A Rainy Awakening and a Shocking Revelation

Ebisu Luxury Apartments, Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.

When Genji awoke, he happened to catch a glimpse of the rainy hues through a gap in the floor-to-ceiling curtains.

Outside, a dense layer of dark clouds obscured the sky, making it impossible to tell if it was dawn or deep night.

It was the first day of his university term, and having arrived a month early from rural Akita, he had spent the entirety of March immersed in the hustle of enrollment procedures, orientation sessions, and course selections within this bustling metropolis.

‘But then again, where exactly am I?’

Stretching languidly from beneath the covers, his expression instantly froze.

This was decidedly not his cramped, pigeon-coop-like single apartment with its yellowing wallpaper.

The lingering effects of a hangover slowed Genji’s thoughts, leaving him to survey the room purely with his eyes.

A uniquely designed chandelier on the ceiling cast a soft, ambient glow.

Minimalist decorative paintings adorned the pristine white walls, while a bookshelf on one side meticulously displayed works on game design alongside literary classics, and delicate figurines occupied a corner.

This was a high-end apartment, brimming with sophisticated design.

It was certainly not the kind of place a university student like him, freshly arrived from Akita’s countryside, could ever afford.

A sense of foreboding began to creep into his heart.

Holding his breath, Genji slowly sat up, his gaze cautiously shifting to his left.

Beneath the covers, a distinct human form was clearly discernible.

‘A man?! Or a woman?!’

A delicate face lay peacefully in slumber, soft, tousled strands of hair fanned across the pristine white pillow, and the corners of their lips curved upward slightly, as if they were caught in a sweet dream.

In sleep, their full cheeks were faintly flushed, and their crimson lips were captivating, impossible to look away from.

‘A woman!’

Genji clenched his fist in silent celebration, his eyes brimming with the joy of a narrow escape.

‘At least it wasn’t a man! I haven’t been turned!’

‘And such a beautiful woman at that!—’

‘Wait a moment, I’ve heard there are many men who dress quite attractively these days. Considering my innocence and virtue, perhaps I should verify, just in case…’

Genji’s breathing quickened slightly, but after only a moment’s hesitation, he stretched out a trembling hand towards the sleeping woman.

Just then, his peripheral vision caught sight of the alarm clock directly facing him on the bedside table.

April 1st, Monday, 7:23.

‘Damn it!’ Genji cursed silently to himself.

‘I’m going to be late!’

His new life, for which he had worked so hard to gain admission to the Faculty of Literature at a public university in Tokyo, absolutely could not begin with him being late on the very first day!

Memories of last night’s heavy drinking finally began to surface.

The elegantly appointed izakaya, the woman in a black suit who gracefully sat beside him, their conversation, then the shared glance in the elevator, the click of a door opening…

‘Was I ‘picked up’? My decade-plus of purity just vanished like that?’

‘But she’s so beautiful… never mind…’

‘Who truly cares about a man’s innocence anyway—’

Genji tiptoed out of bed, picking up his clothes from the floor, his gaze falling upon small garments that clearly didn’t belong to him, scattered untidily across the floor.

‘What exactly happened last night? My back aches terribly.’

His own clothes still carried the scent of alcohol mingled with a strange perfume.

Once dressed, Genji stood before the full-length mirror, hand on his aching lower back, examining himself.

‘Aside from the back pain… I feel perfectly fine.’

Throughout, he tried his utmost to make no sound, for the woman in the bed was in a deep sleep, occasionally turning over without any sign of waking.

Genji dared not wake her, not out of fear of anything else, but simply the sheer awkwardness.

He had never even had a girlfriend, and now his first time was gone so inexplicably; waking up to a stranger’s face, he truly wouldn’t know what to say.

‘Should I apologize, or ask, “Hello, excuse me, about last night…?”‘

He shook his head, casting these ridiculous thoughts from his mind.

Before leaving, Genji hesitated for a moment at the room’s doorway, then returned to the desk, found a notepad, and succinctly penned a few lines.

“I apologize for not being able to wait for you to wake up. Today is the first day of my university term, so I had to leave first.

I am truly sorry about what happened last night, and I am very willing to take responsibility for it.

Contact if needed: 080-8521-xxxx

LINE: Genji_030*.

—Genji”

Placing the note on the bedside table, he cast a final, somewhat wistful glance at the woman before quietly slipping out of the room.

‘She’s really beautiful; I guess I lucked out big time.’

Stepping out of the apartment building, Genji was astonished to find himself in a bustling area of Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward, a district he knew from online research had apartment rents equivalent to half a year of his living expenses.

‘For a woman like that, a fleeting encounter was already a stroke of luck; I certainly lack the means or the looks to keep someone like her.’

The regret in his heart threatened to overwhelm him, but he had no time to dwell on such sentiments.

Locating the nearest train station, Genji hurried there, a mixture of walking and running.

Checking the map, he saw it was quite a distance from his university, requiring a transfer and then a walk, leaving him precious little time.

Squeezing onto a rush-hour train proved to be an utterly excruciating experience.

Beneath the damp, rainy sky, people were packed shoulder to shoulder.

‘The crowd was like garbage.’

The rain continued to patter outside the window, its slanting threads falling across the gray sky, tracing winding rivulets on the train glass.

The crowd surged like a tide, and he was swept forward by the human current.

He didn’t even need to move himself, feeling like a piece of duckweed adrift on the currents.

By the time he reached the university, class was due to start in ten minutes.

Left with no choice, Genji broke into a desperate sprint.

On the very first day of term, a student was seen running to class without an umbrella, drawing surprised glances from passing teachers and fellow students alike.

The early cherry blossoms on campus bloomed exquisitely, releasing a delicate fragrance into the fresh morning rain.

Genji hastened through the campus, his wet soles making soft ‘splish-splash’ sounds on the stone path.

As he ran, his oxygen-deprived mind replayed fragmented memories of yesterday, particularly the faint, elusive smile on her lips.

He shook his head, trying to banish those distracting thoughts.

“Excuse me, I’m late.”

The moment he pushed open the classroom door, the breathless Genji’s steps faltered.

All the students in the classroom turned to look towards the door.

Standing at the podium was a woman.

She wore a simple black suit, black stockings accentuating her shapely, slender calves, while her voluminous, flowing hair framed a delicate face. A pair of thin-framed glasses rested on her nose, and a few stray strands falling by her ears made her profile appear even more petite and charming.

In her hand, she held a thick attendance roster, and her gaze was also directed towards him.

Genji’s heart gave a violent lurch.

That face was one he knew all too well.

It had quietly slept beside his pillow just last night, and had only moments ago been floating in his mind.

Yet now, she stood at the podium, her expression serene, her gaze focused, as if everything from last night had never happened.

‘No way…’

Genji’s throat went dry, and he instinctively took a step back.

The woman’s eyes flickered with a hint of surprise, then a knowing smile played on her lips.

“Young man, are you here for class?” Her soft, yet detached voice jolted Genji from his shock.

Genji stood frozen, his mind a complete blank.

“I… I am…” he stammered, realizing he had no idea what to say.

The woman’s alluring lips curved upward, exactly as he remembered them.

She closed the book in her hand, gently pushed up the glasses on her nose, and spoke with a light tone, “Then please come in. We are about to begin.”

“By the way, I am your Literary Theory professor, Sato Chinatsu.”

Genji’s mind buzzed, as if something had just exploded within it.

‘A professor?!’

‘The woman who spent the night with him was actually his professor?!’

His legs turned to jelly, and he nearly lost his footing.

“Uh… I… I might have come to the wrong classroom…” Genji let out a dry laugh, turning to flee.

“Genji-kun, isn’t it?”

Sato Chinatsu’s voice came from behind him, laced with a hint of amusement, “Your name is on the attendance roster. You haven’t made a mistake.”

Genji’s steps froze.

He slowly turned around, meeting Sato Chinatsu’s eyes that seemed to be smiling without truly smiling, and a single thought consumed his mind—

‘It’s over. This is truly over.’