Morning Air and Gentle Promises
When Yuuki woke up in the morning and looked up at the ceiling, it wasn’t the usual plain white ceiling that filled him with vague anxiety. Instead, he saw a ceiling with visible wood grain, and as he opened his eyes, he felt a quiet sense of relief.
When he looked around, Kyousuke didn’t seem to be awake yet. Yume, on the other hand, appeared to already be up, relaxing as she gazed outside from the hiroen, the wide veranda typical of inns.
Noticing that Yuuki had woken up, Yume smiled softly and waved to him, careful not to wake Kyousuke.
Maybe because he’d slept more soundly than usual, Yuuki didn’t feel like going back to sleep. He got out of the futon and sat down across from Yume.
Unable to hide her happiness at that small change, Yume’s smile deepened. As if she’d thought of something, she took out her phone and started typing.
Yuuki wasn’t paying much attention and was calmly looking outside when Yume suddenly held her phone out in front of him.
[Dad’s still sleeping, so let’s not wake him. Wanna go outside and get some fresh air for a bit?]
Yuuki had no reason to refuse, so he nodded, and the two of them quietly left the room without waking Kyousuke.
They began walking side by side.
“Morning, Yuuki-kun. Did you sleep well? Our snoring didn’t bother you, did it?”
“No, not at all. I slept really well.”
“That’s good.”
Yume’s and Kyousuke’s snoring wasn’t that loud, and compared to the quiet house, Yuuki had slept in a much better mood.
That was probably also because the anxiety and worries he’d been carrying until yesterday had settled down.
Seeing that Yuuki no longer looked troubled, Yume felt relieved. Without saying anything else, they stepped into the garden inside the inn.
“The air really is clear. It feels nice.”
“Yeah. It feels calming.”
“It does.”
Chairs had been placed perfectly for viewing the garden, so the two of them sat down side by side.
“Yuuki-kun.”
“What is it?”
“There was something I didn’t get to say yesterday, but is it okay if I say it now?”
What could it be?
For a brief moment, Yuuki wondered if he might say something unpleasant, but what Yume said was the complete opposite.
“Dad said it too, but I want to be there for you, Yuuki-kun. So if you’re troubled or something’s bothering you, I’d be happy if you told me too. I don’t want to realize it later and think it’s already too late.”
Yume had worried that he might reject the offer, even just a little, but Yuuki nodded quietly.
“I understand.”
“Yeah.”
“I realized that convincing myself I was relying too much, and trying to solve everything on my own, was actually causing more trouble for you and for Father.”
Remembering Kyousuke’s tears from the day before, Yuuki said that.
“I see. But that also means you were trying to face things on your own and move forward, and I think that’s really admirable. It’s not something just anyone can do, so you can be proud of that. So maybe you can think of this as me and Dad being a little selfish.”
Yuuki understood that Yume and Kyousuke were saying this so he’d find it easier to rely on them.
“Thank you.”
Because of that, the only words that came out were words of gratitude.
“Yeah. A-and also…”
“Yes, what is it?”
Yume hesitated for a moment, then cautiously brought it up.
“Would you like to exchange contact info? I think there’ll be lots of things going forward.”
She asked while carefully watching Yuuki’s expression.
Ever since the incident with Ayaka, Yuuki had deleted everyone’s contact information except Kyousuke’s, so the only way he could contact Yume was by calling her directly.
Yuuki hesitated just a little, but he didn’t feel any resistance.
“That’s fine.”
“Ah, thank you.”
It was something he never would’ve imagined a month ago, but after everything that had happened with Ayaka and beyond, Yuuki felt genuine gratitude toward Yume.
So he exchanged contact information with her, even if he wasn’t sure it truly counted as proper thanks.
“I’ll treasure it.”
Yume said that with a warm smile, like a sunflower.