"I'm home!"
Misumi unlocked the door with her key and subconsciously called out as she returned home.
Although she knew there was no one home, she hoped that saying this would help her find some sense of home.
Tokyo was a bustling yet cold city. Misumi had come here alone, far from her parents, with no relatives or friends, and even every yen she spent had to be earned by herself as a high school student.
No, that was not entirely accurate. She did have one friend in Tokyo, Sakiko.
But unfortunately, during Misumi's most difficult period, Sakiko was not by her side.
This year also happened to be the time when Sakiko went from being a noble young lady to a poor customer service girl. It was a good opportunity for the girls' friendship to deepen, but without realizing it, they both missed it completely.
Now that she had met her childhood white moonlight again, their relationship had even grown closer.
But Misumi felt no joy in her heart. Instead, she had a strange feeling.
That was, when Sakiko found her childhood friend again, it seemed less like she needed Misumi's support and more like she needed Misumi's ability and popularity.
When this thought arose, Misumi quickly shook her head in fear, afraid that the perfect image of Sakiko in her mind would shatter.
The first thing Misumi did after arriving home, as usual, was take a bath. Wrapped in a bath towel that revealed her fair shoulders, she returned to her bed and lay down spread-eagle.
At home, she did not need to maintain the image of a popular idol. She could relax however she wanted. Just being her true self was enough.
Usually, every time she returned home, she would be exhausted. But today, for some reason, Misumi felt full of motivation, and her spirits were high, with no hint of sleepiness.
Was it because she had gone to the planetarium tonight and seen her favorite stars?
No, even in the past, she would go to the planetarium when she was at her most tired, but she would not be as energetic as she was now after returning home.
Yes, it was because she had not gone to the planetarium alone today. Someone had accompanied her, a man's company.
This might also be the best male friend Misumi had ever had in her life.
"Toru-kun?"
Misumi murmured to herself.
She could not help but pick up her phone and open Toru's Line.
However, after hesitating for a moment, Misumi only sent a message saying she was going to sleep, goodnight, and that she would ask Toru-kun to go to the planetarium with her again next time.
Not long after, Toru replied on Line with a "Mm-hmm" emoji. Looking at the emoji, Misumi could not help but smile.
She scrolled through her Line contacts, but unfortunately, almost all of Misumi's friends were colleagues. Her only true friends were Sakiko and Sumita Mana.
After thinking for a moment, Misumi sent a message to Sakiko-sensei: "Sakiko, what kind of person is Toru-kun [deleted] Fujiwara-kun?"
During Misumi's most difficult year, she had always wanted to send a message to Sakiko, but in the end, she never did.
Misumi had a typical Japanese personality, unwilling to trouble others, especially her friends.
She did not want Sakiko to know how tired she was from struggling in Tokyo.
As it happened, Sakiko at that time also did not want Misumi to know her true situation.
Although they knew their best friend was in the same city, they had almost no contact during that year.
If they had been a couple, it truly would have been a case of having fate but no connection.
Misumi scrolled through TikTok for a while, and soon Sakiko replied to her message.
Seeing Sakiko's message, Misumi smiled slightly. She could finally talk to Sakiko like they did when they were children, and in the future, they would become colleagues. That future was truly wonderful.
"Misumi, why are you asking about Toru-kun?"
Seeing Sakiko's reply, Misumi suddenly panicked, thinking Sakiko had guessed something.
Fortunately, Sakiko then said, "Are you worried that Toru-kun's personality is too serious, and that working under him will be very tough?"
"Don't worry, Misumi. Although Toru-kun is from the Fujiwara family, he has a gentle personality. It's very comfortable to work with him."
"Moreover, Toru-kun is my benefactor. He gave me the courage to move forward again. If it weren't for Toru-kun, I would probably still be buried in those messy family affairs, and I might not even have known about Mother's death."
"I am grateful to Toru-kun. Toru-kun changed my life."
Misumi was secretly startled as she looked at the string of messages from Sakiko.
It was important to know that Sakiko's online messages were always concise, and she rarely sent so much at once.
But this time, when it involved Toru, Sakiko seemed to have opened the floodgates and said a lot in one go.
However, seeing Sakiko's message, Misumi secretly laughed. It seemed Sakiko did not know Toru-kun's past and only thought he had been the young master of the Fujiwara family since childhood.
Actually, Toru-kun had once been an illegitimate child. He had lived alone in America and even spent time in an orphanage.
So this is the reason Toru-kun has his current personality. Sakiko, you don't know anything.
Suddenly, Sakiko sent another message. "Misumi, I actually realized that I like Toru-kun. Can you help me come up with ideas?"
Misumi's heart suddenly sped up. She looked at this message, and for some reason, her fingertips suddenly trembled.
Misumi was silent for a moment, then replied, "Okay, but I don't know Toru-kun very well either. Sakiko, can you tell me more about Toru-kun? That way, I can help Sakiko come up with better ideas."
After typing those words, Misumi held her phone tightly to her chest, and a mix of anger and guilt suddenly rose in her heart.
I'm sorry, Sakiko. This time, I might have lied.
Sakiko did not know what her best friend was thinking. The two began a late-night chat between girls, with Toru as the topic.
They chatted until after midnight.
For both Sakiko and Misumi, this was very late. They quickly said goodnight to each other, preparing to sleep.
But that night, Misumi found that she could not fall asleep no matter what.
...
At the Koto Ward Government Office Building, Toru was handling official duties in his office. Arisu was busy with school affairs today and had not come to work for him.
There was a knock on the office door. After Toru said, "Please come in," a government staff member entered and reported, "District Mayor Fujiwara, someone wants to see you. Could you check whether it's the person you made an appointment with?"
"Who is the visitor?"
"She calls herself Yukinoshita."
"Yukinoshita? Short hair or long hair, how old?"
"Um, the other party has her hair up, so it should be long hair. As for her age, she looks very mature and should be in her thirties or forties, but from her appearance, she also looks like she's in her twenties?"
Toru understood. The person who had come to see him was neither Yukino nor Haruno, but their mother Ms. Yukinoshita, or rather Fumino!
(To be continued.)