Wataru opened the front door of his family’s townhouse, smiling. “Hey mom, I’m back!” He happily sniffed the scent of his mom’s cooking.

“Oh Wataru.” Wataru’s mom peeked into the hallway from the kitchen cheerfully. “Is Kirari coming home tonight?”

Wataru took off his shoes. “I don't know momma, she didn't say anything about it.”

Wataru’s mom sighed. “Well at least she’s self-sufficient.”

Wataru took that as a jab and facetiously fired back. “Well you were the one who wanted me around to help you with your manga.”

Wataru’s mom walked back into the kitchen.“That’s true…” She paused for a moment. “Oh I was gonna ask you, were you hanging out with some friends after school?”

Wataru walked towards her while tossing his backpack into his bedroom quickly. “Well some of the seniors in my club had asked me a while back if I wanted to join them for a party tonight, but I turned down the invitation.”

“Wouldn’t it have been fun to go hang out with them?”

Wataru walked into the kitchen and grabbed some napkins and chopsticks to set the dinner table. “Well… I’m sure it would’ve been fun. But… there’s not much of a reason to go out drinking when I can’t drink.”

“They don't check foreigners' IDs, you know.”

“Says the woman who wants me to be a model citizen.”

Wataru’s mom laughed and pulled the skillet with the food she was cooking off the stove and turned off the stove. “Well you know that socializing is good for you, Wataru.”

Wataru carried the napkins and chopsticks to the table, smirking. “Yeah, that’s why I joined my club. You said it’d be good for me.”

Wataru’s mom poured miso soup into two bowls. “Well has it?”

Wataru walked back to the kitchen. “Yeah… I uh… I’ve met some nice people.”

“And you have Kanoko-chan there too, so it’s not like everyone there’s a complete stranger, you know?”

Wataru paused for a moment. “Well… yeah, that’s true.” He walked to the cupboard and pulled out two glasses, cracking a grin. “But I guess it’s more meaningful to meet and befriend people on my own.” He filled them up with ice.

“Well you gotta get to know people, Wataru.” Wataru’s mom slid the two okonomiyaki pancakes onto plates, then began to add toppings to them.

“Yeah… but do you think one interaction is enough to get a good impression of someone… like to get a good picture of who they are?”

Wataru’s mom chuckled as she squirted mayonnaise on one of the okonomiyaki pancakes. “No... and I would know.” She realized she squirted too much mayonnaise. “Oh crap!”

Wataru laughed when he saw this, pulling a pitcher of tea out of the refrigerator and carried the pitcher and cups to the dinner table. “Yeah… you’re right.” He blushed; emotions churned within him.

“Did you meet someone today who made a good first impression?” Wataru’s mom put the rest of the toppings on the okonomiyaki.

Looking towards the dinner table as he walked to it, Wataru smirked. “Mmhmm.” He began pouring the tea into the glasses when he got to the table.

“So that’s why you were smiling from ear to ear when you got home, huh?”

Wataru stopped pouring tea in the first cup and nodded. “Yeah.”

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

Wataru’s mom leaned in towards him over the sink. “Was it a girl, perhaps?”

Wataru blushed and nodded as he poured tea into the second glass. Perhaps it was unusual to be so upfront about his daily happenings, but then again, she was his coworker and fellow artist. “Mmhmm!”

Wataru’s mom smiled in excitement as she carried the okonomiyaki to the dinner table. “Well what did she look like?”

Wataru pulled out his phone and showed his mom the picture of Itsumi the picture she gave him. “Here’s a picture of her!”

Wataru’s mom put the okonomiyaki pancakes on the table and then looked at the picture. She smiled. “Oh wow, that girl’s beautiful.”

Wataru sat down scratched his head, smiling. “Isn’t she?”

Wataru’s mom had a realization. “You didn’t sneak that photo of her, did you? I thought I raised you better than that!”

“No. No, she gave it to me!”

Wataru’s Mom laughed. “I believe you. I just hope you treated her like a lady.”

“I did, momma!”

“Well you can tell me more over dinner, Wataru, I’m hungry!”

Wataru laughed. “Alright.”

The two bowed their heads in silence for a moment, and then they began to eat their food.

“What’s this girl like?”

“Well her name's Itsumi and she’s a college freshman from Fukui.” He ate a piece of his okonomiyaki.

Wataru’s mom sipped her iced tea. “Huh. How’d you meet her?”

Wataru swallowed his food to answer. “Well I got off the train and was gonna walk home but I saw her in the station's lobby anxiously looking around so I uh… I asked if she was lost.”

“Was she?”

“She was, so I showed her Kaminarimon on the way to the hostel she’s staying at.”

“Well did you get to know her a little?”

“Well I got her some soft serve in the market and got to talk to her for a little bit.” Wataru sipped his tea. “Isn’t it funny having sweet tea with Japanese food?”

Wataru’s mom laughed. “I can’t give it up.”

Wataru smirked. “So Itsumi seems to be a bit of an otaku.”

Wataru’s mom leaned forward. “Oh really?”

“Her eyes lit up when I told her I help you write Higure no Rhapsody.”

“Ha! I love her already.”

Wataru chuckled. “Well the only other thing she told me about herself was that she was studying to be a kindergarten teacher.”

Wataru's mom smiled. “She sounds like a really nice girl, Wataru.”

Wataru lit up in excitement. “Mmhmm. We agreed to meet tomorrow afternoon too… so I’m excited about that.”

“Really?! That’s great Wataru!”

“Yeah! I’m hoping that I’ll…” Wataru paused, frowning. “I’m getting my hopes up.”

Wataru’s mom shook her head. “It’s your summer vacation, Wataru. Just take things a day at a time. If things work out well tomorrow, then just go where life takes you.”

Wataru began intently focusing on his food. “You’re right, momma. I’ll never find out what might become of this unless I go for it.”

“That’s more like it, Wataru.”

Wataru silently thought about whether he should mention his morning plans with “Koizumi” that he told Kirari about. No, he had told his mom enough, but not only that, he didn’t want to think about it. He would wake up and go with the flow. After all, why not plan about his date with Itsumi? If he was going to discover what could become of their embryonic relationship, he had to do something. Wataru voraciously gulped down his miso soup. He then went for his okonomiyaki, ripping off a piece with his chopsticks.

“Your food isn’t gonna run away from you Wataru. There’s no need to eat so fast!”

Wataru snapped out of his feverish train of thought. “Oh!” Wataru scratched his head. “I was just thinking about what I should do tomorrow.”

“Well make sure you shave your face and wear something nicer than a T-shirt.”

Wataru looked down at his shirt as he scratched his hairy face. “Yeah… I uh… I better do that.” Wataru ate another piece of his okonomiyaki.

Thoughts of how he’d handle the date with Itsumi tomorrow jostled Wataru’s mind. Now was the time for Wataru to take a new step in his life—an exciting new chapter. How could he let this opportunity go to waste? Wataru played with his food. How was he going to bounce back from the soft serve mishap? How would be cool and confident and not overbearing around

Itsumi? It was all so new and nerve racking, but even so, there was something calming about this opportunity. Itsumi… she was all but a stranger to him, and yet he found comfort in the kind of person she appeared to be. Wataru thought pensively and passionately. He was going to show her a good time, and he was going to show her the kind of man he was. That was the only way he could show himself. If she liked him for it, great. If not, he wouldn’t have left anything to be desired, and he wouldn’t get himself caught up with someone who couldn’t accept him.

“Don’t overthink it, Wataru. You’ll scare the girl away.”

Wataru blushed a deep red. “Mom! I-

Wataru’s mom burst into laughter. “Just be positive and excited about it.”

Wataru nodded. “Yeah… you’re right.”

Wataru silently finished his okonomiyaki and washed the dishes as he thought about what he would do tomorrow—where he would take Itsumi to go sightseeing, or maybe some sort of treat. A crepe, perhaps? Maybe she would want to have dinner with him! Regardless, he would get to see her- He would get to see her after his meeting with Koizumi. What a drag. Sure he would not bail on this fan of his, but how would he be able to be sincere to them? One wrong move could put a dent in his reputation as a writer. Wataru figured it would be best to treat this Koizumi like Itsumi and then proceed to bow out gracefully to spend time with the former. Yes. That would be the way to handle it.

Wataru walked into his bathroom and stared at his reflection in the mirror. What did Itsumi think of him? Did he look shabby to her? Was it the T-shirt and shorts or maybe the short beard that needed to be shaved off or at least trimmed? Could he possibly look intimidating? Regardless of how he looked, it was too late for him to reinvent himself. What she saw today was the person he was—it would be a greater risk to change for a near stranger and appear fake than to be himself and turn out to be unappealing to her. Wataru trimmed his beard and took a bath, aimlessly imagining what exciting things tomorrow would bring.

Afterwards he brushed his teeth, picked out an orange T-shirt and some khaki shorts, and then got in bed. He reached out for his phone to check for any more messages from Koizumi. He checked the time for when he’d meet her, and then went to sleep. Tomorrow would be an exciting day, he believed.