"Love Bento?" Kotomi Izumi twitched the corner of her lips. She really admired Aimi Izumi's imagination—it was just an ordinary lunchbox.
But when she saw the sparkle in Aimi's eyes, the teasing words she'd planned to say vanished. Instead, she smiled warmly. "Hurry and eat before you're late for school."
"Mm!"
Maybe because Kotomi had made her lunch today, Aimi was especially obedient. If Kotomi told her to go left, she definitely wouldn't go right.
While they were eating, their mother called to ask if they were up.
"We've already started breakfast, Mom. You and Dad don't need to worry," Kotomi said.
"That's my daughter. Even when your dad and I aren't home, you can still take good care of your little sister. Last night before bed, I even joked with your dad: 'Let's go abroad for a whole year and see how Kotomi and Aimi manage living together.' But your dad just smiled and said no!"
Kotomi was speechless. Leave one girl who'd just entered high school and another still in her third year of middle school at home alone for a year? Luckily, her mom had only been joking.
Kotomi's mom, much like Kotomi herself, was the kind of person who preferred staying home when there was nothing pressing to do—just a little bit of a homebody. If she really went abroad for a year, Kotomi figured her mom wouldn't last three months before telling her dad, I want to go home!
Kaneyoshi Izumi had been married to Akina Izumi for over twenty years, so of course he knew her temperament well enough to refuse with a smile.
"Hehe, I was only joking. You're in high school now, and Aimi will have her high school entrance exams next February. How could I possibly leave you two alone for a whole year? If your grandparents found out, they'd kill me."
The Hishinaga family's way of educating had always been straightforward—whether you were a boy or a girl, if you messed up, you got a beating.
Speaking of going abroad, Kotomi thought of her aunt—Yuki Hishinaga—who had been living alone in Sydney, Australia, for many years.
Kotomi remembered meeting Yuki Hishinaga once when she was very young, but so much time had passed that her impression was blurry.
She never understood why Yuki had lived alone in Sydney for so many years without returning, as if she didn't want contact with the family at all.
Yet every year, whether it was New Year, birthdays, or school milestones, both Kotomi and Aimi would receive an international package from Sydney containing gifts from their aunt.
When they were little, it was new clothes or toys; last year, it had been a set of expensive cosmetics.
Kotomi and Aimi both had a good impression of their long-absent aunt. But for some reason, Akina Izumi rarely mentioned her younger sister who lived in Sydney, remained single, and never married.
Kotomi used to think her aunt was simply a lifelong single by choice. But she also felt there must be more to it.
Why? Because when Kotomi was little and once mentioned Yuki Hishinaga while visiting her grandparents, the warm atmosphere in the house had suddenly chilled. Her grandparents' expressions turned complicated, and Akina, who had been peeling an apple, stopped mid-motion.
Kotomi hadn't known why and thought she had said something wrong.
"Kotomi, let me ask you something," Akina's voice came through the phone.
"Hm? What is it?"
"If I left your sister in your care, could you take good care of her?" Akina asked meaningfully.
"Of course," Kotomi answered without the slightest hesitation—full of confidence.
"Wow, that's quite a quick answer."
"Do I really need to hesitate over whether I can take good care of Aimi?" Kotomi replied with a smile.
When Kotomi told her mother she was confident she could take care of Aimi, Aimi—who interpreted "take care" in a way more akin to marriage—felt her cheeks slowly flush pink. Shyness and joy intertwined in her heart like a sweet double-scoop ice cream.
Hishinaga residence.
"Old man, how about calling to ask… will Yuki be coming back this year?" Grandma Takaka Hishinaga's tone carried both longing and helplessness.
Upon hearing her words, Ryu Hishinaga's expression became grim, his brows knitting with anger.
Bang!
He slammed his cup down on the table and roared, "Come back? She still has the face to come back?! I'd rather she die overseas and pretend I never had such a daughter! If you hadn't stopped me back then, I might have beaten her to death with my own hands! Shameless thing!"
"Don't say that. She's still our daughter."
Takaka sighed, her voice heavy with resignation. "Old man, I know you're still angry. What Yuki did back then really was too impulsive. Akina cried alone for a long time afterward. But Akina and Yuki are both our daughters. You can't let Yuki live alone in Sydney forever, can you? All these years, she's been so stubborn—no dating, no marriage. Does she really intend to grow old alone?"
"It's because we spoiled her when she was little, made her think that anything she wanted, she had to have!" Ryu growled. Then his tone sank, weariness creeping into his face.
"After what Yuki did, I immediately told our in-laws and moved fast to lock down the news. Back then Akina and Kaneyoshi hadn't even married yet. The Izumi family was shocked when they found out. Because of her moment of recklessness, she caused trouble for everyone. Most importantly, she deeply hurt the sister who had always loved her. Even if she comes back, do you think Akina will forgive her?"
"Sigh… old man, it's fate's cruel joke. Who would've thought the one who liked Kaneyoshi first… was Yuki?" Takaka murmured helplessly.
"It wasn't Kaneyoshi's fault, and it wasn't Akina's. Kaneyoshi liked Akina from the very beginning. If not for all this, he might never have even realized Yuki had feelings for him…"
"So, should I still call her? It's almost New Year. I miss her. As her mother, I want her to come home… but at the same time, I don't. We haven't seen each other in so many years—I want to know how she's doing. But if she comes back and meets Akina… sigh. Both daughters are dear to me. What am I supposed to do?"
Takaka dabbed the corner of her eye with a handkerchief.
"…Call her if you want. I don't want to talk to her," Ryu said flatly, rising from his seat.
Just before leaving the living room, he stopped and spoke without turning around. "If she's really coming back this year, remind her to dress warmly before getting on the plane. Japan's winter isn't like Sydney's. She's been there so long she might have forgotten what winter feels like here… I suppose she'd come back in winter, wouldn't she?"
Without waiting for a reply, he left the room.
Takaka sighed, picked up her phone, and dialed Yuki Hishinaga's number.
It rang only briefly before being answered.
"Mom?"
"Yuki, how are things over in Sydney? Still eating well?" Takaka asked in her usual way.
"Mom, I've been here for nearly twenty years. How could I not be used to the food by now?"
"Because you've always been picky since you were little. Back then, just getting you to eat properly was such a headache."
No matter how impulsive her second daughter's past actions had been, Takaka could never truly harden her heart against her.
Both Yuki and Akina were her beloved daughters. Seeing the sisters' relationship frozen and burdened with such a heavy rift pained her deeply.
Takaka Hishinaga could only watch helplessly, feeling both heartache and frustration.
"I miss Mom's cooking…" Yuki Hishinaga's voice drifted softly from the other end of the line.
"Silly child, if you want to eat it, you can come back anytime. It's not like you don't have a key to the house." Takaka wiped away her tears, her tone a mixture of love and resignation.
"…Mom, let me buy you a first-class ticket to Sydney."
"No need. I'm too old now; I can't be bothered with long flights. Cough… Yuki, have you met any nice men in Sydney?"
"No." Yuki's voice instantly turned as cold and hard as stone.
"You can't seriously plan to live alone forever, can you?" Takaka asked earnestly.
"I've liked someone for a long time—Kaneyoshi Izumi. But he didn't marry me back then." Yuki, irritated by the question, spoke out of spite.
"What nonsense are you talking about?! He's your brother-in-law!" Takaka scolded. But deep inside, she knew exactly what her daughter's words meant. Even after more than twenty years, Yuki's feelings for Kaneyoshi had never changed.
"Forget it, Mom. Don't keep asking; you'll only get angry."
"You know I get angry, yet you still won't make things easier for me? Honestly… Yuki, you've rarely come home for New Year since you left for Sydney. Are you coming back this year?"
"Work's a bit busy…"
"Don't use work as an excuse. Since when have you ever worked? All your expenses in Sydney are covered by the 20% stake in Chanel I gave you."
When Yuki had left for Sydney, Ryu had cursed that she'd better die overseas, but privately he had negotiated with Chanel to buy a special 20% stake, then gifted it to her under Takaka's name. The stake was special: Yuki didn't have to do anything—not even show up to the company—and every month, a generous, stable dividend would appear in her bank account.
Yuki fell silent. It was true—she had lived all these years off that monthly dividend, never having to worry about money, living a quiet, unchanging life without ambition.
If she could, she would live like this forever, alone in Sydney until the end of her days.
"Hmm? Yuki, are you driving? It sounds noisy." Takaka suddenly heard a car horn in the background.
"Yeah. I'm heading to a luxury boutique."
"Buying new clothes again?"
"No. I have too many already—some I haven't even worn. I'm not buying more right now. Kotomi's just started high school, and Aimi's about to take her entrance exams. I want to buy them some gifts and send them by courier."
"You're quite the doting aunt," Takaka said warmly. Even though Yuki hadn't returned to Japan in years, Kotomi and Aimi had always received gifts from her for New Year, holidays, birthdays, and school milestones.
After chatting a bit about daily life, Takaka said again:
"Yuki, it's almost New Year. Come home this year."
"If my sister sees me, she'll probably want to kill me."
"What, you dared to act back then but don't have the courage to face her now? You really think she doesn't know about the gifts you've been sending Kotomi and Aimi? If she truly hated you, would she have let them keep those gifts?" Takaka said.
"…I'll see in December if I can get a ticket home."
"Good. Stay a few days this time. Your father's harsh words are just that—words. In truth, he misses you too."
"…Alright."
Yuki nodded. She knew her father was tsundere—all bark, no bite. People often said she was still just a child, but when she'd received the Chanel shares, she'd known full well they were from her father, bought and handed to her via her mother so she could live comfortably in Sydney without financial worry.
The real reason she hadn't returned all these years was that she didn't know how to face her sister, Akina Hishinaga.
But her sister's name had long since changed—to Akina Izumi.
Thinking of that, Yuki felt only envy. How she wished her own name could have become Yuki Izumi.
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