| The Love of Three hearts | Arc — "Solving Problems the Hard Way" | Chapter 6: "The Creature on the Couch" |
Haruya Souta was still asleep on the couch.
Not "normal human" asleep.
But prehistoric hibernation mode, same position since yesterday morning.
One hand dangling off the couch…
One leg hanging off the other side…
Novel still open on his face…
He hadn't moved even a single centimeter.
Not a twitch.
Not a breath anyone could visibly confirm.
He looked like an exhibit in a museum titled:
"The Last Remaining Lazy Beast."
---
Hana's Mini Disaster
Hana tip-toed toward him, cheeks red like she was about to propose marriage.
She gently slid a pillow under his head, blushing so hard she looked feverish.
Then she immediately walked away and started munching cookies as if nothing happened.
Hana (trying to act normal): "Hmm… it's just a pillow. Don't mind it. It's… comfortable for, um… his sleeping extinct species evolution."
Takumi stared at her.
Takumi: "…Extinct… species?"
Hana nodded proudly as she ate.
Takumi sighed. "He's just my little brother… maybe. Or maybe Hina's soup mutated him into another lifeform."
Kaede punched him instantly.
BAM.
Takumi slid onto the wall like a sticker someone badly tried to peel off.
Takumi: "WHY!??"
Kaede: "Just bored."
She walked back to the table with the energy of someone who punches as a hobby.
Himari glanced at Takumi, still plastered to the wall.
Himari: "Why are YOU being wall art? The wall looks worse now."
Takumi: "WHY DO ALL OF YOU TALK LIKE I ASKED FOR THIS!?"
Hana walked toward him slowly.
Takumi's eyes brightened — hope.
Maybe she'd help him off the wall gently…?
She pressed her hand on the wall beside his head.
Hana: "…Good. The wall didn't get damaged."
Takumi's hope instantly died.
---
The Next Morning
Takumi woke up early as usual.
Fully dressed.
Hair combed.
Books prepared.
A face expression that screamed:
"A goat preparing itself for the slaughterhouse."
Time ticked.
8:00 AM
9:00 AM
10:00 AM
10:30 AM
The three sisters finally walked out of their rooms.
Kaede cracked her knuckles.
Kaede: "I want to punch you again."
Takumi: "WHY!? I DIDN'T EVEN SPEAK YET!"
Kaede: "Because you're annoying."
Takumi: "THAT IS NOT A VALID REASON!"
Himari stretched and smiled.
Himari: "Ahhh… today's morning was amazing! I'm ready to learn more, Takumi!"
Takumi's eyes sparkled for half a second.
Then—
Hana tip-toed toward the kitchen, trying to reach the hidden cookie stash without brushing her teeth.
Himari: "HANA! You can't skip brushing!"
Hana froze like a criminal caught red-handed.
She turned back, pouting, cheeks puffed like a hamster.
Hana: "But… I'm hungry."
Takumi: "You ate ten bowls of cookies yesterday…"
Hana: "…I'm still hungry."
---
The Immortal Sleeper
SNOOREEEEEEEEEE—!
All three sisters turned their heads.
Souta was still in the exact same position on the couch.
Same pose.
Same angle.
Same expression.
Same "not-sure-if-he's-dead-or-sleeping" vibe.
Kaede's eyebrow twitched.
Kaede: "THAT SPECIES!? WE GAVE HIM A ROOM! WHY ISN'T HE SLEEPING THERE!?"
Takumi stared at Souta.
Then at the sisters.
Then back at Souta.
Takumi: "…This guy is impossible."
Himari squinted toward Souta's room door, slightly open.
Himari: "Did he even arrange his room properly?"
Hana, brushing her teeth angrily because she wants cookies: "Let's check…"
Takumi had the face of a man who already knew the answer but didn't want to witness it.
The girls opened the door.
Takumi remained outside, staring at the ceiling like he was reconsidering the meaning of life.
---
The Room of Disaster
Inside Souta's room—
Chaos.
Absolute chaos.
Manga and novels scattered everywhere.
Ten empty cup noodle bowls stacked like a cursed decoration.
Chip crumbs covering the floor like snow.
A soda can on the pillow.
The actual pillow on the floor.
Dustbin completely empty — meaning he cleaned the wrong thing.
A single book on the table titled:
"KILL"
Written in a strangely dramatic font.
Something rustled in the corner.
Something… alive.
Probably a creature born from cup noodle leftovers and dropped chips.
Hana froze.
Hana: "…Um… is that supposed to move?"
Kaede pointed at the creature fearlessly.
Kaede: "If it attacks, I punch it."
Himari: "Kaede, don't punch a new species—!"
Takumi, from the hallway: "I TOLD YOU! HINA'S SOUP MADE HIM LIKE THIS!"
He remembered the soup.
The cursed soup.
Flashback:
Purple water
Fish head
Onion slice
A grape
A strawberry
A lemon
Something living that tried to escape the bowl
And Souta…
Souta drank it thinking it was cup noodles.
Back to present.
Takumi: "At this point… I should sell him to a science lab. They'd make millions."
The girls stared at the room again.
This wasn't a bedroom.
It was a habitat.
A wild ecosystem.
A nature documentary waiting to happen.
And somewhere in the living room…
Souta snored like an extinct animal awakening once every 72 hours.
Takumi covered his face.
Takumi: "I need a vacation."
Something was crawling in the corner…
Slow… wiggly… suspicious…
Himari immediately stepped back,
Himari: "WHAT IS THAT!? A LIFEFORM!? DID HE CREATE LIFE!?"
Kaede squinted at it like a wild animal trainer.
Kaede: "If that jumps on me… I'll punch it AND him…"
Hana was already behind Takumi using him as a human shield.
Hana: "S-So… Souta invented a new species… amazing…"
She says this while holding a cookie she didn't even finish brushing for.
Takumi just crossed his arms, spiritually dead.
Takumi: "Great. My little brother officially evolved into a biological hazard."
They all step deeper inside the room like archaeologists entering a newly discovered tomb.
TAP— TAP— TAP
A cup noodle falls off the bed like it's greeting them.
Kaede: "WHY IS HE LIKE THIS!?!?"
Himari: "There's… manga everywhere… novels everywhere… and that cup… WHY IS IT ON A PILLOW!?"
Hana slowly crouches near the pillow and examines it like a scientist.
Hana: "Pillow didn't suffer damage."
She nods proudly.
Takumi slaps his own forehead.
Takumi: "YOU ARE CHECKING THE PILLOW!? NOT THE MESS!? NOT THE BIO-WEAPON CRAWLING OVER THERE!?"
Hana ignores him and picks up the scary book on the floor.
It says "KILL" in giant horror letters.
Her eyes go wide.
Hana: "T-Takumi… should we run?"
Kaede: "WHERE DID HE GET THIS!? IS HE TRAINING TO BECOME A FINAL BOSS!?"
Takumi snatches the book from her hands.
Takumi: "This is just a thriller novel… idiot."
He flips a page.
"…Actually why is it open to a chapter titled 'Eliminate Your Noisy Brother'…?"
He slowly closes it.
Takumi: "Okay maybe we run."
---
They all look back at Souta on the couch
Still asleep
Same pose
Same expression
Same breathing
Not a single cell moved since yesterday.
Kaede whispers like she's examining a frozen creature.
Kaede: "This… this is not human behavior…"
Himari pokes him with a feather-light touch.
Himari: "Is he alive…?"
Souta: SNOREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE—
Hana jumps like a squirrel.
Hana: "HE'S ALIVE!! IT'S SCARY BUT HE'S ALIVE!!"
Takumi sighs with the exhaustion of a 90-year-old man.
Takumi:
"Great. I have a brother who creates trash ecosystems and sleeps for 48 hours. Wonderful."
---
They walk back to the living room
Kaede lifts her fist again.
Takumi freezes.
Takumi: "WHAT DID I DO NOW!?"
Kaede: "Existing."
Takumi collapses.