The First Stirrings of Aki's Possessiveness (4)
The moment Aki’s mother, Iroha Fujiwara, dropped her bombshell question, our reactions couldn’t have been more different.
“……!”
“……Eh?”
I was standing a step behind them, listening in, and my whole body jolted as I thought, Did I just hear that right? Meanwhile Aki let out a dazed little sound, clearly caught off guard by her mother’s sudden suggestion.
Then she glanced at me—looking a little shocked myself—and stammered, “Japan… um, when?”
“The day Mommy has to catch her flight is exactly three days from now. So probably around then?”
“Th-three days?!”
Since Aki’s mother couldn’t speak Korean, the entire conversation unfolded in Japanese. But I had learned Japanese from Aki and could manage basic conversations, so I caught every word: her mother had just asked if Aki wanted to move back to Japan, and that the departure date was only three days away.
“……Mama!” Aki whipped her head around. “Then what about Wooju~chan? Does that mean Aki won’t get to see Wooju~chan anymore?”
“No, that’s not it. Just because we’re living in Japan doesn’t mean we can never come back to Korea. We can visit sometimes and play together.”
“How often? How often is ‘sometimes’?”
“Hmm… Mommy has work too, so at best every three months. At worst, five or six months?”
“What? Five or six months…?”
Aki’s mouth fell open. Five or six months might sound short on paper, but it was practically half a year—and if things got busy, it could stretch even longer. Six months. A whole year. Maybe even more. We might not see each other for that long.
……No way.
A single terrifying thought flashed through my mind.
What if Aki actually follows her mother back to Japan?
Would that mean… we’d never get to see each other again?
“……”
“……”
The moment that dark possibility bloomed, our eyes met. Aki had clearly been thinking the exact same thing.
And Iroha Fujiwara, who had been quietly watching the two of us—mostly Aki—thought to herself:
……Yes. From now on, I just have to steer things in the right direction.
Four years ago, when Aki was only six and still needed her mother’s arms, she had been forced to live in a foreign country. The loneliness and sadness she must have felt. How our sweet little girl cried for her mother every single day. How much longing and pain she endured after being torn away from her mom by her grandfather’s iron will.
“……Aki.”
The small, delicate hand that fit perfectly inside her palm. The moment Iroha Fujiwara took her daughter’s soft, unblemished little hand, she felt tears threatening to spill.
“It must have been so hard all this time, huh?”
To think she had left her own daughter—still so young her fingers hadn’t even finished growing—to grow up alone in a place without her mother. A daughter should be raised where her father is. No matter how strongly her father-in-law had insisted, she never should have allowed it. Not for Aki’s sake. Not for her little girl.
During the four years she had spent alone in Japan while her husband and daughter remained here, Iroha Fujiwara had come to understand that truth with painful clarity. And now she felt it again, deeper than ever.
She clasped Aki’s precious hand tightly between both of hers and made a silent vow.
It was a little—okay, a lot—late, but from now on she would fix what had gone wrong. Even if it meant confronting her father-in-law, she would bring Aki back to Japan. She would take her daughter home and let them live happily again, just like they had four years ago.
“Let’s live together with Mommy from now on.”
Having made up her mind with genuine sincerity, Iroha Fujiwara spoke those decisive words.
But then—
“…”
“Yes, Mommy wants to live with Aki too—… Huh? You don’t want to?”
“……?!”
The words that flew out of Aki’s mouth completely shattered everyone’s expectations. Not me—Ju Wooju, who had been quietly watching the mother-daughter exchange. Not even Iroha Fujiwara, Aki’s own mother, had imagined her daughter would immediately say no.
“A-Aki… Did you just say you don’t want to…?”
“Yeah, I don’t! Aki isn’t going to Japan!”
“What? Why? You don’t want to go to Japan with Mommy? …Or did you… maybe stop liking Mommy?”
“No! I love Mama so much! That’s why Aki actually wants to live with Mama too. But… but still……”
Her voice trailed off. Aki pulled her hand free from her mother’s grasp, scooted right up beside me, and linked her arm tightly through mine.
“Watashi promised to marry Wooju~chan! So I can’t go to Japan!”
“……”
Aki’s mother stared at her daughter with the face of a freedom fighter who had just lost her country. Then, moving like a broken robot, she creakily turned her head and stared straight at me.
“……”
“……”
I had nothing to say. I hadn’t done anything wrong, yet I felt like I’d committed some terrible crime. I awkwardly averted my eyes.
Iroha Fujiwara remained perfectly still for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Then she thought:
……Well. He is pretty handsome.
She gave the boy her daughter had already claimed a slow once-over.
He didn’t act rudely toward Aki earlier when I was watching, and he seems polite. He has big eyes, thick eyebrows…
His face had that cute, youthful charm—large, expressive eyes and strong brows for his age. And on top of that, he had the kind of attractive smile that could make any girl his age swoon. If he grew up like this, he was going to break quite a few hearts.
……Our Aki is going to have her hands full keeping a boyfriend like this, isn’t she?
After the initial shock of her daughter choosing love over family, Iroha Fujiwara let out a small chuckle.
“Aki, if you only like the handsome ones, you might regret it later…?”
She was remembering her own dating days with her husband. She had started seeing a serious, good-looking Eastern man from a decent family, only to discover how many women were constantly chasing after him.
“You have no idea how hard I had to work to keep those girls away. So if you pick a boy just because he’s cute, Aki… Ah, ahem.”
What am I even saying to a child?
Clearing her throat, Iroha Fujiwara crouched down in front of her daughter.
“Aki, you really don’t want to live with Mommy?”
“I do want to live with you. But I don’t want to go to Japan.”
“If you want to live with Mommy, we have to go to Japan though?”
“Ah… Hng…”
“……”
……So cute!
Her daughter’s sudden display of aegyo made Iroha Fujiwara’s heart melt on the spot. Seeing her mother’s reaction, Aki slowly unlinked her arm from mine, stepped closer, and gently tugged on her sleeve.
“……”
Without saying a word, Aki simply looked up at her mother with big, watery eyes. Those large, beautiful blue eyes were silently pleading:
Please don’t go back. Mommy…
“……!”
Though no words were spoken, the moment Iroha Fujiwara met her daughter’s desperate gaze, something inside her shifted.
Should I… just live in Korea? But then there’s the contract, and the exclusive offer coming in…
She wavered between her career and her adorable daughter’s plea.
“Mama…”
“……”
At some point, the scales in her heart tipped completely to one side.
Iroha Fujiwara clenched her teeth, then suddenly grabbed Aki’s hand.
“……Fine! Mommy will live in Korea too!”
“Ah, really? Mama’s going to live in Korea…?”
“Yeah. So let’s all live together—you, me, and Daddy!”
“……”
Watching what looked like a deeply touching mother-daughter embrace from the outside, I muttered to myself, This is a public sidewalk…
A little girl with striking pink hair and a grown woman were hugging in the middle of the street, whispering in Japanese. I could feel passersby staring at us with expressions that clearly said, What on earth is going on over there?
I considered pointing it out, but then thought, ……Better not. It would ruin the mood. So I stayed quiet.
Eventually the mother and daughter seemed to notice the stares too. They slowly pulled apart.
“……Oh, right. Your name was… Wooju-chan, wasn’t it?”
“Ah, yes, that’s right. Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“Mhm… I see.”
Aki’s mother looked at me at eye level, studying me quietly. She didn’t say much, but I could practically hear her thinking, So you’re the one who stole my daughter’s heart…? I stood there awkwardly.
“Since we’re not family yet, calling me ‘Mother’ feels a bit much. From now on, just call me Aunt Iroha, okay?”
“Ah, yes. I understand, Aunt Iroha.”
“……Wait a second! Why is Wooju~chan calling Mama by her first name?!”
“Hm? Because calling me Fujiwara would get confusing. Me, your dad, and you—we’re all Fujiwara, aren’t we?”
“But Wooju~chan already calls me Aki, so there’s no way he’d get confused even if he called you Fujiwara! And Mama already has her own name!”
“Hehe, why is our Aki getting so worked up? Are you jealous of Mommy right now?”
“……Ugh!”
Aki puffed her cheeks out at her mother. Iroha Fujiwara looked down at her and murmured, She still has that old habit, I see, then let out a soft laugh. She gave Aki the same smile that mirrored her own and gently stroked her hair.
“Who did our Aki take after to become this cute?”
“Hmph! I don’t know! I hate you, Mama…!”
“Fufu, how adorable…”
After petting Aki’s head for a long while, Iroha Fujiwara suddenly glanced over at me.
“Um, Wooju-chan?”
“……It’s Wooju-kun, Mama! Call him Wooju-kun!”
“Ah, right. Wooju-kun?”
“Yes, Aunt Iroha.”
“Do your parents happen to speak French or Japanese?”
“Both of them are diplomats, so they’re fluent in French and Japanese. There won’t be any communication problems.”
“Oh, really? That’s wonderful. Then could you tell them I’d like to meet them sometime soon?”
“Mama, why do you want to meet Wooju~chan’s parents?”
“Because I need to thank them for taking such good care of my daughter, of course?”
“Ahh…”
And I want to thank them in person for being so good to her.
Even though her busy schedule had kept her from meeting them, she had heard the stories through her husband. According to him, Wooju-kun’s parents had practically been second parents to Aki ever since she was six—kind and gentle, looking after her the entire time she was without her mother. Though she had never seen their faces, she was certain they were wonderful people.
With that conviction, Aki’s mother smiled brightly and continued gently stroking the hair of her blushing daughter.
“But Mama, when are you actually moving to Korea?”
“Well, there are some things I need to take care of first, so not right away. But I should be able to move within a month? We already have a house your father prepared.”
“Whoa, really? Then in a month I can live with Mama?!”
“Probably, yes. Though Japanese bureaucracy is slow, so it might take a little longer…”
“Mama, I love you—!”
“Oh my, oh my…!”
Aki threw herself into her mother’s arms, overjoyed at the thought of finally living together with both her parents.
“Wooju~chan, did you hear? From now on Aki gets to live with Mama and Papa—!”
“Yeah. I’m happy for you, Aki!”
Well, it all worked out in the end…
Watching them, I genuinely felt relieved that everything had been resolved so nicely.
……And then.
After some time had passed and Aki began living with her parents in Korea, her mother came to our house to express her gratitude. From that point on, it wasn’t just the two of us—our families grew close too. And so Aki and I—
—Just like kindergarten and elementary school, we would now be attending the same middle school too.