That night.
After dinner.
"Mom? You're not sleeping?" Haruki asked as he passed the living room, seeing Kyouko sitting there wearing cute animal pajamas, a soft pink set with bunny ears on the hood.
"Mm... not yet, Haruki. I'm waiting for your father to come home." Kyouko glanced up from the book she was reading with a beautiful smile.
Haruki exhaled. "Do you want me to wait with you? Or maybe I should stay up instead so you can rest?"
Kyouko shook her head gently and smiled. "No need, Haruki. You can go sleep first. Besides, I have something important to ask your father."
"Oh? What is it?"
"You don't need to know. It's for adults only." Kyouko chuckled, her eyes sparkling with playful secrecy.
Haruki narrowed his eyes and glared playfully at Kyouko. "I'm also an adult, Mom." He flexed his bicep, the muscle clearly defined beneath his sleeve. "See this? Hmm?" Haruki wiggled his eyebrows playfully.
Kyouko laughed softly and shook her head. "Enough with the playing, Haruki. Go upstairs and sleep~"
"Alright, Mom. Don't stay up too late."
"Mm... I won't. I'm sure your father will arrive soon."
"Alright... good night, Mom~"
"Good night, Haruki."
She watched him head upstairs before returning to her book, occasionally glancing at the clock.
Haruki headed upstairs, but paused halfway, glancing back at Kyouko sitting alone in the dimly lit living room. She looked small and vulnerable in her cute pajamas, waiting for a husband who rarely came home at a reasonable hour.
She's always waiting for him...
Lucky Father has a beautiful wife like her, beautiful, loyal, caring, always waiting patiently no matter how late he comes home.
If she were mine, I'd never leave her waiting alone like this. I'd come home early every night just to be with her.
Haruki shook his head and continued to his room.
Kyouko yawned softly, her eyes feeling heavy.
She closed the book and put it down on the coffee table.
She glanced up at the wall clock.
12:39 AM
Satoshi's always late. I wonder what keeps him so busy?
Despite being the owner of the company, he rarely comes home early. Even on weekends, he's always at the office or "business meetings."
She heard a car sound outside.
Kyouko stood and padded to the front door in her soft bunny slippers, pressing the gate button on the wall panel. She opened the front door, the cool night air brushing her face.
Satoshi's car lights cut through the darkness as he pulled into the driveway. The engine died, and he stepped out, looking tired and rumpled.
"Welcome home, dear~" Kyouko smiled, reaching for his work bag as he extended it, already loosening his tie with his free hand.
"You're still awake this late?" Satoshi asked, his voice flat.
"Mm... I was waiting for you." Her voice was soft, hopeful.
"Hmm." Satoshi just walked past Kyouko without looking at her, removing his shoes with quick, jerky motions.
Kyouko closed the door slowly, her smile fading slightly as she pressed the gate button on the wall to close the outside gate.
"Did you eat? Need me to warm some food for you?"
"No need. I already ate before coming home." His voice was clipped, dismissive.
"Okay..." Kyouko's smile faltered slightly as she placed his work bag on the table. "Dear... I want to talk about something."
"What now? I'm tired..."
"Just for a moment. This is about our son."
"Kyouko, can we discuss it in the morning during breakfast? I'm tired and I want to sleep." Satoshi said while removing his coat as Kyouko took it from him.
Kyouko smelled something fragrant. "Dear?"
"What now?"
"Why do I smell women's perfume on your coat?"
Satoshi's eyes widened and he fell silent for a moment, his back stiffening.
"Ah... that's... a tester... our new product at the company... you know..."
"Hmm? Your company makes perfume now?" Kyouko tilted her head, confused. "I thought you only dealt with construction materials."
"Y...yeah..." Satoshi said while continuing to walk upstairs, his pace quickening. "We're... expanding."
"Oh..." Kyouko shrugged and put a hanger on his coat, hanging it up the moment they stepped inside their room. The scent lingered in the air, foreign and unsettling.
"I'm tired now... so I'm going to sleep."
"You're not going to shower first?"
"No... I'll do that tomorrow."
"Mm... okay." Kyouko's shoulders slumped slightly as she watched him crawl into bed without even changing clothes, turning his back to her side of the bed.
Satoshi is always like this. Every day since Haruki was born till now.
Kyouko sighed and headed out of her room, padding across the hallway to Haruki's room in her soft bunny slippers.
She opened the door quietly and looked at Haruki already asleep on the bed, his chest rising and falling in steady rhythm.
Kyouko walked toward the bed and adjusted his blanket, tucking it around his shoulders.
"Goodnight, Haruki," she whispered with a soft smile.
Just as she was about to turn and head out, she noticed Haruki's laptop was open on his desk, the screen still glowing.
Hmm? Is Haruki working on his school assignment? Or something?
She looked at it more closely. Stocks? Market?
Kyouko tilted her head in confusion.
Is Haruki on a business course at university?
I thought he took computer science?
And what is this? Kyouko looked at the numbers on the screen, charts, graphs, and figures that looked like financial data.
Well... I don't know what this is, as long as it's not a porn website~
Kyouko chuckled softly and shook her head, a fond smile touching her lips.
I guess I'll just leave his laptop on. He must have fallen asleep while studying.
Kyouko smiled and slowly walked toward the door, gently closing it behind her with a soft click.
After that, she headed toward her room and saw her husband already snoring hard, his back still turned to the side of the bed.
Kyouko shook her head and lay down next to him, pulling up the blanket and turning to face the other side.
Later I'm going to ask Satoshi about Haruki.
Kyouko smiled in the darkness. Haruki's really studying hard. From middle school till now, he's always been so focused and responsible.
I wonder what makes him so driven? He's always been mature for his age, taking care of things without being asked. Even when he was little, he was always looking out for me.
Maybe it's because he wants to be different from Satoshi. More present, more reliable.
Whatever the reason, I'm proud of him. He's growing into such a wonderful man.
Kyouko closed her eyes, her thoughts drifting between pride for her son and the familiar loneliness of her marriage bed.
( End Of Chapter )