Outing (2)
After the shopping was done, we stepped back outside the store.
On the way to a nearby café.
"Is the outfit okay? You're not cold, are you?"
"Yeah!"
Cecilia turned to look at me, all snugly dressed, and gave me a bashful little smile. I smiled back at her, feeling content.
What she was wearing right now was a thick long-sleeved top and long pants, a hat, and a cardigan. That was it. No outer coat beyond that. According to her, "If I put on anything more, I think it'd feel too stuffy…." As long as she wasn't cold, it was fine by me.
In other words, unlike usual, she wasn't wearing a hood right now. Her tail was tucked inside her clothes, and her ears were hidden under the hat. Neither looked unnatural from the outside. If anything, the little decorations on the hat only made her look cuter.
But….
"…? What's wrong?"
Cecilia glanced back at me, and behind her the silver strands of her hair drifted softly. Her flushed cheeks and the expression that looked more excited than usual shone brightly under the sunlight. It was a sight I never got to see when she had her hood up.
"Nothing. Just thought you seemed happy."
"Hehe. I like the new clothes…."
As she spoke, Cecilia slowly ran her fingers over the surface of her cardigan. Then she gave the side of her hat a satisfied little knead.
"…♪"
Apparently the soft texture pleased her; she let out another small purring sound. At least for the moment, she was so excited she couldn't even pull out her usual wary attitude. The fact that there were fewer people around today probably helped. With fewer things to pay attention to, she could relax that much more.
Still, fewer stares didn't mean none. And now that Cecilia's appearance was fully visible, I could feel those stares growing more blatant than before.
For instance, over there:
"She's pretty…. Is she a foreigner?"
"What do you wanna do? Wanna try talking to her?"
"But isn't that guy next to her her boyfriend?"
A pair of guys whispering like that.
And another example, further down the street:
"Wanna bet?"
"On who can pick her up first? But isn't she a foreigner?"
"Dude, you just work around that with body language."
"What about the boyfriend next to her?"
"That much, if you tail them long enough there's bound to be a gap. Then you just go talk to her…."
An unpleasant trio of guys muttering among themselves like that.
"?"
It really drove home just how attractive this girl was. Beautiful. Pretty. Cute.
"Yeah. It looks great on you."
"♪"
The smile that scattered from her like a peal of laughter was like a flower. And of course, that meant plenty of bad bugs would come swarming.
…For this girl who was so defenseless compared to usual, I could at least handle that much.
"Come on, Cecilia. The café's not far now."
"Okay."
I picked up the pace a little as we walked toward the café. At the same time, from an angle she couldn't see, I flicked my hand at the bad bugs a couple of times. I can hear everything you're saying, so get lost already.
"Tch."
"…."
I watched them each click their tongues once and clear out. That much should keep things fine for a while. Guys like that usually wouldn't risk anything to push further. But if they still kept buzzing around after that, well, I'd deal with it when the time came.
"The fallen leaves are pretty…."
But at least for now, the most important thing was enjoying this time together. Reminding myself of that, I walked on with her.
And now, inside the café.
"Ugh…."
Making a mockery of the thought I'd just been reminding myself of, I was sitting at a table with a thoroughly tense Cecilia. Her body was hunched in, and her arms were wrapped tightly around her own head, as if she were trying to hide herself.
"Cecilia, are you okay…? You looked so excited just a minute ago…."
"Th-there are too many people…."
Cecilia spoke in a voice so small it was half a whisper. At that, I took a fresh look around us.
…There really were more customers than I'd expected. No wonder the streets had looked empty—everyone had been packed into the café.
"Are cafés always this crowded…? And the interior's kind of, kind of fancy too…."
"They're not usually this full. …I might've picked a bad time."
I'd made a bit of a mistake. I hadn't expected her to be this uncomfortable. The unfamiliar interior seemed to keep her from settling down, too. We'd both been so excited from the clothes shopping that my judgment had been off. It would've been better if we'd left before ordering, but I hadn't noticed her state and we'd already ordered….
"Let's just drink what we ordered and get out of here quick."
"…Okay."
In a lot of ways, it just didn't suit her. Cecilia, frightened by the crowd and the unfamiliar interior. Just like out on the street, her distinctive looks meant the occasional stare kept drifting our way.
"Uuu…."
I didn't like it. Looking at her like that, I silently rummaged through the bag of clothes we'd bought.
"…Want to use this at least?"
I pulled out the hoodie she usually wore and held it out to her. It was a shame to cover up the outfit she'd just changed into, but right now hiding herself seemed more important.
"Thank you…."
Cecilia took the hoodie with a weak murmur. She didn't put it on, though—just draped it over her head to hide herself.
"…Do you hate crowds that much?"
"It's not that I hate them so much as it feels a little… creepy. Like I can't calm down, or my body keeps flinching…."
She slumped forward and rested her chin on the table as she spoke. Hearing that, I thought for a moment and asked again.
"Scared? Tense? On guard?"
"Mmm, more tension and wariness than fear, maybe. I've never been to a place like this in the first place."
It seemed to be the same principle as when she'd first come to my place and shrunk into herself. I nodded in understanding.
"Then—"
"Your drinks are ready~."
I was about to continue when a server approached at the worst possible timing and cut me off. As the server drew closer, Cecilia tensed even more and curled in on herself. Whether the server didn't notice or was pretending not to, they just smiled brightly and set the drinks on the table.
"One café mocha and one orangeade. Enjoy."
With that, the server gave a little bow and headed back to the counter. Watching them go, I murmured blankly,
"…So it's table service. No wonder they didn't give us a buzzer."
"Can I try this?"
"Ah, yeah."
When I nodded, Cecilia carefully took the glass in both hands. Then she slowly brought it to her lips.
"Mmm…."
A soft gulp sounded. She slowly pulled the glass away and gave a little lick around her mouth with her tongue.
"…It's good."
She seemed to like it. A faint smile peeked out from under the hoodie.
"Yeah? That's a relief at leas—"
"But."
Her quiet voice continued. Looking at me sideways from under the hoodie, Cecilia went on.
"The ones Eunhyuk makes taste better."
"The ones I make? Hm?"
Caught off guard by that, I dug through my memory. The ones I make? What was she talking about? …Ah.
"That bootleg cocktail?"
At my question, Cecilia gave a small, furtive nod.
"…Isn't that just because there's alcohol in it?"
"Even so. …Yeah."
She still murmured in a voice close to a whisper. The occasional glances flying our way made her a little shy.
"Mmm…."
Once more she carefully took a mouthful of the orangeade in her hands. Soft gulping sounds followed a few times. The way she licked the corner of her mouth was timid, but that very timidness made it feel a little alluring.
"This is nice too, but I guess I still like that better."
"…Want some?"
I took a sip of my café mocha and asked lightly.
"Mm, a little?"
She tilted her head as she answered.
"More precisely, I might just want a bit of alcohol itself…. Maybe because I didn't drink yesterday?"
"You're not supposed to drink every day…. Still, well, it's not a bad idea."
I corrected the misunderstanding of a complete beginner like Cecilia while nodding at the thought that it wasn't a bad idea at all. At least in our case, we drank at home. No risk of being exposed to other people's stares, and no reason for her to get scared because of it. Perfect.
"You got excited buying clothes, got tense coming here. Your emotions have been all over the place, so of course you'd crave a drink. Yeah. Next stop, home."
"Okay. I like that."
I'd originally thought about going to look at the autumn leaves, but we'd skip that. Wondering what to pick up for dinner on the way, I took another sip of my café mocha.
"…Come to think of it, what were you about to say earlier?"
"Hm?"
"You know, before the server came…."
"Ah, the thing that got cut off?"
Cecilia nodded. I thought for a second, then answered lightly.
"Nothing much. I was just going to ask you something. Don't worry about it."
Then where do you think you'd feel comfortable if not a café? I quietly replayed the question I'd been about to ask. It had just popped into my head, but it didn't really matter now. The answer was already set, so what was the point of asking?
"Let's finish these and go."
"Okay."
We exchanged a few quiet words. The short outing was over. It was time to head home.