"Mother, I'm home!"
As soon as he stepped into the house, which was filled with a faint citrus scent, the muscular half-Black drummer rushed toward his mother with a bright, unfittingly innocent smile.
Hearing her son's voice—a voice that was the spitting image of his father's—his mother greeted him with a warm, pleasant smile.
"My son, did you have a good trip?"
"Mother! Look at these muscles! Of course, it was great!"
Yokishi flexed his arms, showing off his physique as he pulled his mother into a deep embrace. Because his mother had raised him single-handedly after his father passed away, his feelings for her were exceptionally profound.
"How was it, visiting the place where your father was born and raised?"
"It was the kind of country that helped me understand why Father was the way he was. It was a place filled with freedom and passion."
The muscular drummer thought back to his father, a man who had always been positive and full of hope. America was a country that shared that same fundamental nature.
'But there's a more important fact than that.'
Yokishi thought of the truth he had been itching to brag about. The fact that his mother, who had been drowning in debt all this time, and he himself, would never have to suffer through such things again.
"Mother, you can enjoy your retirement in peace now. Just the amount currently sitting in my bank account is over 100 billion won."
"That... that is truly incredible."
"Mother, I know we've grown attached to this place, but let's leave this apartment behind."
The mother nodded, but a trace of lingering regret was clear on her face.
'Ah... this apartment... this is the house where she lived with Father before he passed.'
Looking at his mother staring at the old family photo with his father, Yokishi understood why she felt bittersweet despite the good news.
But it was time to let go of the past. While it was a precious space where they had lived with his father, it was also a place that had become far too dilapidated under the weight of time.
In particular, due to structural issues, the 'flowers' of mold blooming all over one wall were certain to ruin his mother's health in the long run. The living must overcome their grief and move forward. Nothing changes by simply longing for the past.
Of course, Yokishi understood why his mother held such an attachment.
'For Mother, Father was the man who made her give up everything to be with him.'
She had told him many times that she was born the daughter of a prestigious family, yet she had overcome her family's fierce opposition and run away in the middle of the night with just a single suitcase to be with his father.
"Mother, do you want to go out and eat something delicious?"
He missed his father, too. But now was the time to look toward the future.
"You just arrived, you must be tired... are you sure you're alright?"
"Mother, American protein shakes are top-tier. I've been eating well, so I'm full of energy. Let's head out."
As mentioned, he did miss his father. But leading a happy life with his mother was more important than that yearning.
"Mother, you have to stay healthy for a very long time."
The muscular drummer began to move out of the damp, mold-infested house and toward a place where the warm sunlight could reach them.
[Bald Shuji's courtship snake dance toward his lover!]
[Bald Shuji and the popular mangaka's romance still all clear!]
[The Superstar Baldie caught in a steamy display of public affection!]
"Ahem! This father is disappointed in you, Shuji!!"
Shuji could feel his father's glare demanding an explanation. The bald bassist had been out on a date with his beloved girlfriend, only to receive a thunderous roar over the phone, threatening to strike him from the family registry if he didn't come home immediately, asking how he could not visit once. Now, he was at his parents' house.
And he was in a tight spot because of the damn paparazzi.
Since he had physically beaten every paparazzi who tried to follow him, none of them dared to cling to him in America. But this was Japan.
'Damn it... whoever it was, if I find them, they're half-dead...'
A photo of him kissing his girlfriend, Kichijoji Yoriko, was plastered all over the front page of the newspaper.
And his father was staring at him solemnly while holding that very newspaper.
"Shuji, are you going to marry her?"
"I'm going to see her for a bit longer before I decide. We're just dating for now. It hasn't been that long since we met."
"Shuji! Did I raise you like that? If you've made a girl who isn't even married yet into gossip fodder like this, you have to take responsibility!"
Usually, his father was open-minded, but when it came to romantic relationships, his sense of chastity and virtue was stuck decades in the past. Of course, Shuji had no intention of breaking up, but meeting and breaking up was extremely common in the entertainment industry! At least, it was in America!
"Father! In America, people—"
"Quiet!!! Does this look like America to you? You have to take responsibility!"
Meanwhile, hearing that her son's girlfriend was a popular mangaka, his mother was busy searching for the name 'Kichijoji Yoriko' on Yahoo. The reason was the thought that this girl could possibly become her daughter-in-law.
"Oh my... this mother is all for it. Unlike my son, she's so lovely."
His mother had always drilled into him that the ideal woman for her was someone who didn't smoke, had no tattoos, and was a kind-hearted person.
"Set a date for the meeting of the families!!! I didn't raise you this way! If you've ruined a lovely girl's future, you have to take responsibility!"
"Father!!!!!"
"No 'buts,' you brat!!"
Damn it. Looks like I'm getting married soon.
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