015 | Weekday Love #6 Curious, but strangely not anxious

When I opened my phone in the morning, Sojun's name wasn't lit up.
The LINE message I sent the day before yesterday still hasn't been read.
I'm not anxious.
Honestly, I'm not even really worried.

—Still, it's a little unusual.

I don't really remember a time on a workday when he didn't read my message for an entire day.
Is he working from home, traveling, or dealing with family matters?
I can think of many reasons, but the answer remains unknown.

"It's freezing today."

Even after sending that casual remark yesterday evening, the screen remained silent.

Even so, Maruri didn't chase him.
She didn't ask, "Is everything okay?"
She didn't send messages to fill the void of her anxiety.

—He'll reply eventually.

It wasn't a baseless conviction.
It was a feeling built up from everything we've shared until now.

—And then today.
Just past noon, a notification finally chimed.

"This week is way too busy 😂
I've been on-site all day again."

It was just a single sentence, but it made the tension in my chest melt away.

—Ah, I knew it.

There was no unnecessary explanation.
No excuses either.
But that was enough.

Maruri replied lightly.

"Morning!
Sounds like you're busy 💦🐰 Good work today~
I'm at the office for the first time in a while today 👠"

She didn't blame him.
She didn't pry.
She just added a bit of her own daily life.

Evening came, and the notification chimed again.

"Just finished now.
It was cold on-site."

The moment she saw that sentence, her mouth curled into a smile naturally.

—He replied properly. He's the same as always.

Even when he's busy, he replies when he finds the time.
That is Sojun, as always.

“Good work today🍵
Are you in Shizuoka today? It feels a bit less cold here than it was this morning.”

Casual conversation.
There are no particularly special words.

But,just by exchanging words like this, my heart quietly settles.

At night, there was another message from Sojun.

“I was in Shizuoka—it was cold.
Just got home!”

Reporting that he was home after finishing work was a first since the start of this year.
Usually, our daily exchanges would just quietly end there.
Now, even without him going out of his way to report it, I know he's home at this hour. I think Sojun is surely relieved by that, too.

And then, his thoughtful LINE message to Maruri about returning to her family for the weekend.

“Finally the weekend—
Let’s get some good rest💤”

—As I thought, this is the kind of thing I love about him💗

There’s no flashy sweetness.
But he truly cares for me.
He keeps us connected exactly where it matters.

I realized that the small sense of discomfort and the distance I felt until yesterday weren't just for a simple reason like 'this week is too busy'.
“You were at home with your wife, weren't you,” Maruri thinks.
But she doesn't press him on that.

Maruri turned her smartphone face down and let out a quiet breath.

I want to see you soon.
I want to hug you.
I want to be intimate.
I want to touch you and feel Sojun's warmth.

While those desires are certainly there,
more than that, a sense of relief that 'we are properly back to our usual rhythm' remained in my heart.

Even if I don't chase, it doesn't disappear.
Even if I don't doubt, it continues just fine.

Our weekday love continues to flow quietly today, just as if nothing had happened.

Have a good weekend too, Sojun♡
Thinking that, Maruri boarded the train home.
Even though we aren't meeting, somehow, my heart feels full.