Ebook Bonus: Newly Written Short Story “The Reason I’m Eating Curry with Her Today”
It was a Sunday afternoon.
My shift at “Miss Me Blind” was from the afternoon until closing, and I was just about to leave my apartment.
Suddenly, I heard a noise at the front door.
A rattling sound. It sounded like someone was turning the doorknob from the outside. Since I live alone, I have a habit of locking the door every time I go in or out, so it was locked now. Even if it was a suspicious person, they wouldn’t be able to get in easily.
I turned on the door phone monitor to see what was happening.
“What is she doing...?”
The words unintentionally slipped out of my mouth.
The person on the monitor was Minase Mishio. She was tilting her head because the doorknob wouldn’t turn.
She wouldn’t say something funny like she’s at the wrong apartment, would she?
Minase’s apartment was directly above mine. It was possible she mistook this for her own apartment, having only miscounted by one floor.
I turned off the monitor and headed for the entrance.
“What are you doing?”
I opened the door and asked.
“Huh? Sakura. Why are you at my place?”
“Because this isn’t your place.”
It was my place.
Minase, corrected, looked up and checked the nameplate. It wasn’t a proper nameplate—I hadn’t bothered to put my name in—so she was probably checking the room number.
“Oops, this is the second floor. Sorry, I must have missed one.”
She finally realized her mistake.
“I figured as much.”
“I was a little out of it. My bad, my bad.”
Minase gave a wry smile and started to head back to her own apartment. I saw an eco-bag in her hand. She must have been out shopping.
“Hold it.”
I called her back.
I reached out and touched Minase’s forehead.
“Whoa. That’s rude, touching a girl’s face out of nowhere.”
“Shut up. I don’t want to hear that from you, who tries to hug me at any opportunity.”
I focused on my palm, and sure enough, it was faintly warm.
“Minase, you have a slight fever, don’t you?”
“Oh, you can tell? I’ve had it since this morning.”
It seemed she was aware of it.
I should have known. You might miscount by ten or twenty floors if you’re climbing that high, but it’s rare to be confused between one or two flights. Plus, for someone who was always energetic, her eyes and voice lacked strength. As she said, her head must have been fuzzy from the fever.
“Don’t go shopping in that state. ...Here, I’ll go up with you.”
I reached out to support Minase, who was swaying, and was about to escort her home—but I stopped myself.
I escort her up, and then what? Just leave her behind the front door? Minase had told me before that being alone when you’re sick is mentally taxing.
“Let me see that.”
I took the eco-bag from her and carried it inside. I placed it in the kitchen and came back. Next was Minase.
“Rest here for a bit.”
“Eh, but...”
Minase hesitated.
“Just do it. I’ll worry if I send you home now.”
I pulled her inside without further discussion. If it weren’t Minase, this action might warrant a loud scream. But having seen her looking so unwell, I couldn’t send her back to an empty apartment.
Minase, either lacking the strength to resist or not wanting to be alone, followed me inside obediently.
“Here, sit down. It’s a floor chair, though. ...Do you want something to drink?”
“Hot milk, then.”
She moved sluggishly to sit down and answered my question.
“Hot milk, huh? I have milk, but I’ve never made hot milk.”
“It’s fine. Just put it in a mug and heat it in the microwave.”
She even told me the heating time, as if she made it often. I followed her instructions, and since she asked for sugar, I brought the mug to the living room with two packets of stick sugar.
“Thank you. ...And sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. Besides, you’re the one who said we should help each other out since we’re neighbors.”
When she said that, I wondered what we would ever need to help each other with, but I never thought it would actually happen in this way.
“That’s right.”
Minase smiled softly.
Her smile was weak because of the fever, and it was so fragile that it made me worry. I decided to let her rest here until she felt better.
Minase put both stick sugars into the hot milk. She must like to drink it sweet.
“Ah, my bad.”
I suddenly remembered something and stood up. Minase, stirring the hot milk with a spoon, looked up at me, wondering what was going on. I ignored her and went into my room.
I made a phone call.
“Hello, this is "Miss Me Blind."” I called my part-time job, “Miss Me Blind”. Misumi Ririka-senpai answered, her voice still a little brusque but slightly formal.
“Sorry, it’s me. Aoi.”
“Oh, it’s you.” And her voice immediately returned to its usual tone.
“Can I speak to the Manager?”
“Ah, he’s a bit busy right now. ...What’s up?” Was he talking to a customer? I couldn’t help it. I’d have to tell Misumi-senpai.
“Sorry for the short notice. I need to take the day off.”
“Are you sick?” Misumi-senpai asked, her voice containing a hint of worry.
“I happened to find Minase looking unwell. I have her resting at my place now. I’d rather not leave her alone.”
“Got it.” I expected her to give me some annoying retort, but she accepted it easily.
“I’ll tell my grandpa. Make sure you look after her.” Her words and attitude were rude, but she was fundamentally a caring senior.
I thanked her and hung up the phone. I put my phone down and left the room. Minase was sitting there, hugging the mug on the low table with both hands, swaying gently.
“Are you okay, Minase? Want to take a nap?”
“I think I will...”
Before she even finished speaking, she flopped onto her side.
“You’re going to sleep right there?”
Fortunately, it was spring. At least she wouldn’t get any sicker from being too hot or too cold. I took out a thin guest blanket from the closet and put it over Minase.
I looked at her again.
Minase Mishio was truly an exceptional beauty. Seeing her curled up, sleeping with faint breaths, was so cute that I could watch her forever.
Then I thought,
“I’m a creep.”
I couldn’t help but frown.
At least Minase didn’t look like she was struggling. If she slept for a while, she might wake up feeling refreshed. Before I became any more of a creep, I should retreat to my room.
“Wait, before that. ...Sorry, Minase. I’m going to open your eco-bag.”
I warned her before checking inside. No frozen items, so I just put the refrigerated items in the fridge. I didn’t think they would spoil immediately in this temperature, but better safe than sorry.
Then, I turned off the living room light. It wasn’t completely dark since it was daytime, but it would be easier to sleep than with the lights blazing.
I retreated to my room.
“What is this situation?”
I sat in my desk chair, spinning around as I muttered to myself.
Right after I enrolled, I heard a rumor that there was a really cute girl in another class, and I saw her a few times from a distance. I agreed she was cute.
So why was she sleeping in my living room?
The reason was that we were in the same class, lived in the same apartment building, and had a similar situation, which created a sense of closeness and rapidly closed the distance between us—
“Even so, she’s way too trusting.”
I muttered, glancing at my door.
Her sense of distance was completely broken, and she had no sense of caution whatsoever. I had retreated to my room for now, but I couldn’t stop worrying about what was happening beyond that door.
I tried to forget about Minase and prepare for Monday’s classes, but I couldn’t concentrate. Before I knew it, I was scrolling through my social media feed, which wasn’t even interesting.
How much time had passed? Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
“Whoa!”
I had successfully managed to put Minase out of my mind, so the sound made me jump. I looked at the wall clock. Almost two hours had passed.
“Minase? It’s open.”
I put my phone, which I almost dropped, on the desk and answered.
As if she had been waiting for that reply, the door opened, and Minase cautiously stepped in.
“You’re awake. How do you feel?”
I looked at her as I asked. She looked much better, though she still had an apologetic expression. She seemed fine now.
“E-Excuse me...”
Minase spoke indistinctly and sat down on the floor in the formal seiza position. She placed her hands on the floor and bowed deeply.
“I am so sorry for the trouble I have caused you...”
It was a surprisingly graceful gesture, perhaps something she had learned for acting.
“Stop that. I was just worried about you, Minase—”
My words broke off. I had realized something.
“M-Minase. That, uh...”
My pronunciation became unclear this time. I tapped the center of my chest with my finger, trying to make Minase notice.
Did she understand what I was trying to say? Minase looked down at herself.
“Oh, no bra!?”
And finally, she understood.
Yes, for some reason, Minase was right. When she bowed her head just now, I saw her skin from her neckline, and I realized it.
“Why am I not wearing a bra?”
“How should I know?”
If Minase didn’t know, how was I supposed to know?
“You didn’t go shopping like that, did you?”
“No, I didn’t.”
Minase stated firmly.
“Oh, I remember. When I woke up earlier, I felt uncomfortable, so I took it off.”
“That’s a scary thing to do...”
What would she have done if I had come out of my room at that moment?
“I was uncomfortable!”
“You don’t have to say it twice.”
Why was she so proud of that? What was she trying to prove?
“I’ll go get it.”
“No, don’t just go get it, you should also—”
“I know, I know.”
Minase said, and quickly left the room.
“What is this situation?”
The words slipped out of my mouth for the second time today.
The situation of a female classmate sleeping beyond a single door was already incomprehensible, but now she was doing something akin to changing clothes? What the hell? The situation was becoming increasingly nonsensical.
Well, I couldn’t leave the room on my own judgment, but would Minase call me when she was ready?
Just as I was thinking that, her voice came.
“You can come out now!”
“Are you sure?”
I gave a wry smile, stood up, and left the room for the first time in two hours.
Minase was there. I couldn’t tell at a glance, but she must have put on what she needed to. The blanket I had put over her was neatly folded at her feet.
“Well, I am so sorry for the trouble I have caused you.”
“You really are impossible...”
I said to Minase, who was smiling and apologizing without the tension she had before.
If she had just collapsed from a fever, I wouldn’t mind taking care of her, but why did she have to do things that made me flustered?
“Don’t just stand there. Sit down. You were just sleeping with a fever.”
“Okay, I will.”
Minase sat down on the floor chair.
I, meanwhile, pulled out a dining table chair from the kitchen and sat facing the living room. Since the apartment wasn’t very big, this was enough for us to talk.
“So, are you feeling better now?”
“Thanks to you.”
Minase’s smile looked the same as always.
“That’s good.”
“Should I do something to thank you?”
“Don’t bother. ...I told you. I would worry if I let you go home.”
I didn’t know if she remembered, as it was right before she fell asleep.
“Ah, I get it. You’re saying that little show just now was enough of a thank-you.”
Minase gave a malicious grin and tugged at the neckline of her shirt.
“No, you idiot.”
She deliberately leaned forward, making it seem like a repeat of the previous incident.
Minase frowned, muttering, “Hmph,” with a look of dissatisfaction.
“But, I can’t just do nothing... I know. How about I make curry and we eat it together? It’s not a thank-you gift; we’re just eating together. That’s fine, right?”
“Alright. That’s fine. If I refuse here, you’ll just try to do something else by making up an excuse. Besides, it’s a good idea, as I’m worried your fever might come back.”
If nothing happened until tonight, she would probably be fine.
Minase chuckled softly at that.
“You’re the one making up excuses. You could just say you want to eat together.”
“Shut up.”
“Okay, I’ll get started right away. That shopping trip earlier was to buy ingredients for tonight’s curry, you know.”
So, that meant she had all the ingredients and didn’t need to go back to her apartment to get anything.
Minase stood up.
“Oh, right. I opened that without asking. I put the stuff that needed to be refrigerated in the fridge.”
“Oh, that was thoughtful of you.”
Minase walked past me and reached for the fridge door, then stopped suddenly. I watched her, wondering what was wrong. She turned back to me.
“If the curry turns out bad, I’ll apologize with no bra on.”
“Don’t you dare mess up the curry!”
She was learning weird tricks.
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