"Then let Yui come in quickly. Honestly, even if you told her not to be late tomorrow, she didn't need to come this early, right?"
Kotomi Izumi, still in her pajamas, had just gotten up. After hearing her words, Akina Izumi casually knocked on her daughter's head.
"Ah! Mom, why are you hitting my little head again? If you keep knocking my head, I'll become less smart."
"When were you ever smart?" Akina Izumi said helplessly. "Do you really think Yui came this early just because she's afraid of being late?"
Akina Izumi knew Kotomi had always been good at reading people. There was no way she couldn't guess the real reason why Yui had come so early to wait at their door.
Sure enough, Kotomi scratched her head and gave a silly laugh, pretending not to understand. Of course she knew why Yui came so early. Yui's thoughts were far too simple—she just wanted to see her sooner.
Precisely because she knew, Kotomi couldn't help but call her a silly girl in her heart.
"Hurry up and let Yui in. Has Aimi woken up yet?"
"I already let Yui into the living room to wait for you. As for Aimi… she's probably still asleep. Since it's the weekend, she'll definitely sleep in for two full days."
"Then let Yui come straight upstairs to my room."
"In a hurry, are we?" Akina Izumi said with a meaningful smile.
"Mom, what are you thinking? Yui is my friend. If a friend comes over, how could I leave her waiting in the living room? Of course I should invite her to my room."
"Alright, alright~ just friends. But let me tell you first—Yui is a stubborn girl. You'd better not bully her." Akina reminded her again before leaving.
Kotomi pretended not to hear as she changed her clothes.
After Akina went downstairs, Kotomi carefully closed her bedroom door. She had originally thought of deliberately half-changing her clothes to see how the dumpling would react if she "accidentally" walked in.
But after thinking it over, Kotomi decided against it. With Yui's shy personality, if she saw something that bold first thing in the morning, she'd probably never forget it until graduation.
Before Yui came upstairs, Kotomi had just finished dressing, only her socks left. Just then, she heard knock knock knock at the door.
"The door isn't locked. Come in yourself," Kotomi said while sitting in front of her wardrobe, choosing socks.
"Kotomi, good morning. Did I… come a little too early today?" Yui Yuigahama asked nervously as she opened the door, seeing Kotomi already dressed though still carrying traces of sleepiness on her face.
"More than just a little early. Silly girl, even if I told you not to be late yesterday, you didn't need to show up at my house at five in the morning."
Kotomi stood up and looked at Yui. But when she noticed Yui already wearing the white down jacket, she froze for a moment.
If someone asked which of the two—Megumi Kato or Yui Yuigahama—suited this down jacket better, Kotomi would, without hesitation, say Yui.
Megumi Kato simply looked beautiful wearing it.
Whenever Kotomi went on a date with her, Megumi always dressed up gorgeously. The Kato family had some money, so every one of her outfits was expensive. After so many dates, Kotomi had grown used to Megumi's beauty in nice clothes.
Kotomi had once mentioned this change in her feelings to Megumi. But instead of being upset, Megumi smiled and said: "That's what they call the old married couple feeling. Too bad we're not married yet. Want to go to city hall and sign the marriage papers now?"
But Yui rarely wore fancy clothes. At school she was always in Sobu High's uniform, and during breaks she usually wore jeans, hoodies, and sneakers. In summer, she just swapped the hoodie for a T-shirt. Always very plain.
That was why, when Yui put on the white down jacket Kotomi had bought for her, her whole aura changed. Kotomi couldn't take her eyes off her.
The fitted style of the down jacket accentuated Yui Yuigahama's curves. Whether it was from waiting in the cold outside the Izumi house earlier that morning, or from feeling shy being alone in Kotomi's room, her fair cheeks carried a faint blush. On top of that, she had gotten up early just to put on light makeup for today's outing. With the pure white down jacket, she looked soft and charming.
Feeling Kotomi's gaze, Yui grew flustered and looked away, whispering: "D-do I look okay…?"
"Very pretty. Looks like my eye for fashion wasn't wrong—this white down jacket really suits you."
"Thank you. Kotomi, I really like this jacket, but you spent so much on me… mmm!"
Before Yui could finish, Kotomi pinched her cheeks firmly, sealing her mouth shut. With a serious look, Kotomi said:
"It's just a down jacket. Don't talk about me spending too much. If you keep being polite with me, don't blame me for getting angry."
Kotomi intentionally pressed harder, squeezing Yui's cheeks until they felt soft and squishy in her hands. It only made Kotomi want to bully her even more.
"Mmm, I get it…" Yui nodded. She realized Kotomi really disliked it when she acted too polite. Kotomi always explained it as not wanting Yui to treat her like an outsider.
Not wanting me to treat her as an outsider… Yui's little dumpling brain worked quickly and reached a bold conclusion.
Kotomi wants to become family with me?! That's why she doesn't like me being polite!
How do two families become one… For example, if Kotomi changed her name to Yuigahama Kotomi?!
But if she doesn't want to take my surname, I could marry her instead, and change my name to Izumi Yui! As long as Kotomi is happy, I'll do anything!
Wait, no, what am I thinking? How did I suddenly jump to marriage?! We don't even know yet if she likes me.
If I confess now, I'll find out right away if Kotomi likes me. But if she doesn't, then wouldn't we not even be able to stay friends anymore? No way!
Lost in her thoughts, Yui completely missed Kotomi calling her name. After several tries, Kotomi raised her voice a little:
"Yui, Yui… Yui!"
"Ah! Sorry, Kotomi, I zoned out just now!"
"No need to say it. Looking at your face, I can already guess."
"Sorry… I won't—"
"It's fine." Kotomi shook her head. This wasn't her first day knowing Yui. She had long known that Yui often drifted off whenever she had the chance. Kotomi was always curious what Yui thought about in those moments.
Kotomi still hadn't decided which socks to wear today, so she tossed the decision to Yui instead.
"Yui."
"I'm here!"
With a mischievous little-witch smile, Kotomi waved two pairs of stockings in her hands.
"Which one do you want to see me wear~?"
"M-me? You want me to choose which pair you wear?! H-how could I decide something like that?!"
Just as Kotomi expected, Yui Yuigahama's face turned red with shyness, her words stumbling as she spoke.
"Come on, choose~" Kotomi coaxed sweetly.
Unable to resist Kotomi's pleading tone, Yui's cheeks burned even brighter. With trembling fingers, she pointed at the black stockings in Kotomi's hand and whispered:
"I-I want to see you wear the black ones…"
"Hehe, I like honest girls." Kotomi smiled mischievously like a little witch, put the white stockings aside, and slipped on the black pair as Yui requested.
"If you want to touch them, I'll let you, you know." Kotomi sat on the bed and, halfway through putting them on, tugged lightly at the toes of the black stockings with her slender fingers, smiling as she looked at Yui.
"H-how could I do something like that?! Kotomi, don't tease me!" Yui quickly turned her back, her little ears already flushed red.
If not for worrying that Yui couldn't handle anything too bold, Kotomi had actually wanted to trick her into sitting close, then suddenly slip her black-stockinged foot inside Yui's down jacket. But since they were at home, she gave up on the idea. Who knew if Yui would squeal out loud from embarrassment and end up waking Aimi?
"We're both girls, what's there to be shy about?" Kotomi said with a sly grin. She remembered once visiting an all-girls' school and, while wandering around, stumbling upon a few rather surprising scenes.
From that moment on, Kotomi's impression was that at girls' schools, close friends really did play quite boldly.
Yui didn't look back at all. Her face still red, she simply kept her back turned, waiting for Kotomi to finish dressing.
Seeing this, Kotomi didn't tease her any further. She quickly pulled on the stockings, then patted Yui's shoulder. "I'm done. Let's head downstairs. Want to eat breakfast here?"
"Is that… okay?"
"Silly girl, what's not okay? My mom should already be in the kitchen cooking. Besides, it's way too early. Even in Tokyo, no KTVs are open yet. At the earliest, nine in the morning."
"Ah… so I really did come too early today."
"More than just a little. If Mom hadn't woken me up to tell me you'd arrived, I'd still be in bed. When I heard you'd been waiting outside so early, I was honestly shocked. You really came way too early. Isn't your little brain supposed to be smart? How come most of the time you act so silly?"
Kotomi spoke with a mix of exasperation and affection, her heart aching a little. The weather was getting colder, and the coldest hours were always before dawn.
"Hehehe…"
Yui laughed awkwardly. There was one line she didn't dare say out loud, but only whispered in her heart: If Kotomi, you like me, then I'm willing to be silly for my whole life.
Leaving the bedroom and heading downstairs, they found Akina Izumi indeed cooking breakfast in the kitchen.
This was Yui Yuigahama's first time eating breakfast at the Izumi house, so of course Akina had to show her skills.
"Which KTV are you two planning to go to?"
She set a plate of beef fried rice on the table. Yui wasn't surprised to see that Kotomi's portion was nearly twice the size of everyone else's. She had seen Kotomi's appetite many times before. At home, Kotomi's bowls and plates were always the largest ones. If not for appearances' sake, Kotomi would probably have ordered a custom oversized spoon, because that was how she found eating most comfortable.
"There seem to be a few near the station. We'll go and pick one."
"I've already decided. We'll go to this one." Kotomi opened the official Twitter page of a KTV, showing the photos of the interior, and handed the phone to Yui so she could see.
"Eh, this one? I think I heard some classmates mention it. The small private rooms are cheap by the hour, and the microphones and sound system are all new. Their song list also gets updated regularly. Let's go with this one!"
"I didn't pay attention to the room prices. I just remember their pizza and fries are really good."
"Eh…" Yui Yuigahama hadn't expected Kotomi to judge a KTV's quality based on how tasty their snacks were.
Akina Izumi smiled wryly. That was just how Kotomi was sometimes. Ask her the meaning of life, and she'd answer without hesitation: Go to the pier and grab some fries.
Ask her what lies at the end of the universe, and she'd reply: Go to the pier and grab a bag of ketchup—fries with ketchup taste great.
"We're eating breakfast right now, so stop talking about KTV snacks." Akina tapped her daughter's head again, then asked: "Want some miso soup too?"
"Yes! Mom, make sure to give me extra tofu."
"I already put in extra tofu just for you. Eat slowly, there's still plenty left in the pot."
Kotomi liked scooping the tofu out of the miso soup and placing it on top of her rice, eating them together.
After serving Kotomi, Akina turned to Yui. "Yui, does the food suit your taste? Since this is your first time eating here, I don't know what you like yet. You should come over more often."
"It's really delicious! Thank you, Auntie. The miso soup is even tastier than my mom's. Every time she makes it, it's either completely flavorless or so salty I need a glass of water after one sip."
Yui always told the truth. Tomoka Yuigahama's miso soup really wasn't very good! Kotomi had tasted it before and had also wondered how Aunt Tomoka managed to make miso soup that salty.
"Haha, is that so? By the way, Yui, your mother's name is Tomoka, right?"
"Yes, Tomoka Yuigahama."
"Does she have orange hair?"
"That's right, my mom's hair is orange. Mine used to be orange too, but after middle school graduation I wanted a change, so I dyed it to this light peach color." Yui pointed to her short, peach-colored hair.
"Can I see a picture? I think I may have met your mom once before." Akina asked curiously.
"Oh, sure."
Without thinking much of it, Yui took out her phone and pulled up a photo of her mom, her little sister, and herself together. She handed it to Akina.
Akina looked at the picture. Although many years had passed and her memories were fuzzy, she recalled a classmate from middle school. Comparing that image to Tomoka Yuigahama in the photo—she really did look like her old friend, Tomoka Mizuniwa! And the name even matched.
Back in middle school, the two of them had been fairly close friends. But after graduation, they rarely kept in touch.
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