Stroke Me
"Thanks for the meal."
"It was nothing, really."
As I bowed my head and offered my thanks, Donggeon waved his hand with a cheerful laugh.
Despite my insistence that I felt bad about it, Donggeon had paid for every bit of the coffee we'd just finished. It seemed that Donggeon, for his own part, had simply wanted to treat someone quite a bit younger than himself at least once.
"What are you two going to do now?"
"I wanna keep running!"
"We'll keep running, of course. We've shaken off the stalker, so there's nothing left to worry about."
Their straightforward attitude and impressive energy levels. It suddenly struck me how well the two of them suited each other.
"What about you, Eunhyuk?"
"I should head home. There's a cat waiting for me."
I casually checked the time on my phone. It was currently 12:47. Honestly, it was cutting it close, but if I hurried, we might still manage lunch together.
"Then I guess this is where we part ways."
"Yeah."
"See ya~."
We bowed our heads and exchanged farewells, then each turned and headed off in our own directions. After taking about three steps, a voice suddenly called out from behind.
"Oh, right."
It was Donggeon's voice. When I looked back, he had also turned around and called out loudly.
"Next time we meet, you can just call me hyung! It's a bit too formal otherwise, don't you think?"
"…Don't people usually bring that up in the middle of a conversation?"
"Haha."
Scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed smile, Donggeon looked a little sheepish. Judging by that single "Oh, right," it seemed he'd been meaning to say it all along and had simply forgotten until now.
"Then see you next time, Donggeon… hyung?"
Even as I tilted my head, calling him hyung made Donggeon's face light up with a bright smile. I waved back at him as he waved big, then turned around again and quickened my pace toward home.
"Huff, huff—…. Fuu…. …Cough. Ahem."
In front of the house. Clutching the doorknob of the front door, I caught my breath. I must have overestimated my stamina. I'd only run for a little over twenty minutes, yet my heart was pounding hard. I really needed to start working out.
"Cough. Fuu…."
After taking one last deep breath, I slowly turned the doorknob.
"I'm home…."
Because the distance had been a bit farther than expected, it was already well past one o'clock—the kind of time when Cecilia might have already eaten lunch alone. Thinking that, I stepped inside, but it was quieter than I'd expected. There was no one on the bed either.
"Huh? Where'd she—"
"Mm, welcome back…?"
As I looked around, a sleepy voice drifted up from below. Looking down, I saw Cecilia lying on the floor. More precisely, not the floor but on the blanket I slept on, twitching her ears and letting out a long, languid yawn.
"Yaaawn—…."
"Did you sleep?"
"I dozed off while reading…."
Looking again, sure enough, a book had fallen by her head. I picked it up lightly and set it on the table. At the same time, Cecilia, who had been lying there so loosely, began to stir and sit up with small, fumbling movements.
"Lunch?"
"Not yet…."
"You haven't eaten?"
I asked in mild surprise, and Cecilia nodded.
"I was waiting to eat with you…."
Her cute reply made a smile bloom on my face unbidden as I started preparing lunch.
"Alright, let's eat together. Go wash your face first."
"Okay…."
Pat, pat—her small footsteps sounded across the floor. Listening to the subsequent rush of water from the sink, I placed a pot on the induction cooktop.
"Soup can be this, and side dishes…."
As I went to take out the side dishes, I suddenly realized the area around the table was a bit messy—mostly because of the blanket. Normally I'd fold it up after getting up in the morning, but it seemed Cecilia had spread it out.
"Heave-ho."
I folded it lightly and pushed it to one side. A strangely pleasant scent tickled my nose. Come to think of it, whether reading or sleeping, she could have done it on her own bed—why had Cecilia specifically spread out my blanket? The question arose, and a beat later, embarrassment washed over me.
"I'm done washing up."
"Uh, yeah. Could you set the utensils on the table?"
I asked the somewhat more awake Cecilia for a simple prep task. As for the reason for the blanket, it seemed better not to ask.
"…So yeah, I think at least a minimum level of stability would be guaranteed. Not certain, though."
"Hmm."
Wrapping up that train of thought, I popped a piece of rolled omelet into my mouth. Much like me, Cecilia was chewing her rice with a contemplative expression.
"So then, Eunhyuk… are you in favor of my transfer?"
"Not so much in favor as neutral. The choice is yours, after all."
"Hmm…."
At my light reply, Cecilia once again wore a troubled look and stroked her neck. Seeing that, I added another word in a light voice.
"You don't have to worry about it so much. Like I said before, there's still some time left, and it's not like you absolutely have to go. Nom."
"I can't just leave it like that."
"Hm?"
I tilted my head with my chopsticks still in my mouth. In front of me, Cecilia picked up a piece of rolled omelet with her chopsticks and said quietly,
"This country has laws too, right?"
"It does. …They're pretty complicated in their own way."
"The laws, the way of living, the value of money, units of length and weight—they're all different. …Living here, you start to feel it little by little. When reading books, and sometimes…."
She glanced toward the refrigerator. At the end of her gaze was a sticker that read "Energy Efficiency Rating."
"…In everyday life, when you see words you don't exactly know the meaning of."
"…."
"Honestly, up until now most of my life was as a wanderer, so I never really tried to learn."
She paused there and lifted her soup bowl to sip the broth. In the middle, a small "Ah, hot" voice was heard. She blew on it—fuu fuu—then the sound of slurping followed.
"Ahem. But now I have a place to stay. Because you, Eunhyuk, let me stay."
Lowering her gaze, she spoke softly. As if feeling the warmth of the soup bowl, her slender fingers occasionally stroked it a little.
"I want to learn."
She said it with a gentle expression.
"I want to know. I want to act. I want to absorb knowledge and skills into my body, and… be of help."
At her following words, I felt my heart grow warm. It was admirable and heartwarming. Wanting to learn something in order to repay a kindness—how admirable was that?
"You don't have to try so hard to repay me."
"I will repay you. I have to show my gratitude."
Popping another side dish into her mouth with a "nom," she looked up at the ceiling. After chewing thoroughly and swallowing, she opened her mouth again.
"Still, I'm a little scared."
The words she tossed out carried a heavy sense of reality. Though her ears weren't very visible, a slightly stiff tail could be seen behind her back.
"Since I don't have much experience getting along with people, I wonder if I'll be able to do well or not…."
"But you get along just fine with me."
"Because you're comfortable, Eunhyuk."
The words that followed as if it were only natural made me feel a ticklish sensation. How to put it—like becoming friends with a stray cat you often run into on the street…? A hard-to-describe kind of fulfillment washed over me. It was ticklish, proud, and at the same time subtly embarrassing.
"You're kind. Being with you doesn't make me feel bad."
"You've said something like that before. Probably… that I smell nice?"
"Smell?"
"Yeah. You say it sometimes when you're drunk. Don't you remember?"
At my words, Cecilia tilted her head. Her face flushed a little.
"I-I remember. Sorry for always clinging to you…."
"Clinging a bit is no big deal."
"Mm, thank you. By the way, smell…? I'm not sure."
Cecilia suddenly looked at me and sniffed, then tilted her head again.
"What kind of smell was it…. I remember saying it, but…."
"Maybe you were just mistaken because you were drunk?"
"Maybe. Anyway!"
Returning her tilted head to normal, Cecilia raised her voice.
"I do want to learn."
"Yeah."
"But school… honestly, I'm not confident. I don't know if I can fit in well."
"Are you scared?"
"I'm scared. So…."
Setting down her spoon, Cecilia slowly stood up from her seat. Then she came over beside me, lowered her posture, and bowed her head.
"…Stroke me."
"…."
"Tell me I can do it. Tell me I won't be scared."
To her, I slowly reached out my hand. Feeling the soft texture, I gently stroked her silver-white hair.
"You won't be scared. You can do it, Cecilia."
"Okay…."
She nodded in time with my words. Then suddenly, in a very small voice, she said something.
"……Call me 'our cute Cecilia' too, just once…."
"Hm?"
"…Mm, never mind. If you didn't hear it, just…."
She said that, but coincidentally, I had heard it. Continuing to stroke her, I said those words just now.
"…Our cute Cecilia."
"…."
It was a little more embarrassing than I'd expected. As I scratched my cheek, she muttered something again.
"…I missed it."
"Hm?"
"No. Nothing."
This time, unfortunately, I didn't catch it. Soon she raised her head again. On that delicate face was a faint smile.
"Thank you, Eunhyuk. I'll do my best."
"…Fighting."
I offered a small cheer. She grinned bashfully, picked up her own dishes, and stood up.
"Thanks for the meal! It was delicious again today, Eunhyuk."
Her bright voice rang through the room.