Nighttime, the Aragaki family's living room.
With one ear wearing an earphone and a guitar in his arms, Miyahito sat cross-legged on the sofa.
Accompanied by the guitar's backing track, he softly hummed the song "Euterpe".
And amidst these gentle, tranquil female vocals, the phone quietly resting on the sofa next to him, connected to the earphones, displayed a video call interface.
Inside the not-too-large video call frame was Utaha, sitting at her computer, wearing a red pajama set of the exact same style as the one Miyahito was currently wearing.
On this side of the screen, Miyahito, in his blue pajamas, was in the living room humming the gentle "Euterpe" in a gentle female voice.
On the other side of the screen, Utaha, in her red pajamas, was by her computer in her room. Listening to the gentle singing transmitted through the earphones, she smiled beautifully as she typed out characters on the keyboard that danced like elves.
Although the couple in love was separated by distance.
The tranquil and warm atmosphere enveloped Aragaki Miyahito and Kasumigaoka Utaha just like every night they embraced each other.
"凛と咲く花よ. (The flowers that bloom proudly.)"
[Perhaps, this is what they call love.]
"そこから何が見える. (What can be seen from there.)"
[Holding your hand, accompanying you as we walk down the street at sunset.]
"人は何故許しあうこと. (Why is it that people cannot even forgive each other.)"
[I didn't speak, and you were silent, but we both knew.]
"できないのでしょう..... (We just can't do it.....)"
[This is the little happiness that belongs to me, and to you, to Naoto and Sayaka...]
One line of lyrics, one line of novel.
Perhaps Utaha had slowed down her pace to listen to every gentle note of Miyahito's singing?
Or perhaps Miyahito wanted to weave his inner love into Utaha's novel.
Or perhaps, they had simply grown accustomed to the fact that when their lover was by their side, they would involuntarily silently match each other's pace, holding hands and walking side by side.
Slowly, on the dark red computer screen, every word and sentence appeared in tandem with the rising song.
On the dark red guitar, every time the strings vibrated with joy, there was always the crisp sound of a keystroke dancing along with it.
And when the final character of a major chapter in Utaha's novel flashed onto the computer screen, Miyahito also struck the final note of the melody.
"Hehe, it sounds great, Miyahito-sensei... ah, no, I should say Miyahito-san (Miss) instead."
Hearing Utaha's playful teasing through the earphones, Miyahito picked up his phone, pointed the front camera at himself, and said helplessly, "If you keep mocking me, believe it or not, I won't sing anymore."
"Yada~" Her tone like she was acting spoiled, Utaha rested her chin on her hands, her eyes curved into crescents as her voice sounded sweetly, "My boyfriend-kun sings so beautifully, I could never bear for him not to sing~"
"But." Glancing speechlessly at his smiling girlfriend on the phone screen, Miyahito said somewhat aggrievedly, "What kind of girl asks her boyfriend to keep singing in a female voice?"
"This is basically public execution, you know."
"Then blame yourself for writing songs that are only suitable for girls to sing!"
Pointing her finger virtually at her boyfriend's resentful face on the phone screen, Utaha said happily.
"Besides, your female singing voice is so beautiful and gentle, I love it the most!"
"...Heh."
After giving an awkward yet polite (read: perfunctory) smile, a highly reluctant Miyahito picked up his guitar again and asked in a slightly sour tone.
"What else do you want to hear?"
"Gunjou!"
"...."
Are you really that obsessed with my female voice? Kasumigaoka Utaha?
"Pick another one." With a cool, aloof expression, Miyahito rejected Utaha, whose pretty face wore a clearly ingratiating smile. "I can't sing Gunjou right now. That song takes way too much lung capacity, and I just played basketball this afternoon."
"If I sing Gunjou now, I know without a doubt I'll be off-key."
...Uwah, suddenly making so much sense, kuyashii!
"Then sing Monster!"
"Pick another one." Instant rejection.
"Psychokinesis!"
"I'm tired of singing that one, don't want to." Another instant rejection.
"SAKURA!"
"That's my phone ringtone, don't want to sing it." Still an instant rejection.
"... (Blah blah blah)"
Like two childish kids, the equally stubborn Utaha and Miyahito simultaneously stared at each other on their respective screens in a silent, wordless standoff.
Staring intensely into each other's eyes, neither daring to relax for a second, the two held their standoff for a short while.
Ultimately, a shout of "Kasu-Fatty" from Mrs. Kasumigaoka, combined with the click-clack sound of the Aragaki front door unlocking, together drew a rest mark to this childish 'war'.
After bidding each other goodnight, Miyahito hung up the video call on his phone, turned his head, and looked toward the hallway.
"Welcome back, Mom, Dad."
"I'm home."
"Mhm."
Hearing their eldest son's greeting, Satomi and Seiichiro responded one after the other.
"Where's Ayase?"
Shifting his guitar to make room on the sofa, Miyahito looked at his mother as she sat down beside him and asked curiously.
"Your sister is staying at the Sawamura residence tonight."
Seiichiro, sitting on the other sofa, loosened his tie, set it aside, and answered casually.
Staying over? Ayase? That's pretty rare.
"Well, she wasn't originally planning to stay over, but Eriri wanted to play with Ayase-chan a bit longer, so Ayase had to trouble Sayuri and Mr. Spencer to look after her." Briefly explaining the reason, Satomi smiled and ruffled her eldest son's hair before asking, "Have you eaten?"
"Yeah, I ate." Miyahito nodded. "I had yakiniku with Shinji-senpai and Jiro-senpai."
After chatting briefly, Satomi got up to make tea, leaving the father and son alone in the living room.
Click—clack—!
Casually lighting a cigarette and taking a drag, Seiichiro exhaled the smoke and looked at his son, who was fiddling with his guitar, and asked.
"Now that you're back, how long do you plan to stay before heading back to Tokyo?"
"Probably until school starts." Adjusting the tension of the guitar strings, Miyahito answered casually, then looked up and smiled at his father, who was blowing smoke clouds, blinking as he asked.
"What's up? I just got back and you're already trying to chase me back to Tokyo?"
"Last time, chasing you home had nothing to do with me." Catching the implication in his son's words, Seiichiro wore an exasperated expression and said.
"I know that."
Miyahito puffed out his chest slightly and said as if it were a matter of course.
Choked by his son's attitude of 'I know, but what does that have to do with me mocking you?', Seiichiro coughed a few times.
After regaining his breath, he looked at his eldest son—who had somehow developed a habit of being smug and provocative—and saw the pleased expression on his face.
Seiichiro felt a surge of irritation.
What are you doing, what are you doing? Do you like seeing your old man get frustrated?
At this moment, seeing his dad's face gradually darkening (feeling exactly like the calm before a storm), Miyahito sensed the danger and quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, Dad, there's something I want to talk to you about."
"What is it?"
"It's just that I want to....."