Chapter 9 : 10 Years Old, Aki’s Possessiveness Slowly Begins…? (4)

“How about you come live with me in Japan?”

Immediately after Aki’s mother, Fujiwara Iroha, dropped that bombshell question.

The reactions of Aki and I were completely different.

“……!”

“……Eh?”

I, who had been listening to their conversation from a step behind, flinched as I thought, ‘Did I hear that right?’ Aki, on the other hand, seemed bewildered by her mother’s sudden offer and made a dazed sound.

Then, while glancing at me, who was slightly shocked, Aki hesitantly opened her mouth.

“Japan…….. Uh, when?”

“The date when I have to board the plane is exactly three days from now. So, it will probably be around then?”

“T, three days from now?!”

Since Aki’s mother couldn’t speak Korean, all conversations were in Japanese.

However, I had learned Japanese from Aki and could do simple conversations, so I could tell that Aki’s mother had suggested to Aki, ‘How about you come live with me in Japan?’, and that the date of her return to Japan was three days from now.

“……Mama!”

Aki turned her head sharply.

“Then what about Woo-juchan? Will Aki not be able to see Woo-juchan anymore?”

“No, that’s not it. Just because you live in Japan doesn’t mean you can’t ever come back to Korea. You can come to Korea and play together sometimes.”

“How often, how often will that be?”

“Well, because I have work, it might be 3 months if it’s short. If it’s long, it might be about 5~6 months?”

“Huh? Five or six months…?”

Aki’s mouth dropped open.

Five or six months is almost half a year, and if work piled up, it could be longer than that.

Six months, or a year. Maybe we wouldn’t be able to see each other for even longer.

……..

One question flashed through my mind.

That question was:

‘If Aki goes to Japan with her mother.’

If that happened, would Aki and I not be able to see each other anymore…?

“……”

As soon as an ominous thought popped up, Aki, as if she was thinking the same thing as me, met my gaze.

And Fujiwara Iroha, Aki’s mother, who was quietly looking down at us, or rather, Aki.

‘……Yeah, if I start going in the right direction even now.’

She thought about the loneliness and sadness that 6-year-old Aki, who was still at an age where she would miss her mother’s arms, felt while living in a foreign country, not her home country.

The longing and pain that our cute daughter, who always searched for her mother, must have felt while living apart from her mother because of her grandfather’s coercion.

“……Aki.”

A small, delicate hand that fit perfectly into hers.

As she held Aki’s soft hand, which had no rough patches, Fujiwara Iroha almost burst into tears.

“You must have had a hard time all this while?”

She had left her young daughter, her daughter whose fingers hadn’t even fully grown, to grow up alone in a place where her mother wasn’t there.

A daughter should grow up in a place where her father is.

Even if her father-in-law coerced her to do so, it shouldn’t have happened.

For the sake of Aki, for the sake of her daughter, it shouldn’t have happened.

Fujiwara Iroha, who had stayed in Japan alone for four years despite having a husband and a daughter, felt that fact deeply once again.

And, holding Aki’s precious hand tightly with both hands, she decided inwardly.

It was a little, no, a lot late, but let’s correct what’s wrong now.

For the sake of Aki, who must have felt great loneliness while living in a place where her mother wasn’t there, let’s take her to Japan, even if it means confronting her father-in-law.

Let’s take Aki to Japan, and live happily again like we did four years ago.

“Now, let’s live together, with me.”

Fujiwara Iroha, who sincerely thought so, made up her mind and spoke.

However.

“……No!”

“Okay, I wanted to live with Aki too… Huh? You said no?”

“……?!”

The words that came out of Aki’s mouth were far beyond everyone’s expectations.

Joo Woo-ju, that is, I, who was watching the conversation between mother and daughter, also didn’t expect Aki to say no immediately. Neither did Aki’s mother, Fujiwara Iroha.

“A, Aki. Did you just say no?”

“Yeah, no! Aki is not going to Japan.”

“Huh? Why, why? You don’t want to go to Japan with me?… Or, is it that you don’t like me anymore?”

“No, I like Mama. I like her very much! So, actually Aki also wants to live with Mama. But, but…”

Aki trailed off, shook off her mother’s hand, and came close to my side, linking arms with me.

“Watashi(I) promised to marry Woo-ju~chan! So, I can’t go to Japan.”

“……”

Aki’s mother looked at Aki with an expression like a freedom fighter who had lost her country.

And then, like a broken robot, she creaked and turned her head to look at me.

There was nothing to say.

I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I felt as if I had committed a huge sin, so I subtly looked away.

Aki’s mother, Fujiwara Iroha, was quiet, very quiet, with an indescribable expression.

‘……Well, he is handsome.’

She looked over the boy that her daughter had marked as hers from top to bottom and thought to herself.

‘I saw him follow her earlier and he was careful with Aki, and he’s polite, has big eyes, thick eyebrows…?
His face is overall cute, and even though he’s still young, his eyes are big and his eyebrows are thick. And decisively, he has an attractive smile that any girl of his age would fall for.
If he grows up like this, wouldn’t he make many girls cry…?
……Our Aki is going to have a hard time keeping her boyfriend under control?’

She was momentarily shocked by her daughter’s declaration that she would choose love over family, but Fujiwara Iroha smiled.

“Aki, you’ll regret it later if you only like handsome boys…..?”

It was because she was reminded of her and her husband’s dating days.

She met an East Asian man who had a serious personality, a handsome face, and a good family background when he showed interest in her. But it turned out that there were so many women around him who liked him and were following him around.

“I don’t know how hard it was to get rid of those people. Aki, if you choose a boy based on his face… Ah, ahem…”

What was she even saying to a child?

After clearing her throat and restraining herself, Fujiwara Iroha squatted in front of Aki.

“Aki, you don’t want to live with me?”

“Yeah, I want to live with Mama. But I don’t want to go to Japan.”

“If you want to live with me, you have to go to Japan?”

“Ah, heeing…”

“……”

‘…..So cute!’

Fujiwara Iroha’s heart dropped at her daughter’s sudden display of aegyo.

To her, Aki pulled her arm away and slightly grabbed her sleeve.

Without saying a word, Aki just looked at Fujiwara Iroha with her moist eyes.

The feelings within her big, beautiful blue eyes were, ‘Please don’t go back, Mama…’

“……!”

Though there were no words, Fujiwara Iroha, who faced the earnest gaze of her daughter,

‘Should I just stay in Korea? Ah, but then my contracts, the exclusive offers I have coming up…’

She was caught between her work and her cute daughter’s request.

“Mama…….”

“……”

At that moment, the weight of her heart tipped in one direction.

Fujiwara Iroha gritted her teeth and grabbed Aki’s hand.

“……Alright, I got it! I’ll live in Korea too!”

“Ah, really? You’re going to live in Korea too…?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just live with Aki and me!”

“……”

As I watched the rather touching hug between mother and daughter, I muttered to myself.

‘This is on the main street, though…’

A young girl with a bright pink hair and an adult woman were hugging and whispering in Japanese on the street, in plain sight. So, I could feel that the passers-by were looking at them with the gaze of, ‘What on earth is that?’

I was about to say that fact casually, but.

‘…….Let’s not say it.’

It felt like I would ruin the mood for nothing, so I just stayed quiet.

Then, the mother and daughter, who had been holding each other affectionately, suddenly felt other people’s gazes and stopped hugging.

“……Oh, right. You were called Woo-ju, right?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right, Mother.”

“Yeah, okay… I see.”

Aki’s mother was looking at me at my eye level.

What should I say? She didn’t say anything special, but it felt like she was saying, ‘So you’re the one who charmed my daughter…?’, so I felt awkward.

“It’s a bit too early for Mother since we aren’t married yet, so from now on, call me Iroha Ajumma(Auntie). Okay?”

“Ah ha, I understand. Iroha Ajumma.”

“….Wait a minute! Why is Woo-ju~chan calling Mama by her name?!”

“Huh? Well, if I call her Fujiwara, it’s confusing. I, your dad, and Aki are all Fujiwara.”

“Since Woo-ju~chan is calling Watashi(me) Aki, there’s no chance it’ll get confusing even if you call her Fujiwara! And Mama has a name!”

“Hehe, why is our Aki so worked up? Are you perhaps jealous of your mom now?”

“……!”

Aki’s cheeks puffed out as she looked at her mother.

Aki’s mother looked down at Aki and muttered, ‘She still has some of her old self.’, then smiled and gently stroked her head.

“Who does our Aki take after to be so cute?”

“Hmph, I don’t know! I don’t like Mama…!”

“Hehe, so cute…”

Aki’s mother stroked Aki for a long time, then, at some point, turned her gaze and glanced at me.

“Hey, Woo-ju-chan?”

“……Woo-ju-gun, Mama is going to call you Woo-ju-gun!”

“Yeah, okay. Woo-ju-gun?”

“Yes, Iroha Ajumma.”

“Do your parents know how to speak French or Japanese?”

“Both of them are diplomats, so they’re good at both French and Japanese. There won’t be any problems communicating.”

“Oh, really? That’s great. Then, could you please tell them that I’d like to meet them sometime in the near future?”

“Mama, why are you meeting Woo-ju~chan’s parents?”

“Well, because I should thank them for taking good care of my daughter from now on?”

“Ah…”

‘….I also want to thank them for treating my daughter so well.’

Although she was busy with work and couldn’t meet them directly, there was a story she had received through her husband.

According to his words, Woo-ju-gun’s parents had been taking care of Aki with kindness and care as if they were her second parents, ever since she was 6 years old and while she was not present.

Although she had never met them in person, they were surely good people.

Aki’s mother, who had that conviction, smiled brightly and gently stroked Aki’s hair, which was slightly blushing.

“But Mama, when are you going to start living in Korea?”

“Well, it’s difficult right now because there are problems that need to be solved. But maybe I can come and live in Korea within a month? Anyway, the house that your dad has got is there.”

“Huh, really? Then we can live with you in a month…?!”

“Yeah, maybe? But the administrative process is slow in Japan, so it’s not certain, it could take a little longer…”

“Mama, I love you!”

“Oh my, oh my…!”

Aki, happy that she could live with her mom and dad, hugged her mother.

“Woo-ju~chan, did you hear? From now on, Aki can live with her mom and dad!”

“Yeah, congratulations, Aki!”

‘How did it all resolve so well?’

Watching that, I sincerely thought it was good that it had all been resolved well, whatever the case may be.

……217.

After Aki started living in Korea with her parents, after a little time had passed.

After Aki’s mother came to our house to thank us, and with our families having become close, not just the two of us,

[Woo-juchan, Woo-juchan!]

[Don’t be surprised!]

[Yeah, what is it?]

[I, today, bought my middle school uniform with my mom!]

Following kindergarten and elementary school, we also started going to middle school together.