Cohabitation? Cohabitation!
Cohabitation? Cohabitation! "Isn't this too much of a coincidence? This place is way out in the residential area, far from the station, right?"
Shun glanced sideways. Raon, who had been nodding along just moments ago, had slowed her steps. She was now staring intently at the map app on her smartphone, swiping the screen back and forth with a troubled expression. She looked exactly like someone who had gotten lost.
"Raon, you didn't lose your way, did you?"
At Shun's question, Raon's hand holding the phone twitched. "Ah, well… I'm trying to find the address my parents sent me, but all these alleys around here look so similar."
"This neighborhood is pretty confusing the first time you come here." Shun pulled his hands from his pockets and naturally stepped closer. "Um… if it's not too much trouble, could I take a look? Don't get the wrong idea. This area is where my house is, so once I see the address I should be able to tell where it is."
"Thank you. Here, this is the address…"
Raon let out a small sigh of relief and handed over her phone without hesitation. Shun lowered his gaze to the address displayed on the screen.
Let's see. Shizuoka Prefecture, Uminosaki 3-chome…
Huh…?
Shun's finger froze on the screen. He blinked once, eyes wide, then stared at the display again.
Wait…?
The house number. The building name. Even the apartment number.
"…Um, Ueda?"
When Shun stood frozen like a statue, Raon asked cautiously, studying his expression. "Is something wrong…?"
"This place…" Shun's voice came out hoarse. "This is my house."
"P-pardon?"
Raon jolted in surprise.
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"This is… my house?"
…What? What did he just say?
Hold on. What kind of insane nonsense did this guy just spout?
I blinked rapidly, alternating my gaze between Ueda Shun's face and the screen of my smartphone. Judging by his flustered yet serious expression, he wasn't joking. The address on the map app really did match his house.
Oh my god, what is this situation?!
I barely managed to swallow the string of curses that threatened to burst out. My brain, which refused to work properly, began spinning desperately.
According to the original manga setting, Raon and Ueda Shun were indeed second cousins. But! Even so, in the original story Raon had rented her own place and lived alone! There was no heroine who started the story by cohabiting under the same roof as the male lead from day one!
Why? Seriously, why did this nuclear-level original development suddenly appear?
While my pupils were shaking in a vortex of confusion, a memory from several months ago in Korea flashed through my mind like a slideshow.
「Raon, what do you want to do about housing once you go to Japan?」
「Huh? Weren't we all going to live together with Mom and Dad even after moving to Japan?」
It had been during a meal with my parents, who had grown busy expanding their business. At my obvious question, Mom shook her head with a troubled look.
「Well, your father and I will be constantly traveling between the Tokyo and Osaka branches for a while, so we won't be able to look after you properly. We'll probably be moving between inns and hotels, but you still have to go to school. You can't keep packing up and following us around, and leaving you alone makes me too anxious.」
「Ah, I see…」
「Luckily, your aunt—my older sister—lives near the high school you'll be attending. If you're worried, you could stay with her…」
At the time, I had stopped moving my chopsticks and tilted my head. 「Cousin? I don't think I've ever met them.」
「Honestly. Even if I look like this, don't forget that I'm Japanese, okay? You only visited once when you were a baby, so of course you wouldn't remember.」
「Really? Then please just arrange it that way. Finding a place to rent costs money and effort anyway. Staying with family would be easier and nicer.」
A very cool answer. But Mom had looked flustered and tried to dissuade me. 「Oh? I only mentioned it as an option—are you really okay with it? Even if they're cousins, they're practically strangers. Wouldn't it be better to have your own place? Your father and I can afford that much.」
「Nah, why waste money renting separately? I'll just stay at Aunt's.」
Huh. Wait a second.
「…But suddenly showing up as a niece they've never met might be a burden on Aunt's household, right? If I'm just causing trouble, maybe renting my own place would be better.」
「You don't have to worry about that. We'll make sure to pay rent and living expenses properly, even if they are family. Besides, your aunt has only one son and has always said she wanted a pretty daughter. She'll probably welcome you with open arms.」
Ah. Aaaah. I remembered now.
Back then, I hadn't wanted to burden my parents financially. Carrying memories of my past life, I had naturally developed a more mature mindset than my peers, which was why I had casually agreed to stay with my cousin's family. If it had been the original Raon, she probably would have insisted on living alone, citing privacy like a sensitive teenage girl. That was why she had lived separately in the original story.
But! Back then I didn't know this world was inside that damn romcom manga!!
Who could have predicted that a snowball rolled with modest, considerate intentions would come back as heart-throbbing cohabitation with the male lead?!
"Awa-wa-wa…"
A ridiculous sound slipped out between my lips without my permission. The graceful, well-bred-young-lady appearance I had maintained until now vanished completely; my legs felt so weak I wanted to collapse on the spot.
"Um… Raon?"
Seeing me turn pale and tremble, Shun scratched his cheek with an awkward expression. "Sorry if I startled you. I was shocked too when I saw the address. Honestly, my parents never mentioned anything about someone coming to stay…"
At his words, I realized something. Now that I thought about it, in the early part of the original story, Shun didn't know I was his cousin. Since they hadn't interacted as children, his reaction made perfect sense.
In other words, from his perspective right now, the situation was something like: the super-beautiful transfer student who arrived today showed up at my house with my address in hand. It was like the opening of some third-rate dating sim.
So jealous. Why didn't anything like this happen during my own school days?
"I-I'm sorry, Ueda. I was just so flustered…"
"Ah… Should we head over together? Standing here worrying won't solve anything. It'll be faster to go home and ask my mother."
Shun pointed down the alley with an awkward smile. He was right. There was no point sitting on the ground denying reality now. I nodded obediently.
"…Yes. Then, if you'll excuse the imposition, I'll be in your care for a while."
But I refused to be the only one suffering through this ridiculous situation. A strange sense of competitiveness suddenly welled up. Annoyed for no reason at the male lead in front of me, I decided not to reveal that I was his cousin right away.
Go ahead and indulge in your third-rate light-novel delusions about "the beautiful transfer student who came to my house" all you want. When you eventually learn the truth about us being cousins, I'll make sure to enjoy the sight of you kicking your blanket in bed.
Hiding these thoughts, I followed behind Shun.
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We had arrived…
At the end of the residential alley bathed in sunset glow stood a two-story wooden house with a traditional tiled roof. A neatly hung nameplate read [Ueda]. Though built around thick, time-worn wooden pillars, the windows and exterior had been modernly renovated. The subtle blend of tradition and modernity was quite charming.
The most distinctive feature was the first floor. Rather than an ordinary residence, it resembled what Koreans might call an old-fashioned tea room or a quiet café. Sunlight filtered gently through the large glass windows.
"Wow…"
The exclamation escaped me before I could stop it. Shun, standing beside me, scratched the back of his head and cleared his throat. "Ahem. Is it really that surprising? Having you stare like that is kind of embarrassing. Haha."
"No, it's genuinely beautiful. I was imagining something more like a regular apartment."
"Apartment…?"
Shun hesitated for a moment, then let out a small laugh of understanding. "Ah. The word 'apartment' means something different in Korea and Japan, doesn't it?"
"Does it?"
"Yeah. In Korea, 'apartment' usually brings to mind those huge, grand high-rises, right? In Japan we usually call those 'mansions.'"
Shun pointed to a nearby old multi-family house as he continued explaining. "On the other hand, when Japanese people say 'apāto,' they usually mean these two- or three-story older multi-unit buildings. Poor soundproofing, cheap places mostly rented by college students."
"Ah… I see."
I nodded and listened attentively. So Japanese apartments were more like Korean studio apartments or goshiwon…
…Wait. Why? Why was I suddenly receiving this random educational lesson?! Was I inside a romcom manga or filming an episode of some travel documentary?!
While grumbling internally, I changed the subject by pointing at the large glass windows on the first floor. "Then, is the first floor some kind of café?"
"Ah, more than a café… our family runs a small tea shop on the first floor. We do serve coffee, so it counts as a café too, I guess."
Shun tapped the small wooden sign beside the nameplate. "The name is Chofutei. It means 'tide-wind pavilion.' It's been around since my grandmother's time, and now my father runs it."
I remembered. In the original story, Shun's family had also operated a traditional tea shop on the first floor. It had been one of the main stages where the heroines gathered after school to eat parfaits and drink matcha while chatting.
At least this part of the setting remained faithful to the manga.
Feeling a strange sense of nostalgia, I followed Shun through the gate. The moment we stepped inside, I spotted a very familiar, enormous object through the open front door.
…My suitcase.
Two large pink suitcases covered in airplane luggage stickers. They were definitely mine.
Seeing the luggage I had sent ahead by air freight already sitting prominently in the entryway made the reality of having nowhere to run hit me hard.
"I'm home!"
Shun called out cheerfully, apparently not even imagining that the pink suitcases belonged to me. I swallowed dryly and followed cautiously behind him.
"E-excuse me…"
The clattering sounds from the kitchen stopped, followed by the light patter of footsteps approaching.
"Oh, my son's home—"
A middle-aged woman wiping her hands on her apron appeared. In other words, Ueda Himari—Shun's mother and my mother's older sister—spotted me standing in the entryway.
"…Oh my?"
Her eyes widened as if they might pop out. "Oh my oh my oh my! Goodness gracious!"
She clutched both cheeks in an exaggerated gesture and rushed barefoot across the wooden floor to the edge of the entryway.
"Raon? You're Raon, aren't you?! My goodness, how did you grow up so beautifully?!"
"Yes…? Ah, yes. Hello, Aunt…"
"Aunt?! In Japan you can just call me Mom! You're so pretty~! Like a living doll~!"
She stepped over the threshold and pulled me into a tight hug. Amid the overwhelming welcome that nearly took my breath away, a faint shampoo scent brushed past my nose.
Even while flustered, my gaze naturally drifted to her face.
Wow, this really is a romcom manga world…
Normally, a middle-aged woman with a high-school son would bring to mind someone with wrinkles and a warm, motherly vibe. But the aunt in front of me was completely different. Her skin was so smooth it seemed untouched by time, and she carried an alluring yet refined aura. She didn't look her age at all. Just like my own mother.
If Shun weren't here and it was just the two of us walking outside, people would definitely mistake us for a much younger sibling or sisters with a large age gap.
While I was internally marveling at this, Shun, who had been watching the absurd scene from the side, suddenly spoke.
"……Huh?"
Having dropped his bag on the floor with a thud, he stared at me and his mother with a completely blank expression.
"Mom, hold on. What do you mean? You're her aunt? To Raon?"