Chapter 107: The Earthquake

At the entrance of the Serizawa residence, An and Kurozuki Fusako tidied their disheveled clothes before knocking on the door.

After a moment, footsteps sounded from inside.

With a soft click, the door opened.

Both An and Kurozuki Fusako were momentarily stunned at the sight of the person who answered.

Her once fair and smooth face was now covered with various doodles, and a red circle was drawn near her lips with a water-based pen.

If it weren’t for her distinctive golden hair and dark green eyes, An could hardly believe this was Saori Amemiya.

“Pfft~”

Kurozuki Fusako was the first to burst into laughter, but noticing the puzzled look Saori gave her, she quickly covered her mouth, though her body still trembled lightly with suppressed laughter.

An, on the other hand, had no qualms; he reached out and poked the doodles on Saori’s face, teasing with a smile:

“Saori, did you offend your sister?”

He assumed it was Saori’s sister, Sayu Amemiya, who had drawn on her, as she had done the same during their last gathering.

But to An’s surprise, Saori shook her head firmly.

“No, not at all. My sister treats me very well.”

As she spoke, she reached up to touch her cheek.

After a moment, Saori realized what the others were laughing about, and a blush rose on her small face as she explained:

“These were all drawn by Senior Reina Serizawa…”

“Serizawa Reina?”

An was taken aback.

If he remembered correctly, Reina had no grudge against Saori, so why would she be so harsh?

Sensing An’s confusion, Saori shyly tucked some hair behind her ear, tapped her toe on the floor, hesitated for a while, and then spoke:

“I thought she was younger than me, so at first, I always spoke to her like she was my senior…”

“Oh~”

An suddenly understood and glanced meaningfully at Saori’s chest with a mischievous smile.

Indeed, if one compared, Saori appeared more mature than Reina in both height and development.

Yet, Reina was a whole year older.

“Looks like Reina needs some extra lessons; otherwise, when Yui grows taller than her, she might get self-conscious.”

Thinking this, An looked at Saori again.

“Hmm... that’s something to work on too.”

Noticing An’s gaze, Saori suddenly sensed a strong sense of mischief in his eyes.

“Phew, must be my imagination. How could An-kun harm me?”

Shaking her head, Saori told herself not to overthink it, then turned aside and closed the door again after the two outside entered.

After changing shoes in the entryway, the three of them returned to the living room together.

Reina Serizawa was still sitting in front of the TV playing a game, with Yui Serizawa beside her. Judging by Yui’s reluctant expression, she was clearly coerced into playing.

No sooner had An arrived than Yui, seeing him as her savior, waved her hand eagerly, shaking the game controller and whispering:

“Saori-nee, hurry up, it’s your turn.”

Hearing this, Saori’s mouth twitched in hesitation but eventually walked over and took the controller.

“Saved!”

Yui whispered with joy, leaving the cushion without a backward glance, and came over to An.

Curious at her behavior, An asked:

“Yui, don’t you like playing games?”

Yui nodded naturally.

“I do, but…”

She glanced at her sister and then at Saori, stuck out her tongue playfully, and said:

“But I don’t like playing with my sister because I can never win.”

“I see.”

An nodded knowingly.

As they talked, the game ended.

Without a doubt, Reina Serizawa had won decisively, while Saori gave up struggling, staring at the ceiling with dazed eyes, silently awaiting her punishment.

Now An finally understood where the doodles on Saori’s face had come from.

Chuckling, he withdrew his gaze and glanced around the living room. Seeing that Sayu Amemiya was nowhere to be found, he asked curiously:

“Where are Sayu and Sakuri?”

“They?”

Yui pointed toward the bedroom and explained:

“Sayu was lying on the sofa for a while at first. She looked very tired, so I told her to rest in the bedroom. Sakuri went with her; she seems to like Sayu a lot.”

Hearing this, An checked his phone and saw it was already ten o’clock at night.

He said:

“It’s already ten. We should head back. I’ll go wake them up.”

As An turned to head toward the bedroom, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

[A once-in-a-century earthquake? Doesn’t matter—it won’t reach here. In fact, this might be your chance. After the quake, the Serizawa sisters will be reluctant to let you leave. In the dark, if you do something, who will know?]

“Earthquake?!”

The voice startled An. Without hesitation, he stepped forward, scooped up Saori Amemiya and Reina Serizawa as if they were chicks, and quickly stuffed them under the dining table.

Having done this, he dashed toward the bedroom without looking back, shouting to Yui Serizawa and Kurozuki Fusako, who were still stunned:

“Hide quickly! There’s an earthquake!”

“Huh?”

Two puzzled female voices sounded simultaneously.

Kurozuki Fusako and Yui exchanged confused looks as they watched An disappear.

Before they could process his words, a loud rumble shook the world, and the chandelier overhead swayed violently.

Caught off guard, both stumbled, but Fusako reacted quickly, grabbing the nearby sofa and pulling Yui, who was about to fall.

Inside the bedroom,

An immediately threw himself onto the bed, grabbed the still half-asleep Sayu Amemiya and Kurozuki Sakuri in his arms, rolling under the bed.

The tremors continued.

Objects fell to the floor with crashing sounds.

But it didn’t last long.

With a sharp “click,” the lights went out, plunging the room into darkness as the shaking finally ceased.

Silence enveloped the space, broken only by rapid, uneven breathing.

After a long moment, Sayu’s trembling voice broke the quiet:

“An… are you okay?”

Her small hand rubbed anxiously over him, as if checking for injuries.

“I’m fine,” An said softly, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

Feeling the warmth of his palm, Sayu sighed with relief.

But soon, her face changed. Trying to sit up, she bumped her head on the bed frame with a dull thud.

“What’s wrong?”

An asked anxiously.

Sayu gritted her teeth, ignoring the pain, and reminded him:

“Saori, Saori and the others are still outside.”

An breathed easier and reassured her:

“Don’t worry. They should be fine.”

He raised his voice and shouted outside:

“Saori, Fusako, Reina, Yui, are you okay?”

The first reply came from Saori, still in a daze, curled up under the table with Reina.

Then came Yui and Fusako’s voices, who were also unharmed.

Relieved to hear everyone was safe, An relaxed.

He shook his right arm, still holding a small figure—Kurozuki Sakuri.

Despite the chaos, she remained asleep, even nudging her head into An’s arm.

If not for the gentle rise and fall he could feel under his hand and the soft breaths near his ear, he might have thought she had passed out.

After waiting a while longer under the bed to ensure no aftershocks, An helped Sayu and Sakuri out.

The room was pitch black.

An took out his phone, using its blue light to survey the area.

Apart from scattered objects and slightly shifted furniture, the house was intact.

“That was an earthquake?”

Sayu clung to An’s arm, shaken.

Seeing her nervousness, An gently kissed her forehead and comforted:

“It’s over now. Everything’s fine.”

He held Sayu’s hand with one arm and carried the still sleeping Sakuri with the other as they left the bedroom.

The living room was also dark, but soon movement could be heard.

“An-kun?”

Fusako helped Yui to her feet; earlier, unable to dodge, they had crouched together in a corner.

“It’s me,” An said, shining his phone over them to confirm no injuries.

He then looked under the table and asked:

“Reina, Saori, are you both okay?”

“We’re fine!”

Just then, a muffled thud sounded as two figures staggered out from under the table.

One held her head, her voice trembling with tears.

“Ugh, now there’s trouble.”

“You idiot!”

Sayu recognized the voice despite her embarrassment and hurried over, crouching beside her sister, gently touching the spot she was clutching.

“Does it hurt?”

“Yeah…”

Tears welled in Saori’s eyes.

An and the others gathered around, shining their phones on the sore spot.

No visible change.

But a small bump was clearly visible on Sayu’s forehead, caught by the corner of their eyes.

Seeing everyone looking at her, Sayu instinctively touched the bump, wincing sharply at the pain.

“Pfft…”

Saori, who had been crying, suddenly laughed at her sister’s comical expression.

Still standing, she blew on the bump playfully.

“So you say I’m the idiot, but it turns out you’re the fool, too.”

“Idiot!”

An tapped Saori on the head lightly and said:

“Your sister got hurt because she was worried about you.”

“Eh?”

Saori scrunched her neck, stuck out her tongue mischievously, then threw her arms around Sayu’s neck, pressing her cheek against hers with a bright smile:

“I knew my sister loves me best.”

“Alright, alright,” Sayu pushed her sister away with a look of annoyance, then protectively held her head and slowly stood.

Seeing everyone unharmed, An clapped his hands and asked Yui:

“Do you have any flashlights at home?”

“No,” Yui shook her head, then suddenly brightened, excited:

“But we have candles left over from my sister’s last birthday.”

An nodded.

“Good. Bring them all out.”

“Okay!”

Yui hurried off to the master bedroom and returned with more than ten candles.

Lighting them one by one, the room brightened again.

Furniture had shifted slightly due to the quake, and small items lay scattered.

Everyone began tidying up, but soon An’s phone rang abruptly.

Seeing it was his cheap old man, An answered immediately.

Before he could speak, a deep male voice came through, breathless and anxious:

“Are you in Tokyo now?”

An smiled faintly, glanced at the busy women around him, and replied:

“Yes, but I’m fine. No need to worry.”

“Good…”

The man sighed in relief, then his tone returned to normal.

“If you’re okay, I’ll hang up. The earthquake affected more than Tokyo, and I have a lot to handle here.”

“Alright,” An nodded.

Just as he was about to put away the phone, another call came in.

The caller ID read “Milk Kei.”

An’s lips curled into a slight smile.

Though she often said she disliked him, moments like these showed a warm side.

Thinking so, An answered, exchanged pleasantries, and ended the call.

Then a stranger’s number rang.

Curious but cautious, An answered.

To his surprise, it was Keiko Kitajima.

He didn’t know where she got his number, but since she called to check on him, he was grateful.

“Come to think of it, since the school trip, this is the first time Keiko has reached out to me.”

An shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it.

He looked around.

Everyone else had also received calls from friends or family.

Only Sayu was quietly tidying the scattered items on the floor by herself.

Seeing this, An took out his phone and dialed a number.

At the same time, Sayu’s phone rang.

Returning a cup to the counter, Sayu instinctively pulled out her phone and froze when she saw it was An calling.

She looked up at him in confusion.

Noticing her hesitation, An shook his phone, signaling her to answer.

Though puzzled, Sayu complied.

An’s voice came through the line:

“Sayu-chan, are you okay? Were you scared by the earthquake?”

(End of chapter)