Mei POV:
The sounds of birds chirping filled my ears, growing clearer and clearer as my consciousness gradually stirred awake.
Eventually, my eyes slowly opened.
The bright morning sun had already leaked through my curtains, washing my room in a warm white sheen, giving it a somewhat heavenly glow. Dust motes hung in the places where the light touched—but everywhere else lay under a comforting shadow.
At first, I continued to lie there, the songs of the birds perched outside braiding together in my ears, keeping me in a half-asleep daze.
With the door to my room locked and the chirps acting as a barrier between me and anyone outside, I let myself sink into my thoughts.
Mainly, they were thoughts about yesterday's outing with Hoshino.
Just thinking about it, the corners of my lips curved upward.
I learned so, so much about him yesterday…
Who would've thought that he had a habit of paying for whoever he was going out with? He told me it was because he "just felt like it," and I wasn't trying to say that was a lie, but I felt like there was something more to it.
And then there were the clothes he picked for me. I personally didn't mind them at all. In fact, I could see myself wearing them outside. And the fact that he was the one who chose them for me… made it all the better.
But what was even more interesting—was the kind of fashion he liked on a girl.
…I'll have to keep that in mind in the future.
Speaking of the clothes, I think I forgot to grab them when I left the car yesterday, which meant they were still in there. I'd have to make sure to do that later today.
Lastly, there was the restaurant he took me to. I already knew he wouldn't take me to some sort of fancy five-star meal, since that wasn't like him at all. But for it to be—for lack of a better word—"run down" was something I hadn't expected.
And not only that, it was a new experience for me, too.
Just thinking about what we did yesterday sent this kind of… restlessness through my chest. Something that made me want to roll around in my bed. Of course, I didn't.
Ah, yesterday was so much fun. I can't wait to see you again.
Of course, that'd have to wait until Monday. He was working thirteen hours today. And while he said that there was a chance we could meet up for a little bit, I wasn't betting on it. Anyone would be tired after thirteen hours of work. And as much as I wanted to see him, I didn't want it to affect his performance the next day. So, even if he did tell me he could meet up for a little bit, I'd have to say no.
While I knew all of that, for some reason, a thread of bitterness hung on the tip of my tongue. And as if it were spreading, the warmth in my room seemed to rot, bit by bit.
…It's going to be fine. It's at worst only the weekend, anyway. We can still text. So there shouldn't be a problem.
Moving on to the next thought, after the date was over, I headed home…
The moment I realized where the thought was going, my eyes snapped open out of their daze, and my brain jolted awake.
That's right, after everything was over, I arrived… home.
The rot that infested my room seemed to intensify, draining all warmth and colour—and it wasn't because of the bitterness from before. It was something heavier, something colder, and far more intense.
Gripping the bedsheets with everything I had, I frantically scanned my surroundings.
I was… in my room.
The problem was… I didn't remember coming up here.
The last thing I remember was eating Mom's soup, but everything after that was a blur. It didn't take much to guess what happened. I'd passed out while I was eating in the living room. Which meant that whatever happened between then and the time I arrived in my room—was something I wasn't even aware of.
No…
By this point, the tranquil songs of the birds had receded someplace far away, replaced by the sounds of my own haggard breaths.
NO!
I hurriedly let go of my bedsheets and frantically felt over my body. Nothing looked out of place, and nothing felt out of place. There wasn't a single wrinkle on my clothes, and not a single bruise on my skin.
But that was because there was one place I hadn't checked—
By this point, my vision began to blur, tears muddling my eyes.
With a shaky hand, swallowing down everything I felt, I slowly reached down.
That is—until a soft groan cut through my sealed-off world.
I flinched, then twisted my head to the side.
A woman slowly rose from the floor, rubbing her eyes as she looked around the room. When they found me, she stopped for a moment.
I did too.
It was… Mom.
I shouldn't have been surprised. She'd been sleeping in my room every day for the past week. But still, just by seeing her here, everything seemed to feel… easier, lighter.
Slowly, my heart began to calm down, and my ragged breaths faded until the chirping of the birds could be heard once more.
Everything seemed to return to normal—until I realized something.
I looked like a mess right now. And Mom... was looking right at me.
All that relief wilted away just as quickly as it came, and with it, panic infested my mind. Worries about whether she'd notice something was wrong, and even the smallest of things, like whether I was sitting right.
I tried to curve my lips up into my usual cheery smile to greet my Mom with my usual energetic "Good morning!"—but my body failed to produce even that much.
Realizing that, I sank deeper into the mattress.
It's… over.
She knows…
She can see…
She's going to—
Suddenly, Mom squinted, as if she were having trouble making me out. I remained completely still, unsure what to make of this turn of events.
"...Mei?" she asked, her voice portraying nothing but genuine confusion.
My thoughts stalled for a moment. There was no way she couldn't see me right now. I was right in front of her, after all.
Except… if she was being serious—then I had to take full advantage of it.
I quickly—but subtly—pushed my blanket up to hide the wrinkles on my clothes and scooted a little further away.
"Yeah, it's me," I replied with a tone as cheery as always. I couldn't manage a smile, but I could at least do this much.
Hearing that it was me, Mom let out a soft giggle. "Hehe. Sorry if it came off as weird, but I just woke up, and my eyes are all crusted over, so I can hardly see a thing."
I blinked once, then twice, her words slowly processing in my head.
Oh. So that's how it is. Thank goodness…
At that moment, all the weight that had been plaguing my shoulders grew just a bit more bearable.
With a loud yawn, Mom stood up, still rubbing her eyes. "I'm going to get ready and make breakfast. Do you want anything?"
I replied with a small nod. "Yeah, I'll eat. But I'll join you in a bit. I'm still a bit tired."
"Okay. Just take your time."
With that, Mom began walking toward the door. Unlocking it with a soft *click*, she carefully pulled it open and took a step outside.
Before she fully disappeared, however, she stopped—as if remembering something—then turned around and gave me a frail but caring smile.
"Ah, I almost forgot. Good morning, Mei."
Seeing her smile, my own finally broke out.
"Yeah… good morning, Mom."
After hearing that, Mom stepped out of my room and started her day. I, however, collapsed back onto my bed once again and let out a deep sigh.
I closed my eyes, allowing the chirping of the birds to lull my mind into a tranquil state once more.
The day had barely even started, yet I was already exhausted.
Still, as long as Mom was with me, there was nothing to be afraid of.
I remained still for a little while, simply relishing this brief moment of peace. I wasn't doing anything productive, which nagged me a bit, but as long as I didn't waste too much time, there shouldn't have been a problem.
After a few minutes, I decided it was time to get my day started. So I got up, grabbed my phone, and made my way to the washroom to brush my teeth.
While I was at it, I checked my phone to see if I'd missed anything. I wasn't expecting anything too serious, since it was only ten in the morning. But to my surprise, I was greeted by—while not a lot of messages—quite a bit from Hoshino, most of which dated from last night.
At first, they were simple things like
Of course, all of these texts carried some sort of spelling error one way or another. But even that failed to hide the underlying message in these texts. After talking to him this much, even I couldn't fail to miss that.
He was… checking up on me.
At the thought, a speck of this sort of fuzzy warmth pricked my chest, making it strangely difficult to stand.
I leaned against the washroom counter, propping my elbows against it to hold myself up as I stared at the screen, reading the words over and over again.
Everything seemed to fade into the background, leaving only the screen of my phone—and my own reflection in my mirror.
It looked almost exactly like me. Except... there was one major difference. One that set me apart from "it."
"It"... wore a smile.
But I didn't pay much attention to that. I didn't really care. All I cared about were his panicked messages.
…How cute.
I gripped the phone tighter, bringing it closer to my chest.
The prick of warmth seemed to expand, growing more painful, more unbearable in a way. But I didn't let go.
Yeah… I really can't wait to see you again.