A Sweet Apology

"I didn't do it..."

"Why do you think I put you next to the kids in the first place?"

Rain hung her head low at Amy's words. Seeing her look so pitiful for some reason, I slid over next to her and patted her head.

"Hang in there, Rain."

"Okay..."

After returning from Victor's quarters, I took a shower and happily dried my hair. Since our schedule for the day was completely over, we all changed into our pajamas. It wasn't night yet, but the dinosaur pajamas were so comfortable that I didn't really have any other choice. The true charm of these pajamas only shines in the dark, so it was a bit of a shame.

As I sat on the bed hugging the fluffy tail of my pajamas, Shine came over and sat down beside me. For some reason, she had a conflicted look on her face.

"Shine."

"Yeah?"

"Is something wrong?"

Shine didn't answer my question. She just locked eyes with me and stared in silence. As the minutes ticked by, her gaze grew increasingly heavy. Scratching my cheek awkwardly, I eventually looked away.

"Jeff."

"Yeah...?"

"It's nothing."

Shine let out a sigh and flopped backward onto the bed. Her fine, silky white hair scattered across the sheets. The fragrant scent of shampoo wafted up, putting me at ease. Shine, Rain, and I all smelled exactly the same. I grabbed a lock of my own hair and sniffed it.

"I'm going to step out to see Victor for a bit, so behave yourselves."

After putting away the hairdryer, Amy gave us a quick instruction and left the room. I stared at the closed door and massaged my aching temples. I had thought it would be fine if Shine did it, but apparently, that wasn't the case. I resolved to apologize properly the next time I saw Victor.

"Shine."

"Yeah."

"Was it your fault?" I asked, taking her hand.

Shine stared into my eyes for a long moment before finally opening her mouth to reply.

"I think so."

"I see."

I got up from the bed and walked over to Rain, who was sitting by the table. She was currently wearing panda pajamas. It seemed she had bought a whole series of animal pajamas besides her usual chick hoodie.

"Rain."

I tugged on her short panda tail. She had been dozing off in her chair, but at the sudden tug, she jumped, covering her rear with both hands and letting out a squeak.

"Eek?!"

Startled by her dramatic reaction, I quickly let go of the tail.

"S-sorry, Rain. Did I scare you?"

Rain patted her tail, spun her chair around, and looked up at me. With the tips of her ears slightly flushed, she answered in a flustered voice.

"N-no, it's fine. I'm okay."

Hearing her response, I looked down at my hands. Did my power slip out without me realizing? If a sudden jolt of static electricity had shocked her backside, I would have jumped just like she did.

"Rain, what does Victor like?"

"Victor?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm..."

At my question, Rain crossed her arms and fell into deep thought. The panda hood resting loosely on her head slipped back, revealing her bright yellow hair. It shimmered so beautifully, looking almost like honey. I want to eat it. I licked my lips, my mouth watering. It smelled so good—if I actually put it in my mouth, wouldn't it taste sweet? As if possessed, I began to creep closer to her.

"Hmm..."

Rain was still lost in thought. I slipped behind her back and gathered a handful of her hair. A soft, tangled skein of gold. Overcome by a powerful impulse, I stuffed a lock of Rain's hair into my mouth.

"Jeff...?"

"Mmh..." I mumbled around the mouthful of hair.

It didn't taste like anything. There was only the strong scent of shampoo and the distinct fragrance of Rain's skin.

"Does it taste good...?"

Rain pulled her hair back with a dubious expression. The strands I was chewing on slid out of my mouth with a gentle tug. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. I shook my head.

"Now it smells like spit..."

Rain held her hair and sniffed it. The damp patch glistened, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reflecting the light. She reached for a wet wipe on the table and began scrubbing her hair. She looked utterly miserable, her face crumpled in a pout.

"So, what does Victor like?"

Now ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that I had satisfied my curiosity about the taste of Rain's hair, I returned to my original goal: finding out what Victor liked. I climbed onto the chair opposite Rain and sat down.

"Tell me, Rain."

"From what I know, Victor likes working out."

"Working out...?"

"Yeah."

I fell into thought at Rain's answer. To make a proper apology, I needed a gift. If I apologized while handing him something he liked, he was bound to cool down. And the sooner I apologized, the better.

"If he likes working out, what would be a good gift?"

"A gift?"

"Yeah."

"Jeff... don't tell me you like Victor?"

An entirely unexpected question flew out of Rain's mouth.

A brief silence fell over the room. Flustered, I blinked rapidly, my mouth hanging open. Me, liking Victor? Why on earth would Rain think that?

"Jeff likes Victor?!"

Suddenly, Shine bolted upright on the bed and shrieked. Her voice was so loud that Rain and I had to cover our ears.

For some reason, the atmosphere instantly turned dangerous. Every single hair on my body stood on end. Shine hopped off the bed. The impact caused her dinosaur hood to slip forward, perfectly framing her head. She looked like a literal dinosaur.

Stomping her pale, bare feet as she approached, she felt incredibly threatening.

Swish, swish.

The dinosaur tail dragging along the floor began to make an eerie, rustling sound. I wasn't the only one feeling the chill; Rain, sitting right next to me, had also started to tremble.

"Is that true, Jeff?"

Shine closed the distance and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gripped my hands tightly. As she tilted her head up, the hood slipped back slightly. Her eyes were completely hollow. They were so empty they felt freezing cold.

"W-what is?"

"That you like Victor."

"No! No, it's not!" I frantically shook my head.

"Thank goodness..."

Hearing my denial, Shine let out a sigh of relief and closed her eyes. I snapped my head around to glare at Rain. Because she had asked such a useless question, Shine had almost lost it.

"Jeff."

"Y-yeah...?"

"I'm your favorite, right?"

Shine opened her eyes as she spoke. The emotion swirling in her gaze felt thick and sticky.

"Y-yeah..." I replied with an awkward laugh.

"Me too."

Shine took my hand and pressed it against her cheek. The soft, supple texture of her skin transmitted directly through my palm.

"...So you don't like Victor?"

"Yeah."

Rain asked cautiously, keeping a close eye on Shine's reaction. I nodded in response.

"I just want to apologize to him, and I want to prepare a gift to go with it."

"Oh, I see."

Shine, who was still rubbing her cheek against my hand, dragged a chair over and sat down right next to me.

"I want to help choose the gift too."

Two heads are better than one, and three are better than two. The three of us put our heads together and began brainstorming gifts for Victor.

"How about workout equipment?"

"I think Victor already has plenty of that," Shine replied to my suggestion.

I nodded, picturing Victor's quarters. Even if we added another piece of exercise equipment to that space, which probably reeked of iron and sweat, I doubted Victor would care much for it.

"Then what would be good?"

"What about candy?"

"Candy?"

"Yeah. There was candy in Victor's fridge."

I nodded at Rain's suggestion. The green grape-flavored candy she had brought earlier had been incredibly delicious. Victor had to be a candy lover.

"Let's go with candy then."

"Sounds good."

And so, we decided on candy as Victor's gift. However, a major problem remained: where were we going to get it?

"Can't we just buy some at the convenience store?"

Shine pulled Amy's credit card out of her pocket as if she didn't see the issue. Startled, I patted down my own pockets. But of course, the card held in Shine's hand wasn't going to magically appear in my pocket.

"W-when did you take that?"

"Jeff."

"Y-yeah...?"

"Since I'm the older sister, I should manage the card."

Shine's voice carried a strange, echoing resonance. Unable to find a counterargument, I simply nodded. She was right.

"But Shine, buying it from a convenience store makes it look like we didn't put any effort into it."

"Effort?"

"Yeah."

I jumped up from my seat and headed toward the computer. Since I still had some computer time left today, I could look up how to make candy. After all, handmade gifts are always the best. If not, well, whatever.

I sat down in front of the computer and tapped away at the keyboard.

Once I hit enter on the search bar, a list of videos began to cascade down the screen. Rain and Shine, also curious about how to make candy, came over and sat next to me. I clicked on the video with the most eye-catching thumbnail. Judging by the massive number of views and likes, it was bound to be a good tutorial.

As I watched the video, I grabbed a nearby notepad and began listing the ingredients. Sugar, starch syrup, water, lemon juice, food coloring, molds for pretty shapes, and even a silicone mat. My hand moved without rest as I noted down the surprisingly long list of materials.

"How are we going to get the sugar?"

"Won't they have it at the convenience store?" Shine answered my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠worried question.

I tilted my head, trying to recall the items sold at the convenience store. Did they actually sell sugar there?

"They probably don't, right?"

"Then where should we get it?" I asked anxiously, holding up the notepad. If we couldn't get the ingredients, this recipe would be completely useless.

"The cafeteria!" Rain, who had been quiet until now, shouted energetically. "They'll definitely have it in the cafeteria!"

I nodded in admiration at her brilliant idea. She was absolutely right. The cafeteria would have plenty of ingredients for cooking. Naturally, they would have more than enough ingredients to make candy.

Shine, Rain, and I headed to the cafeteria to gather our candy-making supplies. Amy had told us to behave, but since we weren't going to cause any trouble, there was nothing to worry about. Besides, Amy would surely be delighted to eat the candy I made, right? If we made a huge batch so everyone could share while making Victor's gift, everyone was bound to be happy.

Shine and I headed to the cafeteria, each holding the other's dinosaur tail. It was an unavoidable choice; if we didn't hold them up, they would drag along the floor and get the tips dirty.