Hoshino POV
I was just lying down in bed when my stomach grumbled. It wasn't anything new. My stomach had been grumbling for a while now; I just hadn't felt like getting up to eat.
That is—until I felt the vibrations of the garage door being opened. I knew what that meant; my parents had just come back from grocery shopping. Whenever they did, they usually brought home some kind of takeout.
It was almost like fate itself was telling me to eat.
Guess I have no choice now…
With some reluctance, I pushed myself off the bed and walked out of my room. At the same time, with a loud yawn, Lily came out of hers.
Sensing someone next to her, she stopped mid-yawn and turned to me. I did the same thing.
We both stared at each other, standing completely still.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she spat.
"And where's that attitude coming from?" I countered.
She clicked her tongue. "Excuse me?! Is that the way you're supposed to talk to your LITTLE sister?! Where are your manners?"
I sighed. "The last time I checked, the phrase was 'respect your elders,' not the other way around."
She paused, putting on the best 'mean' face she could manage. "You know what? I don't even feel like talking to you right now!"
She looked away from me and crossed her arms, as if standing her ground. I wasn't sure where she was trying to go with this or what this was supposed to accomplish, but it didn't matter.
Because all that fighting came crashing down the second her stomach rumbled.
She froze, then lowered her head meekly, her ears turning red.
"...So much for trying to act cool," I stated bluntly.
"Oh… shut up! You win, okay?! Just leave me alone!"
With her best attempt at a petty "hmph!" she flicked her hair at me and walked off. Not that there was any point in doing that—we were going to the same place anyway.
We headed down the stairs together, but just before we reached the bottom, she stopped, halting traffic, and turned around.
For a second, I thought I caught a mischievous grin. But when I looked again, all that was there was pure annoyance.
"Why are you following me?!"
For the first time, I felt my eye twitch. "Excuse me? We are literally going to the same place."
She crossed her arms, giving me a look of childish innocence. "Nuh-uh! You're just being a creep! Just leave me alone!!!"
What the hell is wrong with you today?! Why are you just picking a fight for no reason?
My mouth opened on its own, but I stopped myself before the words came out. I couldn't let my sister have the satisfaction of making me lose my cool.
So, after much effort, I let out a loud sigh. "Get out of the way."
My sister's eyes narrowed as she studied my face. "Wha–"
But before she could even finish speaking, I stepped forward and pushed her aside. She slammed into the wall—too hard, considering I'd barely put any strength into the push.
She let out a pained whimper, but I continued my descent toward the living room without bothering to check on her.
The moment I set foot in the living room, I heard a flurry of footsteps coming down the stairs behind me. Then, I was launched forward—or at least, that was what she hoped would happen. I barely moved an inch.
Lily clicked her tongue and kicked my shin—only for her to end up getting hurt instead.
"That's not fair! First of all, you didn't even bother to check on me, and secondly, you push me but don't budge when I push back?! How is that fair?!"
"Well, to answer your first question—you purposefully flung yourself against the wall. I didn't push you that hard," I replied as I walked to the dining room. "For your second question—just get better."
I sat down in my usual seat, the one right at the corner of the table, while Lily took the seat to my left this time—usurping Dad's seat.
"Fine," she said, resting her chin against the table in resignation. "You caught me. How about we just forget it, okay?"
That was what she wanted. If I "forgot" about it, then it'd be like it never happened. She was just trying to erase her humiliation. I knew that, but even so...
"Sure. I don't care, anyway."
I fell right for it.
"Yay!" The resignation she had only a second ago vanished as she wrapped her arms around mine in jubilation. "Thank you! I won't forget this!"
"Well, I won't either if you keep acting like this!" I protested, prying her hands off of me. But every time they came off, she'd just cling onto me again.
The two of us were stuck in an endless loop of one of us trying to shower the other in affection while the other tried to escape it.
By all means, it should have been an easy fight for me. I was by far stronger—and better—than her in every possible way. And yet, I still couldn't manage to get her off.
Somehow, it was a stalemate.
Our little fight only stopped when a loud, obnoxious, yet childish laugh filled the room. We both froze—my hand gripping Lily's face, hers clinging to my arm—and turned to the sound.
"It looks like you two are getting along as well as ever," Dad said, setting the groceries down on the kitchen counter.
Lily and I didn't respond right away. Instead, as if noticing the same thing, we both glanced toward Mom. Or more specifically—the absence of her.
She wasn't anywhere in the house. Not at the front door. Not at the garage door. Not taking off her shoes. She was nowhere to be found.
Which meant there was only one place she could've been—the car.
Which then begged the question: Why?
The first reason that came to mind was that the two of them got into a fight and were avoiding each other.
It wouldn't have been uncommon. They'd gotten into fights plenty of times before where this exact scenario played out. Except, there was something different about it this time.
Dad would usually be in a bad mood as well. But right now, he was simply sorting out the groceries with a light hum, as if completely unbothered.
I thought that was strange, but Lily didn't seem to pick up on it as I felt her arms—which had still been wrapped around mine—tense, going almost frigid.
Noticing this, my lips parted as I prepared some joke to lighten the mood.
That is—until Lily let go of my arm.
Her bangs fell like curtains over her face, but only for a moment. When she looked up, they parted, revealing a cutesy, clueless expression.
"Daddd, where's Mom? Isn't she with you?"
Dad answered with the same bright tone as ever, still sorting the groceries. "Oh, her? She has a bit of a headache right now, so she wanted to rest in the car for a little bit. I offered to carry her in, but you know how she is. She's too prideful to accept help from me. Hahahaha!"
Lily laughed along with his joke, the last of the tension melting off her shoulders. Even I found it funny—except I didn't laugh. I didn't want him to think I thought he was funny.
But still…
She has a headache, huh?
It was a believable answer. Mom always had headaches, so this type of thing wasn't uncommon either. In fact, it was kind of the norm. Considering there were days she couldn't even get up from the couch, not being able to leave the car was understandable.
I guess they weren't fighting after all. That's good.
Or if they were fighting, then at the very least, it wasn't serious enough to dampen Dad's mood. And if his mood wasn't ruined, then it couldn't have been anything too serious.
"Anyway," Lily said, moving on to the next topic. "Can you hurry upppp? I'm hungryyyyy."
Dad laughed. "Yes, yes, my lovely Daughter. I'll be there soon!"
From the kitchen came the rustle of bags as Dad hurriedly put the groceries where they belonged. Some went in the pantry, some in the cabinets, and some in the fridge or freezer. He practically zoomed around the whole place, all to accommodate his Daughter.
Lily watched this all happen with a giddy grin, her legs swinging from under the table.
Tsk. You'd never do this for me, Old Man. Talk about favouritism.
Once he finished, he rushed over to the dinner table and quickly pulled the take-out boxes and free bowls from the bag.
Ignoring the other two bowls, he filled one with the noodle dish and presented it to Lily like she was some sort of goddess.
"Here you are, my lovely Daughter," he said, slightly out of breath.
Lily nodded appreciatively. "Thank you, Dada! I love you!"
I watched Lily's performance partly with disgust and partly with awe—but mainly disgust.
"Dada?" Seriously? You act all innocent with him—but just a few seconds ago, you were picking a fight with me. When are you going to show me that respect?
As if sensing my gaze, Lily turned around and looked right at me with a blank expression.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, her mouth half full of noodles.
"Yeah," Dad chimed in, ganging up on me. "Why are you looking at my Daughter like that? Do you have something you want to say?"
I kept a neutral expression on my face as I analyzed my current predicament. It was a two-against-one scenario. Meaning that no matter what I said, I was bound to get dogpiled on and lose.
...What an incredibly biased family.
I let out a loud sigh. "It's nothing. I just thought you looked fat."
"What?!" Lily screamed, furious. "You mind saying that again? But when the chopsticks are off and to my face?!"
It was to your face...
"Yeah," Dad added with a light-hearted chuckle. "Why would you–"
But before the dogpiling could begin, the sound of a bowl scraping across the table cut him off as I pushed it toward him.
He stared at it, his brows furrowed in overdramatic confusion before looking up at me.
"What's this for?" he asked.
"Excuse me?!" Lily sputtered. "Are we really just going to ignore–"
I pinched her on the leg, her little complaint dissolving into a pained yelp. She snapped her head toward me, leveling a hateful glare at me.
Dad tilted his head, clueless of what had just happened.
I just acted like I hadn't noticed anything.
"Well," I said, carrying on. "You prepared Lily a bowl. Aren't you going to do the same thing for your Son? Unless—you actually love her more than you love me."
It was a joke. Whether he did this or not wouldn't prove whether he actually loved her more. And whatever the outcome was—I didn't really care.
Still, I didn't feel like serving myself since I was lazy, and if I could get him to do it for me, I'd count that as a win.
Dad paused, his gaze drifting from me to the bowl. His smile remained as childish as ever, but as time passed, the corners of his eyes began to crinkle more and more. It was unnoticeable to most—but to me, who was looking right at him, the change was clear.
Why–
But before I could question it, he spoke in an uncharacteristically low, soft voice. So much so that hearing him talk didn't make me want to wince.
"Yeah… I'll do that. Just give me a moment."
As if handling a baby, he carefully grabbed a pair of chopsticks, gathered a healthy amount of noodles, and served them into my bowl. For someone who was so clumsy and spat food whenever he ate—he didn't leave behind a single mess.
Even after he'd finished, he studied my portion intently, checking whether it was the right amount. He methodically pulled a few noodles back out, adding a few pieces of meat and vegetables here and there. Once he was satisfied, he picked up the bowl, leaned across the table, and placed it right in front of me, along with a pair of chopsticks.
"Here," he said, a childish yet delighted smile slowly stretching across his face.
"I hope you enjoy your dinner—my wonderful Son."