Chapter 3
Yeorae got up and started folding the blankets. As she did, she glanced at Leandros.
He was examining the phone with a serious expression, as if it were a bomb. The dark circles under his eyes made it obvious that he had not slept at all last night.
Well, that was understandable.
He must be worried too.
“Breakfast for a twenty-first-century person.”
Yeorae placed a bowl of cereal with milk and a banana in front of him.
Bananas seemed to exist in his world as well. For the first time since arriving here, he had found something familiar. Leandros picked up the banana and smiled slightly.
While he ate, Yeorae got ready for school and searched her closet for something.
I’m sure I bought one when I moved in…
Ah, there it was.
“Sorry to interrupt your meal, but could you stand over here for a moment? I need to measure your height.”
After tying up her long curly hair and changing into outdoor clothes, Yeorae stood holding a measuring tape.
Since he was so tall, she actually had to climb onto her bed to measure him.
Leandros kept staring at her face, which was now almost at eye level with his.
“I would like to know why you’re suddenly measuring my height.”
“I’m going to buy clothes for you.”
Yeorae shook her head as she entered the numbers into her phone.
Wow. I’ve only seen heights like this on celebrity profiles. Never in real life. Though I’m not even sure if this man can be called normal…
“You might return to your world soon, but even so, you can’t keep wearing those clothes. They’re too long and fancy. They’ll get caught on everything in this tiny apartment. And honestly, it looks like you’re wearing a cosplay costume at home.”
“Co… what?”
“And if you’re not going back today, you’ll need extra clothes anyway.”
Yeorae climbed down from the bed and wrapped her arms around his waist.
She felt him stop breathing.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t measure properly because his clothes were too thick.
The entire time, Leandros simply stared straight ahead with wide eyes.
Looking up at him, Yeorae asked softly,
“Um, sorry, but could you lift your shirt a little?”
Without moving his head, he slowly raised the top part of his clothes.
Yeorae wrapped the measuring tape around his firm bare waist and let out a small laugh.
She never thought she would understand the phrase too much of a good thing like this.
His muscles were so perfect that it felt like she was measuring a mannequin.
“Um… d-do you need to measure anything else?” he asked.
“No, that’s enough. Height and waist size should be fine.”
The moment her hands moved away, Leandros quickly pulled his shirt back down.
While Yeorae calmly wrote the measurements into her phone, he glanced at her and awkwardly cleared his throat for no reason.
Afterward, Yeorae fixed her hair in the bathroom and peeked out through the door.
Leandros was eating cereal while looking out the window.
Fortunately, the food from this world seemed to suit his taste.
“If you’re done eating, put the bowl in the sink and come here for a moment. Before I leave for school, I’ll teach you how to use the shower and a few other things.”
But instead of answering, Leandros moved his strange eyes around as if searching for something.
Yeorae thought about it for a moment before slapping her forehead and laughing.
Ah, right.
He didn’t know what a sink was.
* * *
As soon as class ended, Yeorae headed to a busy shopping district.
The problem is, I’ve never bought men’s clothes before…
She had foolishly refused help from a store employee, and now the employee was busy helping another customer.
In the end, she picked out four tops and four pairs of pants by herself.
They were a little expensive.
But since she no longer had to pay for phone repairs, it was fine.
If he didn’t wear them, she could always return them later.
After that, she stopped by one more store.
She felt strangely embarrassed because she had never imagined she would buy this in her entire life.
But it was a necessity.
After pretending everything was perfectly normal, she bought the item and boarded the subway home.
Surely he hasn’t gone back already, right?
Standing in front of her apartment door, she imagined finding the room empty.
Her heart suddenly dropped.
This is strange.
She had lived alone for years.
If he had returned to his own world, that should be a good thing.
Yet she felt oddly nervous.
Slowly, she entered the door code.
As soon as the door opened, the blond handsome man looked over from the window like a meerkat standing on guard.
“I’ve been waiting for a long time!”
Without realizing it, Yeorae burst out laughing.
“Here. Your clothes. Surely I don’t have to explain which ones are tops and which ones are pants.”
“I can figure that out myself. Don’t underestimate me.”
Leandros shot her a proud look while taking the shopping bag.
Then Yeorae pulled another box from deep inside her backpack and handed it to him.
“And this is… um… underwear. Y-you can’t keep wearing the same pair forever, right? You understand what I mean?”
Oh, gods.
Her face felt like it was on fire.
Leandros looked down at the top of her head and quietly smiled.
However, the smile vanished the moment he opened the box and took out a pair of men’s boxer briefs.
Holding them up in front of her, he looked horrified.
“This is underwear? It looks like a piece of cloth worn by perverts!”
“E-everyone wears those here… H-hey! Don’t wave that around in front of me! Just go change and come back. Hurry!”
Yeorae pushed him toward the closet while covering her bright red face.
“…I’m not sure if I’m wearing this correctly.”
People always said that a handsome face completed any outfit.
A few minutes later, Leandros emerged wearing a plain shirt and trousers, yet he still looked like a model.
The pants were a little short, leaving his ankles exposed.
But that was the longest size she could find.
Just as Yeorae nodded in approval, a loud growling sound suddenly came from Leandros’s stomach.
“Huh?”
Her eyes widened in surprise.
“Actually… I haven’t eaten anything all day.”
His ears turned red with embarrassment.
Yeorae rolled up both sleeves and walked toward the kitchen counter.
“I taught you how to use the refrigerator and microwave.”
“It was still too difficult for me…”
After placing a pot on the induction stove, Yeorae turned on the TV for the first time in a while.
“Then I’ll make something for you. Why don’t you sit here and watch a movie?”
“A movie?”
“It’s like a play, except the people move inside the screen. Pick something you like. Who knows? Maybe you came from one of those worlds.”
Even she laughed after saying it.
The idea sounded ridiculous.
Leandros quietly looked at her, then smiled softly as well.
While the water boiled, Yeorae sat beside him and watched the movie together.
It was a historical romance drama set in sixteenth-century England.
After watching the two main characters argue on screen for a while, Leandros spoke.
“It’s interesting and entertaining. But I don’t think I came from that world.”
“Yeah.”
Yeorae nodded in agreement.
Then suddenly she noticed something strange and turned toward him.
“By the way, how old are you? Why do you talk to me so casually?”
“Me? I celebrated my nineteenth birthday not long ago. I was born in March, when the flowers bloom.”
When no response came for a long time, Leandros finally looked away from the screen.
He saw Yeorae smiling strangely.
Then he smiled too.
“Why are you giving me such a mysterious smile?”
Yeorae’s grin grew wider.
“…”
This brat…
