Kyle stood in his small kitchen, absentmindedly stirring a pot of instant noodles. His recovery from the cold had been slow, but today, he felt almost back to normal—physically, at least. Mentally, he couldn't stop thinking about Mayu. She had been there every day since he fell ill, insisting on taking care of him despite his protests. At first, he found it annoying. He didn't need anyone to baby him. But over time, her presence had become… comforting.
A soft knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He didn't need to check to know who it was.
"Kyle?" Mayu's voice came from the other side, gentle but firm, the way it had been since she started taking care of him.
He opened the door to find her standing there, a bag of groceries in hand. She smiled, though her eyes immediately scanned his face with concern. "You look better today," she said, stepping inside without waiting for an invitation. "But you still look tired. Are you sure you're okay?"
Kyle sighed, half-amused by her persistence. "I'm fine, really. You don't need to keep coming over."
Mayu set the bag on his kitchen counter, ignoring his comment. She began unpacking the groceries: fresh vegetables, fruits, and a container of soup. "I brought some things to help you get your strength back. You've been living off instant noodles, haven't you?"
Kyle scratched the back of his head, caught. "Maybe," he admitted. "But I told you, I'm okay. You don't have to keep worrying about me."
Mayu paused in her unpacking, turning to look at him with a determined expression. "You got sick because of me, Kyle. The least I can do is make sure you're back to one hundred percent." Her voice softened as she added, "I just want to help."
Kyle was taken aback by the sincerity in her eyes. He had always known Mayu as the quiet, somewhat shy girl from his classes. But the past few days had shown him a different side of her—a side that was strong, caring, and surprisingly stubborn. He hadn't expected her to be so relentless in making sure he was okay.
He cleared his throat, trying to shake off the strange feeling of warmth that her concern brought him. "I appreciate it, really. But you don't have to go through all this trouble."
Mayu didn't respond right away. Instead, she walked over to the pot on the stove, turning off the heat and taking the ladle from his hand. "Instant noodles aren't exactly what I'd call recovery food," she said with a small smile. "Sit down. I'll make something better."
Kyle, for once, didn't argue. He sat at the small table in the corner of his kitchen, watching as Mayu moved with quiet efficiency. She was so at ease in his space now, as if she belonged there. The thought made his chest tighten in a way that both unsettled and intrigued him.
For a while, the only sounds were the clatter of pots and pans as Mayu worked, and Kyle's occasional cough, though even that was fading as he recovered. He found himself studying her as she moved around his kitchen—how her hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders, how her brows furrowed in concentration, how she hummed softly under her breath when she thought he wasn't listening.
She was kind. And stubborn. And more than that, Kyle realized, she cared about him in a way no one had in a long time.
"Thank you," he said suddenly, the words escaping before he could stop them.
Mayu turned, surprised. "For what?"
"For… all of this," Kyle said, gesturing vaguely to the kitchen and the groceries and the fact that she had been coming over every day to check on him. "You didn't have to do any of it, but you did."
Mayu's cheeks flushed a light pink, and she turned back to the stove, stirring the soup. "I told you, I just wanted to help."
"I know," Kyle said quietly, leaning back in his chair. "But still. Thank you."
They fell into a comfortable silence after that, the only sound the bubbling of the soup on the stove. When Mayu finally served him a bowl, the rich aroma filling the room, Kyle couldn't help but smile.
As they sat together at the small table, eating in quiet companionship, Kyle found himself wondering how he had ever managed without someone like Mayu in his life.