Cleaning Lucky Sukebe (1)
Shun doubted his own ears for a moment. What had his mother just called Raon?
"Just now… what did you call Raon?"
"Oh my." At his dazed question, Ueda Himari—who had been hugging Raon—finally seemed to notice her son and covered her mouth. "Huh? Didn't I tell you? Starting today, our relative's daughter is going to be staying with us."
"…You didn't. Not a single word. You didn't even hint at it, Mom."
When Shun answered with the weary look of someone who had aged ten years on the spot, still unable to pick up the bag he had dropped, Himari stuck out her tongue and laughed coyly.
"Oh dear, sorry~! I've been so busy with your father developing new spring menu items for the tea shop that it must have slipped my mind. Hehe."
"No matter how I look at it, a 'hehe' isn't going to cut it for something on this scale…"
Shun pressed his throbbing temples. "More importantly, what do you mean Raon is our relative's daughter…?"
"Come on, we can talk about the little details later! First, Raon dear? Don't just stand there awkwardly—come inside. Shun, what are you doing standing there like an idiot? Help carry the heavy luggage up to the hallway."
"Ah… right."
"Haa… Seriously, Mom sometimes drops people's hearts straight to the floor."
Letting out a deep sigh, Shun grabbed the handle of the enormous pink suitcase sitting in the entryway.
"This pink suitcase… it was Raon's, huh."
"Ah… I-It must be heavy. I'll carry it."
Raon reached out in a fluster, but Shun gently shook his head.
"No, no. You must have been even more shocked than me. Sorry you had to see that. I'll handle the heavy stuff, so go upstairs with Mom first."
Now that he thought about it, she was right. Even he, who had come home completely unaware, felt his heart drop. How much more startled and confused must Raon have been—arriving in a foreign country only to realize the classmate she had just met was actually her cousin she would now be living with? Once the thought crossed his mind, the confusion swirling in Shun's head began to settle.
After confirming that Raon and his mother had started up the stairs, Shun took a deep breath, picked up both pink suitcases, and began carrying them up one by one. Maybe because it was a girl's suitcase, it wasn't as heavy as he had expected.
While Shun was hauling the luggage upstairs, the scene shifted to the second-floor living room. The two women sat facing each other on the plush sofa, with warm barley tea and snacks Himari had brought out resting on the table. Once Shun finished moving everything and sat down after rolling his shoulders, Himari clapped her hands lightly.
"Alright! Shall we start with proper introductions?"
Her eyes sparkled as she clasped Raon's hands tightly. "Our pretty niece, is this your first time in Japan? I'm Ueda Himari. Calling me 'auntie' makes me sound old, so just call me Mom!"
"Ah, yes. Th-Thank you. Mom… I mean, A-Auntie…"
"Oh, you. I told you it's fine to call me Mom~!"
Raon answered in a small, shrinking voice, unable to bring herself to say "Mom." Himari cupped Raon's fair cheeks with both hands as if she might die from how adorable it was. Only Shun, sitting across from them, noticed Raon's eyes spinning in circles as she turned pale under the high-tension affection assault.
Shun spoke in disbelief. "What are you doing, Mom? You're making Raon uncomfortable."
"Oh my, am I? Sorry, Raon dear. Was Auntie being too pushy?"
"N-No, not at all…"
"See? Shun?"
"No, anyone can tell her soul has left her body… Sigh."
Watching Raon force a smile at the corners of her mouth, Shun quietly pressed a hand to his forehead.
"By the way, Raon, your voice is so lovely too. Your uncle—my husband—is downstairs closing up the tea shop. He'll be up once we're done for the day, so I'll introduce you properly then."
Himari continued while gently stroking Raon's hair. "Raon came all the way from Korea on a plane this morning and even went to school, right? Weren't you tired? Is there anything you'd like for dinner? Since it's your first day, I want to feed you something hearty. Do you like sushi? Or sukiyaki?"
"I-I can eat anything…"
If left alone, the conversation would clearly derail into another dinner menu debate. Unable to take it anymore, Shun clapped his hands just like his mother had earlier and cut in.
"Um, Mom. Dinner isn't the important thing right now. Weren't you going to explain? You know, the important facts—like how Raon is supposedly our niece or how you're suddenly her aunt."
"Ah, right! Our Shun must be dying of curiosity right now!"
Himari stood up as if she had just remembered and scurried over to sit beside Raon. She wrapped a gentle arm around Raon's stiff shoulders.
"Listen carefully, Shun. This is Lee Raon. Starting today, she's your same-age cousin who's going to be living with us~!"
"…Cousin?"
Shun narrowed his eyes and quickly traced the definition of a cousin in his head. A rough family tree sketched itself out in his mind.
"If she's a cousin… that means she's the daughter of Mom's sister… right?"
"Exactly! Your mom has a younger sister who married a Korean man and moved to Korea. Don't you remember? She visited a few times when you were a baby and even changed your diapers."
"No, how would I remember anything from when I was a baby? Besides, I only ever heard about relatives once in a blue moon during holidays…"
Shun's voice rose without him realizing it. "Then why is Raon suddenly coming to stay with us?"
"Hmm~ Well, you see." Himari patted Raon's shoulder and calmly continued. "Raon's father—my brother-in-law—has expanded his business into Japan on a large scale. So both parents will be traveling all over Japan for a while and won't be home."
"……"
"Raon is the same age as you—second year of high school, right? She can't just follow her parents from hotel to hotel during such an important study period, so she decided to transfer here instead. Since we live nearby, it's much safer for her to stay with relatives than to live alone. Isn't that right, Raon dear?"
When Raon nodded obediently, Shun rubbed his chin and tried to process the situation that had caused his brain to short-circuit.
In other words, this ridiculous situation could be summarized as:
1. This morning, an elegant and beautiful top-tier beauty transferred to our school.
2. After I escorted her home while feeling strangely flustered, it turned out she was my cousin!
3. And starting today, we're going to be living under the same roof!
'No, this is literally the kind of forced romcom development you'd only see in a boys' manga…'
Shun rubbed his face with both hands in his mind. Was this even real? He seriously considered pinching his thigh to check if he was dreaming.
While he sat there groaning in anguish, Himari tapped his shoulder.
"Anyway, son? The explanation is pretty much done, right? We still need to tidy up the guest room where Raon will be staying… You'll help, won't you?"
Shun let out a short sigh and nodded. As a son, refusing wasn't an option that existed in the first place.
"…Haa. Fine, fine. I get it."
The one saving grace was that the guest room at the end of the second-floor hallway was used often enough by friends that it wasn't too dirty. Opening the windows for ventilation, dusting off the accumulated grime, and laying out the bedding would probably take about an hour.
While running a mental simulation of the cleaning, Shun suddenly turned to Raon.
"Ah, um. Raon."
"……Yes?"
"Our guest room doesn't have a bed. Would you be okay sleeping on a futon on the floor?"
"Ah, yes! I'm completely fine with that. I sleep on the floor a lot back in Korea anyway…"
Raon nodded repeatedly, then stood up with a slightly apologetic expression.
"More than that, I… I'd like to help with the cleaning too."
As a guest and cousin, sitting still must have felt like sitting on pins and needles. But Shun immediately waved his hands to stop her.
"No, no! You just relax, Raon. If I made a guest clean on her first day, my father might beat me to death."
"B-But…"
"It's really fine. I clean my own room every day anyway. Ah, and for today I'll just set it up so you can sleep comfortably. We can do a proper deep clean over the weekend. Until then, just bear with any inconvenience."
Shun spoke cheerfully, careful not to burden her. Watching her son, Himari's lips curved into a pleased smile. Proud of the way he grumbled yet still looked after others, she clapped her hands once more.
"Perfect! Then the roles are decided! While Shun cleans the room, I'll show Raon around the house—how to use the bathroom, where the washing machine is, that sort of thing."
"Yes, please do, Mom."
"Let's go, Raon dear. Auntie will show you everything starting from the first floor!"
Himari took Raon's hand and hummed as she left the living room. Raon gave Shun a light bow before hurrying after her aunt.
"……"
Once the two were gone, the living room felt empty. Shun scratched the back of his head while glancing between the two pink suitcases left behind.
"Man… what a chaotic day. My head's completely spinning."
Swallowing the wry smile tugging at his lips, Shun headed toward the hallway where the guest room was located, already sensing that the coming days would be quite noisy.