Chapter 18

Some time had passed since she’d fallen asleep, but the situation remained unchanged.

Even though a good amount of time had gone by, her arms were still firmly wrapped around him, holding Satoru in place as if she refused to let go.

“…What am I gonna do about dinner…”

He had planned to head home once the timing seemed right, grab a quick dinner, and then come back.

But with her clinging to him so tightly like this, not only could he not move, it also felt wrong to try to pull away.

He’d already told his mom he’d eat after coming back home, so now he had to figure out some solution…

“Satoru…”

Right then, Reika murmured his name softly in her sleep, her voice weak and close.

He considered what options he had—but without even his phone in reach, he couldn’t do anything.

Stuck, quite literally.

“Reika, are you awake? Satoru-kun, are you here too?”

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, followed by a woman’s voice.

Before Satoru could respond, the doorknob turned with a click, and the door slowly opened.

“O-oh my! I’m so sorry!”

“N-no! I should be the one apologizing! I’m really sorry about this situation!”

The woman who entered was Reika’s mother.

Apparently, she had just gotten home from work.

Most likely, she had come to check on her daughter, who hadn’t been feeling well.

And what she found was her daughter in bed… with her boyfriend beside her.

Witnessing that scene, Satoru nearly jumped out of his skin.

“No, really—thank you, Satoru-kun. For staying with her. She looks so much at ease sleeping like that…”

“…I think she’d been so tense after the nightmare that she couldn’t sleep at all.”

“I figured as much. This morning, she stumbled out to the living room looking pale as a ghost. …I’ve seen it happen so many times, but I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.”

Normally, this would’ve been an instant “you’re dead” level situation.

But Reika’s mother knew the whole story.

It wasn’t even the first time she had seen them sleeping beside each other like this.

(Still, no matter how many times this happens… I doubt I’ll ever get used to it.)

They were just lying together, not doing anything inappropriate.

Even so, there was no way anyone could stay calm getting caught in this position.

“Satoru-kun, are you planning to stay with her again tonight?”

“Yes. I already got permission from my mom. And judging by how she is right now, I’m guessing she won’t be fully better tomorrow either, so I plan to take the day off and stay with her.”

“Even though you do this all the time, I still have to ask… Are you sure that’s okay?”

“It’s really no problem. I can study on my own without going to class. Besides, I wouldn’t be able to focus right now anyway—not when I’m this worried.”

“…Thank you, truly.”

“…Not at all. Um, are you doing okay, Auntie?”

It was a bit of an odd situation—talking with his girlfriend’s mom while lying in bed next to said girlfriend—but the conversation continued.

“Yes, I’m alright. Work’s been a bit hectic, but it’s calmed down for now. …And you’re even worrying about me too. You’re really something, Satoru-kun.”

“It’s not that big a deal…”

The words had just slipped out of his mouth, but as a high school student, asking an adult about her well-being felt a bit too forward—and he instantly regretted it a little. 

(Tl/n: dem satoru rizzing mama Reika)

“Have you eaten yet? I’m guessing you haven’t, right?”

“I was planning to head home for a bit and eat, but… she’s sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to wake her.”

“Still, you can’t just not eat anything… Maybe it’s better to wake Reika up for a bit after all?”

From Satoru’s perspective, Reika’s peaceful sleep was the top priority—he wanted her to rest as much as possible.

But he also understood where her mother was coming from. It wouldn’t feel right having him stay without even eating dinner.

What should he do?

He tried to think things through one more time.

Then, a single idea popped into his head.

“Um, would it be okay if I just ate here instead?”

“Of course, I don’t mind. But… are you going back to get something?”

“No, not exactly… Sorry, could I ask you to grab that phone over there for me?”

“Sure.”

She handed him the phone that had been sitting on Reika’s desk.

Satoru quickly tapped in a number and made a call.

“Yo, this is your legendary little sister speaking. What could you possibly want from me when you should be obviously deeping your love?”

“Sorry—Reika’s fast asleep and I can’t move. I need a Chisa-Eats delivery, please.”

“Wait, Reika nee-chan’s asleep and you can’t move? …Wait a sec…gasp! ”

Unfortunately, she seemed to have immediately grasped what kind of situation he was in.

That uncanny intuition of hers was honestly kind of terrifying.

“Can I get the full story here? So, what—you mean Reika nee-chan is clinging to you in her sleep!?”

“Yeah, that’s the situation. So just throw something together for dinner and bring it over. I don’t wanna wake her up.”

“Roger that! Mission accepted. I’ll whip something up and bring it over ASAP! I’ll bring something light for Reika nee-chan too, just in case she wakes up hungry!”

“That’d be a big help. I trust your judgment on the food.”

“Got it. If I talk any longer I’ll probably wake her up, so I’m hanging up. Just sit tight!”

From the sound of her voice, she was now fired up with determination.

She could be a handful sometimes, but in moments like this, her energy and quick thinking really came through. The fact that she understood everything without needing much explanation actually worked in his favor.

“I asked my little sister to bring something over. Should be here soon.”

“I’m so sorry for all this… really.”

“No, no. I’m the one making all these selfish requests—thank you for putting up with it.”

Thanks to his little sister’s support, Satoru was finally able to come up with a plan that let him stay by Reika’s side and get some dinner.