At the time, he'd even had the somewhat sentimental thought that if all his bad luck up to then had been the price he paid to meet the girl, then he was willing to pay it.
He just frowned.
The girl was sitting on the stairs.
People came and went around her, and she seemed as though she might be swallowed up by the crowd.
He couldn't understand why she was sitting there.
Was she feeling unwell?
He suddenly grew nervous. His eyes widened as he scrutinized the girl more carefully.
Then he blinked once, then again. Seeing the girl sitting there with her whole body intact, he breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help laughing at himself for thinking he'd seen things.
How could he have thought part of the girl's body had disappeared?
He'd probably been straining his eyes too much lately.
He walked over to the stairs and looked at the girl, wanting to approach and ask what was wrong. Was she feeling unwell?
But he was also worried she might take him for some ill-intentioned creep trying to hit on her.
In the end, he simply didn't have the courage to approach her.
Still, to just leave the girl behind...
He felt uneasy, and part of him didn't want to go.
He lingered not far from the stairs, pretending to be waiting for the subway.
He checked the time.
He usually left early, but if he kept dawdling, he really would be late for his tutoring job.
The breath he'd been holding inside suddenly sank.
He told himself that maybe the girl was waiting for someone.
Though it was a rather odd place to wait.
He didn't take the elevator.
Instead, he climbed the stairs one step at a time.