"By the way, Mom, is there a reason you're calling so early?"
Listening to Utaha's cautious voice and seeing her unusually obedient expression, Miyahito, who had seen his girlfriend talk to her mother on the phone more than once, couldn't help but freeze.
.... Mom's call? Auntie's call?
Moving sluggishly, he scanned the room, his gaze inevitably landing on the blanket that still held their body heat from falling asleep together. His brain instantly short-circuited.
At the same time, noticing Utaha's glance, he parted his lips slightly and silently mouthed a sentence.
Auntie's call?
Seeing the mouthed words from her boyfriend, Utaha nodded slowly with a solemn expression.
Yes, it's my mom calling.
Shocked!
A call from the girlfriend's mother first thing in the morning!
Thinking about how he had slept in the same bed with her daughter last night (those with dirty minds, please step aside), and then they were both woken up early by Auntie's sudden call... and apparently, Auntie had almost discovered his existence just now.
For some reason, even though he knew he hadn't done anything wrong and had merely slept in the same bed, Miyahito's entire being became filled with guilt.
Subconsciously, he slid his legs out from under the warm covers, carefully stepping his bare feet onto the slightly cool, fluffy carpet.
Feeling like a thief with a guilty conscience, Miyahito pointed toward the bathroom, signaling to Utaha, who was looking at him, I'll go hide in the bathroom.
Seeing this, for some reason, Utaha's heart grew just as tense as her boyfriend's, and she nodded with utmost seriousness.
Go hide.
Okay.
However, after slipping into the washroom and standing in front of the mirror, Miyahito looked at his reflection and suddenly thought of a question.
Eh, wait, why am I hiding?
Aren't Utaha and I a couple? And it's not like Auntie and Uncle are teleporting to Tokyo right this second to bust down the door...
"So, why am I hiding?"
Frowning at his reflection, Miyahito fell into deep self-doubt.
Meanwhile.
"When are you coming home?"
Unaware that her boyfriend was having an existential crisis in the washroom, Utaha heard her mother's question about her return date. She guiltily averted her gaze and replied in a small voice,
"I-I can't for a while right now.... The publisher still has some, um... work! There's still work left to do!"
"Still work?" On the other end of the line, Utaha's mother frowned, her expression showing a hint of dissatisfaction. "What's going on with Shinobu Publishing? Utaha, aren't you the author?"
"Why would a publisher give a writer so much work?"
"Besides, if Shinobu really gave you so much work that a minor like you has been busy from the end of exams until now, it seems I need to have your father talk to them."
"Eh." Hearing this, Utaha paused, then hurriedly said, "No, no, no need to trouble Dad."
"It's actually not that much. It's mainly because my novel is getting an anime adaptation! So, so...." As she spoke, Utaha's voice gradually grew quieter.
"So, I can probably go home tomorrow."
"Tomorrow, huh." Listening to her daughter, Utaha's mother nodded, her tone softening a bit. "Well, that's acceptable."
"Shinobu is great." Utaha retorted softly, a bit unconvinced. At this moment, she completely failed to realize... if she hadn't just used Shinobu as an excuse to fool her mother and buy more time to stay in Tokyo with Miyahito, her mother, a doctor at Wakō City's Third General Hospital, wouldn't have been angry enough to have her father, a lawyer, step in and have a "talk" with Shinobu on her daughter's behalf.
Hearing her daughter's soft retort, Utaha's mother, sitting in her clinic wearing a white coat, rolled her eyes helplessly and said,
"Then I'll take a day off from the hospital tomorrow. Do you want Dad to pick you up at the station tomorrow?"
"Mhm."
Hearing her mother's words, Utaha, knowing the situation was irreversible, could only reluctantly grit her teeth and agree.
Sigh... I have to go back to Wakō City.
"It's settled then. Once you board the train tomorrow morning, call me or your dad so we can meet you at the station in advance."
"Okay."
"And look at the time! Still not up? Being this lazy as a girl... how will you ever get married...."
".....I got it, I'm getting up right now."
Muttering defiantly in her heart, 'Dear Mom, rest assured, no matter how lazy I am, I'll still get married,' Utaha reluctantly pushed back the covers and stepped onto the soft carpet barefoot, just like Miyahito.
"Go wash up and take a walk outside."
Without even looking, her mom could sense her daughter dawdling. Knowing Utaha's tired, homebody nature perfectly, her mom nagged over the phone.
"It's not that hot in the morning. Put on sunscreen and take a walk in the park, get some sun."
"If you keep refusing to exercise, don't be surprised when you gain weight and start loudly complaining the scale is broken again."
Hearing her mom ruthlessly bring up her dark history, Utaha's face flushed with embarrassment and she protested coquettishly,
"Stop bringing that up!"
"Oh? Trying to deceive yourself?" A playful curve touched Utaha's mom's lips. She twirled the pen in her hand and deliberately used a sing-song tone.
"How about we weigh you as soon as you get back? Oh, and just in case, I'll buy a new scale on the way to pick you up tomorrow?"
"After all, the current one is the same one you swore was 'broken' the last time you used it."
"....."
Catching a faint, eerie grinding sound over the phone, Miyahito, who had just finished washing up, curiously poked his head out to peek into the room.
Seeing his girlfriend gritting her teeth, looking like she wanted to bite someone to death, Miyahito instinctively wiped an internal cold sweat. Then, very carefully, trying not to attract the attention of the enraged Utaha, he quietly withdrew his gaze.
...What on earth did Auntie say?
...
After ending the call with her daughter,
Utaha's mom didn't put the phone back on the desk. Instead, she kept toying with it, replaying the sound of her daughter's voice from the call.
Something felt off.
Why did Utaha sound so guilty?
The next second, the sleepy, gender-ambiguous murmur from the beginning of the call suddenly echoed in her mind.
A strange thought flashed through Utaha's mom's heart.
'Could it be... Utaha is dating? And living with someone?'
Especially that voice, hard to tell if male or female (but leaning slightly male), made her frown deepen.
If it's a guy, that's one thing... Even though cohabiting is still a bit early for her age.
But at least it proves her daughter's orientation is normal.
But if it's a girl...
"After work, I need to have a serious talk with my dear husband."
Utaha's mom's expression grew increasingly heavy as she spoke.