Rehabilitation - 1
Haru had chosen to fatten Rin first.
If it wasn’t healthy weight gain, there was a clear answer: potato chips.
Even the doctor would feed carb lumps to patients who needed rapid weight gain.
After a few bites, Rin would gain weight quickly.
Honestly, it had been on her mind.
If asked if the fat from potato chips was healthy, it definitely wasn’t.
But for someone with severe underweight, wasn’t this necessary?
“Rin, can you come over for a bit?”
“Huh? E…”
Seeing the ankle of a perfectly good leg fit neatly into one hand made the thought even stronger.
If she had any fat at all, it would be better.
“Let’s watch a movie together.”
“Huh?”
“There’s nothing else to do anyway. You can’t even go out with that ankle.”
The limping leg was one thing, but outside, the girl still trembled.
It wasn’t like before, when she would cry buckets, but she clung tightly to Haru’s arm and buried her face downward.
After the children had all gone, she stood there for a long time.
So if they went for a walk, they had no choice but to leave late in the evening, and even then it was only the apartment playground followed by the smoking area.
“It’s better than just sitting around. It’d be boring if it was just me.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, want something to drink?”
“U-um, no.”
“Hmm, can I have a drink?”
“Yes.”
Haru, who was going to drink beer anyway since there was nothing to do, opened the cold beer chilled until water droplets ran down the sides.
She let out a satisfied sigh and picked up the remote.
She had only planned to watch it on a holiday and never actually did, so she played the movie she had missed.
Rin stared at the flickering screen and furrowed her brows.
The bright colors of the movie felt especially stimulating to eyes that had not seen a TV in over a year.
“Here, ah~.”
“Eh, uh-huh?”
“This is delicious. I could never finish it when I was working late.”
At that moment, Haru offered her a potato chip.
Rin blinked repeatedly and stared at the chip.
A potato chip lightly sprinkled with salt.
Rin cautiously extended her hand, then took a small bite of the chip.
“Mmm.”
Rin unconsciously furrowed her brows.
It tasted like salt crystals rolling across her tongue.
When she was a boy… she had eaten something like this often.
Rin thought about it and immediately drank water.
Haru glanced at her with the corner of her eye and offered another chip.
“Eh, uh-huh.”
“Don’t want it?”
“…N-no?”
The girl averted her eyes with a slight pout.
Anyone could see she didn’t want it, but Haru couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her forcing her mouth open and biting the chip.
“If you don’t want to eat it, you don’t have to.”
“…U-um, ugh.”
“Tastes bad?”
This was difficult?
Rin unconsciously recalled the promise she had made, then nodded, thinking that if the rule came to mind, it must be hard.
“It’s salty.”
“Ahaha! Really?”
“…Yes.”
“But it’s hard for me to eat all of this alone. Will you eat with me?”
“U-um.”
She wanted help…
Rin glared at Haru’s words, calling her cheap, then looked at the chip.
If the taste hadn’t changed, she was certain she had eaten this often when she was younger.
She had even been scolded before eating, telling her not to eat before meals.
But why was it so salty?
Her taste buds had changed?
Rin thought about it and suddenly realized she had not properly eaten anything in over a year.
She hadn’t eaten meals or gone out to eat; she only ate convenience store food.
Cheap bread or triangle kimbap at best.
“Eh.”
She hadn’t even thought about it.
She only bought something to eat when she felt her body sway from hunger.
Now that she thought about it, had she used a rice bowl before coming to Haru’s house?
When she had first become independent, she thought she had.
“U-um, uh-huh?”
Memories had gone blank ever since she contracted TS syndrome.
Rin stared blankly with unfocused eyes, trying to recall something that wouldn’t come to mind.
Haru, who had been watching her, gently placed a hand on Rin’s shoulder, wondering if the girl was struggling again.
“Rin?”
“Ah, uh-huh, Haru-noona.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s… uh-huh, strange.”
“Huh? What?”
“I don’t remember what I ate.”
Fortunately, it wasn’t a sudden outburst, so Rin answered right away.
Following the promise, she spoke honestly and tilted her head before taking another bite of the chip.
The crisp sound of the chip breaking.
At the same time, Rin’s brows furrowed, and Haru watched her quietly.
“As expected, it’s salty.”
“If it’s hard to eat, you don’t have to.”
“I used to eat them often. With noona.”
“U-um, that’s right?”
Rin stared at the chip with a face that gave no hint of her thoughts.
Haru watched Rin quietly, then wiped her fingers with a tissue.
“Want to stop?”
Haru wiped her own fingers too and cleared the bowl.
Rin looked at the chip, then gently attached herself to Haru.
Haru quietly hugged the girl.
“U-um.”
Rin collapsed into Haru’s arms.
And they watched the movie.
It seemed like a sequel to a movie they had watched with middle school friends… but it was exactly like the potato chips.
She couldn’t understand what was funny now.
Nothing had changed, yet she could no longer watch it with the same eyes as before.
Rin blinked repeatedly while thinking this, then felt her eyes sting and turned to hug Haru.
Soft-colored knit fabric came into view.
“Huuuung……”
Deep breaths brought comfort.
Even though the smoky scent she hated filled the air, her stinging eyes felt soothed.
“Huuu……”
Rin blinked at the feeling, then lightly rubbed her cheeks.
Haru stroked the head of the girl who was acting spoiled.
“Ehehe.”
A deep laugh flowed out.
A familiar sound.
And… the sound she could hear before bed when Haru stroked her.
Haru smiled bitterly at the sound and gently pulled the girl so she could sleep comfortably.
Rin fell asleep quickly, as expected.
Was she too tired to watch the movie?
Or perhaps it was because she couldn’t handle the flickering screen.
She hadn’t turned on the computer much either.
Still, she wasn’t as anxious as before.
Because Rin had said the chips were salty.
She had said she was in pain and had worked hard to lie down.
“Mmm, ca~.”
So Haru continued watching the movie without thinking much.
Since the chips were too salty, maybe she should try something fried.
No, fried food might cause digestive issues.
Tteok or something like that would be better.
She had heard that a diet friend gained weight from eating tteok.
While thinking these small thoughts, Haru patted the sleeping Rin.
When the movie ended, she switched to a comedy program.
“Phee hee hee.”
It was honestly a silly program that elementary school kids would like.
But that was the point.
Something she could laugh at without thinking about anything.
After suffering at a black company for three years, she missed this, did she?
She might even come to like ajumma comedy.
Haru smiled absentmindedly at the thought and stretched lazily while looking at the refrigerator.
“Mmm.”
She wanted one more beer…
But if she moved now, she would wake Rin.
Haru sighed while watching Rin and decided to hold it in.
Cigarettes and alcohol were all bad habits she had picked up at the black company.
Rin seemed to like something, but smelling the cigarette scent every time made her feel embarrassed.
“U-um.”
“Cold?”
“Yes……”
That was when Rin, who had been sleeping, stirred restlessly.
Haru checked Rin’s outfit.
There was no sense of season to the clothes.
She had said that after ten or two weeks it would warm up, but these clothes weren’t suitable for the weather.
The other clothes in the suitcase were the same.
She had only thought about them after the trip.
“…Should I buy her new clothes?”
Thinking about Rin’s money, she was quite well-off.
It wasn’t like she wanted to dress her in luxury brands; she could buy anything.
If the money ran out, she could buy more later.
Right now, the clothes she was wearing seemed suitable for summer…
“Mmm.”
Honestly, if you took out the thinness, she seemed cuter than when she was a boy?
“Kuhm.”
Haru thought about it and coughed lightly.
Something dangerous.
“Mmm, yeah. She’s a sick kid.”
Haru closed her eyes tightly, thinking that if she didn’t suppress it with a mutter, it would go strangely far.
It was best not to think about this.
But what kind of clothes would suit her?
Her hair was long, and personally, she thought the more feminine side would suit her better.
Since it would warm up soon, maybe a thin slip top with a loose cardigan?
If it got too hot, she could take it off; if cold, she could put it on.
“Ah, aaa.”
Idiot, she had said not to think about it earlier.
Haru pressed her eyes shut at the thought and turned her gaze to the TV.
She saw an entertainer clumsily falling over.
But for some reason, the sight no longer seemed funny.