Chapter 155: Chapter 154 - The Answer
There was something new about Kuro recently.
Well, not new per se.
He still showed up at school early.
Sat by the window with a novel in his hands.
Maintained that inscrutable expression of his.
And yet, Minami knew it.
He was thinking more than usual.
After every lesson finished, he would get distracted and start gazing out the window.
When people started talking about college, about jobs, he would smile politely.
But he wasn’t really smiling.
He was looking for an answer.
An answer he couldn’t find.
---
It happened right after classes finished on Friday.
Looking through the attendance records, Minami glanced at Kuro.
"Kuro?"
He instantly stopped packing his books away.
"Yes, Sensei?"
"Can you give me a few minutes?"
The rest of the class gave each other knowing glances.
Akari spoke audibly for everybody to hear.
"He’s being summoned again."
"Good luck to you."
Kuro chuckled.
"Now I’m starting to wonder whether I’ve committed a crime and don’t remember it."
And with that, the class burst into laughter.
---
Instead of walking to the teachers’ office, Minami led Kuro behind the school.
There was an old courtyard behind it.
One of the quietest corners on campus.
The courtyard was dominated by an old cherry tree in the center of it.
Leaves rustled gently under the afternoon wind.
Only two wooden benches stood there.
And one of them was occupied by a sleeping cat.
Kuro gave a small, faint smile.
"I didn’t even know this place exists."
"Most students don’t."
She sat on the empty one and gestured at Kuro.
He obliged her.
Silence followed.
A comfortable one.
Minami broke it first.
"Are you still thinking about your future?"
Kuro chuckled silently.
"...Did I make that obvious?"
"Yes, you did."
"You see," Minami said, turning to look at the cherry tree, "I thought that’d be the case."
---
"I see," Kuro nodded.
"And why exactly?"
"You’ve been asking yourself the wrong question for a while now."
"The wrong question?"
"Yes."
She stared at him.
"You’ve been asking yourself: ’What career should I choose?’"
"But that’s not the right one."
---
Kuro gave her an utterly puzzled look.
"What question should I ask then?"
"What makes you happy?" she answered instantly.
Kuro stared at her.
"H...happy?"
"Yes."
"Not something that would impress people around you."
"Not something that would earn you money."
"Or sound respectable."
She clasped her hands in her lap.
"What truly brings you happiness?"
---
The question seemed to confuse him.
For a moment, he was silent.
Thinking hard.
"I..."
He stopped.
He had expected some questions about jobs.
Universities.
Goals.
He certainly hadn’t expected...
That one.
"I don’t know."
"You will."
She smiled faintly.
"Just think."
"And I’ll wait."
---
A few moments later, silence returned to the courtyard.
A gentle breeze blew cherry petals over the ground.
Kuro lowered his eyes.
Thoughts flashed through his mind.
Memory after memory.
---
Yui.
That night she fell asleep in the library.
Surrounded by textbooks.
Cans of energy drinks.
Practice exams.
She looked tired and broken.
He had been clueless back then.
So he stayed.
They studied together.
Until dawn.
That day when she took her medical exam...
That smile that appeared in spite of tears...
He had smiled without realizing.
---
Mina.
Tutoring.
Laughter of children over colored pencils.
A little girl reading an entire page aloud.
All those smiles weren’t caused by solved fractions.
They appeared because kids felt confident that they could.
For some reason, that image warmed his heart.
---
Another memory.
The hospital.
The elderly man who was scared.
Discussing fishing with him instead of his condition.
Nothing exceptional.
Except the tense shoulders that started relaxing.
Kuro remembered his smile.
As he left the ward.
---
Rika.
Her cluttered room.
Incomplete manuscripts everywhere.
The gleam in her eyes whenever a story finally became comprehensible to her.
He hadn’t written a single page.
But seeing how excited she got about her stories brought an unexpected smile on his face.
---
Aoi.
University.
The student who couldn’t explain the results of his research.
His expression changing from frustration to sheer delight.
---
Even Akari.
That drama festival.
They both barely spoke a word to each other.
She had only wanted to be near someone.
That was enough for her.
---
Memories kept flashing in his head.
First-year, asking for directions.
A little boy, who got lost at the station.
An elderly woman at a convenience store.
And the patient, who needed somebody to talk to.
None of them mattered individually.
But taken together...
They were a whole lot more than that.
---
Minami watched him silently.
Could almost see the pieces falling in place.
And then...
Kuro spoke.
Very quietly.
"...I guess..."
He hesitated.
"I enjoy being helpful."
Silently, Minami waited.
"I like it..."
"When someone looks less worried."
He gave a small, faint smile.
"When they smile."
"When they manage to solve something."
"When they find out they can do things they thought they couldn’t."
He looked down at his own hands.
"I never really noticed..."
"But I just..."
"...liked it."
---
Minami smiled brightly.
"Why?"
"Wh...why?"
"Why does it make you happy?"
He pondered the question.
And answered slowly.
"Because..."
"...they no longer need to solve everything on their own."
He lowered his voice.
"I know how it feels..."
"To think everything is going to happen only because of you."
"So..."
"If I can relieve even a little pressure..."
"I want to do it."
Kuro looked up.
For the first time ever, his face was completely readable.
"I don’t help others because I feel like I should."
"I help them because..."
He chuckled at himself.
"...because I genuinely like doing so."
---
Those words floated in the air between them.
Silence reigned briefly.
Minami closed her eyes.
She could feel the pieces fitting together.
"...You finally realized it."
"Realized what?"
"You’ve been answering that question for years."
"You just haven’t noticed."
---
Kuro stared at her silently.
Everything now suddenly felt...
Simple.
For months now, he had been struggling with choosing a career.
But all those memories that made him happy had one thing in common.
Not the environment.
Not the work.
People.
That realization felt absurdly obvious.
"...How could I fail to notice it?"
Minami smiled.
"You’ve been focusing on other people too much."
---
A distant school bell rang.
Gradually, students started leaving the campus.
The world went on as usual.
But Kuro...
It seemed like a change had happened to him.
Not an earth-shattering one.
Not a sudden revolution in his life.
Just...
Enough.
The clouds hovering over his future vanished.
"I still don’t know what job I’m going to have."
Minami smiled at him.
"Then don’t worry."
And stood up.
"Because now..."
"You know who you’re going to become."
Kuro raised his eyes to the evening sky.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
He didn’t seem scared of the question anymore.
The destination remained unclear.
But...
He at least knew the right way to go.
By the time Kuro returned home, the sun had set.
The apartment was strangely quiet.
After setting his bag down next to the couch, he went to the balcony with a cup of tea.
The lights of the city gradually turned on.
Usually, he would pick up a book.
Not tonight, though.
Just thinking.
The question Minami asked kept resonating in his head.
"Is there anything that makes you happiest?"
After answering it,
A new one automatically popped up.
"If I enjoy working for others..."
What profession allows me to do it all the time?
He placed his elbows on the railings.
In his mind, the faces of several people appeared.
First, Yui – the doctor.
A person who helped others with the help of medicines.
Then Mina – the prospective teacher.
The one whose goal was to influence others’ development and change their lives for better.
Aoi was a researcher.
The scientist whose discoveries made lives better.
And Rika – the storyteller.
All of them did something to help others but in different ways.
Kuro smiled.
"That means..."
"That the profession doesn’t matter as much as the motivation for doing that."
At this moment, his phone started vibrating again.
The message was from the group chat.
Akari: Emergency meeting tomorrow!
Rika: It seems that she just wanted an excuse for cake.
Aoi: Statistics-approved.
Mina: Everyone has to attend.
Yui: I’ll bring some snacks.
The chuckle escaped Kuro.
He looked at the screen.
These were the people that had become his second family.
They had argued.
Embarrassed.
Treated him in ridiculous situations.
And yet, at every significant moment in his life, he managed to find them somehow.
With a slight hesitation, he went to the chat.
Opening the keyboard, Kuro immediately began typing.
Kuro: I finally figured out what I want to do.
Typing indicators immediately showed that his friends were paying attention.
Akari: WHAT?!
Rika: No way!
Mina: Are you serious?
Yui: Please tell us!
Even Aoi responded right away.
Aoi: Go on.
Staring at the blinking cursor, Kuro realized how things were changing.
A week ago...
He would never have known what to reply.
Now...
Everything seemed easier.
Kuro: I want a job where helping people is not an addition but part of it.
That is, I want it to be my job.
Silence reigned in the chat.
Almost a full minute.
And then Yui started talking.
Yui: That’s what I was expecting to hear from you.
Mina: I was totally sure about your decision.
Rika added a crying emoji.
Rika: Like it’s written in a book.
Akari wrote only one sentence.
Akari: Finally, idiot.
He couldn’t help laughing but stopped after reading Aoi’s response.
Aoi: So, what’s your profession going to be?
Looking into the distance once again, Kuro knew what he wanted to say.
Without wasting any time, he started typing.
Kuro: A psychologist.
Someone that listens to others when they can’t carry their burdens anymore.
Not because I think I can help them.
Just because I want them to know that they are not alone in facing these difficulties.
No replies came to the screen.
Not because none of his friends had something to say but because...
...they all understood that this profession suits him perfectly.
In a couple of seconds, Minami’s name appeared in a private conversation.
How she managed to find out was a mystery.
Anyway, she was quick to reply.
Minami: Follow this path confidently.
Because the world will always need a person who is willing to listen to them.
For a long while, he was looking at her messages before deciding to turn off his phone.
Finally, the confusion that tormented him for a week or two was gone.
His future is far ahead.
There would be exams.
University.
Study years.
Dificult times.
Failures.
And successes.
However, for the first time in his life,
He is not moving aimlessly anymore.
He has found his dream.
But more importantly,
A reason why he should follow this path.
