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Kai knew perfectly well.
Right now, Sakiko Togawa's defensive walls were at their absolute highest. She had practically severed all ties with her former friends. The only way to truly begin capturing her heart was to entirely strip away her forced dignity and break down those walls.
"..."
His incredibly gentle tone was the final straw. Her desperately suppressed tear ducts completely gave out, and massive teardrops began to stream down her pale face.
Seizing the perfect opportunity, Kai pulled her into his embrace, gently patting her back.
"You've worked so hard just to survive on your own up until now, Sakiko. I completely understand. I've lived through those exact same harsh days. You've done amazingly well. It's okay. Just take a proper rest today!"
"Sob..."
Sakiko honestly didn't know what psychological state she was in anymore.
She just clung to Kai and bawled. It was as if she were venting every single ounce of suffering, stress, and grievance she had endured over the past few months all at once.
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"This is so humiliating!"
Sakiko hadn't gone back to her apartment.
Inside the bathroom, soaking in the warm bathtub, the mere thought of what had just happened made her bury her flushed face in her hands. She had never been so thoroughly humiliated in her entire life. She genuinely felt like she had completely lost her mind—she was actually taking a bath in the apartment of a guy she had just properly met.
However.
"This feels so good!"
Soaking in the hot water, Sakiko's face melted into pure bliss. It had been far too long since she had enjoyed a relaxing bath like this.
The water heater in her own apartment next door had broken ages ago. She didn't know how to fix it herself, and hiring a repairman would cost an exorbitant amount of money she couldn't afford, so she had just been enduring the freezing showers. For someone as inherently cleanly as Sakiko, managing to endure it for this long was already a massive feat.
"Need me to come in and scrub your back?"
Kai's teasing voice suddenly drifted in from outside the bathroom door.
It startled Sakiko so badly she instantly shrank back into the water, bubbles popping around her chin.
"Pervert!"
"Sorry, sorry. You were just taking so long that I started getting worried you might have passed out in there."
"..."
Kai's teasing actually made Sakiko let out a soft laugh, significantly easing the suffocating tension in her chest.
That's right... Kai was an incredibly good person. There was no way he'd actually do something so perverted.
"I'm fine. I'll be out in a second."
"Ah, I see. So you really don't need me to scrub your back?"
"I absolutely do not!!!"
"Tch. What a shame!"
Listening to his footsteps gradually fading away from the door, Sakiko finally stood up from the tub.
She muttered softly, "Pervert."
However, there wasn't a single trace of actual disgust on her face. Instead, a genuine, warm smile curled the corners of her lips. She slowly breathed out two quiet words.
"Thank you."
In Sakiko's eyes, Kai was only teasing her like that to alleviate the awkwardness and take the heavy psychological pressure off her shoulders. He really was such a gentle, considerate person.
————————————————————
By the time Sakiko finally came out, she was dressed in one of Kai's oversized t-shirts.
"W-What is it? Is there something weird about how I look?"
Seeing Kai's gaze locked onto her, Sakiko instinctively turned her head away, her expression growing entirely unnatural and flustered.
"You look beautiful. I'm probably going to treasure that shirt for the rest of my life."
"Pervert! Don't even think about it!"
Watching her flustered reaction, Kai just chuckled lightly.
"I've already laid out a futon for you. The bedding is completely brand new. Get some rest, I'm going to take a shower."
With that, he casually strolled into the bathroom.
Sakiko didn't look away until the bathroom door clicked shut. She couldn't explain it. Even though they had basically just met, interacting with him gave her an inexplicable sense of absolute ease, almost as if she were hanging out with a lifelong friend.
Perhaps... it was because he had already witnessed her at her absolute lowest, most pathetic point. There was no longer any reason to put up a front.
Ding!
Right at that moment, Sakiko's phone suddenly lit up, chiming with a rapid succession of incoming messages.
'Sakiko, can we please talk?'
'Sakiko, I can help you.'
'Sakiko, I know you still care about the band.'
'...'
All the messages were from the exact same person. Staring at the name "Soyo Nagasaki" glowing on the screen, Sakiko let out a heavy sigh, shook her head, and turned the screen back off.
This was far from the first time this had happened. If it weren't for the fact that they used to be bandmates and friends, Sakiko would have blocked her number a long time ago.
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When Kai finally stepped out of the shower...
...he saw Sakiko already curled up tightly inside the futon, her eyes closed.
Is she asleep?
Looking down at her, Kai raised a single brow.
He didn't make a sound to wake her, nor did he entertain a single thought of taking advantage of the situation. Please. He definitely loved women, but he wasn't completely devoid of class.
He simply turned off the main lights and slid into his own futon on the other side of the room.
"Yawn~"
Letting out a quiet yawn, he slowly closed his eyes.
"..."
After a long, silent moment...
Sakiko, who had supposedly been "fast asleep," slowly peeled her eyes open. With half her face buried safely beneath the covers, she tilted her head and quietly watched Kai's sleeping features in the dim light.
The truth was, she had just felt incredibly awkward and hadn't known how to face him when he came out, so she had squeezed her eyes shut and faked being asleep.
Kai's respectful restraint made her feel even more at ease.
'Thank you. To think that someone as pathetic as me could still be treated with such gentle kindness.'
Naturally, the pure and innocent Sakiko had absolutely no idea that this entire scenario was just another calculated part of his routine.
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Perhaps because she had gone so long without a proper night's sleep...
...Sakiko ended up sleeping in quite late the next morning.
"Yawn~"
She let out a soft yawn. Her consciousness hadn't fully booted up yet as she stared blankly around the unfamiliar room.
"Where is..."
Then it all rushed back. The scenes from last night instantly replayed in her mind. She had actually spent the night at a strange man's apartment. In the past, this was something Sakiko never would have even dared to imagine.
Just then.
"Are you awake?"
Kai's voice drifted in from the main room. Sakiko instinctively pulled the blanket tighter around herself.
"Come on out whenever you're ready. I've already made breakfast."
"I-I'll be right out!"
That's right. He's an incredibly gentle person. Being this highly guarded around him is just rude. Barefoot, she stepped out onto the floorboards. The moment she walked out, she saw Kai setting breakfast down on the table.
"My cooking is pretty average, so please don't mind."
"N-Not at all!"
Sakiko frantically shook her head. Besides, just looking at the spread, this was undeniably the absolute best breakfast she had eaten in a very, very long time.
"How is it? Does your foot still hurt?"
"It's already feeling a lot better."
Kai's warm concern brought a genuinely heartwarming smile to Sakiko's face.
"In that case, I'll apply another layer of ointment for you after we eat, and you should be perfectly fine."
"M-Mhm!"
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