The Kita Household.
Since no one in the family was working overtime, dinner was a little earlier than usual that evening.
In her room, Kita lay sprawled across her bed.
Just as her mother called her out for dinner, her phone suddenly buzzed.
Startled, she sat up and lit up the screen.
When she saw a message from Aoki Kei, her eyes brightened.
Without hesitation, she fired off a reply:
———————————————————————
[Just a sec, Kei-senpai! I'll ask my parents and get back to you ASAP!]
———————————————————————
A second later, a new message popped up:
———————————————————————
[Kei-senpai]: No worries, I'm not in a rush.
———————————————————————
Kita responded with a quick "Got it!" then tucked her phone away, slid off the bed, and padded out of her room in slippers with a soft pat-pat of urgency.
She knew the saying "the early bird gets the worm," and she wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away.
Even if a small part of her felt guilty, getting ahead of everyone else meant she wouldn't lose—no matter what.
———————————————————————
At the dinner table.
After sitting down and taking a few bites, Kita Ikuyo casually dropped her question.
"Hey Mom, are there any decent rental apartments nearby? Something affordable and livable?"
As she asked, she popped a bite of food into her mouth and looked across the table at her mother.
"There are a few...," her mom responded, pausing before raising a brow. "But why are you asking?"
Ikuyo's father also glanced her way, puzzled.
"Uh... well..."
Caught off guard by the question, Kita fumbled a little.
She hadn't really prepared an excuse ahead of time.
Looking away, she mumbled, "It's just... a friend of mine is looking to move nearby. Closer to school and all... so I thought I'd check."
Her dad squinted suspiciously.
But her mom? She read right through it.
"A friend? You mean that Aoki Kei senpai of yours, right?"
She had raised Ikuyo from childhood, and she could read her daughter like a book.
In fact, after that boy named Aoki Kei showed up at their door the other day, and considering how strange Ikuyo had been acting since then, she'd already guessed something was up.
Maybe Ikuyo had overheard something that day.
Maybe something happened between them afterwards.
Strict as she might be, Ikuyo's mom was surprisingly open-minded when it came to romance—as long as the guy wasn't a total jerk.
If he had a decent personality, good manners, and some ability to back it up, she had no problem with it.
And that Aoki Kei...
Polite, well-spoken, persuasive.
Gentle—he'd gone out of his way for Ikuyo, even though they were "just friends."
Talented—the song "Fireworks" had blown her away, and honestly, it helped change her views on her daughter being in a band.
And thanks to Kei's tutoring, Ikuyo had even improved her grades on the recent school test.
This boy was impressive.
Yes, she could accept him.
But—
Ikuyo's father had no idea about any of this.
When he heard the name "Aoki Kei," he set his chopsticks down and frowned.
"Aoki Kei... That sounds like a boy's name, doesn't it?"
"Dad! That's not important! He's just a senpai in my band, okay? There's nothing going on!"
Panicking, Ikuyo blurted everything out before he could even start grilling her.
Her father paused, then suddenly looked like he'd aged ten years in an instant.
His face wore the expression of a man realizing... his little girl was growing up.
"Don't look so dramatic," Ikuyo's mom snapped, giving him a light smack on the shoulder.
Then she turned back to her daughter, her tone firm.
"I don't care where you and that boy stand right now—but I'm telling you: no accidents, got it? You're still too young to be irresponsible. If you're serious about helping him find a place nearby, do you want my help?"
Ikuyo, who had been bracing for a scolding, blinked in surprise.
Then her cheeks turned bright red.
"No, no! It's nothing like that! We're just friends! And no need to help, really!"
Embarrassed, she quickly waved her hands and shook her head.
Her mom nodded, though with a suspiciously neutral face.
Her dad, meanwhile, sat there with a dead look in his eyes, mechanically chewing his food like a man who'd just lost something precious.
After dinner, Kita returned to her room, her cheeks still a little flushed.
Flopping back onto her bed, she took a deep breath and opened her chat with Kei on LINE.
Hesitating a moment, she typed:
———————————————————————
[Kei-senpai, I got some info about the apartments nearby. But there are a lot of categories, so explaining might be kind of long.]
———————————————————————
Her mom had mentioned different types—price ranges, apartment layouts, whether they were studios or one-bedrooms.
Kita had paid close attention, but summarizing all that in text would take a while.
She braced herself to start typing a long message.
But then Kei replied first:
———————————————————————
[Kei-senpai]: Oh, right! You said you wanted to go shopping tomorrow, didn't you? What if we meet a little earlier and check out apartments before that?
———————————————————————
Lying on her bed, Kita stared at the message. Her eyes focused on one part in particular:
"a little earlier"
That meant... she'd get to spend more time with Kei-senpai!
Without a second thought, she typed her reply:
———————————————————————
[No problem at all, Kei-senpai!]
[Kei-senpai]: Hmm... how about 8 a.m. then?]
———————————————————————
She smiled as she sent a sticker of a bunny nodding and hugging a carrot.
———————————————————————
[Kei-senpai]: Then I'll be counting on you tomorrow.]
———————————————————————
Rolling onto her back, Kita held her phone up above her and stared at the messages.
Without even realizing it, a small smile curled at the corners of her lips.
———————————————————————
[It's no trouble! I'm just glad I can help!]
———————————————————————