Gentle Forest

Chapter 6

When grilling meat over charcoal in the yard, I always ended up running errands to the vegetable garden. Perhaps fearing I'd inhale the unpleasant smoke, my dad tasked me with errands to the garden, a good 200 meters away from home. He insisted, partly because it was an opportunity for exercise if I didn't mind the distance.

Due to my labored breathing and slow pace, I could hear my dad urging me even before he started cooking the meat.

"Lettuce and peppers. Got it?"

"Yes."

Mister and Dad drank beer in broad daylight on the bench where we were sitting. It was fortunate that the story of the two people quietly sharing did not reach us. After coming into the room with Aiden for a while, I stood up and watched the fathers through the window.

"Wanna go together?"

Aiden jumped up eagerly as soon as I finished speaking, his face filled with anticipation. As I awkwardly got up from the bed, he grabbed my arm, as if trying to support me.

"Don't overdo it today."

"I know."

Despite saying so, Aiden didn't let go of my hand until I was fully upright. I pondered when would be the right time to ask about the tension with the Mister. As we passed by the father in question, Aiden looked calm, as if he had already found stability.

Walking alongside him, I glanced back discreetly. I briefly met eyes with the Mister, but he just smiled at my face. He didn't seem like a bad person. He appeared a bit stern, but that was about it. Knowing that the Mister and Aiden were close enough to travel together made the situation even more confusing. Although curiosity and uneasiness lingered, I decided not to rush into hasty judgments.

Aiden kept up the pace, but as we walked downhill, I gradually started to get out of breath. As we entered the sunlit path beyond the forest, sweat began to bead thickly on my neck. Eventually, Aiden halted as I noticeably slowed down.

"it's hard?"

The inquiring voice carried concerns similar to my dad's. Swallowing my pride, I finally tilted my head sideways.

"Not really."

"Here, you're sweating."

Saying that, Aiden casually brushed his thumb over my collarbone. The soft touch grazed the protruding bone, startling me into senseless scratching at my neck in response to the sudden gesture.

"Ah, why did you touch suddenly?"

There was no reason to fuss over him touching a bit. It was just that my neck was a bit sensitive, prompting that reflexive reaction.

Aiden, somewhat awkwardly raising his hand, spoke with a thoroughly embarrassed expression

"Not okay? I mean, a little while ago."

"A little while ago, what?"

"You touched me too."

Aiden stroked the side I had touched with his palm.

"That's different."

I did it because you were anxious. However, I couldn't straightforwardly spill the beans about the tension between the two. Knowing that was my own consolation, revealing it might make me awkward with my introverted nature.

"That doesn't mean anything."

"If it doesn't mean anything, can I touch too?"

"Why are you grasping at straws?"

I thought he was a troublesome guy. It was only natural to coolly forget about such things. His face heated up beautifully, as he was the one who felt more embarrassed.