When the car was halfway to its destination, Kotomi Izumi noticed that they were not heading toward her home.
To reach the Izumi residence from the intersection they had just passed, they needed to turn left. However, Kumi Motokawa had turned right instead. More importantly, there was no road construction nearby, so there was no reason to take a detour.
"Aunt Isshiki, we're going the wrong way. To get to my house, you needed to turn left at that intersection."
Kotomi Izumi assumed Kumi Motokawa had remembered the route incorrectly, so she spoke up to remind her.
Unexpectedly, Kumi Motokawa nodded, then said with a hint of apology:
"Yes, I know. I just received a message from the hospital asking me to return. Apparently, there's an operation scheduled for this afternoon. The patient is someone I've been responsible for treating. Although it isn't a particularly high-risk procedure, I still have to be there.
"I'm truly sorry, Kotomi. I originally planned to take you all the way to your front door, but now I suddenly have to return to the hospital and prepare for surgery. I'll stop the car outside the hospital in a moment. Would you mind walking home with Iroha from there?"
"Oh, I see. I understand. In that case, I'll walk back with Iroha."
Kotomi Izumi nodded in realization and expressed her understanding.
"Thank you. When you have time, remember to come over more often. I'll personally cook for you and let you try your auntie's culinary skills."
Kumi Motokawa thanked her apologetically. At the same time, however, she felt somewhat puzzled. Logically speaking, if there had been an operation requiring her attendance today, she should have been notified by yesterday evening at the latest.
Yet she remembered clearly that she had received no notice whatsoever about preparing for an operation yesterday. None of the nurses at the nurses' station had mentioned it either... Under normal circumstances, Chiba Municipal Hospital could not possibly make such a mistake.
It was almost as though this operation had appeared out of thin air.
After all, if it were an emergency operation that had suddenly become necessary, it should have been performed immediately. There was no reason to wait until the afternoon.
Before leaving work yesterday, the final patient I visited was the very patient they suddenly claim needs surgery today. All of her physical indicators were clearly stable. Even if she needed surgery, it was supposed to happen three days from now. There was no way her condition could have suddenly deteriorated today to the point that emergency surgery was required.
I also happened to glance at the list of surgeons on duty today. Many of them are highly skilled. There's no possibility of a patient needing surgery while no surgeon is available. If something like that actually happened, the hospital director would have to "voluntarily" resign.
I've considered every possibility, yet I still haven't found a reasonable explanation.
So does this operation... truly exist? If it doesn't, why did they suddenly choose this moment to call me back? Is there something they can't tell me over the phone?
Kumi Motokawa maintained a calm expression while continually wondering whether this suddenly arranged operation truly existed.
Kotomi Izumi noticed that something seemed wrong with Kumi Motokawa's expression and couldn't help asking:
"Aunt Isshiki, is something wrong?"
"Huh?"
Only then did Kumi Motokawa return to her senses and realize that she had become so absorbed in thought that a grave expression had appeared on her face.
Not wanting Iroha and Kotomi to worry about her, Kumi Motokawa shook her head and said with a soft laugh:
"It's nothing. Don't worry. I was merely thinking about what to make for dinner tonight. Whenever I start thinking seriously about something, my expression unconsciously becomes stern. It even caused a funny misunderstanding when I was at university.
"During one class, the professor suddenly gave us a short quiz. I answered most of the questions very smoothly, but I hadn't reviewed hypotonic dehydration, which falls under disorders of water and sodium metabolism, particularly well.
"As luck would have it, one of the questions asked us to divide hypotonic dehydration into three degrees according to the severity of sodium deficiency and write down the corresponding blood sodium concentrations.
"I remembered the figures for mild and moderate deficiency, but no matter what I did, I couldn't remember the blood sodium concentration for severe sodium deficiency. So I sat in my chair, staring sternly at the question while repeatedly trying to remember the answer.
"I became so absorbed in thought, and my expression looked so serious, that I frightened the professor at the front of the classroom. He thought I was silently expressing my dissatisfaction with the quiz.
"Still, thinking about the problem with such a stern expression ultimately did help me remember the blood sodium concentration for severe sodium deficiency. It was below 120 mmol/L."
"That already sounds incredibly complicated..." Kotomi Izumi shrank back slightly and laughed awkwardly.
"That's only one of the most basic points. Had you seen the textbooks I used at university, you would have discovered that every single one was extremely thick. They weren't only thick either. They were packed densely with all kinds of information. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that every single point in those books had to be learned and committed to memory.
"Kotomi, you'll enter your second year of high school in the latter half of next year, right? Your high-school years pass very quickly. Once you reach your second year in particular, time seems to accelerate. In the blink of an eye, you'll be a third-year student. Blink again, and you'll be filling out your university entrance applications.
"When the time comes to choose your university major, you must think carefully before acting. Never study medicine merely because you think being a doctor looks impressive. Nor should you become a doctor simply because someone else says it's a good career.
"As the saying goes, whoever persuades another person to study medicine deserves to be struck by lightning, while whoever persuades another person to study civil engineering deserves to die ten thousand deaths.
"Actually, studying medicine is still somewhat better. Persuading someone to study civil engineering is unquestionably a wicked act that will ruin their entire life. Even after death, the culprit deserves to go straight to hell."
Although Kumi Motokawa had no idea which university or major Kotomi intended to pursue in the future, as a surgeon, she still offered her own advice: do not study medicine.
"Hehehe, I really did consider studying medicine before. Now that I've heard all that, I think I'll forget about it." Kotomi Izumi laughed and committed Kumi Motokawa's advice to memory.
"Was it because you watched a television drama about doctors and thought being one looked impressive?" Kumi Motokawa asked with a smile.
"Although I really like The White Tower, what I actually wanted to study before was forensic medicine. I've loved watching mystery dramas ever since I was little," Kotomi Izumi said.
"Forensic medicine... I don't know much about it, but I once bought several forensic medicine books out of curiosity, including Illustrated Guide to Forensic Autopsies and Illustrated Guide to Postmortem Changes. The photographs inside are extremely clear and detailed, and the written descriptions are very precise. If you truly want to study forensic medicine, I can lend you those books. Read through them first. If you can calmly make it from the first page to the last and still feel like eating afterward, then perhaps you really are suited to forensic medicine."
"No, thank you! Compared to becoming a forensic pathologist, I'd much rather enjoy delicious food!"
Kotomi Izumi hurriedly shook her head and declined Kumi Motokawa's kind offer.
As they chatted, the car arrived outside Chiba Municipal Hospital.
...
After Kotomi Izumi and Iroha Isshiki got out of the car, Kumi Motokawa still felt uneasy. She lowered the window and said:
"You two must be careful on the way home. Remember to send me a message once you arrive."
"Understood. Thank you for your concern, Aunt Isshiki."
"Mom, will you still come home for lunch?" Iroha Isshiki asked.
"I probably won't be able to. At noon, I'll ask one of the nurses to pick up a boxed meal for me from the hospital cafeteria. Iroha, once you get home, open the refrigerator. There's already black-pepper beef and braised eggplant inside. Heat them in a pan, then cook yourself some rice. Remember to be careful with the stove while reheating the dishes. I originally planned to cook lunch for you today, but it seems I'll have to wait until tonight."
Kumi Motokawa gave her instructions, then sighed helplessly:
"I truly don't understand what the hospital was thinking when it arranged this operation. I'm still on leave, and the hospital certainly isn't lacking surgeons capable of performing it. Why did they insist on calling me back? They should show at least some respect for a doctor's time off. I've already been working overtime for several weeks straight. I'd clearly decided to spend more time with my daughter during my days off and cook her a few more delicious meals."
"Maybe there's some reason they absolutely need you to be there. Mom, good luck at work! I'll make dinner tonight!" Iroha Isshiki said with a warm smile, encouraging Kumi Motokawa.
Her words immediately lifted Kumi Motokawa's mood from the resentment brought on by yet more overtime.
Perhaps this is what it feels like to work hard for your daughter. As long as I remember that all my hard work is for her sake, I can devote myself to my job with even greater determination. It isn't because I enjoy working overtime. It's because I understand that every extra hour I work is meant to give my daughter a better life...
Kumi Motokawa thought to herself, then smiled at Iroha Isshiki with great satisfaction and said:
"I never expected that I, the mother, would already be encouraged twice by you, my daughter. The first time, you encouraged me to bravely pursue your father. Had you not encouraged me back then, I might still not have made up my mind to tell him how I felt.
"I'm simply the sort of weak person who may continue hesitating in the same place forever unless someone gives me a push from behind.
"And now you've encouraged me again. Hahaha, it seems I still have many areas where I need to improve as a mother."
"Mom, you're already doing wonderfully."
"No, there are still many things I need to improve. I'll work hard to become an exceptional mother. Only then will I be worthy of every time you call me 'Mom.' Be careful on your way home."
Kumi Motokawa drove toward the hospital parking lot, while Kotomi Izumi and Iroha Isshiki left the entrance of Chiba Municipal Hospital.
"Aunt Isshiki really is working hard to become a mother," Kotomi Izumi remarked as they walked.
"Mom is sometimes far too demanding of herself. Unless she's overwhelmed with work, she always finds time during the day to come home and cook for me. I've told her countless times that she doesn't need to come home and cook when she's busy because I know how to cook for myself. But Mom still rushes home every time. She doesn't only prepare one meal either. She makes an extra portion for lunch or dinner as well," Iroha Isshiki said.
"That's because Aunt Kumi gets nervous too."
"Nervous?" Iroha Isshiki did not understand what Kotomi meant.
"Yes, nervous. Aunt Kumi has never dated anyone or been married before, so naturally, she doesn't know how to be a mother. That's why she tries to do every single thing a mother should do as perfectly as possible. She wants you to regard her as your mother from the bottom of your heart, and she wants to make up for the maternal love you never received before on behalf of your birth mother.
"I think that's also why she was moved to tears when you started calling her Mom ahead of time.
"Changing how you addressed her proved that you had already accepted her as your mother in your heart and regarded her as family. It also meant that her efforts hadn't been wasted, so she resolved to do even better from then on."
"So that's how it is..."
Kotomi Izumi shrugged at that moment and said with a light laugh, "I think any stepfather or stepmother who sincerely wanted a child's acceptance would do the same. Suppose I became some child's stepmother one day. I might act exactly like Aunt Kumi."
"Huh?!"
Iroha Isshiki, who normally loved teasing Kotomi, was genuinely startled by those words. She did not know whether Kotomi had simply made a casual joke or whether she had used a hypothetical statement to voice something she had been considering for a long time. If it was the latter...
Iroha Isshiki became utterly flustered. Even her voice changed slightly because of her nervousness.
"S-Senpai, whose stepmother are you planning to become?"
Kotomi Izumi felt both irritated and amused by Iroha Isshiki's reaction. She had merely made a hypothetical remark, yet little Iroha had taken it seriously.
Why are you never this innocent when you're teasing me? Kotomi Izumi thought with helpless amusement. At the same time, she reached out and flicked Iroha Isshiki on the forehead before saying irritably:
"You really know how to let your imagination run wild. Don't tell me you thought I was using a hypothetical sentence to reveal something I've been thinking about for a long time?"
Although I really do want to become Yuka's stepmother... Kotomi Izumi silently added in her heart.
"Mm—who told you to sound so serious when you said it, Senpai? You made me start wondering whether I should strike first and forcibly get you pregnant so you can become a mother. That way, you won't become some other child's stepmother."
Iroha Isshiki tilted her head, a smile playing at the corners of her lips. Kotomi knew that whenever the little devil wore that expression, it meant she was probably about to tease her. Yet Kotomi found it difficult to raise her defenses against the little devil at that moment because she had to admit that Iroha truly looked beautiful when she smiled.
The most compelling proof was Kotomi Izumi's rapidly pounding heart.
At the same time, Iroha Isshiki's words made Kotomi's cheeks burn.
"W-What are you saying? Show some respect! I'm your senpai!"
Kotomi Izumi blushed and babbled incoherently, then hurried several steps ahead. Even though Iroha Isshiki had already seen her embarrassed expression, Kotomi stubbornly believed that taking a few steps forward would prevent Iroha from seeing how flustered she was now.
"Senpai, if that's truly what you think, why have your cheeks turned so red? You must be blushing because you're embarrassed, right?"
"This isn't embarrassment. It's the sunset! The evening sunlight is shining on my face!"
When little Kotomi became extremely embarrassed, she easily began spouting nonsense. Just like now, when it was barely late morning, yet she stubbornly claimed the blush on her cheeks came from the setting sun shining on her face.
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