Together on a Rainy Day, and Home - 3

"No, what about your parents' permission? You haven't gotten it yet, have you?"

"I will. Right now."

"...I'll call my parents first, then."

Honestly, I didn't think my parents would refuse to let Riya stay the night. It wasn't as if this were the first or second time she'd slept over at our house. From childhood until now, she'd stayed over more times than I could count. Now... it somehow felt different from back then.

Still, you never know...

Clinging to that faint hope, I dialed Mom on my phone. At the same time, Riya called her own parents.

The ringing barely lasted before Mom picked up right away.

"Mom, Riya's over at our place."

"I didn't know you'd be gone."

I quickly filled Mom in on the situation, doing my best to make it sound like something she ought to refuse. Riya had gotten soaked in the rain and come to our house; after eating and resting, she'd said she wanted to sleep over.

Mom's reaction, though, was the opposite of refusal. Her tone was practically delighted—close to pure joy.

"...Why on earth not?"

I'd expected that much. Mom practically thought of Riya as a daughter, so letting her sleep over was nothing. The real bombshell came with the next words.

"...Huh? All of a sudden?"

My parents had just declared they wouldn't be coming back to the house tonight. In other words, until tomorrow morning, it would be only Riya and me here.

Just when I'd thought the situation couldn't get any worse, something even worse had appeared.

"Mom? Anyone can tell that's a lie..."

"No, wait a second—!"

The call cut off before I could say anything that might change things. Just like that, it was settled: Riya would sleep at our house, and until tomorrow it would be the two of us alone. Really and truly.

Faced with that reality, I could only sit there in a daze for a moment.

What kind of situation is this?

I'd clearly been trying to send Riya home again—so why had everything gotten even more serious? What on earth was Mom thinking, leaving me alone like this? The situation is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠different from before, Mom. I couldn't say exactly what was different, but still.

"Sihyun, how did it go?"

Whether she could read my mind or not, Riya asked in that same expressionless face of hers. Maybe it was the thin T-shirt alone and the short shorts, but my eyes kept being drawn to her body more than usual today.

Don't.

I let out a sigh at my own gaze and, once more conquering my hundred and eight worldly desires, answered her.

"You can stay."

"They said it was fine. Your parents too."

"And... my parents aren't coming home tonight."

"Mm..."

At the news that my parents wouldn't be returning, Riya showed no particular reaction, as if she'd already known. Of course that couldn't be the case... but even so, why was she so calm? Did she have any idea what I might do?

She trusts me, I guess...

Riya trusted me enough not to be shaken at all. And if that was the case, I couldn't very well be the one getting flustered. That wouldn't do—not if I was going to live up to her trust.

I poured cold water over the turmoil in my chest and forced myself to calm down.

"Um... so what should we do now?"

Now that it was decided Riya would be sleeping alone with me in the house, just sitting around felt impossible. We'd already watched a movie, so more movies felt off; we needed something else to do.

"Want to go to my room? There's that game we left unfinished last time."

"Okay."

Thankfully—if that was the right word—there was a game we'd started the last time Riya had come over and never finished. A PlayStation game, so we had to play it in my room. Connecting it to the living-room TV had always bothered my parents, so installing it on my computer had been the natural choice.

Riya wasn't the type who particularly loved games, but she didn't hate them either. As long as it was with me, she almost always played.

"Hurry up and sit."

I sat on the bed first and called to her. Riya nodded, came over, and plopped down right beside me—pressed flush against me.

"....?"

Our thighs were completely touching; I could feel every soft contour of her skin. Even a slight shift of my shoulder bumped into hers. And above all, from her hair right by my nose came a continuous, fragrant scent.

Is it okay to just keep smelling her like this...?

The thought crossed my mind for a second, but before it could finish, Riya had already started the game as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"There! There! You have to block that!"

"Got it."

It was a two-player defense game. The controls weren't hard, and it was perfect for playing together. She'd already done it last time, so she handled it skillfully now.

As we kept focusing on the game, the nerves that had been locked on Riya finally began to disperse. Or so I thought.

"Sihyun. Block there."

"...."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Riya casually rested her head against me. On my shoulder I felt the light, soft weight of her hair—tiny yet unmistakably soft. The closer contact made the strands tickle unbearably.

From that moment on, my attention was stolen from the game and given back entirely to Riya.

I'm seriously going to lose it.

I had no idea how many times today I'd already thought I was going to go crazy, but this time I really felt like I might. From the moment Riya had been completely soaked by the rain, to when she'd come home and showered, to those occasional times she shoved her face right up to mine—every single one of those moments had made me feel like I was about to snap, and controlling myself had been hard.

And if I don't control myself... then what?

Of course I wouldn't lay a hand on Riya... but I'd take care of things on my own, vigorously. I won't say what. You all know.

"....?"

While I was sighing like that, Riya suddenly slipped one arm between my arm and my waist. Just the arm-linking posture alone was enough to fluster me—and then she pressed herself completely against me.

Against my forearm, something soft and yielding molded itself.

"....!!"

The sensation of that pliant mass of flesh wrapping around my left arm slammed straight into my brain. My whole body locked up. I couldn't even breathe properly.

"R-Riya...?"

"What?"

"No... your arm."

Thinking this was genuinely not okay, I said as much to her, and Riya looked down at my arm too—my forearm buried and trapped against her chest. But she only looked back at me with a face that seemed not to understand what was wrong, and pressed even closer.

"...What's wrong with this?"

Riya's face had flushed as well, but my frozen brain failed to register it. Her chest was pressed even tighter against me than before. The sensation was enough to make breathing difficult.

...More than that—there's nothing?

There was nothing. Whatever should have been wrapping her chest wasn't there. Only the direct, soft sensation of bare flesh transmitted itself through my arm.

Come to think of it, when I'd washed her clothes earlier, I'd washed that too. And I hadn't given her any underwear.

In other words, right now she was wearing nothing under her top.

Please...!!

The moment the thought reached that far, my face flooded scarlet and my breathing stopped. Blood rushed downward. The game screen no longer even registered in my vision.

What was Riya thinking, being this oblivious? Even if it was me!

Of course, that trust of hers was overwhelmingly welcome and something I was grateful for.

"Sihyun, you died."

"M-me?"

"...No, the game."

"Huh...? Ah... y-yeah."

Not long after, when the game character died, I finally managed to claw my thoughts back together. Of course, recovering my thoughts didn't mean I'd recovered control of my body. And the blood was still pooled lower down.

"Riya. I'm gonna hit the bathroom real quick."

"Okay."

This middle-school body in the middle of puberty. It was far too inconvenient.

"Riya, we should sleep now."

After that we just kept playing games the whole time—though with a little physical distance between Riya and me. She seemed a bit disappointed, but it was a necessary choice for both our sakes.

Anyway, the clock had already passed midnight. Bedtime had arrived.

"I'll sleep in the living room."

There was no way I could make Riya sleep outside or on the sofa. If she was going to stay, she deserved to sleep properly. I couldn't exactly offer her my parents' room either, so her bedroom would be mine. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I could manage a night on the sofa just fine.

But her thoughts seemed to be different.

"No. Living room."

"Then where am I supposed to sleep? My parents' room... I'm not really okay with that either."

"Sleep together."

Sitting on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the bed with the blanket already pulled back, Riya patted the spot beside her with her palm and said it. Sleep together.

Of course that couldn't happen.

My bed wasn't that big. It was generous for one person, but clearly on the small side for two. If we slept together, our skin would inevitably touch. There was no way I could endure that.

"No."

"Sleep together."

"No... for real."

This was genuinely not okay. Deep down I wanted to shout, "Yes! Let's sleep together!" but my conscience hadn't fallen that far yet.

When I refused with everything I had, her face gradually clouded over.

"Sleep together."

"I said no... I'll go sleep on the sofa."

Judging that this would go on forever otherwise, I started to head out. And right then, Riya's voice called me back.

"Sihyun."

I turned my head for a moment, and what met my eyes was Riya lying on the bed. She was under the covers, lifting the edge to bare her body completely—an invitation that looked for all the world like the mouth of a devil, beckoning me inside.

"...."

I wanted to curse. I wanted to dive in that very second.

"S-see you tomorrow!"

I clenched my teeth and bolted straight out of the room at a near-run. Tonight... I didn't think I'd be able to sleep.

"...What a shame."

Watching Sihyun's retreating figure, Riya soon pulled the blanket back over herself. Looking forward to next time.