That morning, Kasumigaoka Touji was bombarded with messages from his mother—
"You saw it, right?" "It's so mean to read and not reply!" "Our bond has faded, our feelings have faded! Have you stopped caring about Mom after only one day apart? Touji, you're so mean!"
Touji groaned, dragging his hand down his face in exasperation.
He glanced toward Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was quietly working on her homework, her expression calm and composed.
"Oi, has Mom not messaged you at all?" he asked, a bit skeptical.
Utaha blinked and looked up, then casually picked up her phone to check Line. After a few seconds of scrolling, she muttered with a slightly odd expression, "Emmm... she didn't look for me."
Her tone was flat, but Touji caught the subtle dip in mood.
She was the biological daughter, after all...
"Then why is she blowing up my inbox? Is it because I don't have homework?" Touji tilted his head, still confused.
"Possibly," Utaha responded with a sweet smile, putting her phone down. "Touji-kun, maybe you should spend more time chatting with her. It's only been a day."
There was a hint of mischievous intent behind that smile.
She clearly didn't want to deal with their mother's rambling messages and was more than happy to let her Otouto-kun take the hit.
Sacrifice the kouhai, protect the senpai!
"Tch, this is all your fault!"
"How is this my fault?" Utaha puffed her cheeks and turned her head. "You were the one who started it!"
"If you keep talking, I'll harass you and not let you finish your homework!"
Utaha gasped in mock horror and dramatically clutched her chest.
"You actually righteously said you wanted to harass your older sister! Unbelievable! Absolutely shameless, Touji-kun!"
Touji: "...You're so good at twisting things."
With a deadpan look, he stood up from the beanbag and pounced.
"Gyaaa~! Wait, stop! Don't touch me there! Baka!"
Laughter echoed through the room as Touji tickled her relentlessly. Utaha kicked and squirmed, trying to fight back, but that only made things worse.
Sometimes his hands brushed against places he really shouldn't be touching...
Utaha's face turned beet red, but her laughter didn't stop.
"I-I give up! I was wrong! Mercy!"
Having slid from the chair to the floor and nearly crawled under the desk, Utaha finally tapped out.
"That's what I thought," Touji said smugly, brushing off his clothes like a victorious hero.
Utaha sat up, glaring at him while adjusting her hoodie.
"Geez, you really don't hold back, huh..."
"Well, don't provoke me next time."
She huffed, but her lips curved into a soft smile.
"Fine, fine. You can bully your older sister all you want while Mom and Dad aren't home."
Touji raised an eyebrow. "That sounds oddly suggestive."
"You're overthinking it, baka."
The two shared a rare moment of silence, the chaos settling back into normalcy.
Touji went back to his phone while Utaha returned to her homework. Still, he reluctantly tapped open Line and began replying to his mom, sending her a cute sticker to pacify her wrath.
She was likely to call if he didn't reply soon...
Just as he expected, another message popped up:
[Mom]: "By the way, are you going live today?"
Surprisingly, she didn't continue her string of guilt-tripping messages and switched topics.
Touji casually typed back:
[Touji.]: "Yeah, I plan to."
[Touji.]: "Didn't stream last week, so I should make up for it."
Kasumigaoka Touji generally streamed once every two weeks, alternating between cooking and singing sessions.
At first, he used to stream weekly—every Sunday without fail. But after achieving a modest level of financial freedom, his diligence took a nosedive. Gradually, biweekly streams became the norm, and sometimes he would vanish without warning, earning him the nickname "missing person" among loyal fans.
His content updates also slowed. What began as a vibrant routine of near-daily food uploads eventually became weekly, then bi-weekly. Fortunately, his charisma and quality made up for the inconsistency.
Most of his uploads were cooking-related: homemade meals, cooking techniques, and occasional restaurant visits. When he traveled or went on vacation, he would drop a "special episode"—rare but always popular.
As for his music side gig— Touji had been releasing one original song per semester since his first year of junior high. To date, he'd released nine songs, each with respectable viewership and solid royalties. Most of his income came from song rights and licensing, with a smaller share from product placements, restaurant collaborations, and donations during livestreams.
...
[Mom]: "Still starting at five today?"
[Touji.]: "Yeah."
[Mom]: "Then Mom will help moderate the stream room again~! I'll also handle any brand offers that come up. (o゜▽゜)o☆[effort!]"
In previous streams, Kasumigaoka Touji handled the cooking and speaking, Kasumigaoka Utaha manned the camera, and Kasumigaoka Airi—his ever-reliable mother—moderated the live room. She was the one blocking trolls, hyping the chat, and even negotiating collaborations.
[Touji.]: "Are you sure? Don't you have to cook over there?"
[Mom]: "It's fine!"
[Mom]: "Your dad has a dinner gathering with new coworkers tonight, so I'm just making something simple."
Touji paused, staring at the chat window. A small flicker of guilt tugged at him. She was all alone in Hokkaido tonight...
After thinking for a moment, he began typing again.
[Touji.]: "Didn't you say the apartment was a company-arranged dormitory?"
[Touji.]: "Aren't there other families from Tokyo staying nearby too? Maybe you could hang out with them?"
[Mom]: "Someone did suggest it..."
[Touji.]: "Then you should go! Don't worry about me. Utaha's almost done with her homework anyway, I'll get her to help me. And if not, I'll go bug Izumi from next door."
[Mom]: "Izumi-kun seems really tired lately... maybe let him rest? Sweating.jpg!"
[Touji.]: "Rest? I'm giving him a break from thinking! Helping me counts as mental therapy!" [Touji.]: "Besides, I'll treat him to dinner afterwards."
[Mom]: "Ehhh... fine, fine~."
A moment later, she sent another cheerful message:
[Mom]: "Alright then, I'll go make dinner plans with the neighbors!"
[Touji.]: "Go, go!~ Enjoy yourself."
Looking at the last message on his screen, Kasumigaoka Touji exhaled with a faint smile.
Honestly, with a mom like her, he was doomed to worry like a proper doting son.
... ...