The awkward New Year’s Day passed, and finally January 2nd arrived—the day the family members who had gone to camp would return.
The chicken soup Margaret had made and left beforehand had long since run out.
Before the family came, when Henry said he should clean up, Declan volunteered, saying he would do it.
Henry, pushed aside by him, didn’t know what to do with himself at the thought of leaving housework to a guest.
He wandered around for quite a while in an awkward posture, neither sitting nor standing still.
The car engine sound heard from afar gradually grew louder, then at some point stopped in front of the house. Soon after, affectionate conversation sounds tinged with joy and familiar footsteps approached from beyond the front door.
It seemed the family had arrived.
Click!
The door opened. Cold winter air rushed into the interior, and familiar voices were heard.
“Henry! We’re here!”
Iris’s cheerful voice was the first to greet Henry. Behind her, Margaret, Veronica, and even Richard—everyone entered the house one by one, each carrying a bag.
Henry wavered between Declan, who was cleaning up in his place, and his family. He should greet his family, but he couldn’t leave Declan taking care of the house in his place.
In the end, he chose to stand about halfway between his family and him, smiling awkwardly as he welcomed his family.
“Welcome back.”
Margaret left her luggage in the entryway, approached, and placed her hand on Henry’s forehead.
“Your fever has gone down a lot. What about the cough? Look how much weight you’ve lost from your face. What should we do?”
“It’s not that bad. The cough is almost all better too.”
“Oh, Mom. Look at Henry’s complexion. He looks fine. By the way, where’s Declan?”
“Ah, in the kitchen…”
Margaret felt sorry for her youngest son, whom she was seeing after several days. At that, Iris shook her head, scolded her, and asked about the guest’s whereabouts.
Before Henry could answer such an Iris, she, who had been heading to the kitchen to drink water, discovered Declan on her own.
“Declan?”
She called the guest’s name in a shocked voice. At the outcry that rang loudly through the house, not only Margaret but even Veronica and Richard turned their heads toward the kitchen.
“Why are you doing this?”
At the voice filled with surprise, Margaret and Veronica, who finally realized the situation, headed toward the kitchen.
In case the family misunderstood that he had made him do it, Henry was urgently trying to explain.
“Ah, I said I would do it, but Russell…”
“I said I would do it.”
Declan’s voice overlapped with Henry’s explaining voice.
“Don’t tell me you were doing this because Henry is sick?”
When Margaret asked seriously, he smiled faintly without answering.
“I’m already grateful you took care of Henry, but to do this kind of work too. I’ll do it. Go rest, okay?”
“I’m done. It’s fine.”
“Still…”
“It wasn’t much, so I finished quickly.”
Veronica rolled up her shirt sleeves and approached Declan, but he refused.
The words “quickly” weren’t a lie—not long after, Declan, who had thoroughly washed even the last dish, turned off the running water.
While everyone in the family didn’t know what to do with their apologies, Richard was the first to greet Declan.
“Our Henry owes you a great debt. Thank you for helping.”
“It’s fine.”
Declan wiped the moisture from his hands with a towel while wearing a polite smile. Extremely superficial thanks were exchanged. As soon as Richard began speaking, Henry could feel through his skin that the temperature of language was drying up sharply.
Henry read the room at the atmosphere permeating the air, knowingly or unknowingly. Veronica, before anyone else, noticed such a Henry and naturally led the atmosphere.
“‘It’s fine,’ nothing. At times like this, you should make a show of it.”
At the expression of gratitude that in a way resembled a scolding, Declan laughed quietly.
Having successfully lightened the atmosphere, Veronica continued her introduction.
“I’m late introducing myself, right? I’ve heard a lot about you these past few days. I’m Veronica Lowell, Henry’s eldest sister. Thank you for coming all the way here even though it’s the holidays. Thanks to you, Henry seems to have gotten better quickly.”
“Really! Thank you so much. Otherwise, either I or Veronica would have had to come home during camp.”
Henry’s two sisters spoke warmly to Declan. Margaret joined in on the atmosphere that had become much warmer.
“Stay for lunch and dinner. Okay? Of course, it’s fine if you stay longer… Ah, you said you refused, didn’t you?”
While expressing gratitude with her mouth, her tone was exactly like that of someone bestowing a favor. Only after speaking did Margaret realize her mistake and stop talking.
“Ah, sorry. I’m not trying to force you. It’s okay to refuse.”
Margaret hurriedly apologized to him. She had a face that didn’t know what to do.
Meanwhile, Henry’s complexion turned pale as he caught on to the words that had almost been completed from her mouth.
Margaret had told Henry to ‘try suggesting to Declan Russell that he stay at the house during year-end.’ Henry had brushed it off with a lie while not even asking.
Margaret was now talking about that suggestion and the content Henry had falsely answered. To the person in question who knew nothing about it.
Henry’s eyes wavered. He felt the gazes of Veronica and Declan, who sensed something strange, piercing into him.
At the same time, a small curve formed at the corner of Declan’s mouth.
Henry noticed that he had grasped the situation to some extent just from the words Margaret had offered.
His perception is damn quick.
To his family, or to Declan—Henry anxiously bit his lip, worried his lie would be discovered.
Declan’s mouth slowly opened.
“I refused because I felt bad about imposing, but if it’s alright with you, I’ll do as you say.”
At those words, Henry’s face went blank. He stared at Declan without realizing it.
“Really? You’re not reluctantly accepting when you don’t want to?”
“No. It’s fine.”
He heard Margaret’s delighted voice from beside him.
The smile blooming on Declan Russell’s face was unsettling, but Henry could let out a sigh of relief at the thought that he had at least gotten past the crisis.
What was most important to Henry was that his lie hadn’t been discovered by his family.
The fear that he might interrogate him asking why he had lied, and the distasteful fact that he would be spending the break with him—
In front of the fortunate fact that his lie hadn’t been discovered by his family, everything had become unimportant matters.
***
January 3rd. The day of the showcase.
Perhaps thanks to the time spent together these past few days, despite the awkward distance with Declan, Henry had been able to sleep soundly.
Thanks to that, even though he had gotten up early in the morning to prepare, his condition was quite good.
When Henry, having finished preparing to go out, was about to head to the first floor—
He ran into Declan coming up the stairs, who must have been on the first floor until now.
“Going?”
“Yeah.”
Since Declan asked first, Henry, who couldn’t quite ignore him, answered.
He thought they would just pass by each other, but Declan stared at him intently.
Since it was a passageway leading to narrow stairs, Henry, who had planned to let him come up first before going down, had to stop as well.
A strange standoff with no clear reason continued for quite a while. This time too, Henry, who couldn’t endure the discomfort, asked first.
“…What?”
Only then did Declan climb the last remaining stair. And then he said,
“Wait.”
Before he could ask what for, Declan opened the door and disappeared.
As if under a spell, Henry stood still in front of the stairs and waited. And not long after, Declan came out of the room. In his hand was a deep charcoal-colored scarf.
He reached out and put the scarf around Henry’s neck. Henry unconsciously grasped the scarf with his hands. The texture touching his fingertips was soft and warm.
“What, a scarf? Isn’t this yours?”
“Take it.”
A calm answer came back. Henry asked, unable to hide his bewilderment.
“…Why?”
“Your cold. It’s not completely better yet.”
“I don’t usually wear scarves because they’re stuffy…”
“Still, wear it when you go.”
Henry fiddled with the scarf wrapped around his neck. Declan didn’t care about the small expression of complaint that flowed out and calmly looked at Henry wearing his scarf.
It wasn’t a favorite piece of clothing, nor a gift from a welcome person.
Usually he didn’t wear them often because they were uncomfortable and stuffy, but for some reason, he didn’t know why it felt so warm today.
Henry unconsciously put his nose to the scarf and breathed in. A soft, sweet scent he had smelled somewhere before filled his lungs.
Ah, I know this smell. Henry thought quietly.
Declan’s dorm room, which he had entered exactly twice. It was the smell he had smelled when he first entered.
“…Do you wear perfume?”
After brief contemplation, Henry asked.
“No.”
A plain denial came back. That meant this sweet scent was his body scent.
…What kind of athletic guy has this sweet scent coming from his body?
Once he started thinking about it, he became endlessly conscious of it. It was quite bewildering and embarrassing.
“…I’ll be back.”
He wanted to escape from the situation given to him. Henry greeted him in an utterly one-sided manner and ran down the stairs as if fleeing.
The tips of Henry’s ears sticking out above the scarf were dyed bright red.
