As Subaru shook his head lightly to dispel the sleepiness while listening to the raucous laughter, he boasted that he was the kind of person who’d wake up immediately if it was a natural awakening, but being forced awake by external factors was another story.

Feeling a faint pain in his head, as if the blood supply was low, he rubbed his eyelids and casually turned his head—his familiar room suddenly filled his vision.

There was a bookshelf crammed with comics and light novels, and the scattered jeans and track pants made the room a mess. The study desk, which had not served its proper function for quite some time, was piled high with unread books, and the old TV, now solely for gaming, exuded a sense of nostalgia.

Cracking his neck while lying on the bed that had turned into a permanent sleeping bag, Subaru felt a strange sense of discomfort at this all-too-familiar sight. Why was his heart so uneasy?

“Hey, hey! Ignoring me like this will make a grown man cry, you know? It’s such a refreshing morning with this lovely weather, you should just jump up with a bang!”

“Do you expect me to wake up fresh after being dived on like that? Seriously, come on! I feel like my bones are creaking, so I’m just gonna sink back into sleep right now.”

Subaru replied with a huffy tone to the voice that seemed to be waiting for him to wake up, then he rolled over on the bed again. The person standing right next to his futon expressed dissatisfaction.

“Are you going through a rebellious phase?! I knew it would come eventually, but I wasn’t ready for it this morning! I should have prepared better to communicate with my son instead of just making breakfast! Damn it, I hate my uselessness!”

“While you say that, what do you think you’re doing with my leg—hey, wait! Ow! Oww!”

“Alright, today I’ve decided to have a long chat with you! First up is some physical communication! A leg lock! Here, the morning joint locks are effective!”

With Subaru’s legs entangled in a leg lock, Kenichi, lying on his back facing the opposite way, was applying pressure on Subaru’s knees and shins for extra damage. When Subaru let out a pained groan, Kenichi laughed heartily as if he was living life to the fullest.

“What’s the matter?! You’ve grown so much, yet you’re struggling against a middle-aged man like me? How embarrassing! Hahaha… wait, ow! Ow ow ow!”

“Fool! Choosing a leg lock for a counter move shows just how old you’ve gotten! If I just roll over, the damage will bounce back! Argh, wait, no rolling over back!”

Two grown men, their limbs fully extended, continued to roll around in a playful wrestling match, alternating between the victim and the aggressor each time a scream escaped. Books toppled from the desk, and the gaming console that was standing upright fell over.

Amidst their bickering that barely qualified as a quarrel at this early hour—

“—Hey you two. I’d like to have breakfast now because Mom is getting hungry.”

A relaxed voice and an off-beat knock sounded in the room, halting the two’s chaotic movements.

Through the blurry vision that had tears from pain, he spotted the figure standing at the entrance—a woman with a vague aura and sharp eyes that hinted at her displeasure. At a glance, she looked quite irritable, but Subaru knew after seventeen years that she wasn’t really thinking anything of the sort.

With a familiar glare, it was Subaru’s mother, Nahoko Natsuki.

Upon seeing her, Kenichi exclaimed, “Oops!” and quickly stood up.

“Sorry, sorry! I got too caught up in bonding with Subaru! I should’ve just eaten first!”

“—? Why would you eat alone when the whole family can have breakfast together? It’s better to eat while seeing each other’s faces, isn’t it?”

Kenichi’s words were filled with good intentions, but Nahoko tilted her head in confusion, genuinely wondering about it.

Observing his wife, Kenichi nodded vigorously multiple times.

“You’re right! Absolutely right! As expected of my wife, you really get it! Breakfast tastes better when we all gather around!”

“I don’t think the taste changes whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner, you know? Having everyone eat together will just make the dishes easier to wash later.”

“Oh, is that about washing dishes? My bad, I got carried away with my thoughts.”

His proud look deflated by her innocent remark, Kenichi slumped his shoulders in disappointment. Nahoko gazed down at the still-lying Subaru and said cheerfully.

“Come on, Subaru, let’s have breakfast! I worked hard to make it just for you!”

With that, she flashed a subtly cheerful smile that only those close would actually recognize.

—

As Subaru reluctantly descended the stairs to the table while rubbing his sleepy eyes, he felt a jarring shock that made him feel his hazy consciousness wake up.

“Mom, you said you worked hard for me, but…”

“Yeah, I’ve been working hard for you, Subaru. It was tough preparing everything this morning.”

With a pleased huff, Nahoko looked proud of herself, showing no sign of guilt. Not needing to see it to believe it, Subaru let out a sigh.

He then noticed on the table what Kenichi had discovered after going through the restroom—a plate filled with an unusual amount of green peas.

“Wow, this is great, Subaru! Your plate has a special menu! It’s a green forest!”

“Thanks in straightforward terms! Yeah, I guess that’s about right… but what’s with this? Why do I have so many green peas piled up on my plate?”

Nodding at Kenichi’s observation, Subaru pointed to his breakfast that had an abnormal amount of green peas, others being buried beneath the heaps or maybe not even present at all. By the way, Subaru hated green peas.

“Remember when you said you hated green peas? I think you shouldn’t have such likes or dislikes, and so I thought I’d make you eat a lot of them this time.”

“You’re trying to fix my dislikes based on something I barely remember? And what is this occasion? It’s not even a special day!”

“Fufu, you’re naive, Subaru. Listen, no matter what the occasion, the moment of today can only be experienced right now. You might think that similar days will keep coming, but you’re really missing out on a multitude of ‘just this’ moments…”

“Now’s not the time for that,” Subaru dismissively interrupted, sighing deeply as he pushed the tower of green peas aside on the table.

“Anyway, I appreciate the sentiment behind preparing this for me, but I’ll pass on the green peas. I don’t want to fill my stomach with something I dislike in the morning.”

“Come on, if there were only green peas in the world, wouldn’t you have to eat them? You’d eat them then, right?”

“If it came to that, I’d be dead from malnutrition sooner rather than later. A little green pea wouldn’t change anything. So I’m definitely not eating them.”

Tossing back Nahoko’s reasoning with his own, Subaru crossed his arms proudly.

“Even if the apocalypse hit, I would absolutely not eat green peas.”

“Seriously, you’re missing out on life by being picky like that. Oh, Mom, the tomatoes in my salad are gross, so can you eat them instead?”

“Just like you, my dear husband… perfect contradictions between the first and last halves of your statements.”

With that, Kenichi pushed the tomatoes from his salad toward Nahoko, while stealing the boiled eggs from her plate. It was an unspoken understanding between the couple, and neither was complaining. Observing this, Subaru turned his gaze to the breakfast in front of him—steaming miso soup and honey toast piled with generous amounts of honey.

“I always wonder, why this fusion of Western and Japanese?”

“Mom likes wakame in miso soup and honey on her toast.”

Not really an answer. But even saying something now felt like a chore. After all, saying anything would just get him another puzzled head tilt from Nahoko.

After he muttered “Itadakimasu,” Subaru took a sip from the miso soup, and Kenichi and Nahoko took their seats across from him.

They both joined in with an “Itadakimasu!” and began slurping the miso soup in sync. Though no one noticed, they perfectly followed the same pattern.

“Mmm, this miso soup… I see, Mom, you’ve improved since I last saw you!”

“Can you tell? I actually recorded a cooking segment yesterday for three-minute lunches.”

So what?

Subaru’s face twitched at Nahoko’s out-of-the-blue response and Kenichi’s casual comment. Moreover, Nahoko’s statement aligned so well with the facts that if she mentioned “I recorded it,” it likely meant she had recorded it without even watching it, and probably wouldn’t.

“Since you’re here in the morning, wouldn’t it be you who made the miso soup and toast, Dad?”

“Oh come on! Sharp as a tack, my son! You’re onto something, aren’t you? You must’ve noticed there’s a contradiction in my statements, and you’re serving evidence right back at me?”

“You’re really stuck on that old game! But it’s a classic!”

Subaru assumed he had taken his gaming console off the desk again. Perfect to pass the time during his commute, but picturing a middle-aged man engrossed in a handheld game while leaning forward on the train gave him goosebumps.

While munching on the sweet toast, Subaru suddenly remembered something.

“By the way, Dad, why are you dressed so lightly? It’s getting kinda warm, and running around in just a T-shirt and shorts feels too casual.”

“Hey, you’re wearing shorts too! But as for me, I got up a little early and got a bit too excited about doing dry-rubbing out in the yard.”

“Isn’t dry-rubbing for colder seasons?”

“This kind of stuff is all about motivation! If you worry about pointless things before you start running, how are you ever gonna reach your goal? Mom, back me up here!”

“Right, Subaru. It wasn’t cold today, but your father’s dry-rubbing was indeed met with my frosty gaze.”

“Whoa! No support from my wife?!”

“Eh… I did support you! I pointed out it was indeed cold!”

“That’s not support, that’s just piling on!”

Kenichi expressed his grievances while shaking his chair, and Nahoko sort of distractedly responded with, “I feel like dust is rising, so I should clean later.”

Watching his parents bicker, Subaru lowered his gaze, quietly continuing with breakfast. Meanwhile, the plate of green peas, pushed aside from Subaru’s table, transferred to Kenichi, who pushed it towards Nahoko, who again sent it back to Subaru—creating a never-ending cycle.

“Anyway, nobody is gonna eat this at this point, huh? What are you gonna do with all these peas? Mom, you should eat them since you’re responsible for this mess.”

“But I hate green peas…”

“You’re trying to get me to face this without even realising that?!”

“But don’t misunderstand! I don’t just dislike green peas, it’s small round things in general! When they’re in my mouth, it feels gross!”

“Doesn’t matter. I have even more trust issues now!”

Come to think of it, he had never seen his mother eat legumes, and as he pushed the plate toward Kenichi.

“Well, since it’s the wife’s responsibility, you eat them, Dad.”

“Don’t say something so lonely, Subaru! We’re a rare, close-knit family these days, right? So what that you and your mom dislike, I must also dislike!”

“This green plate situation isn’t bringing happiness to anyone!”

The piles of green peas remained untouched. Eventually, Kenichi decided, “Well, I might as well toss them into some pilaf. It’ll be a pilaf invasion until they’re gone, hehehe,” with a mischievous grin on his face.

Ready to settle with the idea of mixing it with something else, Subaru accepted. Nahoko adamantly shook her head, affirming her disdain for anything.

Eventually, the two men would have to finish it all off.

“Thanks for the meal.”

“Sure, that was a mediocre meal. Alright then, let’s wash the dishes in a jiffy and go for a race to school, Subaru!”

“I’m already sick of hearing about flowery encouragement for going to school. Besides, I don’t remember being raised to be the type to dash off right after eating.”

After Kenichi tossed the dishes into the wash bin, he turned around, grinning wide at Subaru, who shrugged, standing up from the table. Before heading off, he muttered, “I’ll sleep until noon,” and scratching his head, made his way upstairs to his room—only to be halted in his tracks.

“What…?”

A throbbing sensation bloomed at his temple, causing him to lightly press on his head and shut his eyes. He felt lights flickering behind his eyelids, a hot sensation prickling down his throat.

Something wasn’t right. Something was definitely off.

Turning around, Subaru met the gaze of his parents.

Kenichi, unhappy with being turned down, pouted his lips, while Nahoko looked at Subaru with a hint of sadness as she wiped the tablecloth.

The glance from his father and mother—the intensity of the feelings wrapped up in those gazes led to an unbearable heat in Subaru’s chest. He felt his face flush, and in a panic, turned away to escape—or rather, bolted to his room.

“What’s going on? Why do I feel so strange today?”

Placing his hand over his chest, Subaru was shocked at how fast his heart was racing. He plopped down on his bed, glancing uneasily around his room.

Nothing in his room had changed since he woke up. It looked exactly the same as last night right before he went to sleep. Just like that, the room had continued to stagnate without change.

Reflecting the stagnation in himself, Subaru glanced at the clock, checking the time as it approached eight in the morning. School started at eight-thirty, and it took about twenty minutes to bike there. It wasn’t too late to make it.

However, Subaru showed no sign of getting dressed, instead staring intently at the ticking clock with his knees hugged.

The second hand ticked away, and ten minutes passed—crossing the deadline.

—And just like that, he was going to be late for school again today.

“So it can’t be helped. Yeah, it just can’t be helped.”

Had he just had a bit more time to gather his resolve, maybe he could’ve made it to school. But reality was harsh, imposing a time limit on Subaru.

Therefore, there would be no choices to make today. Yet still,

“—Normally, I should be able to calm down now. What’s going on?”

He couldn’t shake off the palpitations or the racing breath.

Overwhelmed with confusion over his body’s odd changes, Subaru flinched at the rattling of his own teeth.

—For Subaru, this morning was the most terrifying time of the day.

“Calm down, calm down… Time has passed. This is a time to be calm now. It’s okay.”

While gripping his trembling body, Subaru continually reassured himself.

His daily terrifying ritual was nearing its end. Even knowing that the next morning he would face the same fears again, he would still push through today.

No one was rushing Subaru, nor was anyone cornering him. So it was Subaru himself who was impatient or backed into a corner.

The agonizing time that forced Subaru to choose to go to school—

Despite having long rejected going to school and had spent considerable time as a truant, he still faced the time where he couldn’t come to terms with his own weakness.

Submitting to self-loathing and complex, waiting for the time to tick by, he’d finally verify the school time had passed and thus feel liberated from it all.

Each day brought pain, but he knew better than anyone the tranquility found upon release. The weakness that clung to him, and that continued to be an excuse for his actions, was also part of it.

Even while accepting all of that, he should’ve been sailing smoothly through this time, yet—

“Why is today so different…?”

The guilt, the self-loathing, the clammy discomfort clung to him gratingly.

Unable to decipher the source of the burning impatience that made him want to claw at his chest, Subaru struggled on his bed, sweating unpleasantly.

The faces of his parents lingered in his mind, the last moment he’d seen as he left the table.

Their usual gestures, their typical conversation, their regular exchanges, their typical betrayals, their habitual laziness—everything felt so normal.

And yet today, all of those ordinary moments somehow felt achingly stifling.

—Looking back, something felt wrong since that very moment he woke up.

Kenichi, his father, always went out of his way to annoy Subaru awake with elaborate tactics, which hadn’t changed even after Subaru had become a worthless freeloader. Their interaction this morning was undoubtedly another continuation of those seventeen years.

Yet today, for reasons unknown, it hurt so much more than just the usual diving press.

Nahoko’s oblivious but kind-hearted attempts to nurture him, even though they often had little effect, were clearly prioritized for Subaru. The time they spent together was pretty much guaranteed, being stuck at home with a stay-at-home mom, and she remained a watchful guardian with gentle gazes.

Yet during mealtimes, Subaru often found himself overly conscious of that piercing stare.

And now, even beyond the time for school, he couldn’t shake off the restlessness, burned by impatience about his own inexplicable changes.

“Something feels off. Why? Did something happen? Yesterday, I definitely…”

Looking over the previous day’s actions, he tried to think about what had transpired up until this morning—only to be halted by a tingling sensation.

A feeling like sparks were firing off in his mind pushed back against his attempts to delve into those memories. Confused, Subaru attempted to plunge into that sea of recollections but stopped himself. There were no answers buried within.

For yesterday, the day before, and the days prior, Subaru had passed time without doing anything.

This morning’s chest pain didn’t occur due to something special.

Today just happened to be one of those days when guilt turned into pain, making him feel bad about being unable to look his parents in the eye.

“—Hey, Subaru…”

Just as he reached that conclusion and began to feel overwhelmed by the pounding in his chest, a voice came through the door.

Turning his gaze, he saw Kenichi slipping through the door, gliding into the room with smooth movements reminiscent of a pop star.

“Does that make knocking meaningless if you just walk in without waiting for an answer?”

“Come on, come on! We’re tightly bonded as parent and child! There’s no need to quibble over such trivialities… Wait, there is, isn’t it? If you’re a teenager, then there are things you’d want to do alone. Gotcha. I’ll come back in ten minutes.”

“Don’t make assumptions and try to leave some space! I’m totally fine!”

His voice rose at Kenichi’s unwanted thoughtfulness, but inside, he felt relief in being able to mask his own heavy breaths. Receiving Subaru’s response, Kenichi wore a doubtful expression.

“Really?”

With a little moonwalk step, Kenichi re-entered the room. He pointed his finger toward the ceiling and posed dramatically before Subaru.

“Okay, Subaru. You can tell just by looking, but I actually have a day off from work today.”

“Yeah, I kinda noticed. If you’re doing chores at this time on a Monday morning, of course, I’d pick up on that. So, what’s up?”

“Don’t rush your conclusion! I actually wanted to talk about a few things, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to sum them up!”

“Talk about what? Is it that I need to wash my own dishes after eating?”

“Yeah, that’s part of it. I really dislike washing up. I enjoy cooking, but I have no interest in what comes after.”

Kenichi slumped in a dramatic fashion. Seeing his overly exaggerated behavior from earlier, Subaru furrowed his brows, sensing something was bothering his father.

Kenichi stalled before he could get to the main point, keeping things light-hearted while waiting to steel both their hearts. Subaru knew perfectly well because he recognized a similar pattern in himself.

“—Ouch!”

Just then, another sharp pain struck Subaru’s head.

A sensation akin to having a needle jabbed into his temple. Feeling his skull creaking apart from the pressure, Subaru tried to hide the pain from his expression and asked,

“So, what about it? What are you trying to talk to me about, Dad?”

“Yeah, okay. Subaru, do you have someone you like?”

“—Are you kidding me, are we in middle school here?!”

The topic, meant to distract him from his pain, provoked an excessively responsive reaction.

Kenichi threw his hands up in mock surrender. “Whoa, such an overreaction! That’s practically confessing you have a crush!”

“Don’t just say whatever you want! I’m incredibly baffled and disheartened right now!”

To be honest, it was a wildly incorrect assumption.

Subaru held no interest in having a crush on a girl. He thought he shouldn’t want one or even have a desire for one. Perhaps, it was just that he was fixated on that.

“What’s up? That’s boring. I remember giving you advice when you were little! Women are vulnerable to those long promises of waiting, right? So all you need to do is make a ton of long-term promises to all the promising girls, and once you’re teenagers, you can easily walk down the routes! ”

“They call me a naive kid taking that advice seriously, and now there’s a prohibition on finger swearing in this neighborhood! The reason? Scary-looking kids forcibly making girls take a thousand needles!”

“…I wish your dad’s sweet face had been inherited. You got my short legs and your mom’s sharp eyes, my dad’s energy, and your mom’s oblivious nature; you were messed up in the parental stat distribution during birth!”

“Tell that to the fetus version of me!”

Reflecting on such a painfully sensitive memory, both father and son suddenly sank down, sharing a sigh in unison. After this meandering conversation, Subaru turned back to the topic at hand.

“So, what did you want to talk about anyway? I have a crucial mission ahead of me to drill back into sleep, so just communicate your request after the beep and quietly leave so I can chat with Mom.”

“Don’t dismiss me like that! Also, it’s pointless to talk to your mom about this! My wife and your mother is the world’s densest woman. That’s her charm, of course.”

Subaru rolled his eyes at Kenichi’s natural bragging.

After contemplating for a moment, Kenichi expressed a mischievous grin, touching his nose as if he had made a decision.

“Well, whatever. It’s a beautiful day, so how about we go outside and have a parent-child chat?”