Chapter Text
A bad smell started to spread throughout his apartment. For the past few days, the neighbor's cat had been bringing home carcasses and leaving them right in front of Sasuke's door. The owner had already been scolded about it, but Sasuke had to exert extra effort to clean up the smell and remnants that just wouldn't go away. Looking at the air freshener spray that now lay in the trash, Sasuke could only sigh in resignation.
He rummaged through his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and opened it. His heart sank when he saw that he only had enough money left to buy ingredients for cooking for the next week. This month's allowance was running very thin. Sasuke had to be frugal again, so he couldn't buy air freshener to fix this mess.
With a heavy step, he entered his apartment and headed to the closet. He took out his perfume and sprayed it in the corners of the room, hoping to eliminate the remaining smell of the carcass. After cleaning up the remnants and taking a shower, Sasuke got ready to head out to the minimarket.
He had mistakenly thought that the food ingredients from last week would last until tonight, but it turned out that when he checked the fridge and wanted to make dinner, there were no ingredients left except for a bunch of wilted cabbage. Finally, he decided to go to the minimarket to buy groceries so he could get to his night shift sooner. Usually, the bar would be crowded on Saturday nights, so he needed to arrive early.
Just as he was about to lock the door, the sound of heavy rain pouring down suddenly made Sasuke pause. He looked up at the sky, and the clouds that he had seen in the south had moved to the north. No wonder the rain was heavier than yesterday. Not wanting to waste time complaining, Sasuke quickly went back inside to grab his umbrella. He rolled up his pant legs and checked his pockets to make sure he had his phone and wallet.
The minimarket he was heading to was one he had only visited for the past two days. Usually, Sasuke chose the minimarket near school because he didn't want the hassle of going to a place that was further away. But unfortunately, the prices of the goods there were more expensive than other minimarkets. Even though the price difference wasn't significant, when multiplied by the number of items he bought, it would still be noticeable in his wallet.
When he arrived, Sasuke put his umbrella outside and lowered his rolled-up pant legs. He quickly grabbed a cart and put in the items he needed. Most of them were tofu, tempeh, and tomatoes. For vegetables, he would only buy long beans and carrots. Cabbage wouldn't last long in the fridge, so it wouldn't be on his shopping list.
When paying at the cashier, Sasuke felt relieved when he realized his money was enough for the groceries. Initially, he wanted to buy spices, but after calculating the total cost, his money was just enough. He would have to settle for salty food for two days and bland food for the next five days.
"Thank you. Have a good day~"
Sasuke didn't respond to the cashier's greeting and quickly left. The rain had started to subside, but the clouds hadn't disappeared. In fact, they were getting darker. He didnt want to get caught in heavier rain, so he hurried up.
When he came out of the minimarket, Sasuke looked for his umbrella. When he realized he had forgotten to close it, Sasuke almost cursed because he couldn't see his umbrella anywhere. It must have been blown away by the wind or taken by someone. Such incidents had happened many times before. But somehow, Sasuke had foolishly forgotten about this important detail.
"Excuse me, Sir? Is this your umbrella?"
Sasuke furrowed his brows in annoyance.
"Give it back."
The girl with pink hair looked uncomfortable. "I'm sorry. I found it near that tree over there. It looks like it came from this minimarket." She glanced at the many closed umbrellas leaning against the wall of the minimarket. She guessed correctly.
Hearing her explanation, Sasuke immediately felt bad and guilty. But his ego overpowered that feeling. He quickly, and somewhat roughly, took his umbrella back from the girl's hand.
"Next time, close it properly—"
"I know."
Sasuke opened his umbrella and glanced at the girl before quickly walking away into the rain.
"Wait!"
Sasuke stopped and took a deep breath, holding back his anger.
"Wait a minute!"
He turned around irritated. "What else?"
"Here, your groceries fell."
Sasuke immediately threw his gaze to the pink-haired girl's hand, who had braved the rain and now stood right in front of him. Slightly surprised because she had reached him so quickly. Judging from her appearance, it seemed that his umbrella had indeed been blown away by the wind. The girl was now wearing a yellow raincoat and worn-out boots on her slender legs. From her appearance alone, it was clear that she didn't need an umbrella anymore.
"Your paper bag is too small. I have a bigger bag. Do you want to—"
Before the girl could finish her sentence, Sasuke quickly grabbed three tomatoes from her small hand and forcibly put them into his shopping bag. However, his effort ended in pain. The excessive force he used caused the paper bag to tear, and some of his groceries spilled out onto the sidewalk.
Sasuke held his breath with great effort, suppressing his urge to curse. Today was just a bad day.
Standing still, Sasuke watched as the girl quickly picked up his fallen groceries. She put them into a waterproof bag that she pulled out from her own shopping bag.
"Don't be stubborn! I told you to use a bigger bag!"
The girl said with annoyance. Her pink eyebrows furrowed in a cute way. Her large eyes, which were brighter than emerald, threw a protesting glance at Sasuke. Her hands moved quickly, but her mouth was busy chattering.
She was so cute.
Sasuke blinked, not believing his own thoughts. He quickly took his groceries from the girl, thanked her, and turned around to leave.
Before turning into the alley, Sasuke looked back at the pink-haired girl. His lips curled into a slight smile without him realizing it, as he saw her struggling to ride her bike. But the smile instantly disappeared when the girl fell hard onto the asphalt. His feet almost turned around to run towards her. However, after taking two steps, his lips curled into a slight smile again when the pink-haired girl stood up on her own without complaining. She quickly got back on her bike.
Sasuke didn't know what was wrong with his brain, but he only walked home when the girl was no longer in sight.