Ah, being alone is so boring!
Wearing a depressed expression, Aragaki Miyahito lay sprawled on the living room sofa like a salted fish. Feeling a mix of frustration and boredom, he rolled from one end of the sofa to the other.
His movements and posture were exactly like a sushi chef making a thin roll at a sushi shop. Ah, to clarify, not like the sushi chef, but like the thin roll being made by the chef's hands.
Rolling over... rolling back... rolling over again... rolling back again...
Finally, after who knows how many rolls back and forth, Miyahito slid off the sofa like his bones had been extracted, his body limp and powerless, and fell face-down onto the living room carpet.
Without moving a single muscle.
Just like that, after Miyahito played dead for a short while, a strange, loud noise suddenly broke the silence of the living room.
Grrr~~~
Accompanying this loud rumble from his stomach, the living room fell back into a strange, awkward silence. However, very quickly, Miyahito's aggrieved voice followed closely behind.
"Uuu, I'm so hungry....."
The moment he finished speaking, his phone, which he had casually tossed on the sofa, suddenly vibrated a few times, and the next second, a familiar ringtone started playing.
"It really can't be helped, reality is more thrilling than fiction. After crossing sleepless nights, it's like a fire burning on a stake..."
Too hungry to have any strength or desire to move, Miyahito struggled to roll over. Lying face-up on the fluffy carpet, he weakly raised his hand, blindly groping on the sofa to guess where the phone was.
"Hello, this is Miyahito."
"Hey Miyahito, what's wrong with you? You sound so listless."
Hearing the deep, highly reliable-sounding voice coming from the phone, Miyahito paused, then instantly perked up and said happily.
"Jiro-senpai! What brings you to call me today?"
"Oh, now that's more like it." Hearing Miyahito's restored energy, Juroku Jiro on the other end laughed heartily before continuing. "Nothing major. Shinji and I finished our cram school today, and we figured it's been a while since we played some ball with you."
"How about it? Got time to come out and play?"
Hearing this, Miyahito, who was so bored he was about to start plucking his own leg hair, his eyes instantly lit up. He hurriedly nodded and agreed.
"Of course! I'll get ready right away! The usual place?"
"No need to rush." Hearing Miyahito's eager reply, Jiro, who was picking up his bag, turned his head. With a mix of amusement and helplessness, he glanced at his old friend who was also packing up, and said.
"Shinji and I just got out of class and haven't eaten yet. By the way, do you want to join us?"
Eat? Did he even need to ask?
Not to mention Miyahito was currently starving and hadn't even decided how to solve his lunch problem. Just the single fact that "eating out with two seniors means he doesn't have to spend his own money"—how could Miyahito possibly refuse?
"Of course! Thanks, senpai. I actually haven't decided what to eat yet."
"You brat, you just want to freeload off your seniors again." Chuckling and cursing his slippery junior, Jiro gave a look and asked his friend Tokita Shinji what they should eat.
Noticing his friend's look, Shinji lowered his head to think, while his right hand subconsciously rubbed his stomach.
Hmm... right! Let's eat that.
Having decided what to eat, Shinji raised his hand, holding up his index and middle fingers to show a 'two' to Jiro.
Jiro ramen? Sure.
"How about ramen?"
"No problem!"
"Then let's go to that ramen shop we used to go to all the time."
"OK! I'll be there in ten minutes, Jiro-senpai."
...
Just as Miyahito was happily preparing to head out to eat ramen with his two seniors whom he hadn't seen in a while.
Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was eating with her mom and dad, finally got her 'Cheese Lobster' served.
Looking at the lobster completely covered in a generous layer of cheese, the corners of Utaha's lips curled up involuntarily. She raised her hands, pressed them together, and said, "Itadakimasu."
Then, picking up her knife and fork, she methodically cut into the lobster.
Just then.
"Ara ara, Naoki-kun." Smiling brightly as she speared a small bite of mushroom risotto pasta, just as Kao was about to put it in her mouth, she said in a slightly surprised and teasing tone.
"I recall someone just saying she wouldn't eat, um, greasy dishes like 'Cheese Lobster'? Isn't that right, dear?"
Clink—!
Hearing his wife's words, and the crisp sound of knife and fork hitting the plate from his daughter's side, Naoki, who was trying hard to lower his presence and earnestly eating his gratin, raised his head with a helpless expression.
He looked at his daughter, who was continuously emitting a dark, grudge-filled aura, and then at his wife, who looked thoroughly entertained.
"Sigh...." Letting out a secret sigh, he turned his head helplessly toward his wife, who had gotten addicted to teasing their daughter, and said in a low, quiet tone.
"Dear, if you push her too hard, your daughter might actually run back to Tokyo."
"..."
Turning to shoot a coquettish glare at her husband, Kao then turned to look at her daughter across the table, who was already radiating resentment. Unwilling to give up, she pouted and said somewhat aggrievedly.
"Fine, fine, fine. Just keep spoiling her, hmph."
"..."
For a moment, looking at Kao, who looked like a child denied candy, both father and daughter fell silent.
However, unlike Naoki, who breathed a sigh of relief at his wife's concession, Utaha, who had been sparring with her mom ever since elementary school, saw her mom acting like she was giving up.
Subconsciously taking it as a feigned retreat to advance, she reflexively chased after her to deliver the finishing blow.
"Tch, your daughter is already in high school, and you're still acting like a young girl. Gag~"
..... Smack!
Hearing this 'declaration of war' from his daughter, Naoki, who had barely managed to calm his wife down, subconsciously covered his own cheek with one hand.
It's over. It's over.
"Huh? Are you saying I'm old?"
"Mhm. Are my words really that hard for Mom to understand? Looks like I'll need to ask my teacher to tutor me in Japanese after school starts."
"Oho, alright, my daughter. Kasu-Fatty has learned how to be sarcastic."
"Thanks for the compliment... Wait, who are you calling Kasu-Fatty?!"
"Hehe, is there anyone else here besides you, my dear daughter?"
"Say it again if you dare?! You mom whose mind is always in the gutter!"
"My daughter, even though Mom is a doctor, when it comes to weight gain... Mom really can't do anything about it. How about you try accepting a new name, Kasumigaoka Fatty? It actually sounds pretty good."
"Don't call me Kasu-Fatty!!!!!"
Kasu-Fatty.