Episode 101: “Kanata, Where’s My Welcome-Home Kiss?”
They say people’s gossip only lasts so long, and it’s true — since that shocking Valentine’s Day, time has passed, and the whispers around the office about Yui-san’s “engagement” have gradually started to fade. It’s April now.
The cold snap this winter, said to be the worst in years, has vanished somewhere without my noticing, and the roadside trees have started putting out their green leaves.
When we closed out March and checked the preliminary profit and loss statement shared from accounting, Yui-san and I hugged each other in celebration.
There will still be year-end adjustments to come, so the exact numbers aren’t finalized yet, but it was clear the results would far exceed the target Yui-san had promised her father.
And now, coming in mid-April, there’s the quarterly “Group Joint Presidents’ Meeting” waiting for us.
It’s a gathering of the presidents of all the subsidiary companies under Ichinose Holdings, essentially a final report meeting on this term’s business performance, directed at the parent company.
Whether Yui-san will remain president of this company into her fourth year is still unknown.
But with April here and a new fiscal year already underway, there’s no time to catch our breath. The work just keeps piling up.
*
Today is Friday.
Yui-san has been buried in preparing materials for the presidents’ meeting.
She said she didn’t want to bring work home, so she told me to go on ahead and wait for her, and I left work right on time and headed to her place.
I thought about killing time at a café while I waited, but Yui-san said she’d be home by nine, so I decided to just take her at her word.
I passed through the ticket gate at the station nearest Yui-san’s place — the one I walked through more times than I can count back in our school days. It was a little dim out, but the days are much longer now than in winter.
A pleasant spring night breeze brushed my cheek. Cherry blossom petals, blown in from who knows where, danced and spun on the wind.
It’s really spring now, huh.
On the way from the station to her house, I stopped by the supermarket we used to walk to together as students.
Mixed in among the housewives doing their evening shopping, phone in hand, I wandered the unfamiliar food aisles.
Checking what I’d need to make tonight’s dinner, I placed each ingredient into the basket one by one, double-checking as I went.
Ground beef and pork mix, onion, shimeji mushrooms, canned tomatoes. I was pretty sure Yui-san already had seasonings at home, so I didn’t need to buy those.
Since I started living on my own, I’ve made an effort to cook for myself when I have the time — but honestly, I don’t have much confidence that what I make is good enough to serve someone else.
I’ve never been good at housework. That hasn’t changed since my school days. But even if I’m not sure I can do it well, the only way forward is to try.
I’ll just start with menus that even a beginner can’t mess up too badly, and work my way up slowly from there.
Even if it doesn’t taste great, surely Yui-san will praise the effort I put in.
Thinking about that, grocery bag in one hand, I walked the rest of the way home.
I slid the key Yui-san gave me for Christmas into the lock and turned it. With a satisfying click, the door opened.
It’s such a small thing, and yet my heart warms up like it’s been touched by spring sunlight.
*
Just before the short hand on the clock hit nine, I heard a clatter from the entryway.
Yui-san was home. I hurried to turn off the stove and, unable to sit still, trotted over to the entrance.
When I opened the door connecting the living room to the hallway, Yui-san looked at me and smiled happily.
Unable to hold back my feelings, I ran over and threw my full weight against her, hugging her.
“Yui-san, welcome home.”
“I’m home, Kanata. Sorry for keeping you waiting.”
Still clinging to her, I nuzzled my cheek against her soft hair. I breathed in her sweet perfume, chest full, pressing our bodies close together.
Back in our school days, I never liked waiting for Yui-san to come home.
Waiting endlessly for her to return from wherever she’d wandered off to, never knowing where — it made something deep in my chest sting, and it hurt.
But it’s different now. Waiting for her to come home to this house, as her girlfriend — I can’t put into words how happy that makes me. The feeling welling up in my chest is beyond anything language can capture.
Since I wouldn’t let go, Yui-san laughed and pressed her lips, still a little cold from outside, gently against my cheek.
Then she pulled my waist in tight, so when her lips came close to mine, I blocked them with my palm and stopped her.
I’d already learned that if I let her kiss me here, I’d end up taking a bath before dinner instead of after, so I put a hand on her shoulder, pushed her back, and quickly put some distance between us.
“…Kanata, where’s my welcome-home kiss?”
Ignoring her pouting complaint, I shook my head side to side.
“I’m cooking right now. I need to get back to the kitchen.”
“Huh?”
“Tonight is hamburger steak simmered in tomato sauce.”
I said it puffing my chest out with confidence, and she seemed to notice I was wearing the yellow apron we’d bought in matching colors the other day, looking at me in surprise.
“It should be about ready soon.”
Yui-san followed behind me back to the kitchen, her slippers making little pattering sounds.
“Wow, it really does smell amazing… Kanata, you made dinner for me?”
I stood back in front of the frying pan and turned the heat on again.
“Well, it doesn’t look that great… it’s my first time, so go easy on me.”
The cooking site said hamburg steak was beginner-friendly, but honestly, the result wasn’t quite what I’d hoped for.
I measured the ingredients and seasonings carefully, so I think the taste is fine, but shaping the patties neatly turned out to be surprisingly difficult for someone as clumsy with her hands as me.
It’s strange. When Yui-san made hamburg steak before, hers came out so neat, but mine are clearly lopsided.
But then, Yui-san’s always been more dexterous than me, so there’s no point comparing. She’s good at cooking, her handwriting is neat, and at night she’s — I stopped myself right there.
What am I even thinking. Lately I feel like I’ve been picking up bad habits from a certain naughty someone.
Yui-san, with apparently not the faintest idea what I’d just been thinking, wrapped her arms around me from behind and peered over my shoulder into the pan, still bubbling away.
“Wow, that looks delicious. I’m getting really hungry now.”
“Cooking is hard. I couldn’t wash dishes while I cooked, the way you do, Yui-san.”
I glanced at the sink, piled high with cookware.
Even while cooking, Yui-san always briskly washes whatever dishes and tools she’s used along the way, so her sink stays clean even after she’s done.
But right now, the kitchen had transformed into a scene of utter devastation.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll clean up later, so let’s eat together while it’s hot.”
Yui-san, seemingly not bothered in the slightest, kissed my cheek happily as she said it, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
We sat down facing each other at the dining table, and Yui-san pressed her hands together with a happy “itadakimasu.”
I watched her, practically boring a hole through her, anxious for her reaction as she took her first bite of the hamburg steak.
“So? How is it?”
“Mm, it’s really good.”
“Really?”
“Really. Try it yourself and you’ll see.”
There was still a chance she was just being kind. What if it actually tasted bad? Worried about that, I took a bite of my own portion.
The flavor, well — I’d followed the recipe, so it wasn’t bad at all. If I just closed my eyes to the slightly misshapen patty, I thought it was pretty good for a first attempt.
All through dinner, Yui-san kept smiling happily at me. Watching her, I felt warm inside too.
Seeing her so pleased, I found myself thinking, just a little regretfully, that I should have tried cooking for her sooner.
The sound of the dishwasher’s water hummed through the room.
After finishing our baths, I claimed the spot between Yui-san’s legs on the sofa.
I turned on the projector and leaned back against her, pulling her arms around me so she’d hold me. Just as I’d hoped, her arms wrapped gently around my body.
Tonight we’d promised to watch a movie together. A little time to heal our hearts after a tiring week of work — just the two of us, watching a film.
I always have hot milk, and Yui-san drinks a highball. That hasn’t changed since our school days either.
“Hey, Kanata.”
Less than ten minutes into the movie, Yui-san suddenly said my name.
“What is it?”
“The presidents’ meeting is next weekend, right? Actually, I’m planning to tell him after that. …My father. About calling off the engagement.”
She murmured it while holding me tightly in her arms.
“And… I’m thinking of talking to Yuki-nii about it beforehand. He’s helped me so much already, and I think he already knows I like you, but… I was wondering if it’s okay to actually put it into words and tell him properly.”
Without meaning to, I turned my whole body around to face her. Startled by my sudden movement, Yui-san’s eyes went wide.
“Yui-san, you knew Yukiya-san already noticed about us!? I thought—”
I clapped a hand over my own mouth partway through. Oh no, that was a slip.
But it was too late. Yui-san’s eyes narrowed, and she gripped my arm firmly so I couldn’t get away.
“…Kanata, how do you know that Yuki-nii noticed?”
“Um, well, that’s…”
“…Don’t tell me you two have been in contact? Was it when you went to deliver the meeting minutes?”
I looked away. I couldn’t say it. That I’d actually known how to reach him for much longer than that…
“It’s just — you know, with everything going on with Kitagami-san, I asked him for a little advice. But that’s all! It’s not like we’re in regular contact or anything.”
At that, Yui-san’s brow furrowed into an unhappy scowl.
Ah, I’d done it now. Yui-san really hates it when I have anything to do with Yukiya-san.
I know it comes from jealousy, but still.
“Kanata.”
“…I’m sorry for not telling you…”
I apologized honestly, and Yui-san let out a long, deep sigh before pulling me into a tight hug from the front.
“I know it’s impossible for you to have nothing to do with him… but please, I’m begging you, never fall for Yuki-nii.”
“That’s never going to happen. He’s your brother, Yui-san.”
“Because I’m genuinely worried, okay? Yuki-nii is a lot like me. You’re not like me — you were originally straight, so… if you ever thought you preferred men after all…”
She nuzzled her face into my neck, sulking as she spoke. Honestly, realizing that was what she’d been worrying about, I couldn’t help but laugh.
I gently stroked her cheek, still pouting, and looked into her dark eyes with affection.
“You’ve got it wrong, Yui-san. I love you as a woman. All of you, gender included — I love every part of you.”
The sulky irritation in her eyes softened at my words, relief settling in.
I kissed her, putting all my apology into it, and she seemed to forgive me, gently stroking my back and holding me close.
“…When you talk to Yukiya-san, can I be there too?”
“Yeah, of course. Let’s go together. When it comes to Shinji, Yuki-nii knows him far better than I do, and we need to think about what to do if things get messy. The more allies we have, the better.”
I nodded firmly.
Kitagami-san is like a persistent, venomous snake. We don’t know him all that well, but Yukiya-san does.
Step by step, the day we’ll finally be free is getting closer. To make sure of it, we should use every card we have.