Chapter 17
“……”
It was a fresh morning with sparrows chirping. As usual, Harriet sat up in bed with his eyes closed, raising his upper body. Sitting there motionless with his eyes closed, basking in the morning sunlight, he looked just like a dead person.
After a while, Harriet sighed and opened his eyes. His still pale white pupils looked hazy, not quite appearing to be in his right mind.
After blankly staring for a long time, Harriet smacked his lips and got up from his seat.
Weak in the mornings, it took Harriet a long time to wake up and gather his senses. Scratching his neck as he got up, Harriet went straight to the sink, poured plenty of hot water into a mug, and added cocoa powder three times.
This was something he could do because Angela wasn’t there to worry about his health, saying, ‘If you eat like that, it’s bad for your colon!!’ Harriet took a sip of the cocoa and slightly wrinkled his face.
“…Hot.”
Harriet had a constitution that couldn’t handle hot things well. To cool it down, he placed the mug on the table, and while scratching the back of his head, went into the bathroom.
He took out his toothbrush, applied toothpaste, and put it in his mouth. After brushing his teeth blankly and staring at the mirror, he saw an unfamiliar face. Though it was his own face, it always felt strange.
But when I was young, I had quite pretty blonde hair…
As Harriet examined his face in the mirror from different angles, he picked up scissors. His hair had grown quite a bit, now long enough to be cumbersome. His bangs were long enough to poke his eyes.
It was because he didn’t have time to go to town to tidy up his hair in time.
Just as he brought the scissors to his hair.
Knock knock-.
Snip-.
At the sudden knocking sound, Harriet ended up cutting higher than where he intended.
Harriet blankly looked down at his white hair scattered on the shelf and floor. Looking in the mirror, one side of his bangs was cut extremely short, like a missing tooth.
It was a funny sight. Harriet stroked his bangs and smiled awkwardly.
“Sunbae.”
“…Hello.”
“Ugh……”
When Harriet opened the door and greeted him, Ender closed his eyes as if blinded, turned his head away, and then clutched his chest and sat down. Harriet felt his heart drop, wondering if Ender might have a heart condition.
“Ender?”
“S-Sunbae, you’re too cute……”
Almost sobbing, Ender took a picture of Harriet’s appearance with his camera. Faced with such a natural act, like flowing water, Harriet couldn’t find anything particular to say and just stroked Ender’s back.
Even though his bangs had a hole in them like a poodle’s, this kind junior complimented him with even a white lie. Harriet smiled softly at Ender’s kind-heartedness and opened the door wide.
If Anschel had been there, he would have held both of Harriet’s hands and said, ‘No… that’s not it…’, but he wasn’t present.
Harriet let Ender into the house and blankly stared at his front yard. A huge military tent occupied the front yard. That’s where Ender had stayed the previous night.
Yesterday, Ender had moved next door. Well, “moved” might sound strange, but Ender had brought a military tent and set it up prominently in Harriet’s yard.
According to Anschel, the building next to Harriet’s house was currently being remodeled. The house Ender was moving to was less than a 4-minute walk from Harriet’s house.
When asked why he was setting up a tent in front of Harriet’s house, he answered, ‘I want to be somewhere I can watch over Sunbae anytime.’
When he heard that, Anschel’s expression became extremely dark, but Harriet didn’t notice. Anschel had wailed with an expression like he was about to die of frustration, telling Ender to just stay at a hotel, but it didn’t make any difference to his superior.
Ender had already personally picked up a hammer and driven stakes into the ground to secure the tent. With each bang-bang-bang sound, Anschel’s soul seemed to shatter into dust and disappear.
“Why don’t you… just come inside the house?”
“I can’t.”
“Hmm.”
Harriet wondered if maybe Ender had been uncomfortable staying in the house before. But the kind junior added, incredibly seriously, as if afraid Sunbae might misunderstand:
“Because I feel like I’m going to explode down here.”
Harriet followed Ender’s finger and looked down. After staring intently at Ender’s lower body, he smiled slightly to avoid making him feel embarrassed. He just thought his cute junior was in high spirits.
“Hmm… you’re healthy.”
“Yes.”
This crazy bastard.
Anschel cursed inwardly. Looking really tired, he opened the car door and got in. Then he glanced at Harriet and nodded. Harriet blankly watched the car driving away.
Recalling the previous night when Ender had moved into the yard, Harriet went back inside. Not seeing Ender, he looked around and heard movement from the bathroom.
When he went to check, Ender was crouched in the bathroom, carefully picking up Harriet’s hair strand by strand and putting it into a sterilized ziplock bag. Harriet asked Ender, who was collecting the white hair:
“What are you doing?”
“Yes, I’m currently collecting Sunbae’s hair.”
“……”
Though he didn’t know what Ender would use it for, Harriet kept stroking his shortened bangs and smiled as if embarrassed. Compared to his plain hair, Ender had extremely handsome and smooth black hair. Whatever his cute junior had was always attractive.
“Sunbae, shall we go out today?”
“Hmm… alright.”
He needed to visit the barber shop anyway, and Harriet wanted to buy a couple more mugs.
* * *
Even in a rural town center, there were just a few more people and a more active market, but none of the entertainment found in big cities. It ended with a supermarket that was practically a hole-in-the-wall shop, a cafe, a bar, and a karaoke place.
Ender blankly observed Harriet choosing a mug. With his pale white hair and pupils, Harriet was an alien presence here, drawing people’s attention.
Despite having lived here for several years, he always attracted attention like a foreigner. Thanks to his insensitive personality, Harriet didn’t seem to particularly care.
After alternately looking at a white mug and a mug with a red jewel painted on it in his hands, he seemed to make up his mind and put the white mug back on the display.
“Are you buying just one?”
“Yes.”
“Let me buy you more.”
“I’ll get tired of them……”
Buying too many at once could make one tired of them. At Harriet’s words, Ender didn’t press further. He was truly an obedient junior. Harriet smiled bitterly and took out his wallet. The mug was so cheap that it would be embarrassing for Ender to pay.
Before going to the barber shop, Harriet bought a bag of candy and gestured to Ender. Although Harriet didn’t have a particularly strong appetite, he really liked sweet things.
“Hold out your hand, Ender.”
“……”
“I’ll give you a present.”
Harriet poured colorful fruit candies into Ender’s hands with a small smile. His eyebrows, drooping like the Chinese character for “eight,” made Harriet’s face look very gentle. Even during academy days, Ender had received countless candies from Harriet.
In fact, Ender disliked candy. He hated the sweet, sticky sensation that clung and lingered in his mouth. But Ender had never once thrown away candy given by Harriet. He ate them all. Almost as much as he wanted to devour Harriet.
Ender picked up a white candy that reminded him of Harriet and put it in his mouth. The taste of apple filled his mouth.
Perhaps feeling awkward with his short hair, Harriet repeatedly stroked his head. His hair had been cut much shorter to match the bangs he had cut in the morning.
Ender prevented the barber shop owner from using a broom to clean up Harriet’s hair, even using his ability. In the end, Ender’s ziplock bag was filled with Harriet’s hair.
“You’re going to throw away something so precious!?”
The barber shop owner had an expression like, ‘Have I ever seen such a madman!?’, but when he recognized Ender’s face, his eyes nearly popped out in surprise. Surprisingly, the person he thought was crazy was the famous hero, Ender McGuire.
After a small commotion, the two headed to a small cafe in town. It was a cafe run by an elderly couple, and Harriet occasionally liked to sit there on weekends to read books.
Initially, he ordered hot cocoa and brought books to read while it cooled slowly. But somehow Ender had found that cafe, as if by magic.
“I’ll treat you.”
“…Hmm.”
Harriet nodded. Staring at Ender’s back as he entered the cafe, Harriet blinked.
Swoosh-.
The wind tousled Harriet’s shortened hair as it passed by. Harriet, holding a red cane, blinked. Because of matching Harriet’s pace as he limped, even simple errands took a long time. Nevertheless, Ender, as always, matched Harriet’s slow steps and never complained.
A little later, Ender came out of the cafe carrying drinks.
“Sunbae, it’s iced.”
“…Iced?”
“Yes. Try it.”
Ender handed Harriet an iced cocoa with a refreshing smile.
Isn’t cocoa a drink that’s supposed to be hot?
Thinking this, he put the drink along with ice in his mouth and crunched it. Harriet’s eyes widened.
As Ender said, it was cocoa that could be eaten with ice. It’s just that Harriet hadn’t known this method before. After all, Harriet only knew how to drink cocoa hot. Supporting the cup with both hands, he smiled awkwardly.
“It’s delicious.”
“Isn’t it?”
Ender had nothing in his hands. He was checking the time on his wristwatch. Come to think of it, this was the first time seeing Ender in casual clothes rather than his uniform.
Ender was wearing a black t-shirt, black jeans, and a navy blue cardigan. He looked much younger than usual.
“…You’ve grown a lot, Ender.”
“Yes. I’m no longer the small person I used to be.”
Ender took one of Harriet’s hands and smiled enchantingly.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
