Once I finished brushing my teeth, I went back to my room and got changed. I'd planned on wearing Hoshino's old clothes, but it turned out I'd forgotten those in the car as well. So, I sadly ended up having to wear my own clothes.
It was slightly disappointing, but there was nothing I could have done about it. I'd just make sure to wear them tomorrow.
After I finished changing, I sat at my desk, set up my stand-up mirror, and began applying a few light touches of makeup. It didn't take too much time, since I only applied eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss.
I wasn't the greatest at doing makeup, especially when compared to other girls around my age. If I were to compare myself to Luna, I'd say my skills were even lacking.
Maybe it was because I already had a pretty face—at least, that was what my parents always told me—but I was never taught how to do my makeup. Everything I knew now was pretty much self-taught.
Once I achieved a satisfactory result, it was time to head downstairs.
The moment I stepped out of my room, I was greeted by a subtle, sweet aroma. It seemed that Mom was still in the middle of making breakfast, which meant I hadn't kept her waiting too long.
My room was located at the very end of the hall. To reach the stairs, there were two other rooms I had to pass. One of them was my parents', and the other… was my Uncle's.
Just the thought of having to pass by his room made me sick to my stomach. And at the same time, everything else upstairs seemed to fall away, leaving only the presence of his door ahead of me.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
Everything should have been fine. He should have been at work right now. He wouldn't be back until 9 p.m. at the very least. So—there was nothing to worry about.
Opening my eyes once more, I began walking down the hall.
The closer I got to this room, the faster my steps shuffled.
They shuffled and shuffled, my feet dragging through carpet and burning my skin, the sound they left behind resembling a scrape.
Then—I was there, standing right in front of his room.
My nose tightened on instinct, bracing to be met by that foul odour.
But when I drew the next breath, the only thing that filled the air… was Mom's sweet cooking.
…What?
Curious, I craned my neck to the side and glanced toward his room. His door… was closed.
He never closed his door.
Whatever his reasoning was, I didn't want to think about it—or him—any longer. I was just glad that I didn't have to smell his detestable stench.
With the hard part out of the way, the rest of the way downstairs passed by with relative ease. I still looked back every now and then, but the result was always the same.
There was no one behind me, and I was always alone.
Once I made it down, Mom, as if sensing my presence, turned around. Seeing me, her eyes widened, and her arms fell to her sides, as if she were seeing an angel.
"Wow…" she murmured, in sheer awe. "You look… beautiful."
I let out a bashful giggle. "Hehehe. Thanks, Mom. That means a lot to me, but I'm still not the best at doing makeup. There's still a lot to learn."
The smile on Mom's face turned into a disappointed frown. "Don't say that, dear. You look perfect just the way you are. I mean it!"
I giggled again, then walked over to the stove. Mom wasn't making anything heavy, just two eggs and a bowl of rice on the side.
"Wow, it smells good!"
"Hehe, it's no problem, dear. Now go wait at the table. It'll be done soon."
Mom gave me a soft kiss on the cheek before sending me off to the table. Just like she said, I didn't have to wait too long. I didn't even have time to check my phone before she came over carrying two bowls.
She set one of the bowls down in front of me, along with a spoon, then sat across from me. We sat in the same arrangement as we did last night for dinner.
"Thanks for making me breakfast, Mom," I said, as I always made sure to do.
Mom's brow creased, but not in an angry or disappointed way. More of the "oh, you!" way.
"Mei, you don't have to thank me every time. It's the least I could do for you. I am your Mom, after all."
That was what she said, and yet, as she went in for a bite, the smile tugging at her lips never left.
I understood that she didn't want me to be too formal with her, since she was my Mom, but I couldn't help it. It was one of the very few things I couldn't stop doing.
So, I politely shook my head. "Sorry, Mom. But how else am I supposed to show you that I'm grateful?"
Mom took a moment to finish chewing her food before responding. Once she swallowed, she looked up at me with an understanding smile that made her wrinkles soften even further.
"I… guess you're right. I didn't think about that."
A small silence lingered between us, with only the occasional faint clatter from our bowls filling the space between us.
Before things could turn awkward, I opened my mouth to move on to the next topic of conversation. There was something I was curious about, after all.
Coincidentally, Mom did the exact same thing at the exact same time, and we ended up talking over each other.
"Sorry," I said, clearing my throat. "You go first."
I expected Mom to insist that I go, but surprisingly, she didn't.
"Have you… checked your call history?" she asked somewhat meekly.
I couldn't help but tilt my head. Out of everything that she could have asked, I hadn't expected that. It came out of nowhere to me.
But seeing how she gripped her arm and peered at me through her bangs, like guilt was eating her alive, I took it seriously.
"No," I answered firmly, though cheery enough that she wouldn't be intimidated. "Why do you ask?"
"Well…" She paused, then took a deep breath, steadying herself. Her next words came out in a hurried rush. "One of your friends called you yesterday, and because I didn't want you to wake up, I answered the call for you. I'm sorry, Mei!"
Without making eye contact with me, she bowed—her head dropping even lower than the bowl on the table.
I couldn't help but stare blankly as I watched her do all this.
It didn't take me too long to figure out that the person who called must've been Hoshino. Even knowing that, it didn't bother me at all. I knew Hoshino wouldn't say anything stupid or something I didn't want him to.
From her perspective, though, she probably saw it as intruding on my privacy. This was the same person who refused to look at my location, even though she had access to it, after all. And from the way her shoulders trembled, it was obvious that this was eating her up inside.
I took a slow breath, then put on a small, cheery smile.
"Mom, please, raise your head. I'm not mad. You don't have to worry."
Mom slowly looked up at me, her eyes shaking. It hadn't been long, but it looked like she'd aged since I last saw her face, which had only been a couple of seconds ago.
"Really…?"
I giggled. "Yes, really. I don't care. I know you were doing it for my sake. If there's one thing I'm curious about, however…"
My cheery smile remained the same. My voice remained as soft as ever. But my posture straightened, just subtly.
While I did trust that Hoshino wouldn't say anything stupid, one could never be too safe.
"What did you guys talk about?"
Mom blinked, as if recalling the conversation in her head. "Well… he asked if you were okay. And I said you were sleeping. After that, we talked a little bit about how you were doing at school. He was just telling me how smart you were. I think that's all."
If Mom was the one saying it, then I believed her. I doubted that Mom would ever lie to me. But just in case, I made a mental note to ask Hoshino about it later.
After that, Mom turned the question back to me and asked what I was about to say. I just told her I'd been wondering how I got up the stairs, to which she responded by saying she carried me up.
I was a little surprised, but it did make sense. I doubted anyone else would've carried me to my room.
Once we finished breakfast, I told Mom that I was heading out and went to the library. I spent a couple of hours studying alone until it was 8 p.m.
Throughout the whole study session, I kept my phone right in front of me so I'd be notified immediately whenever Hoshino texted me. And in the process, I also learned that his weekend breaks happened at 11, 3, and 6, which was good to know for the future.
Just like always, when I arrived home, Mom greeted me at the front door and welcomed me inside.
This time—I made sure to carry the clothes Hoshino bought and gave to me home.
And with that, the first day of not seeing him passed by in the blink of an eye.