By now, Monday nights in the Hoshino household had become the night everyone gathered together to watch a drama.
Seeing his wife and four children enjoying the show together filled Kaoru with quiet satisfaction and pride.
But then.
Swoosh!
"Eeeeeeeh-?!!??!!?"
Ruby, who had just witnessed the scene of the father in the TV getting drenched by the "bad wife," ended up clutching her golden hair in utter shock.
Amber, who had been watching the drama nestled in her mother’s arms after a long time, also froze like a stone, her eyes wide like a rabbit’s as she stared at the TV.
Aqua, who had briefly lifted his smartphone to reply to someone on LINE, likewise stared blankly at the TV and stiffened in place.
[Act according to your station. Don’t even think about testing my patience with whatever little affection you have left for me.]
[What did you say?]
It was a hair-trigger scene, tension hanging in the air. Music made up of a violin and cello duet with a painfully sharp, unpleasant melody flowed from the TV.
To "Hiroki," who had lost his father’s company to the company run by his father-in-law and was forced to marry a woman he did not love, becoming an involuntary "hostage" of sorts.
"Mami" splashed water at her husband, who was baring his teeth at her, and snapped at him like a cold-blooded viper.
[Do you really think what happened to your family, and your father’s suicide, were all my father’s doing? Are you seriously thinking straight?]
Blood runs inward, and children turn away even from truths that have already been decided for the sake of their parents.
Yuriko’s chilling acting shone like a demon through her wild, bloodshot eyes.
After the father in the TV was drenched, the Akurubia siblings, except for Amber, who had gone off to dreamland happily on the bed in the room, could only stand frozen and stare blankly at the screen, forgetting even to breathe.
It was so shocking that it felt like they might be sucked straight into the TV.
[MAMI!!!!!]
Hiroki’s shout, finally torn out in anger after he could no longer endure his wife’s outrageous words.
Inside the dark house, everything was pitch-black except for the small light over the limited kitchen area.
The camera placement, contrasting light and darkness with Gotanda’s signature directing style, explosively heightened the viewers’ tension.
Mami, who had answered even Hiroki’s shout with such outrageous words that she had lost even the last shred of humanity, passed by her husband and left the house—
[Haa... haa...!]
—and then the scene cut immediately, close-up on Hiroki’s pale face as he clutched at his throat as if struggling to breathe, gripping the chair while suppressing his rage.
"......Ahem."
Even though the screen had changed, Kaoru could still feel the atmosphere not returning to normal, so he tried to lighten the mood with an awkward cough.
Honestly, when this scene came on,
- Wow, Dad’s acting is amazing!
- The best!
- Kaoru-! So cool~!
He had expected praise from his family like that.
But as expected, life never went the way one imagined.
Not only Aqua and Ruby, but even Amber, still in his wife’s arms, said nothing and just stared at the TV.
"......Kaoru."
"Y-yes?"
[The Abyss].
His wife’s eyes were dark and deep like the abyss of outer space, without a single spark of starlight.
She was smiling as much as possible because she was holding Amber, but her eyes were absolutely not smiling.
Kaoru, breaking out in a cold sweat, answered in an awkward voice and unconsciously swept his bangs back.
"H-haha. I, I actually had a lot to say to Director Gotanda—"
"Why didn’t you tell me the truth?"
"..."
"Not even to Yuri-chan, not even to Director Gotanda, and not even to me... This is the first time I’ve heard that you filmed while getting drenched like that...★"
The fact that the man she loved so dearly and treasured so much had filmed a scene where he was miserably(?) doused with water by a complete stranger...
Why had she, as his [wife], only found out so late through the broadcast?
Couldn’t he have at least told her beforehand?
As an [actor], someone who strips away everything and immerses himself in the role and the work no matter what kind of performance it is, even if he tried to separate public and private life.
For the [wife] who loved her [husband] so much, that was still absolutely impossible.
At the near-absolute-zero coldness in Ai’s voice, Amber, still in her arms, turned his head and looked at his father too.
His youngest daughter was shooting him a sharp look, as if to say, "Dad is the one who did something wrong!"
Kaoru, opening and closing his mouth like a fish, unable to say anything at all.
The air conditioner was blasting, so why was he sweating so much?
Before any excuses or factual explanations about the circumstances could come out—
"Hahaha! S-sorry! Ai! Sorry for not telling you in advance! You were surprised, right? You were upset, right? I’m sorry! Mwah mwah—"
"Kuuuung-★"
He spread his arms wide and hugged his wife, who was holding their youngest daughter, tightly, showering her cheeks with repeated kisses and launching a (life-risking) offensive of affection to calm her anger.
Sometimes, a single hug and kiss can be more powerful than a hundred words of facts...
"Kuuung-! I-I-I’m not going to forgive you—! H-hmph, I’m not going to forgive youuuuu—! Hihihihit-★ B-baaakaoru! Kyaaa~!"
"Kyaaaang~ Daddyyyy—!"
Under Kaoru’s full-force embrace and kiss assault.
Ai, of course, and Amber too, burst into happy laughter.
However, even with the happy laughter coming from behind them.
"......"
Ruby’s expression was not very bright.
No, rather, she was pouting her lips and staring at the TV with a spicy, displeased look, as if something had really gotten on her nerves.
The reason was...
[Mom’s dinner is the tastiest, after all.]
Today was the first appearance of 『Arima Kana』... also known as that awful red-haired girl they called "Bicarbonate Soda" and "Pepper Exercise."
Mom was making bento for Dad, so why on earth was "Pepper Exercise" showing up and taking over Mom’s flashback scene?
That disgustingly innocent smile, and that voice from ten years ago that had once been so sharp and bratty, now all gathered up in her vocal cords like a string of jewels rolling on a tray, acting all cutesy.
Just like the expression on Mom’s face when she looked at Dad talking with another actress.
Ruby’s red starlight eyes were filled not with brilliance, but with irritation and dissatisfaction.
"Haa."
She couldn’t not watch it.
Once again, she felt a deep and renewed suspicion toward Director Gotanda’s aesthetic judgment for casting Pepper Exercise instead of herself.
'Mom and Dad are a couple, so why did you cast them both and not cast lovable, adorable, much-loved Ruby? What’s the reason, you scruffy-bearded, unmarried, hysterical, nasty old man?'
"......"
Already in a foul mood, Ruby’s cute behavior as she puffed out her cheeks and went into pout mode made Aqua lightly scratch his eyebrow and forcibly rein in the smile threatening to spill out.
She was, honestly, very straightforward.
That was precisely one of Ruby’s cutest charms, after all.
"Ruby."
"Mm..."
"Let’s evaluate this really objectively."
"Huh? Evaluate what?"
"Arima Kana’s acting. Let’s judge whether she has the skill and the capacity to take our 【oshi】. What do you think?"
At her brother’s playful smile and unexpected proposal, Ruby’s red starlight eyes instantly filled with life and began to sparkle.
'Right! Why didn’t I think of that?'
Just sitting in front of the TV and grinding her teeth like a loser(?) would accomplish nothing.
Hoshino Ruby—she was, after all, a proper [actor], with experience appearing in both films and dramas!
She would scrutinize the acting ability of that wicked Bicarbonate Soda & Pepper Exercise who stole her beloved oshi—her mother—with an ultra-wide-angle microscope...
'I’ll inspect every tiny twitch of her eyebrows without mercy!'
Just how... had she been cast with such an amazing performance, and how had she monopolized Mom’s affection?
'Prepare yourself.'
Armed with cold-blooded resolve, Ruby nodded with a cool smile that strongly resembled her father’s.
And then....
[Mom~ How’s the towel I folded? Did I do it well?]
[Wow~ Now Yui’s skills are even better than Mom’s.]
[Oh, it’s nothing! Hehe, just leave it to me~]
"......"
Ruby stared at the warm, friendly scene between Mom and Pepper Exercise on the TV...
with an expression so strange it was impossible to describe in words.
Mom’s acting was, of course, unquestionably the best.
But Pepper Exercise’s acting on the TV was...
'...She’s, she’s good!?'
No matter how much she tried to find fault with it through malicious eyes.
Objectively and subjectively, she was just too good.
Mother and daughter folding laundry together in a cozy, affectionate way, chatting about this and that.
Laughing happily and teasing each other in an everyday moment.
Unlike Ruby’s jealousy and dissatisfaction, Pepper Exercise was truly immersed in the drama, acting as the daughter Yui Aizawa, the daughter of Honoka Aizawa.
"...Sniff..."
There was no cheating like this.
Watching Pepper Exercise acting as Mom’s affectionate daughter on camera...
Watching her one and only—her most precious and beloved mother—smile with that starlit expression full of love that had only ever been shown to the four siblings...
It felt like, without her realizing it, she had gained an older sister.
'Anyone can see it... they’re a close mother and daughter!'
What she least wanted to admit was this...
that she herself, while watching Mom and Pepper Exercise’s affectionate acting...
Even if she kept repeating in her head that it was wrong and tried to deny it!
'They look happy...'
The happiness of her [oshi] was her own joy.
Even when jealousy made irritation surge up in her, the moment she saw the [sincere] happy smile on Mom’s face, her anger would melt away like a lie.
In the end, the acting of Pepper Exercise that had made her [oshi] smile happily...
[Puhuhu- Yui!]
"Hehe...kyaaaah...huhu... hiiing......"
"......"
Without hiding any scheme, without being dishonest, and without trying to force herself to act otherwise.
Aqua watched his younger sister’s facial expressions change right in front of him, laughing one second and sulking the next, with not a single gram of pretense in them.
How should he describe this feeling? No matter how he turned it over in his head, the right words wouldn’t come.
It was like when Amber was little and, if she was crying her eyes out over something she didn’t like, you’d dangle a tasty snack right in front of her like an airplane—this was exactly that kind of expression.
Was the blood of the Hoshino sisters impossible to deny?
Unlike what he had expected—
Aqua couldn’t help but turn his head away and laugh at the brutally honest worry written on his younger sister’s face.
"Pffft—"
"Huuuu...! Uuuuu—!"
"Wow~★ The first scene Kana-chan filmed was this scene~! I was super nervous, but it was so much fun!"
"Huuuuuu..."
"Hmm, the laundry on your left there, did Kana-chan fold that?"
"Yep! You know, I was really surprised by Kana-chan’s skills? Since she lives alone, she said she handles all the housework by herself."
"Ah... I see. If you don’t have experience, that’s a hard angle to pull off. She’s got good hands."
"Huuuuuu...!"
Tremble, tremble.
Right behind her.
As she heard her beloved parents praising Pepper Exercise to the skies, Ruby’s pouting lips began to tremble.
'Ruby can do that too... Ruby can too...!'
Not just acting—now it felt like she was being compared in everyday life too.
Of course, under normal circumstances she would have been too absorbed in watching the drama to care, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
But after failing to find fault with Pepper Exercise’s acting, and with her beloved parents also praising Pepper Exercise—
Ruby, now thoroughly sulky, lifted her adorable red eyes full of anger, jealousy, and pouting resentment.
Then!
"Yah-!"
The child, after setting Amber down beside her for a moment, came down from the sofa and hugged Ruby tightly from behind.
Ruby was startled by Mom’s sudden surprise attack of affection from behind!
"Eh- Ma, Mama!?"
"Puhuhu- I wanted to surprise you, so I hugged you from behind on purpose! Success-★"
Ai, her starlight eyes shining with happiness, rubbed her cheek against her daughter’s soft, chewy cheek as she spoke.
"You know! Mama was so proud of Ruby-chan!"
"Huh? Proud? Of what...?"
Ruby, who had just been blinded by jealousy a moment ago, fidgeted with her fingers and asked back, and Ai pointed at the TV.
"The way Kana-chan plays Yui. Director Gotanda told Mama that he modeled her after our Ruby-chan!"
"Wha?! Re-really...? No way—th-that sounds like a lie."
Ruby’s face instantly reddened and she broke into a cold sweat, shaking her head in denial, and Ai smiled softly, holding her daughter’s hand tightly as she said,
"There’s no way that’s a lie! Yes, Ruby-chan is the kind of child who steps up first to help when Mama is doing housework, who always listens to Mama’s requests, and who also gets along well with your brother, Amber-chan, and Amber-chan—such a composed, wonderful, kind child. Right, Kaoru?"
"Yes. Of course."
Arms folded, Kaoru nodded firmly as if asking what was so surprising about that.
Even for him, the information he had heard from Director Gotanda through his wife was a little surprising, but he was just happy that even Gotanda had looked at his good daughter with such fondness.
Of course, Ruby’s face turned bright red at her father’s firm affirmation.
"D-Dad!"
She didn’t know what to do with herself from embarrassment, but—
"So when I was acting with Kana-chan, I felt much more at ease!"
Following her mother’s gaze, Ruby’s own eyes turned toward the mother-daughter pair of Honoka Aizawa and Yui Aizawa on the TV.
Smiles full of happiness and joy. A close, affectionate mother and daughter.
"She’s a child just like our Ruby-chan—full of charm and affection. I think she has a lot in common with Ruby-chan."
"......"
People don’t change easily, they say, but maybe prejudice is just prejudice after all.
What on earth about Pepper Exercise had so completely won over her oshi—her mother’s heart?
And what exactly had she done for her oshi—her mother—to see so much of herself reflected in that Pepper Exercise?
'Strange.'
For Ruby, whose childhood memories were steeped in bad blood with Pepper Exercise and who had always regarded Arima Kana as nothing more than a person stamped flat and unchanged as "someone I don’t like," the feeling of her own fixed assumptions being slowly shaken by someone precious to her was...
something indescribably strange, across both her past and present lives.
And then—
"...So, what do you think, big brother?"
Late at night, after the drama ended.
Ruby, who had stormed into her brother’s room with a pillow in hand, told Aqua about her worries while lying beside him on the bed.
Compared to the biggest worry she had faced a few weeks ago, this was barely a drop in the bucket, but for Ruby, who had sensed the air of a huge change on the verge of breaking her evaluation—her prejudice—toward one person, this was an extremely important moment.
Under the light of the stand lamp beside them, a smile spread across Aqua’s face.
"Hmm. So it’s already been ten years."
"...What have you been listening to this whole timeee—!!"
"Ugh— A-ah, that hurts—"
She was seriously asking for advice, and he was saying something else entirely!
Ruby puffed out her cheeks and pinched her brother’s cheek with her index finger.
At the slightly spicy feel of Ruby’s pinch, Aqua, who had had his eyes closed, touched his right cheek and let out an awkward laugh.
Then he opened his eyes, turned his body to face his younger sister, met her gaze, and spoke with his usual gentle smile.
"Ruby."
"...Yeah."
"I... hmm... compared to my past life and this life, do I seem like I’ve changed a lot? What do you think?"
"......Hmm......"
Ruby frowned slightly and stared at her brother for a moment before nodding after some thought.
"I think you’ve changed! You’ve gotten a little more... stupid!"
"...I-is that so?"
"Uhehe— just kidding! Yeah, you’ve gotten cooler. Since you resemble Dad, you smile at other people less often, but I guess you’ve become kinder? Yeah~ hmm~ Even aside from that, I think you’ve changed a bit. They say your personality changes depending on your surroundings, right?"
"...Is that so?"
Slowly nodding at his younger sister’s words, Aqua blinked his starlit blue eyes for a moment before speaking in a low voice.
"Ruby-chan has changed a lot too."
"Me too?"
"Yeah. You smile more than you did in your past life, you’re brighter too, and the way you work hard for your 「dream」... it’s cool. It makes me proud."
"Uheheheh- huhuht-★"
Ruby buried her face in the pillow, unable to hide how happy she was even though she was embarrassed, kicking her feet in place.
To Ruby, who was honest and sparkling just as she was—
Aqua said,
"Do you hate Arima Kana that much?"
"...I don’t know. It’s not so much that I hate her... yeah... I just dislike her? Hmm... she’s kind of annoying... I don’t know, I just don’t like her."
Ten years ago, during their mother’s film shoot.
Arima Kana, who in the waiting room had delivered cutting remarks to Ruby along with a bad review of her mother.
Her arrogant and ill-mannered personality had been corrected to some extent after countless failures over the years(...), but to Ruby she was still firmly imprinted as that rude kid from ten years ago.
'This is why first impressions matter.'
Rather than a rude first impression, a dull and clumsy first impression is actually better for social life.
Putting aside the thought that flashed through the head of Aqua, a weary salaryman from his previous life, he spoke.
"We’ve changed a lot too as we’ve lived on with the memories of our past lives. And we’ll keep changing."
"......"
"That girl has probably changed a lot too. She really seemed like it."
"...Really? Didn’t you only see her briefly when you saved her at the subway?"
At Ruby’s sharp question, Aqua realized his slip-up.
When they had met in Stani-On’s practice room, he had briefly exchanged words with the girl 『Arima Kana』, offering advice that wasn’t really advice and meeting her eyes while talking to her.
At the very least, it hadn’t been the eyes of the insolent, self-absorbed little brat she had been ten years ago.
Still, if he mentioned having met her in the practice room too, the conversation would probably veer off again, so Aqua quickly spun his mind.
"Didn’t Mother say she thought of you a lot when she looked at that girl, Ruby? If Mother’s eyes weren’t wrong, she would have noticed right away if she’d been acting the same way as before."
"...I don’t know... I saw that Mom and Pepper Exercise exchange LINE messages a lot too. Mom says she likes Pepper Exercise for some reason. No doubt she was just acting all nice and pretending—"
"...Are you jealous? Back then you used to follow Pepper Exercise’s dance and even dance and show off in front of Father."
"Eek... I, I did? Jealous? There’s no way Ruby would’ve done something like that~ I don’t remember it at all—"
"Hmm~ Then how was Arima’s acting skill when you watched it earlier, Ruby? You were staring really hard."
"Th-that... that was... well, I, I wouldn’t say it wasn’t... not impressive... I mean, she, she did her lines well, and she didn’t cause trouble for Mom... maybe it was unremarkable, but the kind of acting you could roughly let slide—yeah..."
"So in the end, you evaluated her positively, didn’t you? I saw your expression changing every second just now."
"Th-that and this are different! You idiot big brother! So annoying! I hate you!"
"Hahaha—"
No matter how much she punched with her rabbit fists, it wouldn’t leave so much as a scratch.
Rather, Aqua ended up laughing at his younger sister’s adorably honest flare-up.
"Ruby."
"...Yeah."
At her brother’s gentle hand stroking her hair, Ruby let out a deep breath.
Late at night, a hand patting her head. Her brother’s low, soothing voice. Warm body heat and the scent of the bed. And the dim lighting too.
"I think that as you live, it’s impossible not to have at least one person you hate. We’re on our second round of life, after all. We probably have twice as many as other people. But... I don’t really want to live this second round with my heart full of hatred and dislike either. The 「time」 we’ve been given is too short to fill it only with unhappy memories."
Her brother’s blue eyes shone steadily and without wavering toward her.
As a little bit older than her beloved younger sister—just a little, but still an older person who had lived a little longer.
"We’re... way more of an 「adult」 than people our age, right? The advantage of a second life isn’t just about keeping your memories."
Ruby blinked her red starlight eyes, neither agreeing nor denying it.
The life she had lived first was short. In her second life, which she had entered without learning much and still immature.
She had once again realized that people don’t change easily. When trouble came, she saw herself handling it the same way—by inertia, by habit, the way she had always done things—and realized it in hindsight.
But even so, had 『Hoshino Ruby』 remained completely unchanged?
No.
As her brother said, she had never learned how to 「forgive」 someone, and she had never practiced it either.
But at the very least, living a second life had given her the possibility—and the hope—that not only she but other people could change too.
While living, it may be impossible not to hate other people—
And yet.
Even so.
The 「tolerance」 to look at someone she had hated once more was, Ruby thought, something worth considering 충분히 as an 「adult」 living a second life.
Even if she was only twelve, she was clearly an 「adult」 who had lived twelve years longer than other people!
"Puhuhu- Yeah. Yeah.... I get what you mean. You’re saying big brother is older than Teacher Morikawa, right?"
For the record, Morikawa, the science teacher, was exactly fifty years old this year.
At that, Aqua’s brow twitched for a moment, but with the composure of an 「adult」, he immediately smoothed his expression and nodded.
"Yes. So if you’re rude to your big brother, you should be punished, right?"
"Beee-!"
Aqua launched a tickle attack at his rude little sister, who stuck her tongue out at him.
Ruby laughed brightly and thrust the pillow she had been holding in front of her to defend against her brother’s tickling attack.
"Kyaaaah-!"
"Shh-! You might wake Amber and Amber!"
"Then you stop first, big brother? Okay?"
"...I don’t want to."
"Kyaaaah-!!! Pffft—!"
The siblings’ playful laughter rang out through the room.
The night deepened, and though they had school tomorrow, the Hoshino siblings’ conversation showed no sign of ending all night long.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register