Chapter Twenty-One: Jiaye, You’re Too Greedy!

Utaga Ye bought some band-aids and clean water. After briefly cleaning the crying Jiaye’s wound, he carefully applied a band-aid to her knee.

Normally, the pain from touching a wound would provoke various reactions from a girl—like a sharp intake of breath or a pained groan.

But Jiaye showed none of that. From start to finish, she remained quiet. Even when Utaga Ye initially placed the band-aid incorrectly and had to peel it off and reapply it, she didn’t make a sound.

Her fingers gripped tightly at her worn denim jeans, as if that helped ease her tension.

From this unconscious gesture, it was clear Jiaye had long been accustomed to silently enduring and processing things on her own.

“Speak up if it hurts. If you don’t say anything, no one will know how you feel.”

Amid the anxious rustling of denim, Jiaye lowered her head and murmured a barely audible response.

“Mm...”

With the wound tended to, Utaga Ye glanced at the fruits of her labor.

A whole recycling bag was filled with crushed cans, heavy in his hand. It was obvious Jiaye had spent a considerable amount of time collecting them.

“Why do you go out scavenging?”

Facing Utaga Ye’s question, Jiaye bit her lip hard, her fingers twisting nervously into a tight ball.

After a long pause, she timidly spoke.

“Because... eating in the cafeteria costs money...”

Utaga Ye was taken aback.

“What about your parents? Don’t they give you money?”

Jiaye shook her head.

“They... used to give me some tuition money in high school, but since university, they’ve stopped caring about me...”

“And your tuition?”

“I... I applied for financial aid...”

Listening carefully, Utaga Ye noticed her ill-fitting denim—her wrists and ankles were exposed, revealing clothes far too old for her age.

Clearly, Jiaye’s withdrawn nature and current situation were closely tied to her troubled family environment and parental neglect.

Utaga Ye sighed, picking up the recycling bag from the ground.

“What about part-time jobs? Have you tried?”

As he asked, Jiaye reached out several times to take the bag from Utaga Ye, but after several refusals and even a threat that he’d throw the things away if she insisted, she reluctantly gave up.

“No... no one wants to hire me...”

Utaga Ye paused, considering the few short-term jobs available on the island. For someone as quiet and reserved as Jiaye, fitting into those roles—cashier, tutor, waiter, flyer distributor—all of which require frequent interaction, was extremely difficult.

Sighing again, Utaga Ye said, “Where do you live? I’ll walk you home.”

Jiaye was startled at first, then alarmed.

“N-no need, Utaga-kun. I can go back by myself.”

“It’s late at night, and you’re a girl walking alone. How can I be at ease? No arguments—lead the way.”

Seeing Utaga Ye determined to accompany her, Jiaye felt a warmth rise in her chest.

As they walked side by side, she imagined a future where they worked together, with her working late and Utaga Ye picking her up after her shift.

Lost in the thought, a small smile appeared on her lips.

“Jiaye, Jiaye?”

“Hi, I’m here!”

Snapping back to reality, Utaga Ye smiled wryly.

“So, which way’s your house?”

“Just ahead.”

Ahead? Jiaye’s street was right by Utaga Ye’s own home? Yet he’d never seen her before.

Puzzled, they continued forward.

When they reached Utaga Ye’s doorstep, just as he was about to ask where she was heading next, Jiaye spoke quietly.

“I’ve... arrived...”

Hmm... I know you’ve been following me, but girl, this is my house, not yours...

She raised her hand and pointed to the small detached house across the street.

Glancing between her home and his own, Utaga Ye fell silent.

Well, from trailing behind her to walking alongside her—that was progress.

“So this is where you live...”

“Y-yeah... I didn’t mean to keep it from you, Utaga-kun...!”

Seeing Utaga Ye’s complex expression, Jiaye anxiously tried to explain.

Utaga Ye glanced at the trash bin by the roadside where they first met.

“That day when it rained, why were you sitting by the trash bin?”

Hearing the question, Jiaye blinked and spoke with an outsider’s detachment.

“My father and mother fought. Father got drunk and, annoyed by me, kicked me out of the house.”

Utaga Ye’s body stiffened slightly. From her tone, it was clear this wasn’t the first time she’d faced such treatment.

“Does your father have a serious drinking problem?”

“He didn’t used to drink much, but ever since mother started seeing someone else, father began drinking heavily.”

“...”

Utaga Ye looked at Jiaye, whose expression was calm to the point of numbness. After a moment, he reached out and gently touched her head.

“If they kick you out again... just come to my place.”

Feeling his hand atop her head and hearing his soft voice, Jiaye couldn’t help but press her lips together, overcome by a shy, joyous smile, and nodded.

“Hey...”

Watching Jiaye glance back repeatedly as she walked toward her home, Utaga Ye’s mind drifted to the scene when her parents first moved in.

A violent father and a flashy mother who clearly had no intention of leading a responsible life.

With parents like those, coupled with the island’s harsh class system, it was no wonder Jiaye’s mental health struggled to remain normal.

Returning to their respective homes, Jiaye quietly placed the day’s collected recyclables in a corner, careful not to make a sound that might wake her father and send her out again.

Though Utaga Ye had said she could come to him if needed...

If her mother saw her at Utaga’s house, and if they quarreled, causing trouble for him, that would be bad...

Recalling the bright confidence and inexplicable charm her mother exuded at school,

Jiaye knelt beside the tatami mat, gazing at the clothes she had just put away—clothes from her middle school days.

Compared to her mother, Jiaye felt like an ugly duckling...

Remembering the scene at school where her mother walked openly with Utaga Ye.

How wonderful it would be to stand by Utaga’s side as openly as her mother did...

Thinking this, Jiaye suddenly shook her head firmly.

Jiaye, you’re being too greedy!

As long as... as long as Utaga-kun doesn’t dislike me, I’ll be content just quietly standing behind him...

So, dear God,

Please, don’t let Utaga-kun hate me...