Chapter 38
You were told that Harta's eyes would be better in a couple of days, and they were indeed better the very next day. And the one who told you this was none other than Harta himself, sitting across from you at lunchtime, carrying his tray after he had fully recovered.
Perhaps it was your surprised expression that pleased Harta, whose sapphire blue eyes gleamed with a triumphant smile.
"I already told you, this is nothing, do you believe me now?"
Harta's proud tone made it seem as if what he had experienced yesterday wasn't blindness, but a perfectly normal cold and fever. And Harta didn't sit in his usual dining spot, but instead sat opposite you; you can probably guess why he did that.
Was he trying to tell you through his actions that you didn't need to worry about him too much? After realizing Harta's intention, you gave the person sitting opposite you, waiting for you to respond, a relieved smile.
"It seems I was worrying too much. But it's great to see Harta regain his spirit."
Upon hearing this, Harta's expression faltered slightly, and she turned her head away haughtily, avoiding eye contact with you.
"It's good that you know."
From your perspective, Harta, who seems arrogant, actually has a blush on her face and ears, which makes her quite adorable with her naturally doll-like face.
Seeing Harta like this, you can't help but think of the "family" of the Whitebeard Pirates.
From Ace's perspective, Harta is the second-to-last younger brother in this "family." Because there are even younger siblings, he forces himself to be mature, but when interacting with people other than Ace, he still unconsciously acts spoiled.
So, Harta, who's sitting across from you now and keeps glancing at you out of the corner of his eye, is actually waiting for you to praise him?
After vaguely guessing the meaning behind Harta's actions, you couldn't help but smile. When Harta glanced at you again out of the corner of his eye, you uttered what could barely be considered a compliment.
"Halta is amazing. If it were me, I'd probably be sad for a long time because I can't see."
As soon as you finished speaking, Harta, who had been glancing at you out of the corner of her eye, blushed and stared straight at you with her flushed face.
"You... you know that's good! But don't say such strange things. On this ship, I... no, we won't let you encounter such a thing."
In the end, Harta, who had been flustered, gradually calmed down, her sapphire-like eyes staring straight at you.
So stop saying those hurtful things.
There seemed to be a hint of helplessness in Harta's voice at the end. Clearly, Harta took your words seriously. Your intention was simply to praise Harta's calm and collected attitude in the face of adversity, but it was misunderstood, which shows your lack of consideration.
"I understand. I won't say such hurtful things again. Thank you for your concern, Harta."
Harta seemed about to say something after hearing this, but Izang, who had arrived late and sat down beside you, fell silent. Instead, you opened your eyes slightly, realizing something.
In contrast, Izo, sitting next to you, calmly picked up the soup bowl and took a sip.
Logically, you should have explained why Harta sat in the seat of Izo, who was temporarily considered his "dining buddy." Unexpectedly, Harta, sitting opposite you, uttered a knowing single sound and asked the question that Sachi had asked you not long ago when Izo put down his bowl.
"Have you two gotten this close already?"
You seem to sense displeasure in Harta's conversation, which puts you in a bit of a bind. The one who breaks the deadlock is Sachi, who offers an extra lunch in exchange for afternoon tea.
Sachi, dressed as a chef, placed today's pudding beside you. Under your puzzled gaze, he returned your gentle smile, then turned to look at the two people whose eyes were now fixed on the pudding beside you because of his arrival.
"Hey, why do you all like sitting here lately? She'll feel embarrassed if I give her extra food like this."
Sachi's words were met with a meaningful single syllable from Harta, and a laugh as gentle as a breeze brushing against his face.
In this seemingly normal interaction, you vaguely sense that something is off about the atmosphere at this table, and even the noisy cafeteria has become much quieter. What breaks the existing atmosphere is Harta's smiling voice.
"So there's extra food for those sitting here? I'll have some too."
Listening to Harta's teasing conversation, you wonder if Sachi might give the pudding to Harta after he leaves. Little do you know, Sachi, who knows you well, chuckles and picks up on Harta's line of thought.
"Let's do it tomorrow. We only prepared her portion today."
As he spoke, Sachi looked at you and rejected your proposal with a single sentence: "You too, don't give the pudding I made for you to the brothers on the ship. Otherwise, the point of me giving you extra food would be lost."
Although Sachi still had a smile on his face, you were startled when you thought about giving Pudding to Harta, and picked up on Sachi's words under the gaze of the three of them.
"Sachi's cooking is so good, how could I bear to give up the pudding?"
Speaking of this, Izo, who hadn't said a word since sitting down, spoke up for you on this topic.
"Don't worry, Sachi. She's the type who, even if she's full, won't want to leave any food because your cooking is so good."
The smiling male voice sounded fine, but Sachi and Harta's expressions were not good. Before you could think about what was wrong, Marco, whom you hadn't seen for a while, sat down next to Harta and, under the gaze of the four of you, began to express his thoughts on the topic that had been brought up.
"From a health perspective, I do not recommend that you push yourself too hard."
"No matter what, eating too much is never good."
Marco's natural act of taking his seat and joining the conversation left you wondering where to even begin to complain. In fact, the fact that your seat, which started as yours alone, is now almost full is quite unexpected.
In this situation, you can only assume that you have offended one of these people, which is why they have agreed to "take revenge" on you together at lunchtime.
Even though you haven't eaten much, your stomach is already too full from the current atmosphere. And the fact that your plate and pudding haven't been cleared out means you'll have to sit here and finish them.
Speaking of this, you might recall what Marco just said. His words, spoken in his capacity on the ship, are undoubtedly the best excuse for you to slip away.
Amidst the unspoken silence of the group, you gave Marco a polite smile.
“You’re right, Dr. Mal, perhaps I should control my food intake.”
Your reply made Marco's eyes widen, while Harta and Izo seemed to realize something and gave meaningful smiles. Only Sachi, who was in charge of cooking, frowned slightly at Marco's words.
In response, you, who just wanted to leave the table that was making your stomach feel too heavy, looked at Sachi, who seemed to want to say something but hesitated, and when your eyes met, you revealed your thoughts.
"Chef Sachi, can you forgive me for wasting food because I didn't have a good appetite? Just this once, I will try to savor every meal from now on."
For a moment, Sachi was unsure whether to be angry because you made his brother laugh at "Chef Sachi," or embarrassed by your intentionally weak apology. In the end, amidst his brother's suppressed laughter, he agreed to your request.
"What's wrong with this? If you can't eat, don't force yourself. It's not like you've reached the point of 'forgiving' me. But eating this little bit isn't enough. At least finish the pudding, okay?"
Seeing that Sachi didn't make things difficult for you because you were going to waste food, you nodded and accepted Sachi's suggestion.
"I will."
As you spoke, under the watchful eyes of the three people at the table, you picked up a plate in each hand and said goodbye to the three people with different expressions.
"Alright everyone, please enjoy your meal. I'll go wash the dishes now."
Harta, realizing something, responded with an annoyed snort, while Izo asked if he needed help. Marco, just as he had when he arrived, accepted the reality that he would leave once he was seated.
And you, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief at not having to eat lunch under such pressure. The cafeteria, which had quieted down considerably after the arrival of several people, returned to its usual liveliness and energy after you left.
-
Because you didn't eat much for lunch, you got hungry before dinner time. Your previous experiences made you think you could endure hunger, but Yuka noticed something was wrong and called Marco over.
Before Yuka went to call Marco, you were convinced you were hungry. Yuka, who couldn't believe a thing, showed a helpless expression after Marco diagnosed you with a stomachache.
"Can't you even tell the difference between a stomachache and hunger?"
Yuka's words made you, who was curled up on the bed clutching your stomach, shrink even smaller.
"terribly sorry……"
In response to your apology, Marco, carrying a first-aid kit, first distracted you.
"Alright, Yuka, go get me some stomach medicine from the infirmary. I want to see if she has any other problems she's hiding."
Marco's words made you instinctively pull the blanket over yourself, trying to disappear. Seeing your embarrassment and remorse, Yuka didn't press your stubbornness any further and agreed to Marco's request to leave the room.
Seeing this, Marco, knowing the main cause of your stomachache, let out a soft chuckle.
"Okay, is there anywhere else that's bothering you?"
Upon hearing Marco's harmless laughter, you, already sweating profusely from stomach pain, felt your face burning. Not for any other reason than embarrassment at not being able to distinguish between stomach pain and hunger.
"No, I only have a stomachache."
Upon hearing you say "stomach ache," Marco recalled the scene he witnessed at lunch and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"You're really interesting. You seem to be able to handle everything with ease, but you actually choose to run away when you encounter something you can't solve."
Hearing that Marco was referring to how you used his words to slip away at noon, his already slightly flushed cheeks began to heat up.
"I just make a mistake once in a while, so please stop teasing me..."
Marco, knowing when to stop, suppressed his smile, sat down on the chair by your bed, and asked about your condition in a coaxing tone like a child.
"Okay, I won't tease you anymore. Are you feeling better now?"
Perhaps it's due to declining physical function, but you, who usually say "it's okay," honestly expressed how you feel now.
"To be honest, it's not good. It feels like there's a knife in my stomach, stabbing back and forth."
Marco, amused by your analogy, chuckled softly and raised his hands in surrender under your reproachful gaze.
"Let's wait a little longer. You'll feel much better once Yuka brings the stomach medicine. In the meantime, should I check anything else for you? Or is there anything I can do for you?"
The pain was intense, and the image of someone surfaced in your mind. It seemed you had experienced something similar long ago. And from a memory that shouldn't exist, an indistinct figure grasped your hand.
With this in mind, you made a request that you would never have made in your sober state.
"Can I borrow your hand?"
Marco, sitting beside you, was puzzled, but he still did as you said and placed his hand, palm up, on the edge of your bed.
Seeing Marco's hand resting palm up on the bedside table, you grasped it, his rough but reassuring hand. For your relationship, this was far too intimate. Yet, holding Marco's hand seemed to ease the stomach pain considerably.
After barely managing to observe the person beside you're in bed's reaction, you apologize to Marco amidst his bewildered expression.
"I'm sorry, I'll just hold your hand for a moment... I'll let go when Yuka comes back."
After clarifying the situation, your hand, which had been frozen in motion, tightened slightly, followed by Marco's softened voice.
"It's okay, you can hold it."
After receiving permission from the person involved, you breathed a sigh of relief, and the pain in your stomach seemed to ease a little. The drowsiness that had been driven away by the pain also returned.
"Thank you... Marco."
You should stay awake and wait for Yuka to come back so you can take your medicine before going to sleep. But Marco, seeing your eyelids drooping, tells you to sleep a little longer.
"Go to sleep if you want to. I'll wake you up when Yuka comes back."
Hearing Marco's gentle voice when you're so sleepy you can barely keep your eyes open is undoubtedly a sleep aid that helps you fall asleep faster.
"May I?"
Before drowsiness completely overwhelmed your consciousness, you voiced your worries once more. Marco chuckled softly upon hearing this and gave you a reassuring answer in a helpless tone.
"sure."
Even after receiving a positive response, your lingering consciousness couldn't hold on until Yuka returned, and you drifted off to sleep in her warm palms.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
