Ch.406IF Side Story: Seems I’ve Arrived a Bit Early (103)

Giving a gift to someone is both a joyful and difficult task.

As someone who once lived an adult life, I sometimes find myself thinking, “I wish they would just tell me what they want.”

Well, after growing older, I used to just give money. My parents and younger sibling seemed to prefer that anyway. It’s not that unusual in Korea, is it?

But the problem is that I’m still a middle school student.

Kagami has quite a strong fixation on what’s “normal.” In Kagami’s mind, “normal” means children don’t have to work.

Children with caring parents who look after them don’t need to work part-time jobs.

It’s not a strange idea, but I do wonder if there are students who work part-time because they want something specific…

Well, even among part-timers, high school students probably do it more than middle schoolers.

So, the allowance I have now is actually money earned by Kagami and Dad. Since coming here, Kagami has stopped working at Dad’s suggestion, so technically it’s Dad’s money.

Giving that money back to him as a “gift” wouldn’t be convincing at all.

That’s why I’d been racking my brain about two weeks before Christmas.

“How about a necktie?”

That was Yuka’s response when I asked her for advice after much deliberation.

“A necktie?”

“Yeah. It’s ordinary, right? And practical too. He might even wear it to work and show it off. Saying his daughter gave it to him.”

It was quite a sensible idea.

Even if I saved up my allowance, buying something like a watch would be awkward. Watches that can be worn as accessories are generally expensive, and getting a mediocre cheap one or a digital watch seemed a bit off.

Even if I bought a necktie, I couldn’t afford an expensive one, but neckties are everyday items where price isn’t a major consideration.

“Oh.”

When I gave Dad the necktie I bought following Yuka’s advice, his face lit up. It was just a plain navy blue tie, but Dad deliberately put it on over the t-shirt he was wearing to relax at home.

…Even though we’re not related by blood, spending this much time together naturally creates family-like bonds.

Kagami’s gift wasn’t so difficult.

What I bought for Kagami was a thin necklace. It didn’t have any special decorations, which meant Kagami could wear it without feeling out of place with her “married woman” concept.

“Oh my.”

Well, choosing the type of gift wasn’t that difficult, but I did put some thought into selecting the design for Kagami. In the end, it turned out to be a safe design that wouldn’t clash with her taste.

But Kagami smiled brightly as if she was extremely happy just with that.

Seeing her smile with the necklace around her neck warmed my heart. Kagami isn’t even in her thirties yet. Perhaps she’s only now gradually finding her rightful place.

Kagami spread her arms wide and gave me a tight hug.

Even though I’ve been embraced by Kagami since childhood, it still feels good whenever it happens. I’ll probably never get tired of it for the rest of my life. It’s a mother’s embrace, after all.

And then, Koko.

This is just my personal thought, but I think Koko would like anything I give her. Actually, I’m not even sure if she understands the concept of “disliking” something. Kosuzu seemed to dislike things, though.

So, what I bought was a simple scarf.

Since it’s winter, I thought it wouldn’t be bad for Koko to wear it when going outside. Though I was a bit doubtful whether she was the type to catch colds.

“Ooh?”

When I wrapped the red scarf around Koko’s neck, she tilted her head.

“This is a scarf.”

“Scarf?”

“You wear it around your neck to keep warm.”

Koko tilted her head.

It’s a bit strange to say this, but she’s cute. Even though it’s my own face, that’s what I think. Normally, seeing someone who looks exactly like you acting embarrassingly would be stressful, but I don’t feel that way about Koko at all. Maybe it’s because I know she doesn’t understand anything.

“Woo?”

Perhaps I tied the scarf too carelessly, as one end was left hanging long.

Koko tilted her head, grabbed that end, looked at it, and then—

“Koko?”

She wrapped the long end of the scarf around my neck. Even though the scarf was long, it wasn’t designed for two people, so it was a bit short for that purpose.

“Oh my, how cute!”

Kagami exclaimed, bringing her hands together slightly.

“Just a moment.”

Then she dashed up to her room.

…It seemed she went to get a camera.

Dad laughed out loud seeing my blank expression as I sat there barely able to move, stuck next to Koko.

“Alright, alright.”

Kagami came down with the camera, panting, and pointed it at us.

“Look this way and smile! One, two, cheese—!”

Well, I did make a V-sign with my fingers for the camera.

*

After giving gifts to my parents, we headed to Shii’s house together.

We had invited them over, but Koko seemed eager to use her scarf right away, and I thought it wouldn’t be bad for us to go pick them up since we were going to hang out anyway.

“Oh my.”

Shii blinked when she saw Koko and me standing side by side at the Sasaki family’s front door.

“How cute!”

“…”

That’s right.

Koko clearly thought this scarf was meant for two people.

When I suggested going out together, she did come along, but she seemed strangely dejected with the scarf on. When I wrapped the remaining part around my neck just in case, she immediately brightened up.

…I wonder how much she likes me.

Well, it’s not bad to have someone who likes you.

Ah, no. If someone likes you in a strange way, that’s just a nuisance.

“Here.”

“Oh, is this a gift?”

“Yes. Take it home and open it tomorrow. Today’s just Christmas Eve.”

“Thank you!”

Shii’s face brightened.

Even though Shii had many friends at school, she liked me just the same. It feels special whenever I see this reaction. Shii was quite an important character in the original story, after all.

By the way, the gift was matching sweaters for the Sasaki siblings. They’re “matching” only in the sense that they’re the same color. I thought Shii would like it, and Souta probably wouldn’t mind too much.

I had also picked out a gift for Yuka, but since she said she’d spend Christmas Eve with her family, we arranged to meet separately tomorrow to exchange gifts.

“Brother!”

Shii quickly went inside the house and called out.

After putting the gift in her room, she came down from the second floor with Souta.

Souta looked a bit tense. Well, he was going to a house with three girls and a dad who looked like a yakuza… actually, he really was from the yakuza, but officially he’s not a yakuza anymore.

Dad has been scaring Souta less these days, but it must still be a bit uncomfortable for him.

Still, the fact that he accepted the invitation suggests that he enjoys days like this in his own way.

“Oh.”

But that tense expression—

“Pfft.”

Broke when he saw me sharing a scarf with Koko. Souta seemed caught off guard by our sudden attack.

Still, judging by his expression trying not to laugh, he knew the attack wasn’t really intentional.

“…”

I gave him a look that said “laugh if you dare,” and Souta quickly turned around.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, yes, let’s go right away!”

Shii exclaimed excitedly. Souta was backing out when he bumped the back of his head against me.

*

It wasn’t as spacious as the room where we had played with Harumi and Yuu before, but bringing in a small tree and decorating it together did create a bit of atmosphere.

Souta and Shii also had fun, and Dad didn’t glare at Souta at all today.

At first, I wondered if I was intruding on their chance to be alone on Christmas, but Shii’s smiling face seemed genuine.

Maybe she doesn’t dislike this kind of lively gathering.

And Souta seemed fine with it as long as he could see Shii’s happy face.

The highlight of the party was when Kagami took out the chocolate cake she had bought in advance from the refrigerator.

“Wow!”

Koko literally raised both arms above her head like she was cheering.

She’s learned enough not to scoop the cake with her hands, but she still devoured it quickly with a fork as soon as she got it on her plate.

“…Do you want mine too?”

When I pushed my portion of cake toward Koko, she stared at me.

“Kotone?”

“I’m fine.”

“…”

Koko looked completely unconvinced. No, really, I’m fine.

Maybe she thinks it’s unbelievable that someone wouldn’t eat something as delicious as cake.

“Okay. Then let’s share it.”

“Yes!”

Only after I said that did Koko pick up her fork and carefully eat the cake bit by bit.

“…”

She’s really kind too.

Or maybe Kagami has put in that much effort.

Either way, it’s a relief that there shouldn’t be any major problems with her attending school with me next year.