Morning.
Early summer.
Kyouko had already woken up and was preparing breakfast for her husband, moving gracefully around the kitchen in her simple morning dress.
"Dear, your coffee." Kyouko said softly, smiling as she set the cup down.
"Mm..." Satoshi grumbled without looking up from his tablet, fingers still scrolling through reports.
"Dear..." Kyouko's voice remained gentle but firm. "It's rude to work during meals."
He sighed, finally setting the device aside. "Yeah, yeah."
Kyouko settled across from him, lifting her own cup with elegant grace. "Since summer's starting, I was hoping... maybe you could take some time off? We could go somewhere together."
Satoshi's expression tightened. "Kyouko, you know I'm busy with the company. With business booming, there's no way I'm letting any opportunity go to waste."
Kyouko exhaled, her shoulders slumping slightly. "You always use that excuse."
"It's not an excuse. It's true. Now enough of that." His tone was final.
"Mou! Fine!" Kyouko pouted, her full lips forming a perfect frown as she focused on her breakfast while mumbling about business and workaholics.
Satoshi shook his head and continued eating, already picking up his tablet again. "Where's your son?"
"Hmmph! Just so you know, he's your son too. Your only son." She crossed her arms, her breasts pressing against the fabric of her dress.
"Mm... so where is he? Don't tell me all he does is sleep. Just because he's on summer holiday from college doesn't mean he can slack off."
"Hmmph! Ask him yourself. He barely even talks to me."
"Mm..." Satoshi grunted, not looking up from his food.
"Dear?" Kyouko's voice was soft but insistent.
"What now?" Satoshi exhaled sharply, chopsticks pausing mid-air. "If this is about vacation again... No, I don't have time for that."
"Mou! It's not about vacation." Kyouko's lips formed a perfect pout.
"Haaa... fine, what is it?" Satoshi put down his chopsticks with a clink, finally giving her his full attention. "It's really hard to eat in peace around here."
Kyouko leaned forward slightly, her breasts pressing against the table's edge. "You should talk to your son sometimes."
"Huh? About what?" Satoshi's brow furrowed in genuine confusion.
"You know..." Kyouko's voice dropped to a concerned whisper. "He's already 20 this year... but never once have I seen him on the phone with a girl."
Satoshi let out a short, dismissive laugh. "Hah! You want me to talk to him about this? Are you crazy? He's a big boy now. There's no need for us to interfere in his personal affairs."
"Dear!" Kyouko hissed, her voice sharp with frustration.
"What now? Please, just let me eat in peace today," Satoshi grumbled, not looking up from his bowl.
"I'm serious." Kyouko leaned forward. "Our son isn't just handsome, well, thanks to my genes. But seriously, you know that during those three years of high school, he never once talked about girls?"
"Hmm?" Satoshi finally glanced up. "Of course boys don't talk about their girls to their parents."
"You do know that if he really had a girlfriend, even if he didn't talk about it, he'd at least go out once a week on dates!" Kyouko's eyes narrowed, her voice rising slightly.
"Ah... now that you mention it, yeah..." Satoshi's expression shifted to thoughtful concern.
"In those three years, I'm sure he had plenty of chances if he was ever serious about getting a girlfriend. School trips, summer festivals, cultural festivals, sports festivals. Especially Valentine's Day."
"Hah..." Satoshi shook his head with a small smile. "It's like you know so much about that."
"Of course I know." Kyouko's hands gestured animatedly. "Any other boy would have had a girlfriend by the end of high school. Everyone knows that's when it happens, third year, especially from Valentine's Day in February all the way to graduation in March. That's the time. Girls get brave. They give chocolates, they ask for buttons..."
"March is practically confession season! But our son?" Kyouko's voice filled with frustration. "He came home every day with his head in a textbook or a sports bag."
"Do you know how much chocolate he got during his first year, second year, and third year? Kaonji, Haruki's best friend said lots of girls from their class and other classes gave him chocolates. And what did he do for White Day?"
"He went to the 100-yen shop and bought thirty identical packs of cookies. He gave the exact same thing to the girl who spent 5,000 yen on his chocolate and the one who gave him a convenience store bar."
Satoshi laughed. "That's just like Haruki."
"I'm not playing here." Kyouko's eyes narrowed, her voice dropping with seriousness. "Don't forget he's our only son. Don't you want to have an heir?"
"Yeah, now that you mention it." Satoshi finally looked up from his food, meeting her gaze. "But he has an older sister. And we already have one grandchild."
"That's because Satomi ended up pregnant during her high school days!" Kyouko's voice rose slightly. "But still!"
"Fine, fine." Satoshi held up his hands in surrender. "I'll talk to Haruki after this."
Just as they were about to continue, they heard someone coming down the stairs.
Kyouko's eyes flicked toward the doorway. "Here comes your lazy son."
"Hmm? What?" Haruki scratched his head and stomach, then yawned widely. "Mom, stop nagging this early in the morning."
Satoshi gestured to the empty chair beside him. "Sit down, son."
"Hmm? What is this about?" Haruki dropped into the chair, pouring himself coffee mid-yawn.
"Haruki," Satoshi started, his voice serious.
"Yeah, Dad?" Haruki looked between them while slowly sipping his coffee.
"Are you gay?"
Haruki sputtered, coffee spraying as he coughed hard. "What? No!"
( End Of Chapter )