Out of the corner of his eye, he stole a glance at Chouko standing behind the young woman. When Harutaki noticed that familiar sparkle of expectation and longing in her eyes, he could not help letting out a quiet sigh in his heart.
He had seen that look far too many tis.
Once, it had been his father and mother’s expectations. The hopes of relatives, friends, teachers, classmates. Even Nogami and his younger sisters had looked at him that way before.
He understood better than anyone that a person’s abilities were limited. No one could possibly fulfill every expectation placed upon them. And now, whenever he encountered such gazes, all he felt was an inexplicable weariness.
Harutaki was willing to shoulder responsibility. He was not afraid of it.
But what he hoped for was never to shoulder everyone’s responsibility.
The thought of such a future felt unbearable. Especially the weight of Nogami and Chouko. It was frighteningly heavy.
Still, he would not run.
He had to make the girl understand that the only one who could save her was herself. And perhaps that was precisely the outco Chouko’s mother, and the Shihou family as a whole, wished to see.
After all, no distinguished household would want its heir to be a spineless coward with no opinions of her own, afraid to take responsibility and clinging to others for support.
The closer Chouko grew to him, the more she depended on him, the farther apart they would ultimately beco.
So he had to seize this opportunity and guide her.
Just as he had done that morning during Golden Week, on his date with Nogami and the others.
“I imagine, Auntie, that you’re well aware of your daughter’s wishes and thoughts, aren’t you?”
“She’s said she wants to remain in Tokyo.”
“As her mother, I’m sure you’re thinking of what’s best for her… But if you ignore her will and force her into sothing she doesn’t want, can she truly feel happy? Can she truly feel fulfilled?”
When he spoke those words, he saw Chouko’s eyes suddenly light up. The bright, buoyant smile blooming across her lovely face was impossible to miss. Even the small beauty mark above the left corner of her lips seed to beam at him.
And yet, the happier she looked in that mont, the heavier his heart beca.
The image of her inevitable disappointnt surfaced in his mind. The way her face would fall, the despair in her eyes.
Don’t soften. Don’t indulge her.
He repeated the words to himself. When the ti ca, he absolutely had to hold back his emotions. One impulsive move, and all of today’s efforts would crumble to dust.
Between him and Chouko stood a towering wall nad “family.”
Or perhaps, more accurately, “fate.”
Whether that wall could be crossed might not depend on him at all, but on Chouko herself. Or perhaps on whether her mother was willing to beco the ladder that helped her scale it.
To be honest, everything had happened so suddenly. Though Harutaki had analyzed and pieced together the likely intentions of Chouko’s mother and the family, he still had not found the optimal answer.
But ti waited for no one. Once an opportunity slipped by, it was often gone forever.
All he could do was adapt on the fly. Like the exam techniques his teachers always drilled into him: finish the easier questions first, then use whatever ti remained to tackle the difficult ones.
“As a mother, ignoring Chouko’s wishes… You make it sound so simple. Hoshikawa-kun, since you ask such a question, I assu you understand what Chouko is truly seeking?”
“Freedom.”
“Heh…”
Shouko let out a faint, disdainful laugh.
“Everyone shouts about ‘freedom.’ It’s practically a universal word. But most people think freedom ans doing whatever they want, free from any constraints at all.”
“What she wants isn’t that kind of freedom. She just wants to live the life of an ordinary girl.”
“If that’s the case, who will shoulder the responsibilities she was born to bear? To enjoy the privileges her status affords her, yet refuse the obligations that co with it… Does she truly deserve to pursue freedom?”
“….”
It was an accusation he could not answer.
A person could not choose their birth. And rights and obligations often followed from that very mont, bound to them for life.
Chouko had chased after “sothing genuine” and “freedom,” quarreled fiercely with her family, and even ran away from ho. Her courage, her willingness to resist, was admirable.
But as her mother had said—
She had enjoyed the privileges of her position while attempting to escape her duties.
“If soone wants to pursue freedom, what do you think is the prerequisite?”
“A material foundation strong enough to support it…”
“At Chouko’s current standard of living, can she afford her own expenses? Eighty thousand yen in rent. Fourteen thousand in utilities and internet. Sixty thousand for food. Seven thousand for transportation…”
Shouko paused, calculating.
“That cos to 161,000 yen. And that’s without counting shopping or entertainnt. Do you know how much she charged to her credit card this past month?”
Harutaki thought back to shopping trips with Chouko and Nogami. He nad what he believed to be an already generous estimate.
“Um… 300,000 yen?”
“Seven hundred and sixty thousand.”
That was nearly four months of inco for an average worker.
He swallowed and looked wordlessly at the girl half-hiding behind her mother.
“….”
Chouko lowered her head, fidgeting.
“I… I just happened to want a handbag…”
Right.
You want freedom?
Harutaki thought she might need a proper reality check first.
“Expenses can be reduced. And as long as her grades are solid, Nichiya High allows part-ti work.”
“To give up the food she likes, the clothes and costics and bags she wants. To juggle school while enduring low wages and heavy workloads from a part-ti job… No one is kind enough to hire a pretty but useless high school girl. At that point, Hoshikawa-kun, can you provide her the freedom she desires? Can you guarantee that in this ‘free life’ she won’t be hurt, and will remain happy?”
He couldn’t.
Not because he didn’t want to.
But because he had no proof that would convince Shouko.
And more importantly, this was a mother genuinely thinking of her daughter’s wellbeing. Not soone controlling her child like a puppet while claiming it was “for their own good.”
Two years ago, she had allowed her daughter to run away from ho without cutting off financial support. She seed indifferent on the surface, yet the mont that scumbag Yobitani’s incident ca to light, she acted imdiately.
By those standards, her decisions had been almost faultless.
“Perhaps I don’t know how your parents raised you,” Shouko continued gently, “but as a mother, I have a responsibility not only to respect Chouko’s will and freedom, but also to guide her and protect her from harm. I already gave her one chance, and I told her much the sa thing. She’s a smart child. She knew she couldn’t refute , so she resorted to tantrums and argunts to avoid the issue.”
As a mother, her choice was beyond reproach.
Was Chouko’s will and freedom important?
Yes. Harutaki believed so.
But was her safety and her future any less important?
This was not a question with two options where only one could be right. It was a question with two correct answers.
And whoever made the choice would have to bear the consequences.
Moreover, Shouko had repeatedly emphasized her position “as a mother.” It was a reminder: he had no standing to refute her.
What was he to Chouko?
What right did he have to intervene in the Shihou family’s affairs?
What qualification did he have to challenge the decision of the woman who gave birth to her?
They were both still minors. They did not possess the firm footing required to oppose a guardian.
“Hoshikawa-kun, you are an excellent and intelligent young man.”
Seeing him fall silent, Shouko exhaled softly.
“And Chouko is willful and stubborn. In the past, no matter what I said, she ignored it. She broke rules and defied adults. Yet now she can remain calm and even follow back to Kyoto against her own wishes. That must be your influence.”
In truth, after observing his behavior, his deanor, and the flow of their conversation, she no longer felt any aversion toward him.
If anything, she found herself thinking, If only he were my son.
Pleasant appearance. Interesting personality. Sharp mind. And most importantly, though only sixteen and the sa age as her daughter, he was mature, steady, and far more rational than boys his age.
From that perspective…
A boy with such an obvious bright future, who liked her daughter and was liked in return, might not be a bad candidate for a son-in-law.
Of course, such matters were not hers alone to decide. Not even as Chouko’s mother.
When she thought of her grandmother, Chouko’s great-grandmother, the current head of the Shihou family, she quietly sighed.
Neither she nor Chouko possessed the right or the power to defy the family head’s will.
Returning from her wandering thoughts, she softened her tone.
“Perhaps you knew from the start how this debate would end. But this is a Shihou family matter. Outsiders may not interfere.”
Then she changed the subject.
“However, since you rescued Chouko from that scoundrel, you have done our family a great service. If you ever have the chance, please visit Kyoto. The Shihou family will offer a reward that satisfies you.”
A reward?
Can you give your daughter?
Harutaki forced a helpless smile, joking inwardly to console himself.
As expected, he had no chance of winning from the beginning.
If she had bluntly said, “What right does an outsider have to ddle in our affairs?” he would not even have been granted this conversation.
Still, his earlier efforts had not been in vain.
He had sparked her interest. They had exchanged thoughts. She understood his feelings toward her daughter.
Judging by her final attitude, she did not reject his contact with Chouko. In fact, she seed to hold a slight fondness for him.
Very well.
If Shouko had drawn a satisfying conclusion to their discussion, then it was his turn to conclude this eting.
“I wish you and Shihou a safe journey, Auntie Shihou. Since ti was short and I couldn’t prepare much, I had to make do with sothing on hand as a small parting gift.”
He pulled a square box from his backpack, black with gold accents. The gilded letters on its surface revealed its origin:
“New York Perfect Cheese.”
A confection sold only at Tokyo Station, Haneda Airport, and Keio Departnt Store. It could at least pass as a “Tokyo specialty.”
Shouko paused in surprise before smiling faintly.
“Thank you. You really are an interesting child.”
Perhaps a bit cheeky, like her daughter. But in how he handled himself, how he treated others, how he conducted his affairs, he far surpassed Chouko.
If at first she had felt concern and dislike, now she thought—
This boy was fully qualified to date her daughter.
Even the earlier broadcast incident and crude jokes seed, in hindsight, almost charming.
A boy like this might truly be able to bring Chouko happiness in the future.
“Hoshikawa-kun, do rember to co visit Kyoto soti.”
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