A Subtle Answer

Seeing Sakura being this happy makes Mori Ken happy as well. It has truly been a long time since he saw that sincere, bright smile from her after all the difficulties that she has been through in their high school years.

Mori Ken couldn't wish for more but to see her be cheerful like this all the time.

"Anyway, what are you doing entertaining us like this? Shouldn't you be resting now in your bed?" Tanaka Ryo finally breaks the awkward silence that starts to fill in the four corners of this room.

Sakura was taken aback by the question before answering, "Well, I have already slept after lunch so I think I'm good for now."

"Have you taken your medicine?" Mori Ken chimes in, surprising Sakura a bit.

With a downcast face to avoid unnecessary eye contact with him, Sakura responds, "I have."

"When?"

"Uhm…" Sakura starts fidgeting her fingers as cold sweat starts to prickle down her forehead. Her medicine should be taken every three hours only after meals. However, since she took a long nap after lunch, she basically missed the schedule for her to drink her medicine, and that's what she is so embarrassed to tell this guy right now.

Sakura's face is so readable that Ken doesn't need to hear any explanations from her anymore. Shaking his head disapprovingly, he looked at her once more and asked for the second time, "Have you at least eaten something after waking up?"

Again, another obvious reaction already answers his question for him as he soon figures out that Sakura hasn't eaten anything since lunch.

Sighing an exasperated sigh, Ken mutters under his breath, "I knew it…"

Meanwhile, the other pair finds it so impressive how Ken quickly interprets Sakura's facial expressions that both of their mouths parted in astonishment.

"Anyway…" Ken is now standing up from his seat and looks at Sakura for a split second before leaving her sight momentarily, "I will be using your kitchen for a while and make you some porridge while you, on the other hand, should rest in your bed and wait for it."

Mori Ken then looks at both Tanaka Ryo and Nakano Yuna and instructs them to lead Sakura into her room so that she couldn't refuse her order. He is fully aware how Sakura could be stubborn sometimes, like the other day when she forced herself to go to school despite being sick. And if she needs to be tied down in her bed just for her to get a rest, he would surely consider doing that.

As Sakura was brought to her room, Mori Ken did his thing right away. Without everybody knowing, Mori Ken is, in fact, a great cook after having been taught by his kind and loving mother. With their simple life together back in Kyoto, Ken was taught the most basic surviving skills at the tender age of ten, and one of which is cooking.

Inspecting the fridge, Mori Ken was disappointed to find that it barely contained anything except the frozen chicken curry in a plastic container, one pack of honey butter chips that she loved so much, and several bottles of mineral water. It was rather a smart move on their part that they first visited the grocery store near her apartment before visiting here. They were able to buy several packs of meat, citrus fruits, rice, cookies and medicine for the girl just in case she ran out once again.

After arranging the things that they bought inside her fridge as neatly as he could, he started cooking the porridge for Sakura so that she could take her medicine right away.

---

Meanwhile, Sakura is now being interrogated by Nakano Yuna as she lies down in her bed with a fever patch in her forehead…

"So what is the real score between you and that grumpy boy?" Yuna asks, making Sakura's eyebrows twitched in confusion. Grumpy boy?

"You mean Mori-san? We were friends once… back in our childhood years." Sakura tries to answer as casually as she could with these two.

"Once? Why once? Aren't you friends any longer?"

"I don't know. Maybe yes, maybe no?"

"Or maybe because you are now officially dating, that's why?!"

Tanaka Ryo suddenly swats Yuna's arms without hesitation, which the latter glared at him for. "Please forgive her, for she doesn't know what she's talking about."

Sakura was , without a doubt, stunned by Yuna's dating question. But she composes herself afterward and smiles hesitantly, "No. We are nothing like that, and we will never be like that…"

When Yuna is about to ask another question, Ken now appears with a tray in hand that contains the bowl of his freshly-cooked porridge, a plastic cup filled with water, and her medicine.

"Ken knows how to cook? Seriously?" was the first thing that comes to her mind as soon as she saw the guy approaching her with his porridge.

Back in the early days when they are still close with one another, Ken often comes to their house to play with her and sometimes would even take part on their family dinner, like he already earned a spot as part of their family as well. Seeing for herself that Ken could actually cook is really a surprise for her.

"Ah! You're just in time, Mori-san!" Tanaka Ryo exclaims. He is now standing up from his sitting position, dragging Nakano Yuna along with him. "I think we should take our leave and have you guys talk for a while."

Sakura was just about to stop them from leaving but Tanaka Ryo has already left her room, almost dragging the frowning girl on his side with him. Gulping nervously, cold sweat reappears on her forehead as she realizes that it is merely her and Ken left now in her room.

Just to break this tension forming between them, Sakura decides to ask about those two. "You know, I've always wondered why they are always together."

Ken is now placing the bowl carefully in her side table when he answers, "Those two? I think they are already engaged by their parents."

This caused Sakura's expression to go wide-eyed and her body to rise unexpectedly from bed.. "What?!"

"Yeah… They were arranged by their parents since high school according to some article I happened to read online."

As Ken has already brought her eating utensils and the bowl on top of her side table, he motions for Sakura to eat it while it is still hot.

"T-thank you for the porridge," Sakura's face goes beet red as she starts to pick up her spoon and scoops a spoonful of the porridge from the bowl. However, after realizing that Ken is intently staring at her, she can't seem to eat her food in front of him.

'Well, that's weird…' she thought. She and Ken used to share food together before… Why would she suddenly be embarrassed to eat her food in front of her former childhood friend?

Ken seemed to read her thoughts through her obvious facial expression and decided to stand up and went for the door to let Sakura eat in peace. As he was about to push the door of her room open, Sakura suddenly dropped a question that even he wasn't expecting to hear at the moment.

"It has always puzzled me all this time, but... why did you suddenly stop hanging out with me?"

Sakura could hear her heart pounding incredibly louder than its normal pace as she nervously waited for his answer. Is it because she is not cool enough to be his friend any longer? Or is it something else? Sakura wishes to hear the answer as soon as possible.

However, to her dismay though, Ken immediately dismisses her question with a subtle answer and leaves her room as fast as he could.

"No reason at all…"