Time passed quickly and before we knew it it was the last day of the year. New Year's Eve morning in suburban Japan was very cold. Though majority of the snow in the streets had melted, if one where to look up they would find faint frost on rooftops.
As the pale winter sunlight spilled through the curtains, casting a soft golden rectangle across the bedroom floor. Outside, the world was hushed—bare tree branches scratching faintly against the morning breeze, distant crows calling from electric wires.
My phone vibrates against the wooden desk.
Caller ID: Big sis Hinata.
Her cheerful voice bursts through the speaker the moment I answered the call.
"En-kun! Tonight, shrine visit! You and your mom are coming, right?"
She explained that her family plans to visit the shrine together for Hatsumōde, the first shrine visit of the year. They'll meet at the subway station around 10:30 PM, wander around town to enjoy the New Year's Eve atmosphere, then head to the shrine just before midnight.
I agreed to go with them but would have to ask my mom if she also wants to go with us.
When the call ended, I stretched, exhaled and slowly got out of bed. I headed to the bathroom, steam fogged the mirror as I splashed cold water on my face. The chill woke me up fully. After brushing my teeth and tying my hair back loosely, I rolled up my sleeves and decided to cook.
In the kitchen there was rice steaming gently in the cooker, Miso soup simmering, tofu cubes bobbing softly. There was grilled salmon crisping on the pan, skin sizzling,
Tamagoyaki rolled into golden layers, sliced neatly and freshly sliced daikon and pickles adding pops of white and purple.
I slipped in my earbuds, opened the Spotify app, maneuvered to my library and selected an album from Bruno Mars.
Soft upbeat music began to play.
And then—I began to dance.
Small steps. A playful shoulder roll. I flipped the tamagoyaki with surprising elegance. I twirled once with a spatula like it's a microphone stand. The aroma fills the house—soy sauce, miso, sesame oil, grilled fish—comforting and warm.
Upstairs, a door creaks open. Drawn by the smell, my mother descends the staircase slowly, one hand gliding along the railing. She follows the scent like it's guiding her.
She stops at the kitchen doorway.
There she saw it—her son—completely immersed in his own world. Swaying gently, humming along through earbuds, plating food with exaggerated flourish.
She leaned against the doorframe, arms folded. A small smile tuged at her lips.
There was something deeply comforting about watching your child move freely when they think no one's looking.
I wiped my hand on a napkin and froze mid-twirl.
Our eyes met.
Silence.
Man, that was so embarrassing, I can't believe mom caught me fooling around in the kitchen.
I pulled out one earbud quickly.
"M-Morning."
I said trying to sound composed, but the embarrassment lingered in my voice.
Mom laughed softly, covering her mouth.
"Good morning, chef." she said to me teasingly.
I cleared my throat, regained some composure, then walked over confidently, as if nothing happened. I leaned down slightly and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek.
"Wash your hands and freshen up. Breakfast will be ready in five minutes."
She blinks in mild surprise at the affection, but nods warmly.
When she comes back downstairs, the table is set neatly. Steam rises lazily from every dish. The sunlight now fully illuminates the kitchen, reflecting softly off lacquered bowls and chopsticks.
She pauses.
It looks almost like something from a traditional inn.
"You made all this… this morning?" she asked surprised.
I shrugged casually and we sat down to eat.
She lifts her chopsticks and takes a bite of the grilled salmon. The skin crackles lightly. The inside was tender and buttery.
Her eyes widen slightly.
"This is delicious."
She tries the tamagoyaki—soft, slightly sweet, perfectly layered.
"Endou… why don't you cook more often if you're this good?"
I paused mid-bite, thinking. Then I smiled faintly after coming up with some bs excuse since I didn't wanna cook every single day.
"You know instant ramen?"
She nods.
"It tastes amazing when you eat it once in a while. Especially when you're too tired or too hungry to cook. But imagine eating it every day."
She chuckles.
"You'd get sick of it." she replied catching on.
"Exactly. If I cooked like this every day, it would lose its specialness. Food tastes better when it feels like a treat."
She laughs fully now.
"Comparing yourself to instant ramen… what a strange analogy."
"Premium limited-edition ramen," I corrected.
Between bites, I remembered the call from early on and said to Mom:
"Hinata-nee called this morning. She invited us for Hatsumōde tonight."
Mom nods thoughtfully and said.
"That sounds nice. It's been a while since we went together."
We decided to meet the Teruhashis at the subway station at 10:30 PM, walk around town first and enjoy the food stalls.
Then head to the shrine just before midnight to hear the bells ring in the New Year.
...
At 10 pm, mom and I head out for the subway. Mom had on a very beautiful yukata which enhanced her beauty even more but also failed to hide her superb curves. As for me I had on a white long sleeved shirt with black pants and a pair of old-school Vans. We chatted on our way as we headed for the station.
At the station, I quickly recognized three people standing in the crowd, well it wasn't hard finding them as long as you looked for the place with the most crowd, you would know where they are since the Teruhashis tend to attract a lot of attention. The three were composed of two women and a guy, all with dark blue hair, but the guy was in sunglasses even at night. We walked up to them.
"Hey there En-kun, you look as dashing as always. No wonder Kokomi fell so hard for you" Hinata-nee said teasingly as Kokomi turned beet red with embarrassment.
"Thanks Big sis, you also look spectacular in that dress, and Kokomi you look very beautiful in your Yukata, just as I would expect from the most perfect highschool girl" I said to them as I noticed Kokomi look dejected when I praised her mom but she quickly brightened up when I praised her too.
"Tch, what are you looking at you silver-haired bastard with a silver tongue. Don't think you can seduce my Kokomi" The blue haired guy in sunglasses said to me annoyed.
"Well, well, well if it isn't Makoto the siscon. You still mad because your precious little sister chose to give only me a Valentine day's chocolate when were kids? Come on man you have to let it go." I said to him in exasperation.
"I'm never letting it go you bastard, if you didn't seduce my precious Kokomi, I would've been the one enjoying those chocolates. That was my right as a big brother and you took it away from me you bastard" Makoto said to me one again.
"Wow, you are a sore loser. But didn't I make it to you by making you a star actor, Mr. Toru Mugami" I said making air quotes with my fingers.
"Okay now boys stop it. Why can't the two of you ever get along. This had been going on since you met for the first time" Hinata-nee said to us trying to mediate.
"Hmph, there's no way I'm sharing Kokomi with this silver-haired bastard" Makoto snorted coldly.
"Me neither, you stupid siscon" I retorted.
Kokomi who had had enough of such embarrassment quickly came to me, grabbed my hands and pulled me away saying. "Let's get going guys, we don't wanna be late for the shrine visit"
The two mothers looked at each other and smiled while shaking their heads at the kids' actions. They followed behind with Makoto who continued to glare at me from behind.
On the road to the shrine we sampled a lot of food at street stalls. Kokomi and I fed each other, we looked just like a couple but none of us were embarrassed because we've been doing this since we were kids mad have kind of gotten used to it.
Finally we got to the shrine, we chatted with some people we knew and bought some papers to write out new years resolution on. The clock struck 11:59:50 pm, we began to scream with the countdown of the New Year.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 🎊
We prayed at the shrine and descended the stairs to the the temple where we were free to hangout for about an hour before we head back home. Makoto who got a call from his agent about some new year programs from Tokyo TV, had to head out. Kokomi and I took a walk as we admired the neighborhood.
Kokomi turned to me and pointed to a park up ahead saying she wanted as to go there so we can talk. I followed her to the park. We talked about a lot, about school , about friends, about family and about us. Well we were both aware of each other's feelings but we just couldn't take the final step, well mostly because Makoto kept ruining all of my confessions to Kokomi. I gathered my courage and was about to confess once again but Kokomi who saw me like this quickly put a hand on my lips and said to me
"No, Endou not now, please don't say it, I'm not ready"
I stared at Kokomi for a while , sighed and said to her dejectedly "I understand Kokomi, whenever you're ready". I turned walking away and said to her "Come on Kokomi let's get back before they start worrying about where we...."
I was cut short of my words as my lips was sealed by Kokomi. I stared at her wide eyed in surprise, I couldn't believe that the extremely shy Kokomi actually made the first move. After a few minutes, we separated breathing heavily. Kokomi realizing what she had just done turned red and bolted out of the park.
I sighed at this and smiled quickly following after her.