Chapter 30: Mother's Arrival
“You’re late. Where have you two been wandering around?”
“M-Mom…”
Standing in the entrance was a beautiful woman with sleek black hair.
It was Fuyunagi-san’s mother.
Fuyunagi’s mother.
Thinking about it like that made me understand her beauty as well.
She was the very embodiment of overwhelming beauty.
“W-What are you doing here?”
“That’s quite a way to speak, isn’t it? Is a parent not allowed to come see her own child? Well, never mind. So, who is this boy over here?”
“He’s my boyfriend.”
Fuyunagi looked away from her mother and briefly introduced me.
“That boy? Fufu, don’t be ridiculous.”
“Huh? Ridiculous…?”
“What do you think the name Fuyunagi means? You honestly believe some nobody from who-knows-where could ever be worthy of it?”
“It has nothing to do with our family!”
“Nothing to do with it? I can’t believe you can say something like that.”
A parent and child arguing.
I’d had a vague sense that Fuyunagi-san didn’t like talking about her parents, but… I see now. Yeah, no wonder she doesn’t want to.
Anyone could tell at a glance that the relationship between parent and child is bad.
Even I, a complete outsider, could pick up on it instantly.
And while I don’t know what her family is really like, from the way her mother spoke, it seemed like an old-fashioned, strict household, or in other words, one stuck in outdated customs.
“The Fuyunagi family is a distinguished household with a long history, you know. And you, bearing that name — how can you behave like this? With that attitude, you’ll shame your father and your grandfather!”
“Sigh… I really don’t want to keep repeating myself. I have no interest in the Fuyunagi family, and whatever circumstances you have mean nothing to me.”
“And your circumstances mean nothing to me. Listen carefully, it is a child’s duty to obey their parents! I came here today because I have something important to discuss with you as your parent.”
“Something important? Hah. You mean another arranged marriage, right? I have no intention of accepting something like that.”
“Honestly… you don’t have the right to refuse. You will accept this arranged meeting, no matter what. You have no right to say no — make sure you understand that clearly.”
She was quite a toxic parent.
It was as if she saw her own child as nothing more than a tool for the adults’ convenience.
But this kind of exchange… you don’t even see stuff like this in daytime dramas anymore.
It’s extremely outdated.
“…You haven’t changed, Mom… being someone else’s puppet… I don’t want to be like that…”
“What are you talking about? A woman’s duty is to serve and support men. What do you have against that?”
“…Sigh… Mom, you do realize what year it is, right? It’s Reiwa now. It’s 2025. Don’t drag out those Taisho- and Showa-era values and try to force them on modern people.”
“Excuse me? I was born in the Heisei era! Don’t treat me like some old woman!”
“Then stop using those outdated values. I have no intention of marrying some man whose personality and face I barely know, nor will I bow my head to him. I’ll become the woman of the man I choose. I won’t end up like you.”
“Guhh! Shizuku! What kind of attitude is that towards your mother!!”
Fuyunagi’s mother raised her hand as if to slap her daughter.
I couldn’t just stand by and watch, so I stepped in between them.
“What? You…? Get out of the way.”
“If you try to lay a hand on her, I’ll intervene too.”
“This is a family matter. It has nothing to do with an outsider like you, don’t you understand?”
“I’m Fuyunagi’s boyfriend, so it’s my duty to protect her.”
“You have no such obligation, and it has nothing to do with you. Now move aside.”
An adult, especially a beautiful adult at that, glaring at you is still terrifying.
I almost shrank back at the gaze from someone who looked like an older version of Fuyunagi, but I held my ground.
Parents shouldn’t hit their children… that’s not acceptable.
For the two of them, this kind of thing might be normal, even if Fuyunagi-san is accustomed to being hit by her parent. However, I personally don’t want to witness something like that right in front of me.
So I couldn’t just back down.
“Sigh… I can’t deal with this anymore. Listen, Shizuku. I’ve made the engagement plans perfectly clear to you. You do not have the right to refuse. Make sure you understand that.”
Leaving only those words behind, her mother pushed past us and walked out of the house.
“Finally, she’s gone. Haah… what a pain.”
“How should I put this… um… you’re really going through a lot… in many ways.”
“…”
“…?”
Fuyunagi-san stared straight at my face.
What? What is it?
Having her look at me like that is kind of scary.
“That was unexpected.”
“Huh? Unexpected?”
“I never thought you’d step in and argue with my mom, Taku-chan.”
“Eh…? Ah… well… maybe.”
“Given your personality, I thought you’d just leave it alone or pretend not to notice.”
“I am your boyfriend, you know… It’s only natural to protect you. And besides, a parent hitting their child is just unacceptable.”
“So you do have a passionate side… that really was unexpected.”
“Ahaha…”
“Really… you’re so interesting, Taku-chan. You never let me get bored.”
Despite the storm that had just passed, it looked like we were finally able to calm down and head into the living room of her apartment.
Character Summary (non-official)
- Majima Takuma / Taku (真島 拓真 / タク) — Taku is an utterly average high school boy in both appearance and ability. His hair and uniform are always neat but unremarkable, giving him the classic “background character” characteristic.
- Fuyunagi Shizuku (冬柳 雫) — Fuyunagi Shizuku is a stunning black-haired high school beauty with a mature, graceful aura. Her long, silky hair, elegant posture, pure and innocent atmosphere, and impressive figure—including her large chest—give her an appearance so gentle and comforting that a tired working adult might instinctively want to cling to her and call her “Mama.” Her looks alone make her feel like a UR-rarity heroine. At school, she’s admired as a pure, wholesome, and almost ideal girl—popular among girls, constantly confessed to by boys, and always at the center of her class. In private, however, Shizuku reveals a selfish, bratty, and emotionally unstable side. She’s clingy, easily upset, mentally fragile, and relies heavily on her boyfriend for emotional support while demanding secrecy and setting controlling conditions in their relationship.
- Sakurada Nagisa (桜田 凪咲) — Sakurada Nagisa is a gyaru and one of the central members of Fuyunagi-san’s friend group. With light-brown hair, piercings, and perfectly applied bold eye makeup, she has a flashy style but is undeniably beautiful—cute enough to stand out even among the popular girls. Sado Kengo’s current girlfriend.
- Natsume Kano (夏芽 華乃) — The class president. A dignified, serious beauty whose pure appearance gives her a charm distinct from Fuyunagi-san. She prioritizes efficiency, logic, and rationality above all else, resulting in a rigid, no-nonsense personality that makes her unpopular with most classmates.
Sado Kengo (佐渡 健吾) — A high-spec soccer club member who once acted as Shizuku’s fake public boyfriend. He is now Sakurada Nagisa’s actual boyfriend.
- Katou Susumu (加藤 進) — The textbook “protagonist’s best friend” character. He’s a founding member of the self-proclaimed “Unpopular Men’s Club”. Although he’s extremely jealous of Takuma for landing a girlfriend like Fuyunagi—thus “betraying” the Unpopular Men’s Club (a group Takuma never actually agreed to join)—Kato remains loyal to him despite both his jealousy and the negative public opinion surrounding Takuma.
- Fuyunagi Reiko (冬柳 澪子) — Fuyunagi Shizuku’s mother.
- Fuyunagi Kanemasa (冬柳 兼政) — Fuyunagi Shizuku’s father.