"My feet are killing me… Oh my god," I groaned, trudging along the never-ending road home. To make things worse, I was giving Keiko a piggyback ride.
It wasn't that she was heavy—well, okay, she wasn't exactly light either—but the real issue was that I was already exhausted. And then, as if my suffering wasn’t enough, I suddenly heard her mumbling something incoherent right next to my ear.
At first, I ignored it. But then—
"Urghhh…"
My entire body froze.
Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.
I instantly set her down, panicking as I helped her move to the side of the road. And then, it happened.
Keiko started throwing up.
I winced. It was bad. I felt terrible for her, but at the same time… why did I have to witness this?!
"Ugh… You okay?" I asked hesitantly, crouching next to her.
Keiko, who looked absolutely miserable, groaned weakly in response. I quickly helped her clean herself up, but halfway through, she collapsed against me. I sighed.
"Alright, alright," I muttered, carefully lowering her into a sitting position at the edge of the road. I took a deep breath and helped her clean up again.
She was slowly coming back to her senses. Her tired eyes blinked at me as I knelt in front of her.
"Feeling better?" I asked.
She nodded weakly. She really did look exhausted.
I sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder for support. She leaned her head against me.
"Take your time," I told her softly. "We'll start walking again when you're ready."
She nodded against my shoulder, quietly resting.
After a while, she whispered, "I'm okay now."
"Wait here," I told her, standing up.
There was a 24-hour convenience store nearby, and I figured she'd need some water. I quickly bought a bottle and headed back.
But when I returned—
"What the hell?"
Some random guy was talking to Keiko.
I sighed, running a hand down my face. "Not this time, please," I muttered under my breath.
I walked straight over and raised my voice, "Hey! What are you doing?"
The guy, who looked like he was trying to be all charming, flinched. He reached toward Keiko’s shoulder, but I smacked his hand away before he could touch her.
"I—I was just trying to help this lady," he stammered. "Right?" He turned to Keiko as if expecting her to back him up.
I stepped in front of Keiko, blocking his view. "She’s with me. We don’t need your help."
The guy frowned. "And who are you?"
Without thinking, I blurted, "Her husband!"
…Wait. What?
I froze.
The guy looked at me, confused. "Husband? But you're also a girl?"
Crap.
"Uh—got a problem with that?" I snapped, going along with it.
I took a step forward, straightening my stance to make myself look more intimidating.
The guy immediately looked nervous. "N-no, not really." Then, as he turned to leave, I heard him mutter under his breath, "Tch. So you're into something like that? Pathetic."
My eye twitched.
"What did you just say?" I yelled, but the guy was already running away.
"Uhm… nothing!" he called out before disappearing into the night.
I sighed heavily. Why did I always have to deal with stuff like this?
Turning back to Keiko, I crouched down and handed her the bottle. "Drink this slowly."
She obediently took a few sips before whispering, "Thank you."
I blinked.
She looked… ridiculously cute right now.
I quickly shook the thought out of my head. Nope. No time for that.
"Let’s go," I said instead. "It's past midnight already."
Keiko nodded sleepily. "Okay." Her voice was so soft it was almost a whisper.
I helped her stand. Thankfully, she could walk on her own now—though at a slow pace. Not that I was complaining. There was no way I could carry her again.
---
Finally, home. Oh my god.
I guided Keiko to her room, but she suddenly refused to go inside.
"I don’t want Rin to see me like this…" she murmured.
I blinked. "Huh? But this is your room—"
"Your room."
"...Rin’s room," I corrected myself, sighing.
With no other choice, I helped her into Rin’s room—which was now my room. I laid her down gently and made sure she was comfortable.
Then, without wasting a second, I took a quick shower to clean myself up.
When I returned, Keiko was already fast asleep.
She looked… peaceful. Beautiful, even.
I felt a small smile creep onto my lips before I realized something.
"Crap. That means I have to sleep on the couch again."
I sighed, grabbing a pillow and blanket. What a tiring day. I just hoped I wouldn’t be late for work tomorrow.
As those thoughts swirled in my mind, I slowly drifted off to sleep.
---
"WOAHHH! OH MY GOD!"
I jolted awake to the sound of Rin screaming.
I sat up groggily. "What the hell…"
"YOU! Why are you sleeping on the sofa again?!"
Still half-asleep, I rubbed my eyes. "Your mother is sleeping in my room."
"My room," Rin corrected immediately.
I looked at her, deadpan. "…Seriously?"
Rin crossed her arms stubbornly.
"Fine. Yes, yours," I muttered, sighing.
"But why? Why isn’t she sleep in her own room with me?"
I froze.
"Uhh…" My brain scrambled for an answer.
Keiko didn't want Rin to know she got wasted.
"How should I know?" I blurted out.
Rin narrowed her eyes at me but thankfully didn’t press further. Instead, she huffed and walked away toward her room.
Panic hit me.
"Rin! Your mom's still sleeping and isn’t feeling well. Let her rest for now," I quickly said.
Thankfully, she obeyed me without a fight—though she didn’t say anything back. She just focused on getting ready for school.
"Bye. Take care, Rin," I called out with a small smile.
She sighed in response.
"Well, at least she listened this time…"
After she left, I checked on Keiko. She was still sleeping soundly.
Maybe she should take the day off.
I whispered softly, "Keiko… take a day off, okay? Just rest."
No response. She was in deep sleep.
Before leaving, I glanced at her one last time… then, without really thinking, I leaned down and placed a small kiss on her forehead.
She stirred slightly but didn’t wake up.
Then I left for work.
---
I barely made it on time.
"Morning…" Aki greeted, sounding completely drained.
Ruka and Miko also looked like zombies.
"Morning, guys…" I said, equally exhausted.
"Oh, Keiko isn’t coming in today," I told them. "She told me this morning."
Ruka yawned. "Right. I was thinking about taking a day off too."
Aki groaned, "Ugh… I’m sorry, guys. I really went too far yesterday."
Miko waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, it was fun."
"Yeah, don’t worry about it," I added.
Ruka and Miko both nodded, thanking Aki for the treat, which made her happy.
Aki sighed. "I still feel bad especially to Keiko. I should apologize to her later."
I chuckled. "Yeah. You probably should."
As the workday dragged on, I couldn't help but wonder…
Would Keiko even remember anything from last night?