The Door Next to Mine

Chapter 2: Hotpot (1)

Noise from the outside woke Misaki from her sleep. She rubbed her eyes while letting out a grunt, annoyed that the noise had just interrupted her sleep. Taking the digital clock on the bedside table, Misaki set the alarm off since it'd be impossible to continue her slumber in such a noisy environment.

Misaki did her weekend routine earlier than usual. She washed her face, had breakfast, then cleaned her apartment unit. It was around eight when she finished cleaning her apartment. She also took a refreshing shower to get rid of her sweat off even though the temperature was chilly. After changing her clothes, Misaki sat on the sofa with a towel tucked on her neck and turned the television on.

All the morning shows were the same. The programs were always about weather forecast, showbiz, and delicious local delicacies. Misaki loved to watch the third, and today's show happened to introduce grilled oysters, one of her favorite foods. Intrigued by the mouthwatering looks of those being grilled, Misaki's body leaned forward to get a closer look. Her eyes were fixated to the television screen...

"BANG!"

Misaki jumped out upon hearing the loud sound from outside. Curious with what happened outside, Misaki decided to check it out. Two men in uniforms are in her sight as she opened the front door. One of them quickly realize that they were disturbing the apartment tenant.

"Good morning. We apologize for the inconvenience since this early morning. We're currently renovating room 504. We'll try our best to reduce the noise," He explained while bowing to Misaki.

"... It's all right," Misaki responded, unable to find a reason for being angry after getting the explanation.

The previous tenant of room 504 had left around a month ago. Misaki often exchange greetings with him when he lived there. She knew nothing of him though, except that he brought different women with him every night. Also, she couldn't forget how the owner of the unit went furious during the last-day inspection, since that tenant left the apartment in terrible shape.

The door next to Misaki swung open. A woman in a messy hair and sleepy face appeared from that door. The man in front of Misaki immediately turned to the woman and bowed.

"Good morning. We apologize for the inconvenience--"

"Yeah, yeah. I know," She cut the man's words.

"... Please excuse me, then," The man in the uniform said, then returned to his work.

Misaki stared at her neighbor, Katagiri. The latter was wearing a plain black long sleeved T-shirt with a jogger pants. Her messy hair indicates that she had just woken up. Their eyes met as Katagiri glanced at Misaki.

"G-good morning," Misaki greeted her neighbor awkwardly.

"Good morning," Katagiri greeted back.

Misaki saw Katagiri's left hand holding a plastic bag that looks like a trash bag.

So she came out not for the noise…

"Your towel," Katagiri said, pointing her finger at Misaki.

"W-what?!" Misaki bemused, reaching for the towel on her neck. Her face was reddened in embarrassment. Seeing Misaki's face, Katagiri let out a giggle. Geez, that made Misaki more embarrassed than before.

"See you around, Shimizu-san," Katagiri excused herself, then walked towards the emergency staircase.

Misaki couldn't stop staring at her neighbor's back, even though the latter gets farther and smaller from her eyes. Her talks with Numazu last week replayed inside her head. From what Numazu had said, Katagiri was someone popular but somewhat anti-social back in her high school days.

Not only she was indisputably attractive, but her cleverness was said to be on a whole different level. The only reason Numazu became friends with her was the fact that they had been together since elementary school.

Misaki looked at the price tag of sliced porks pack she was holding in disbelief. She was in awe that she could get a pack of sliced porks in such a cheap price. With no hesitation, she put the pack in her shopping basket. Her dinner was decided.

Shopping on Saturday afternoon was one of Misaki's routine. Since she was usually busy with classes or discussions during her weekdays, Misaki bought her needs on the weekend. Last week, since she had attended the matchmaking party, her stock was in scarce.

Misaki walked through the supermarket's aisles to get everything she needed, then went straight to the register. She scrutinized the led screen of the register machine, making sure that it wouldn't pass her weekly budget. When the total was shown on the screen, Misaki let out a smug, silently praising herself to not went over budget.

When she waited for the elevator in the apartment's lobby, Misaki once again bumped into her neighbors, Katagiri. The latter was holding a white plastic bag from a different supermarket. Misaki glanced at the latter's plastic bag full of frozen foods.

"Katagiri-san, do you cook?" Misaki asked.

Katagiri looked at the plastic bag she was holding, knowing what Misaki meant.

"… Sometimes, I guess? I just don't have much free time," The taller girl answered.

Misaki replied with nods, a sign that she understood the circumstance.

Their conversation was interrupted when the elevator door opened. They didn't exchange any words during their ride to the fifth floor. Taking a glance at the short-haired woman, Misaki wondered whether Katagiri had been eating properly. While there was no sign of her being unhealthy, eating frozen foods in regular basis were bad in the former's eyes.

"… Seems you like to cook your food from scratch," Katagiri said when the elevator reached the fifth floor. Her eyes glanced at the plastic bag Misaki was holding.

"Ah… you're one hundred percent right," Misaki responded.

Both women walked side by side through the corridor without exchanging words. The surrounding atmosphere didn't feel awkward, but Misaki had been wanting to talk about something to her neighbor. Without able to say anything, Misaki arrived in front of her apartment's door. She heard clicking lock from the other door beside her.

It was her chance.

"…Katagiri-san?" Misaki called her neighbor's name. Her voice was small and awkward, even though she did her best to talk normally.

Katagiri had just opened the door when she heard Misaki's voice calling for her name. She stood still, waiting for the other woman to continue.

"The sliced pork were cheap today in the supermarket, so I bought one..." Misaki paused for a bit, "… So I wonder if you'd like to join me for a hotpot?"

Katagiri's stoic expression changed a little, surprised by the sudden invitation. Seeing the movement in Katagiri's face, Misaki started to worry. Was she being too friendly and made her neighbor uncomfortable?

"W-well… only if you want to," Misaki added.

"… May I?" Katagiri asked for confirmation, unsure with what she had heard earlier.

Misaki didn't expect that. Glad that Katagiri welcomed her invitation, Misaki smiled.

"Of course! Hotpot tastes better when eaten with someone, after all!" Misaki said happily.

"…" Katagiri didn't say a word.

"Ah, please come to my room in 30 minutes. I'll be waiting," Misaki said.

"Okay," Katagiri agreed. Her lips curved into a smile, wider than the one Misaki saw last week. Oh, how lovely it was. Misaki wondered whether her neighbor also showed that smile to Numazu. Imagining something like that, Misaki suddenly felt something weird inside her stomach.

Thirty minutes had already passed, and Misaki felt that nervousness had been growing inside her. It had been three months since she moved here, but she just realized that she never invited someone before. The only person who had come to her apartment was her older sister. It was during the day when she moved out from the house.

As her nervousness started to piling up, a ringing sound coming from the front door was heard.

Oh, it must be her!

Misaki patted her cheeks with both hands, trying to refine herself and appear naturally to greet her neighbor. She went towards the front door, welcoming her first guest.

The door swung open and the tall figure was standing in front of Misaki. The host immediately recognized that the guest didn't wear her jacket. Katagiri was wearing a white sweater with black horizontal stripes, making her slender figure more bulky than it should be.

"Sorry for disturbing you," Katagiri greeted. Her tone was somewhat friendly and happy, as opposed from her flat tone Misaki had heard before.

"Please come in." Misaki stepped back to make a way for her guest. When she closed the door and turned around, Misaki got to see another look of Katagiri's back. Her nervousness suddenly changed into a burst of excitement.

Misaki was excited for her first hotpot… and her first time having a guest in her apartment.

Portable stove and clay pot were already set up neatly on the white dining table. Other utensils and dining wares needed were nowhere to be found.

"Sorry, turns out I need more time to store the groceries than I expected," Misaki excused apologetically.

"It's okay. I'll help." Katagiri rolled up her sleeves.

"No,  you're my guest for tonight. I'm the one who invited you, after all." Misaki slightly pushed the taller girl to one of the dining chair. No, she must not let her guest to help her. She was always told that.

"I told you I'll help," Katagiri insisted. "Moreover, you invited me for dinner. I can't let myself to just sit and eat."

Being told that by Katagiri, Misaki couldn't say anything. Katagiri must be raised in a different value than hers, and it wasn't something bad either. So, Misaki retreated and let Katagiri to help her.

Katagiri was asked to prepare the vegetables. She quickly began her task after Misaki handed the kitchen knife. Judging by how Katagiri's hand was familiar with knife, Misaki concluded that the former wasn't a novice. Katagiri cut the vegetables into the desired size and put them into the tray Misaki had prepared earlier.

"You really does cooking," Misaki chuckled, a bit entertained.

"… I already told you." Katagiri moved the tray full of vegetables to the dining table.

"Well then, you can cook a simple dish. It's better than eating frozen foods every day, right?" Misaki suggested. Yes, if she could cook, she had no reason to buy those frozen ready-to-eat foods. It was healthier, and a lot cheaper.

"… I hate to eat home-cooked dishes alone." Katagiri's face turned sour.

Misaki's heart thumped when she heard Katagiri's words. She fell silent. Was she too nosy? Did she say something that make her neighbor feel uneasy?

"Ah, it's not something big, though. I always remember my family every time I make my own dishes. Less cooking, less time to think about them." Katagiri added. Her sour face replaced with a smile, causing another thump in Misaki's heart.

She surely smiles a lot...