The Love of My Childhood Friend, Who Has Overcome a Terminally Ill Diagnosis, Is Overwhelming
That night was particularly restless.
With my eyes closed, I thought I could hear the sound of rain pounding against the window from the world beyond. I seemed to recall receiving a notification on my smartphone just before going to sleep last night that rain clouds were approaching.
“It’s hot…”
Perhaps because of last night’s rain, even though I’d gone to sleep with the air conditioner on, the room felt stiflingly hot, and I ended up waking up earlier than usual.
As I sat up, I wiped the unpleasant sweat from the back of my neck a few times.
“…Huh?”
…I’d woken up because I was so uncomfortable, but when I realized it, the air conditioner seemed to be off.
Had I accidentally set the timer and fallen asleep?
Or had the air conditioner broken down?
…With these hot days continuing, if the air conditioner really is broken, this is going to be more than just a minor inconvenience.
Timidly, I opened the app on my smartphone and turned on the air conditioner.
For a little while now, my family has been using smart home devices. Smart home devices are appliances that can connect to the internet, making it possible to turn them on and off—even remotely—with just a smartphone. They’re incredibly convenient.
Recently, there are also devices called smart home hubs that let you manage multiple appliances from a single place, and that’s exactly what we have at home.
So, when I turned on the air conditioner using my smartphone… sure enough, cool air started flowing out of the unit.
It didn’t seem to be broken after all, so I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Ah, A-kun. Good morning.”
Just at that perfect moment, the door to my room opened, and Kanade appeared.
“Ah, good morning, Kanade.”
I smiled back at her.
Last night, when I spoke with Kanade on the phone, she said she’d come over to make breakfast—I wonder if she took the first train to get here?
“Hehe. A-kun, you’re up early today.”
“Yeah. The AC just shut off.”
“Huh. That must’ve been a restless night.”
“Yeah. But what worried me most was the thought that the AC might’ve broken.”
“Hehe. If it broke at this time of year, I wouldn’t be able to sleep in this room anymore.”
“That’s for sure. Man, I really panicked.”
“……”
“……”
“Hehe. If the AC does break, you can come stay at my place for a while, you know?”
“Huh?”
“Hehe.”
“……”
“Hehehehe.”
“…………”
“……”
“That might actually be a good idea.”
“Right?”
Man, Kanade is as sharp as ever!
“……Oh. You’re actually using the smart home hub.”
“Yeah. This is super convenient. Thanks.”
It’s a bit late to mention this now, but the reason smart appliances became so widespread in my room was because Kanade gave me that hub.
By the way, the only people who can connect to the smart appliances in my room are me and… Kanade, who gave me that hub.
In other words, Kanade could have remotely turned off the air conditioner in my room… but well, there’s no way she’d gain anything from doing that, and it’s highly unlikely she’d even consider it.
“Hehe. A-kun, you’re sweating a lot.”
“Huh?”
“I’m going to put them in the washing machine, so could you hand me your pajamas?”
“…Huh?”
“……”
“……”
…There’s no way Kanade would benefit from remotely turning off the AC in my room.
“…………”
“…………I’m sorry.”
In fact, since I’d ended up causing her some inconvenience, I apologized sheepishly.
“Hehe. It’s okay. Don’t worry about it at all.”
“Then, I’m going to take off my pajamas, so could you step out of the room for a moment?”
“Yeah. Got it.”
Kanade smiled and nodded, then stepped out of the room.
Well then… I went to pull up my T-shirt.
“Ah, Akkun!”
Just then, Kanade opened the door again.
“Actually, we got a new washing machine at my place.”
“Oh, really?”
“…So, can I wash your pajamas today, Akkun?”
“…Huh?”
“…”
“…”
“…………”
“…………”
“Yeah. Please do.”
“Ufufu. Hehehe.”
Kanade smiled with a mischievous look on her face and closed the door.
Maiasa