Opening my eyes, I found myself lying in an unfamiliar room.
The school infirmary? That was the first thing that ca to mind. But the IV tube attached to my hand quickly told I was actually in a hospital.
Turning to the side, I saw my mother sitting beside the bed, asleep, leaning against the mattress. The moonlight streaming through a gap in the curtains illuminated her face.
Rubbing my temples, the last thing I rembered was my date with Yona earlier.
"Did I faint...?"
My mother's hand twitched, as if responding to my words. Her eyes slowly opened as she raised her head. Her long brown hair cascaded down past her shoulders.
"...Ren?"
"Good night, Mom."
It felt kind of weird to say good night to soone who just woke up. Almost like telling them to go back to sleep.
But my mom quickly sat up straight and rubbed her eyes. She yawned.
"So... you’re finally awake. Don’t worry, the doctor said you can go ho tomorrow morning. If you want... you can go to school. But don’t go back to your part-ti job yet..."
She said that while clearly struggling not to close her eyes again.
"...Why am I here?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah... You fainted from heatstroke earlier. The doctor said you already had a fever before that too. Were you that excited about your date with Yona that you didn’t notice your own condition?"
No wonder my head had been pounding all morning. Did I get the fever from getting caught in the rain when I delivered that beef stew to Yona’s house? This is my fault for going straight to bed afterward. I should’ve taken a shower first.
"...Did Yona go ho already?"
"She left this afternoon. She stayed with you the whole ti before I got here, you know. She only went ho because she was exhausted after I arrived. Don’t you think she’s a very responsible girlfriend?"
"I told you she’s not my—"
I trailed off. At this point, there was no point in denying it anymore.
Then, my mom looked at .
"If you two are dating... Ren, just don’t cross the line yet, okay? I know this is the age when you get curious about those things. Honestly, your dad and I already did it back when we were in high school. But for you... please wait at least until you graduate. It’ll be better that way."
If I were drinking sothing right now, I swear I would’ve spit it out all over her face.
Why did she bring that up so suddenly?
"...I haven’t done anything. And I don’t plan on doing it anyti soon."
Ever since I was transported to this world, I’ve been through a lot of situations where I could’ve done sothing like that, which kind of excites in a way.
But honestly... I want to prioritize my hobbies and school right now. My heart’s already shattered from losing my entire ga collection. At the very least, I don’t want to wreck myself further by diving into a relationship.
My mom smiled. She stroked my head, then pulled into a tight hug like I was a little kid.
"That’s good to hear. Really, I’m so grateful to have a son like you, Ren. Thank you for being born into our family."
W–What the heck, Mom? Why are you suddenly getting all emotional? And is it really necessary to hug like this? I’m in high school already.
...Though, since it’s been a while since I’ve been spoiled by my parents like this... being pampered once in a while isn’t so bad.
Still, it’s embarrassing.
"You’re crushing , Mom..."
---
The next day, just as my mom said, I was discharged from the hospital. Since I was feeling better, I decided to go to school.
It doesn’t feel right to skip school on a Monday. For so reason, that just makes it harder to go on Tuesday too.
As I stepped out of my house, I turned to the side—toward Yona’s house—and waited. Since I hadn’t had the chance to apologize for troubling her yesterday, I wanted to do it now and go to school together.
But strangely, even after waiting 30 minutes, there was no sign of her. I couldn’t see any activity from her house either.
At first, I thought maybe it was normal—her parents probably had already left for work, and Yona might still be out for her morning jog. But shouldn’t she be done by now?
The ssage I sent her hadn’t been read either, even though it showed she was last online an hour ago. So she was awake earlier.
“Is she so focused on running that she hasn’t checked her phone?”
Not being sure myself, I decided to give up and go ahead.
If I waited any longer, I was afraid I’d get crushed like a potato patty on the train from how packed it gets.
And so, I left.
It was a bit disappointing not to see Yuri on the train, but then again... what’s the point if we can’t play PSP? We’d just get squashed by other passengers if we tried.
At least I survived the ride and made it to school without getting mashed.
Of course, I didn’t see Yona at school either. Dragging my feet to my seat, I was imdiately greeted by Kaito, his face beaming.
“Ren! You won’t believe it, I finally t up with my girlfriend yesterday!”
Covering my ears because of how loud he was, I sighed. Is the word “girlfriend” trending or sothing lately...?
“Yeah, yeah. And she turned out to be even prettier than in the photos, right? Then you guys had a date and had lots of fun and stuff.”
“H–How did you know!? Were you stalking yesterday!? I never told anyone when I was going to et her!”
“It was obvious from your face—you looked like you were dying to brag.”
Unfortunately for , his timing was perfect. While his date went smoothly with his new girlfriend, I fainted and ruined everything.
During lunch break, I’m definitely going to look for Yona... I want to properly apologize to her.
Kaito then pulled out his phone and showed a picture.
“Look, this is a selfie I took with her yesterday. Doesn’t she give off a mature vibe?”
“...Yeah?”
On the screen, Kaito was pictured with a woman wearing a black jacket, holding a cup of coffee. The two of them were at a café.
She definitely looked older than us, and I guess she was pretty... but I wasn’t sure what kind of “mature vibe” Kaito was talking about.
Also, her smile gave a slightly creepy feeling.
As Kaito proudly showed off more photos of him and his new girlfriend, I felt my phone buzz—indicating a ssage.
I quickly pulled it out of my pocket. But the notification wasn’t from Yona—it was from Yuri, who had just texted .
A bit disappointed, but since Yuri rarely sends ssages during school hours, I decided to open it.
[Ren, I’ve got great news!]
[What is it?]
When Yuri types, she never stutters like she does when she speaks.
[I heard Ms. Mizu is coming back soon!]
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