The Bath You Drink

Leina · Apr 28, 2026

After dinner, Leina heats water in a small pot and divides it into metal cups. I want some lukewarm water — the kind you drink, not the kind you sit in. That request, and suddenly it feels like offering a bath — just the drinkable kind.

While they talk, Leina mentions that back in the group, she was always the one being looked after. Rarely the one doing the looking. And now here she is, asking want some hot water? want me to rub your back? — a little surprising, and at the same time, completely natural.

Yu takes a sip of the warm water and laughs. It tastes like it has affection dissolved in it. And then: you've been warming me up since the day we met. For someone who spent so long only on the receiving end, having a person who simply accepts being cared for in return — who says yes, you can without making it complicated — is probably quite a luxury. Leina thinks: I'm the lucky one here too.

She sets down the cup, shuffles closer, leans against a shoulder, and decides: today can just be a day where nothing big happens anymore. Lukewarm water, Yu, and Leina — slowly warming the after-dinner air of the room into something almost like a bath.