15 Days and 30 Cup noodles later

The sky was as bright as always, but Koi's expressions couldn't be darker,

"Please check again. He must be here," he insisted to the receptionist,

"He and his daughter left last night right after she was stable…" the receptionist said with a sorry expression,

"There had to be a mistake!? He told me he would contact the NGO, and I would get my money back," Koi said, his voice shaking and throat dry,

"There is no mistake," the receptionist said,

'What will I do now!?' Koi's mind was a mess; his shoulders were shaking,

'Did he lied!?' Koi thought as he remembered how the uncle's face yesterday looked filled with honesty,

-Flashback

"Uncle, she will get well soon… don't cry anymore," Koi said calmly after he took the uncle to a bench,

"It is all thanks to you!! I can't thank you enough; she is my life…" the uncle said,

'I want to ask what will happen with my money… but this isn't the best time,' Koi thought; after some more talking, he came to know that there was this NGO that was willing to pay for Uncle's daughter's operation, but the payment wasn't made on time, and their representative number was out of reach,

"I will return your money…. Tomorrow, I will take you to NGO's office and try to contact them," the uncle said apologetically,

"It would be great!!" Koi said instantly as he needed his money back for settling in the drome and paying for his college registration,

"I am really sorry for ambushing you near the bank… I promise to pay you back as soon as possible, no matter what!!"

And this was how his chat with his uncle came to an end yesterday.

After that, he went to find a place to spend the night and to give the uncle some space; he ended up spending the night in an old cheap hotel room the whole night he just recited one wish,

'May his daughter get well; may I get my money back!!' till he fell asleep.

-Back to the present

'What will I do!? Where will I go!?' Koi was panicking when he remembered something his father had said to him once,

'Those who praise you are just waiting to scam you…. Did I get scammed?' he wondered,

"Sir!! Sir!!" The receptionist was trying to call Koi, but his mind wasn't aware of his surroundings as he was lost in thoughts,

"Sir, are you listening!?" the receptionist exclaimed a bit louder,

"He was not a billionaire checking people's honesty like those videos… he was a scammer?" Koi suddenly said to the Receptionist, who got a confused expression,

"Sir, I don't know what you are talking about, but others are waiting in line," the Receptionist said firmly, and Koi looked back to see people irritated in the row; turning back to the Receptionist, he said with an awkward expression,

"I am sorry for spacing out… can you please give me the uncle's number?" but the receptionist denied it as he said,

"It is against our policy to give out the information related to our patients to anyone."

He felt his heart break as he realized there was nothing he could do, and soon he stood out of the hospital,

Koi, who gave away almost all he had to save someone just a day before, now had nothing left to himself as he stood there clueless as to what he will do now,

'I just have 9000 yen left if I eat cup noodles, they can last a while… but I need to find a part-time job anyhow,' he thought as Koi had learned from his life so far that no matter what happens do not dwell on it and move forward,

As he walked down the road, not knowing where he was going himself, he remembered the uncle's expression full of gratitude,

'Was he really lying about paying back… is suffering the only payment to kindness' he sighed. Before he knew it, he had somehow reached an abandoned shrine in a deserted corner of the city,

Even though Koi was someone who spoke in a low voice and was meek most of the time when alone, Koi could be the loudest,

"Ohh God, why me!! What is my mistake!? Was I wrong to help" he shouted and stared at the God's statue in the shrine,

"Prove to me you are real!! Show me the proof of your existence," he shouted at the top of his lungs, getting on his knees,

He looked at the statue and stared at it for five whole minutes, and nothing happened. He stood up, dusted the dirt off his knees, and thought,

'As if it will work!!' he sat on the bench near the shrine's gate and thought about what he'll do further.

'I can't go back home… not after what happened… if I sleep in a hotel, my money wouldn't be enough for four days.' taking a round around the shrine, he decided,

'This place isn't bad either for a rest,' he thought and decided he'll stay at this place until he got enough money to rent a room and will eat cup noodles. Although, due to him living at this place, the rumors of the reawakening of the shrine spirit were going to spread wide, but that is a story for another day,

Going back to the cheap hotel, he collected his bag from the room. The bag only had two changes of clothes and his laptop, nothing that he could trade off for money.

Even after a heavy job search at fast food joints and other places, he wasn't able to score a job either due to his meekness or not having a residence in the town,

He sometimes thought about how he would've been living content if not for helping the uncle back then. He made a tower of the cup noodles cup that have collected over the past few days,

'Goal reached!!' he thought as the pack counted out to be exactly 5. The company was running a scheme where with five empty packs of this cup noodle, you can get one for free,

15 days and 30 cup noodles later, laying on the bench near the shrine. Koi was losing hope; with every passing day, his clothes were getting dirtier and smellier, meaning the Job hunt was also getting harder,

Not eating anything besides 2 cups of noodles every day for 15 days, he felt his body was feeling weaker. laying on the bench, he remembered how he had to leave his home and travel here in the hope of higher studies,

'Everything seems meaningless now… I only have 4900 yen left,' Koi thought as the rain began to pour slowly and it was getting heavier with every passing second; the smell of soil felt comforting to his nose, he was soaking wet from rainwater, but he didn't feel like moving from the bench the water felt nice to his skin,

'Was I wrong to help him…?' koi wondered as his body got colder. He turned on his back, looking upward, a dark thought crossed his head,

'I am going to get sick… will I die here!? I don't want to die a virgin!!'

Suddenly he heard someone steps coming near, and she appeared in front of his face.

He moved his eyes up and down, gazing at the girl who appeared before him. She had deep black hair, ruby-red eyes with a hint of pink in them, and pale skin.

A beauty that could enchant anyone easily.

This appearance reminded Koi only of one thing, an anime he had seen in the past,

"A Grim reaper!?" and his mind went blank,

"Hey, you!! Don't worry! everything will be fine… I am sorry due to my fault…."

-To be continued