When Nagato returned, Nonō was lying quietly in the hospital room.
"Is that you?" Nonō asked, hearing footsteps.
"Yes, I went out and bought so food," Nagato replied, setting the al aside before helping Nonō sit up in bed.
"It slls good," Nonō said as Nagato opened the lunchbox.
"Have so to fill your stomach. Tonight, we'll have a nice dinner," Nagato said, placing the lunchbox in front of Nonō and handing her a spoon.
Nonō reached out and found the edge of the lunchbox but froze for a mont—she couldn't see anything and wasn't sure how to proceed.
"Ugh, that's my oversight," Nagato said, realizing her difficulty. "It's not convenient for you like this. I'll feed you."
He lifted the lunchbox and took the spoon from Nonō's hand, scooping up a full spoonful.
"Ah, open your mouth," he said.
At his command, Nonō opened her mouth like a child. At first, it felt a little awkward, but soon she didn't mind. She reminded herself that she was the patient—it was normal to be taken care of in this way.
After feeding Nonō, Nagato ate his own al, though his lunchbox had grown cold.
By the afternoon, the ti had finally co.
Nagato stood beside Nonō, ready to remove the gauze.
"I'll remove the gauze, and you can slowly open your eyes. If you feel any discomfort, rember to tell ," Nagato said, his tone full of care. He had never been this concerned about a patient before.
"Understood," Nonō replied, her usual teasing tone absent. At this mont, she was obedient and calm.
It would be a lie to say she wasn't nervous.
Until she opened her eyes, she wouldn't know how effective the surgery had been.
"Then I'll get started," Nagato said, quickly removing all the gauze.
Nonō slowly opened her eyes, adjusting to the light. Within monts, she realized everything in front of her was incredibly clear—she no longer needed her glasses.
She looked around, turning her head left and right, feeling no discomfort at all. Finally, her gaze settled on Nagato's face.
This was the clearest she had ever seen him without her glasses. His crimson hair seed especially radiant.
"Thank you, Nagato," Nonō said. She had countless things she wanted to say, but they all boiled down to that simple sentence.
"You're welco. I promised you," Nagato replied with a warm smile. The sense of accomplishnt he felt now was far stronger than with any of the patients he had treated before.
"You look quite good when you smile like that," Nonō remarked. Perhaps it was her feelings for him, but in her eyes, Nagato was the handsost boy she had ever seen.
"No, you can be discharged from the hospital," Nagato said, blushing slightly at her complint. He knew exactly how he looked.
"Really? I can leave already?" Nonō asked, surprised. She thought she would need to stay for observation and hadn't expected to be discharged so soon.
"What, do you want to stay a few more nights? That's not impossible," Nagato teased lightly.
"I don't want to. This place is nowhere near as nice as my ho," Nonō replied, quickly getting out of bed. She was still wearing the sa clothes she had arrived in.
"Let's go—there's nothing to pack," Nagato said, leading Nonō out of the room.
As they passed the reception desk, they inford the staff that the room was now vacant.
"Why don't you co over to my place for dinner tonight?" Nonō asked as she walked beside Nagato. She had sothing she wanted to tell him as well.
"Would that be too much trouble?" Nagato didn't refuse but hesitated, worried about inconveniencing her.
"No, I usually cook for myself. Today, I'll let you taste my cooking," Nonō replied with a bright smile, radiating confidence in her skills.
"Okay, I'll savor every bite," Nagato said, seeing how happy Nonō seed. He was already prepared to complint her cooking, no matter how it turned out.
"Let's go shopping for food," Nonō said, leading Nagato to the market—a place he had never been before.
When they arrived, Nagato was overwheld by the wide variety of ingredients on display. He realized he really only knew how to eat, not cook.
Nonō, on the other hand, confidently selected a large assortnt of ingredients. By the ti they left, both of their hands were full with bags.
When they returned to the apartnt building, Nagato followed Nonō inside for the first ti. They reached the middle room on the second floor, where Nonō set down her bags and took a key from her pocket.
"My place might be a bit ssy, so don't look around," Nonō said, warning him in advance. She couldn't rember if any of her personal belongings were scattered about. Living alone for so long had inevitably led to so bad habits.
"I know," Nagato replied casually, wondering what kind of things Nonō might have in her room that weren't for others to see.
"Co in," Nonō said, pushing open the door and stepping inside first.
She took a quick glance around the room, then hurriedly stuffed a few pieces of cloth under the sofa pillows. Turning to Nagato, who had just entered, she looked at him with a guilty expression.
"What did you see?" Nonō asked, her face flushing red.
"Nothing," Nagato replied quickly. He would never admit to seeing the cartoon underwear.
"That's fine then," Nonō said with a sigh of relief. "You can sit wherever you like, help yourself to so water, and I'll go cook dinner."
She stopped trying to entertain Nagato and headed into the kitchen.
Once she was out of sight, Nagato shifted the sofa pillow containing the hidden items and chose to sit a little farther away. Only then did he take a closer look at Nonō's small ho.
The layout was simple but showed clear signs of careful arrangent. A faint fragrance lingered in the air—the sa scent he often noticed on Nonō.
The room was long and narrow, with nothing particularly out of the ordinary. Nagato listened to the sound of running water coming from the kitchen and debated whether he should go in to help.
Before he could stand, Nonō's voice called out.
"Nagato, hand the apron. It's by the sofa."
She had been in such a hurry earlier that she forgot about it, only rembering now as water splashed onto her.
"Okay, I see it," Nagato replied, spotting a pink apron.
He grabbed it and walked to the kitchen, where Nonō was busy handling ingredients.
"My hands are full, so help tie it," Nonō said, spreading her arms wide and smiling at Nagato.
"Okay," Nagato agreed after a brief hesitation.
He slowly unfolded the apron and tied it around Nonō. As they stood close, the familiar fragrance beca even stronger.
"Turn around and face away from ," Nagato said as he slipped the apron over her neck.
"Okay," Nonō replied, her clear voice soft in Nagato's ear.
"Done. Is there anything I can help you with?" Nagato asked as he fastened the apron strings behind her.
He felt awkward sitting alone in the living room and wanted to make himself useful.
"No, just sit back, relax, and wait for dinner," Nonō said, gently shooing Nagato out of the kitchen before returning to her work.
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