"That's exactly what he told my mother!"
Just recalling the scene was enough to bring an incredibly happy smile to Togawa Sakiko's face.
"Tetsuya-kun was so incredibly cool at that moment, even my mother was taken aback by his presence! At first, I was just approaching it with a 'let's just try' attitude... but I never expected my mother, who is usually so impervious to persuasion, to actually be swayed!"
Chihaya Tetsuya had already left for Paris with Jean. With no other plans for the day, Sakiko had naturally come over to Tetsuya's house to chat with Nagasaki Soyo.
"So, what did your auntie say?" Soyo asked, her face full of curiosity. "Did she agree?"
"She didn't agree immediately. She just said that once Tetsuya-kun actually makes it to Paris Fashion Week, she'll give our proposal proper consideration."
Although she hadn't gotten her mother's immediate consent, just this concession was a tremendous achievement for Sakiko. Moreover, now that her mother had set a condition, she had a new motivation to move forward.
"After this [TGC] is over, the next goal should be Tokyo Fashion Week. I have to work hard too so I don't fall too far behind Tetsuya-kun!" she declared, full of fighting spirit.
Seeing her expression, completely free of any shadows, Soyo couldn't help but smile as well.
"That's really wonderful."
Compared to the previous Sakiko, who was always weighed down by her troubles with a heavy and serious expression, she much preferred seeing her like this.
However, besides feeling genuinely happy for her, a sense of longing also began to stir in her own heart.
"Maybe I should take Tetsuya to see my mother too..."
"You should! Hasn't your mother always held Tetsuya-kun in high regard? With the success of the joint exhibition and the massive, far-beyond-expected number of orders [Starry Sky] has received, she'll be even more convinced about him!" Sakiko said immediately. "With your mother's personality, she would absolutely welcome him with open arms!"
"Mmm... but it's because my mother likes him so much that I'm hesitant to take him to see her..." Soyo sighed, conflicted. "If she finds out that not only has he succeeded in Japan, but he's now become a world-class designer's student, is studying abroad with him, and will be joining a prestigious fashion academy next year, she'll probably get so excited she'll tell me to have a baby with him the moment I graduate..."
"Mmm... that's certainly not hard to imagine."
Sakiko could easily picture Soyo's mother excitedly egging her daughter on. If she were to also find out that her daughter and Tetsuya had already sealed the deal, it would only make the pragmatic and open-minded woman even more determined.
"...I think I'll wait a while longer."
"Mhm, let's wait."
The two of them arrived at the same conclusion.
"Everyone, there's a new update from big brother!"
Just then, the door to Chihaya Anon's room burst open. Holding her phone, she plopped down cheerfully next to them.
"They're still touring the studios of other brands today! Look, I see this logo in the department stores all the time!"
What Anon was showing them was Tetsuya's cloud photo album.
This was a condition the girls had half-coerced him into agreeing to before he left. During his trip to Paris, he not only had to report his itinerary in real-time, but also share his photo album and social media logs. In exchange for this series of conditions, on the night before his departure, he had miraculously been granted a thirty-minute "halftime rest"...
"Sigh, even though he's only going to be in Paris for a week, it still feels so lonely," Anon couldn't help but complain. "It feels even more pronounced than when we were separated for half a year!"
"Well, in the days leading up to his departure, we were stuck to him almost 24/7. It's natural to feel a big drop-off when we're suddenly separated like this," Soyo said, not surprised at all. "Anyway, he'll be back in four days. We can just make him compensate us then, right? We were a bit too rough on him the other day, so we can think of this week as giving him a little break."
"..."
"..."
Hearing Soyo's seemingly considerate words, Sakiko and Anon subconsciously exchanged a look.
Before they executed their plan, Soyo had always been the calmest and most concerned about Tetsuya's physical well-being. Yet when it came to the actual act, she had turned out to be the most "greedy" one, not only proposing the idea of all four of them joining in, but afterward, refusing to let him go even when he was eating or drinking.
When Tetsuya returned, she would probably only double down and continue to press him even harder...
"Um, Soyo, once Tetsuya-kun is back, we have to start preparing for the [TGC]!" Sakiko couldn't help but advise. "So, to make sure he has the energy to maintain his work, it's probably better not to bully him too much..."
"Don't worry, I'm not that greedy. I'm his consultant and assistant, after all," Soyo said with a smile. "But you all remember, right? Tetsuya's design inspiration is sometimes tied to desire. So, doing that in moderation is actually helping him with his work. Don't you think?"
"Ah... that's true."
"Mhm, now that you mention it, I guess it can't be helped."
Sakiko and Anon were instantly persuaded, nodding in agreement with Soyo's logic.
"By the way, is Ai at work today?" Sakiko asked Anon.
Anon nodded. "She is. [Summer Zodiac] has a new member debuting, plus she's headlining the [TGC] soon. The fact that she was able to clear out so much time to mess around with us was already an act of mercy from her agency."
"That's true," Sakiko nodded in understanding. Anon then continued.
"Why don't we... just have Ai live here from now on? It feels a little weird for her to always be living alone at the agency or in a rented apartment."
Since the joint exhibition, the girls had been constantly clinging to Tetsuya and being intimate with him. For convenience, Hoshino Ai had just been staying in his room. Logically, such special treatment shouldn't exist, but considering Ai's incredibly... sensitive constitution, which everyone was well aware of, even when the four of them were together, she would pass out on her own after just a few rounds. So, in a way, this preferential treatment was also a special consideration for her.
"We can, but if she has work, she can't sleep in Tetsuya's room," Soyo said. "With her personality, if she's with him, she'll definitely be unable to resist doing that sort of thing. If it affects her work the next day, Manager Higuchi will definitely get mad at us."
If this were a few months ago when they first met Ai, everyone would have been worried that Tetsuya would be eaten alive by her. But after going through a trial by fire together, they were now only worried that Ai would be the one getting more exhausted...
"Love really does change a person," Anon said, filled with emotion. "Ai, who was originally the most aggressive and lawless, has now become the weakest one. Sakiko, who seemed the calmest, turned out to be the boldest. And even the ever-gentle Soyo becomes a completely different person in bed..."
"You're the same, aren't you? You were always the one proactively getting close to him before, but when it came to the crucial moment, you needed him to take the lead," Soyo said, her expression unchanged. "As long as everyone can be happy, these small changes are nothing."
"I just feel like big brother still hasn't quite adapted to this 'happiness' yet," Anon couldn't help but retort, remembering how his knees were weak when he left.
Sakiko, however, wasn't worried.
"We only lost control a little because it was our first time. And considering we all have our own work in the future, the frequency of all four of us being together will only decrease. By then, Tetsuya-kun will surely be able to adapt properly!"
"So you're only reducing the number of people? At least give him a little more time to rest! Like, on the weekends or something—"
"Soyo, could you trouble you to pour me another cup of tea?"
"Mhm, I'll go right now."
"..."
So these two have no intention of listening at all...
Faced with the two who had completely transformed into carnivores, Anon couldn't help but shake her head.
At times like this, it seemed only she, his sister, truly felt sorry for him...
"By the way... Anon, have you told your parents that you're officially with Tetsuya?"
While Soyo was preparing the tea, Sakiko suddenly remembered the topic they had been discussing earlier.
Anon shook her head, a little embarrassed. "About that... I don't plan on telling them just yet."
"Eh? Why? Didn't you say before that they were always encouraging you to make a move on him? Wouldn't it be fine to just report your progress?" Sakiko was puzzled.
Anon explained, "Because, with my brother's 'take responsibility to the very end' personality, he will definitely wait until he's successful and established before properly telling Mom and Dad about us. So, I want to wait until that time and introduce all of you to them, together with him."
She continued, "And just like him, I want all of you to truly become our family. So there's no need to rush. When the time is right, we'll naturally take everyone to meet them."
"I see..."
Hearing her earnest reply, a smile appeared on Sakiko's face.
"In that considerate and serious way, you really are Tetsuya-kun's sister, Anon..."
"Hehe... not really. I just learned a lot from him," Anon said with a sheepish grin. "If this were the old me, I would never have been able to think about so many things..."
After all, just a year ago, she was the "action-oriented" type who would decide to study abroad just to show off, without ever considering the risks of failure. But after forming a band with Tetsuya and witnessing him solve everyone's problems while building the [Starry Sky] brand with them, she had gradually learned to think in a serious and responsible way, just like her brother.
"On that point... we're all the same," Sakiko said, also feeling emotional. "If it weren't for Tetsuya-kun, I'd probably still be on bad terms with Soyo and the others, worrying about my livelihood and tuition... not to mention my father's debt, and mending my relationship with my mother would have been completely unthinkable..."
"Me too," Soyo said, placing cups of tea in front of Anon and Sakiko. "If it weren't for Tetsuya, I wouldn't have been able to make up with Sakiko, nor would I be pursuing a new future and new goals. As for my new band and job now... that would have been a complete fantasy."
It was the same for Hoshino Ai. If she hadn't been reunited with him, they couldn't even imagine what would have become of her all alone...
"Meeting Tetsuya-kun... was the best thing that ever happened," Sakiko sighed.
The other two silently nodded in agreement, all of them lost in memories of him and感慨-ing over the past.
"I'm home... Hmm? What are you all doing?"
Just then, Ai, having just finished a photo shoot, returned home.
Taking off her baseball cap and mask, she looked at the three in the living room, who seemed to be in a philosophical trance, with a strange expression.
"Why does everyone look like they've achieved ultimate fulfillment?"
"It's nothing. We were just talking about what would have become of us if we'd never met Tetsuya," Soyo answered truthfully.
Hearing this, Ai replied without a moment's hesitation, "Why think about something like that? It's not like we could ever be separated from him again, right? Besides that, Sakiko, I found that photo studio you asked me to look for. We can contact them anytime after Tetsu gets back."
"Photo studio?" 2x
Soyo and Anon asked in unison, completely bewildered. Sakiko smiled and explained.
"This is something I asked Ai to do in private. When Tetsuya-kun gets back, I want him to take a commemorative photo with all of us."
"Ah, that's a great idea!" Anon's eyes lit up. "I'm all for it!"
"Yeah, it sounds really exciting just hearing about it," Soyo said with a longing expression. "The photo album Tetsuya gave me still has a lot of empty pages..."
"I knew you'd like it. Well then, all we have to do now is wait for Tetsuya-kun to come back."
She wondered what kind of reaction they would have when they found out the photo shoot she had Ai book was themed around a "wedding"...
"I can't wait."
Gazing at the bright, clear sky outside the window, Sakiko smiled, eagerly awaiting that day.