The next morning sun tried to peak through Haruki's curtains, but he didn't have the strength to greet it. His head was throbbing, and his throat felt like he had swallowed sandpaper. The walk in the rain and the cold winds of the previous evening had finally caught up with him.
"Just my luck," he muttered, his voice a dry rasp. He checked his temperature: 101.5. No school today.
He sent a quick message to the class group chat letting them know he was sick. He expected a few "get well soon" messages from the guys, but his phone remained silent for most of the morning. He drifted in and out of a restless sleep, dreaming of umbrellas and cold, grey eyes.
Around 3:00 PM, a sharp knock at his door jolted him awake.
"Coming..." he groaned, wrapping himself in a thick blanket and stumbling toward the door. He expected the delivery guy with the soup he'd ordered, or maybe his neighbor.
When he opened the door, he froze.
Standing there, still in her school uniform but with a designer cardigan thrown over her shoulders, was Rin. She was holding a bag from a high-end grocery store and looking anywhere but at him.
"Rin? What are you doing here?" Haruki asked, leaning against the doorframe for support.
"I... the teacher said someone needed to bring you the handouts for the upcoming exams," she said quickly, handing him a folder. "And since my driver was already heading this way, I thought I'd just get it over with."
Haruki looked at her, then at the heavy grocery bag in her other hand. "And the groceries? Are those handouts too?"
Rin's face turned a brilliant shade of crimson. "These are... ingredients. For porridge. My maid says it's good for people who are too stupid to carry an umbrella in the rain."
She pushed past him into the small apartment. "Now sit down. You look like you're about to collapse, and I don't want a dead classmate on my conscience."
Haruki watched in disbelief as the 'Ice Queen' of the academy began navigating his tiny kitchen. She moved with a strange mix of elegance and hesitation, clearly not used to cooking for herself.
"You don't have to do this, Rin," Haruki said, sitting at his small dining table.
"Be quiet and rest," she snapped, though there was no heat in it.
As the smell of ginger and rice began to fill the room, the atmosphere changed. It wasn't the cold, professional air of the school or the tense silence of the car. It felt... domestic.
Rin eventually brought over a bowl of steaming porridge. She sat across from him, watching him take the first bite.
"Is it... edible?" she asked, her voice small.
Haruki smiled, the warmth of the food spreading through him. "It's the best thing I've tasted in a long time."
Rin looked away, but Haruki caught the ghost of a smile on her face. For a moment, the distance between the rich heiress and the scholarship student felt like it didn't exist at all.
However, a sudden buzz from Haruki's phone on the table interrupted them. A message preview popped up on the screen:
Hana:"Haruki! I'm outside your apartment with some home-made soup. Open up! 😊"
Rin's eyes locked onto the screen. The warmth in the room vanished instantly.
"It seems," Rin said, her voice turning icy once again, "that you already have a much more 'dedicated' visitor."
Next Chapter: # Chapter 9: The Kitchen Confrontation