Translator: Lilo
Editor: Ryuubii

Chapter 1: Makabe Shizuru and His Seniors

Act 1

Just about a week ago, in June, my mom died.

It was a traffic accident.

It was just me and her, my mom. A fatherless family.

Which meant, I just lost my one and only family member, and was left behind.

And so, on the same day the funeral was finished that was organized with the help of my relatives, something happened.

At night, I was feeling helpless inside an apartment.

When I was confronted with my mom’s corpse, I broke down in tears. I may be a guy, but I’m still a seventeen year old high school student. I hope you won’t call me pathetic for that.

However, I soon found myself busy with the traditions around funerals, and had no time to mourn.

The cremation was over before I knew it, and when I returned home with the remains and a portrait of the deceased. I no longer had the energy to cry again and was just at a loss for words in the vastness of the house I was left alone in.

As I was pondering over what to do now, the doorbell rang.

I stood up in a helpless motion. It was then that I realized that the sun had already set, and the first thing I did was to turn on the lights.

“Who is it?”

I opened the front door without caution. Standing there was a middle-aged man, elegantly dressed in a high-class suit.

“Are you Makabe Shizuru-kun?”

He looked at me straight in the eye and asked.

Makabe Shizuru is indeed my name.

“Yes, what of it?”

“I see…”

When I nodded my head, he replied with deep emotion. He then looked at me again.

“May I ask who you are?”

“Oh, of course. I’m your mother’s colleague and this is who I am.”

He pulled out a business card from it and held it out to me. I didn’t know how to accept a business card, so I accepted it with both hands as politely as I could.

It had his name and the name of a University Hospital not too far away, and indicated that he was a cardiologist there.

Mom was a nurse at the same hospital. Although doctors and nurses belonged to different departments, they could certainly be called colleagues.

“I’ve just been away from the country for an academic conference. I just heard about your mother’s death a few days ago.”

“Is that so?”

If his words were correct, then he must have heard the news of mom’s death and quickly flew to Japan.

“I couldn’t attend the funeral, but I hope I can at least pay respect to her remains.”

“I understand. Thank you for taking the trouble. I’m sure my mother will be happy to hear that. Please come in.”

Convinced of the purpose of his visit, I quickly invited him in.

My mother raised me single-handedly, but she was an experienced nurse who also served as the head nurse and was paid quite well, so I never had to worry much about my financial situation.

This house is a 2LDK apartment, but it was more than enough for a single mother and child to live in.

In the corner of the living room, there was a simple altar with a picture of mom and her remains on it. He sat down in front of the picture and put his hands together.

In the meantime, I decided to prepare some tea for the visitor.

Mom was a busy person, befitting of her position and career. That’s why I often took over the household chores, and I can do this level of work without putting in much attention.

When I returned to the living room after preparing a cup of tea, he was still sitting in front of the altar.

“Keiko-san…”

It was then that I heard his mumbling.

It was my mom’s name.

“I made you some tea, if you want, go ahead.”

I pretend not to hear him and call out to his back.

Then he jolted in surprise, as if he didn’t think I was back, or had forgotten about me.

There was no immediate reply.

Instead, he pressed the handkerchief he was holding against his eyes. I couldn’t see it from here, but I wondered if it was tears that he had just wiped.

“…Thank you. I’ll take it.”

After doing so, he finally replied in a slightly raised voice.

He replied, but despite his words, he did not leave the altar at all.

I placed my palms on my thighs and stared at my mom’s remains.

I thought about it for a while, and then I decided to throw some words at his back.

“I’m sorry if I’m wrong. You’re my father, aren’t you?”

Immediately, his body tensed slightly.

“…How did you know?”

Then, with his back to me, he asked me, choosing his words carefully.

How?

There were several factors to conclude from.

One was the way he looked at me.

The other was his back while he was looking at my mom’s remains.

Neither was something he would show to his colleague or his colleague’s son.

I don’t know much about relationships among work colleagues. But would a mere co-worker call her first name and stare at her remains as if he was in deep grief? Would he know the name of the son of a mere colleague and look at him with such loving eyes? I’ve lived my whole life without knowing my father. But those are the eyes of a father, aren’t they?

“Just a hunch.”

But I didn’t think there was any point in explaining it out here, so I just said that.

If I had to put it into words, I would say it was my intuition as a blood-related parent and child. Rather, I would say that I looked for a reason after I had such a feeling.

“Did your mother say anything about your father?”

“Nothing in particular. But on the other hand, looking back, I don’t think she ever said that my father is dead.”

“I see…”

Then, he finally left the altar and sat down on the sofa.

I’ve been standing since I put the teacup on the low table.

“I was already married at the time, and your mother, well, It was a relationship that we can’t openly declare.”

He took a sip of his tea to moisten his throat and began to speak without clearly affirming my question.

“So, naturally, we couldn’t stay in the relationship for long. I knew that she had a child, being you, because of our relationship, but I left her knowing that.”

“….”

Perhaps it was because I had figured it out on my own, but I wasn’t too surprised.

‘This person is my father.’

As I listened to his confession, I became convinced that he was right, but at the same time, I calmly thought that my mother and I might have been supported by the child support he paid. Thinking like this is my bad habit, or rather, my nature.

“Have you seen our hospital?”

“I have, several times.”

There was a University Hospital in front of the subway station, about five stops from here.

However, I have never been to a hospital as a sick or injured person. In the first place, Japan’s medical system does not allow people to suddenly rush to a large hospital unless it is an emergency. I simply ate at the outpatient cafeteria with my mother.

“It’s a big hospital, right? So it was surprisingly easy to avoid seeing each other if you were in different departments. But I never thought I’d never see her again.”

He looked down at the teacup he held in both hands and murmured sadly.

It must be sad for him to have her to leave this world without any warning, even if they haven’t seen each other for a long time after settling the relationship.

I also sat down on the sofa.

As if he had been waiting for it, he looked up.

“What are you going to do from now on?”

“From now on?”

I question him back.

“Right. I think it’s too hard for a high school student to live alone here. Or do you have relatives you can rely on?”

“My grandparents called out to me.”

It was ‘just in case’ however.

“I see. If it’s fine with you, uhm…”

Here he slurred his words as if he had difficulty saying them.

“If it’s fine with you, why don’t you come to us?”

Then he cut off his words again.

“I can’t do anything for her now that she’s dead, but I think it’s my duty as a parent to do what I can for you, who was left behind… What do you think? Would you like to come to my house?”

“……”

In other words, he wants to take me in.

I couldn’t help but feel his strong sense of responsibility as he laundered his words.

“Fortunately, if you could call it that. My wife died a few years ago. You can be sure you will have no concerns about that.”

He repeated his words, trying to convince me.

“I have a daughter who’s about your age. I think she’d make a good conversation partner.”

“…”

I don’t think so, that’s more of an obstacle, isn’t it? If a person of the opposite sex of the same age suddenly came to stay in her house, I don’t think she would fancy the person.

Now it was my turn to look down.

I looked down and thought about it.

“I knew it’s not gonna be that easy, huh…”

“I think so too.”

My mother was a single mother who stubbornly refused to tell who the father of her child was. Because of this, she was not taken seriously by her relatives. Still, she was one of their relatives, and since she died too early in her mid-forties, they came to the funeral. They even proceeded with the memorial service, which was too heavy for a high school student like me. Talk about being ostracized.

However, nothing has been decided after this.

In this day and age, it’s not so easy to add one more family member to the mix. It’s even more difficult when it’s relatives you haven’t had much contact with. My grandparents were the only ones who approached me, but as with my habit, I suspected it was just lip service, so I withheld my answer. Unless I proactively asked for help, no one would want to get involved with me anymore.

‘Now then, how do I feel about the person in front of me?’

I asked myself.

He is my father. I don’t want to single-handedly accuse him of abandoning my mother, because I don’t know what was going on at the time or how she felt. But the fact is that he had an affair with my mother even though he was married.

And that’s when I thought about it.

“Then, how about just a month?”

“A month?”

I titled my head at the strange suggestion that came out of his mouth.

“Your mother’s funeral is over, but there are still some complicated procedures to be completed. You also have your own life and schoolwork to attend to, Shizuru-kun.”

“That’s right.”

That’s the part I was at a loss for. After my mother’s funeral, not everything was over. The 50th day of her death was soon to follow, and there were still things like the grave and bones to be buried. According to my relatives, the grave of my mother’s family is not near here.

On the other hand, I still have to go to high school, attend classes, and take exams. Just because I lost my parents doesn’t mean that the school will accommodate the unfortunate student.

“So, if you come to my house for at least a month, until the summer vacation starts, I think your burden will be reduced a lot.”

“Right.”

If I do as he says, at least the burden of daily life will be greatly reduced.

“Anything after that, you can just think about it again. If you like it, you can just stay. And, uhm…If you don’t feel great about me, you can always choose another way. Of course, I’ll do everything I can to help you.”

Rather than pressuring me to make a choice, he looks at me with a pleading look. As a parent, he must be compelled to do something.

Normally, he would certainly be right and I would not feel good about him. But if you are going to accuse him of having an affair with my mom while he was married, it would not be fair if you did not also accuse mom for the same reason.

And as I calmly checked my own feelings, I realized that I probably had nothing against him at all.

I didn’t have the right conditions to have negative feelings towards him in the first place. I have never heard my mother complain about him, and considering the fact that she was working with him and did not take any action, I think the relationship ended satisfactorily enough.

He himself seemed to have at least some sense of responsibility for what had happened, whether it was rushing over here or trying to take me in.

Now what should I do in this case?

As usual, I was thinking calmly and reasonably.

“I understand. I’ll be in your care for a month for starters.”

“I see! Thank you. With this, I can finally have some peace with myself.”

He cheered with delight and grabbed my hand with both of his.

This is probably the best solution right now.

At any rate, I have no idea what to do with myself. However, I would prefer not to rely on a family member who does not want to be relied on. And more than anything, that’s what he wants. Then, I should let him do what he wants to do.

Well, it’s not a bad deal for me, either.