"Guhh..."
When Angel woke up, the sun was already high, flooding her room with bright light.
Did she just... pass out?
"I can't believe I passed out from that."
Angel sighed. Well, she reached her goal, but the method? Super embarrassing.
She fixed her clothes, which were more than just a little askew. If anyone saw her right now, nosebleeds incoming!
Standing up, Angel glanced at her bed.
"Oh god, that's a mess."
It looked like someone straight-up pissed on it... Her face turned bright red. She really overdid it this time. Now she was extra compelled to wash her stuff—there was no way she could let her mom find out about this!
Peeking outside—phew—her parents were already gone.
She gulped, then turned back to the disaster behind her. Not only did she have to wash her clothes, but her bedsheets too... Great.
Gathering everything—bedsheet, blanket, clothes—Angel hauled it all outside.
Their washing area, where the washing machine was, was located outside their house.
Now, one might ask:
"Well, what if the washing machine gets stolen?"
Answer? They had a fence. A tall fence.
And no, not some knee-level or thigh-level wooden fence—literal concrete, above-human-head-level fence. Sure, some sections were metal, but that's not the point~
No criminal in their right mind would go out of their way to steal a washing machine with that kind of security. Plus, their gate was always locked. Extra layer of protection, baby!
Angel set her clothes, bedsheet, and blanket on the table beside the washing machine, then went back inside to grab some powdered detergent and Downy.
Returning, she plugged in the extension cord that connected the washing machine.
「Now all I need is to plug the washing machine.」
She did just that. But, of course, it was still off—she wouldn't know if it worked until she turned it on.
For now, she needed to collect water. Their washing machine wasn't connected to a water system, so she had to manually fill a plastic pail and pour it in.
"I guess it's now or never."
Muttering under her breath, Angel turned on the faucet, watching as water dripped into the big circular plastic pail.
「This might take a while.」
Bored, she pulled out her phone and messaged Maria.
『Maria, you there??』
Of course, Maria was online—her status said so. But Angel wanted to start the conversation properly.
It didn't take long before Maria "seen" the message. Then, she started typing.
『My my~ did you miss me alreadyy?』
Angel blushed.
『What?! Who misses who? I'm just bored.』
『Oh my! It's wrong to treat a young woman like a toy you can play and talk to on a whim~』
What's with her?! Maria never used to tease like this! Back when they were kids, she was always that kind, soft-spoken, almost elegant girl. What happened??
"Ah, the water."
Before continuing their chat, Angel checked the pail—full.
"Guh, this'll be a pain."
It was already hard to carry this stuff when she was a guy—but now that she was a beautiful young woman, she didn't even want to imagine the struggle.
Angel squatted down, grabbed the edge of the round plastic pail, and—
"Huff!"
She barely lifted it halfway before—
"Hieek!"
Her entire body froze. Face redder than ever. As she dropped the plastic pail
Did that... just come out of her mouth???
"Goshh! That's so not like me!"
She muttered to herself, utterly mortified.
Five minutes. That's how long it took her to finally carry the pail over and pour the water into the washing machine.
「I think it'll take three trips...」
Sighing, Angel placed the pail back under the faucet and checked her phone again.
"Guh, so many messages."
Unread texts flooded her screen:
『Hey?』
『You seriously didn't leave me hanging here?』
『Oi?』
『Hewwoo?』
Angel laughed awkwardly. Oops. This was on her for not telling Maria what she was doing.
『Sorryyy, I was busy trynna get water into the washing machine.』
Maria immediately responded.
『Ah, right! The washing machine isn't connected to a water supply, huh?』
Huh? How did Maria know?
『I used to visit your older brother, so I knew about the washing machine.』
Ohh.
『I see. In any case, it's such a bother.』
Angel sent the message while pouring another round of water into the machine.
Maria responded with:
『You should really have your washing machine connected to a water supply soon.』
Angel nodded in agreement.
『Right?! But Ma is so stubborn.』
Maria sent a cute laughing emoji.
Then—
『Hey, why don't we voice call instead?』
Angel's eyes widened.
Of course! That was way more efficient.
Angel pressed voice call on Messenger.
It didn't even take a few minutes before Maria picked up.
『Hello?』
A very smooth and soft voice pierced through the phone.
Wow, her voice is as ASMR-worthy as ever.
『Heyyy hey』
Angel replied with a carefree tone. Naturally, her voice had a higher pitch. But she could also speak in a lower register when she was shy, bored, or tired.
『So, what are we gonna talk about?』
Maria asked over the phone while Angel manually poured water into the washing machine.
『I dunno, anything will do.』
Angel replied as she poured another bucket of water.
『Oh! I know! Let's talk about school!』
Shit—not that!
『Where did you study?』
『Uhhhh… I studied abroad.』
『Oh really?? Where?』
『I cannot say that…』
Angel laughed awkwardly as she tossed her clothes into the washing machine and sprinkled in some powdered detergent.
She pressed a few buttons, letting the machine run its course.
『What? Why nottt?』
『Because I forgot.』
『Ehhhh?? You're lyinggg~』
『Am not.』
『Yes, you are!!』
『Am not.』
『Guh…』
『Fine…』
Maria mumbled over the phone.
Meanwhile, Angel refilled the washing machine with water. The sound of her heavy breathing and grunts traveled through the call.
『That must be heavy.』
『Yeah, no shit.』
Angel poured the water into the machine.
「It sounded a bit lewd though.」
『What?!』
Angel's face reddened—how could she say that?!
『I can't help it! I'm carrying something heavy!』
『Pfft—you're so cute~』
『Who is?!』
After some playful banter, Angel finally finished washing her clothes, blanket, and bedsheets. The whole laundry session took two and a half hours, given she was chatting with Maria and waiting for the plastic pail to fill up for manual refills.
After hanging everything outside under the scorching sun, Angel went back to Maria.
『Phew, finally done with laundry.』
『Great work!!』
『Thanks, Maria.』
Angel breathed heavily as she plopped onto her living room couch.
『That was a long call—two hours, huh? I'm gonna head out, so I think I'll get going. Oh, and also, Angel!! If you're available… can we go out for some food? Pick the time for me!』
『Eh?? Are you sure?』
『What do you mean, am I sure? Pfft! You sometimes respond in the weirdest ways.』
『Guh… sure.』
Angel wasn't sure.
But she couldn't turn down Maria's request anyway.
『Well then, if you've got nothing more to say… I'll be off~』
Maria hummed.
『Okay, okay. Thanks for the company.』
『Pfft, it's alright. That's what I'm here for.』
???
What did she mean by that?
Just because Angel was "Joseph's younger sister," she acted so familiar with her…
Angel couldn't help but sigh as Maria ended the call herself.
"Just what am I going to do with you, Maria?"