As you go through life, there are moments when you suddenly realize something.
That the small things in everyday life often take up a surprisingly large part of your memories.
Little scenes that were neither especially memorable nor particularly impressive sometimes stick in your head and surface like the flash of a camera.
They may be trivial, but they are the small blocks that can never be left out when building a life.
Drying the babies’ hair, noticing a new scratch on the dining table, or looking up at the sky while walking.
It was only around the time he turned thirty that Kaoru finally realized that this was what people commonly called “everyday life.”
"……."
Kaoru absentmindedly touched the feel of the towels his wife had neatly folded and placed them on the bathroom shelf.
Come to think of it, his wife’s towel-folding skills had changed a lot too.
Seeing them folded neatly and tidily the way Kaoru had taught her long ago, he could feel that even her extreme my-pace nature, which seemed like it would never change, was gradually becoming a little less sharp with time.
Time was passing.
Not just Kaoru Hoshino’s time.
The time of his beloved family was passing too.
"…."
After putting the folded clothes into the drawer, Kaoru walked over to the vanity chair, crouched down, and shook its legs.
After confirming that the chair his wife sat in had become loose, Kaoru took a screwdriver from the toolbox on the living room shelf.
Creak—
For a while now, the vanity chair his wife used for her skincare routine before bed had been wobbling slightly.
Even the things that might have gone unnoticed and passed by as trivial, Kaoru remembered everything if it had to do with his wife.
He tightened the screws, set the screwdriver down, and checked the chair legs again.
"Hah."
The legs were steady and firmly fixed, without a trace of wobble.
Kaoru smiled and nodded in satisfaction.
Hoping that tonight, when his wife sat in this chair before bed, she would notice the change.
Soon Kaoru stood up and walked into the living room.
Believing that even the brief moment spent repairing the chair had become a small piece of the life he was building.
. . .
Snapsnapsnap
"How am I-"
"You’re sleepy, aren’t you, our Ame."
"Mm… sleepy…"
After finishing their bath together, Kaoru trimmed his youngest daughter’s nails.
Second grade in elementary school was a time of rapid growth. Because she used so much energy, whenever Ame came out after a warm bath like this, sleepiness would hit her at once and she would keep yawning.
Kaoru gently stroked her long, dazzling purple hair, still damp and just like her mother’s, with his large hand, then smiled with love and said to his youngest daughter,
"Daddy will finish quickly. Just a little longer, okay?"
"Mm…"
Snapsnapsnap
Small, delicate, pure white hands, just like his cute wife’s.
To think that with such tiny hands she read books, held pencils, and hugged her father to comfort him.
When had she grown so much? It felt like just yesterday that he had been trimming Aqua and Ruby’s fingernails and toenails.
Except for the occasional times Ruby acted spoiled and asked him to cut her nails, the twins now took care of their own nails and toenails.
Watching the children grow and become able to do on their own the things their parents used to do for them was both admirable and something to be proud of, but at the same time it only made him feel wistful, as if one day they would leave his arms and fly away.
By the time it came to trimming Amber’s nails, Ame would probably be taking care of her own nails too…
Having finished his thoughts, Kaoru carefully smoothed the nails on Ame’s left hand with a nail file.
Her eyes were heavy with sleep, but Ame stared at her father’s skilled, meticulous work as if fascinated.
No matter how many times she saw it…
"So amazing!"
Ame still didn’t have enough strength to use nail clippers properly, and she wondered if she would later be able to trim them as neatly as her father did.
Kaoru finished trimming Ame’s right hand too, filed the edges smooth, and kissed her soft cheek.
"There, all done. My daughter. Time to go to sleep, okay?"
"Hehe— thank you—♥ Daddy’s the best!"
"Hahaha!"
Kaoru laughed as he held his youngest daughter close in his arms. The warm body temperature unique to a child, the shampoo scent, and the body lotion fragrance wrapped around his heart warmly.
Just then, the child who had come out of the room after finishing Amber’s breastfeeding noticed the affectionate little scene between father and daughter, and her star-bright eyes sparkled.
"Eeeh—! What’s this, that’s unfair!"
"Puhihihit— Mom!"
The child puffed out her cheeks and came running over dododo- before throwing herself into her husband’s broad arms. Kaoru, clearly used to it, smiled and opened his arms to welcome her, hugging his wife tightly.
"Mom! Daddy trimmed Ame’s nails!"
"Hee~ Amazing! Ame’s hands are shining!"
The child held her daughter’s two hands and brought them to her own face, beaming from ear to ear.
Watching the mother and daughter cuddling in his arms, Kaoru checked the child’s hands with a hawk’s eye, then said,
"Honey, I’ll trim your nails too."
"Eh? No. I can do it mysel—"
"Mom! If you give your hand to Dad, he’ll trim them this pretty too!"
Looking at Ame’s perfectly straight and tidy nails, measured as if with a ruler, the child glanced at her husband.
Kaoru’s reassuring blue eyes sparkled with trust as he nodded.
"Kyaaa— so embarrassing!"
They had dated, had twins, and even after marriage Kaoru had often trimmed her nails, but from the beginning until now, the child had always felt shy and embarrassed by Kaoru’s hands trimming her nails.
Of course, for her, who had grown up without ever experiencing warm paternal affection as a child, Kaoru’s gentle and kind touch gave her a sense of psychological stability all by itself.
But saying she felt only “stability” would be a lie. If that were true, then the main touch that gave her “stability” wouldn’t feel embarrassing and awkward at all.
She still didn’t know exactly why, but whenever she sat quietly having her nails trimmed while being held in her husband’s big, warm hands and unable to move an inch, her heart would pound very hard from a strange, faintly sensual feeling that stirred deep in her unconscious rather than in the realm of reason…
"S-Should I?"
"Mm!"
The child’s face reddened slightly as she smiled helplessly and stroked Ame’s cheek.
Of course, Ame had no way of knowing her mother’s feelings, so she nodded and quickly slipped out of her father’s arms.
Kaoru took his wife’s left hand and picked up the nail clippers.
Her slender, white, pretty left hand. Kaoru gently stroked his wife’s left hand, the wedding ring on her ring finger, for a moment before interlacing their fingers, and said while looking at his wife’s face, which had turned redder than usual for some reason,
"I’m going to start."
"……Mm!"
Snapsnapsnap
The rhythmic sound of nails being clipped echoed through the living room.
Ame sat on the sofa and watched her parents’ affectionate 모습. She was sleepy, but the sensitive eight-year-old girl did not want to miss this sweet scene!
"Aragaki-senpai is getting married next year. She contacted me earlier."
"...Eh, eeeh?! To who? I didn’t even know she was dating anyone!"
"It seems they only told their parents. You’ll be really surprised when you find out who it is. They’re famous."
"Who is it? Who is it! Tell me!"
"『Hoshino Jun』."
"Eeeeeh!?"
They chatted about the marriage news of a close senior in the entertainment world.
"Takachan’s place got renovated, right? There’s mold on the bathroom tiles. I was really busy comforting her about it earlier!"
"Haha… that’s rough. Even if they redo it, it’ll probably take quite a while."
As her parents chatted softly about everyday things while trimming nails, Ame lay on the sofa and watched them with sleepy eyes.
Her mother’s red face as she shyly held out her hand to her father, and her father’s kind blue eyes as he carefully held her mother’s hand and trimmed and filed her nails.
For Ame, these were precious memories of everyday life, steadily piling up into something she would never forget.
"Done! All finished."
"Waaah— thank you, Kaoru. Amazing! This is like magic~"
The child’s star-bright eyes sparkled as she admired the ten nails, neatly trimmed with not a single error.
True to Kaoru’s tidy personality, the nails had been finished so smoothly it was as if a robot had done them, and the child, very satisfied, stroked her husband’s hair.
"A praise pat! Next time you have time, can I ask again?"
"If you’d like."
Kaoru kissed his wife’s cheek, then stood up and carefully lifted his youngest daughter, who had fallen asleep on the sofa without anyone noticing.
"Mm…"
When Ame, laid down on the bed, murmured softly, Kaoru covered her with a blanket and quietly stroked her hair.
"Sleep well, my daughter."
Kaoru slowly closed the door and came back out into the living room.
His plan to fall asleep with his wife late at night was—
"Papa-☆ Can Ruby get her nails trimmed too? Hm? Hm?"
"……!?"
"Eh? Kya-hahaha!★"
Ruby, clinging to the child’s arms, spoiled the plan completely.
Seeing Kaoru’s startled expression at his daughter’s sudden appearance, the child hugged Ruby tightly and burst out laughing.
It couldn’t be helped. It was a request from his beloved daughter, so he had no choice but to grant it.
Pretending to give in, Kaoru sat down and said with a smile,
"The fee is three kisses from Papa."
"Mm—☆ I’ll make it nine!"
"I want to do it too, Mom!"
"W-Wait!? Hold on— ngh!?"
Kaoru frantically waved them off, but once his wife and daughter rushed in and showered him with kisses, there was no escaping.
-
Before long, winter had turned chilly, with about two weeks left in the year.
After his wife’s birthday party, a proposal came in from Kintendo, the major company famous for its handheld game consoles, asking them to serve as advertising models.
It was a little surprising that Kintendo had suddenly asked them to be advertising models.
He had seen his wife buy a console game system called the 「Kintendo Switch On」 and occasionally play it with the babies, but she wasn’t such an intense Kintendo fan that they would ask her to do an ad.
After meeting and talking with Rentaro, he learned that Kintendo had decided the Hoshino family was the most famous celebrity family capable of naturally showing a harmonious family relationship, and had sent the offer accordingly.
From the company’s perspective, it was a perfectly reasonable judgment. But from the side receiving the ad offer, he had no idea what kind of concept they were planning to shoot.
Kaoru’s doubts were cleared up in a meeting with Kintendo’s marketing executives and the advertising agency staff.
The main concept of the ad was to film it at their home, with no script at all, just showing the whole family having fun and playing happily with Kintendo’s game system.
When he received the ad draft, that really was all there was to it.
Kaoru felt as if common sense had been shattered once again after 「Family of Star」, but still… this time too.
"I want to do it! I want to do it! I want to do it! That sounds so funnnn—★"
The child leaped to her feet, star-bright eyes shining.
Was the prestige of 「Kintendo」, the nation’s game company, enough to make even a legendary idol jump in place?!
The same went for Aqua and Ruby, who were not interested in games at all despite being students about to enter third year of middle school.
"Wouldn’t it be a good memory for Ame too?"
Aqua smiled and stroked Ame’s hair.
"Papa! Papa! Let’s do it! Let’s do it! Let’s do it~! Come to think of it, I want to try that! 「Ring Fitness」!!!"
"Ri, Ring Fitness?"
Even Ruby, bouncing in place like her mother and excitedly saying she wanted to try some unheard-of game called Ring Fitness, had no reason to refuse an ad that was not only an advertisement itself but also had the huge advantage of letting them make memories with their family.
Kaoru accepted the offer amid his family’s enthusiastic support.
As soon as he signed the contract, filming was carried out at lightning speed.
"It’s just like when we filmed 「Fasta」 back then!"
As cameras were installed all over the living room, Ruby’s eyes sparkled as she exclaimed.
She also curiously fiddled with the round Ring Fitness controller, the “Ring-Con,” that had been brought in for the shoot.
"You attach the Switch On here… ah, this goes on the thigh! With Velcro…"
"Mom, wait a second? The power… ah, got it."
"Ame wants to try too! Ame too!"
It was Sunday noon, with bright sunlight streaming in.
The Hoshino family threw themselves into the commercial shoot for a full hour and thirty minutes.
The first thing they started with was the Ring Fitness Ruby had wanted so badly!
It was a simple game that used a dedicated controller to perform exercise motions and clear missions, successfully killing two birds with one stone: health and fun.
"Yah! Cha!"
- Nice! Just a little more!
"Uwaaaaaaah—!!!"
"Ruby! Hang in there! Just a little more!"
Ruby, drenched in sweat, clenched her teeth and gripped the Ring-Con, stretching and contracting both arms with all her strength.
The child watching from behind sparkled with star-bright eyes and applauded her daughter’s efforts.
Having inherited her parents’ excellent physical ability and, thanks to her regular training with the B Komachi aunties, Ruby successfully completed the stage.
But the exercise had clearly done its job, because Ruby collapsed onto the sofa, exhausted, her blond hair soaked with sweat as she panted hard.
"O-Older brother. Try i-it… it’s super hard…"
"…"
He didn’t dislike exercise, but that didn’t mean he wanted to follow the path his little sister had just walked and personally prove how hard it was by sacrificing herself like that.
"Big brother! Try it! Next time, um— Dad can do it! No, Mom can do it!"
"D-Dad?"
"Ame~! Want to do it together with Mom~!?"
Since his youngest sister was so excited, Aqua had no choice but to decide to set an example as the eldest son.
Kaoru and the child applauded and cheered on their brave eldest son.
"I’ll show you!"
Aqua’s blue eyes, having switched the difficulty from normal to hard, shone without restraint.
And then—
"Grrrraaaah!!!"
Sweat pouring down like a waterfall from his bodyweight squat stance, Aqua performed every movement while trembling violently with all his strength.
Like Ruby, he had inherited his parents’ physical ability and didn’t neglect training, so he did finish the course—but the problem was—
"Gwaaaah—!"
Collapsed 1.5 times more dramatically than Ruby, Aqua’s stamina gauge hitting zero, he slumped down beside her like a limp rag.
He had needlessly tried to look cool by switching from normal mode to hard mode.
But still!
"Kyaaaaa!!! Our son is the best! So cool! So sexyyyy!!!"
Seeing his favorite mother cheering and applauding his finish, Aqua smiled with satisfaction.
Kaoru smiled at Aqua’s completion and said in a low voice to the child,
"I should show the dignity of the head of the household, right?"
"Hee—!?"
To show the dignity of the family head in person, Kaoru stood up.
Before long, the entire Hoshino family had forgotten that cameras were even set up and had become absorbed in Ring Fitness.
Kaoru also chose hard mode, just like Aqua.
But the results were on a completely different level from Aqua’s.
"Hah! Hah!"
Kaoru gripped the Ring-Con tightly and held the stationary squat position perfectly.
At the family head’s astonishing Ring Fit skill, Aqua and Ruby, the participants, stared with their mouths hanging open, looking completely unable to believe it.
"So cool, Kaoruuuu! Keep going!"
"Daddy’s the best! Crush them all~!"
Child and Ame cheered Kaoru on and added their support.
"Heh."
Unable to control the corners of his mouth at the cheers from his wife and youngest daughter, Kaoru put strength into his arms and gripped the Ring-Con hard.
Crack
"……."
Kaoru’s blue eyes shook violently as he looked at the shattered Ring-Con.
Fortunately, the staff had a spare Ring-Con and quickly replaced it, so filming continued.
"Uchyaaah! I wonnn~★"
Child also adjusted the difficulty to normal and played with much more ease than Ruby.
At the sight of the child jumping in joy while holding the Ring-Con, the twins and Kaoru all applauded and congratulated her.
"Uuu— this is hard…!"
"Just a little more! Ame! Just a little more and you’re done!"
"Fight on, Ame!"
Holding the children’s Ring-Con and working hard with everything she had, Ame finally completed the course, encouraged by her older brother and sister.
Though exhausted, Ame gained confidence from finishing and smiled brightly, and Ruby hugged her tightly.
After finishing Ring Fit in earnest, the family soon started playing Bario Kart together on the Kintendo Switch On.
"Eeeek! Big brother, that’s unfair!?"
"I’ll go first… huh…?"
"Hehe~ V!"
Aqua, hit by Ruby’s red shell, gave his little sister a dazed smile.
The finish line was right in front of him…!
Aqua lost first place in vain and, losing all enthusiasm at Ruby’s V sign, flopped back onto the sofa.
"Oh dear, are you planning to leave your husband behind?"
"Gyaaaah!? Idiot Kaoruuuu!!!!!!!"
"Ame is in first placeeee!"
Kaoru’s kart, powered up by a mushroom, knocked Child’s kart aside and surged ahead.
Startled, Child hurriedly fired a shell, but it missed, and she let out a shrill scream.
While Mom and Dad were fighting behind them, Ame happily kept her first-place position and crossed the finish line with delight.
"Puu…"
"Who will Amber-chan cheer for? Papa? Big sister? Big brother?"
Kaoru, Aqua, and Ruby.
When the three of them started Bario Kart in full competitive mode, the child holding Amber smiled softly and whispered,
Hoping that Amber would grow up quickly and well, so they could all play Kintendo together and have fun.
"Papa, that’s unfair!"
"Hahaha. Life is a cold competition— hm!?"
"Yes, Dad. Since it’s a cold competition, I’ll go past you first?"
"……"
"Daddy!!! Ame is on Daddy’s side! Do your bestttt!"
The child took in the hot, passionate Kintendo play of her husband and children with eyes full of starry delight.
Precious everyday life that would never be forgotten. She hoped it would become one piece of a life as brilliant as starlight.
The child burst into a bright smile, filled with 【sincerity】.
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