The casual izakaya was tucked deep inside a small alley brightly lit by red lanterns. The air inside was thick with the smell of meat sizzling on charcoal grills, cold draft beer, and the loud chatter of office workers and students after a long day.
At a secluded corner table, three young men sat raising their glasses.
Far from the image of a timid Kazuya who always huddled in a corner and only dared to chime in with bland remarks occasionally, the person sitting in the center position right now was the life of the party. He wore a plain black t shirt with rolled up sleeves revealing his toned forearms. Using the elite communication skills of someone who made a living grasping mob psychology, he completely controlled the pace of the conversation.
He laughed heartily, proactively reaching out to fill Kibe's beer glass, then patted Kuribayashi on the shoulder, tossing out charming, sharp jokes that made both his best friends roll with laughter. He did not act superior or grumpy around his male companions. In his assessing eyes, Kibe and Kuribayashi might be foolish and crude, but they were incredibly genuine and straightforward. That was a quality he respected.
"My god, Kazuya! What did you eat lately to talk so smoothly?" Kibe held his stomach laughing, wiping away a tear. "Usually when we go drinking, you just bury your face in your phone or look away."
"Everyone has to evolve eventually." He smirked, raising his beer glass to clink it against Kibe's. "Did you expect me to stay a dumb nerd for you guys to bully forever? Drink up, the beef is getting cold."
The atmosphere was extremely lively, warm, and full of brotherhood. Kuribayashi chewed on a piece of meat, nodding in appreciation of his best friend's spectacular transformation.
However, that joy was ruthlessly cut short when the izakaya's sliding wooden door opened.
Nanami Mami stepped inside.
She wore a pristine white, thin off the shoulder knit dress, her golden hair tucked neatly behind her ears. Her familiar innocent, adorable smile bloomed on her lips. Her eyes swept quickly across the rows of tables, and the moment she found her target, a triumphant gleam flashed in her eyes. She strolled over with a graceful, light demeanor like a princess stepping into a banquet of commoners.
The moment Mami appeared in his line of sight, his hearty laughter instantly died out.
In less than a tenth of a second, the enthusiasm and joy on his face evaporated without a trace. He set his half empty beer glass down on the table.
Clack.
It was a very soft sound, but it seemed to drop the temperature around the wooden table by several degrees.
He slowly leaned back against his chair, crossed his legs, and rested his intertwined hands casually on his lap. His face right now was terrifyingly still. His deep, cold eyes held not a single ripple of emotion, exactly like a calm beast watching prey walk right into a trap. Kibe and Kuribayashi, who had been laughing a second ago, instinctively shuddered and automatically fell silent under the invisible, sharp pressure radiating from him.
Mami did not notice that deadly shift in the atmosphere. Blinded by her own arrogance, she casually walked over, pulled out the empty chair opposite him, and sat down.
"Sorry everyone, I am a bit late." Mami clasped her hands, tilting her head with an affected smile at Kibe and Kuribayashi before shifting her gaze to him.
She began playing her favorite role: the friendly, forgiving, and regretful ex girlfriend. She wanted to reopen Kazuya's wounds in front of his friends, forcing him to act pathetic to elevate herself.
"Long time no see, Kazuya." Mami spoke in a sweet, soft voice that purposely carried a hint of reproach. "You look a bit different lately. The other day at the cafe, you suddenly got angry and threw water before walking away. It made me sad and scared for days. I thought you really hated me. Have you still not found anyone new?"
She reached up to stroke a lock of hair, perfectly acting out a fragile, innocent demeanor. Hearing about the water throwing incident, Kibe and Kuribayashi widened their eyes in surprise, looking awkwardly at Kazuya.
However, the response to Mami's stellar performance was a dead silence.
He was not flustered. He did not blush in anger or scramble to explain. He just sat there, his indifferent, piercing gaze locked onto Mami for a good ten seconds. That look did not carry the resentment of a heartbroken man, but rather the gaze of a scientist observing an inferior creature making a fool of itself in a glass cage.
The prolonged silence caused the smile on Mami's lips to stiffen. She felt a chill run down her spine.
"Kazuya, why are you looking at me like that?" Mami spoke up awkwardly.
Finally, he moved. He tilted his head slightly, his lips curling into a freezing arc. His voice rang out deep and steady, articulating every single word clearly. There was not a hint of a raised voice, not a single curse word, yet the lethality was as sharp as broken glass piercing the eardrums.
"Are you done babbling?"
Mami froze.
He continued, his tone still steady but carrying the weight of a ton. "I thought you came to this izakaya to eat and drink. Turns out you came to dump trash into other people's ears."
"What are you talking about?" Mami gasped, her fake innocence torn apart at the seams. She intended to raise her voice and play the bullied victim.
But he gave her no chance to utter another word. With his slick tongue, razor sharp mindset, and ruthless psychological analysis, he took up a scalpel and dissected Nanami Mami's personality right in the middle of the table.
"Stop acting so pure, Mami." He leaned forward slightly, his eyes locking onto her wavering pupils. "You dragged yourself all the way here, deliberately bringing up your dirty breakup in front of my friends. Who do you think that pathetic goal fools besides men starved for affection?"
Before she could even retort, he then quickly interrupted.
"You did not dump me because you found someone better or because you felt we were incompatible. You dumped me because your cheap ego needed attention."
Every word, every syllable he spat out was clear and ironclad, stripping bare the darkest thoughts Mami always kept hidden.
"You're a narcissistic cunt. You crave the feeling of having others grovel at your feet, craving the sight of a man suffering and writhing over you just to cover up the empty, bland, and pathetic core inside that heavily made up shell. You delude yourself into thinking you are the center of the universe, but in reality, you are just a parasite living off the pity of others."
Mami's face turned as pale as a sheet of paper. Her hands gripped the edge of the table so tightly her knuckles turned white. She opened her mouth to argue, but her throat felt like it was being choked. The person sitting in front of her right now was not the easily manipulated, crybaby Kazuya, but a psychological monster chewing up her pride without leaving a single crumb.
Kibe and Kuribayashi sitting nearby had completely turned to stone. They were in total shock at a Kazuya who spoke so fluently, ruthlessly, and sharply that it was terrifying.
He slowly leaned back against his chair. The skinning was done; now it was time for the killing blow. A condescending, cruel smile appeared on his lips. He delivered the final strike with a voice full of absolute contempt.
"You came here just to prove you have value, didn't you? But let me tell you a truth. In my eyes right now, you do not even qualify to be a bad memory or a terrible ex girlfriend."
He picked up his freezing beer glass, giving it a slight shake that sent bubbles rushing up.
"You are just a stain accidentally stuck to the sole of my shoe that I wiped clean last week. Your presence at this table is genuinely ruining the taste of my beer. Disgusting."
Bang.
Mami's mind exploded. Stripped of the bitter truth, her pride insulted to the very core with polite but destructively lethal words right in a crowded place. She could not find a single argument to retort, because everything he said hit the bullseye.
Mami's massive narcissistic ego completely shattered. Her lips trembled violently. Tears welled up uncontrollably, but this time they were not theatrical tears, but genuine humiliation, shame, and fear.
Faced with a crying girl, everyone felt sympathy and wanted to comfort her.
But no one came...
After everything he had said, "Kazuya" didn't even glance at Mami once, completely ignoring her and continuing to grill meat as usual, oblivious to the increasingly awkward atmosphere in the restaurant after he had insulted her, calling her worse than a prostitute.
Unable to endure another second under the sharp, cold gaze of that verbal butcher, Mami burst into loud sobs. She covered her face, stood up abruptly, knocking over the chair behind her, and ran straight out of the izakaya like a madwoman, leaving her expensive handbag behind on the seat.
Her silhouette disappeared behind the sliding door.
A deathly silence enveloped the corner table. No one dared to breathe heavily. Kuribayashi gulped, while Kibe stared wide eyed at the empty space where Mami had just left.
He leisurely set his beer glass on the table and pulled out a paper napkin to wipe a few drops of condensation from his fingers. His cold, ruthless expression instantly evaporated like magic. He smiled faintly, lightly clinking his glass against the one sitting motionless in Kibe's hand, and spoke in a hearty, cheerful tone exactly like before.
"Come on guys, what are you spacing out for? Keep drinking, the grilled meat is burning black over there."