Chapter 78

A table in a harmonious living room…

Sumire looked rather happy about getting to sit right next to YuSung.

‘I-I’m eating sukiyaki with YuSung-ssi…’

Sukiyaki wasn’t an ordinary dish to her—it was one she ate on special days with her family.

“Oi, Tsuguha! I told you not to enter people’s rooms without permission!”

“So? Why should I listen to you~?”

Suito glared at his nine-year-old sister, who was acting more carefree than her age suggested.

“おいしい… (Yummy…)”

Five-year-old Sugoro stuck his palm, instead of any food, into the raw egg and lapped it up.

Tsuguha made a face. “Hey! Eat sukiyaki with your egg!”

The mother, Suika, laughed. “Fufu, looks like my dear Sugoro was hungry, wasn’t he? But wait a little longer, won’t you? We haven’t had sukiyaki in a while.”

Bubble bubble.

The dish boiled in the pot, a delicious scent wafting in the air.

Someone began walking down the stairs that led up to the second floor with even, steady steps.

“Oh, my… to think… we’d have such a precious guest over today.”

It was a mild-mannered, middle-aged man with glasses.

“Dad!”

Sumire had a welcoming air about her as she greeted her father with a wave of her hand.

The man, Shintaro, slowly walked towards his daughter and stroked her head.

“Haha, hello. Hey!”

Shintaro sat in the chair facing their guest, YuSung. Even as he wore a friendly smile on his face, he was lost deep in thought.

‘So this is… the leader of Sumire’s party.’

Shintaro had also heard quite a few rumors regarding YuSung. The arrest of the Rebellion member… Winning in the Representative Selections… It was hard for him not to hear about the boy’s exploits.

‘To think he became this strong with a Trait that’s the same rank as Sumire’s…’

Shintaro had been greatly concerned back when Sumire’s Trait had been first determined to be F-rank. His dear, precious daughter only had an F-rank Trait. He didn’t want to send Sumire out to dangerous situations where her life was at risk while relying on it to save her.

‘…As I thought.’

But Shintaro’s heart became at ease as he saw YuSung’s deeds. Now he not only believed that even F-rank Traits could cut it in this line of work, but also that YuSung would protect her from anything that might pose a threat to her.

‘He’s quite… reliable.’

Shintaro’s gaze was proud as he looked at YuSung.

Of course, that wasn’t all he was thankful about in regards to the boy. Sumire herself had become noticeably brighter after meeting him. Considering the fact that Shintaro had been very concerned for his daughter after ‘that incident’, he felt as if he owed the boy quite a bit.

“Now then, why don’t we begin our meal?” he said, smiling.

Suika covered her mouth and laughed as well. “Now then~ take as much as you’d like, everyone.”

She set the ladle down. As soon as her hand left the handle, however, Sumire took the chance to grab it.

She didn’t do that out of confidence, however. In fact, Sumire had done that because she was knowledgeable about her family's habits. She had never gotten to eat her fill of meat during a sukiyaki meal before, after all.

Shintaro laughed loudly. “There’s plenty of meat. Why don’t you give our guest as much as he wants?”

Only then did Sumire’s face brighten.

“Th-then! YuSung-ssi… likes meat the most, so… Plenty of that! Then mushrooms… ah, the tofu is really good, too!”

“Hahaha!” Shintaro smiled at the enthusiastic expression on Sumire’s face. “Good thing we prepared a lot of meat.”

Suika was also quite happy about her daughter’s actions. “Oh, my, this child…”

YuSung was focused on the sukiyaki being ladled into his bowl.

‘…It smells great.’

His sense of smell was better developed than most other people due to his life on the mountain.

‘Did they fry the spring onion and tofu before putting it in the pot?’

His palate had been approaching gourmet levels ever since he had met Sumire.

Munch.

YuSung picked up a slice of beef with his chopsticks and placed it in his mouth.

‘…This is incredibly delicious.’

Sumire was right. The sukiyaki they ate in the clubroom on a rainy day was delicious as well, but the taste of sukiyaki eaten with others was on a different level.

The girl in question was fretting and glancing towards him.

“H-how is it?” she asked carefully.

“It’s amazing.”

Judging by her expression, his calm reply had blessed Sumire.

“Really? Th-then, eat this, as well!”

Delighted, she used her own chopsticks to pick up a slice of beef, dip it in raw egg, and offer it to YuSung.

Munch.

He ate it up without a moment of hesitation. Sumire began giggling dumbly at the sight.

‘I’m feeding… YuSung-ssi… sukiyaki…by hand?’

Anyone could tell she was ecstatic. Shintaro and Suika felt their hearts melt even more.

“Hehe, you look like an idiot, unni.”

“Yeah, noona, you look stupid.”

But Tsuguha and Suito began making fun of her.

“…おいしい (…Yummy)!”

And Sugoro dipped his hand into the raw egg again.

The couple exchanged looks. At Suika’s signal, Shintaro headed towards the kitchen without drawing anyone’s attention.

His wife then followed, an unusually serious expression on her face.

“Dear. As I thought, Sumire…”

“She likes YuSung, doesn’t she?”

“Right? If even a girl normally as passive as her is this obvious…”

Suika cradled her chin and watched her daughter from afar. She couldn’t help the laugh coming out from her lips at Sumire’s delighted expression.

“It can’t be helped. All we can do is cheer her on for as long as they’re here.”

“It seems so.” Shintaro himself also wanted to be supportive of Sumire’s crush. “…Let’s root for her for as long as they’re in Japan.”

* * *

* * *

After the meal…

As per the promise they made to each other, Suika and Shintaro both treated YuSung as kindly as one could manage.

[Hoho, you aren't uncomfortable in any way?]

Suika would approach him at the slightest indication that something was wrong.

[…Shin YuSung? Feel free to tell me if anything is bothering you.]

Shintaro would smile amicably.

[Ah, the bathwater has been heated up~ tell me when you’re ready to go in, alright? Fufu~]

YuSung entered the bath at Suika’s kind insistence.

Sumire’s house was quite old, but it was well-maintained. That was due to the influence of Shintaro, who had the frugal lifestyle running through his veins.

‘…A family, huh.’

YuSung smiled slightly.

The luxurious Sevens lifestyle was nice, but the time he had spent in Sumire’s house was no less pleasing to him. There was a warm fulfilling nature to the lifestyle with her and her family.

Shift.

YuSung finished his bath and stepped out of the tub, and then he took out a white t-shirt from his Pocket.

Now that he thought about it, Sumire had gifted him that particular piece of clothing. Lost in thought, he glanced over the skulls drawn on the fabric and snorted.

‘…Yep.’

YuSung couldn’t imagine living a life without his teammates.

Creak.

YuSung opened the door leading to the bedroom. There Sumire was, wearing skull-patterned pajamas. She smiled awkwardly.

“A-are you finished?” she said, whispering in a quiet voice in order not to wake Sugoro next to her.

“Mhm, thanks to your mother.” YuSung stared down at the thick, cotton quilts laid on the ground. There were three in all: one for him, one for Sumire, and one for Sugoro, it looked like. As soon as he lay down, he could feel the comfortable cotton enveloping him.

As he did so, Sumire turned off the lights. Even with the lack of visibility, she managed to find her spot without any trouble.

Now that they looked back, a lot had happened that day. Sumire stared up at the dark ceiling before opening her mouth to speak.

“Thank you so much… for today.” She grinned bashfully, even though the other couldn’t see her expression. “It was completely and totally my fault… for abandoning my party and running away to Korea. Still, I was… really happy when you took my side, YuSung-ssi.”

YuSung replied to her calmly after listening to her speak. “I couldn’t just stand by and watch you get insulted like that, Sumire.”

Sumire bowed her head, a flush reddening her face.

“…Since we’re in the same party,” he added, in his usual inflection.

The addition made her cheerfulness die down, causing her to smile bitterly.

“I thought so… Since we’re in the same party, right?”

The truth was, she knew why she felt so bitter about the fact. YuSung’s actions were due to the fact that she was his party member. He would have acted the same whether the one in trouble was EunAh or Amy.

The relationship between Sumire and YuSung was one between fellow party members, and that was that.

‘…I feel weird.’

Even as she felt ecstatic, there was a part of her heart that felt like it was being stabbed.

Some time passed.

Sumire just couldn’t go to sleep. 10 minutes. 30 minutes. Just how much more time had she spent looking up at the ceiling?

Clasp.

“…Eh?”

YuSung’s hand suddenly laid itself on her own. She could clearly feel the texture of his skin.

Sumire was so shocked by the development that her lips began to tremble, but she tried her utmost to calm herself down.

More time passed, and YuSung made no sign to lift his hand. Sumire gulped.

‘Is… is he a-asleep?’

His actions seemed to be a product of his slumber.

Sumire did not make any move to withdraw her hand.

‘I-if I take my hand out suddenly, YuSung-ssi might wake up, and…’

Even as she was saying that, her fingers were wriggling without her knowledge.

YuSung’s palms were rough and calloused from his training, but his fingers were long and elegant.

Sumire pressed her lips firmly together. It physically hurt to keep the smile threatening to seep out of her mouth.

‘Th-this is YuSung-ssi’s hand…’

She could feel her heart growing calmer just by holding hands with the boy.

‘I-it feels so gooooood…

And—like magic—Sumire drifted off into slumber.

* * * *

“Chirp, chirp chirp!”

A bird could be heard crying from the window.

YuSung lazily opened his eyes. He had slept unusually deeply the past night. His body, his mind, and his overall condition were at their peak.

However, one of his arms felt oddly heavy.

‘It feels like there’s no blood flowing through it…’

Sensing something was off, YuSung turned his head to look.

And what he was was Sumire, who had boldly drawled into his portion of the bedding. In fact, she had latched tightly onto his arm.

“Su-Sumire?”

He tried to call out to her, but she didn’t so much as shift.

He pulled his arm back minutely.

“No!”

And right then, Sumire began to sleeptalk.

Grab!

She pulled his arm closer towards her using her entire body as if declaring she would never let go of him.

“Huhu, this is so nice…”

Then she began to laugh, lips parted wide open. She looked rather satisfied.

YuSung laid back down and closed his eyes.

‘…Can’t help it. I’ll have to sleep another hour.’

That day was the first time he had ever slept in, on record.