Just Get Through Today, Pt. 5

Dinner was over. The plates were washed, the counters wiped, and the air still smelled faintly of seared butter and steak juices.

Peaceful. Quiet. Productive.

At least, it should've been.

With my camera in my hands, I zoomed in on a potted plant that was resting on a dresser. Then, snap.

"Hmm... Not bad."

"Can I see?"

At the sound of that voice, I turned. On the couch, Megumi flopped like a bored sloth. The cushions let out a wheeze as she sprawled across them, arms stretched to the sides, legs swaying lazily in the air.

I turned back to the photo displayed on the little screen.

Looks a little too warm. Makes sense. Interior lighting does that. I just need to adjust the white balance and it'll—

"Hey, stop ignoring me."

"Stop bothering me."

"But I'm bored."

"Go be bored over there."

She groaned like a swamp monster before flipping over onto her stomach and dangling halfway off the couch.

I tried to retake the photo, but of course, she wouldn't make it easy.

A moment later, Megumi sprang up and wandered to my shelf, grabbing the first book she saw. She flipped it open, stared at a page for all of one second, then immediately shut it with a dramatic sigh.

"This book's stupid."

"...It's literally a dictionary."

"Well, it's got no plot."

"And you've lost the plot."

"Ooh~ That was good. I should write that down."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. My willpower was on its last leg, and Megumi had apparently decided she was here to run it over.

Next, she went to the window, cracked it open, and leaned out like she was expecting to see something cool. The icy wind hit her square in the face.

She yelped and slammed it shut.

"Nope. Too cold," she muttered, wrapping my jacket tighter around herself as she retreated back to the couch.

I managed to get three shots with different exposures of that same plant, but before I could review them on the screen, Megumi interrupted me once again.

"You take photos a lot?"

"Not really. Only when I have to for my photography class. Taking good photos requires too much effort. I would need to find something that's perfect, which doesn't happen often."

"Perfect, hmm? Then... What about me?"

"Absolutely not."

"Huh?! Are you saying I'm not perfect?!"

"If you were, you wouldn't be holing up in a random guy's apartment."

"I meant perfect in appearance, not situation. People lined up to get photos of me, you know. Even you admitted that you were admiring me earlier."

I sighed and finally turned around to fully face her.

"And, what? Just because I admired you, it doesn't mean—"

Bad move.

Because now I could see her. Lying there with her legs kicking absentmindedly in the air, humming to herself. And that ridiculous oversized shirt was swallowing her frame whole. Her presence filled the space in a way I didn't expect.

I looked away just as quickly and snapped a shot of the plant again, which might've turned out to be the best one I've taken tonight.

The hell was that...?

"Pfft. You were saying, Shohei?" Megumi chuckled from behind. "Doesn't mean, what?"

"...Shut up and let me work in peace."

"Hmph. Fine~"

Eventually, the rustling behind me died down. No more couch flopping. No more book abuse. No more war crimes committed against my concentration.

Silence.

Almost suspiciously so.

I turned my head slightly, only to see that Megumi was no longer upside-down or halfway out the window. Instead, she was seated cross-legged on the floor, right next to my chair. I hadn't even noticed her move.

"...What are you doing?"

"Observing."

"Observing what?"

"You." 

"Why?"

"As I said, you're interesting. I mean, look at you — snapping photos of random things like your desk and plants when you've got a literal model sitting on your couch."

I gave her a flat look.

"Are you always this narcissistic?"

"It's not narcissism. I'm just pointing out a fact. You've got this option that's perfect for you, yet you're choosing something else. Really says a lot about you."

"In what way?"

"How you settle for less."

For once, her voice wasn't teasing. It sounded almost matter-of-fact. Like she wasn't making fun of me — just stating something she'd already figured out yesterday. And hearing it come from someone else, I couldn't help but agree.

"Hmph... You're so serious all the time," Megumi said, standing up and leaning over my shoulder. "You've got this permanent little wrinkle between your eyebrows. It's like your face is always preparing for disaster."

"Probably because you're here."

"Aw, you wound me."

She slowly sat down next to me, this time with her back against the wall. Her eyes flicked from one thing to the other as if she'd never seen most of the things here before.

Every so often, I'd glance back at her, watching her try — and fail — to keep herself busy. And by busy, I mean doing a bunch of random nonsense.

One minute, she was perched on the kitchen counter, the next, she was lying flat on the floor with her legs kicked up against the wall like she was trying to summon ghosts.

Eventually, I gave in with a sigh.

"Hey. If you really want something to do, just watch some videos on the TV."

She tilted her head.

"What are you, seventy? Who actually watches TV anymore?"

"Tch... I don't mean the weird cable channels that no one touches unless they're asleep with the remote lost under the couch. I'm talking about online videos."

"Online videos? You can put that on a TV?"

"Yeah. Give me a second."

I scanned the room until I spotted the remote buried under a cushion on the coffee table. With a press of a button, the screen lit up, and after a few menu flips, I selected an app that allows you to choose from a random array of videos.

Megumi's eyes lit up like I'd just performed a magic trick.

"No way."

"There. Easy. Just search up whatever you wanna watch."

"Ooh~ Give it to me!"

She snatched the remote from my hands like a kid on Christmas morning and immediately started browsing through the homepage like she'd just been introduced to a new world. I let her do her thing and returned to my desk, relieved that, at the very least, she'd hopefully sit still for a while.

A video began playing behind me, but I didn't pay it much attention. I usually put on some random background noise when I study anyway. This wasn't any different.

Except—

"Hey, Shohei! Look!"

I sighed, setting my camera down as I turned around. On the TV screen, a popular travel vlogger was wandering through a crowded street market overseas. He was holding a golden, crispy piece of bread stuffed with steaming curry.

"That looks so freaking good," Megumi said, practically drooling. "Hey, you think you can make that?"

"It's called curry bread. And yeah, it's not that hard."

"Whoa~ Confident, are we? Think you can make it sometime soon? I think I've developed a sudden, life-threatening craving."

"I mean… I could. But on one condition."

Her eyes narrowed with suspicion and a smirk that was clearly meant to taunt me.

"Hah. Well played, Shohei. Go on then. Name it."

"Stop being weird."

"We'll see who's really being weird in a second here."

I pressed my fingers above my eye as I let out an exhausted sigh.

"Stay quiet for the next hour. That's it."'

Megumi's smile stretched wider. She knew something. I knew it, too. Yet, all she did was nod, zipping her mouth shut and throwing away the imaginary key.

A half hour passed in blissful silence, save for the videos playing in the background.

I leaned back in my chair, arms stretched above my head, spine popping in multiple places. Somewhere along the way, I'd completely forgotten that Megumi had been quiet for that long.

"Hey, you good back there—?"

I stopped mid-sentence.

Megumi was curled up on the couch, facing the television. Her head leaned into the cushion, arms tucked in, legs drawn up like a sleeping cat. The TV played on, but she was clearly out cold.

"What the…"

Standing up, I approached quietly. Her eyes were shut, and her chest rose and fell in a slow, steady rhythm.

"Yep. Definitely asleep," I sighed. "Falling asleep that easily in a stranger's house... You’re either fearless or insane."

Still, seeing her like this — completely still, peaceful, with her usual sharpness dulled into soft, even breathing — I couldn't help but think how strangely pretty she was. And somehow, even more so in this quiet moment.

Makes sense, right? She's a model and actress. Still... I should probably stop staring.

From a nearby closet, I grabbed a spare blanket. Carefully, I draped it over her shoulders. With that done, I turned off the lights, stealing one last glance before heading to my room.