Became an Observer in Love Company

Inside the quiet room, I was sitting leaned against the sofa.

Beyond the window, the faint streetlight spread its glow.

In the air that wasn’t yet dry, I took a deep breath.

A cold sensation seeped in all the way to the ends of my lungs.

Yet, for some reason.

I couldn’t tell where the air was descending to.

Swaaa—

The sound of water from the bathroom.

A sound that was both regular and messy.

I unconsciously became fixated on that noise lingering by my ear.

The damp clothes. The pale skin visible through the gaps. The slowly spreading…

“No… h….”

Even though it was nothing, it kept bothering me.

No, I shouldn’t let it bother me.

I closed my eyes and then opened them again.

And…

I raised my hand, pressing my temple.

Since when…

Has my emotions started to scatter like this?

I used to be very skilled at it.

I was familiar with the way to protect myself.

Slowly covering my emotions and neatly packaging them.

Turning into a form that no one could peek inside.

So even when I was shaken, it didn’t show on the outside.

It had to be that way.

But, now—

Swaaa—

The shower sound, the sound of water drops falling.

It started to sound different from before.

A small crack had appeared somewhere.

A very subtle splitting sound.

Even when I tried to block it with my fingertips, emotions seeped through the crevices.

As if it could collapse all at once.

I took a deep breath.

There’s no need to think this way anymore.

I need to go back to how I originally was.

This is just a simple temporary delusion.

So—

I raised my hand.

And,

Slap.

A slightly tingling sensation spread across my cheek.

“…”

Let’s stop here.

Swaaa—

And right at that moment.

“Hey.”

I jolted instantly.

Lifting my head, I saw the bathroom door half-open.

And,

“What are you doing?”

Lee Jian stood there, wringing out a towel on her head, wearing gym shorts.

Because my gym uniform was large, she had tied a hairband around the waistband.

It was a familiar sight, yet somehow felt strange.

I froze.

“….”

She narrowed her eyes as she looked at me.

“…What did you just do?”

“…Nothing.”

“If it’s nothing, why is your cheek red?”

“…Just because I thought of something suddenly.”

“What? Me?”

“…No.”

I firmly drew the line.

Then, she stared at me intently.

And suddenly—

“Hm.”

She laughed.

“Hey, you’re suspicious right now. Did you happen to think about something embarrassing?”

“….”

“Oh my, perverted.”

Lee Jian mockingly said as she wrapped herself with her hands.

I silently reached out my hand.

Then,

I poked her forehead.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Aww~ I don’t believe it~”

“….”

With a sigh, I got up from my seat.

I need to sort these emotions out.

“You should go now. It’s late.”

I need to stick to the original flow.

I must.

Even while thinking that,

I was still, wavering.

Along with the unease that the emotions I had hidden might never be restored.

“I’m injured?”

Saying that, Lee Jian stretched out her leg.

“I’m healing it.”

But, there were no injuries on her knee.

“They’re not there, right?”

“Ah, not this one.”

Saying that, she extended the other leg.

There was an injury, faint enough to be barely visible.

Why did I bring her to this house?

“Alright. Stay seated.”

Lee Jian limped around for dramatic effect.

Watching that, I couldn’t help but mutter.

“That’s not the leg.”

Then, she stealthily changed legs to limp.

That made me laugh despite myself.

It slipped out through the cracks in my composure I hadn’t quite closed.

“Hahaha.”

Strangely, it was relieving.

Lee Jian looked at me with a peculiar expression.

Hastily turning around, I pulled out the first-aid kit from the shelf.

Lee Jian was sitting on the sofa.

I knelt down and quietly opened the first-aid kit.

The small noise settled in the room.

I carefully picked out an ointment and gently opened the lid.

Placing a small dab of ointment on my fingertips, I brought it close to the little abrasion on her knee.

A brief hesitation.

And,

My fingertips touched her skin.

In an instant, a peculiar sensation passed through.

Like being surrounded by a warm glow around the wound.

While spreading the ointment, I deliberately kept my eyes down.

I didn’t want to make eye contact with her.

But it was bothering me.

The place where my hand was touching.

What expression was she making right now?

“….”

Quietly, I slowly spread the ointment.

The sensation of my fingertips gliding over her skin.

Her warmth seemed to seep through my fingertips.

It’s nothing.

I’m just treating her.

Yet it felt strange.

This proximity, this air.

It was too close.

The small wound on her knee felt like it carried an immense weight.

“It might feel a bit hot.”

Without realizing it, I quietly said.

And,

The moment the ointment spread, her leg slightly twitched.

“….”

Since she stayed silent, it made me even more anxious.

“Does it hurt?”

“…No.”

Her voice trembled a little.

I finished applying the ointment and pulled out the bandage.

Carefully tearing off the small bandage, I delicately placed it over the wound.

Just as I was lightly pressing it down, her leg trembled again.

That moment,

I stopped my hand.

And,

I slowly lifted my head.

Our eyes met.

Such a close proximity.

A distance where we could feel each other’s breath.

Her pupils were trembling.

I wondered,

What expression was I making now?

This was supposed to be a trivial thing.

But,

I swallowed.

My throat oddly felt dry.

“….”

I lowered my gaze to the bandage.

Lightly pressing the edges with the tip of my fingers.

It was such a slight touch,

Yet her breathing quietly wavered.

Why?

Keeping my head lowered, I thought.

This sensation is unfamiliar.

This emotion…

is unfamiliar.

“…Finished.”

I said briefly.

As I was about to take my hand off,

“Hey.”

She called me softly.

Reflexively, I looked up at her again.

The faint moisture lingering around her eyes.

And,

“Don’t avoid me.”

A voice filled with earnestness.

The corners of her mouth turned up playfully.

But somewhere in that smile, an aching emotion lay.

“If you don’t, I’ll spread this around?”

The screen of her phone showed my drenched figure in a puddle.

I silently looked at her.

A threat that wasn’t a threat at all.

Yet,

Somehow,

Something deeper was felt.

This proximity,

This air,

These gazes.

I felt like I couldn’t avoid any longer.

“…Alright.”

That’s how,

I answered.

I sighed.

And quietly muttered, shaking my head.

“…You’re good at threatening.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“No.”

“You’re right.”

She laughed again.

I quietly looked at her and slowly closed my eyes.

How should I sort out this emotion?

I started to think,

Maybe now, I can’t sort it anymore.

The night after the rain, the damp air carried a faint warmth.

The streetlight’s glow spread along the wet asphalt.

I walked quietly.

And heard the sound of footsteps beside me.

A familiar sound.

But today, strangely, this sound was catching my attention.

The steps adjusting to my slow pace.

Stepping forward and then slowing to match by my side.

I didn’t say anything, sensing this.

If I walk a little slower,

She will, once again, slow down to match my pace.

Strange.

I was originally accustomed to walking alone.

I looked ahead at the bus stop.

A bus was stopped there.

The blue light faintly spread through the windows.

People were quietly seated inside,

Facing different directions, lost in separate thoughts.

And shortly, the bus quietly departed.

As it passed the stop, I couldn’t help but ask.

“Weren’t you going to take the bus?”

Glancing at her, I asked.

Lee Jian slightly tilted her head.

“It was only a stop away.”

“Then why did you walk until now?”

“The distance was awkward.”

Awkward.

I mulled over that word.

A distance too short to ride,

Yet somewhat far and bothersome to walk.

Then, how about now?

“Then why now?”

I asked, and she stopped her steps that were leading forward, looking back at me.

Then, she smiled in a familiar way.

“Guess, why do you think?”

Playfully, light-heartedly.

I didn’t respond to that.

Simply shrugged and shortly replied.

I didn’t want to make a conclusion.

“I don’t know.”

I continued walking.

Slowly, while observing the surroundings.

But,

Lee Jian once again stepped forward, then after a few steps, turned around to match my pace.

I was a slow walker.

But it wasn’t on purpose.

Just a small habit born from the peculiar habit of observing others.

She followed that.

Lightly stepping a few steps ahead, then slowing down to match my pace.

Unconsciously, I slowed down even more.

Then she matched again.

The wind of a summer night blew.

The damp and heavy air felt slightly unsettling.

I quietly walked and softly chuckled.

Without saying anything, without matching paces,

We ultimately walked side by side.

The place where we arrived was in front of her house.

“Wait here for a moment.”

Saying that, she went in by opening the door.

I stood there for a while.

The warm summer night,

Somewhere, the faint sounds of crickets.

The dim glow of stars was visible through the dark sky.

After standing there for a while, the door finally opened again.

“Here.”

She placed something in my hand.

Small size.

Light weight.

I opened my palm to confirm it.

“…Frocuti?”

A small magical girl dressed as a traveler.

Wearing a wide-brimmed hat, with the hem of her cloak fluttering, stood the character-shaped keychain.

Frocuti. An anime about magical girls and the story that ensued after saving the world.

After saving the world, they were forgotten by everyone.

That was the end, or so they thought.

But the end was not the world—it was them.

Abandoned heroines who received no recognition.

All that remained were the side effects.

A body that could never grow into an adult, an increasingly faint existence.

So the girl wandered.

Hoping that someone would remember her existence.

I suddenly looked down at the keychain in my hand.

…Why does this character feel like it overlaps with me?

I am a wanderer.

Not rooting myself anywhere, not deeply entwining with emotions.

That’s how I’ve lived,

And I thought I will continue to live like that in the future.

But,

I quietly clenched my hand.

Lifted my head to look at Lee Jian.

“What’s this?”

“A challenge.”

“…A challenge?”

I repeated the words.

She smiled in a familiar way and said,

“A rematch. This time, it’s final exam scores.”

I immediately countered.

“That’s an unfair match.”

Lee Jian smirked and said,

“Not that. Something else.”

“…Then what is it?”

“Whether my grades improve or not.”

For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

“…Your grades?”

“Yeah. If my grades improve during the final exams, then I win.”

“So what’s the wager?”

She still wore a playful face, but her eyes were serious for some reason.

“A wish.”

At that moment, I looked down again at the keychain in my hand.

Small and firm, yet something tangible in my hand.

I looked at it for a while, then slowly opened my mouth.

“…If I win, you’ll pledge to discard your wish, right?”

She didn’t answer.

She just smiled.

“Hm? So, will you accept it or not?”

I looked at the keychain again.

The small magical girl wearing an old wide-brimmed hat held a tiny lantern in her hand.

Will this illuminate the path ahead for me?

I quietly sighed.

“…Alright. I’ll accept.”

Her smile deepened.

Lee Jian mimicked the act of adjusting her hat, lowering her voice.

“An old lantern, an old fragment of a song. Isn’t that enough?”

The famous line of Frocuti flowed from her lips.

“A reason to stay in this world.”

In response, I also recited the next line.

Lee Jian laughed as she waved her hand.

“See you tomorrow, have a good night.”

I silently nodded.

“Yeah. Sleep well.”

She went inside while closing the door.

Her slightly red ear tips were visible as she went in.

She must have been embarrassed by quoting the anime lines. Why does she keep doing that?

Why does she keep challenging me like that?

I stared at the door for a while, then looked down at the keychain in my hand again.

Small and light, but somehow carrying a sense of weight.

And with that sensation in hand, I recited the line.

“An old lantern.”

The soft glows brightening the stage, with a silhouette holding an umbrella in its center.

“A fragment of an old song.”

The melody I still listen to when I’m down, ignoring all the pitches and rhythms.

“A reason to stay.”

Somehow, the keychain in my hand felt like a hostage.

I felt like I was the one being held, even though I was the one gripping it.

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