After passing through the curtained path, I followed Auntie Yayoi’s direction to find Mina’s room. Uh. Thistter half of their room was surprisingly more spacious than the living room and the kitchenbined. There were two bedrooms located at both corners, obviously one for mother and child. In between their rooms were the bathroom and theundry roombined.


    Then there’s another room that was oddly different from the rest of the house. Instead of the same modern architecture, the room was screaming traditional. It has the traditional Japanese sliding door or also known as shoji. The one with thettice frame and covered by translucent paper.


    Even though it’s firmly closed, I could faintly smell the fragrance of tea inside when I passed by. From below, I also could make out that its floor was made of tatami mats.


    Perhaps, they have a shrine for their family there or just a traditional tea ceremony room.


    Well, there’s no point prying into it.


    My feet soon led me in front of Mina’s door. It’s not shut closed as I could somehow peek at what’s inside.


    Her mother told me to follow her. However, is it this easy? Did I get epted by her just like this?


    I don’t know. But since I was given a chance… there’s no way I’d waste it.


    I thought of knocking at her door and waiting for her to open it but it’s probably lightly hinged as the door pushed open with the slightest touch. Furthermore, I brought a tray with me. On it was her teapot, two cups and two more slices of the fruit pie.


    We both sumbed to the taste of her mother’s tea along with the pie but we actually hadn’t tried if it would also taste good if it’s paired with her tea. Besides, it’s a waste not to drink something she personally made for me.


    With the scene of the room filling up my eyes, I saw Mina. Lying down sideways on her bed, her back turned to the door’s direction with a nket draped over her head. She looked like any other kid throwing a tantrum. What’s missing was Mina iling her feet in frustration.


    “Can Ie in?”


    Before entering the room, I called out to the girl. It’s not even five minutes since she ran here so of course, she’s still awake.


    Looking around the interior of the room, I noticed that the decoration was kind of nd. Or rather, too in for a girl’s room. Even the arrangement was too simple.


    Nheless, it clearly reflected what I know of Mina. She’s not the stylish kind of girl, she’s even always wearing her hair in a ponytail. Even what she wore today seemed to be too much for her, considering she didn’t want me to stare too long at her.


    “Who told you toe here?”


    “Your mother, who else? Also, I can’t just barge in here without her approval anyway.” She didn’t tell me to go away so I invited myself in and put down the tray on her bedside table.


    This time, I thought of serving her instead. After filling up the cups, I picked them up and sat down at the side of her bed.


    My butt instantly sunk from its softness and due to that movement, the girl pulled the nket off her face to look at me.


    “Here. You might’ve lost that one but… I’ll always prefer what you make.”


    “You won’t make me feel better that way.”


    I handed her the cup to which she grabbed after sitting up. I couldment to praise her room or how it clearly reminded me of her but I held off onto that thought and just watched her take a sip of the tea she made whileining to me.


    Along with her, I sipped the tea before picking up the te with the pie. “Here, let’s see if it will taste even better if it was paired with yours.”


    “It won’t, mister. The sweetness of my tea will just make it worse for the fruity sweetness of that pie.”


    “At least try it once. Come on.”


    “You’re persistent.”


    I held out the fork where a piece of the pie was skewered, the gooey fruit filling that leaked out impending to plummet.


    Mina, losing out to my persistence, lightly protested by punching her soft bed before opening her mouth to eat it.


    Momentster, she scowled and said. “I told you! It’s too sweet!”


    “Mhm, let me taste it,” I said.


    Instead of eating a piece of it, I put down the te and inched closer to her. Before Mina could react, my lips nabbed hers and my tongue wriggled inside her mouth, catching the sweet taste of her saliva; courtesy of the tea and cake.


    One second.


    Two seconds.


    After five seconds, Mina’s eyes widened and pushed me on my chest. “I didn’t tell you to kiss me!”


    Her face beet red, she covered her mouth wherein a string of our mixed saliva dripped down to the side of her lips. The girl hurriedly wiped it with her hand while ring at me.


    “I told you I would taste it. That’s what I did.”


    “The pie is in your hands, you idiot! You’re taking advantage of the situation again. You kept the door open, what if mom…”


    She hadn’t finished her words yet when someone giggled from outside her room.


    Right. There’s her mom who spied on us. A few secondster, she stepped into the light, the apron draped over her earlier was taken off. She had an extremely satisfied smile as she stared at the two of us.


    “See that!”


    “Auntie… How long have you been there?” I asked. Because I was sure she didn’t follow me on the way here.


    “Let’s see. Since you sat down?”


    Ah… At that point, I was already too focused on Mina that I didn’t notice her arriving…


    Well, since she’s giggling, only Mina lost again. She became even more flustered and with my hand holding onto hers to prevent her from lying on the bed once more to escape, I could somehow feel the quick beating of her pulse.


    “… Uh. I’m sorry for that disy, auntie. I know you sent me here tofort her but in the end—”


    I was cut off by her and with an extremely joyous tone, she said “You did very well, in my opinion. And I don’t mean to interrupt you two. I’m only here to check but you gave me a nice surprise!”


    “You’re not angry that I… took advantage of her?”


    “That girl has a trust issue, you know? She won’t invite you here easily even if I dared her to do so. I’m always worried that she’ll grow up alone and untrusting because of what happened in her childhood. Thankfully, she met her friends in that club and now there’s you. Onoda-kun. What do you think of my daughter?”


    Trust issue, huh? I guess that’s correct. The girl felt betrayed when everyone around turned on her because of an unfounded rumor.


    Mina wanted to thank her mother. For every sacrifice her mother made for her.


    On the other hand, her mother was looking out for her. Thinking over her future. She probably already met Haruko and the others. However, she had no idea that Mina’s rtionship with Haruko transcended friendship. That’s why Auntie Yayoi thought that since I was the first guy she mentioned and even bragged about, I managed to breach and scale the wall she put up around herself.


    I alternated my gaze between the mother and daughter before confidently replying, “I love Mina, auntie. Can I be her boyfriend?”