Chapter 92

Ŕ​ｅa​ｄ &o;&n; ‍&K;​at̂R​e​a​​dingＣafe

**“Natsu is ‘Yeoreum’ in Japanese. (4)”**

Maybe it was a reaction to letting out everything I’d been bottling up inside—because I ended up completely bedridden for the next few days.

It wasn’t a cold or anything like that. It felt more like muscle pain.

In that sense, Toya suggesting we take a bath together was… actually a pretty good idea.

If I had just gone straight to sleep after ending the stream, I probably would’ve been out for even longer.

“Nnghh…”

“If it’s too much, you can rest more, Yeoreum.”

“No, I’m feeling a lot better, really. Besides, the CEO said they wanted to talk to me, remember?”

I hadn’t said it out loud, but that last stream was basically an announcement that _Ichinose Natsu_ was _Han Yeoreum_.

I hadn’t checked the community reactions myself, but I’d heard that things were… intense, to say the least.

So it was probably about that—the reason the CEO wanted to see me.

I had a general idea of what they’d want to say. And I was somewhat prepared to hear it.

“Uuugh…”

“Still hurting? Maybe you should really rest a bit longer…”

“It’s not that… It’s more like my muscles got all stiff from lying down too long…”

Toya had taken such good care of me that I hadn’t moved a single step the whole time I was sick.

And since this body already had barely any muscle to begin with, lying down for a whole week made it feel like everything had atrophied.

How could just lying down for a few days make me _this_ stiff?

Groaning, I tried to sit up—and Toya was right there to support me.

…If Toya hadn’t been here, I might’ve literally starved to death.

“Okay, I’ll massage your legs.”

“Mmh… Thanks.”

“In the past, you would’ve said you were fine, though.”

“That’s true…”

Back when I first met Toya, I was really bad with physical contact.

Not that I was suddenly great with it now, but I’d gotten _a lot_ better.

I slowly lay back down on the floor, and Toya reached out with a careful hand.

I couldn’t help but giggle at the slow, awkward movement of her hand—it was kind of funny.

“Let me know if it hurts, okay?”

“Okay…”

Toya gently lifted my legs and looked at my face as if worried.

Sorry, but… no matter how carefully you look at me, pain is pain, y’know?

It wasn’t agonizing, but it still wasn’t exactly pleasant.

I blinked as a way to say “I’m okay,” and Toya placed my leg across her thigh.

Then, as expected, the massage began—

“HyAAACK…?!”

“W-Was that too hard? Are you okay?!”

“N-No… I was just startled, that’s all…”

When she pressed down on the tense muscle, I let out a reflexive yelp.

It was the weird combination of pain from the pressure and relief from the release that made it impossible not to cry out.

Now that I think about it, when was the last time Toya gave me a massage? It might’ve actually been the _first_ time.

Either way, I’d made a weird noise and now the atmosphere was totally awkward.

‘Ugh, so embarrassing…’

I could feel my face flushing red, so I used my weak, sore arms to cover it up.

That’s when Toya eased up on the pressure.

She probably meant it as kindness, but… it kind of hurt more that way.

“…Is this amount of pressure okay?”

“…Yeah. It’s perfect.”

There was a brief silence as the awkwardness hung in the air.

But the moment Toya spoke again, it instantly started to melt away.

Thank goodness Toya’s the outgoing one between us…

If there were two people like me in the room, we’d probably never say a single word.

“Seriously, Yeoreum, how are you supposed to live without me now? Guess I’ll just have to stay by your side forever~”

“If it’s living with you, Toya, I wouldn’t mind at all.”

“Wha—?!”

“Toya?”

I nodded calmly at her teasing words, but Toya suddenly turned away and clamped her mouth shut.

Was something wrong?

Now that my legs felt a bit looser, I shifted my body toward her—and she flinched, as if she _knew_ I was moving in.

“You okay, Toya? Did I say something wrong? Was it because I said I’d like living with you? If it is, then—then maybe I _should_ move out eventually—”

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!”

“Yipe?!?”

I tried to walk back my words quickly in case I’d said something wrong—but apparently, I’d misunderstood.

…Still, did she _really_ have to shout like that?

Anyway, it seemed Toya was firmly against the idea of me living on my own.

Well, honestly, even I wouldn’t trust me to live alone right now.

I’ll only move out once my health improves.

At least enough to live somewhat normally.

“S-Sorry! Did I scare you? I just… I really couldn’t take the idea of you moving out. I’m so sorry!”

“…”

“Yeoreum?”

“Hicc!”

“Oh no.”

“Hic! Sniff… Hicc!! Uuu… Hiccup!!”

Toya kept apologizing, but the issue wasn’t whether I accepted her apology.

The _real_ issue was that her shouting startled me—and that surprise triggered hiccups.

My lungs were doing better these days, so it wasn’t _as_ painful as before, but it still hurt.

Toya gently patted my back, her hand full of concern.

“…You really scared me, Toya.”

“S-Sorry! I didn’t mean to, I just got overwhelmed at the idea of you living on your own—”

“…You don’t need to apologize. If my body were fine, I wouldn’t have reacted so badly. I’m the one who should be sorry.”

I knew exactly how much Toya tried to take care of me.

She didn’t startle me with loud noises. She avoided speaking suddenly when I looked deep in thought. She even woke up carefully in the mornings so she wouldn’t disturb me.

And she did all of that without a single complaint.

So, when I saw her still looking guilty, I reached out and held her hand tightly.

“Toya, you don’t always need to be sorry with me.”

Alright. Now that my body’s feeling better, it’s time to get going.

I gave her hand a tug, and Toya jumped up like a spring-loaded toy.

Since I was still sitting, it hit me again just how tall she was compared to me now.

Toya’s really tall, huh…

“Okay, let’s get dressed! I’ll help you!”

“I can dress myself now, you know…”

“Oh, come on~ Let me~”

At first, changing clothes was awkward. But by now, I’d gotten used to it.

Still, Toya always insisted on helping, probably because the act itself made her nervous.

Well, maybe part of her just enjoyed treating me like a life-sized dress-up doll too.

With a sigh, I nodded and let her do her thing.

When it came to stubbornness, Toya always won. Besides, I never really _wanted_ to beat her anyway.

‘It’s not like she’s doing anything weird or anything.’

If it were Inari, I’d worry. But Toya is… Toya.

I stayed still while Toya slipped socks onto my feet, then helped me out of my shirt and into new clothes.

She even tucked my phone into a small crossbody bag and slung it over my shoulder.

Since my skin was sensitive to sunlight, long sleeves were a must—but I didn’t mind. I’d always preferred long clothes anyway.

“Oh, right. Sunscreen! Here we go.”

“…”

“Want me to rub it in? Or do you want to do it yourself?”

“You do it.”

Even though I preferred doing most things myself, sunscreen was the exception.

I never really used it before, except maybe at the beach. So I wasn’t used to it.

Besides, I rarely went outside on my own even after my body changed.

And above all—I just didn’t like the sticky, slippery feeling left on my hands after applying it.

**Squish, squish, squish, squish—**

“Duh yoo haf to rubbit sooo much?”

“Pfft—your words are all mushy! I can’t understand a thing you’re saying! Ahaha!”

I didn’t know how thoroughly she was trying to cover my tiny face, but… no, she was definitely just enjoying squishing my cheeks.

Still, the finish felt light and non-sticky enough, so I figured she did a good job.

“There! All done! Ah—just in case, let’s add a hat too!”

I reached up to touch the wide-brimmed hat Toya placed on my head and looked up.

Toya was smiling brightly down at me.

…Come to think of it, I’d been feeling nervous just moments ago.

But now, the trembling had stopped. I felt my lips twitch upward into a smile.

_Yeah. I need Toya with me._

Unable to speak the words out loud because of how embarrassed I was, I whispered them in my heart.

And then, I reached out and took her hand.

“Let’s go, Toya.”

—