Nina sat beside the sink, and her legs hung over the edge while the burned patch on her right thigh was swollen and angry red.
The room was quiet.
The running tap kept up a steady rush that echoed in the cramped space barely big enough for a few people to move.
Cold water poured from my palm, and the initial sharp sting finally eased.
The heat on her skin slowly faded, and it felt like having ice pressed against you in the middle of summer.
Nina lowered her head.
Her eyes drifted to the hand catching the water for her.
His hand looked good.
His fingers were long with clear knuckles, and his nails were neatly trimmed.
His palm wasn't broad, but it carried the firm lines of a teenage boy's strength.
Drops of water clung to his pale skin and caught the light, and more slid through his fingers and traced down the faint blue veins at his wrist.
His sleeve was soaked, and the white fabric turned half-transparent where it was wet and left a damp mark.
The rolling drops looked like some kind of taboo liquid she didn't dare describe.
For some reason… staring at that wet hand made the damp, slick feeling seem to reach out through the air and touch her.
It felt controlled but tempting at the same time.
There was no polite way to put it.
It felt dirty in a very specific way.
Nina realized what she was thinking and felt her face burn even hotter.
God, how can I think of that kind of thing at a time like this? He's helping me with a burn, and I'm… I'm so hopeless.
She bit her lip and hoped the small pain would pull her mind back in line.
Other than the water, there was no sound in the room.
The quiet turned awkward.
She couldn't help breaking it.
"Lilu, thank you so much for helping me."
Her voice still carried a stuffy note from crying. "If you hadn't grabbed her in time just now, I'd probably be hurt way worse."
"It's fine. You dodged fast too."
Luke answered lazy and short, and he didn't put all the credit on himself.
Nina smiled without thinking.
"Do you always work part-time on your days off?" Her tone softened even more than usual.
"Yeah." He kept his focus on the water. "I'm broke."
"Huh?"
"What? That surprising?"
"N-no, I just…"
"What about you? You go to Mistvale Girls' School. Your family should be doing well. Why bother working?"
That question made her flinch.
There was no flattery or testing in his tone, just straightforward curiosity.
"Well…"
Her fingers curled against the sink. "My family's always protected me too much. They never let me touch anything, so I'd stay a greenhouse flower forever if it kept going like that, so…"
"You're experiencing real life?"
"Yeah… it sounds fake, right?" Nina turned her head, embarrassed. "But that really is it."
"Does it."
Luke turned the water down a bit. "At least it sounds like a fancy reason."
He said it flat, like he was commenting on something trivial.
But his calm actually warmed her a little.
"Lilu Bro, the way you talk… it's really special."
She lowered her voice, curious. "I thought you didn't like talking, but just now… you were amazing. You scared her off in just a few lines."
"It's just easier that way. People like her bark loud, but they don't have much bite."
His hand stayed steady under the water. "If I let her keep going, she'd mess up my clock-out time."
His blunt answer made Nina laugh, and the tightness and fear in her chest washed away a bit.
She stayed quiet for a while, then worked up the nerve to speak even softer. "Actually… today might kind of be my fault."
Luke didn't look up and only grunted for her to go on.
"Luca… the guy who came in today… he's my childhood friend."
"We… we're really close. He's always been good to me. Ever since we were kids, he'd stand up for me, chase off boys who bullied me, and buy me my favorite candy…"
"I… like him."
Her gentle features looked extra soft under the light, but her fingers tightened on the sink's edge.
"But since middle school, he's never gone without a girlfriend."
"Every time he dates someone, I feel like I'm in the way. I know I should back off when he has a girlfriend."
"But I keep thinking, we're just friends. There's nothing wrong with that."
"That woman today… she's probably his current girlfriend."
The more she spoke, the more guilty she sounded.
"If I'd kept some distance from him, she wouldn't have stormed in like that."
"I'm an awful woman, aren't I? I shouldn't stay that close to Luca…"
Her scattered confession started to break with little sobs, and the self-blame weighed her shoulders down.
The bright look she usually had was covered completely.
"That way of thinking is pretty weird."
His lazy voice cut in and stopped her spiral.
"Huh?" Nina sniffed and stared at him, confused.
He lifted his eyes, and the dark rings under them made him look like he hadn't slept all week.
"What's the point of telling me all this? Do you want me to drag Luca for cheating, or tell you to stop being sad?"
"No, I just…"
"Liking someone isn't some huge crime."
"Who said you can't like someone who's already taken?"
"As long as you don't get in between them, step over the line, or try to wreck what they have, what did you do wrong?"
"Huh? I just thought…"
"Nina."
He slowed his words like he was trying not to spook her. "Don't treat your feelings like they're cheap."
"Cheap…?"
She froze and repeated it under her breath.
"Yeah."
The water quieted a bit as he adjusted the angle.
"And come on, if your childhood friend really felt nothing for you, would his girlfriend be so rattled she'd charge in here to pick a fight? That kind of reaction is what the main girlfriend pulls, minimum."
He didn't sound like he cared much, and he even let a small laugh slip out at the end.
The comparison made Nina laugh for real.
He didn't say any of the usual lines like don't be sad or you'll find someone better, but his plain logic took apart her mess of worries.
She watched him, and the mist in her eyes faded a little.
"Lilu…"
"Not sad anymore?"
"…Yeah."
A softer light came back into her eyes.
She realized this tired, I-don't-care-about-anything boy had a strange way of making people want to lean closer while they felt safe.
So this is what it feels like to be understood.
No pity. No lecture. Just someone telling you it's okay to feel the way you do.
After laughing, she noticed how she had been acting, and her cheeks flushed again.
This time it wasn't from pain or shame.
It was because…
"You're right."
She didn't need to blame herself for someone else's mistakes.
And there was nothing wrong with liking someone.
A small, warm buzz spread from her chest.
She felt silly for losing it earlier.
But…
She was also glad.
Glad that in this tiny room, it was just her and him.
Glad that he'd given her a reason to stand back up.
Her tear-streaked face lifted as she met his sleepy eyes, and she smiled sweetly.
It was like a small flower blooming again after the rain.
There was shyness in it, and there was relief too.
"Thank you… I really was overthinking."
Her body didn't hurt as much anymore.