I’m an Introvert, but After Taking Care of the School’s Most Beautiful Girl Who Lives in an Apartment When She Was Sick, She Became Attached to Me and Started Inviting Me Over to Her Place! - Chapter 14-15

Chapter 14

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Kaon Natsuki’s POV

Beep, beep, beep.

“…37.2°C. You still have a fever, but it looks like it’s coming down.”

Sitting cross-legged right beside my bed, Suzuya-kun murmured that while looking at the thermometer in his hand. Even I was surprised at how much better I was starting to feel. The pain in my head gradually eased, and the asthma that hadn’t stopped until now grew quiet as if it had been a lie. The fever subsided too, and the hazy, floating sensation I’d had upon waking melted away like cotton candy.

“Well, they say it’s most dangerous right when you start feeling better, so take it easy a bit longer, okay?”

“Yeah… Thank you.”

Suzuya slowly stood up and gently placed the thermometer within my reach. Then, looking down at me as I lay on the bed, he cast a kind gaze my way. Just being watched over by his affectionate expression made breathing feel easier.

I’m sure you’d been showing me so much more kindness all along, and I just didn’t notice it, right?

Frustratingly, I hadn’t been able to realize it at the time. But now, I could say with confidence that there had been so much kindness. The weight of the novel still cradled in my hands told me that.

After all, when I woke up, you weren’t leaning against my bed. Even as you gently held my hand, you kept a proper distance from the bed, as if deliberately avoiding any other contact. Whenever I notice that kind of kindness—kindness he would never put into words himself—my heart is always wrapped in warmth.

“I’ll lend you that novel.”

“Huh? …Really?”

“Yeah. You’ve been holding onto it like it’s something precious. Besides, I actually have another one from a different series. Hahaha.”

Suzuya answered my apologetic yet hopeful question with a smile. After rummaging through his bag a bit, just as he’d said, he pulled out another novel wrapped in the same book cover.

“Then, when you’re done reading it, tell me what you thought. And if anything else happens, you can read it again anytime.”

“Eh… Ah.”

Suzuya didn’t put his bag on, but with only a single novel in hand, he started to leave the room. As I watched his back… I let a voice slip out. Why did that voice escape me? His warmth felt so comforting, and when we talked, the bits of kindness I sensed now and then loosened my heart.

“Hm?”

I understood it now. I had completely let my guard down around him. My testing words, my gestures where I worked up just a little courage, he accepted all of it with kindness. But it wasn’t some excessive, over-the-top kindness. It was the kind that only showed itself occasionally in the middle of casual banter. And yet, my heart was easily drawn to that kindness.

That day, I relied on someone and learned the fear of losing them. When I had expectations and was worn down, I mustered the courage to depend on them. In the end, all of it was trampled.

Of course, it’s not like I think my parents did that on purpose. But once you’ve known the fear of having someone turn their eyes away from you even once, the courage to rely on someone again doesn’t come easily. 

I became especially afraid of that, and I’d managed everything on my own ever since.

But you’re telling me it’s okay, aren’t you?

“Sorry, Natsuki-san. At least let me walk you to your bed in your room.“

“Hey, hey. You don’t need to thank me. Just rest for now.“

“Hm? Natsuki-san, is it okay for you to move already?“

“Haha~If you’ll go back to bed quietly, I don’t mind being your mom.“

A warmth so strong that I could no longer look away.

“Hey, Suzuya-kun. Can I… be selfish for a moment?”

At last, I found the courage. I decided to try relying on someone other than myself once more. It was a little scary, but if it was him, I was sure it would be okay. Caught between conflict and hope, my heart was the loudest it had been all day. It thumped violently, thud-thud, and the fleeting silence felt like it could last minutes.

My weakness, shown to someone for the first time. And Suzuya….

“…Of course.”

He replied simply and sat back down beside me once more. His lips curved into a smile as he firmly accepted my courage.

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Chapter 15

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Sorato Suzuya’s POV

She looked like someone who was afraid of relying on others. Kind, easy to talk to, and sometimes showing me a mischievous tease that was bad for my heart. She was someone whose invincible smile suited her perfectly. That was my impression of Natsuki-san at school.

But through some twist of fate, I ended up getting involved with her privately like this, and as the time I spent talking with her increased, certain things began to come into view.

“Fufu, I get it. I understand, I really do. Thank you for worrying about me. Though… I do think I’m pretty good at judging people, you know.”

“Oh, right, Sora-kun. Since you’re here anyway, why don’t you come up to my room?”

She was someone who scattered smiles at everyone and captivated the opposite sex, yet she also valued herself more than anyone. Maybe among the words she’d said to me, there were also some meant to size up what kind of person “Sorato Suzuya” was.

That was the only impression I’d had of her while talking.

Bright and innocent, spreading smiles as she carefully chose whom to engage with and deepened her connections. But at the same time, her way of forming relationships felt suffocating. It was like she was always being considerate of something, keeping a single thread pulled taut to its limit. Perhaps she’d kept pushing herself all this time, relying on that one thread that looked like it could snap at any moment.

“Um… I’m still feeling lonely, so… Would you stay with me…?”

But today was the first time she’d shown me her weakness. Even though her fever hadn’t gone down, I couldn’t even guess why she’d gone so far as to put on a calm front and call me to her house. Sure, I’d considered that possibility as well. But that alone wasn’t a reason for me to be the one who should be there, so I brushed it off as my own overthinking.

That was why I realized it too late. All this time, in her own way, she’d been trying to tell me. From the very first time I came over, she always had been.

“And like I said earlier, that specific loneliness you get when you have a cold hit me really hard. To be honest, having you come over made me feel really relieved.”

Those words were her greatest SOS and proof of her trust in me. Why me? Why someone like me? I didn’t need excuses like that. I didn’t know why. But if she believed that I was the one who could answer her loneliness…

“Hold my hand… Please…”

To this girl right in front of me, struggling and fighting through her pain, I would reach out my hand as many times as it took.

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