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Chapter 314: Still Calling Me 'Auntie'?
🕑 Added 2025-04-28 15:48:59 +0000 UTCMarrying Minami...
That was Hitori's second greatest dream, right after debuting as a rocker.
She had imagined it countless times in her dreams:
Wearing a wedding dress,
getting princess-carried by Minami,
and eventually having kids with him.
But those were just dreams.
Dreams where even there, she barely dared to fantasize too boldly.
And now—
Her own mother had just casually dropped a nuclear bomb at the dinner table:
"Minami-kun, when do you plan on marrying Hitori?"
It was like the end of the world had arrived.
Her mind blanked out.
Turning stiffly like a broken robot,
Hitori slowly looked at her mother.
Then—
Her voice, trembling and on the verge of tears, squeaked out:
"M-Mom... wh-what kind of joke is that... seriously... you always say weird things..."
She turned desperately toward Minami,
pleading with teary eyes:
"M-Minami, I'm sorry... My mom's just... joking around lately... y-you won't go along with her nonsense, right..."
Before she could even finish—
Minami smiled and answered smoothly:
"I think getting married right now would be rushing things a bit, Hitori is still only in her second year of high school."
His tone was calm and steady, his words logical and persuasive.
Hearing that,
Hitori's entire body relaxed.
Thank goodness!
Minami wasn't playing along with Mom's crazy talk!
As expected of Minami!
He's always so mature and reliable!
She even shot him a little look of admiration.
As expected from the boy she had loved all this time!
But then—
"But even if we can't get married just yet,"
Minami continued lightly,
"I think we can totally get engaged."
"Eh?!"
That stunned cry burst from Hitori's mouth.
Her blue eyes widened in disbelief.
For a moment, she lost all ability to speak, just staring blankly as her mother and Minami kept chatting happily.
"So you want to get engaged to Hitori, Minami-kun?"
Gotoh Michiyo asked, blinking playfully.
"Of course, Michiyo-auntie."
Minami smiled as he answered without hesitation.
"But why are you still calling me 'Auntie'?"
Gotoh Michiyo, resting her chin on her hand, grinned mischievously.
"W-wait—!"
Hitori, face burning red, tried desperately to stop her mother.
"Sorry, Michiyo-Mom."
Before Hitori could say anything else,
Minami smoothly corrected himself.
Hitori felt herself crumble completely.
She wanted to jump in, to say something to stop them but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get a word in.
She could only watch helplessly as Minami and her mother moved from talking about engagement,
to discussing wedding dates,
to talking about having children,
to what names the kids should have,
to how to decorate the baby room, finally...
to which universities their future children should attend...
Even Gotoh Naoki and Gotoh Futari joined the conversation.
"Wa-wait a second!!"
Finally, face flushed deep red, Hitori couldn't take it anymore.
Gathering every ounce of courage she had, she stood up and yelled to stop them.
Her shout was so loud, the once-noisy living room instantly fell silent.
Everyone turned to look at her.
Uh—?!
Frozen by all those stares,
Hitori opened her mouth—
But the bold speech she had prepared shrank down to a whisper:
"W-well... since you're discussing my future... I-I think I should be allowed to... um... join in the discussion too..."
"What?"
"...I'm sorry! Please continue!!"
At the mere question from her mother, her brief spark of bravery shattered completely.
Hitori bowed deeply and apologized without thinking.
Seeing this—
Minami couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Hitori, you still haven't realized?
Michiyo-Mom was just teasing you."
"...Eh...?"
Hitori blinked her big blue eyes in confusion.
"Eh... what?"
Minami laughed again.
"You're still only in second year. There's no way Michiyo-Mom would seriously rush you into marriage."
"Ugh—"
Another shocked noise escaped from Hitori.
She glanced at Minami, then at her mother, only to find both of them grinning at her mischievously.
And finally—
Hitori couldn't take it anymore.
"MOMMMMMMMM!!!"
That scream—
was probably the loudest Gotoh Michiyo had ever heard from her daughter since the day she was born.
...
In fact, even if Goto Hitori couldn't help but scream "Mom", it would be of no use.
Because at most she dared only complain to her mother in a low voice, and then, under Minami's gaze, she lowered her head and dared not say anything more.
The word "coward" could not have been more perfectly embodied than it was now by the pink-haired girl.
Of course.
The socially anxious girl's silence didn't change the lively atmosphere at the dinner table.
For someone like Gotoh Michiyo, who could still confidently wear a high school girl's uniform at over thirty and promote Kessoku Band to others, keeping the conversation alive was easy.
And naturally, the conversation shifted to asking about Minami's plans for winter break.
"Eh? Minami-kun, are you heading back to Akita for winter break?"
Gotoh Michiyo asked, a little surprised, glancing at him.
"More or less,"
Minami nodded, confirming her guess.
"I've already spent over half a year in Tokyo. I didn't even go home during summer break because I needed time to adjust to school here."
Their conversation wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for Hitori, who was quietly munching on fried chicken on the side, to overhear.
He's going back to Akita?
Startled, Hitori hurriedly bit into her chicken, then quickly gulped down a mouthful of water.
Her delicate face filled with shock as she turned to look at Minami, who was still chatting calmly with her mother.
No wonder she was so surprised.
For her, this news came way too suddenly.
Shuka High School's winter break was a full fifteen days.
She had been planning to use that time summoning all her courage to ask Minami out on a date to get closer to him.
She had even picked out possible spots for their date, just waiting for the right moment to invite him.
And now...
Forget asking him out.
In a few days, Minami wouldn't even be in Tokyo!
How could she not be devastated?
Her lips parted slightly, she desperately wanted to say something to make him stay.
But when the words reached her mouth, she didn't know how to say them.
Through fragments of dream-like memories, she knew very well that Minami had a good relationship with his family.
He rarely had time to visit because of school.
Now that he finally had a proper break, how could she be selfish enough to ask him to stay just for her?
Her gaze dropped in sadness.
Kind-hearted as she was, Hitori couldn't bear to take away Minami's chance to be with his family.
No matter how badly she had wanted to carry out her date plans, in the end, she could only watch him leave Tokyo.
"...Hmm?"
Still talking with Minami, Gotoh Michiyo raised an eyebrow slightly, noticing something.
She glanced thoughtfully at her eldest daughter.
And then—
"Ah, that sounds amazing. Minami-kun, I've heard Akita's air is really clean compared to Tokyo's. Not polluted at all."
Smiling brightly, Gotoh Michiyo leaned closer to Minami:
"I heard you can even see the stars at night?"
"It's not that amazing,"
Minami chuckled, waving it off.
"But yeah, you can see the stars on clear nights."
Akita's economy wasn't as developed as the Tokyo area.
But precisely because of that, on nights without snow or rain, you could see an incredible starry sky flowing overhead.
"Sounds wonderful,"
Gotoh Michiyo beamed, clapping her hands together with a wistful look on her beautiful, mature face.
"If only I could go and see it for myself someday..."
But then she sighed heavily:
"Unfortunately, I have so much to handle here in Tokyo.
Looks like I won't be able to enjoy that starry sky after all."
She looked genuinely regretful, sighing about her missed chance to see the stars.
But then—
That lively, mischievous woman smiled brightly again:
"If I can't go... then why not let Hitori go instead? Think of it as a little vacation!"
"Eh?!"
The pink-haired girl, who had been hiding behind her bangs with her head down,
snapped her head up in shock.
Just in time to meet her mother's warm, encouraging eyes.
"What's wrong?"
Gotoh Michiyo smiled and teased:
"Hitori, you don't want to go to Akita with Minami-kun?"
"I..."
Hitori's soft pink lips parted slightly.
For a moment—
Her social anxiety almost made her hesitate.
But it only lasted for a moment.
Then she lifted her head:
"I-I do! I want to go!"
After everything she had experienced with Minami,
after all the storms they had weathered together,
and after all her time performing with Kessoku Band—
This time, she didn't run away.
She said it clearly with her own voice.
However—
"M-Minami... what do you think?"
Hitori turned her shy gaze toward Minami.
After all, it would be her visiting his family.
Wouldn't that be a burden?
Would he feel uncomfortable about it?
She asked him quietly, a little unsure.
This time, Gotoh Michiyo didn't interrupt either.
She just watched Minami with a smile.
"Of course it's fine.
There's nothing inconvenient about it at all."
Without a hint of hesitation—
The moment Hitori looked at him,
Minami had already given his answer.
Since she had summoned her courage to ask,
he naturally had to answer her sincerely.
He smiled warmly at her.
Hitori seemed to sense his feelings too.
Her tense shoulders relaxed.
And a brilliant, radiant smile spread across her lovely face.
Beneath the table—
Their hands brushed lightly against each other.
And then, they quietly, firmly intertwined.
The time they spent at the Gotoh house wasn't especially long.
About an hour after dinner ended,
Minami was dragged into playing games with Gotoh Futari at her insistence.
It was a co-op game.
Thanks to Minami's incredible gaming skills,
he easily covered for Gotoh Futari's mistakes.
And thanks to his natural affinity with kids,
it wasn't long before Gotoh Futari was laughing gleefully.
After a few rounds, Gotoh Futari even clung to Minami, solemnly declaring that she would "make him hers" someday.
Her childish declaration made Minami chuckle helplessly.
They continued relaxing and playing for a while.
By the time Minami glanced at the clock again,
it was already past 8 PM.
The sky outside had long turned dark.
"You know, you could just stay over,"
Gotoh Michiyo said with a pout, standing at the door.
Even at her age, she made an adorably childish expression.
"You really don't have to rush home."
"I've already been bothering you for so long.
And I still need to finalize my schedule for the next few days,"
Minami said apologetically, smiling.
"I see... that's too bad then,"
Gotoh Michiyo sighed lightly, realizing she couldn't persuade him to stay.
Then—
She turned her gaze toward her eldest daughter,
who was standing there, head bowed, trembling slightly.
As Hitori's mother, she obviously knew exactly what her eldest daughter was thinking right now.
Gotoh Michiyo was secretly laughing to herself, the kind of satisfied, sneaky laughter.
After all, Hitori had already confirmed she could go to Akita with Minami,
and ever since dinner ended, she had been quietly grinning nonstop.
Gotoh Michiyo sighed a little helplessly.
As someone who had been through it all, she knew very well:
If you wanted to truly win a boy's heart,
just passively waiting would never be enough.
So...
She took a small step back, then gently pushed her still-silly-grinning daughter forward.
Gotoh Michiyo cleared her throat and delivered one final assist:
"Hitori, didn't you say you happened to have something to do near the station?
Perfect timing! Why don't you walk Minami-kun there?"
"Eh...? I didn't say—"
"Alright, alright! Off you go!"
Practically shoving her confused daughter forward,
she pushed her right next to Minami.
Then, after saying a quick farewell to Minami,
Gotoh Michiyo stood at the doorway, smiling as she watched the two leave.
"Honestly..."
She sighed again, helplessly.
Her daughter was great in every way, except for being way too honest and passive.
It made her worry.
Minami was such an outstanding boy.
Surely there would be plenty of equally outstanding girls around him.
And thinking about it...
How was her shy, socially anxious daughter supposed to stand out among them?
She couldn't just rely on Hitori's better-than-average physical "hardware" compared to other high school girls, right?
After observing for some time,
Gotoh Michiyo could tell—
Minami wasn't really someone who cared much about appearances anyway.
"Sigh—"
She gave another light sigh.
When it came to her eldest daughter's love life...
All Gotoh Michiyo could do was sigh in silent worry.
