The Angel Next Door (Rosé X Female Reader)

53: Finding Joy in the Little Things

"It sounds like it's even more difficult than usual to fix it. Personally, I think the way you have it today is cute, but I can imagine it's annoying to deal with."

I personally thought it was a perk to get to see Rosé style her hair in lots of different ways. Especially for Rosé, who cared about her personal appearance more than most.

The way she had her hair tied at the moment looked more subdued and sweeter than usual, but Rosé herself probably didn't like it all that much.

"C-cute?" After pondering the word, Rosé's eyes darted around bashfully, and she lightly tapped my arm with her fingertips in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. "...Anyway, it's hard to look after my hair in the summertime, you know? At the height of summer, there's the problem of sunlight causing damage, so proper care is essential. In the winter, it gets dry, and in the summer, it's humid, and UV rays can cause harm... The way I care for it changes depending on the season and the weather, so it's hard to keep up with."

"Sounds challenging."

"That's why I'm jealous of your hair, Y/N."

I blinked when the topic changed to me, and Rosé looked up at my hair with slight envy. That morning, it had seemed like too much work to style my hair with products, so all I had done was run a brush through it like I did on the weekends.

"It's nice and smooth despite the humidity. As far as grooming, it doesn't demand that much, does it?"

"The most I do is use that shampoo from the beauty salon."

"That's because your hair was naturally healthy to begin with. If you took really good care of it, it would be even smoother and shinier."

"I don't really want to, but... Well, if I have the time, I'll make the effort." If it made it more enjoyable for Rosé to touch my hair, then I figured making time to take care of it would be worth it. Not that I was unhappy with it as it was, and Rosé never seemed to have a problem with it either, but if I thought it might make her even happier, I was glad to do it.

I looked at Rosé's face and saw that she had a faint smile—so faint that it was barely visible. The rain was obviously affecting her, and there was less vigor in her expression than usual.

Gazing at her pale cheeks, I let out a quiet sigh. "You know, it really sucks that I can't go jogging in this weather. I had a routine going, and now I feel like I might revert to my old lazy habits."

It wasn't a good idea to go for a long run while it was pouring rain. The rain would cool my muscles down even if I warmed up before running, and I wouldn't get a very effective workout.

And so, for the time being, I was going to take a break from running. To compensate, I planned to focus more on exercises that target my legs.

"You say that, but haven't you been doing more leg exercises than usual already?"

"That's because I don't want to backslide, now that my efforts are actually starting to show."

"You're so serious; what a good girl. Very admirable."

Rosé looked pleased and softly patted me on the back. It tickled, and with the hand that wasn't holding the umbrella and my bag, I got my revenge by doing the same to her.

Afterward, I looked at the sky. The horizon was still dark, but something about it seemed more pleasant. It was probably because the rain wasn't as intense as it had been. Now it seemed to be gently enveloping us.

Of course, the real reason I felt at ease was due to the person at my side.

"Well, there are some downsides to this weather, but walking with you in the rain like this isn't bad at all. Rainy days have their own sort of charm. The color of the sky and the feeling in the air is unique, and I like it. Taking a quiet stroll on a day like this seems romantic too."