I Am Hated, Or So I Thought Volume 1

Chapter 12 - Family

As if she had heard something unbelievable, she turned to me quickly and grabbed my shoulders whole looking at my bare face without mask and spectacles directly.

"Y-Yozora, what did you just call me?"

"... Miss Harumi. I'm sorry, that sounds rude after all. Miss Mina—"

"—No! Miss Harumi is fine! Just call me that!"

Without even letting me finish, she put me in her arms and said that. I was shocked and confused but this situation did not seem to bother me. If anything, the warmth of Miss Harumi calmed me down.

Why is it fine? She... doesn't hate me?

I was still hesitant to call her Mother or Mom, like I used to since I was forbidden from calling her like that once in the past. Therefore, I could only call her by her name or our family name. Mom changed our family names to her former family name after the divorce. That was why, I called her Miss Minamoto instead of our father's family name.

"I'm glad, truly glad. That's fine for now....thank you, Yozora."

Thank...you? For what? It's just a name...a way to call you.... why? Why is it so impactful?

I could not understand, why was it that both of them thought too much about the way I called them? Was it really that important? It was easier for me to call them now since there would be no confusion if I wanted to call one of them. Saying Miss Minamoto would only make them confused which one of them was the one I was referring to.

"Mom, are you making breakfast right now? It smells good......?"

Miss Akari who came down from her room while hazily rubbing her eyes was awakened by this surprising scene where I was being hugged by our mother. It seemed that her strict demeanor somehow softened a lot when she woke up in the morning. I had never seen her in the morning when we were going to school since I woke up and went there earlier than her. Thanks to that, I had never been late to school even once.

Miss Harumi who noticed her, joyfully told her what happened. Her face had a smile blooming gorgeously which I could only see once in a blue moon in the past. To be honest, her figure now was very similar to the mother who always smiled tenderly to me when I was a little boy. Her current presence made me feel much better compared to how she was being before.

"Akari~, Yozora calls me Miss Harumi! He stops calling me Miss Minamoto~. I'm so happy when I heard him addressing Miss Harumi!"

"....well, one step at a time. I'm glad for you, Mom."

Miss Akari also smiled as she saw how happy our mother was. The tense and suffocating atmosphere in the house was miraculously replaced with a cheery and gentle air. With smiles on their faces while I was still blank, we had our breakfast in peace. It was silent, yet strangely different from our previous meals together. Moreover, the food seemed to taste better now, more delicious than whatever I had tried before.

After we had our breakfast and cleaned the dishes, Miss Akari prepared us tea, which she brewed specially for us. Although her skill in cooking was average, her ability to brew tea surpassed mine. I rarely had it since I could not bring myself to ask her for it even though I wanted to try it again.

As we enjoyed the silent tea time, Miss Akari broke the silence by suggesting an idea which I would normally reject.

"Today, how about we go to the shopping mall together? There are lots of promotions and discounts right now. I've something I need there. So, can we?"

"Of course we can! But, Yozora...will you also be coming with us?"

Was Miss Harumi trying to send the message that I would be a bother if I joined? Miss Akari definitely invited me but was it just an indirect rejection or—