Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

Episode 1: A Coming of Age Day Present

Half an hour ago.

5 PM, the twilight hours of dusk, darkness descending. The last rays of sunset at the horizon cast a golden glow on the windowsill.

The city gradually became enveloped in a hazy gray shadow, the dim canopy of sky stretching from the distant forest of steel and concrete buildings.

Looking out from the windowsill, two blocks away stood a department store over ten stories tall, its glass curtain wall flowing with intertwining red and green neon colors.

…It’s already that time, huh.

Duanmu Liang put down the notebook that had been resting on his crossed knees and quietly gazed out the window.

That place—it seemed the exterior wall only displayed dynamic building projections during holidays (generally Japanese national holidays).

This was based on observation. However, he had little interest in this country’s holidays and usually didn’t pay much attention.

So, what day was it today?

Holed up in his rental apartment, Duanmu Liang always felt a sense of isolation from the outside world.

This was inevitable—after all, it was spring break. Though the ice and snow were melting, winter hadn’t yet departed. Between the frozen lake-like cold and the humid air, his feet had already gone numb.

“I should buy a new kotatsu… No, no! That kind of thing makes it too easy to lose one’s willpower!”

Duanmu Liang wrapped the bedsheet tighter around himself.

“So, if I can just get through this period…”

From the corner of his eye, past the four or five scattered coffee cans and half-eaten pizza on the small table, he caught sight of the date and time in the Windows desktop corner.

January 15th.

Coming of Age Day… huh?

Ah, so that’s why that neighbor hasn’t returned yet. Probably went to participate in the holiday celebrations.

In reality, only two people lived in this apartment building called “Amazu Manor.”

The apartment previously belonged to Duanmu Liang’s distant relative who had lived in Japan for over ten years, without children or a wife. After his death, Duanmu Liang inherited the building.

Though he tried posting advertisements and contacting real estate agents to attract tenants and ease financial pressure through collecting rent, perhaps due to the remote location and the fact that the landlord was completely lazy about cleaning and organizing the rooms, there were few tenants.

Recently, tenants who had found new accommodations had mostly left, leaving only Miyagi-san in the next room still at Amazu Manor.

She was a stylishly dressed, beautiful woman who had moved in three months ago. Her presence, so out of place with the surroundings, made one wonder about her reasons for choosing to live here.

Judging by appearance, Miyagi-san seemed to be around twenty years old. Fair-skinned and tall with a slender figure, she looked like a model from magazines or television.

While fashionable women like her generally left an impression of being arrogant or unapproachable, Miyagi-san’s attitude toward him was quite gentle and polite—she was the type of woman who easily won people’s favor.

She never delayed rent payments and often brought back food and common household items. Recently, she had even been cleaning the hallway. No one had hired her to do these things—in other words, they were completely voluntary acts of kindness.

Miyagi-san’s kindness and enthusiasm were enough to bring one to tears… In comparison, the real landlord of Amazu Manor was thoroughly useless.

…

Based on her coming and going times, she was probably a female college student attending classes nearby. However, today she was over two hours later than usual.

At that moment, the sound of a door lock turning came from downstairs.

She’s back.

The thought flashed through his mind before vanishing.

…

Duanmu Liang stared with bloodshot eyes, calculating the deadline and daily output in his mind—the resulting numbers remained quite grim.

Despite working from last night until now, the workload seemed to haven’t decreased at all.

This afternoon, he had completely passed out; fortunately, he was later awakened by sounds from outside.

At this rate, I might go bald.

Duanmu Liang thought.

So, he had no time to mind other people’s business…

Thud

A muffled sound came from the stairs.

…

Perhaps due to his dazed state, his senses became heightened, and he couldn’t concentrate. That dull sound seemed to have a peculiar quality to it.

It was somewhat like the echo of someone’s head hitting a concrete step. His imagination wandered thus.

Gulp, gulp.

The bitter, fragrant liquid fermented in his mouth.

He walked to the window and heard a woman’s cheerful voice.

“Ah, Duanmu-kun! So you were here.”

Standing at the end of the hallway was a young woman with glamorously dyed long hair. The top button of her black uniform blouse was undone, revealing fair skin that perfectly showcased the beauty of her chest.

Below her full curves was a slender waist that could be encircled by one hand. The girl wore a red plaid skirt, showing off long, powerful white legs, her delicate feet in high-heeled sandals.

Miyagi-san’s lightly made-up face was slightly damp with sweat. She flashed Duanmu Liang a pleasant smile.

“Good evening, Miyagi-san.”

“Hello.”

“What’s that behind you?”

He pointed to something that caught his attention.

At her feet was a large plastic bag. He couldn’t make out what was inside.

“It’s a present. A holiday gift.”

Miyagi-san winked.

“Leftover items from the university’s celebration event that no one wanted. I’m going to sell them at the market tomorrow, but would you like them, Duanmu-kun? I can give them all to you.”

“…No, that won’t be necessary.”

After chatting briefly, she disappeared into her room with herself and the plastic bag.

He turned around and leaned against the windowsill in a different direction.

Duanmu Liang poured the cold coffee down his throat, covering his mouth and desperately fighting the urge to vomit before finally swallowing it down.

What exactly was that…

After exhaling, Duanmu Liang furrowed his brow.

The calendar hanging on the left wall had an oily, dirty sheen that would make most people not want to touch it.

However, Duanmu Liang knew very well.

Under the calendar was a small hole.

Through it, one could peek into the next room.

Don’t misunderstand. Actually, this was left behind by the previous landlord.

This distant uncle of Duanmu Liang’s, whom he had never met, was actually a voyeur with a terrible personality who took pleasure in stealing others’ privacy—a despicable scoundrel.

Perhaps it was just out of interest, or perhaps for profit—it didn’t matter either way.

As evidence, after Duanmu Liang moved in, while organizing the miscellaneous items, he also discovered hidden cameras and listening devices in the room.

He wasn’t interested in such things, so he removed them all.

Of course, he wouldn’t choose to call the police either.

Whatever lifestyle anyone chose to lead was their private matter. Fundamentally, he was the type who hated trouble.

Hated it completely.

“So please don’t do things that make me hate you, Miyagi-san.”

Duanmu Liang muttered softly, bringing his eye to the hole in the wall.

…

…What is this.

Something was lying on the floor.

The mat spread in the center of the room was particularly eye-catching.

What lay on top of it was, without doubt, the contents of the plastic bag.

Face smeared with dirt, mixed with human blood. The corpse’s pale white pupils stared fixedly at him from the direction of the next room.