The next day, Akira arrived early at Sajuna's doorstep, waiting for the early-rising Sajuna to open the door for him.
While jogging that morning, he happened to see a newly opened cake shop by the roadside, so Akira ran over and bought some new small cakes, intending to bring them for Sajuna to try.
He gently knocked on the door of Sajuna's house, and what he heard was not Sajuna's impatient sound of opening the door, but Sayouye's mom's gentle voice.
"Akira-kun, good morning."
Sayouye's mom cupped her cheek, looking at Akira in front of her.
"Akira-kun, why didn't you come yesterday? Sajuna really wanted to see Akira-kun."
Akira made an apologetic expression and explained, "Because I had to help make Sajuna's next cosplay outfit, I didn't have time to see Sajuna."
"Oh, I know, Akira-kun doesn't need to be so serious."
"Auntie was just saying Sajuna misses Akira-kun very much."
Sayouye's mom looked at Akira's serious demeanor, and couldn't help but want to tease the earnest boy in front of her.
"Come in quickly, it's not good to stay at the doorstep for too long."
Sayouye's mom said this, then turned around, letting Akira walk in.
Walking to the entryway, Akira took off his shoes, put on the slippers Sajuna had prepared for him, and then walked into the living room, where he saw Sajuna's Papa reading a newspaper at the dining table.
"Uncle, good morning."
Akira greeted him cautiously.
Although it wasn't their first meeting, the father-in-law's oppressive feeling towards his son-in-law still existed.
Sajuna's Papa's gaze shifted from the newspaper, saw Akira standing in the center of the living room, and stared directly into Akira's eyes, asking,
"What are your plans for this summer vacation?"
Then, as if afraid Akira might misunderstand, he added,
"I see your book's sales seem good. Do you have any plans for what's next?"
Akira nodded, then replied, "The second volume is about to begin, and I feel like there will be a lot to do next."
"I have great confidence in the book I'm writing."
Sajuna's Papa nodded, as if admonishing him, "However, having confidence isn't always a good thing; you also need to be able to listen to others' opinions."
"Thank you for your guidance, Uncle."
Akira thanked Sajuna's Papa.
Sayouye's mom, who was in the kitchen making breakfast, listened to the exchange between the father-in-law and son-in-law, and couldn't help but interrupt their somewhat unpleasant conversation.
"Papa-san, why do you always talk about such things?"
"Akira-kun is a very well-behaved child."
Sayouye's mom came out of the kitchen, carrying the cooked fried eggs, her face full of satisfaction and happiness for her daughter's boyfriend, and said to Akira,
"Akira-kun, you haven't had breakfast yet, have you?"
"Not yet."
Akira replied.
Only then did Sayouye's mom notice Akira still holding the small cakes he had brought, and she quickly placed the breakfast on the table.
"Is this something Akira-kun bought for Sajuna?"
Then, seeing Akira hand them over, Sayouye's mom took a quick look, then turned her head to scold Papa: "It's all Papa-san's fault for making Akira-kun carry Sajuna's gift for so long."
Looking at Sajuna's Papa's stern, bewildered expression, Akira opened his mouth, but ultimately decided not to explain for Sajuna's Papa.
After all, it could easily be seen as showing off, leading to strange misunderstandings.
Following Sayouye's mom, he retrieved the necessary bowls and chopsticks for breakfast from the kitchen. Shinju, who had been in her room, also emerged, yawning. She was wearing loose pajamas and was only slightly surprised to see Akira in the house.
"Akira -Onii, good morning."
"Ah~~"
Shinju greeted him like this, unable to stop a yawn.
"Shinju, look at yourself, you're not cute at all."
Sayouye's mom looked at Shinju's sleepy face, couldn't help but walk over, and gently stroked Shinju's hair.
"And, we have a guest at home, you can't be like this."
"After all, he's your sister's boyfriend."
"Even for your sister's boyfriend, you should pay attention to your image."
Sayouye's mom looked a little helpless, taking Shinju's hand and leading her to wash up.
Just as their backs were about to disappear from the living room, Sayouye's mom seemed to remember something, turned her head, and said to Akira,
"It looks like Sajuna isn't awake yet. Akira-kun, please go to her bedroom and wake her up."
After saying this, as if afraid Akira would refuse, she also seemed to be warning Sajuna's Papa, who had suddenly looked up at Akira from the living room.
"Papa-san, you're not allowed to object, there's really nothing to it."
Sajuna's Papa seemed to recall some agreement with Sayouye's mom, and his gaze returned to the newspaper in front of him.
Go to Sajuna's bedroom to wake Sajuna up?
Akira always felt there was some special meaning to it.
After all, at breakfast time, a boy entering a sleeping girl's room always looked a bit suspicious.
And he hadn't even gotten Sajuna's permission, yet he was just going to follow Sayouye's mom's suggestion and walk straight in...
Akira suddenly felt that Sajuna and her Mom would probably both agree to what he was doing...
It seemed there was no need to be so conflicted.
They had clearly agreed yesterday that today would be the first day of summer vacation, and he would come to see Sajuna early. He didn't expect Sajuna to still be asleep at the appointed time!
Akira felt he needed to be very angry!
With the mission of teaching Sajuna "honesty and trustworthiness," Akira finally decided to go wake Sajuna up, so she could fully recognize her mistake!
Akira stood up, selectively ignoring Sajuna's Papa, who was secretly glancing at him, walked to Sajuna's bedroom door, and gently knocked on it.
No sound came from inside the room. Akira gently turned the doorknob, and the door clicked open.
Akira slowly walked in.
Facing the door were pink curtains, partly open, letting in just the right amount of sunlight from outside, making the room's atmosphere feel wonderfully comfortable.
Akira turned his head and saw Sajuna sleeping on the bed. Akira noticed that the chocolate box, which used to be by the headboard with the teddy bear, had been removed at some point and replaced with the doll he had given her earlier.
Akira's expression softened involuntarily. He quietly walked to Sajuna's bedside, then looked down at the gently breathing Sajuna.
Next to the bed was a small table, on which lay scattered white papers. Akira glanced at them and saw several line sketches Sajuna used for practicing drawing.
Akira pulled out a portrait from the stack, looked at it, and found it quite resembled him. Could it be that Sajuna was secretly drawing his portrait, planning it as a surprise for him?
Beneath the papers was also a cute pink notebook, seemingly for a girl's private thoughts. Akira hesitated for a moment but did not open it to pry into Sajuna's privacy.
What was today's mission again?
Akira looked at the sleeping Sajuna in front of him. Her eyebrows twitched slightly, as if she was dreaming of something. Her two hands, resting outside the quilt, were unconsciously intertwined, making her look utterly adorable.
Whatever the mission, the first thing to do was still to wake up Sajuna.