On Saturday morning, Qiluo rolled over in her bedding, burying her face in her pillow in an attempt to use a pillow barrier to block the assault of the light.
Her body felt as heavy as lead, every joint protesting that today was not a workday.
Qiluo wanted to sleep in.
Her phone vibrated under her pillow.
She reached a hand out from under the covers, groping around to drag her phone into her pillow barrier, squinting at the screen with one eye.
Yuki: 【I've arrived downstairs.】
Yuki: 【If you're still sleepy, there's no rush. I can wait.】
Qiluo set her phone beside her pillow and stared at the unlit lamp on the ceiling, taking a few seconds to remember that today was Saturday.
Today was the day to meet Rin Kurokawa.
They had clearly already met, so why did they need to meet again?
Well, Yuki didn't know that yet.
She sat up in bed, her hair sticking up in a messy bedhead, the collar of her pajamas slipping to one side to expose half of her shoulder.
She looked down at her disheveled state, then glanced at Yuki's tentative message on the phone screen.
Qiluo: 【Come on up. I'm still in bed.】
Yuki: 【...Up?】
Qiluo: 【Yes, since you're already here, come up and sit for a bit. I just woke up and need to get ready. It's better than waiting downstairs.】
Yuki: 【Is anyone else at your place?】
Qiluo: 【No, I live alone.】
Only after sending it did she realize what the phrase "I live alone" would imply to Yuki Kurokawa.
Just as she was about to add that it wasn't what she thought, Yuki's reply came through.
Yuki: 【Your apartment number?】
Qiluo: 【The innermost unit on the third floor.】
She put her phone back beside her pillow and flopped back down, staring at the ceiling.
The sunlight cast the shadow of the window frame onto the ceiling, and the wind-blown branches swayed gently within the light and shadow.
Just as she counted to about sixty, the doorbell rang.
Exactly one minute.
Qiluo climbed out of bed, her bare feet stepping onto the floor. She grabbed a coat to throw over her pajamas and walked to the entryway to pull the door open.
Yuki Kurokawa stood at the door, wearing a light blue dress Qiluo had never seen before, holding two paper bags in her hands.
She stood upright, her back perfectly straight, like a soldier waiting for inspection.
The moment the door opened, her gaze shifted from the apartment number and landed on Qiluo.
Her eyes swept down from the messy tufts of hair all the way to Qiluo's bare ankles, lingering noticeably at the collar of the crooked coat.
"...Good morning." Yuki's voice was as steady as usual, but her ears were already starting to turn red.
"Morning. Come on in, no need to take off your shoes. The floor is a bit dusty." Qiluo stepped aside, casually pointing at her hair. "Give me a few minutes, I haven't even washed my face yet."
Yuki followed Qiluo into the room, the paper bags swaying gently in her hands.
The entryway connected to the kitchen area, and further in was a room about the same size as Yuki's bedroom.
The morning sunlight sliced through the gaps in the curtains.
On the desk lay an open notebook, an uncapped pen, and a half-empty glass of water from last night.
In the corner sat a small table, which served as Qiluo's dining table.
Next to it was a tiny green plant growing in a plastic cup.
On the bed, the pillow was askew, and there was a distinct human-shaped indentation in the duvet.
She noticed a familiar jellyfish charm lying next to the pillow—the exact same style as the one hanging from her own crossbody bag.
Qiluo had already walked into the bathroom. The sound of the running faucet drifted out through the half-open door, mingled with her muffled humming as she brushed her teeth.
Yuki gently set the two paper bags beside the desk and sat up straight on the chair Qiluo had offered. Placing her hands on her knees, she let her eyes scan every single item in the room.
There were no posters on the walls. The bookshelf held a row of convenience store employee training manuals, a few Classical Literature reference books borrowed from the library, and a well-worn copy of Fables of the Starry Sky.
Yuki looked away from the bookshelf and turned her head to glance toward the bathroom.
The sound of running water continued, with Qiluo humming a song Yuki didn't recognize.
She tiptoed to the bathroom door and peeked inside.
Qiluo was tying her hair in front of the mirror, holding a hair tie in her mouth while her hands gathered her loose hair into a ponytail at the back of her head.
A few stray locks of hair were being uncooperative, repeatedly slipping through her fingers.
Unaware of the presence at the door, Qiluo remained focused on wrestling with the stubborn strands, her brow slightly furrowed.
Yuki didn't make a sound, simply leaning against the doorframe to watch for a while.
It turned out that even someone who usually seemed so composed would have uncooperative hair when she first woke up.
This realization made something incredibly soft and tender well up inside Yuki's chest, as if she had discovered a little secret that belonged only to the morning.
These were sights that could only be seen by visiting her home, and at this moment, she was the sole witness to them.
She suddenly felt a strong urge to walk over and help gather those stubborn, stray strands for her.
Before she could be caught, Yuki quietly retreated back into the room, her footsteps instinctively slowing down as she passed the bed.
The duvet still held the shape of when Qiluo had just climbed out of it, and the shallow indentation on the pillow was left from when Qiluo had buried her face in it to sleep in.
The curve of the indentation was exactly the size of a person's profile.
She stood by the bed, staring at the pillow for quite a while, before doing something she herself found completely out of character.
Bending down, she gently pressed her palm against the indentation on the pillow.
The lingering warmth transferred through the pillowcase to her palm, leaving only the faintest trace of heat.
But it was undeniably Qiluo's warmth.
Yuki withdrew her hand from the pillow, her fingers curling slightly in the air as if trying to grasp that fleeting warmth in her fist.
She had touched a warmth that didn't belong to her like a thief, her heart beating ridiculously fast.
But she figured that if she were caught, Qiluo would probably just tease her with a gentle laugh.
With how much Qiluo indulged her, she might end up becoming greedier and greedier.
Being accepted so defenselessly by her, she truly felt like she could no longer leave her side.
Yuki withdrew her hand from the pillow and stood by the edge of the bed for a moment.
With that faint, ghostly warmth still lingering on her fingertips, she pressed her hand gently against her skirt, as if afraid she might accidentally rub it off while walking.
She turned and walked back to the chair, sitting upright once again, looking exactly as she had when she first entered.
Only the flush on her ears had deepened a bit, and her lips curled into a tiny smile that she herself was probably unaware of.
The sound of water stopped.
Qiluo walked out of the bathroom, droplets of water still clinging to her face.
Her hair was casually tied into a low ponytail, with a few stray strands hanging by her ears.
Hanging the towel over the back of the chair, she sat down on her bed, reached over to pick up the box of bread from the desk, opened it, and took a bite.
"Delicious," she mumbled around a mouthful of bread, pushing the box toward Yuki. "Have you eaten? Is this milk for me too?"
"It's all for you. I already had breakfast."
Rate on N.U.
