Chapter 148: The December Breeze
It was starting to get colder lately. The kind of chill that sneaks in under your collar, makes your breath visible, and reminds you that you should’ve bought thicker socks instead of wasting money on gacha games.
“Ryusei…”
I was in the living room, bending over to wear my shoes and mentally preparing for another long day of work, when Keiko called me.
“Hm?” I replied without turning my head.
The next second something soft looped around my neck. I flinched, half-thinking it was Rin trying to prank me again, but no—it was warm. A scarf.
“There,” Keiko said, her voice gentle. “Since it’s colder lately, I bought you a new one yesterday. Yours was already worn out anyway.”
I froze, my ears heating up instantly. I touched the scarf like it was a rare treasure, my chest tightening.
“…Thanks,” I muttered, standing up and impulsively hugging her. My brain screamed, kiss her, you fool, kiss her!
I leaned in, our lips barely a breath apart—
“NOOOO! STOP!”
Rin’s shriek ripped through the room like a demon banishing spell.
Both Keiko and I jerked apart so fast we might’ve broken the sound barrier. My face was red, Keiko’s was red, and Rin stood there glaring with the judgmental eyes of a thousand ancestors.
“Sorry!” I blurted out.
“Sorry,” Keiko echoed, bowing slightly.
“Not in front of me, please,” Rin huffed, arms crossed. “I know you’re husband and wife, but that’s not what the world outside sees right now. Keep it PG until further notice.”
Keiko sighed. I sighed. Rin yapped some more like a concerned auntie who had caught her niece holding hands with a boy behind the shrine.
---
I headed to work first as usual, Keiko going later. We’d been doing this routine for so long it was muscle memory—me pretending like I lived alone, sneaking in and out like a ninja of domesticity. It was ridiculous but necessary.
On the way, I glanced at my phone. December. No wonder it was cold, and Christmas decorations were sprouting everywhere like mushrooms after rain. Santa here, reindeer there, sparkly lights hanging across streets.
Which meant one thing: Restaurant Hell Season.
I could already see it. Endless orders. Kids screaming for cake. Adults complaining their steak wasn’t medium rare enough when it was literally medium rare. Long hours, short tempers, and the lingering possibility of me fainting mid-service.
And then it hit me—December also meant Keiko’s birthday was coming up.
Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no.
What should I do? Ask her directly? Surprise her? Keiko always said she didn’t mind either way, but secretly—secretly—she loved surprises. I knew it. I’d seen her eyes sparkle the last time I surprised her. She tried to act calm, but I caught the smile tugging at her lips.
I chuckled to myself, imagining her flustered reaction.
“…Creepy.”
I almost jumped three feet into the air. My soul left my body and returned in under two seconds. I spun around—
And there she was. Aki.
“Omg—how the heck am I already at the restaurant?!” I yelped. I’d been so lost in thought, I hadn’t realized I’d walked the entire way here.
“Are you okay, miss?” Aki tilted her head innocently, but her words weren’t innocent at all. “You’re like someone who just woke up after being possessed.”
I stared at her, slack-jawed. Possessed? Me?!
“…Shut up,” I muttered, brushing past her.
But Aki wasn’t done. She darted forward, grabbed my arm, and looked me straight in the face. “Hey… why are you smiling like a pervert just now? What were you thinking about?”
“P—pervert smile?!” I nearly tripped. “I did not!”
“Yes you did,” she said smugly. “I have evidence.”
And before I could react, she whipped out her phone and shoved it in my face.
On the screen was—OH MY GOD. She had recorded me standing there, smiling to myself like a creep. It looked like I was plotting something illegal.
“…Delete that,” I whispered, horrified.
“Nope,” she grinned. “This is golden. I’m keeping it for future blackmail.”
“Damn it, this girl…” I rubbed my face. I was already imagining my funeral, the tombstone reading: Here lies Ryusei, exposed by Aki’s smartphone.
I sighed, trying to shake it off. “So… do you have any idea—”
And then I realized. Oh no. OH NO. I was about to ask Aki—the menace incarnate—for advice on Keiko’s birthday. That would’ve been the end of me.
Aki’s grin widened. She could smell it. Like a shark sensing blood in the water.
Panic mode: engaged.
I grabbed the nearest cleaning cloth from the counter and shoved it in her face. “Nope! Nothing happened! Forget it!”
“Wha—HEY! What was that for?!” Aki sputtered, muffled under the cloth.
I bolted for the staff room.
Behind me, her voice echoed through the hallway. “COME BACK HERE, PERVERT-SMILE GIRL! I DEMAND ANSWERS!”
I kept walking, ignoring her. My dignity was already in shambles, and it was only 8 a.m.
Inside the staff room, I collapsed into a chair, burying my face in my hands. Why. Why do I not have a single normal person to talk to?
Junpei? I sigh.
I wanted someone sane. Someone reliable and really give nice suggestions. Someone who wouldn’t tease me until I cried.
But nope. I was surrounded by chaos gremlins.
I groaned loudly, throwing my head back. “AAAAAAAAHHHHH!”
---
The rest of the day went about as well as you’d expect. By which I mean: not well at all.
Aki teased me every chance she got, whispering “pervert smile” every time she passed by.
Customers were already asking if we’d have special Christmas menus, which meant paperwork and stress.
And all the while, the thought circled my brain like a vulture: What do I do for Keiko’s birthday?
I couldn’t screw this up. Not when she deserved something memorable.
But knowing me? I’d probably end up getting her a frying pan or something and ruin the mood.
I stared up at the ceiling dramatically. “Why, universe? Why must I suffer so?”
Aki, passing by with a tray, muttered, “Because it’s you.”
I threw a napkin at her.
She caught it. With her teeth.
I gave up on life.