As I stroked my scarf, I could feel the outline of the necklace underneath.
‘I just have to wait. Worrying won’t do any good, after all.’
Iris let out a sigh and was about to resume eating, but then she paused.
She realized that while she had cleared more than half her plate, Johannes hadn’t even touched his food.
Chewing the pasta thoroughly, she swallowed and spoke up.
“I actually prefer cream pasta over tomato pasta. How did you end up ordering exactly what I like?”
“Uh… W-well, eat up.”
Johannes flinched noticeably, fidgeting and gripping the edge of the table.
Just hearing Iris’s voice seemed to make his body heat up; his condition was clearly quite serious.
Was he sick, or did he have an upset stomach? Johannes didn’t look well.
Tilting her head, Iris offered him some food again.
“Aren’t you going to eat? Or did you already have a meal before I got here…?”
“Huh? N-no, I’ll eat. I have to eat.”
Johannes hurriedly picked up his fork, but then dropped it.
The fork clattered to the floor with a loud clang, so he bent down to retrieve it and looked up again.
But as he stood up too quickly, he banged his head against the table with a loud thud.
For a moment, the pain was excruciating, and Johannes groaned, rolling on the floor.
“Ugh!”
“Johannes! Are you okay?”
Startled, Iris jumped up and rushed to Johannes. He tried to say he was fine and get up, but when he felt the warmth of her hand touch his head, he froze like a stone.
“That was a huge sound. Look, your head’s really hot!”
“Ugh… It hurts, Iris.”
Thanks to his Superpowered Individual recovery abilities, the pain faded quickly.
But Johannes kept pretending to be in pain, groaning and whining.
He was overwhelmed by the ecstasy of Iris’s touch on his head.
As he kept bending over in apparent discomfort, Iris held his head with a worried expression.
When she helped him up, Johannes staggered to his feet.
Since he was dazed by Iris’s touch, his acting wasn’t entirely fake. Perhaps he only faltered a bit to garner a little sympathy.
When Johannes leaned his weak body against her, Iris pressed her hand to his forehead, checking his complexion.
As her gentle scent washed over him, Johannes shut his eyes tight. If they got any closer, their noses might touch—her face was that near.
Iris mistook his dazed expression for pain and supported him.
“Johannes, stay with me. Oh dear, you really can’t come to your senses—does it hurt that much?”
“Yeah… Ugh.”
“What should I do….”
When Johannes bent over and couldn’t steady himself, Iris’s face grew serious.
For a patient, the best thing was to rest.
Since he’d hit his head, lying down was better than sitting. Iris glanced around and asked,
“Want to lie down for a bit?”
“…Yeah.”
“Is that the bedroom?”
She pointed to a room that looked like a bedroom, and Johannes gave a small nod.
Iris then half-lifted, half-dragged the much larger Johannes along.
When she flung open the door, a bare room with just a bed and a small side table came into view.
‘Wow, not only the living room but the bedroom is spotless too. Does he even live here?’
With only the barest necessities, the owner hardly ever used the place, so it was no wonder it felt empty.
Iris had no idea she had guessed the truth and simply thought Johannes was excessively tidy.
Johannes’s head no longer hurt—he just felt dazed. The warmth and scent from Iris made his whole body feel feverish, as if he had caught a sudden illness.
He wanted to be honest with Iris, but felt a little white lie was acceptable. He had really hit his head on the table, after all, so it wasn’t something she could find out.
Since this was his first time pretending to be sick, he couldn’t judge how much effort to put in.
So, leaning into Iris as much as he could, he let himself be dragged along until his back touched the soft bed sheets, which made him flinch.
Worried his act might be discovered, he squeezed his eyes shut, and then Iris’s voice sounded above him.
“Whew, you must be really hurt. I told you to be careful.”
“…Th-thank you, Iris.”
As Johannes pulled his legs up onto the bed and spoke shyly, he felt a sense of emptiness in his chest when Iris’s warm touch disappeared.
Then, realizing something, he quickly pulled the blanket up and opened his eyes just a little. He could still feel himself hard down below.
His jeans offered some protection, but without the blanket, Iris might see his embarrassing state.
Stealing a glance, Johannes realized she hadn’t noticed, and he let out a silent sigh of relief.
Iris looked around the empty room and, realizing there was no chair, sat down on the edge of the bed.
Johannes, who had relaxed for a moment, tensed up again. Knowing Iris was sitting within arm’s reach made the tension below stir all over again.
“Don’t you have any medicine at home? Like a painkiller or something?”
“N-no, I don’t.”
Since he didn’t usually live here, there was no reason to have painkillers around.
Besides, as a Superpowered Individual, most injuries healed on their own, and for serious wounds, he always recovered with a Magic Potion. Iris pressed his forehead and sighed.
“No medicine? Sigh, this won’t do. I’ll run out to the pharmacy.”
As Iris started to rise, Johannes reflexively grabbed her slender wrist, but then let go, startled by his own actions.
When she looked at him, as if asking what was wrong, his pupils shook fiercely.
He didn’t want Iris to leave, even for an instant. Today, he just wanted to be with her as much as possible, so he grabbed her wrist before he realized it.
Seeing the puzzled look on her face brought him back to his senses. Hesitating, Johannes forced out a timid voice.
“No, it’s fine. I-I think I’ll be better if I just lie down.”
“Well, if you say so… Ah! Wait a second.”
“Uh…!”
This time, before he could stop her, Iris shot up and dashed out. Johannes dropped his hand, anxiety flickering in his eyes.
Since he didn’t hear the front door open, she probably hadn’t gone outside, but with her out of sight, his heart sank.
He’d been in love with Iris for fourteen years without ever being able to confess.
Lately, he’d spent wonderful days growing closer to her, but it also made him more anxious than ever.
What if, just when he thought they were close, Iris suddenly left?
Before he knew the happiness of being with her, it was one thing, but now he couldn’t bear the thought of returning to such lonely days.
‘Iris, where did you go?’
Johannes’s breathing grew ragged. According to the Watcher, Iris no longer met Laika.
She hadn’t been seen with any other man either, and had only been confirmed to have visited the J Corporation Research Lab a couple of times.
Most likely for a part-time job. Which meant, right now, the only man by Iris’s side was himself. Unless the Watcher had missed something.
Unable to bear the anxiety, Johannes started to get out of bed, but then heard the faint sound of slippers approaching.
Biting his lip, he stared at the door, and soon it opened softly—there was Iris.
As soon as she met his gaze, Johannes’s expression twisted slightly. He rubbed his head for no reason, though it no longer hurt at all.
Seeing this, Iris sat on the edge of the bed with a worried look and opened the lid of the ointment she’d brought.
With ointment squeezed onto her fingertip, she looked at Johannes’s forehead and tilted her head. He seemed to be in pain, but there was no visible injury.
“I totally forgot I had ointment in my bag. Um, where… where should I put it?”
“H-here… ugh.”
When Johannes pointed to a spot on the corner of his forehead, Iris applied the ointment there.
The warm, gentle sensation made the corners of Johannes’s lips curl up.
The area where her hand touched felt incredibly ticklish. Even such a small act sent all the blood rushing below, hidden under the blanket.
Lying in bed, being nursed by Iris, he felt so cozy it was almost like being married.
‘I want to marry Iris.’
Iris had no idea that Johannes was already dreaming of marriage just because she put on some ointment. She muttered softly,
“This should help a bit. Honestly, you should at least keep a Healing Kit at home. What if you get hurt all of a sudden—um, well, never mind. Just be careful, okay!”
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