As Ai and I were spending a leisurely time together, evening had already fallen, and the sound of the front door opening echoed.
"Mom~ Dad~ I'm home~!!"
Ruby, as always, greeted us cheerfully.
"I'm back," Aqua said coolly.
I thought to myself how different their personalities were, despite being siblings.
No, upon closer thought, Ruby took after Ai, while Aqua took after me.
As I was thinking that, Aqua and Ruby quickly found Ai and me lounging in the living room.
"Ahh!! Mom and Dad are being all lovey-dovey again!!!"
"It's just everyday life."
Ruby spoke with a jealous expression, while Aqua looked at us with a face that seemed to say, "Isn't it about time you graduated from this?"
"Hmph! See, Ruby! This is the love between Papa and Mama!"
"...Huh?"
Why are you saying that all of a sudden, Ai?
"Eeek!! I want Papa to love me too!!"
"Ruby!?"
"Here we go again.... Can I start eating first?"
Ruby burrowed into our arms, and Aqua, ignoring Ai, Ruby, and me, headed to the dining room.
Because of that, it took 20 minutes just to extract ourselves, and we had to reheat the cooled soup.
Our family, which repeats the same daily routine, held a rare family meeting today.
"Well, since we're all gathered like this after a long time, there's something I need to tell you in advance. But Aqua and Ruby, you probably already know, right?"
"Yes, Papa!"
"I know. It's because of the filming, right?"
"As Aqua said, the senior will come to pick up both of you tomorrow evening. And you'll be staying at her house until Saturday. If there's anything uncomfortable or anything like that, tell the senior, and she'll help with most things."
"Yes, yes! The senior is kind!"
"She is kind, but..."
Aqua still seemed deeply impressed by "that incident" with the senior.
"Well, Aqua, you'll be starting your activities in the entertainment industry seriously, and it's a good way to seek advice from the senior. Ruby, for your idol activities, the senior can give you quite a bit of advice, so during these two days, ask everything you want to know."
"Yes~!"
"I know."
"Mhm, well, since it's you guys, I trust you'll do well. She's been looking after you since long ago, so there shouldn't be any big problems. By the way, around the senior's house, like our home, most of the surroundings are company people, so it should be fine to go out. If you want to go somewhere, just say so, and she'll arrange it...."
"Father, aren't you overthinking this?"
"Guh....."
Struck by Aqua's fact, I couldn't say anything, and seeing Ai's amused expression as she watched me, I somehow got angry.
"Mweee~?"
"No, I just got angry for some reason."
"Aha Yumehooha!! (It hurts, Yume!!)"
"I'll go in first. The rest is up to you, Father, Mother."
"Ah!? I'll go too!!"
In the end, only Ai and I were left.
Time passed, and the next day arrived.
"Maknae~ I'll take Aqua-kun and Ruby-chan with me~"
"Please take care of them."
"Please take good care of our children!!"
The senior, who had arranged the time before the camera team arrived, came and took Aqua and Ruby, and Ai and I saw them off.
"Then, Papa! Mama! Do your best in the filming!!!"
"I trust you won't do anything too harsh."
"Aqua!?"
"Eh~? Not allowed?"
""Of course not!!!""
Ai's words aligned with mine and Aqua's opinions.
"It's been a while since it's just the two of us, Yume and me, staying at home like this."
"That's right. Since Aqua and Ruby were born, we've always lived together as four."
"Hmm~ Well, in the end, the only ones left will be me and Yume, right?"
"Huh?"
At Ai's sudden words, I thought for a moment about what she had said.
"Haha.... Well, eventually, Aqua and Ruby will grow up, become adults, and if they find partners to marry, they'll naturally leave home."
If that happens, then eventually, it'll just be you and me living together again, Ai.
"Well, that might not be so bad."
"Hehe, I might actually prefer it."
"Why? Are you okay with being apart from Aqua and Ruby?"
"Nooo~ It means I get more time to monopolize Yume!"
"You're already monopolizing me, what more do you want..."
"Aren't you a bad mother who tries to snatch me away as soon as Ruby sometimes snuggles into my arms?"
"Ah, Yume, you just had a bad thought about me, didn't you!"
"Who knows?"
Ai's intuition seems to be getting better and better.
"Tch! Well, I'll forgive you this time!!"
"Yes, yes, thank you~"
About an hour later, there was a knock at the door, and Ai and I went out to see.
"Hello~ We're from the 'I Live Alone' team~!"
"Nice to meet you. I'm Hoshino Yume."
"I'm Hoshino Ai~"
As expected, it was the filming team.
"Then, is it okay if we start setting up the cameras right away?"
"Yes, yes, that's fine."
"Thank you! Now, everyone, set up quickly!!"
At the words of what seemed to be the team leader, the crew moved swiftly, and as Ai and I watched blankly, the team leader approached us.
"By any chance, if there are places where camera setup would be inconvenient, could you let us know in advance?"
"Ah...."
Come to think of it, Aqua's room and Ruby's room shouldn't be filmed.
Remembering Aqua and Ruby's rooms, I took the team leader back into the house.
"I'd prefer if cameras weren't installed in this room and that room over there."
"Yes, yes, understood. By the way, your house is very spacious...."
"Haha...."
Well, it's because a family of four lives here. I couldn't bring myself to say that, so I just smiled.
"Then, while we're setting up the cameras in the house, we'd like to conduct an interview with the two of you. Is that okay?"
"Yes, yes, I'm fine with it."
"I'm okay too~"
"Ah, that's a relief..... They said they'll use this interview footage at the very beginning...."
"I see."
"Now, let's start the interview first."
[What was your first impression of each other?]
"Hmm..... Should I go first?
As you know, Ai and I first met at the same facility.
And at that facility, it's embarrassing for me to say this myself, but since I was the most mature,
I was responsible for most of the new children who came in, and Ai was one of them.
And the feeling I had when I first saw Ai was that she was a child with nothing.
She looked empty, so I took care of her out of pity. But as we continued to live together, I eventually realized it was love.
Well, of course, the process wasn't easy, and there were various things that happened, but....
My first impression was simply pity."
That was the feeling I had when I first saw Ai.
As my words ended, Ai looked at me with an expression that seemed to reminisce about the past.
"Ahem! Then, next, I'll speak.
When I first saw Yume..... Honestly, I had no feelings at all.
I just thought, oh, this person will be taking care of me from now on?
But.... I thought he was just one of the passing people, but as we lived together and time passed, I was drawn to Yume, and I could show my 'true self' only to Yume.
So, as days went by, my feelings for Yume grew bigger and bigger, but honestly, I wondered if this feeling was 'love'. Still, one day, thanks to 'someone', I realized.
Ah, I love Yume. That's what.
So, in the end, I think we became a couple who love each other while living together like this!
Hoshino Ai's conclusion! The first Yume I saw was just so-so!!"
Well, I knew that, but still.
"Wow..... Hearing your life stories, it's quite tumultuous. So, I feel that your connection is strongly drawn together even more! Then, the next question, but this is one that not only we but also the viewers are probably very curious about."
[When are you two planning to have your wedding?]
"You've already announced publicly that you're a couple, but seeing that you still haven't had a wedding, many fans are saying you should get married soon."
"Ah..... Marriage, you say?"
Certainly, I want to get married, but.... Both Ai and I are held back by Aqua and Ruby, so we haven't done it. At least, we want to get married after Aqua and Ruby can proudly say they are our children, so it's not an exaggeration to say it's because of our greed.
"That's right. I'm sorry to the fans who are expecting it, but at least for now, please understand that we have no plans for marriage. Both Ai and I feel the same way."
"That's right~"
"I see..... That's disappointing, but if that's your opinion, there's nothing we can do."
Well, at least after 'that incident' is resolved and revealed, it should be enough.
If this memory, the only one that remains without disappearing in my fading past life memories, is correct. It will explode in a year, I guess.
"Then, let's move on to the next question. This one is for Yume, right?"
[Is acting your main job?]
"Ah..... Certainly, we should address this.
Acting is strictly a side job for me. I already have my original job as a bodyguard.
The reason I'm acting is also because the Director told me to try it, and since it happened to go well, I'm receiving many acting jobs, but if a bodyguarding job that suits me comes in, I have to switch to that."
Because I've been doing so much acting work, more people think acting is my main job, which is troublesome.
Well, the Director probably has his reasons for continuing to assign it.
(Later, Yume will hold the back of his neck and collapse upon hearing Director Kuma's statement that he was intentionally continuing it because it was going surprisingly well.)
"I see~ By the way, Yume, you're quite a high-ranking person, right?"
"Ahaha..."
Well, I am in a fairly high position in the grand scheme of things.... but there's no need to reveal that.
"Yes, then next is a question for Ai!"
[What would you do if Yume fell for another woman?]
"Ah, this is a question from a survey..... Would you like to change it if it's difficult?"
"Yes, this one is a bit..."
The question itself doesn't matter, but I feel like I'm going to die..... Hyik!?
"Why are you.... Hyik!?"
The reason the team leader and I were surprised was, amazingly, because of Ai's expression.
Among Ai's expressions, the most striking was that the stars that always shone brightly had darkened into a darkness as if gazing into an abyss, and her usually bright face remained utterly expressionless.
"Heh..... There's no way Yume could look at another person instead of me, right?
Well, that's because Yume loves Ai, and Ai loves Yume, right?
How could we separate when we love each other like this?
We're fated to never be apart, even in death.
Right, Yume? You'd come find me even if you die, right? You would, right?
I'll come find you. No matter who dies first, I'll always be by Yume's side, right?"
"..Ah.... Ahh.... Of course....."
At Ai's words, I answered while desperately hiding my trembling body and looking at her, and satisfied with my answer, Ai's dark expression brightened.
"Ahat★ Yume, promise me you won't cheat on Ai!"
Then, speaking to the team leader who was in a similar state of trembling.
"Yes... yes!! Yes yes yes!! Understood.....!!"
The team leader trembled even more violently than me and barely managed to answer, and after about 30 more minutes of interview, with the report that camera setup was complete, the team leader hurriedly left with the team he had brought, and left alone with Ai, I was.
"Yume."
"Yes."
"Shall we go... to our room?"
"Yes."
Grateful that the filming had started, I became Ai's dakimakura for the entire day.