Living Normally In An Abnormal World

Chapter 25.2: During a Break – At My Mother’s Workplace

It had been three years since Yuu-kun started school, and his mother, Kinoshita Mana, was starting to feel a little anxious.

The reason for this was that…

“You don’t know either, Chief Manatsu? About a young elementary school student named Kinoshita Yuuto-kun.”

It seemed that even some of the junior employees at my company were fans of my son.

“Huh…? An idol?”

“No! Well, he’s kind of like an unofficial underground idol, but he’s sincere and kind, and he’s like the crystallization of a woman’s fantasies, and desires. He’s called an angel, and fans club members receive a newspaper about his school life every week!! And this newspaper is written in such detail, it’s like a biological investigation report!”

My junior colleague, breathless and excited, explained all this to me, and I found myself taking a step back, a little put off by her enthusiasm.

I get that newspaper too, and more than that, he’s my beloved son!

“Other male idols just seem stupid in comparison. I mean, who is this Yuuto-kun? Is he a saint or something?”

He’s my angel, that’s who.

“I don’t know. I’ve never heard of this Yuuto-kun before.”

For now, I decided to pretend I didn’t know anything about it.

Yuu-kun apparently didn’t care about the fan club, responding with a “Whatever, do what you want.” But that reaction was probably because he thought it wouldn’t grow much anyway.

However, the reality was that the membership had already surpassed 300,000 people. And on top of that, Yuu-kun didn’t even know about it.

“Is that so? But if you’re going to be a fan of anyone, I recommend Yuuto-kun!”

“Okay, I’ll check him out.”

“You absolutely have to check him out!! Now, I’ll be heading back.”

With that, my junior colleague left.

“Haa~”

Sooner or later, rumors of Yuu-kun would spread throughout the company.

It was only a matter of time…

Furthermore,

“Oh, Mana~”

“Oh, President, what is it?”

“Well, when are you going to bring Yuuto-kun to meet me?”

“I’ll kick you out if you don’t stop.”

“I can’t believe that cute baby grew up to be so handsome.”

The president already had her suspicions.

“Come on, bring him to meet me.”

“No.”

“Ugh… I’m not expecting a romance with a man or anything, but I do want to get to know him.”

The president sighed as she spoke.

Well, as long as I have Yuu-kun, I don’t care about anything else.

And knowing Yuu-kun, if I introduced him, he would probably think that I was doing her a favor and act even more politely than usual. And if that happened, the president would definitely get carried away.

“Yuu-kun is out of the question.”

“You’re so stingy~”

Of course, I had to protect my precious son.

“By the way, we have a meeting soon, so get the documents ready.”

“Yes, yes, they should be right here… huh?”

The documents I had brought were missing.

Did I forget them at home? No, that can’t be right…

“What should I do, President? I forgot them.”

“What? That’s bad. What are you going to do now?”

I didn’t even have my USB memory stick for emergencies. This was really bad.

“I’ll rush home and get them!”

“Okay! I’ll buy you some time, so hurry!”

Ugh, why did this have to happen today of all days?!

What terrible luck.

For now, I had to rush home and get those documents!!

“Chie… Chief!”

My junior colleague from earlier came running back to me, looking flustered.

“What?! I’m kind of in a hurry right now.”

“Well, um… it’s about a customer.”

“A customer at a time like this? Who is it?”

“It’s a strange child. I couldn’t see their face because they were wearing sunglasses and a mask, but they said they wanted to meet Kinoshita Mana. Is that your daughter?”

“…”

Sunglasses and a mask… could it be Yuu-kun? But he should be at school today.

“Okay, I’ll head there now.”

I decided to go and see for myself.

I took the elevator down to the reception area on the first floor and looked for the person who had come to see me.

“There they are.”

As expected, I found them immediately.

Anyone wearing sunglasses and a mask would stand out as suspicious, and on top of that, this person had a blue randoseru.

It was indeed Yuu-kun who had come to see me.

I walked straight towards him.

Noticing me, Yuu-kun ran up to me.

“You forgot the documents and your phone, so I came to deliver them.”

He was out of breath as he spoke and pulled the documents and phone out of his randoseru.

However, I was more concerned about something else.

“…… How did you get here?”

After all, it takes an hour to drive from our house to this workplace.

But from the looks of it…

“I came by bicycle.”

I knew it…

“Wasn’t it hard?”

“It was. Pretending to be sick to skip school was tough.”

Why are you worried about that?!

“Never mind that. Will you make it in time for the meeting?”

“Eh? Y-yeah, thanks to Yuu-kun rushing over with them.”

“Phew, I’m glad my efforts paid off.”

“Thank you, Yuu-kun.”

“It’s no problem for you, Mana.”

What a kind boy. How lucky I am to be able to live with such a wonderful son.

I hugged my beloved son tightly.

“W-wait, Mana! Don’t hug me! Ah, and I’m sweating, so get off!”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind.”

“I mind! Get off me!”

“Fine, fine.”

When I let go, Yuu-kun took a step back to create some distance between us. He probably didn’t want to be too close because he was sweating.

“Are you heading back to school now?”

“Hmm? Well… maybe.”

Yuu-kun gave a light smile and looked down.

Ah… he still regrets skipping school, huh.

“Mana~”

“Ah!”

Before I knew it, the president had arrived and witnessed this scene.

“Why didn’t you go get the documents sooner?”

“It’s fine now.”

“Hmm? Well, more importantly, you there, suspicious elementary school student! Are you… Yuuto-kun?”

“Ah, yes, I’m Yuuto. My mother always talks about how much she owes you.”

Of course, he would politely greet her. And he even took off his mask and sunglasses to do so.

“~~~~! Kawaii! Welcome! What are you doing, Mana?!”

I threw a right straight at the president, but she dodged it nimbly.

“You were totally trying to hug him, weren’t you?!”

“How can you not hug such a good boy?! I can’t help it!”

“Don’t say it with such conviction!”

She was too bold. I wished she would show a little more dignity as my superior.

But because Yuu-kun had politely greeted her, his face was exposed, and people passing by began to recognize him.

“Eh? Yuuto-kun?!”

“It’s really him!”

“It’s Yuuto-kun in person! Ahh, he’s so cute!”

“Haa, haa, haa… my nose is bleeding…”

“Yuu-kun!! Come over here! Ah, no, it’s fine, I’ll go to you!”

“That blue randoseru definitely belongs to Yuuto-kun.”

“Someone get the department head and a camera…”

“But to think he’s Chief Mana’s son… that guy’s got some nerve.”

Yuu-kun’s identity had finally been exposed.

“I’m sorry, Mana… what should we do?”

Yuu-kun’s face was pale, and I could tell that this wasn’t how he had imagined things would go. But in a way, this might be for the best. I had always known that people would find out eventually. And now that they had, it shouldn’t be a problem.

“…… Let’s just leave it be.”

“I’m really sorry.”

“It’s fine. Thank you for bringing the documents and my phone. You should head home now, okay?”

“Okay.”

Yuu-kun quickly turned and headed towards the entrance.

Now, I had to deal with this foolish president, my colleagues, and my juniors…

Or so I thought, but suddenly, the president asked,

“Hey, Mana, isn’t it true that our entrance’s automatic doors are kind of slow?”

“Eh?”

As she asked this, I heard a faint “Ouch!” behind me.

I turned around and saw…

“Ouch.”