Chapter 54

Ｒｅａ​ｄ ｏｎ ＫａｔＲ​ｅａｄ​ｉｎｇＣａｆ​ｅ

Me and You

Mornings at our house were always the same.
I’d wake up first, make breakfast, and once it was ready, I’d wake up Yeoreum.
Since she wasn’t a morning person, I tried to be considerate and let her sleep a little longer, but even that small amount of extra sleep wasn’t enough for her to fully come to her senses.
Maybe she was the same way before her body changed.

“Yeoreum, it’s morning. Time to wake up?”
“Mmm… Five more minutes…”
“If you don’t get up now, your breakfast is going to get cold.”
“Mmm…”

She replied affirmatively, but her body said otherwise.
Right after answering, Yeoreum was back to peacefully breathing in her sleep.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.

If someone saw the two of us like this, what would they think?
Close friends? Or maybe an older sister and her much younger sibling?
With a bit of exaggeration, they might even mistake us for a mother and daughter.
Though that’s definitely stretching it.

“Alright, then! Naughty kids who don’t listen get dragged out of bed~”
“Mmm…”

Even though I called it a “forced march,” I always made sure to be careful when lifting Yeoreum.
Now used to how she fit perfectly in my arms, I carried her gently to the dining area.
Yeoreum always said she was getting used to the way I held her, but honestly, the way she clung to me had become second nature too.
No, not just getting used to it—it felt like it was completely natural now.

“Yeoreum, hey, Yeoreum?”
“…Mmm.”
“Are you awake?”
“…Awake.”

I thought about washing her face before seating her, but sleepy Yeoreum was just too cute, so I set her down at the table first.
When she was like this, she didn’t even use her utensils—she just sat there with her mouth slightly open, which made her even cuter.
See? She’d barely sat down and already had her mouth open like she was asking, “When are you going to feed me?”
It was so funny, I couldn’t help giggling.

Ah, right—I should feed her first.
Click.

“Huh?”
“Ahh, nothing. I’ll feed you right away, so just wait a sec, okay?”

Satisfied with adding another photo to my ever-growing Yeoreum collection, I lifted the spoon.
Alright, open up.
As I slowly brought the spoon to her mouth, Yeoreum’s head moved toward it in sync, like a magnet.
Was there some invisible force pulling us together?

“Mmm…”
“How is it? Okay?”
“Yummy…”

Was she closing her eyes to savor the taste, or just because she was still sleepy?
I figured it was the latter, but the clear sound of her voice made me think she really was savoring the food.
Still, hearing her say it was tasty made me feel good.

I’d wondered if she’d get bored of my food or stop saying it tasted good out of laziness, but Yeoreum always told me it was delicious every single day.
I wish more people could see how cute she is… Though, of course, this defenseless side of her is for me only.

Lost in thought, I kept feeding her until I felt her eyes on me.
Refocusing my gaze, I saw Yeoreum’s pinkish-red eyes staring directly at me.
Ah—I must’ve spaced out too much.
Still, I was thinking about Yeoreum, so maybe it was okay.
She’d probably get super embarrassed if I told her.

“Aren’t you eating, Toya?”
“I’m already full just watching you eat, Yeoreum~”
“…You sound like a mom.”

I blinked in surprise when Yeoreum reached for a side dish.
W-Was she trying to feed me with chopsticks?!
Her trembling hand said she wouldn’t be able to hold it long, so I quickly accepted the food.
Seriously, for someone with such tiny hands and little strength, she must’ve really wanted to feed me.

Ever since I started feeding Yeoreum, I haven’t eaten much myself… so basically I’ve been eating nothing.

“Toya, are you okay? You seem a bit spacey today.”
“I’m totally fine. Just thinking about Yeoreum, that’s all~”
“…You don’t have to think about me that much. Maybe tone it down a little?”
“Ehhh…”

That totally sounded like something a teenager in puberty would say!
Like a middle schooler saying, “I’m old enough now, so you don’t need to worry so much anymore.”
Even though Yeoreum and I were the same age, she was so small and delicate, it just made me want to take care of her more.

I wasn’t doting on her because I pitied her.
If I had to give it a reason—

“—Because you’re precious?”
“Huh? What did you just say?”
“Nothing much. Just said that you’re really precious to me.”
“…”

Ah, she’s blushing again.
See? This is why just looking at Yeoreum makes me feel full.
She gets so embarrassed whenever I call her cute or precious—it’s just too fun to watch.

“Okay, say aaah~♪”
“Ugh… Aaah…”

Like a robot short-circuiting, Yeoreum froze for a second, then shyly opened her mouth for the spoon.
It had become second nature by now.
At this rate, she’d turn into a pampered house cat who can’t live without me—but I remembered how diligent she used to be, so I doubted it would come to that.

Just as I was about to feed her another bite—

“Ahk!??!!”
“You okay?!”

Startled by Yeoreum’s sudden groan, I quickly put the spoon down.
Her head hung low, body trembling—it looked bad.
Right, the doctor did say that sudden fits or attacks could happen due to her condition.

Calm down. You need to stay calm, Toya.
If I panic, it could make things worse.

Okay, deep breaths—

“I, I bit my tongue…”
“Ah!”

Nope. Totally failed at staying calm.

—

I kept sticking my tongue out, and it was starting to feel like I was just teasing Toya.
I tried not to look at her, but she kept moving her head around to meet my gaze.
Seriously, I was trying to avoid showing her, and yet she was doing everything she could to see!

Not only was she staring—she even took pictures.
Then she shoved her phone right in my face.

“See? Doesn’t it look exactly the same?”

…

On her screen was a photo of a fluffy white kitten with its tongue sticking out.
When she swiped, the next image was of me doing the same.
…Do we look alike?

Well, we were both pale with our tongues out, but come on—cat and human is a huge difference.
Honestly, the kitten’s way cuter, right?

“Not even close.”
“I think you look just alike… But hey, you’re speaking clearly now!”
“It still stings a bit, but it’s much better.”

Maybe because my teeth were small and I didn’t have much bite force, there weren’t any visible wounds.
Thank goodness. If I’d actually cut my tongue, I’d be suffering for days—and worse, I wouldn’t even be able to stream.

It just tingled a bit when my tongue touched the roof of my mouth, so with a bit more time, it should fully heal.

“Let me check for any wounds. Stick it out again?”
“Bweh—”

“Mmhmm~ Looks fine. No visible cuts or anything, thankfully.”

Following her request, I stuck out my tongue again.
Not sure what exactly she was inspecting, but after a close look, she declared me injury-free.

Alright. Let’s be careful when chewing from now on.
There’s no guarantee I’ll be this lucky next time.

When I pulled my tongue back in, Toya looked a little disappointed.
I don’t get what’s so disappointing about it—really.

“Is there any way to wake up completely in the morning?”
“Maybe just sleeping longer? You’re not a morning person. Waking up later might help.”

“That might be best…”

No, maybe it wasn’t.
Toya would probably just stay beside me until I woke up.
I couldn’t let her waste time just waiting for me.

“I’ll try to find a way to fully wake myself up in the morning.”
“I really don’t mind if you sleep in. If you’re worried about me waiting, I could just wake up around the same time?”

“…How’d you know? That I was thinking that?”

I widened my eyes as Toya gave me a knowing smile, saying she had a way of telling.
If there’s some trick to reading people’s minds, I want in on it.

Grumbling under my breath, I barely had time to react before Toya scooped me up again.

Seriously—does she have to pick me up every day?! I’m not a dumbbell, you know?!

Fables