There was something she had been concerned about for quite some time.
That day, she ran into Sekai at the Haruto's apartment—she had come looking for him. But what exactly did she want?
"We were just talking about you," she said. "Your mom mentioned you've got a boyfriend now too?"
As the words fell, a flicker of unease crossed Sekai's face—just enough for Mai to catch. And in that moment, her suspicions grew stronger: the girl in front of her had clearly kept a lot hidden, especially when it came to that so-called "boyfriend."
A wave of disbelief, irritation, even anger, surged inside her—but it was quickly met with helpless resignation. Given her own position, she realized she didn't really have the right to scold the girl in front of her.
Caught off guard by the question, Sekai blinked and instinctively turned to the woman sitting beside her—her mother.
"Mai's daughter got a boyfriend pretty early on too," Yoko said, smiling warmly. "So when I heard you had one as well, we ended up chatting about it. It's the weekend—aren't you spending it with him?"
"He… had to attend cram school this afternoon, so he couldn't be with me."
There was no way she could tell her mother the truth—that her "boyfriend" was actually off on a date right now with the daughter of the very woman sitting across from them. Sekai hesitated only a second before giving her answer, then quickly turned her head toward Mai, using it as a way to avoid her mother's gaze.
But the moment her eyes met Mai's, she was struck by the depth behind that look—quiet, sharp, almost knowing. Sekai could only respond with a stiff, awkward smile. The atmosphere turned tense, uneasy.
Mai's gaze remained fixed on Sekai. Sekai met her stare, but the only one who seemed out of place was Yoko, who sensed something was off but couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"I see. So I guess you don't get much time to see him during the week either. Even weekends are taken up by cram school… what a diligent young man," Yoko said, taking a small sip of her coffee, nodding as if genuinely approving of Sekai's boyfriend.
"Oh right, you stayed over at his place last night, didn't you? So… did anything happen?"
The air around the table suddenly grew heavy.
Yoko looked at her daughter with a cheerful smile, while Mai's eyes sharpened, her gaze turning serious as she watched Sekai closely.
Under the weight of both their stares, Sekai felt lost for words. Her eyes darted away, seeking somewhere else to look.
If it had just been her and her mother, she wouldn't have felt embarrassed. She could've just brushed it off with a casual answer. But with Mai sitting there—and seemingly picking up on something—Sekai suddenly wasn't sure how to respond.
No… she has no reason to be upset with me, right? She has no proof about me and Haruto. That… that's probably just me overthinking things.
Trying to convince herself, Sekai finally gave a small nod.
"Just be careful," Yoko said, her tone light but earnest. "Don't do anything you'll regret later."
Then, turning to her with a smile, she added, "If there's nothing else going on, why don't you head to my office for a bit and relax?"
"Okay,"
Sekai gave a quick nod, then hurriedly left her seat, practically fleeing from her mother and Mai as she made her way toward the office.
Mai sat in silence, her gaze following the girl's retreating figure until Sekai finally disappeared around the corner. Only then did she slowly turn her attention back to Yoko, who was now eyeing her with curiosity.
"You've been acting strange since earlier," Yoko said. "You keep staring at Sekai. Are you that curious about the boyfriend she mentioned?"
"A little," Mai replied calmly. "Setsuna hasn't mentioned anything about it, so I was just wondering what kind of person he is."
"I don't know either," Yoko admitted with a shrug.
"What about his name?"
"She didn't tell me that either."
Suspicious.
Too suspicious.
Mai gave a faint smile and slowly shook her head. It seemed her hunch had been right. Inwardly, she sighed at the messiness of modern relationships. The youth these days—so reckless. And yet, she wasn't even sure from which angle she should be criticizing them.
"I just remembered something I need to take care of. I'll head back for now. See you next weekend," she said, standing up.
"Alright," Yoko replied, watching her leave.
As Mai's figure disappeared from the dining area, Yoko's gentle smile faded. She quietly stood as well and headed toward her own office.
The conversation just now had raised too many coincidences, too many strange gaps. Yoko felt it was time she had a proper talk with her daughter...
_ _ _ _
"Do you like this shirt?"
In Shibuya, near Harajuku—
Out on a date, the young couple stood in front of a trendy clothing store. Glancing down at the girl clinging to his arm, Haruto asked for her opinion.
"Not really…" Setsuna replied.
Looking up at him, she noticed Haruto's fashion preferences leaned heavily toward plain, solid-colored shirts. He rarely chose anything with patterns, and even when he did, the designs were so minimal they barely stood out.
Since they'd gone out that morning, the only thing they'd actually bought was a matching couple's outfit. The rest of the time had been spent indecisively browsing.
Setsuna didn't particularly dislike his style—simple and understated worked fine for daily wear—but for a couple's outfit, wasn't it a bit too low-key?
She wasn't the type to ask for much, but when it came to her relationship with Haruto, she wanted to be a little bold. Just enough for people to see it—see that they were together.
Haruto noticed the subtle shift in her expression—the glimmer in her eyes—and understood. He wasn't one for flashy displays, but for Setsuna's sake, he glanced over at some styles he usually wouldn't even consider.
"Well then, how about this one? It looks—"
Bzzz—
Bzzz bzzz—
His phone buzzed suddenly, cutting him off just as he found a shirt he thought might work.
"…Seriously?"
Sighing, he pulled out his phone to check the caller ID.
"Your mom," he told Setsuna, showing her the screen, silently asking what to do.
"Go ahead," she said, giving him a small nod.
Together, they stepped out of the store. He answered the call.
"You two are still out?" came Mai's voice.
"Yeah, we're still shopping. We were actually thinking of picking something up for you too. By the way, what's your size?"
"…"
Mai had been gearing up to scold Haruto, but his response caught her completely off guard. After a pause, she muttered her size under her breath.
"…A weird clothes?"
"Huh? No, no—it's just something normal for family."
"…Oh. Well, I have something to ask you. Make sure you come home early today."
"What is it?"
"You'll find out when you get back."
With that, Mai hung up.
Haruto turned toward Setsuna. She shook her head. She'd heard the entire conversation, but even she couldn't guess what Mai wanted to talk about.
"Well, no point trying to guess. Let's head back once we finish up. Three shirts—one for each of us."
"Okay."
Setsuna didn't object to buying three shirts. If they only bought outfits for her and Haruto, she knew her mother wouldn't say anything out loud—but in her heart, she'd probably feel left out. So buying one for all three of them to wear together seemed like a pretty good idea.