There was no sense of satisfaction when Daiki said that she understood. Just more of the same irritation that ran hot in his veins as he huffed quietly and continued toward the pantry. What had set him off wasn’t that Daiki had offered to help him; it was the desperation, the pity in her voice.
How dare a stranger look down on him? His sheltered upbringing didn’t make him naive. He could hold his own against businessmen who were three times his age and older. So what if he didn’t know how to cook? Cooking wasn’t important. It was a servant’s job. It pissed him off to no end, how half the people he had met so far had acted like he was useless, as if he were only here because of his father and his money.
He had managed to hold it together pretty well, until now.
This just happened to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Shuuya began to rifle through the various products stashed in the pantry, pushing boxes of cereal and powdered milk out of the way as he continued his search for the boxes of tea bags. He had hardly made any progress, though, when Daiki spoke up again, offering her help.
Clearly she hadn’t understood at all.
His hands curled into fists at his sides, nails digging into his palms; sharp enough to sting. Shuuya tried to restrain himself, tried to bottle up the anger and frustration hard inside his throat – but to his mortification, he could feel the frustrated tears already wetting the corners of his eyes.
The single word was hissed out from behind clenched teeth, as Shuuya blinked rapidly and turned away from the girl. Trying to avoid further conversation, he ventured farther into the pantry, looking for a nook or cranny where he could step out of sight and discreetly wipe his eyes.
That was shocking. The reactions were only getting stronger, and surely she was leaving a worse and worse impression on him now. Her brows furrowed together, unsure how to even defend herself at this point. In Daiki’s head that was constantly jumping several steps ahead into a future that felt negative to her, she couldn’t see anything positive. She bit the inside of her cheek.
‘I'm just trying to help’, she wanted to say, but Daiki blinked a few times as her face grew sour.
In the rhythm of her own narration, she silently rose a fist and hit it against her head three times out of frustration. Then, she winced, as the bruise from earlier was still tender.
Standing up, she pulled out the boxes of misplaced tea bags and placed them on the counter. If Daiki were anyone else, she would have slammed them on the counter out of frustration before storming out. There was still some grace left in her though as she gently placed the small boxes on the counter.
Clearly she hadn’t understood at all. How dare she, a lowly servant, look down on someone so powerful. She exhaled, picking up her plate as she reasoned with herself. Shuuya wasn’t a bad person, she had to remind herself. No one here was, and she couldn’t fault them for their behavior especially when the stress was climbing. She did hate the consequences of sporting such a label, no matter whatever success she made for herself.
Though, no one ever really thought of being a maid as successful, did they?
Daiki left the kitchen wordlessly to eat in the cafeteria. She wouldn’t want to pick at Shuuya’s nerves any further.
