Nao Asano’s quick glance was soon noticed by Yuko Ibuki. Following Nao’s gaze, she too looked toward Yuuki Minami’s bedside table.
The two of them fell into deep thought.
Why was there a photo on Yuuki’s bedside table? Why was the photo frame shaped like a pink heart? And who was the girl in the sailor uniform in the photo?
“Who is this girl?” Yuko Ibuki got off the bed and walked toward the bedside table.
“I don’t know her,” Nao Asano replied, standing behind her and closely examining the girl in the photo.
The two fell silent. In both of their minds, a sense of unease began to brew.
No matter how they looked at it, the sudden appearance of a stranger’s photo on their husband’s bedside table was a serious red flag! And to make matters worse, the photo was framed in such an intimate design!
Before today, Nao Asano wouldn’t have considered the girl in the photo a threat. But after meeting Yuko Ibuki, her thoughts had changed.
Yuko, who looked about the same age as the girl in the photo, had already proven herself a rival. If someone like her could be a competitor, then the girl in the photo might also be a lurking predator, waiting to snatch her prey!
Yuko, on the other hand, applied her own logic. The girl might be younger, but even a small hill still has the right to reach for the sky!“When I came here last night, this photo wasn’t here,” Yuko said.
“I’ve never seen this girl near Yuuki before, nor have I heard about her,” Nao replied.
The two briefly exchanged information and then returned to staring at the photo.
The girl in the photo was wearing a black, well-fitted sailor uniform. She looked to be in fifth or sixth grade, sitting on the edge of a bed covered with white sheets. Her upper body was slightly turned, with her hands resting on the edge of the bed. Leaning forward, her pose revealed an elegant curve at her waist. Her pale neck was raised, her face adorned with a faint smile.
The girl’s features were delicate and cute, her expression lively—a stark contrast to Yuko Ibuki. Yuko’s face lacked vitality, like that of a refined doll, while the girl’s face brimmed with life, more like an elegant princess.
At first, the two were captivated by the girl’s appearance. Then, they noticed her pose.
The photo was taken from a slanted overhead angle, making it seem as though the girl was sitting right next to the photographer, leaning close to them. Her legs, clad in white knee-high socks, rested casually on the floor, and her forward-leaning posture combined with her upturned face exuded an intimate closeness.
Her expression was completely unguarded.
Something was off—terribly off!
If it had been a formal portrait or a half-body photo, Nao Asano and Yuko Ibuki might not have been so on edge. But no matter how they looked at it, this photo was far too private!
Why would their husband have such a personal photo of another girl on his bedside table?
Beyond the presence of the girl in the photo, new concerns emerged.
Nao’s worries stemmed from the girl’s figure. Could it be that Yuuki preferred petite women over fuller figures?
Yuko’s concerns also revolved around the girl’s figure. She thought, If my petite and adorable charm has been copied by this girl, what’s left that makes me unique? Am I being replaced?
Nao looked at Yuko with envy, wishing she could transform into the petite figure Yuuki seemed to favor. Yuko looked at Nao with equal envy, yearning for the distinctive, towering allure that was so hard for others to replicate.
Their worries about themselves soon gave way to envy for each other.
These emotions, however, lasted only a fleeting moment before being overtaken by their initial jealousy.
In both of their minds, the same pressing question loomed.
Who exactly is the girl in this photo?!
Nao Asano clenched her fists, while Yuko Ibuki furrowed her brows. The atmosphere in the bedroom grew tense and oppressive.
In the midst of this heavy mood, Nao’s phone chimed twice.
“Who is it?” Yuko asked, peeking unashamedly at the screen.
“It’s Kazumi. She’s asking if she can come over and hang out,” Nao replied.
“Tell her no.”
“Okay, I’ll say I’m at Yuuki’s house.”
“You idiot! You can’t tell her that!”
“Huh?”
“Wait, no—tell her! Let her come over and take a look at this photo.”
“Oh, okay.”
Following Yuko Ibuki’s instructions, Nao Asano invited Kazumi Chitose over.
Kazumi, who happened to be nearby, was at Yuuki’s door in less than ten minutes after hearing she could visit his house.
Yuko opened the door for her, grabbed her hand under her surprised gaze, pulled her into the bedroom, and sat her down in front of the bedside table.
“Do you know this girl?” Yuko pointed at the photo.
Kazumi wanted to ask why her upperclassman Yuko was here, but seeing the serious expression on her petite senpai’s face, as well as the equally solemn look on Nao Asano standing behind her, she swallowed her question.
The atmosphere now made it clear she needed to answer this question first.
Kazumi examined the photo carefully and exclaimed, “She’s so cute!”
“Do you know her?” Nao leaned closer to ask.
“No,” Kazumi shook her head. “Is this a photo from Minami-kun’s house? Then it must be his sister, right? I think her name is Airi?”
“That’s not Airi,” Nao said, shaking her head in disappointment.
Yuko didn’t respond, silently agreeing with Nao.
After all, they had seen Airi’s appearance in the dream movie scenario they had shared.
“Not Airi?” Kazumi trusted Nao’s words. In her understanding, since Minami-kun called Nao “sister,” it was natural to assume she was a relative who would know Airi.
Unaware of the photo’s implications, Kazumi let her curiosity guide her. “Nao-nee, do you have any photos of Airi? I’d like to see what Minami-kun’s sister looks like.”
Yuko tilted her head. Something felt off. Kazumi seemed too familiar with Nao, and her question struck Yuko as strange.
She immediately interjected, “Nao only met Yuuki a few days before you. How could she have any photos of Airi?”
“Huh? Nao-nee isn’t Minami-kun’s relative?” Kazumi asked in surprise.
“Eh? No, I’m not,” Nao replied, confused.
Kazumi froze. Not a relative? But she cooks for Yuuki-kun every day? Not a relative, yet Yuuki-kun visits her house all the time?
An alarm went off in her mind. Suddenly, she understood—this woman in front of her wasn’t a relative to befriend but a highly threatening romantic rival!
Yuko noticed the distance and wariness flash across Kazumi’s face, and she smiled inwardly with satisfaction.
It seemed inviting Kazumi over had been the right call. Kazumi’s misunderstanding was unexpected but fortunate. If Kazumi and Nao grew closer, with Kazumi becoming Nao’s ally after exiting the competition, it could have posed a significant problem for Yuko later.
Kazumi’s thoughts spiraled into chaos. Ever since receiving Nao’s invitation, one shocking revelation after another had been hammering away at her sense of reality.
She couldn’t make sense of the situation or decide what to do. Her wandering gaze landed back on the photo before her.
Another new question surfaced in her mind.
“If it’s not Airi, then who is she?” Kazumi murmured.
The pink heart-shaped frame, which had initially seemed like a sweet symbol of sibling affection, now struck her as glaringly inappropriate.
“Could she be another sister? A cousin, maybe?” Nao tried to offer the most optimistic explanation.
Kazumi shook her head and pointed at the black sailor uniform in the photo. “I just remembered—this is the uniform for Lilian Private Girls’ Academy. That school is in Misaki. Minami-kun’s hometown is in Ino Prefecture, right?”
A relative from Ino Prefecture wouldn’t attend a school in Misaki. In other words, the girl in the photo couldn’t be his sister.
The three of them sat cross-legged in front of the bedside table, motionless. Three pairs of eyes stared at the photo. The black sailor uniform of the girl in the photo seemed to exude a dark sorrow that climbed through their gazes and wrapped around them.
When Yuuki Minami emerged from the bathroom and opened the bedroom door, he was startled by the scene before him.
What was going on? Why were they sitting in such a strange position? Why did they all look so serious?
And wait—weren’t there only two people here when I went into the bathroom? Where did the third one come from?
He looked at the unexpected addition, Kazumi Chitose, and was thoroughly confused.
As he stepped closer, he saw the photo in front of the three of them.
The situation immediately became clear.
Since Yuuki Minami had only planned to bring Nao Asano home, he hadn’t given the photo much thought. That socially awkward older sister was easy to deal with. But now there were three visitors in his home, and the other two weren’t going to be so easily fooled.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he used a towel to dry his damp hair.
From the moment he entered, all three women’s gazes shifted to him. After his bath, Yuuki wore a pair of gray lounge pants, his bare feet resting in slippers, revealing the muscular contours of his heels. His upper body was clad in a white short-sleeve T-shirt, with water droplets still clinging to his exposed arms and neck.
What captivated them even more was the face beneath his wet hair. The long soak had left his cheeks with a faint, alluring flush. Water droplets fell from his hair onto his white T-shirt, light-colored pants, and fabric slippers.
Yuuki’s body, warmed by the bathwater, exuded a subtle, youthful fragrance, like that of fragrant sandalwood. The scent seemed to envelop the women, the falling water droplets distorting the air as if they were landing directly on their chests.
Nao Asano and Kazumi Chitose, shy by nature, lowered their heads, while only Yuko Ibuki continued to stare intently.
“Morning, Kazumi,” Yuuki greeted her.
“G-Good morning,” Kazumi stammered, accidentally biting her tongue as she replied.
She quickly glanced up at him before lowering her head again.
At that moment, she felt a wave of overwhelming happiness, but her imagination refused to stop there. It pushed her toward an even grander vision of love’s bliss.
She thought, This kind of conversation feels like a husband greeting his wife after a bath.
If only there weren’t three ‘wives.’
“Were you looking at the photo?” Yuuki asked.
Placing the towel on his lap, he picked up the photo frame of Mako from the bedside table, smiling. “She’s cute, right?”
“Mm,” the three women murmured in unison. On this, they all agreed.
For a moment, the room fell into silence. Kazumi hoped the other two would ask about the photo, but Nao lacked the courage, and Yuko, though shrewd, had no intention of asking.
Left with no choice, Kazumi spoke up herself, cautiously glancing at Yuuki’s face. “Um, who is she?”
“Why don’t you guess?” Yuuki set the photo back on the table and resumed drying his hair.
“How are we supposed to guess that? Nao-nee and Yuko-senpai both said it’s not Airi, and I don’t know of any other sisters you have,” Kazumi said, masking her emotions and pretending to believe the girl in the photo was a sister, rather than anyone else.
“Oh?” Yuuki looked up at Nao and Yuko. “You’ve seen my sister before? How do you know what she looks like?”
Kazumi froze in surprise. That’s true! Nao-nee only met Yuuki-kun a few days before me, and Yuko-senpai even later. How could they know something about Airi that I don’t?
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