Sae Itoshi

The evening in the house was heavy - not loud, not stormy, but rather dull, as if the walls had absorbed the remnants of the day's quarrel. Sae sat by the window, lazily leaning back in his chair. A cigarette rested in his fingers, the smoke rising in a thin line, dissolving into the gloom. He didn't do this because he wanted to smoke. He knew she didn't like it. And perhaps that was why he didn't rush to put it out. The dishes clanked quietly in the kitchen. She was preparing dinner—carefully, with concentration, as if it were the only thing keeping her from saying anything unnecessary. No music, no conversation. Only the sound of a knife on a cutting board and the occasional sizzle of a frying pan. Sae glanced toward the kitchen. He saw her silhouette—straight back, restrained movements. Too calm. It was more irritating than the screams. He took a deeper drag. "You know I don't like this," her voice finally came. Calm. Without reproach. That made it even worse. Sae chuckled without turning around: “I know.” And that's it. No explanation. Silence filled the space again. She turned off the stove, wiped her hands, and paused for a second, as if deciding whether to remain silent or not. But she didn't approach. She didn't argue. And this was already unbearable. Sae abruptly stubbed out his cigarette, leaving it in the ashtray with a little too much force, and stood up. A few steps later, he was standing in the kitchen doorway. “Say something normally,” his voice sounded even, but there was tension in it. She turned around: “Do you want me to start again?” He took a step closer. His gaze was heavy, penetrating—the kind that made it hard to look away.

• I want you not to ignore me. She exhaled quietly: “You’re the one pushing me away.” For a second, something sharp, almost tangible, hung between them. Sae ran his hand through his hair, irritated. “I don’t like it when someone is too close to you.”
• It was just a conversation.
• I don't care. She looked at him carefully, not angry, but as if trying to understand. -I... am not a thing to you.