"Huh?" Jhin's mouth fell open. He cleaned his ear with his pinky, wondering if he'd heard wrong. "What questionnaire?"
Gabriel repeated, her face blank, "A questionnaire on the preferences of men living alone."
"Why does Heaven investigate such weird things?"
"How should I know? Anyway, it's a pretty important questionnaire."
"Alright, wait until I'm done with the dishes."
This is important? Don't tell me they'll start handing out wives if a man living alone isn't doing well, will they? Jhin found it hard to imagine what Heaven would even do with this kind of survey. A happiness study?
Jhin placed the last washed plate on the rack to air dry. He wiped the remaining water droplets from his hands on his apron before taking it off, hanging it on a hook on the door, and walking out of the kitchen.
The furniture and floor were sparkling clean, and the overpowering stench that once filled the room had been eliminated with air freshener. To have "renovated" this garbage dump into its current state in such a short time was thanks to Jhin having a Stand. He'd used the cleaning as an opportunity to practice his time-stop ability—killing two birds with one stone. The only downside was that he couldn't coolly shout "The World," because Gabriel had been sleeping at the time.
He had no idea how Gabriel had managed to play games so carefree in that environment before.
Jhin recalled his university days, pulling all-nighters at internet cafes with his dorm buddies. Having just moved from the high-strung environment of high school to the much more relaxed university life, he had become like an untethered horse. Whenever Friday night rolled around, he would inevitably rally the troops in the dorm.
"Let's go! All-nighter!"
He and his roommates would throw their arms over each other's shoulders and head straight for the internet cafe, battling until dawn. After too many all-nighters, Jhin gradually lost his passion for that form of entertainment, opting instead to stay in the dorm watching anime on his computer. At night, he'd just mess around on his phone for a bit before sleeping, rarely staying up late anymore.
Later, whenever Jhin was dragged to an internet cafe again, the distinct stench—a mix of betel nut, smoke, instant noodles, and stinky feet—permeated every visible object. Just sitting in one of the chairs for a short while was enough for the smell to cling to his clothes like a stubborn rash, only washable with detergent.
During the period when Jhin frequently pulled all-nighters, it was as if that smell never existed. Thinking back now, Gabriel being able to game in her room, completely oblivious, must have been the same kind of situation.
"Hey, Jhin, snap out of it." Gabriel, holding the questionnaire, waved it in front of Jhin, who had sat down and started spacing out for some reason. "Why did you suddenly zone out?"
"Sorry, I was just thinking about the past."
"Just hurry up and help me finish this questionnaire."
Gabriel plopped down casually at the small table opposite him, pencil in hand. She wanted to finish this quickly so she could get back to her games.
"Alright, first question: What's your favorite food?" Gabriel pouted. She really couldn't figure out why they were surveying the preferences of men living alone. Were they planning to change the ridiculously monotonous menu at the angel school's cafeteria?
Seriously, couldn't they have done this sooner? I've already graduated, and now the school starts adding benefits? It's enough to piss an angel off.
"Ice cream!" Jhin blurted out without a second thought, his gaze flicking to Gabriel's pale, delicate feet.
"Huh? You actually like that stuff? Wait, isn't that a snack? Give me a serious answer!" Gabriel, annoyed that Jhin was wasting her gaming time, kicked him under the table.
No, actually... ice cream is a food. The edible kind, anyway.
Jhin didn't say what he was thinking aloud and offered a different answer: "Hamburgers."
"Eh? I see you making Chinese food all the time, so I thought you preferred dishes from your homeland." Gabriel's eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't press the issue. As long as she got an answer for the questionnaire, it was fine. She immediately wrote "Hamburgers" in the blank space with her pencil.
Jhin told her something bizarre and nonsensical: "Because if a girl writes it down, it's zero calories."
"Huh?" Gabriel had no idea what he was talking about. After spending so much time with him, she was used to the weird things that occasionally came out of his mouth and decisively chose to ignore it. "Next question. What do you do at home on your days off?"
This time, Jhin didn't even need to answer. Without so much as blinking, he just stared straight at Gabriel.
A blush instantly crept onto Gabriel's pale face. Even with her shamelessness, thick enough to stop a bullet, Jhin's intense gaze seemed to burn a hole right through her. She twirled the pencil in her hand, so awkward her toes could have clawed a three-bedroom apartment out of the floor.
Her question was completely unnecessary. Before the summer break, Jhin had spent most of his weekend days coming over to clean for her and play games with her, and in the afternoons, he would head to that STARRY place.
Did she really need to ask him what he did on his days off?
Hurriedly, she wrote down the words "Hangs out with Gabriel." Gabriel kept her head down, trying to block Jhin's gaze with the top of her head as she continued with the questions: "What are some of your favorite songs?"
"'Da Capo,' 'Pink Flavor,' 'Looking Up at the Universe,' 'Deja Vu,' 'Wildfire,' 'The Psychopath's Song,' 'Wings of the Paired Birds,' 'Eutopia.' And recently, I've also gotten into 'Open the Sun' and songs by Kessoku Band."
"Why do some of those song titles sound so weird?"
"Guess it means my tastes are complex."
"???"
After about ten minutes, Gabriel saw that the questionnaire was nearly full. Just as she was about to put down her pencil and declare the start of her gaming time, her eyes shifted slyly. "I just have one last question, and then I'm done."
"Hurry up and ask."
"Your type of girl."
The room instantly fell so silent that only their breathing could be heard. Jhin's breathing remained steady, while Gabriel's, initially a little rushed, was quickly and deliberately slowed down. Even the summer cicadas seemed to have paused their incessant chirping, as if the entire world had gone quiet to hear Jhin's answer.
As Gabriel voiced the question, she felt her own voice tremble. The back of her neck was so stiff it felt like her whole head might start shaking at any moment. Her violet eyes watched the micro-expressions on Jhin's face with unusual intensity, and she had already quietly cast a divine lie detection spell on him.
Jhin thought for a moment. Seeing he was about to speak, Gabriel, who had been slouching, immediately straightened her back.
"I guess... the type who's a little clumsy, the kind of girl you can't help but worry about just by looking at her, who needs me to take care of her."
To put it bluntly, Jhin was born to be a worrier, and he was surrounded by problem children he couldn't help but fret over. Perhaps that was precisely why he'd been chosen by a god.
"Then I..."
Gabriel wanted to say more, but she was interrupted by the ringing of Jhin's phone. Seeing the delighted expression on his face, she silently chewed up the rest of her words and swallowed them, completely digesting them. The small ripple that had just formed in her heart returned to calm.
"Bocchi-chan, what's up?"
"Jhin, l-let's go on a date! Tomorrow!"
Hitori Gotoh's shout, filled with all her strength, came through the phone. Even though Jhin didn't have it on speaker, her voice reached Gabriel's ears all the same.
___
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