The sound of the bath door closing made me open my heavy eyes. My drunk headache had gotten a little better, but I still didn’t have it in me to get up. When I took out my phone to check the time, it was 2 a.m. I’d only slept two hours.
I turned toward the hallway and saw Shinohara in my jersey with an apologetic look on her face.
“Did I wake you up?” she asked. The scent of a fresh bath wafted down the hall. It amazed me how good my shampoo suddenly smelled. “Senpai?”
“I was asleep.”
“I know. Did you not hear what I just said?”
I sat up, feeling even more lethargic. It felt like I’d dreamed so much in so little time, but maybe it only felt that way because of my tendency to remember the last dream I had before I woke up.
“Are you okay? Maybe you need some water.”
“I’m fine.” I went to bed and fell right into it. A normal guy would be going insane over the idea of a girl like Shinohara wearing his clothes. She was so vulnerable, and in a drunk man’s home at that, but even these joys meant nothing to me when I thought about how crappy I’d feel in the morning.
Shinohara seemed a little unsatisfied with my lack of reaction. “Isn’t there anything you want to say?”
“Like what?”
“It might not be my place to say, but—”
“But I’m a lucky guy for having such a cute girl in my home wearing my clothes, right? I know, I know. Thanks for the treat, and good night.” With that, I put my blanket over my face so the light couldn’t get into my eyes. However, the blanket was quickly pulled away. “Stop, it’s too bright. I’m dying. I’m actually a vampire, so—”
“It’s nighttime, so you vampires should be just fine. Don’t be silly.” Shinohara huffed angrily and pressed something cold against my forehead.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a drink that helps with hangovers. I just bought it at the convenience store.”
“It’s dangerous for girls to go out this late at night.”
“You say that, but you made me go out late at night before. Do you even hear yourself?” She laughed and set the medicine down next to me.
I quaffed it down all at once, hoping to prevent a hangover, and threw the empty bottle into the trash.
“Tastes awful,” I groaned.
“Good medicine always tastes bitter.”
“True. Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
It was only then that I got a good look at her face for the first time. I’d missed it before because of how distracting her wearing my clothes was, but right now, she wasn’t wearing any makeup.
There was another reason that I hadn’t noticed it until now, though.
“You’re really pretty, even without any makeup.”
“One hundred points for you. Girls like that compliment.”
I laughed at her powerful thumbs-up. “So what would zero points be then?”
“That would be saying that I look better without makeup.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because if someone tells you that, then you don’t know why you’re using makeup anymore. The whole point is to try to make yourself prettier, after all.” The passionate way she talked about it was proof that she’d heard that line a few times. I wasn’t trying to pass any test, but it seemed I had anyway. “Sometimes, when you go to training camps together, people say you look better without! But they don’t! Get it! At all!”
“Whoa. There, there. Calm down, buddy.”
“We spend a lot of money on expensive makeup! And those people—”
I covered her mouth with my hand. She tried to talk through it, but when I pointed at the clock, she stopped. I finally let her go.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t lose my cool in the middle of the night.”
“What are you, nuts?”
“That reaction should tell you just how counterproductive that ‘compliment’ is.”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s get you to bed.” I’d already gotten it right, so I didn’t need this whole lecture. Besides, this would be my second time hearing it.
I remembered Ayaka giving me the same spiel a year ago. The person saying it might have thought it was the ultimate compliment, but the receiver would always end up taking it poorly. It was a good example of the fact that compliments could be meaningless if you didn’t choose your words carefully.
“If you understand that it’s meant as a compliment, then you should just let it be.” I tried defending men all the world over.
Shinohara laughed. “I’m not actually mad or anything. I just got a little passionate.”
“Yeah. Well, don’t take offense from it.”
“It depends on the person. I’d be fine if it was you.”
“Oh, really? How sweet.”
“Don’t say it so deadpan. Keep that up, and I’m not cooking for you tomorrow.”
Now that would be a problem. I was probably going to wake up feeling horrendous, so I actually needed someone to cook for me. Even with the hangover medicine, getting up in the morning was always difficult.
“Sorry. I’m sorry.”
“How selfish. You disgust me.” Shinohara huffed and jumped onto the couch.
“You don’t need to do skin care, or anything?”
“I did the bare minimum, but I only saw men’s products around your sink. You sure you’ve had a girlfriend before?”
“I made her take all of her stuff. Don’t want my ex’s things sitting around.”
I had lotion and stuff, but no face masks. Maybe guys with more aesthetic sensibilities would have all that, but I was not one of them. I washed my face, and the rest of my skin care was slapdash at best.
Shinohara yawned, reached over from the couch to grab a towel, and wrapped it around herself.
“Not gonna dry your hair?”
“I can let it dry normally. Hairdryers are too loud for nighttime.” She was probably being considerate toward my neighbors. I was surprised to hear something like that coming from her, given her loudness mere moments ago, but her attitude was laudable nonetheless.
“Fantastic news! My hairdryer is one of those fancy ones that barely makes any noise.”
“Really?”
“Really, really.”
She jumped up and ran back to the bathroom. A woman’s hair was her life, or so they said, so I was sure she was reluctant to potentially damage her hair by air-drying it.
Though this was an apartment, the walls were still thick, so she didn’t have to be too worried. When I heard the clear sound coming from the bathroom, I patted myself on the back for having bought the expensive model.
Realizing that she probably didn’t know where the lotion was, I followed her to let her know. When I opened the door, I saw Shinohara with her phone, leaning against the sink, watching a video while she dried her hair.
Seeing her so relaxed in my bathroom made my heart skip a beat.
“There’s lotion in the top shelf. You haven’t used it, have you?” I said as flatly as possible in an effort to conceal my feelings.
“Oh!” She jumped in surprise. “Senpai, you startled me. It’s the dead of night, so warn me before you barge in, please.”
“Scared of ghosts?”
“What kind of person isn’t? I understand believing in them or not, but I don’t think anyone would see a ghost and say, ‘Yep, not worried about that.’”
I agreed with her, but her superstition was starting to make me feel mischievous.
“I can sense the supernatural, y’know.”
“Huh? Really?” She stopped the hairdryer and looked up at me. I couldn’t tell if she was done drying off, or if she was too focused on our conversation to continue.