While talking about his work was interesting, Mizuto was too lazy to speak about it, and he was more interested in the variety of breakfasts prepared by this hotel.
Creamy Truffle Scramble Eggs Free Range Egg Wabisuke, Grilled Butter Foccacia, Mascarpone, Morning Noodles, Fresh Italian Breads, Italian Desserts, and many others.
Yume also wanted to try all of them, but she knew that her stomach wasn't large enough, and she didn't want to become fat. Even so, she could take a bite from Mizuto's plates, trying some that she was interested in.
Still, as they had breakfast, his smartphone kept ringing, and many tried to contact him, yet he ignored it. Yume was the same, but unlike him, she answered those chats as they came from their parents, Akatsuki and Reina.
"Have they arrived at the airport?" Mizuto asked about their parents.
"Um." Yume nodded and showed her smartphone. "They took a photo."
While drinking pure orange juice, Mizuto tilted his head slightly and saw a picture of his father and Yuni from Yume's smartphone, which his stepmother uploaded on their LINE group.
Yes, due to his initiative, they made a LINE group consisting of their new family.
If it was a normal family in this country, such a thing definitely wouldn't be done as most families in this country were quite traditional, or maybe some might do it, but there was no doubt that it was a good thing to create this LINE group as they could easily tell each other when they were late, or they were on a trip like this.
In the beginning, his father was quite awkward, or rather, whether it was Yuni or Mineaki, neither of them had a LINE as most of the users were young people, but there was no doubt it was the most popular social media as it was backed up by Softbank, one of the conglomerates in this country.
As for Yume?
She didn't have it at the beginning of the school, but due to her relationship with him, she has this social media now. Naturally, she only shared it with those who were close, and she didn't even join a group in the class as it was noisy. Moreover, there was no doubt the boys would try to contact her the moment they knew her LINE ID, which was something she liked to avoid.
Similarly, Mizuto didn't join the group class as he felt it was unnecessary and didn't want to be contacted by random girls. However, he felt this family group was necessary, even though he didn't join the conversation that much. Still, he felt a bit speechless when his father started to use a strange sticker on the group.
Mineaki: (Vegeta falls, has blood from the corner of his mouth, and is defeated) sticker.
"....." Mizuto.
Nevertheless, it was good that everyone was having fun.
Still, Yuni and Yume were very active in the group, as they shared photos of each other.
Yuni: "How nice~! How nice~!"
Yuni got jealous when Yume shared photos of various foods and their hotel room, which hadn't been dirty by their lewd actions.
Yuni: (A rabbit squats on the ground and creates a circle depressively).
Yuni: "By the way, where is Mizuto? Mizuto-kun? Give us his photo!"
Yume didn't say much and took a picture of him, who was eating an apple in a relaxed manner. Staring at his photo for a while, she felt reluctant to upload this photo, but then, under the urging of her mother, she uploaded his photo.
Yuni: "Oh! It's Mizuto-kun eating fruit!"
"..."
Mizuto was silent and wondered whether he was being treated as a rare panda who was eating bamboo for some reason.
Yuni: "How about you two take a picture together? I want to see it!"
"Mizuto..." Yume looked at Mizuto with a meek gaze.
Mizuto glanced at Yume and moved closer, even pressing their cheeks together. "Hurry up and take a picture."
"....."
Yume wanted to say many things, but if they took a picture like this, they would be like a couple instead of a stepsibling. Still, as she thought about her mother's words, she decided to take this selfie boldly, yet somehow, Mizuto turned his head and kissed her cheek intimately.
"....." Yume.
"It's a good photo." Mizuto nodded.
"...but we can't send this." Yume kept this photo, then glared at him, trying to hide her shyness.
"Then, take a photo again." Mizuto only smiled, causing her to kiss his cheek as she took a selfie before she took another, which was a proper photo that could be sent to their parents. Yet, when they were so close like this, it was hard for one not to think that they were lovers. Still, compared to their cheek kisses, it was much better.
Then, when Yume uploaded the photo, she asked, "Do you think they will think that we're lovers?"
"Do you want us not to be seen as lovers by our parents?" Mizuto asked.
Yume didn't answer his question immediately after hearing this question. If it was before, she felt like hiding this relationship was better as she wished for her mother's happiness. However, she had gotten her mother's permission, and she knew there weren't any problems for them to announce their relationship. Moreover, she felt that if they announced their relationship, no one would approach him again.
Yume knew that she was being selfish, but she felt there was nothing wrong since they had become one, and she wished him for only herself.
So—
"No." Yume shook her head and said, "I... I want us to be seen as a couple!" Her heart was tightened, and she was quite nervous, but as expected, she was glad that she could say all of this.
Yet, Mizuto fell in silence, thinking for a moment, realizing that he wasn't as excited as he thought to be. It made him feel sorry for Yume, and he knew that he was incapable of falling in love with someone else.
"Mizuto...?"
Mizuto was startled and realized that he had been silent for a while, which caused her eyes to turn red. While he couldn't read their mind, he knew that she thought that he wouldn't like it if someone knew about their relationship. "What's wrong? Why did you cry?"
"...you don't want us to be seen as a couple?" Yume wondered whether her feelings had troubled him, but she knew in this relationship, she was the one who had a stronger feeling, and she just didn't want anyone to have him.
"No." Mizuto shook his head and said, "I think that it should be okay to let our parents know about our relationship, but I am just afraid that they might try to peek at our room when we..." As expected of him, he thought. After all, he could lie as smooth as he breathed.
"....."
Hearing his concern, Yume blushed, but she also understood his concern. By announcing their relationship, there was no doubt that they would be seen as a couple, and their parents naturally would think something dirty about them, especially when they were in their youth, and their desires in that area were strong!
If somehow their parents peeked at their room, then... Yume could imagine that she would die at that time.
"...then, what do you think?"
Mizuto could see her gaze was serious, and he knew she wanted to know what he wanted to do with their relationship. He thought for a moment for an answer and said, "I think we can announce our relationship."
"But didn't you say that they might—"
"No, I mean announce our relationship to those who are close to us."
"You mean... like Akatsuki and Reina?"
Hearing his answer, Mizuto could see that Yume was so happy. "If you can trust them."
"I trust them!" Yume nodded eagerly and felt happy with his decision. Instead of announcing their relationship to their parents, she was more eager to announce this relationship to Reina and Akatsuki.
"As for our parents, if they ask, then just tell them the truth, but if they don't ask, then there is no need for us to tell everything."
"Okay~!" Yume nodded and agreed with his decision since she also wasn't ready to talk about their relationship with their parents, especially when she thought that it might also cause trouble in their everyday exchange.
Watching how excited she was as she continued to chat with their parents on the group chat, Mizuto didn't say anything and just sipped his cold coffee silently.
'It's so bitter.'