Frustrating. It's really too frustrating.
The Kasumigaoka family dinner tonight with her mom and dad was the most frustrating, and one could even say the most humiliating, meal Utaha had eaten since she was born.
"Hmph, hmph~"
Looking at her mother sitting next to her dad, especially the hint of smugness leaking from her slightly upturned lips, Utaha almost crushed the tips of the chopsticks she was biting.
Guh—!
"What's wrong? Is the food not to your taste?"
Guh—!
"Then should I ask the waiter to change it to some dishes you like?"
"Hah—!"
"..."
Holding his bowl and chopsticks, Naoki looked blankly at his daughter, who was hissing fiercely at her mother like an angry kitten, and then at his wife, who looked completely at ease with a smug, faint smile on her face.
Having no idea what had happened between his wife and daughter, Mr. Naoki lowered his chopsticks slightly and asked curiously,
"Did you two argue again? Or did something happen?"
Hearing this, Utaha, who had just been acting fiercely cute, froze. With stiff movements and a hint of guilt, she averted her gaze and fell into an inexplicable silence.
Seeing his daughter's reaction, Naoki, who was used to it (after all, it would be a miracle if this mother-daughter pair spent time together without arguing at least once), naturally turned his gaze to his smiling wife.
However, his wife's reaction and answer were somewhat beyond Naoki's expectations.
"There, there, darling." Kao, smiling with narrowed eyes, picked up a piece of cod fish emitting a faint charcoal-grilled aroma and fed it to her husband's mouth. "Come ahh~"
"Ahh..." Without thinking, Naoki subconsciously opened his mouth and ate the fish his wife fed him.
Tsk.....
Noticing the loving interaction between his parents out of the corner of his eye, and receiving a look from his mother that was half-teaching, half-teasing—'See that, daughter? Boys love it when their girlfriends do this for them'—Utaha clicked her tongue with a barely perceptible sound of displeasure.
Hmph, what's there to be smug about?
Dad is great, but my Miyahito is no slouch either.
Besides, isn't it just feeding each other? Miyahito and I have done that too! What's there to show off in front of your own daughter!
Hmph! Tomorrow I'll feed my boyfriend water mouth-to-mouth!
Hmph, hmph, hmph!
Completely unaware of her daughter's thoughts, Kao saw that Utaha was almost beaten into submission by her teasing and was now poking her rice gloomily with her chopsticks. She couldn't help but reveal a faint smile of schadenfreude and smugness.
'Although it's a bit of a pity, let's leave it at that for tonight.'
Otherwise, if she accidentally went too far tonight, Utaha, who was backed into a corner, would definitely choose to resist.
And this resistance would most likely be the 'I won't say a single word, just stare at you dead in the eyes' type—a non-violent non-cooperation movement.
If it turned into that, Kao's fun would be directly halved.
After all, the greatest joy of arguing is that someone argues back with you. An argument without passive-aggressiveness or exasperation is no argument at all.
...
After the Kasumigaoka family had eaten and drunk their fill.
"By the way, Utaha." After leaving the restaurant, Naoki, with his arm linked with his wife's, looked back at his daughter, who was trailing slightly behind them, and said casually, "Your mom and I will walk you back to your apartment."
"Eh." Hearing her father's proposal, Utaha's eyes widened slightly. At the same time, the thought 'Miyahito is staying over at my place tonight' flashed through her mind, and she subconsciously opened her mouth to refuse.
"No need, Dad. I can go back by myself."
"It's getting late." Naoki unconsciously frowned, his tone gaining a hint of seriousness. "I'm a bit worried about letting you go back alone."
"No, no, Dad really doesn't need to go out of his way to walk me back."
"It's fine. Just think of it as your mom and me taking a walk to digest our food."
"..." Hearing her dad say this, Utaha, who already lacked confidence tonight, didn't dare to say any more words of refusal.
After all, if she continued to refuse, there was no guarantee her dad wouldn't notice something was off...
Thinking of this, Utaha cast a gloomy glance at her mother, whose smile hadn't stopped all evening.
"Hmm?" Feeling her daughter's gaze, Kao smiled and tilted her head, giving Utaha a look that said 'Figure it out yourself.'
Seeing the look her mother gave her, Utaha silently turned her face away, pursed her lips in frustration, and muttered with a hint of helplessness.
"Sorry for the trouble, Dad."
...
Because they considered that their daughter had to return to her apartment at night, Kao hadn't chosen those high-end restaurants in Ginza tonight.
Instead, she found a mid-to-high-end restaurant near her daughter's apartment that had good reviews from friends and offered sincere prices and food quality.
So, after her husband proposed walking their daughter back to her apartment, it wasn't long before.
The family of three was almost near the apartment where their daughter currently rented.
Looking up at the apartment building not far away, Utaha silently prayed in her heart.
Please don't be such a coincidence, please don't be such a coincidence, please don't be such a coincidence.....
Although Utaha knew herself that her boyfriend had already told her parents about their relationship, and that she was still hiding it from her dad (she guessed her mom knew! She hadn't admitted to telling her).... her behavior was indeed very unfair to Miyahito.
But for the time being, Utaha still insisted on her approach, which was not to tell her parents, especially her dad, about her relationship with Miyahito yet.
Honestly, if it were her mom, Utaha wouldn't be so resistant to telling her the secret. After all, Kao was indeed a woman full of bad taste, but when it came to her daughter dating in high school, she was obviously more accepting than her dad.
But if it were her dad..... forget it, she still wanted her flawless dad to hold her hand and hand her over to the physically and mentally healthy Miyahito.
Just as they were about to reach the first-floor entrance of the apartment, Utaha took advantage of the gap when her parents were chatting and their attention was attracted by the bustling urban night view nearby, and quickly turned her head to look at the parking shed downstairs.
Yeah, absolutely cannot let Dad go up.
Just as Utaha had just made up her mind in her heart and started conceiving a plan on how to deal with her troublesome and sharp parents later.
"Darling, let's just drop her off here. Let Utaha go up by herself."
"Not walking her upstairs? Alright."
Looking at her mother, who had actively helped her, with a slightly dazed look in her eyes, a feeling of disbelief welled up in Utaha's heart.
Noticing the change in her daughter's eyes, the corners of Kao's mouth suddenly raised in a meaningful arc. She opened her arms, leaned her upper body forward slightly, and gently hugged her daughter.
Then, bringing her lips close to Utaha's ear, Kao whispered in a voice so small that only she and Utaha could hear.
"Be safe. I don't want to become a grandmother so early."
Having said that, before her daughter, who had fallen into a state of confusion, could come to her senses, Kao had already let go, smiled, and linked her husband's arm again, gently urging the dazed Utaha.
"Hurry upstairs, Utaha."
Don't let Miyahito-kun wait too anxiously.