I opened the door. My lovely girlfriend was standing in front of me. She had her hands tied behind her back, leaned forward a little, and was grinning. She had mentioned that she wouldn't be coming today. Why did she come? Let me ask and see.

  "Why are you here, Arima?"

  "I wanted to see the reaction you'd show when you opened the door."

  Did she come in this weather? It's snowing outside. Though it doesn't take her long to get here. This girl gets on my nerves. She gets on my nerves so much that I feel like killing her. Since I'm not going to kill anyone, I'll suppress this desire for now.

  "Stop waiting at the door and come in," I said. "Don't keep me waiting."

  Arima flew inside as soon as she took off her boots. When I returned to my room, I found Arima lying face down on my bed. I sat down at my own desk. I was studying math before Arima came. Or rather, I was reviewing. When I looked at my book, Arima tried to say something. I couldn't understand what she was saying because her face was pressed against the pillow.

  "What are you saying? It's not clear."

  "Nothing."

  It's probably something silly again. I ignored it and went back to studying. A few minutes passed, she didn't make a sound. Just as I was thinking about this, something cold wrapped around my neck. I shuddered from the cold. Arima had touched her hands to me.

  "He he he..."

  "Is it funny?"

  "It's supposed to be funny, but you're so unresponsive, Grey, the fun of the joke is ruined."

  I don't understand why it's funny.

  "If you're cold, should I light the fireplace?"

  "Would you?"

  I nodded.

  "Yay! You're so good, Grey."

  "Go to the living room."

  When we entered the living room, Arima took off her coat and left it on the edge of the couch. I headed for the treasure next to the fireplace. I opened the glass door of the fireplace and placed a few logs. I lit it with a lighter and kindling. Arima was watching me.

  "It's very interesting that you have a fireplace in your house. Why do you have a fireplace when you have a normal heating system?"

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  "I heard that the owner of this apartment is a strange person, he had it installed."

  As Arima smiled at me, I stood up and headed for the kitchen. Before leaving the living room, I asked:

  "Do you want tea or coffee?"

  "Do you have hot chocolate?"

  "Yes."

  "Then I want that. Caffeine might keep me awake."

  After nodding, I went to the kitchen. When I returned to the living room with the drink, I found Arima sitting on the cushion in front of the fireplace and petting Dinger, who had come to her.

  "What a cute cat you are?"

  "Arima, you can take your drink."

  "Ah! Thank you, Grey."

  After giving her the drink, I sat in the middle of the long couch. After a while, Arima finished her drink and came to me. She used my left leg as a pillow and lay down on my left side. Arima called to me as she watched the fire.

  "Grey."

  "Yes."

  "Actually... I had a terrible nightmare today."

  "Oh?" I asked. (Arima paused for a moment and continued.)

  "I didn't know what to do from fear. When I thought of you, I came straight here. I felt relieved when I saw you. I don't know what I would do without you, Grey."

  Arima's face wasn't turned towards me, but I noticed that she had started to cry. I don't know what to say or do to a crying girl. The only thing I could think of was to stroke her head. Arima became quiet when I started stroking her head. I guess she stopped crying.

  "I love you, darling."

  "I love you too, Arima."

  Dinger also came to my right leg and leaned against it. I was stroking Arima's head and Dinger's head. Within a few minutes, they both seemed to have fallen asleep. I started thinking in this situation where I shouldn't move my legs. Even though it's been a few weeks since Arima and I started dating, Arima trusts me completely for some reason I don't know. Although I tell her that I love her, I don't really feel any emotion inside me. What I'm doing may be irrational, cruel, or wrong, but I can learn a lot about human relationships and emotions from this girl named Arima. My whole purpose from the beginning was to selfishly take advantage of Arima. Now I ask myself again; is it bad to be selfish? Is it wrong to maximize my own interests? Should I feel guilty because I have a conscience? I don't think I can answer these questions now. I don't have enough experience. So I'm patient, I'm waiting for time to pass. While I'm patient, I'll put everything I have on the table. When the time comes, that is, when I find answers to my questions, I wonder what will happen. What will the future me be thinking, what will he be doing, will he regret it when he looks back, or will he be satisfied?

  Arima stirred. When she woke up, she asked with her eyes narrowed:

  "What time is it?"

  "It's 8:40 PM."

  "What?" Arima suddenly stood up. "How many hours have I been sleeping?"

  "Almost 7 hours."

  "Grey, why didn't you wake me up? Doesn't your leg hurt?"

  Although my leg was numb, it wasn't a big pain. I can stand up. I won't mention sleeping anyway.

  "It was nothing, I stood up afterwards."

  When I stood up, Arima gave me a suspicious look. I should send Arima home without wasting time.

  "Go home now, Arima."

  Arima seemed sad after I said that.

  "Eee... Where did Dinger go?" Arima said, looking away.

  I pointed to the corner of the living room. Dinger was drinking water from her bowl. Arima headed there. She picked up Dinger from between her front legs. An ordinary cat would get angry if she was picked up like this while drinking water, but since Dinger was calm and friendly, she just meowed in response. After Arima hugged and cuddled the cat, she put her down on the floor.

  "I'm ready to go now."

  Arima and I put on our coats. We went out the door. Since it was dark, I accompanied Arima to her house. Actually, we only walked 3 blocks. Arima lives quite close. When we arrived at the entrance of the building, we said goodbye.

  "Bye bye, Grey."

  "Our exams start tomorrow. Don't oversleep."

  "Okay, honey."

  Arima went inside. I went back. It was cold and it was snowing a little.