Kenneth’s (Shun’s) POV
「Tokyo, Japan, 2020」
Under the glow of the street lights, the thousands of rain droplets that fell from the heavens glittered like broken diamonds.
The neon sign of the konbini1Convenience stores in Japan, such as Family Mart, 7-11, and Lawsonsseemingly beckoned to Kenneth as he walked down the slippery pavement. He hesitated—he had already made a promise to himself not to fall back into his alcohol addiction—then with a sigh, he folded his umbrella before making his way inside the store.
“Irasshaimase!” the clerk yelled from behind her counter. She had dark straight hair just a bit past her ears and stylized bangs, and even though she wore a facial mask, he could tell that she was most likely a high school or university student working the graveyard shift.
Kenneth gave her a polite nod before making his way straight to the cold drinks. Just one drink, he told himself as he picked up a can of beer and dragged his feet to the counter. The clerk scanned the can with a forced smile on her face.
“Nihyaku yon-jū yen.”
“Hai...” He paid for the beer in exact change.
The girl bowed and muttered “arigatou gozaimasu”, to which he didn’t reply. He stepped out of the konbini, cracked open the can, and drank it fast. The last train was due to arrive in five minutes, and he certainly didn’t have enough cash on him to pay for a taxi ride home. Tossing the empty can into the bin next to the entrance, he opened his umbrella and set off for the subway entrance in a hurry.
***
“Please wear a mask and maintain social distancing at all times, thank you,” the English announcer spoke cheerfully over the speakers. “This train is bound for, Wakoshi. This train will be stopping at every station until Ikebukuro.”
Kenneth sat on the heated cushioned bench and heaved a sigh of relief, watching his glasses fogging up with every breath he exhaled. His umbrella, soaking wet from the downpour, dripped trails of water droplets onto the carriage floor. Normally he would have wrapped it in a disposable plastic bag, but there were no other passengers in the carriage, so he decided to just let it be.
A short melodious chime rang while the doors slid back to their closed positions. With a sigh that seemed to mimic his own, the train jerked forward and slowly pulled out of the station.
“The next stop is Yurakucho, Y-18. Please change here for the Hibiya Line, the Chiyoda Line, the Mita Line…”
From the day of work, the alcohol and the stress of worrying about catching the train, he was having trouble fighting off his drowsiness. But before he could surrender himself to sleep, his phone suddenly began to vibrate in his pocket. Muttering a curse, he dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone, praying that it wasn’t from his superior who was calling him to return to the office for something menial.
Incoming video call — Wei Rong (SG)
“...why would he be calling me?” Kenneth glanced around at the empty carriage—making sure that there was nobody around once more—before plugging in his earphones and accepting the call. A buffering circle appeared for a few moments before the call connected to his old friend.
“Hello? Yo, are you free to talk?” Wei Rong’s deep voice resounded in his ears. He hadn’t changed much since they last saw each other, Kenneth thought with a smile.
He held the microphone of his earphones against his mask. “You started a video call with me, yet you turned off your camera?”
“Oh, my bad, my bad.” The black screen was replaced with an unglamorous front view of Wei Rong’s face, which was half-covered with a similar-looking mask. “I’m on the bus right now, so I can’t speak too loudly. How’s life so far, bro?”
“I just finished work, on board the last train home now.” Kenneth paused as an announcement came through the speakers again. “What about you? Where are you going?”
“If I remember correctly, Japan is one hour ahead of Singapore, right?” Wei Rong laughed through his mask. “I’m with Celeste now. We’re both heading to Sentosa for that late-night class reunion I texted you about, remember?”
“Class reunion?” he murmured in surprise. “There’s one today?”
“Bro, you didn’t check your WhatsApp?”
“You should have used Line instead. I’m in Japan, you know?” He paused and asked, “where’s Celeste? Is she beside you?”
“She’s dozing off next to me, see?” Wei Rong turned his phone to the side and showed him the peacefully sleeping girl, who was resting her head against the bus window. “It’s been a long day at work for her.”
“Huh…” Kenneth smiled slightly. “Well, she has always been sleeping a lot since high school, looks like nothing has changed since then.”
A burst of muted laughter came from the other side. “Is that a good thing? As her boyfriend, I find it very troublesome instead…please don’t tell Celeste that, I’m telling you first.”
“If you play a match of CS:*O with me later, I will consider it.”
“Eh, don’t like that lah…” Wei Rong scratched his head and leaned back against his seat. “It’s been hard for me to come online nowadays, you know?”
Kenneth scoffed. “There’s a pandemic going on, what are you busy with?”
“Trying to get a roof over our heads, I suppose?” He sighed. “It’s super awkward for me to live with her parents leh.”
“Pfft, you’re seriously living with her parents?”
“That’s why I’ve been telling Celeste that we can consider renting an apartment first…” Wei Rong shook his head and changed the topic. “Are you doing well in Tokyo? Any luck with Japanese girls?”
“Any luck, huh…well, not really, to be honest.” Kenneth shrugged his shoulders. “There’s really not too many opportunities to socialize so far this year, you should already know that.”
“Sounds rough, bro. Really hope that this pandemic will be over soon,” Wei Rong muttered. “Hey, Kenneth…”
“Yes?”
“You know, sometimes…I still think that Celeste still has feelings for you,” he whispered. “I might sound rude for saying this now, but...frankly, you should have never migrated to Japan.”
Kenneth fell silent.
“The next stop is Nagatacho, Y-16. Please change here for the Hanzomon Line, the Namboku Line, the Ginza Line…”
“It’s a decision I made myself then,” he finally said quietly. “Staying in Singapore…I just couldn’t foresee myself doing that any longer.”
“...well, I can get what you mean.” The chime of a bell rang in the background. “I’m reaching soon, so I have to hang up now. I’ll send you some pics of the class reunion later!”
“Have fun, you two.” Kenneth ended the call and switched off his phone. The train carriage was still empty despite having stopped at two more stations, which gave him a strange feeling of unease—as if he was the only person in the world right there and then. He glanced at the windows opposite and caught his tired and drunken self reflected in the glass.
“That day, if I hadn’t listened to them and confessed to you anyway...” he murmured to no one in particular as he slipped into an exhausted sleep.
“...would things have changed?”
