Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Toujou Ayaka's Feelings (2)

As I entered the living room, I noticed my mom hurriedly moving around, busy with various tasks. When I directed my gaze towards the floor, I saw a large suitcase wide open.

"Huh? Mom, are you going somewhere?"

"Yes, dear. An unexpected business trip came up."

While packing clothes and items into the suitcase, my mom explained the situation.

My mom runs her own company and holds the position of CEO. So, every now and then, she has to leave for business trips. Sometimes, she even travels abroad, and during such times, she might not return home for about a week.

"Oh, I see... Is this trip going to be a long one?"

I asked my mom with slightly lowered spirits. With both my parents away, it would be just my younger brother Ryouta and me at home. Ryouta is only 5 years old, too young to be left alone. I would have to take care of him. However, this also meant canceling the plan I had to go to the cafe with Saki tomorrow.

"It's a three-day trip. I should be back around the same day as your dad."

"...I understand."

By the way, my dad is also a business owner and is currently away on a business trip as well. Since both of my parents are CEOs, our family is quite well-off. I'm truly grateful for that. But I can't help feeling a bit frustrated when they're away like this. Of course, I know my parents shower my brother and me with love, and they prioritize spending time with us as a family. I don't want to sound selfish, but sometimes, a hint of dissatisfaction does show on my face.

Seeing my dissatisfaction, my mom's expression turns apologetic.

"Sorry dear, especially since summer vacation starts tomorrow."

"No worries, it's work. Can't be helped."

"I'll bring you souvenirs, okay? Please take care of Ryouta."

My brother Ryouta is most likely napping right now. If he were awake, he would probably have tried to stop mom from going on her trip, clinging to her like always. Deep down, I also wanted to act a bit spoiled and cling to my mom, but I'm a second-year high school student and an older sister responsible for my young brother.

"Yeah, take care."

My mom quickly finished preparing and left in a taxi. As I watched her leave from the entrance, I sent a message to Saki, canceling our cafe plan for tomorrow.

—Sorry. Both my parents are away on business trips, so I won't be able to go with you to a cafe tomorrow.

I also sent a stamp of a crying rabbit with tears flowing like a fountain. With each "shoop" sound of sending the message, my spirits sank even further.

—No way, seriously? How long will your parents be on their trips?

—They'll both be back in three days, I think.

—I see... Should I come over to Ayaka's house instead?

I was about to reflexively reply "Sure" to Saki's suggestion, but I managed to hold back. Saki's house is quite far from mine. While we used to live in the same apartment complex nearby until middle school, just before she entered high school, her family moved to a newly built house quite far away. It's a joyful event for her family, but I still remember crying because I didn't want Saki to move far away.

—No, it's fine. Once my parents are back, maybe we can plan something again?

—Are you fine with that, Ayaka?

—Yeah! Totally fine.

I sent a stamp of a rabbit sticking its thumb up. In response, Saki sent a stamp of a bear forming a circle over its head with its arms.

"...Sigh."

I couldn't help but let out a sigh. The summer vacation of my second year in high school was off to a rather gloomy start.

During the time my parents are away, I'm supposed to take care of the household chores. But finding the motivation proved to be quite a challenge. Of course, I've been looking after my brother Ryouta, preparing meals and playing with him, but I've been neglecting things like cleaning. Even the meals I prepare for Ryouta are simple, like instant noodles or ready-made curry. I do want to give him well-balanced meals, but I just can't muster the motivation and end up taking the easy way out.

Ideally, I would want to meet Saki right away, vent about my resentment with Kaitou-senpai, and then go sing at the karaoke until my throat became sore just to release my pent-up stress. But that's just not possible, and I just ended up spending the next three days feeling restless.

And on the day my parents were due to return, I was feeling quite stressed.

"Uuuu~ what should I do..."

Looking at the somewhat dusty living room, I groaned. 

The past three days of neglecting cleaning have left the living room a mess. I had left cooking and other things unfinished, and even the kitchen and bathroom are dirty now. If my parents come back and see this, they might be a little upset. Well, instead of just groaning over this, I should be moving my body and cleaning, but the motivation just isn't there. At least I've been keeping up with laundry, so that's a small relief.

"I guess I should start cleaning..."

Summoning some willpower, I decide to take action. Fortunately, my brother Ryouta is currently playing with his friends at a nearby park. One of the neighbors is watching over him, so I didn't have to worry.

"Alright, let's do this! I can do it... do it... Oh no, it's not working..."

The motivation still wasn't coming.

I took out my smartphone from my pocket and opened a social media app.

"Housework… tips to boost motivation for doing chores... Hmm, people are finding motivation in various ways... Taking a relaxing bath, huh? But I don't feel like going through the trouble of filling the bath... Is there something easier? Huh? What's this?"

As I scrolled through social media, I come across a post that caught my eye.

"Struggling with chores? Why not delegate everything to a housekeeping service? Heeh, there's such a service?"

Intrigued, I immediately searched for housekeeping services online. As a result, I found several services that were available in my area. I decided to take a look at one of their websites.

"Let's see... blabla 'Delegate your household chores and enjoy your free time,' hmm, heeh, they even do grocery shopping? Interesting."

The more I read about these housekeeping services, the more I was convinced that it could be a great solution for me.

"The only problem is the cost... Well, I can afford it for a one-time thing with my allowance, so it's fine."

Thanks to both my parents being CEOs, my allowance is a bit higher than average. Without realizing it, I ended up requesting for a housekeeping service. I chose the three-hour package for cleaning and making dinner.

"I... I've placed the request."

Almost impulsively, I ended up using the housekeeping service. As I gazed at the confirmation email for the request, I waited with a slight nervousness for the person providing the service to arrive.

Finally, around 3 in the afternoon, the housekeeping agent arrived at my house.

And I became utterly surprised.

Turns out, the person from the housekeeping service was Ootsuki-kun, a classmate from the same school.

"Huh? ...Why?"

With a questioning expression on my face, I unintentionally tensed up and displayed my wariness.

After all, it was natural to be cautious when I saw someone like Kaitou-senpai. Seemingly sensing my apprehension, Ootsuki-kun proposed the idea of changing with a female agent. His response brought me a sense of relief. Ootsuki-kun was also treating me like a normal client and he didn't seem to have any ulterior motives. 

At that moment, Saki's voice echoed in my head.

[Hmm~ I think someone like Ootsuki-kun from our class would be a good fit for you, Ayaka.]

I decided to go ahead and requested Ootsuki-kun for the housekeeping service without changing agents. Even he himself seemed a bit surprised by my decision.

As an agent of the housekeeping service, Ootsuki-kun showed a very sincere attitude. There was even a mishap where Ryouta mistook him for a thief when he returned home from the park. Still, he handled it gracefully, and he didn't seem to have taken any offense. He even interacted kindly with Ryouta.

Ryouta seemed to have grown fond of Ootsuki-kun as well, eventually calling him "onii-chan." Although Ryouta tends to be shy around people, I was genuinely impressed by how quickly he warmed up to Ootsuki-kun in such a short time. Yet, I could somehow understand why Ryouta had grown so attached. 

As Saki had said, Ootsuki-kun had a calm aura, a gentle expression when speaking, and a gentlemanly air about him. Perhaps due to him being in work-mode, his speech was incredibly polite, making him seem much more mature than his actual age.

Furthermore, Ootsuki-kun's housekeeping skills were remarkable. Of course, that was to be expected from someone who worked part-time in housekeeping services. The living room and dining area were sparkling clean, and his cooking skills were akin to those of a professional chef. Watching him cook was never boring; it felt like observing a true artist at work.

I had always avoided getting close to boys, but with Ootsuki-kun, maybe we could actually become friends. In the short time we spent interacting, I began to feel that way—vague, but the feeling was there. For some reason, I sensed that Ootsuki-kun was looking beyond my appearance and genuinely considering who I was on the inside. He even referred to me as "a good onee-san."

As I began to entertain these thoughts, a somewhat disappointed or unsatisfied feeling started to well up inside me regarding how Ootsuki-kun was treating me as a "client."

After Ootsuki-kun left, Ryouta and I enjoyed the hamburg steaks he had made. They were hands down the most delicious hamburg steaks I had ever tasted in my life. Ryouta attacked them with such gusto that I worried he might choke. His eyes were widened, and he seemed to forget even to blink, his figure as he hungrily attacked the steak was slightly reminiscent of a horror movie scene.

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Ayaka's Impression of Haruto: A guy with exceptional housekeeping skills.