Chapter 96: Can’t you trust me?

R‍ea‍d‍ o‌n‍ K‍​a​t​Re​a‌d​i‍​ng​C‍a‍f​e‍

Sugar opened her eyes in a daze.

She clearly remembered getting into bed. After receiving Riley’s farewell, she entered the dorm, changed clothes, and immediately lay down.

So where is this? Looking around, it was a familiar place.

She had never been here before, but the forest path seemed familiar. Walking along the path, a white stone wall appeared. A wall made of moss-covered stones here and there. An old wall blocking the road completely. The only man-made object in the tranquil forest.

Looking up at the sky, it was dark. The starry sky sparkled, flaunting its presence. The fantasy she had when she was a child was a bright day with faint sunlight.

Thinking of that, it felt like such a long time ago. A fantasy she hadn’t seen since that day. No, wait, is this a dream?

She approached the wall and ran her hand over its surface; it was cold and rough. The smell of grass mixed with her breath. The sound of her footsteps on the earth. It felt too real for a dream.

After seeing this fantasy, the voice of magic began to echo, so this must not be an ordinary dream or an ordinary place.

Then, what lies behind this wall?

Curious, Sugar tapped the wall gently. She also stroked the moss and jumped high to see over. But strangely, the wall was much taller than it seemed at first glance.

If she listened closely, there were the same chattering voices as before. It felt like being excluded by the wall.

“… Hello.”

Even if she spoke, they only whispered to each other.

Still, Sugar didn’t mind and spoke up. These were things she had wanted to say for a long time.

“As you said before, I imagined that I could ‘do it.’ Thanks to that, I got through a crisis. Thank you.”

Whisper whisper…

Giggle…

“But since then, I’ve been hearing the voice of magic. It’s been years now. It just keeps going. It even follows my words, and it silently obeys when I say so. It’s a really strange ability to others.”

Chatter chatter…

Whisper whisper…

“What are you? What kind of mystery do you hold? I’m curious.”

Heh heh heh…

Ha ha…

“Can I… cross over to your side?”

Clunk—

The sound stopped.

At the same time, Sugar felt a presence behind her and turned around.

In the calm forest, with not even a breeze, there was “something” that hadn’t been there before.

It seemed white at first glance.

It seemed black at first glance.

But it had no color.

It was hard to make out its form, but the features were clear.

That eerie figure seemed to be trying to speak, almost as if it were waving its hand toward Sugar in a friendly manner.

Sugar approached cautiously, feeling oddly familiar yet unfamiliar.

The dream ended.

***************

Today, Sugar was two steps away from Riley. The distance had shortened compared to the day before.

Even though she was scared of the man’s heavy physical contact and tried to keep her distance, she still felt anxious and disappointed when they were apart, a result of her own sad habit.

At the same time, she realized a lot. This is why Riley told her to set boundaries. She wanted to stay close like before, but now she was more self-conscious. The change in their relationship was so frightening.

These days, whenever she spaced out, she felt strange. Riley kept coming to mind. She had always thought about him at night, but recently it felt a little different.

Memories of those clingy days kept coming back. She kept reaching for her neck. Recalling that sensation, recalling the heat, her head was a mess.

“Because of you… I can’t focus on my classes these days…”

“Don’t blame me for your stupidity.”

Despite saying that, Riley happily lent her his notebook.

The handwriting in the notebook was neat and orderly. Even parts that weren’t necessary were carefully written down, all so Sugar could see them.

Sugar knew this and let out a sound, somewhere between gratitude and irritation, as she couldn’t quite decide whether she was touched or annoyed. The thoughtfulness moved her.

“Damn… this is some mom power…”

“What are you talking about? Am I your mom?”

“No, Riley. I’m your mom. But you take care of me more, and that frustrates me.”

“My mom left when I was little.”

“Wait… what? Huh? What… did you just say?”

Had that really happened? Riley’s sudden statement shocked Sugar.

In the original story, Riley’s past wasn’t fully revealed, and it was just mentioned that he had been committing bad deeds since childhood. She thought he just hadn’t been properly cared for.

“She took all the money in the house and ran away.”

“…”

The distance of “two steps today” was temporarily postponed.

Feeling a pang of sadness at Riley’s calm words, Sugar approached him and hugged him tightly.

Riley, caught off guard, held Sugar back and was surprised even though he had said it himself.

There was nothing more sorrowful and frustrating than when he was a child. How much shame he had for people he couldn’t even call family. How much he had longed for a normal family.

Looking back now, it wasn’t as angry as it seemed. It seemed there had been no time to think about it. All the bad feelings had been soothed by Sugar. His mind was full of her, so much so that he could speak so easily now.

Of course, if he ever met that woman, he would punch her in the face.

But in a way, he was also grateful to her because it had led him to meet Sugar.

True family. A precious friend. His Sugar.

“Sugar.”

“Mm…”

When he called her name, Sugar tightened her hug in response.

Riley, pleased with this, moved his hand from her waist and gently placed it on her soft, warm stomach, massaging it leisurely.

Mom. Calling her mom.

After thinking for a while, Riley suddenly chuckled and released her. Sugar, unsure whether she was angry, upset, or embarrassed, looked up at him with a mixed expression.

“Riley… Let me just say this first, you shouldn’t touch a woman’s stomach so carelessly…”

“Try losing some weight.”

“Hey! I’m being serious! But your stomach…! Damn…”

While Sugar was feeling Riley’s firm abs, she soon touched her own stomach, and it was clearly different. Soft and squishy.

Annoyed again, Sugar reached for Riley’s stomach. Rubbing, stroking. Her gaze became heated. She was deeply focused, absorbed in her actions.

Her white hands moved sweetly, but it was still at school. Riley sighed and gave her a playful slap on the head.

Sugar, feeling wronged, glared at him.

He had left kiss marks and checked them every day.

Still wearing a scarf, Sugar glared at him with furrowed brows.

***************

“I never expected Riley to have that kind of past…”

Sugar, deep in thought, remembered what had happened earlier.

She first met him at the orphanage. She had only thought he was abandoned by his family or that his family had died. She hadn’t really thought about his past in detail. She had judged it best not to speculate.

But the truth was that his mother had taken all the family’s money and run away.

“That’s why he was like that as a child…”

Thinking back on his insecurities about the staff, everything started to make sense.

She hadn’t asked him back then, thinking it was considerate. But now, maybe she should have asked? So they could talk openly and honestly?

She wasn’t sure what the right choice was. Even now, when speaking so casually, she wondered how much pain he had been in since he was young.

“Ah… Riley…”

‘Was I a good friend to you? A good family member?’

Sugar sighed as she buried her face in Ian’s chest.

“Ah… it’s so flat…”

“Hey…! Take it easy!”

She got another playful slap on the head, one from Riley and another from Ian. This was already her second one today.

She wondered, “Could it be that these guys are the reason I can’t focus on my studies?” and rubbed her head. Looking at Ian’s chest, she sighed again.

The skin with tremendous mom power. Unveiling its mystery. The treasure. Sacred relic. She had found peace in it back in the temple.

“Ian, I have something I need advice on. Can you help me?”

“You brought me here, and all you’ve been doing is rubbing your face on my chest for the past five minutes…”

Sugar and Ian were sitting together in a pavilion in the forest. She had told Riley that women had secret talks and made him sit far away.

“I… I have a lot on my mind. I want to be Riley’s mom, but what should I do?”

“Now you’re a mom?”

Friend, sister, lover, and now a mom? How much more does she want to be?

“Ian, you have tremendous mom power, so I want to hear your thoughts.”

“Is that a good thing?”

When Ian asked with a puzzled look, Sugar confidently nodded.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“… Fine. Let’s say it is. But what exactly are you thinking? Do you want to adopt Riley? Is that what this is about? Or do you just want to heal his heart?”

“Exactly.”

“You know, physical affection like hugging, I don’t need to say anything… What about doing something you wouldn’t usually do?”

“For example?”

“Like cooking for him? Something nostalgic… My mom used to bake cookies for me and my sister often.”

“Oh, she sounds like a very homey person.”

“Yeah… She’d hug us and pat us when we couldn’t sleep at night… It’s still a mystery to me how someone like my sister came from someone like her.”

In contrast to Ione, Ian’s personality of crawling into a guy’s bed seemed to come from somewhere else entirely. Sugar swallowed hard.

Still, it was a good idea. Cooking. Food made with love. She was glad she asked.

But when she thought about it more, she wasn’t sure if Riley even had any nostalgic foods. And even if he did, wouldn’t it just make him angry?

‘Well, I can just create new memories for him, so it’s not a big deal…’

The most important thing was that Sugar didn’t want to make it obvious. She wanted it to be subtle, something that would quietly touch his heart… like a surprise gift. When she brought this up, Ian tilted her head in confusion.

“Then how are you going to give it to him? Leave it in his locker or something?”

“That’s a bit… not very motherly… Oh.”

Sugar let out a small gasp. An idea had flashed through her mind like lightning, and her eyes widened.

“Ian. Can you help me with something?”

What is a mother’s heart? What is the heart of a mother thinking of her child?

It’s an extremely noble and pure heart. As deep as the ocean and as vast as the sky.

“Ian. I’m carrying that in my heart right now. For Riley, I can do anything. I just want to purely embrace his wounds. That’s my only thought.”

“So… what are you saying…?”

“So please, don’t misunderstand me and just listen.”

Her sense of mission burned brightly, almost feverishly. Ian looked at Sugar’s face, which seemed to have realized something profound, and couldn’t shake off the unease she felt from her strangely resonant voice.

And what came out of her mouth next was enough to justify that unease.

“I’m going to sneak into Riley’s dorm room.”

Ian immediately pinched Sugar’s cheek.

“Say something that makes sense, you pervert— Sugar!!”

“Ow! You didn’t listen to a single thing I said! It’s with pure intentions! You’re the one who climbed into a guy’s bed!”

“Are you comparing me to you!? Wait, how do you even know about that?”

“Honestly, when it comes to perversion, Ian, you’re way beyond me— Oww!!”

Sugar, who had remained calm even when her arm was torn apart without a single scream, now let out a loud yelp.

**************

“I see… Leon…”

Ian muttered, looking slightly downcast. She had heard about Leon consulting Sugar and Riley from Sugar herself, and it left her feeling deflated.

“He just said he was a bit flustered, but he didn’t say he disliked it.”

“Really?”

Ian’s face immediately brightened. Sugar simply nodded quietly.

She had told the truth. Leon had never said he disliked it. Hmm. Right.

“Still, Ian. No matter what, I don’t think it’s good to get that close while saying things like ‘it’s fine because we’re both guys’… Most guys don’t do that.”

“But Leon said he liked it before… So isn’t it okay?”

“Huh?”

“There was a time when he looked depressed, so I hugged him, and he said he liked it.”

Sugar seriously reconsidered the distance between Leon and Ian. First of all, she had to make sure Riley and Ian were never left alone together.

“Anyway… Sugar. Let’s get back to the main point. I’m absolutely not helping you break into the dorm. Absolutely. No way. Never!”

“Just hear me out first. It’s nothing big. I’m just going to leave some food on his desk while he’s not there and then leave. It’s much homier than leaving it in a locker…”

Imagine coming back tired and finding a surprise meal full of love on your desk. The kind that makes your heart melt just by looking at it. Something nostalgic and warm…

“—That’s even creepier! What you’re doing is straight-up stalking! How do you even know if he’ll eat it?”

“Why are you only sane about things like this…”

“What was that?”

“Fine. I’ll just give it to him properly.”

“Really? Seriously?”

“Yes, yes. Let’s stop talking about this and go borrow the practice room. Ian, you’re cooking with me too.”

“You’re totally changing the subject, aren’t you…?”

“No way.”

Sugar dragged Ian along, who still looked uneasy. On the way, she casually acknowledged Riley, who was reading by himself.

“Oh, Riley. Ian and I are going somewhere, so don’t follow us. It’s super secret.”

“…What kind of trouble are you planning?”

“No trouble. Don’t you trust me? Ian’s coming too. Right, Ian?”

“…”

Both Riley and Ian felt uneasy about Sugar’s unusually excited demeanor. But since she said it herself, what could they do?

Sugar simply smiled meaningfully.