"Just because you're that man's child doesn't mean you can treat all of us as if we're different from them, right?!"
"All of us are starving here, not just them. Are you kidding me, huh?"
I kept curling up near my bag, having absolutely no intention of doing anything or talking to anyone else.
There was no firewood left inside my bag anymore; everything had already been taken by those who needed it.
Kayo and his friends had already distributed bowls of food for today to everyone.
Specifically for the women who had to breastfeed their babies, Kayo gave an extra bowl for their children.
Even worse, because those nursing women received two bowls, not a few people ended up getting smaller portions.
They had protested Kayo's decision, because they believed everyone here had the same status, so there was no reason to act unfairly.
Kayo kept trying to calm them down, even allowing his cheek to be slapped for acting that way.
Yeah... I could only watch them from a distance, because I didn't line up over there, and it was obvious there wouldn't be any portion left for me.
I also couldn't possibly ask Kayo to make an exception just for me; the situation would only get more heated if I asked him to spoil me.
Huff... At the very least, I'll ask him for some water later. I think my stomach can last one more day without food—
"Lin, are you spacing out?"
Maybe because of hunger, I didn't even realize that Kayo had approached me. He was now bending down to talk to me.
I flinched slightly before raising my head and stretching my back, which had been hunched over the whole time.
"K-Kayo? Are you already done preparing food for them?" I asked while glancing upward to meet his gaze.
Plop.
Kayo placed something in front of my crossed legs. He had been hiding it behind his body, so I didn't notice it earlier.
He put down a bowl just like the ones used by the others, filled with soup that looked incredibly warm.
A bit of steam rose into the air from the surface of the soup, making it look so fresh that it made an embarrassing sound escape from me.
"Pfft... Ahahaha."
Kayo started laughing as I felt embarrassed, my cheeks slightly reddening because of my growling stomach.
He only laughed for a moment before sitting down beside me, stretching his legs out on the ground.
"What are you waiting for? Go on, eat."
I was confused by what he meant, because at first I thought the bowl he gave me was something he wanted to eat himself.
But if he was thinking like that...
——
I slowly reached out my hand to take the bowl, its outer surface very warm, then placed it on my lap.
While making sure it wouldn't shake and spill, I held the spoon that was already inside the bowl.
U-ughh... The longer I stare at this soup, the more the temptation takes over my mind, urging me to finish it immediately.
No, no! I can't give in to this urge. Besides, doesn't this soup feel a bit suspicious?
"Kayo, this soup... whose portion is it actually? I don't remember lining up with them at all..."
"Don't tell me... you took someone else's share?" I asked while staring at him quite sharply.
There was no way Kayo had prepared this bowl for me. He was surrounded by everyone during the distribution earlier.
"W-why do you have to think about that..."
Kayo answered in a very soft voice, almost like a whisper, while glancing around to avoid my gaze.
Oh, I see... From that reaction, he was very easy to read. He wanted to lie, but couldn't lie to me because I was asking things I probably shouldn't have said.
"I don't want to accept this soup if you sacrificed someone else's share just for me. If that's the case, then you're no different from what they said—that you're unfair—"
"Sorry, sorry! I'll tell you where the soup came from, okay? So please just eat it first. I promise it doesn't belong to anyone else, alright?"
I scooped up a spoonful of the soup, then blew on it a few times to cool it down before swallowing it.
My eyes widened immediately as the broth passed through my throat. It felt incredibly warm, even though it was quite bland.
But just the warmth alone was enough to make my stomach feel better than having nothing at all.
Even though he said the soup was mine, I could still feel his gaze as I sipped it.
That wasn't the gaze of someone who had just cooked and was waiting for a reaction, but the gaze of someone who was just as hungry as I was.
He looked as if he wanted to taste the soup as well, no different from me.
Earlier... he said this soup didn't belong to anyone else, but judging from what he was doing now... wasn't it too easy to figure out?
But wait... I want to take one more sip before saying anything to him.
I've really missed food that warms my stomach, so what's wrong with enjoying it for a few minutes?
——
"K-Kayo! Look, over there, someone fell and hurt their knee!"
I pointed in the opposite direction to divert his attention.
Just as I expected, he looked over in panic when I suddenly told him someone had fallen.
He opened his mouth when he turned back, but then looked back at me again when he saw no one had fallen there.
Even though he knew I was lying, he didn't close his mouth because he wanted to ask why I lied like I was hallucinating.
"What the—"
Before he could finish his sentence, I immediately shoved the spoon into his mouth, the same spoon I had been using, with soup on it.
I forced him to swallow it before pulling the spoon out of his mouth and placing it back into the bowl.
"Out of everyone I've met, you're way too easy to read, you know~?"
"This soup... it's actually yours, isn't it?"
My question completely froze Kayo, leaving him unable to say anything after I figured out the truth.
Hah... He tried to lie, but ended up lying to himself instead. How could I possibly look away from someone like him?
"Kayo, try saying what you wanted to say earlier. I want to hear it," I said, trying to draw it out of him.
Once again, the moment he opened his mouth, I immediately put the spoon into his mouth again.
Forcing him to enjoy another spoonful of the soup.
"Instead of just staring at me, it's better if we enjoy it together, right?"
"I-if you say so... I'll gladly accept it..."
Wow... It's been a really long time since I've seen Kayo react like that. I kind of missed it.