Pet Me Here Too!
The once-overcast sky had cleared up as if it had never been cloudy at all.
Sunlight poured back into the room, wiping away even the gloomy clouds that had lingered in Yuri's heart just moments ago.
And now, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"You’re so mean, Noah! I like being petted and hugged too!"
"Come here, Clear. I was going to wash my hands and hug you, but you switched to Cloudy so fast I didn’t get the chance."
I immediately pulled her into my arms.
With the same gentle rhythm I’d used to stroke Cloudy earlier, I softly ran my hand through Clear’s hair.
"Ehehe… Feels so good. So, so gooood!"
Her expression melted in an instant.
She burrowed into my chest with a silly laugh, looking exactly like a dog wildly wagging its tail.
Then she suddenly lifted her head, stared straight at me, and tilted it.
"Wait, Clear? You changed what you call me again?"
"You have multiple personalities, right? I figured it’d be easiest to distinguish you by the weather. Since you come out on clear days, you’re Clear."
"That sounds like a dog’s name!"
"You don’t like it?"
"If Noah likes it, then I like it!"
"Thought you’d say that. Come here. Let me hold you more."
Compared to how I’d dealt with Cloudy just a little while ago, she was practically an angel.
‘Out of all the dogs in the world, is she a golden retriever?’
Come to think of it, I’d heard that retrievers are incredibly affectionate toward humans but act like total thugs toward other animals.
Seeing how Clear got sulky when I didn’t pet her the same way I’d petted Cloudy, it seemed pretty accurate.
"Noah. Noah. What are you thinking about?"
"You."
"Ew. Boring. Cringe. Old man vibes. Bald! Chrome dome! Bald!"
"Wow, you’re brutally honest. And could you not sneak in the bald thing twice? I was just wondering what the other personalities might be like."
There were probably only two or three left now.
Rain, and snow.
Rain would be even more depressed, and snow would be expressionless and cool, I supposed.
‘But even the cloudy state already feels mentally exhausting… and it gets even more depressed on top of that…?’
I hadn’t even properly met them yet, but I was already sighing.
"Noah. Noah."
"What’s up, Yuri? Want me to pet you harder?"
Clear shook her head vigorously.
Instead, she shifted her posture, grabbed the hem of the loose white shirt she was wearing with both hands, and lifted it up.
"Pet me here too!"
She exposed her pale, slender belly.
Right in the middle of being held by me.
"Uh…?"
No matter how much I thought of Clear’s personality as a puppy, this seemed a bit much, didn’t it?
"Yuri. Even so, this is a little…"
"You… don’t want to? Was it too much to ask…?"
She was looking up at me with teary eyes.
Even someone as dense as me could read the room this much.
‘Almighty Akarat, protect me with your eternal light, O holy one.’
Feeling guilty under Yuri’s pure, innocent gaze, I placed my hand on her stomach and gently stroked it up and down.
"Haa… It feels so floaty and nice…"
"Please don’t say things like that, Yuri."
"I was just… being honest about how I feel… mmm…"
She called it her true feelings, but Yuri’s belly was incredibly soft.
It felt like the fluffy pudding you’d get at a fancy dessert café.
The kind that made you want to poke it and pat it.
‘At least she doesn’t have any fat on her.’
She’d been cooped up at home all this time, so she probably never had a chance to exercise.
If anything, the way her ribs were faintly visible made me think she needed to gain a little more weight.
"Noah… there. Pat that spot a little more…"
"Huh? Why’s your face so red?"
I looked down.
The place I’d unconsciously been stroking and gently tapping was Yuri’s…
Lower belly.
‘What the hell am I doing…’
I silently recited the Heart Sutra three times in my head, then pulled my trembling hand away from her stomach.
What kind of beastly thing had I just done to this innocent-looking girl?
"Why’d you stop…? It felt like something tingly was about to happen… Noah, pleeease…"
Her voice had grown slightly breathless and husky.
Her cheeks were faintly flushed pink.
"Please don’t say things like that, Yuri. I’m begging you. Stop shaking my sanity."
"Haa…? Why…? It’s unfair to get me all worked up and then stop…"
My reason was currently being suplexed by instinct, then mounted and pummeled.
If this kept up, I really might not be able to hold back.
"Aren’t you hungry?! Let’s eat! I’ll cook for you, Yuri!"
"Kyaa?! Noah, where are you going?! You can’t just run off like that!"
"I’ll be in the kitchen! Come down in a bit!"
I practically fled downstairs in a panic and let out a huge sigh.
"What am I even doing… This isn’t the time to be indulging those kinds of instincts."
Pitter-patter!
A little while later, light footsteps descended from the second floor.
She really had waited exactly as I’d asked and timed her arrival perfectly.
"I’m here! What’s for dinner?"
"There was plenty of stuff in the fridge. Let’s make a hot pot."
"Whoa, going all out? Noah, you’re that good at cooking?"
"I lived in the States for a long time, remember? I learned from the lady whose house I stayed at, and I studied a lot on my own too."
American school lunches were pretty terrible, after all.
Eventually I started packing my own sandwiches or fried rice for lunch.
"Hmm~ Can I get my hopes up? I have pretty high standards, you know!"
"You look like a mutt but act like a picky purebred?"
"Give me something delicious, human!"
I ruffled the silly tuft of hair sticking up on her head and began pulling ingredients out of the fridge one by one.
Fresh vegetables, tofu, mushrooms, and beef were all lined up neatly on the counter.
"Look forward to it. It’ll be the best hot pot you’ve ever had. I bet even some Balrog lady living somewhere would come running."
We prepared the hot pot in a pleasant, comfortable silence.
Yuri didn’t try to interfere. She sat on a chair, swaying her body to some internal rhythm, and occasionally peeked over my shoulder while I chopped ingredients, eyes sparkling.
"Looking at me like you want scraps?"
"Hehe. Like those sausage and ham pieces you just cut?"
"Those are raw, so rejected! But I can give you a carrot."
"Eww. No! I’m not eating that!"
"Throwing a tantrum over side dishes at your age~"
Yuri stuck her tongue out at me, then leaned back in her chair again.
I continued placing the ingredients one by one into the pot while she watched.
Finally, I piled the star of the show — the beef — generously in the center.
"Hot pot prep complete! Just add the broth and boil."
It was a truly bountiful dinner.
Yuri’s eyes sparkled as she ate with obvious delight.
Even though our conversation during the meal was limited to nothing but exclamations of awe, that just proved how good it was.
"The ramen you put in at the end was straight-up insane…"
"Right? Remember this — the secret is sprinkling in a bit of chili powder at the end."
Yuri tilted her head for a moment, then shook it vigorously.
"No way!! I don’t need to remember that!"
"Huh? Did your rebellious phase just kick in?"
"That’s not it, Noah! There’s another reason!"
"Oh? And what reason would that be~"
Yuri suddenly jumped up and marched straight over to me.
Then, with a bright smile, she pointed at me.
"Because Noah’s going to keep making it for me for a long, long time!"
It was the most obvious line in the world — asking me to make it again.
It meant it was that delicious and she wanted to eat it again.
But it made me incredibly happy.
‘That means I’ll get to keep seeing you from now on.’
I hadn’t been rejected.
I could see Yuri tomorrow, or the day after.
To be honest, before coming to see her today, I’d been prepared to be turned away at the door.
I thought I might not even get inside while being hit with all kinds of bitter, resentful words about why I was only showing up now.
But her words just now were essentially the same as saying, “Please keep coming.”
"…Yeah. I’ll make it for you as many times as you want. Until you get sick of it."
"Hehe, I’ve memorized it clearly! If you lie, I’ll hit you with a thousand Galaxy Impacts to the face!"
"If I lie, there won’t even be dust left. Okay, promise."
She held out her pinky, and I hooked mine with hers.
Just like the promises we used to make on the playground as kids.
"But there’s one condition, Yuri."
"What is it, what is it?"
"You have to help with the dishes. You’re not thinking of running off after eating all of this, are you?"
"Ugh… Busted. But I want to keep eating your hot pot!"
Yuri picked up the plates from the table and headed to the sink.
I followed with the hot pot bowl and stood beside her.
"I’ll add the soap. You rinse."
"Of course! This reminds me of that group project we did in elementary school~"
"We were partners back then too. Just like now."
"Think you can keep up, Noah?"
"You’re the one who has to keep up with me."
We traded silly banter back and forth, then laughed as we worked side by side.
The sound of running water and laughter filled the kitchen.
Yes. Just like back then. Together like this.
After finishing the dishes, Yuri and I sat on the sofa for a bit and watched a movie.
Since this was still before the days of Monflix, we just flipped through TV channels.
‘This part is pretty inconvenient. Oh wait, there’s no Coupang either!’
Anyway, once the movie credits rolled?
There was only one option left for a middle schooler.
"Hng… You’re leaving already, Noah?"
"I don’t want to either. But I haven’t been back from the States that long. I’ve got a curfew… sort of."
There was no need to worry my parents for no reason.
Besides, spending the night at a friend of the opposite sex’s house would sound weird even if we were childhood friends.
"By the way, your personality hasn’t changed even though it’s night?"
"Hmm… Normally, unless the weather changes, that personality should come out… but I think she’s feeling shy right now."
"What kind of personality is it?"
"Her original one!"
I was speechless for a moment.
‘I thought one of the weather-based ones was her original personality.’
As long as there wasn’t any special weather change, night belonged to her.
The Yuri I used to know — my childhood friend’s original personality.
But because of her trauma, she’d yielded her place to the other personalities and hidden herself away.
"…I see. I’d like to meet her sometime."
"Hehe. You’re so positive. I like that!"
I petted Clear Yuri one last time before heading out.
"No~~ah~~!"
"Hmm…?"
At the front gate, Yuri shouted with a bright smile.
"Thank you for coming today! Even if the weather’s different next time we meet, please take good care of ‘us’!"
I answered by waving my hand.
"…Me too."
I was too embarrassed to say it out loud.