I am Kotegawa Sayaka, a Japanese woman in my forties. I have two daughters who are currently developing their own careers, and I am separated from my husband!
The morning sunlight spilled into the room; it was already 5:30 AM.
As the manager of a diving shop, Kotegawa Sayaka did not have the luxury of sleeping in!
Equipment cleaning, work scheduling, and countless preparations before opening—one shouldn't think that running a shop is just opening and closing the doors at set times and mindlessly collecting money.
Regrettably, perhaps due to poor communication, my relationship with my younger daughter isn't great. My eldest daughter is very much like her father, tolerant of everyone, which puts my mind at ease for the time being...
Turning off the air conditioner and pushing back the duvet, she thought this as she struggled out of bed, forcing her aging body to move quickly to get ready and grab a quick bite outside before work.
Only by keeping herself busy would the loneliness of being in a foreign land and the sadness of being distant from her daughters temporarily fade. Thus, she loved being busy.
But even so, I've encountered some troubling matters these past few days. My eldest daughter and her best friend have fallen for the same boy and are head over heels in love! More importantly...
Opening the door, she had expected the living room to be a total wreck, with beer bottles flying everywhere and some "O-man" sleeping soundly within. However, nothing that Kotegawa Sayaka worried about had happened.
The windows were bright and the floors were clean; the living room, which hadn't been meticulously cleaned in a long time, was now spotless. Even the trash she had piled by the door had been thrown out.
The sofa that had been slept on was neatly smoothed out, proving the refined character and attention to detail of the "bed's" owner. Besides that...
"Are you awake, Mother-in-law?"
With a bandana tied around his head, Miyazawa Yuu had long ago adapted to a 5:00 AM biological clock, unlike Sayaka, who only woke up after 5:30. This was the awareness of the true master of Grand Blue!
Placing the tamagoyaki into a lunch box, he smiled like a virtuous wife and mother, kneeling by the coffee table as he invited her: "Please eat. The bento will be ready shortly..."
"Hmm? Uh... hmm, yes!"
A single syllable expressed four distinct emotions: bewilderment, confusion, hesitation, and compromise. Kotegawa Sayaka sat at the dining table, watching Miyazawa Yuu, trying to find a flaw in his face—
Most importantly, I am now living with my prospective son-in-law!
"Today's breakfast is grilled fish bought fresh from the coast, paired with miso soup. Since I wasn't sure how many employees there are, the bentos might not be enough. Please forgive me."
"I see..."
It was uncomfortable—extremely uncomfortable! But Kotegawa Sayaka still had to pick up her chopsticks and start eating. After all, the food was already laid out on the table; saying she wouldn't eat would be a bit overbearing.
The grilled fish tasted surprisingly good, and the rice was steamed soft to accommodate an older person's stomach. But the more she ate, the more she felt something was off—
Her brow slowly furrowed, her jaws working hard to bite through the grilled fish. She finally realized where the source of the unease lay! Isn't this MY house?
"Yuu... kun?"
"Hmm? What is it, Mother-in-law?"
The corners of his mouth curled into a polite arc, and a glint of cunning flashed in Miyazawa Yuu's eyes, letting Kotegawa Sayaka know that he was doing this purely on purpose!
Using the kitchen and utensils without asking is a major taboo in Japan. Japanese people who value personal space even strictly separate tissues when sharing a house, let alone daily necessities!
The best way to break into someone else's life is to overstep boundaries. This was precisely his goal.
If Sayaka thought she could keep her composure without him disturbing her state of mind, she was welcome to try. After all, Uncle Toshio had fallen instantly. Heh-heh~☆!
"Gulp... do you often do these things at Grand Blue as well?"
"Yes. Since Uncle Toshio prefers fishing, all matters in the shop have been fully subcontracted to me!"
"Is that so..."
This kid is truly arrogant! Veins popped on her forehead. The more smug Miyazawa Yuu became, the more Kotegawa Sayaka felt an agonizing itch in her heart. However, she had already agreed that she wouldn't mind his actions.
Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the miso soup bowl. She gulped down two mouthfuls of hot soup to suppress her discomfort, then stood up and gave a distant word of thanks: "Thank you very much. It was a delicious breakfast!"
"I'm glad you're satisfied! Then let's head out. Time to open the shop~"
...
"Ugh, slurp slurp..."
Drool leaked onto the ground; Kitahara Iori's brain had already malfunctioned. Although they had originally said they'd only drink beer, they got excited and ran out to buy Spirytus.
However, considering they had a shift the next day and couldn't be late, they could only use the seniors' clever trick—sleeping directly outside the shop!
"Mmm... hmph."
Clutching Iori's leg, Kotegawa Chisa originally didn't want to mess around with this group. Unfortunately, the meeting with her mother had made her a bit emotional, and somehow she ended up having a few too many drinks.
Drawing her legs up and curling into a fetal position, a faint smile hung on her face, as if she were dreaming of something good from her childhood.
However, in Kotegawa Sayaka's eyes, her daughter's behavior—sleeping outside in broad daylight and using a boy as a pillow—was quite embarrassing!
"Man! They really never learn, do they? Wake up, Aina! It's time to get ready for work!"
The store entrance had been turned into a literal garbage dump. Miyazawa Yuu looked at the tragic scene, circled around, and first shook awake Yoshiwara Aina, who hadn't drunk much and was simply sleeping alongside them.
"Huh? Waaah! Is it already this time? Good morning, Manager!"
"Good morning~ though your chest..."
"Sorry, sorry!"
Under Sayaka's guidance, she realized her breasts were lopsided again. Yoshiwara Aina bowed frantically, thanking her two great benefactors a thousand times over, then turned her back and spent a lot of effort fixing the breast pads.
"Yuu~ you're here so early. And Mom!"
"Nanaka-姉, it's normal to be here at this time. But these guys are still the same even in a different place."
"That's true. Once they start drinking, there's no stopping them."
Not a single one of the assigned rooms had been used. Kotegawa Nanaka smiled helplessly in agreement. Had she known, she should have let Yuu sneak over at night to avoid the waste.
"...Shouldn't you have greeted your mother first?"
Looking at her eldest daughter, who had put all her energy into Yuu the moment she appeared, Kotegawa Sayaka muttered to herself. She then put on her sunglasses, turned around, and pretended not to care as she took out her keys to open the door.
"Wake them up immediately! Clean up the outside first! I don't like procrastination!"
"Yes! Hey, hey! Wake up, Iori! It's time for work!"
"Dammit! Didn't we already assemble on time? Why must you use violence!"
His cheek was pinched and pulled into a long strip. Stimulated by the pain, Kitahara Iori instantly launched off the ground, simultaneously shaking the innocent Chisa awake.
Without a second of delay, he immediately grabbed the bastard Yuu by the collar. He had to demand justice for his suffering!
"You have the nerve to talk? Sleeping outside the shop on the first day... you've really outdone yourself. Here's breakfast..."
"Yuu, you're truly a good person!"
"Ugh... what's the situation? Is Iori being bought off by breakfast again?"
Struggling to crawl up from the ground, Imamura Kouhei didn't care one bit whether Iori had suffered violence, but breakfast after a hangover was something that absolutely could not be neglected!
However, to his surprise, it seemed Yuu had found his conscience today. The lunch box handed over was rarely lacking in effort. Has this kid changed his ways?
"Eating this well on a regular day? Yuu, hurry up and share the winning lottery ticket!"
"Regrettably, there is no such thing! But Kouhei, how do I usually treat you guys?"
The professional smile vanished instantly. Unhappily pinning the heartless Iori and Kouhei under his arms, Miyazawa Yuu looked at the two ever-hungry guys with a gaze that was half-threat and half-allurement.
"It's alright, I guess. What are you trying to do?"
"Just promoting our Grand Blue employee benefits! Cooperate! Otherwise, in the future, I'll secretly heat up every single one of your beers!"
"How vicious!"
Hearing that Yuu actually intended to mess with their precious beer, a look of horror flashed in the eyes of Kitahara Iori and Imamura Kouhei. Their entire demeanors instantly became serious as they entered "scum mode," ready to be at his beck and call!
"Sister? What are Yuu and the others doing? Mom didn't give him a hard time yesterday, did she?"
Rubbing her head as she woke up, Kotegawa Chisa saw the PAB trio conspiring and her face fell as she began to worry about her mother's future.
After all, hiring these few pieces of scum might be the worst mistake of her life. She hoped Yuu hadn't become so trashy that he wouldn't even recognize his own kin!
"I don't know. It should... be fine, right?"
Biting her lower lip in worry, Kotegawa Nanaka was skeptical about whether Yuu would be bullied.
However, while she didn't think Yuu would lose out, the opponent was her mother—his mother-in-law. It wouldn't be good if he was being bullied and refused to speak up!