The elementary school uniforms had a different vibe compared to the outfits middle and high school students wore.
It’s a given, of course, but there’s quite a big difference in stature and atmosphere between elementary school kids and their older counterparts.
Although uniforms are basically just “clothes worn to school,” the design becomes important to satisfy kids who are at that age where they really love all things cute and pretty, as well as to please their parents.
So, it seems that the uniforms Harumi and I wore didn’t carry the “semi-formal” style typically worn by middle and high school students.
They looked like slightly modernized outfits you’d wear when heading off to kindergarten, tailored to fit elementary schoolers.
With big, white collars, and dark navy vests and skirts.
The thin red ribbons around our necks definitely looked cute.
It wouldn’t be surprising if there were elementary schools in Korea with uniforms, but since I never attended such a school, it felt a bit silly to me.
Could it be that the elementary school Harumi and I were going to was actually a place for kids from wealthy families?
…If so, I might have inadvertently put a burden on Kagami again.
“Here you go, Koto Ne, this is your bag.”
Of course, it wasn’t just a couple of bucks but an expensive bag. I placed my bright red bag beside Harumi’s.
To be honest, I really didn’t think this bag was suitable for an elementary student. The design was one thing, but even the weight gave off a vibe that was similar to “military gear.” It wasn’t so heavy that an elementary student couldn’t carry it, but honestly, it was a bit heavy.
Harumi, on the other hand, was just happily spinning around in front of the mirror with her bag on.
We were at Harumi’s house.
While I might not know, Harumi had quite a few friends since kindergarten thanks to her personality, but it wasn’t common for just the two of us to visit each other’s homes. The opposite was also nearly nonexistent.
I understood the reason for that pretty well.
Harumi’s dad didn’t give off a very approachable vibe. He seemed to have made a somewhat scary impression on everyone by taking the attention away from Kagami, and even Harumi’s friends felt uneasy at the thought of meeting Mr. Fukuda.
As for Kagami… thanks to Mr. Fukuda, she didn’t particularly give off a powerful impression, but it seemed Kagami herself didn’t quite enjoy it either.
Kagami didn’t specifically dislike other kids, but she simply didn’t want to show people our home.
Kids are pure and might not think about bad points when seeing our house. I didn’t even notice until I was in the upper grades of elementary school.
But it’s different for adults.
Kids might not pass judgment after seeing our house, but they would definitely go back home and tell their parents everything.
I had initially not been conscious of it until the first day of school, but the kindergarten we attended couldn’t exactly be said to be cheap either. There’s no way spreading that kind of impression would be a good thing.
For that reason, it ended up being a weird gathering of kids and parents, or should I say ‘fathers’ and ‘mothers’, from the Danku family.
People might misunderstand this in its own way, but ironically, there was probably no one else who knew about the situation well enough for it to spread easily.
“How is it?”
I turned around in front of Kagami. I tried to mimic what Harumi was doing, but somehow I didn’t come off as innocent and naive as she did.
Rather than doing a lovely pirouette like in figure skating, I looked more like I was just circling to the right about four times, but to Kagami’s eyes, even that seemed adorable.
“It’s pretty. Really pretty.”
Kagami said the same thing twice and hugged me tightly.
Kagami smelled nice. Not just the typical shampoo or fabric softener scent, but a warm smell that was hard to pinpoint with just my sense of smell.
Could it be the scent a child feels from their mom?
Once I was aware of it, it became hard to resist being hugged by Kagami. Although, to be fair, I couldn’t say I had ever really resisted until now.
“Who do you take after to be this pretty?”
Kagami said that, and for some reason, her expression stiffened for a moment.
I don’t know the reason why Kagami gave birth to me or why she ran away with me. Considering that she couldn’t even attend school properly before having me, the only thoughts that came to mind, no matter how I guessed, were the ‘worst-case scenarios’.
Who could my father be?
Would Kagami know?
When I think about that, even the expressions that others can say casually become something to be cautious about.
And generally, loving a child born out of such circumstances is very hard. That child would be living proof of what Kagami went through.
The only reason Kagami was able to raise me must be due to her kind-hearted nature.
“…Mom.”
“Yes?”
“Just like mom.”
Before the situation got any stranger, I quickly said that.
I wasn’t entirely sure if that was the right answer or not when I said it. What would someone feel if the one who messed up their life said they looked like them?
However, through my time spent with Kagami, I had learned one important thing.
Kagami really likes me. I can’t understand why, but there’s no way that feeling isn’t genuine. No matter what kind of purpose she might have, she couldn’t go this far for me.
So, I guess this answer is probably close to the truth.
“…Koto Ne.”
Kagami responded in a slightly nasally tone, and then hugged me tightly again.
The smell of Kagami got even closer.
“…”
I stayed just cuddled up to Kagami without putting up any resistance.
In this world, there are only two of us. The only person who can do something like this for each other is each other.
So—
Um, yeah.
I guess, the way Kagami likes me, I like her too.
Isn’t that what family is all about?
*
Unless it’s a place where not many people live, elementary schools are typically much larger than kindergartens. I mean, it’s much more likely that a properly functioning kindergarten won’t even be found near a small elementary school.
The school that Harumi and I were going to was like that.
“Wow.”
Harumi’s eyes sparkled as she looked around. There were lots of little kids around, about our height.
Some were blushing with excitement like Harumi, while others looked around nervously.
But between those two groups, there was one common point: every child was near their parents.
At least, they all had one parent they were leaving behind while curiously looking around.
As for me, I wasn’t in either group.
I knew there was really no need to be overly excited or get weighed down by anything.
Almost all the kindergarten kids, including Harumi, had come to this school, and since I was already good friends with Harumi, I had at least one friend around. And since we were in the same class, we already knew it from the guide we’d received.
So even though I was looking around with a rather indifferent expression, I was still holding onto Kagami’s hand tightly—one thing that wasn’t much different from the other kids.
It was the 90s elementary school entrance ceremony.
It was a different country and a different vibe, but somehow it felt a bit nostalgic.
Before the entrance ceremony started, I could see groups of people gathering here and there. Kids were greeting each other, and parents who followed those kids were mingling and chatting away.
“Oh, you came too.”
As expected, we went through something similar.
“…Fukuda.”
Mr. Yamashita came closer to us and said.
I clearly remembered his face even though it had been a while; it left a strong impression on me.
And there was a child about our height, holding one of his hands.
The kid was taller than me and almost the same height as Harumi.
That child had notably fair skin.
“Mr. Yamashita.”
Kagami slightly bowed her head toward Mr. Yamashita, seemingly already aware of his presence.
But her two hands remained on my shoulders. She didn’t seem to be trembling, but I could see it was a reassuring gesture for her.
“Kagami—was it?”
Mr. Yamashita almost blurted out Kagami’s real name but quickly corrected himself.
“And Koto Ne-chan.”
I slightly bowed my head in response to Mr. Yamashita’s words.
The kid hiding behind Mr. Yamashita peeked out cautiously from behind his big figure.
“Yu. Friends to get to know each other. We should greet.”
“…”
The kid hiding behind Mr. Yamashita just nodded slightly.
Um.
For some reason, this seemed like the type that Harumi would be really into.
As I thought that and looked over at Harumi, I found her already shining with excitement while staring at the kid called Yu.
Yu, seeming a bit overwhelmed by the gaze, quickly hid again behind Mr. Yamashita.
As someone who had been hanging out with Harumi for quite a few years already, I could say that kind of behavior would only backfire.
Looks like Harumi will be making things tough for him for a while.
But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
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