*
“Nnngh……”
Chloe writhed on the bed and rolled over.
She wanted to stay sunk in sweet sleep, but noisy, bustling sounds kept intruding and rousing her hazy mind.
Crash!
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Nooo.”
Clang!
“Unca, you lied. You can’t cook.”
“It’s not a lie, I’m telling you, we’re short on ingredients.”
“A bicycle doesn’t choose its tools.”
“You mean a craftsman!”
“Same thing.”
Why was it so noisy? There was no reason for it to be noisy.
Clatter, clatter!
Chloe frowned and shot upright in bed.
After throwing on a robe and leaving the room, she found a small child and a man wearing aprons, and was rendered speechless.
“……”
“Cici, you’re awake?”
“Sis-terrrr—”
Geuru came pattering over and clung to Chloe’s leg.
“What is all this……”
“Why don’t we have breakfast first and talk slowly?”
Chloe slowly let out a breath.
Then, just as she was about to order him out on the spot—
“Egg toast is yummy!”
Geuru looked up at Chloe with a bright smile.
What on earth had they done? Her face was covered in food scraps and bits of eggshell.
And he had made the child look like this.
As Chloe wiped the child’s face with her sleeve, she shot On Ijo a glare.
At that, On Ijo flinched and raised both hands. He looked as though he had put himself in punishment.
Seeing that he was dressed exactly the same as yesterday, it seemed he had spent the night outside.
It had taken him a whole month to clear the 98th floor, and right after that, he had come straight to her and spent the night in front of her door?
Chloe ruffled her hair irritably. Was he doing this on purpose to make her go soft?
“There was nothing in the fridge but frozen pizza and pasta. It’s better to feed a child properly, right?”
“Grown-ups hafta eat well too.”
“That’s right. Exactly. Grown-ups need to eat well too.”
Whether Chloe’s heart was withering black or not, the two of them smiled cheerfully, seeming to get along perfectly.
Chloe, who had been standing stock-still, was led by Geuru’s hand and sat down at the table.
Egg toast.
Considering the state of the refrigerator, it was rather impressive quality.
In the end, only after she had eaten her fill of toast with yolk bursting through it was she able to order On Ijo to leave.
“Drive safely, and I’ll see you later at the research institute.”
On Ijo rode the elevator down with them, then saw the two of them off on the path leading to the parking lot.
As a bonus, he added an explanation that he had an appointment with some important people, so he would get it over with quickly and head to the institute.
“……?”
Chloe arched an eyebrow.
His smiling face made it hard to believe he had been rejected yesterday.
“Bye-bye!”
“Bye-bye!”
Geuru bounced up and down, waving her hand, and On Ijo waved back.
Since she had coldly rejected a man who had clung to her, Chloe had expected the situation to be extremely uncomfortable. At the unexpected sight, she felt a little flustered, but also relieved.
No. More importantly.
‘……Am I getting swept up in this right now?’
Her brow crumpled.
No, it’s fine. Starting tomorrow, this won’t happen again.
*
After going to work at the research institute with Chloe, Geuru was told she had to undergo several tests and was led to a room with a table.
She was separated from Chloe.
According to one researcher, Chloe was in charge of On Ijo, not the children, so Geuru couldn’t see her until all the tests were finished.
At present, the only people Geuru could trust were Chloe and On Ijo, both of whom had no disqualifying factors as guardians.
In order to see Chloe, Geuru completed word puzzles and solved math problems.
They weren’t particularly difficult questions, so Geuru solved them easily and then balanced the pen above her lip.
“If I really solve all of these, you’ll let me see Sister Chloe?”
“Of course. Naturally.”
“……I did them all.”
The researcher who saw the test paper looked surprised and showed the results to Bill, whispering to him.
Bill also listened with a grave expression, nodding.
Geuru was lying on the table as if bored, but when Bill approached, she sat up.
He bent down in front of her to meet her eyes.
“Shall we go see Chloe?”
“Yes!”
Geuru’s face brightened.
*
Inside the research institute’s examination room.
After a simple examination was finished, On Ijo, sitting on the edge of the bed, quietly watched Chloe as she focused on his test results.
No matter how much he tried to meet her eyes, she refused to look at him until the end.
As if that day had been nothing more than a one-night dream.
He lightly clenched his fist.
They had been drunk, but he had thought the mood hadn’t been bad.
Was the problem that, immediately after that day, he had been away for a month to clear the 98th floor?
Time flowed differently inside the Tower and outside, so he hadn’t even realized a month had passed.
While On Ijo persistently chased her gaze—
“We’ll end today’s examination around here. It hasn’t been long since you came down from the Tower, so it’s best not to overdo it for a while.”
After speaking in a businesslike tone, Chloe removed the electrode pads from On Ijo’s upper body.
When On Ijo looked down over his own bare torso, Chloe asked as if wondering what he was doing.
“Did you feel any discomfort during the examination?”
“No. I’m checking to see if my body is really that pretty.”
He spoke brazenly and smiled with his eyes.
“Since someone keeps looking, it’s making my heart flutter.”
“……”
Even in the face of that soft temptation, swaying like a tail, Chloe pressed her lips into a flat line and silently continued removing the pads.
“Cici, if our eyes meet one more time, let’s say I get to buy you a meal.”
On Ijo stared intently at Chloe as she avoided his gaze, then leaned his head toward her ear. And he whispered quietly.
“Look over here for a second. I want to buy you dinner.”
Just as Chloe frowned and was about to snap something back—
“Are we eating together again?!”
Large coral-colored eyes sparkled.
“How did you get in here……”
Before Chloe could even finish speaking, she saw Bill’s back as he hurriedly left the examination room.
‘Bill, you damned bald eagle!’
Chloe ground her teeth.
Was he not worried about what On Ijo might think if he brought the child here? What if he became suspicious of the child’s identity……?
However.
“Of couuurse. Let’s eat together. Should we stop by the mart and get groceries today before going home? Is there anything you want to eat?”
In the meantime, On Ijo had sat cross-legged on the floor and, with a slick air, had his arm around Geuru’s shoulders.
Was he an idiot? It seemed he wasn’t sharp enough to suspect the child’s identity after all.
It was convenient that she no longer had to come up with an excuse about the child, but still.
Chloe secretly let out a sigh.
“Then let’s buy Yoplait at the mart!”
“Good. I’ll buy you ten Yoplaits.”
“Wow! Ten of them~”
Geuru stretched both arms out wide and wandered around, expressing her joy.
Chloe, now troubled in a different sense, bit her lip.
She knew On Ijo had feelings for her.
But that night together had only been because they were drunk……
She thought of the pregnancy test, then pressed a hand to her forehead.
They were not in a relationship where they could take responsibility for each other. Especially when she was hiding not just one or two things from him.
And was that all?
On Ijo’s child?
A researcher at the institute pregnant with On Ijo’s child. She could clearly see what would happen to her.
……That was why she had been trying to keep her distance from On Ijo now.
*
“Yoplait—!”
Sitting in the cart, Geuru raised both arms high.
Standing beside the cart On Ijo was pushing, Chloe looked up at the ceiling and sighed.
‘Why does it feel like we’ve gotten closer than before I rejected him?’