Haru sighed, "You really have to eat now. Wait here…." and carefully laid her back on the mattress, pulling the covers up to her shoulders. "Close your eyes first. I'll turn on the lights."
He stood up and switched on the lights before proceeding to the kitchen. Sakura, on the other hand, slowly opened her eyes, adjusting to the bright light of her unfurnished room. She felt bad since her apartment was so bare that it didn't have anything to make her guest comfortable. She then noticed the different texture of her top and realized that he had lent him clothes for the second time. It made her cover her eyes with her arm and heaved a deep sigh, trying to repress herself from weeping again.
After a while, Haru went back to the bedroom and brought cups of instant egg rice porridge and ramen. Sakura noticed his toned arms and what appeared to be a tattoo on his right shoulder. She sat upright, gazing at his floral tattoo unknowingly. It was a cherry blossom branch, inked in faded black and pink colors, with petals gently falling apart.
"Sakura...." she said in a quiet voice as if she was calling her name.
He looked at her whose eyes were swollen and cheeks so pinkish, "Something wrong?"
"Ah! Nothing, nothing... " Sakura smiled awkwardly and wiped her face dry with her hands before placing the pillow against the wall and leaning on it.
Haru knew she was talking about his tattoo, but he pretended to not hear it since his focus was to bring her temperature down. It was also her first meal of the day, unfortunately, so he quickly sat on the floor.
"How long have you been taking care of me?"
"Since lunchtime," he handed her the cup of porridge and plastic spoon. "We saw you lying on the floor when we got here," he helped her with the lid of the cup as she took it from his hand carefully. "The receptionists and the guard assisted me. My co-worker did, too. We're all worried sick about you, so I hope your fever will be gone soon."
Sakura was pressing her lips tight from embarrassment as he recounted what happened. She was unable to meet his eye as she mouthed 'Thank you.' before blowing on the porridge to cool it down.
"Here's your medicine," he took out a medicine blister pack from his pocket and placed it on the bed, "and the water bottles are here, too," and glanced on the left side, where three bottles of water were positioned near her mattress.
"Itadakimasu," both uttered at the same time and soft laughters were heard.
"Sorry, that's all I could cook… I mean make for now," Haru blew on his instant ramen to cool it down as well before taking a sip of the broth. He wished it was authentic, but instant ramen is not that really bad at all. He even considered it as a staple despite it being unhealthy.
"If I were you, I would also make these," she chuckled before eating. "By the way, can you please help me put my bag and luggage here after eating?"
The two finished their instant meals in silence, and he did as he was told. Haru smiled at the sight of Sakura who had just taken her medicines after bringing her stuff inside the bare space. It lifted his spirits up and hoped she'd feel better soon.
Past midnight.
Haru just got back from the konbini to replenish the stock of food and water in the kitchen. He then proceeded to the living area to change his knit vest into a plain white muscle shirt and while doing so, he heard the rain gently pattering against the window and sighed in relief that he was not caught in it.
Later on, he walked to the bedroom door and carefully opened it to not wake Sakura up, but to his surprise, she was softly crying in the dark with the light from the outside coming through the window. 'CALL ME IN YOUR SUMMER' by SHE IS SUMMER started playing in the background. Even if he couldn't see her face, her tears reminded him of their first meeting. It also reminded him of what was tattooed on his shoulder. Her tears were as if they were sakura petals falling from its branch, beautiful yet delicate.
Sakura was facing the wall, the blanket was up to her shoulders. "I thought you headed home," she quavered.
"I met up with a co-worker who brought my extra shirt and went to the konbini to buy more stuff," he walked across the dark room, using the light coming through the window as his guide. He sat on the floor, just beside the mattress, and saw the charging phone at the edge of the bed.
"The one who helped me?"
"A different one, but the one who helped you was Nana," he answered.
"When will you go home?" she sniffed.
"Perhaps... after you fall asleep."
"Isn't it midnight?" there was a long pause before she spoke again. "You can stay."
"Another favor?"
"No…" she finally turned over and watched the silhouette of Haru in the dark. For her, it was not just about the time. It meant something deeper. "I'm not asking for a favor... I'm telling you to stay."
Haru wasn't able to answer right away as his head tilted to the side. He felt he was spending too much time with her and couldn't figure out why Sakura wanted him to stay. He also thought that she might not want him to see her brokenness any longer.
"I don't want to be alone, so please stay," her voice was fading together with the song as it ended.
He reached out for her shoulder and patted it gently. "I will stay," he spoke in a soothing and reassuring voice, relating to what it meant to be by oneself.
Sakura continued crying until she fell asleep facing Haru's side. It was past two, but he was still wide awake and was looking after the broken-hearted woman, who was sleeping next to him. He also had to wake up early to go back home and prepare for his afternoon shift.
He patted her shoulder softly once more before taking her phone and stopped playing 'CALL ME IN YOUR SUMMER', which already repeated thrice that night. It was spring, but the song seemed to perfectly depict the ex-lovers' story.
'Alone in your room, I'm waiting for you to return home.
The hot sensation moves away and disappears,
It was a very painful summer story between ordinary people.
I sing your name, I sing it in this melody.
I'm lying down on the cold floor,
Glooming, glooming.'
The next morning, rays of sunshine started streaming through the window of Sakura's bedroom. Haru didn't get a wink of sleep and after rising up to his feet, he stared down at her for a moment before leaving. He stopped by the reception area and requested a pen and paper to write his name and number, and asked a favor if they could give it to her.