Kikidori had always been a laid-back kind of guy, which often worked in his favor. But today, as he walked past Yumi's room, something made him pause. There was a distinct creaking sound coming from inside, accompanied by muffled noises that didn't sound like casual conversation.
He tilted his head, his curiosity piqued. "What the hell is going on in there?" he muttered to himself.
Without a second thought, Kikidori pushed the door open. What greeted him was… well, let's just say it wasn't something he had expected to see.
Yumi and Akuma froze mid-act, their faces flushing bright red as they scrambled to cover themselves with whatever they could find—blankets, clothes, pillows, anything.
Kikidori, however, didn't seem fazed at all. He leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms and smirking. "Oh, starting early, I see," he said nonchalantly, as if he'd walked in on them playing cards instead of… well, this.
Yumi's mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air, her usual confidence utterly gone. "Dad! Get out!" she finally managed to yell, her voice an octave higher than usual.
Akuma looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole. He couldn't even make eye contact with Kikidori.
Kikidori shrugged, clearly unbothered. "Hey, don't stop on my account," he said, turning to leave. "Just make sure you don't break the bed. It's expensive."
Yumi grabbed a pillow and hurled it at him, but Kikidori had already closed the door behind him. The pillow thudded against the wood before falling to the floor.
Akuma buried his face in his hands. "I… I don't think I've ever been more embarrassed in my life."
Yumi groaned, pulling the blanket over her head. "This is so humiliating. Why does he not care about anything?"
Outside the room, Kikidori chuckled to himself as he headed downstairs. "Kids these days," he muttered, shaking his head. "At least they're having fun."
Ere'ana, who was sitting at the kitchen table with Kael in her lap, looked up as Kikidori entered the room. She raised an eyebrow at his amused expression. "What's so funny?"
Kikidori shrugged, grabbing an apple from the counter. "Just walked in on Yumi and her boyfriend getting… uh, acquainted."
Ere'ana's eyes widened in horror. "You didn't!"
"I did," Kikidori said, taking a bite of the apple. "Didn't even yell at them or anything. Just said, 'starting early,' and left."
Ere'ana slapped her forehead, groaning. "You're impossible."
"What? They're adults," Kikidori said, shrugging again. "Besides, it's not like we don't know what they're doing."
Ere'ana glared at him. "It's not about knowing. It's about boundaries, Kikidori. Did you seriously just walk in without knocking?"
"Hey, it's my house too," Kikidori said defensively. "I was curious."
Ere'ana let out an exasperated sigh, shaking her head. "Sometimes I wonder how Yumi turned out as well as she did with you as her father."
Kikidori grinned. "Must've been all my great parenting skills."
Ere'ana rolled her eyes but didn't argue further. She knew there was no point. Kikidori was who he was, and that wasn't going to change.
Back upstairs, Yumi and Akuma were still recovering from the embarrassment.
"I can't believe that just happened," Akuma muttered, lying back on the bed and staring at the ceiling.
"Welcome to my life," Yumi said, groaning as she covered her face with her hands. "My dad doesn't care about anything. Like, at all."
"Yeah, I noticed," Akuma said with a dry laugh.
They sat in silence for a moment before Yumi sighed. "At least my mom didn't walk in. She'd probably lose her mind."
Akuma nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she scares me."
Yumi smirked. "Good. She should."
As the awkwardness slowly faded, the two of them couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
Downstairs, Kikidori leaned back in his chair, still chuckling to himself. "Kids these days," he said again, shaking his head.
The End of Chapter 17