"Then show me your phone." Kyouko extended her palm toward Haruki, fingers wiggling expectantly.
"What? No! No way I'm showing my phone to you, Mom!" Haruki glared playfully at her.
"Oh~ you hear that, dear? Our Haruki really is gay." Kyouko took out her handkerchief and pretended to sob dramatically, dabbing at dry eyes. "Looks like we won't be having any grandchild from our only son."
Haruki exhaled loudly, running a hand through his messy hair. "No... I already said I'm not!"
"Then show me your phone!" Kyouko peeked over her handkerchief with a sly side-glare. "Or perhaps you're scared to show it because you kept those muscle man videos or pictures? Or maybe your phone wallpaper is a big bulky muscle guy."
"Wha? No! Ugh!" Haruki yanked his phone from his pocket and put it on the table. "Here! Check everything! Ugh! So annoying."
Kyouko snatched his phone and tried to open it. The screen remained locked. "It's locked!"
"Ugh! Give it to me." Haruki tapped in his password with quick, irritated movements and handed it back to Kyouko.
"Why not show me the password? What's the password?"
"Ugh! You don't need to know. I already opened it and all my social media is there. Just tap it open and you'll see." Haruki sighed, drinking his coffee slowly while avoiding her eyes.
Kyouko looked at his phone wallpaper, a picture of her with Haruki during his graduation day, her hand around his arm.
"Oh my~ dear. Look at this." Kyouko's voice softened, her finger tracing the screen. "My baby boy~"
Satoshi just shook his head and continued checking his work tablet, breakfast finished.
Kyouko tapped open his LINE messages first, scrolling through the list.
"Oh? You have a lot of messages from girls from high school, huh? Why do you never reply?"
Haruki sighed, staring into his coffee cup. "Not interested."
"Oh my! Someone even put a hint of confession here." Kyouko's eyes widened as she read. "This last message from 2 years ago? Seriously?"
"Ugh, Mom! Stop being annoying and check all my social media. See if I saved or bookmarked any bulky muscle guy like you said earlier."
"Who is this girl?" Kyouko held up the phone, showing a profile picture.
"Ugh! That's my classmate, Kotori. Super annoying. Always changes boyfriends every 3 months."
"Oh..." Kyouko scrolled further. "And who is this one?"
"That's Sayuri... mouth like a chicken butt, babbling and annoying, non-stop gossip."
"This one?" Kyouko showed another LINE profile, the one who had messaged Haruki.
"Girl from next class. Sakura. Social one."
"It seems like you have a lot of girls with crushes on you. Why not at least try to go out with at least one of them?"
"Hah! It's annoying, and more like... they're not my taste."
Kyouko kept checking the phone, opening the gallery next.
"You didn't even have a single picture with any of your school friends?" She glanced up at him. "Girls, I mean."
"Hah? No." Haruki said while scooping fried noodles onto his plate. "Besides, what for?"
Kyouko exhaled. "You should treat girls who have crushes on you better. They're not nothing."
Haruki shook his head, picked up his chopsticks, and clapped his hands together.
"Itadakimasu."
"Yeah, yeah, Mom... whatever. If you're done checking, hand over my phone. What kind of mother checks her adult son's phone?" Haruki chuckled while starting to eat.
"You're not an adult until you have a girlfriend."
Haruki narrowed his eyes at Kyouko. "What kind of lame logic is that?"
Kyouko exhaled and opened one of the folders inside Haruki's phone, noticing a girl's picture.
"Oh... you have..." Kyouko was about to say "girl photo" when she realized.
It was her photo with Haruki. She chuckled, seeing her picture with Haruki grumbling, looking like he'd been forced to take it.
"How did you get this picture, Haruki?"
Haruki exhaled. "What? You posted it in the family group so you could share it with Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt, and Uncle. Of course it auto-saved to my phone."
"Oh, right~" Kyouko smiled, then glanced over at him. "Why did you keep it?"
"Hmm? If you don't like it, just delete it, Mom. Like I care."
While Satoshi kept his focus on his tablet, he suddenly noticed the time.
"Oh? I'm going to be late if I don't go now."
Kyouko put down the phone and handed it back to Haruki, standing up to prepare Satoshi's bag and accompany him toward the door. Haruki took the phone and slipped it back into his pocket.
Kyouko waited at the doorway while her husband put on his shoes and stood up.
"Dear~" Kyouko puckered her lips, but Satoshi just shook his head.
"We're already too old for that."
Kyouko pouted. "We're not! See this curvy body? Hmm?" She placed her hands on her hips, emphasizing her narrow waist and full hips, then bent over slightly to show off her deep cleavage. "See this~"
Satoshi narrowed his eyes. "Crazy woman. I'm going! Where are my car keys?"
"Mou! At least a kiss on the cheek! It's been so long since we even kissed."
Satoshi just ignored her, heading to his car and getting inside. He started the engine, waited for the gate to fully open, then reversed out without another glance.
( End Of Chapter )