 yen!
Now, except for a lonely piece of fried tofu, all the other ingredients and the delicious broth were spilled inside the plastic bag...
Miss Lin was angry, beyond angry. Her rage suppressed her fear as she approached the pink-furred fox step by step.
The pink-furred fox seemed a bit surprised by Miss Lin's reaction. It sat up slightly, its fluffy tail swaying with interest.
Miss Lin actually saw a sense of dignity from this fox, as well as—a human-like scrutiny and expectation.
When Miss Lin was only one step away from the fox, it still maintained a composed posture, only its tail curled up slightly as if it were gathering strength in secret.
Meanwhile, Miss Lin flexed her fingers, her eyes fixed like fire on her target, acting like a seasoned boxer.
Suddenly, Miss Lin lunged forward, her left hand swinging out like a claw, the corners of her mouth curling into a confident smirk.
Facing this sudden 'attack,' the fox remained unperturbed, merely stopping the sway of its tail, the tip of which twitched slightly as if completing some kind of lock-on.
However, in the next second—
Miss Lin's hand accurately grabbed the oden remains that had spilled into the plastic bag! With movements as smooth as flowing water, she completed the grab, turn, and sprint in one go.
Leaving the pink-furred fox frozen in place like a wooden chicken, those golden eyes that usually held a hint of cunning were now filled with disbelief.
It watched Miss Lin's retreating back as she ran wildly, its ears standing up in shock and its fluffy tail frozen in mid-air, completely losing its previous elegant composure.
After a long while, the pink-furred fox slowly lay down and elegantly used its tail to pull out the fried tofu hidden behind it.
Strangely, the thick broth hadn't left a single stain on its smooth, bright fur.
It narrowed its golden vertical pupils and, with a hint of sly satisfaction, began to nibble on this piece of spoils.
As the sound of Miss Lin's footsteps faded into the distance, the fox looked up at the fleeing figure, and the corners of its mouth seemed to lift in a human-like arc.
It lowered its head to lick its paw, a flash of satisfaction in its eyes.
As for Miss Lin, who was sprinting all the way, she displayed the peak physical condition from her middle school 800-meter test.
When she reached the door of her rental room, she completed a series of actions—pulling out the keys, opening the door, slipping inside, slamming the door, locking it, and putting on the security chain—with lightning speed. The whole process was seamless, driven by a strong survival instinct.
After confirming the door was tightly locked, Miss Lin finally let out a long sigh of relief.
She poured the salvaged oden from the plastic bag into a bowl and suddenly found an inconspicuous small stone mixed in.
"Strange..." She casually picked out the stone and placed it on the table. The stone didn't have an eerie glow, nor could it speak; it looked completely ordinary.
"I'll just throw it in the bushes tomorrow..." Miss Lin muttered, too lazy to worry about whether this thing counted as burnable or non-burnable trash.
After tidying up, Miss Lin briskly unbuttoned her jeans. The slightly loose waistband slid down the curves of her full hips, revealing long, well-proportioned legs—her tall stature made the lines of her legs exceptionally beautiful, and her shapely thighs gleamed with a healthy luster under the light.
As she pulled off her hooded sweatshirt, the fabric brushed against her delicate collarbones.
The past few months of part-time work had made her waist just the right amount of slender; when she turned, one could faintly see a hint of abdominal lines.
When she removed her hair tie, her jet-black hair fell like a waterfall, the ends sweeping across the well-defined curves of her back.
Warm water washed over her smooth skin, and rising steam began to cloud the frosted glass.
In the hazy mist, only the sound of rushing water and Miss Lin's weary sigh could be heard.