After the wedding, the Hoshino family’s daily life slowly took shape and began to settle in. It was the first time they were living together as one family, and unlike when they had lived apart, there were so many new things about each other to discover. Their personalities and preferences were also clearly different.
"Kaoru! Where’s the hair dryer?"
"On the shelf outside the bathroom-"
"Eeeh-? Can’t we just keep it in the bathroom? I want to dry my hair right there and come out."
"If we leave it in the bathroom, the moisture will damage the inside quickly. It’s a little inconvenient, but please bear with it."
From the little things they hadn’t noticed before-
"Whaaat-!? No way?! Who ordered this?"
"...I-I did, Ai."
"Kaoruu-! Where are you planning to put a bookshelf that huge?"
"......I ordered it for the small room to use as a study... Sorry, Ai. I should have discussed it with you first...."
"Kyaaah~! When the babies grow up later, I was planning to put a wardrobe in that little room. Hiiing-!"
"......Haha."
Even the everyday conflicts of wavering between personal space and family space. The Hoshino family’s first days together were a continuous series of awkwardness and inexperience.
Even back when Ai had been pregnant with the twins and they were living together, her one-room apartment and Kaoru’s home had been separate, so they hadn’t known each other’s routines and habits in much detail.
Personal life and life as a family member were clearly different things.
Kaoru had experienced group living through military service in his past life, but being a husband and head of the household was a first for him.
Ai had also grown up in an institution and experienced group living, but that had only been a matter of internal rules that kept her from getting scolded if she followed them. Even after debuting in [B Komachi], she had lived alone in a small one-room apartment, so being a wife and supporting her husband as the head of the household was also a first.
On days without a schedule, they spent twenty-four hours together, and little by little, the things they had never noticed when they were living apart and only meeting on the go began to stand out and feel real.
So President Toshiro’s words had been right after all.
Married couples’ quarrels are like cutting water with a knife! Marriage isn’t something that starts perfect from day one; it’s something you adjust to from the start!
But Kaoru and Ai truly loved and cherished each other, and because they had gone through so many hardships and sacrifices to enjoy this happy family life, they never made the mistake of acting rashly.
They never raised their voices in front of the twins, and not only in front of the twins, but even when they disagreed, the two of them never let their voices rise.
They would listen to one person’s opinion all the way through, then state their own, and instead of insisting on their own view, if the other person’s opinion was reasonable, they would suppress their emotions as much as possible and accept it.
Of course, there were times when that didn’t go as planned, so the couple made a promise: if one of them felt the other had yielded, or if one of them bent their opinion for the other’s sake, they would ask to be hugged.
"I’m sorry, Ai."
"Kaoru... I was wrong."
Understanding and caring for each other—that was what a married couple was!
It could be frustrating when they didn’t understand each other, and they could get angry, but that never meant they hated each other.
They had known each other since they were fifteen and sixteen, and even just by looking into each other’s eyes, they could tell what the other was thinking.
But as husband and wife, as a family living together, they were still both awkward and inexperienced.
So Kaoru and Ai resolved to understand and love each other even more, to keep in step with one another, and to build their daily life together.
"I transferred this month’s maintenance fee."
"I’ll go on Saturday! The twins’ vaccinations☆"
"What do you think about making the household account completely one system?"
"Yeah! Kaoru can handle all the account management! I only know how to save money, and I hate anything that gives me a headache☆"
"Let’s make it so whoever finishes their schedule first handles the house cleaning. Of course, if one of us keeps having a packed schedule, then the other person will have to take it on. I think that can’t be helped. It’s our family matter, so our family should solve it ourselves."
"Kaoru. If we’re out separately, make sure to contact me. If calling is hard, then at least send a text. If you break the rule... one free dishwashing pass!"
The couple slowly adjusted to each other, from small matters to larger ones, and steadily built up their daily life.
Aside from matters related to habits, their personalities and the way they viewed problems were already well understood by each other, so fortunately there were no major issues there.
The same was true for how they thought about the twins’ education. Both Kaoru and Ai were understanding people, and above all, they had more than enough ability and willingness to strongly support whatever path the twins wanted to take.
Since the twins had shown themselves to be smarter than other babies their age ever since they first started talking, the Saito couple advised them to aim a little higher.
But the couple wasn’t worried. As parents, they believed the twins would do well.
When the cherry blossoms fell and the sunlight grew a little hotter, Aqua and Ruby decided to enroll at the newly chosen prestigious private kindergarten, [Shiroyama Gakuin Kindergarten], a well-known integrated school that ran all the way through university.
In fact, [Ichigo Production] had received a great deal of outside investment and was now pushing ahead with full-scale business expansion and internal restructuring, so Miyako could no longer work from home.
Miyako was capable both as an employee and as a wife supporting her husband’s business, and Ichigo also did not want to waste his wife’s talents. Kaoru and Ai knew that too, and they decided they couldn’t leave the twins in Miyako’s care once she became busier.
However, they still had to decide which kindergarten to send them to.
A place safe from reporters and fans. A place with solid security and safety. A place with a system good enough that they could trust the twins there when both parents were away. After narrowing the options down again and again to find a kindergarten that met those conditions, they had no choice but to settle on the prestigious private [Shiroyama Gakuin Kindergarten].
Of course, to enter a prestigious kindergarten, the children had to take an entrance exam and both the child and the parents had to be interviewed, but-
"Aqua, can you write Thursday in English?"
"Thursday."
"Ruby, what’s three times two divided by two?"
"Huh? Three."
"""""They’re geniuses?!"""""
Having already broken through Tokyo University’s medical school in his past life, Aqua’s exam was naturally a piece of cake, and Ruby, who had spent her young years sick in a hospital room, already had the academic level of a first-year middle school student, so she could solve the problems while picking her nose.
Unlike the kindergarten staff, who were stunned by the twins’ intelligence, Kaoru and Ai were peacefully chatting and laughing together, saying how nicely Aqua and Ruby’s clothes had been put on, continuing their affectionate conversation as a married couple.
"Heh. Boring."
"Ah, is that all?"
Leaving the twins, who were exuding dark energy, behind, Ai—dressed neatly in a women’s business suit—went first to the interview with the kindergarten teachers, wearing her usual bright smile while Kaoru stepped outside to take a work call.
"How much time do you usually spend with Aqua and Ruby?"
"Hmm~ Unless I have a schedule, I’m with them all day! My husband is with us a lot too. He helps with housework and plays with the twins!"
How enviable.
The kindergarten teachers, all graduates of prestigious universities, could only shed tears of envy inside at Ai’s innocent answer.
However, the threshold of the prestigious Shiroyama Gakuin Kindergarten was not something even Japan’s top celebrity could easily cross!!!
The stern-looking female principal pushed up her magnifying glasses sharply and glared at Ai’s starlit eyes.
"Then, if the children misbehave or refuse to listen, how do you discipline them?"
As expected of the principal! The teachers all looked at her with shining eyes. Sharp as a blade! Cold-blooded! No one at Shiroyama Gakuin Kindergarten could escape the principal’s fierce pressure interview!
"Umm... discipline?"
At the principal’s question, Ai lightly touched her chin with her index finger and mulled it over.
The twins had never refused to listen, thrown tantrums, or made a mess of the house. On the contrary, they listened well to both her and Kaoru-
"As for discipline... I’ve never really had to discipline Aqua and Ruby because they’re such good kids and listen so well~"
"...They don’t throw tantrums either? Like wanting to watch more TV or not wanting to go to sleep-!"
"No? They’ve never done that even once."
"Th-That can’t be true!!!!!! Ma’am, do you know when parents are in the most dangerous moment?! It’s the moment they get ‘rose-colored glasses’ for their children! Do you really think your children have grown up so well that they’ve never needed discipline!?"
"Eeeh- but it’s true?"
At the principal’s machine-gun barrage of demands for the truth, Ai narrowed her eyes slightly and tilted her head.
Are teachers somehow different?
Thinking it over once more, Ai clapped her hands once and said,
"When I’m on TV, how should I put it... I watch them super! Super~~~ carefully?"
"That goes without saying, doesn’t it!?"
"Hehe- then there isn’t any☆ It’s not rose-colored glasses, and it’s not a lie either. The babies really are good, they listen well, and they’re adorable and cute!"
With her signature bright smile, now carrying even more love, Ai let her [sincerity] shine in her starlit eyes and spoke to the principal and the kindergarten teachers in a confident voice.
"I just want Aqua and Ruby to grow up healthy and good. Even if they don’t grow into amazing or special adults, my husband and I will be happy.
Out of the countless mothers and fathers in this world, they were born beautifully as our children, mine and Kaoru’s! Look!"
At Ai’s words, as she pointed a finger toward the window, everyone in the office turned their heads at once.
Bright sunlight, the twins looking at the beautiful flowers blooming in the flowerbeds, and Kaoru crouched beside them, smiling happily together with them.
The twins’ smiles, their healthy and kind hearts, and Kaoru laughing as if he were happier than anyone in the world just to look at his children.
"Oh my."
"Ah..."
"......"
At that beautiful scene, like a painting come to life, warmth began to seep into the eyes of the once cold-blooded principal and the kindergarten teachers.
They already knew. They knew how Kaoru and Ai had given birth to the twins, how they had raised them, and how much they had sacrificed themselves between work and childcare.
But they had their own positions as staff, so they had removed all personal feelings and carried out the interview, yet the verdict had already been decided.
Perhaps noticing their gaze, Kaoru turned his head and looked toward the window. Since the window was wide open and the inside could be seen clearly, Ai smiled and waved both hands as if greeting him.
Kaoru gave her his usual indifferent smile in return, said something to the twins, and then walked back toward the building with them.
The principal lifted her magnifying glasses slightly. As though many thoughts had crossed her mind, she spoke not with the cold-blooded expression from before, but with the calm demeanor of a seasoned educator and, at the same time, a mother.
"I understand what you’re saying. Ma’am... you’re already a good person. Raised with love and affection under such wonderful parents, I believe they’ll definitely adapt well here at our [Shiroyama Gakuin Kindergarten]."
"Hehe☆ Thank you."
At the principal’s praise, Ai’s eyes curved beautifully like a crescent moon as she thanked her with a relieved smile.
Just then, there was a knock at the door-
Knock knock knock
"Sorry I’m late. I got a work call."
The door opened and Kaoru came in. The staff, who had only seen him on TV until now and were meeting him in person for the first time, all stared at him with their mouths open.
It wasn’t just his looks; like Ai, he had a unique aura and charisma that drew people in, so they could only stare as if spellbound.
When her husband came in, Ai couldn’t hide her happiness and waved.
"Kaoru!"
"Sorry, I’m a little late. How did the interview go...?"
"Yeah, it’s almost over! It looks like the principal really liked Aqua and Ruby!"
"Ah. Really? Thank you, Principal. They’re still young and lacking in many ways, but please take good care of Aqua and Ruby."
"Yes, yes. Hohoho. Don’t worry."
When Kaoru bowed politely with proper manners, the flustered principal waved her hands and returned the greeting with an immediate bow of her own.
The teachers, seeing the principal flustered for the first time, covered their mouths, unable to hide their surprise or their smiles.
With the interview fully wrapped up, the couple soon received word that Aqua and Ruby had been officially accepted into Shiroyama Gakuin Kindergarten.
Kaoru and Ai personally put the notice book and the necessary clothes into the twins’ uniforms and the small bags called lesson bags.
The previous kindergarten had been handled by Miyako, but this was the first time the couple had prepared everything for the twins’ enrollment themselves, so they couldn’t help feeling excited and nervous.
"Kyaaah! They’re so cute!"
"Ru, Ruby. Let Papa see you for a second? Good- I’ll take it!"
"Peace!"
The couple, who had already dressed them in their uniforms, acted like doting parents as they took photos of Aqua and Ruby with their phones and cameras, making a huge fuss over them.
Ruby, who loved being admired and loved, got completely excited by her parents’ delighted reactions and struck a pose, but-
"......"
Counting her past-life age, Aqua was in his mid-thirties, and the awkwardness and embarrassment flooding over him turned his face bright red.
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