"Ugh… my head hurts…"

With two layers of blanket on him, Jean woke up with a little bit of chill coming from the morning weather and a splitting headache just as he got up from the couch.

Every step towards the bathroom felt like torture as he could clearly feel that his head is beating inside his skull, and needless to say, a glass of water would not immediately relieve him from the pain. Thus, he opened the porch doors a little to let out fresh air into the house and reluctantly went over to the kitchen to look inside the fridge and grabbed a pot from the cabinets.

"The audacity to use someone's kitchen without permission," as Jean was finishing up, he found Gin climbing down the stairs.

"If I heard that from Nacchi, I would have strangled him…" says his threat while his face is also saying that he does not look fine at all.

"Woah, you look like crap," Gin chuckled. "Need some help?"

"I'm good… I'm almost done anyway…"

"Is Akira up now?"

"Huh…? Didn't he go home?"

"I guess he called dibs on the guest room if you slept on the couch. What did you make anyway?"

"Hangover soup… ugh… I feel like I'm dying…"

"Ooohh, I don't have hangover but I'll grab some for myself~"

Jean hissed at him, aware that Gin does not get hangovers let alone get drunk.

"By the way… when are you going back to Giotto's? Boss is asking so Sean can reorganize the staff."

"I was actually going to talk to Hiro about it yesterday but you all came here so there's that. But I'm coming back on Thursday."

"So soon?"

"More like so late. I should've returned last month but then Nagi moved in so I had to help him with his streaming activities and stuff.

I still have until November in the semester so my schedule will be sparse until then. I'll be in the kitchen when I'm off or I have a half-day at school, but I'll always be doing cleanup at closing everyday.

Have we changed our seasonal menu?"

"Last month, yeah. It's going to be winter soon so another pair of extra hands will be really nice in the kitchen."

"Oops, sorry for barging in," suddenly, Ginji appeared from the open porch. "Seems like I left my wallet here.

Oh shoot, you look like crap, Jean."

"I hate that that's the second time someone told me that… I'm gonna go back to sleep…"

"You have work on a Sunday?"

"Nah. I'm just chilling. Besides, I have days where I have flextime, which is why I applied at Stylo."

"The perks of WT coming in clutch, huh."

"Absolutely. I want to take it easy for now since I worked my ass off in college."

"Which department are you at?"

"I'm currently on the webtoon department."

"Wait, Stylo has that now?"

"Yeah. It started off with the studio getting outsourced by other Korean studios then Sir Corik decided to establish our own standalone section. They've adapted a few novels now, but we're yet to get a big name."

"Well yeah, the Korean and Chinese studios have their clutches on long strip media."

"And Orion fictional titles are just hopeless so we can't adapt anything locally unless a genius writer is born or they adapt from a live drama…" Ginji shrugged with a sigh. "Honestly, I'd love to get Kuroko as a writer."

"Oh, yesterday's celebrity has woken up."

Descending the stairs is Nagi with a severe case of bed hair with a complexion that is looking ten times better than Jean.

"Morning… Is Shiro still here?"

"She had breakfast with us next door. Seems like she wants to stay here until the afternoon so don't be surprised if she's going to watch your group collab in the TV later."

"I suddenly feel embarrassed again…"

After coming back with a tablet on his hand, Nagi poured himself a cup of coffee and sat on the living room away from the hungover Jean.

"Feels weird scrolling Witter with a ton of notifications…"

"Already famous, huh~" Ginji smirked as he could see from the corner of his eyes fan arts of Nagi's avatar. More than anything, it was Gin that is fawning the most over the illustrations as he is the one that designed the model.

"What a bizarre setup this is," Ginji mumbled. "First, we find out that Gin has designed a vtuber avatar for Taiyou Digital, then it turns out that Nagi became a vtuber of the company using said avatar, and now the 'parent' and 'son' are living together to top everything off.

Then I'll ask, Gin. What exactly is your goal with being Capy?"

"Way to put me on the spot so suddenly. Honestly, I didn't think I'd get my name out a little when all I wanted was to be a 'Japanese' illustrator since the North is a viable market. Even with the sudden jump in followers I don't see this as a full time job so I'm taking things at a casual stride for now."

"But with this, you're theoretically going to attract more clients because of Taiyou."

"Where's this going at?"

"Sounds like you're content with the way things are, but if you decide to grow your clientele, I think you can capitalize with this whole situation with Nagi while you still can."

"I guess what you're saying is interact more with Michelo or even get invited to my channel?" Nagi chimed in.

"Exactly. You seem open about being an English speaker although Capy is mostly a Japanese account."

"I-I'm on the fence with this stuff, but doesn't that sound like I'm just leeching off Nagi's success?"

"Yeah, that could happen, but as things stand, you've already established yourself, Gin. It would look like you're leeching off him if you do it a lot, but doing it from time to time is never going to hurt. If anything, some fans appreciate the illustrators a lot, much like how you love seeing the behind the scenes of things.

And your character is a capybara which makes it all the more appealing. If you like cute stuff, then you can attract those who are the same."

"Huh… It's not like I want to become popular at all… but I guess I'd still give that a thought.

If anything, how are you so knowledgeable about this, G?"

"Just the effects of a few seminars and I basically learned a lot about management and strategies in the studio. It sucks that I now have to see things from a business standpoint, but I have to for my work.

Anyway, that's just a suggestion so I don't want you to think about it too much. If anything, I'm happy with your status quo, especially with you seemingly on track with finally proposing to Ringo-

Ah, I don't think I'm supposed to say that. I rambled too much so I'll stop."

Immediately, Nagi turned to Gin.

"It's fine. It's not like I'm hiding it.

What's with the look, Nagi?"

"You're really getting serious about this, huh? First, you cheated the bouquet toss and now this…?"

"Don't misunderstand. I don't want to get married immediately. I'm just really happy that I'm seeing eye to eye with Rin."

Regretting even bringing up the topic, Ginji felt the butterflies in his stomach the more he listened to the conversation. Thus, retracting to a previous topic.

"Ahem… I couldn't help but find out about your conundrum about this streaming stuff, so how does things feel now after you're done with the first hurdle?"

"Ah, I guess you would know about it through Gin… I thought about it last night and I'm in this until the end.

Out of the five of us in our batch, I'm probably the most unenthusiastic, or taking in less work and projects maybe a better wording. I'm not planning to make any covers or original songs, but I'll try to be open when my genmates needs help with production things. I am probably going to have the support role in our group, and I'm fine with that."

"Hm. Then just hit us up if you need any help or anyone to talk to," Ginji stood up and gave Nagi a slap on the back.

"And if your gen needs help with production for MVs and the like, Stylo is not going anywhere.

Nice talking to you two. I'll go back home now."

"Sure. I'll think about your advice."

All the commotion, and Jean and Akira are still not awake.

"Inviting you to a collab sounds like a good idea."

"Hey."

"But man… I can't even begin to think about engagement and stuff with Shiro, you know…" in conflict, Nagi fell to the couch rolling around hugging a pillow.

"That's because I shouldn't be, and you really don't have to think about it at this stage when you guys haven't graduated yet.

In my case… it's not that I suddenly felt I want to hurry with things. It's just that… I almost lost Rin, and after we got past this storm, I started to feel like… I want to do more and make some things permanent?"

"I could see that. You're still the same old Gin, but after not seeing you in a while during your brother's wedding, you seem a little different, or more like indifferent."

"It felt like something suddenly clicked in me, I guess."

"You've started getting more affectionate in general, haven't you?"

"…It's like the roles have been reversed. You're the one getting a clear read of me."

"That just means that you're becoming much more human. You get easier to read because you're assimilating. That doesn't make you actually easier to read in most cases, though.

You're probably going to feel a lot more emotional—miss Ringo when she's away, feel lonely, get anxious—and you absolutely don't want to lose her. I think the last part is already in you long before, but at least all those things are what I felt the more I became more serious with Shiro.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

As for you two… you're more of a 'pair of chopsticks' than anyone of us so I can at least understand how seriously you've given this a thought."

Emptying his coffee cup, Nagi left to the kitchen to put his dishes on the sink.

"That's just words from a human that hasn't even reached half of his lifetime. We're all in this together so break the habit of doing things on your own.

I'll go pay a visit next door and get Shiro then. I'll have lunch with her here then I'm going back to work."

"Sure thing. Good luck with your collab later."

▪ ▪ ▪

‹Ginji›

Man, did it feel good to get a diploma.

Who knew that my somewhat twisted sense of responsibility would lead me to where I am now. Thinking back to it now, probably the most important reason why I decided to leave CSU is that it's too far. Well, no, 20 kilometers isn't that far, but with our physical circumstances, it feels extremely far.

After reflecting into it, I began realizing that me thinking that I have been desensitized, or perhaps numbed is the better word, from so many naturally-occurring cyclones and such is actually just a coping mechanism. I've gotten so used to typhoons, floods, and anything meteorological that hit us that I've also gotten used to being so anxious. In fact, instead of actually feeling numb to it, it's the opposite.

That brought me to the resolution that I have to be done with my education fast. Being the youngest child probably does not seem to have a lot of pressure in the family, and yes, I indeed was not pressured a lot, but it didn't mean I had it easy.

Being the youngest, I watched my parents work and earn to bring food on the table. Then I also watched my older sister go ahead in her studies as obviously, she's the older one; and I witnessed her finish her education, began working… and where did that leave me?

Perhaps that was where the beginning of my mental decline stemmed from. You feel so powerless and useless that you're the only one left not doing anything in the family. You don't work, you don't earn, but you're still able to eat three times a day—those were probably the words that the voices in my head tell me often times.

Yes, it's the responsibility of the child to study, but in my mind, I pressured myself into self-depreciation.

Being part of the TAC was validating as it at least helped me earn for myself, even if just a little bit. Because of my company in Blue Ink, the last two years of my high school became enjoyable and it made me not worry too much about things, and even found someone I liked.

But borrowing the words of the man named Kai Tokino, "I regressed."

The anxiety flooded back in, just like how it always is in the street where I was raised. "What if something happens while I am away?" It's kind of conceited, thinking that I actually have the power to do something when in reality I don't. All this time, I've always been close, ready to help the family in the midst of a calamity however I can. But being stuck in Ryhan made me discover how much I hated the decision to study in that city.

It wasn't so far away, but when things even get slightly compromised and you can't do anything but stay put, somehow things begin to be so, so far.

I always forget about it, but in reality, I'm scared of hearing the sound of downpour. Add to that, I suddenly became sensitive to loud noises, and with that combination I just started to hate that I can hear… and the distortion comes next.

Ultimately, I'm quite surprised that this giant scar in my chest did not weigh me down so much. If anything, this old wound was the least of my worries.

With that, I resolved myself to leave CSU and Ryhan and transferred to IIAT where I was able to utilize my skills to its full potential, and it enabled me to feasibly get ahead on my studies, graduate, and join the workforce.

So, why this elaborate reason that urged me to finish my education early?

Well, why would I not want to be happy?

I applied at Stylo Studio because I love working there… and while I hate to say this, I'm in it for the money. I did not anticipate how much leverage knowing the company closely since high school would have. Yes, I applied, but it turned out that they actually wanted me, especially with my educational record.

Knowing the framework of the studio early on can help me climb up their organizational chart and that would mean I could earn a lot more. And while I'm sounding like I've become hungry for money all of a sudden, it's all for getting us out of our current situation and moving somewhere we are assured of safety.

In my last year in college, that is in my third year, I talked about my plans of moving to a safer place with my sister, and that I would need her help in order to make it happen. We're not exactly well-off which is why we can't easily move elsewhere, but with the path I paved for myself, perhaps it would be easier for us to obtain better safety and security.

I don't know if it was the influence of being a coincidence to Gin, but I later found out that we roughly have a similar idea.

Of course, my sister and I have talked about it with our parents and asked their opinion, in which they are not against with it, so it means that the gears can start turning for us. And really, I hope that this would take my sister away from work more and find herself a partner, that is if she plans on getting one. Either way, I would respect her decision.

Grand visions aside, I also have some smaller goals which made me skip a year in college altogether.

Truthfully, I put sooooo much on my plate in college trying to be ahead and get done with it to the point that my workload is actually lighter at work. The merits I got from my education also gave me the opportunity to have some say on my schedule, which is why I only currently report to my office twice a week while I work from home on the other days. As a fresh graduate, it's hard to get that much of a leverage.

But honestly, I planned that out for my well-being, and that includes being able to spend more time together with Yui and help her on her academics however I can while I'm at it. I barely spent time with her in the past two years that I would want to make it up for her.

Now that I think about it… maybe I was tipsy after all that night when we drank at Gin's place. I could remember laughing at myself how I glad I am that Yui hasn't gotten tired of me when I could only meet her occasionally.

But while it seems like things are somehow going well for me, the last thing I would want to do is to just become laid back and drop my guard when something bad may happen.

That being said, I'm glad that there are people that would always remind me that this world is indeed unfair and unjust.

‹…›

"Hey there, Gaku."

After a knock and a welcome from the owner of the house, Ginji let himself in to an occupied bedroom where he saw a young man sitting by a desk, halting the strums on his acoustic guitar and immediately grabbed a tablet and a stylus after he noticed the presence.

The young man's name is Gakuon Shizuka, or as Ginji called him: Gaku.

"Good afternoon, Yuka Ginji." Gaku wrote in his tablet very swiftly but surprisingly neatly, and showed it to Ginji.

"Hahh… I wish I have the patience to learn the guitar.

Didn't expect you to arrive home early today. Is your teacher for the last period not around today?"

"Yes. Apparently, he's sick and won't be around for the next few days. It sounded serious from the way it was announced."

"Hmm. You know that I was a Blue Ink alumnus, right? Maybe I know his name?"

Gaku nodded. "His name is Sir Gin."

"Ahh… how could I miss that. I guess you already know that he's also an alumnus, but we were classmates back then and he's a close friend."

"Really?"

"And we're neighbors I guess, so I'll come check on him later when I get home."

‹Ginji›

Okay, let me chime in again before I pass the microphone back to the Narrator.

As our dear narrator already said, his name is Gakuon Shizuka, and he is a first year senior high school student in Blue Ink studying in the Visual Arts department, just like I was.

He is probably the most enthusiastic and dedicated artist I know, and I met him through his uncle which is a friend to Stylo. He asked if I can act as some kind of a tutor to him to give him supplementary lessons apart from what's in the department's curriculum as I also studied there.

I say that he is the most dedicated artist I know, but his artistic performance is… below average at best. There is, however, a reason to that.

Currently, he is living with his uncle's family for a few years now because, well… there's no point in sugarcoating it—his parents were such asses that he ran away from home.

I don't know the full story, but according to his uncle, Gaku seemed to be gifted as an artist when he was a child, but something went wrong along the way that made him seek refuge to his uncle. Apparently, by the time he asked for help to his uncle, he could not speak anymore.

He is not mute, as medical results showed that there was nothing wrong with his vocal cords, but he is unable to speak for some reason, hence why he is either using a notebook, a small whiteboard, or a tablet to talk with people. He apparently also knows a bit of sign language, but there's no one to practice it with him. Hypothesizing that he has probably experienced mental distortion at some point, I think he trust me enough with my experiences that he is slowly opening up to me, not as a tutor but as a friend.

I'm really grateful to his uncle's family for being his foster family, and that they're very kind and accepting of him. Well, his uncle fought for him more than his own parents. Heck, his uncle fought his own sibling for Gaku's sake, and I'm glad that he seemed to be in a much better environment now, or at least that is what I infer.

To be frank, his skills are not up to standard, but I could see why he was called a young genius after observing him for a few months. He has so much potential that he is yet to reach, and I am confident that he would catch up quickly.

From what I heard, he entered the VA department after a few years of not being able to draw at all, which is probably why his skills declined, but he is very persevering.

He told me stories of his teacher in Blue Ink that would make him repeat his art plates until they were satisfactory. It was never some discriminatory act as such assessment is a very common occurrence in VA even in my time, and Gaku was never alone in the repeats. If anything, he appreciated the teacher for acting indifferent towards him and always giving him valid critiques to learn from, and I am starting to think that the teacher he's talking about is Gin, as it sounds like something he would do.

"Before we review your course's agenda this week, can I ask how is Gin as a teacher?"

"He doesn't smile much. But even when he makes unfunny jokes, it becomes funny because of how he can say them with a straight face.

I don't think he fits in a school environment, though."

"So you're saying, he's not really that good of a teacher."

Gaku paused for a while, but then he wrote "Yes." in his tablet anyways.

"But I don't mean it in a bad way. When it comes to hands-on parts of the course, he is very good. It's just that he doesn't seem to fit to teach in a conventional way.

It's like he has a split personality between normal teaching and practical advising."

"I still can't fathom how fast this guy writes, and he's got a really good vocabulary."

"That checks out. He has creative experience to back him up, but this is his first time teaching so it makes a lot of sense. Besides, he didn't go to college but he's more than qualified in this setting.

I'm glad that he's doing well."

"He seems out of it from time to time recently, though."

"Maybe because he's returned to his actual full-time work. He teaches in CA too, right? That's because he's a sous chef in a restaurant called Giotto's nearby."

"I've eaten there in occasion. Their food is really good."

"Well, I think he'll adjust soon enough. But I'm guessing it sucks for him that he got sick right after coming back to work.

Anyway, can you brief me of your lessons this week? As usual, I also want to see your works so I can give you pointers on some things…"

~ ~ ~

In the evening, the doorbell of the Akanami household rang, with an unfamiliar face opening the door and welcoming Ginji.

"Uh, Yuki… hime?"

"Ah, hi."

"Who's there, Yukiiii~?" from the distance, the voice of Rin was heard.

"It's Ginji. Do you want to come in?"

"Oh, thanks for having me, then."

He would be lying if he said he wasn't confused. All of a sudden, he meets Yukihime Kurogane, Eijiro's daughter and an Exile, in the house of her cousin's significant other, of all places.

"Sorry, I am preparing dinner. Do you need anything, G?"

"I heard Gin has his usual fever so I came to visit. Can I talk to him?"

"You can try but he might not be awake."

"Sure."

Emptyhanded as he already dropped his bag in their house, Ginji sat on the couch for a moment.

"It's been a while, Yukihime. I haven't really been in the base these days. I didn't expect to see you here, more so anywhere aboveground."

"I've actually been coming up from time to time now. I have Ringo guide me in all sorts of places so I owe her a lot."

"Does that mean you've decided to be a resurfaced?"

"Um… not really, I think? I really just want to explore the outside, but I don't really want to assimilate. And really, I just came here on a whim since I wanted to see my dad's painting in Gin's house."

"I see. How's Ms. Rion these days?"

"She's doing totally fine, just like usual."

"I guess I'll start visiting again since I have more time now.

Ringo, can I just enter his room?"

"Sure, but don't you need a mask?"

"He isn't contagious, so I'm fine."

And so, Ginji first made three series of knocks before letting himself in as he did not get a response. In the dimly lit room, he saw the ill Gin sleeping on the bed wrapped on a blanket and touched his forehead where a damp cloth is placed.

"Goodness, this cloth is way more than warm…"

Taking it off from his forehead, Ginji tried to look for a basin of ice water, but although he could see well in the dark, he could not find one. Instead, his attention was caught by a whirring sound, in which he found a mini fridge, and found what he was looking for inside it.

"So they have to constantly chill the water since his body temp is enough to warm it up… You really are something, Gin."

Cooling down and wringing out the excess cold water from the cloth, he placed it back on Gin's forehead and finally heard his hoarse voice.

"You… can do it…"

"So you're a sleeptalker when you're sick-"

"Ga… ku…"

(!)

That name was the last thing Ginji expected from Gin's words.

"Hahahaha… man,"

Ginji's back fell on the side of the bed as he laughed on his own, and the sound of his arms resting on the mattress perhaps woke up the sick.

"Oh, sorry. Did I wake you up? Can you talk, Gin?"

"G…?" as expected, his throat is shot.

"Sure am. You were talking in your sleep and I heard Gaku's name. I guess you don't show that you have a soft spot for him, huh."

"Gaku… How do you… know him…?"

"I'm kind of his tutor and I heard that he's your student. He's critical of you being a teacher but he still said a lot of good things about you.

Thanks for taking care of that guy."

"I'm… glad I was able to help him, and that I became his teacher. If not for my encouragement… I feel like he would shut himself off for the next… year and a half. The best I could do was to make him feel that he belongs in the class."

"That student of yours has so much potential."

"I noticed… I don't know what happened to him… but he has a good grasp of theories, but it's like his body is lagging behind what he can actually do. All he lacks… is practice."

"Well, I know that there's only a few months left in the semester and that I'm being biased, but I hope that you can help him as much as you can."

"That goes… without saying…"

"Great. Well, you need to rest so I'll be going. Also, Yukihime is here in case you don't know."

"Is she… tell her I'm sorry I can't greet her…"

"Alright, now go back to sleep or something if you want your suffering to pass quickly."

"Thanks for the visit."

Just before Ginji was about to turn the doorknob, he suddenly heard a weak laugh coming from behind him.

"Ahahaha… I'm glad… I'm glad I'm at least… doing a good job… Hahaha…"

Perhaps seeing such a vulnerable sight is rarer than finding a gemstone in the earth. Maybe it was the fever that was making Gin emotional, but it was not common for Ginji to see him with such delight written on his face as he faded back to sleep.