"What?"
Takahashi Isao's eyelids twitched violently—like a character who just got hit with an unexpected plot twist. He suspected he had misheard, glanced at Reie frozen at the kitchen door like a statue, then turned back to Mio and asked again.
"I said..."
Staring straight into her father's eyes, Takahashi Mio enunciated each word like she was reading the title of the final episode:
"I came back this time to tell you that I've decided to become an actress."
As she spoke, she avoided looking at Takahashi Isao's deepening scowl. Instead, she pulled a stack of scripts she'd been practicing with recently from her satchel, placed them on the table, and pushed them toward him.
"This is the script for the drama I'm preparing to participate in. Filming is tentatively scheduled to start in December, and it should air by the end of January next year."
With the hardest part finally out of her mouth—like a character finally confessing after ten episodes of build-up—Takahashi Mio's heart inexplicably calmed down. Her tone returned to normal.
"Since this is a pretty big deal, I specifically came back to tell you in person."
With each word Takahashi Mio spoke, Takahashi Isao's face darkened another shade. By the time she finished, his expression was as grim as a swamp in a horror anime—dark, muddy, and ready to swallow someone whole.
"..."
A heavy silence fell over the room. The atmosphere became oppressive and thick—like a dark cloud gathering between parent and child, making everything feel dizzy, chest-tight, and hard to breathe.
BAM!
Suddenly, Takahashi Isao slammed his palm against the wooden table. His eyes went wide as he stared at the young woman sitting across from him on the sofa.
Takahashi Mio's heart jolted. Her shoulders tensed instinctively—but then she steadied herself. She clenched her fists, raised her gaze directly to her father, and asked with a voice that only trembled a little:
"What's wrong, Father? Aren't you happy for me?"
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!
That sentence seemed to pour gasoline on the fire in Takahashi Isao's chest. He pounded the table repeatedly and barked:
"I think you've lost your mind!"
"Haven't I told you since you were little to stay away from that world?! How is it that after a few months of college, you don't even know your own name anymore? Do you even understand what you're saying?!"
As he spoke, Takahashi Isao suddenly stood up, towering over his daughter with eyes blazing.
Seeing this, Takahashi Mio bit her lip—hard—then stood up as well, showing no sign of backing down like a protagonist refusing to retreat.
"I understand perfectly well what I'm saying. And I know very well that my surname is Takahashi."
"I don't get it. You clearly enjoy watching TV dramas yourself, so why won't you let your own daughter become an actress?"
"Why? Because your surname is Takahashi! You are my daughter. This is about family tradition, do you understand?!"
"What family tradition? Why don't I know anything about it? And why can Miki-nee be a model? Uncle didn't react nearly as strongly as you are right now."
"Takahashi Miki? Ha!"
As if remembering something unpleasant, Takahashi Isao let out a harsh sneer. He raised his chin and shot back:
"Take a good look at what she's become now. Does she even look like herself anymore? Has she made a name for herself? She's stuck in limbo—neither here nor there. Might as well be worthless!"
Hearing him say that—talking about her cousin like she was nothing—Takahashi Mio took a deep breath. Her eyes sharpened, and she shouted back:
"You call this 'for my own good'? You've known since I was little that I dreamed of being an actress, of being a star. You say it's for my sake, but you won't even give me a chance to try. This is for yourself! Do you even see me as a person? You're the one with prejudice against this industry, so you want to stop everyone else from becoming actors too. You won't even let me try—you're the selfish one here!"
"YOU BRAT!"
Takahashi Isao's eyes turned bloodshot with rage. He raised his hand...
Seeing that, Takahashi Mio didn't flinch. She closed her eyes and lifted her chin—like she'd been expecting this all along.
"ENOUGH!"
Mrs. Takahashi cried out, then rushed over and grabbed her husband's arm. She turned back to her daughter, her voice shaking:
"Mio! What are you saying? Apologize to your father right now."
Listening to her mother's trembling voice, Takahashi Mio opened her eyes. She looked at her mother blocking the way—at her father's hand frozen in mid-air—and swallowed hard.
"There's nothing to apologize for. I didn't come back to discuss this with you."
She paused, then added:
"And Father... you just said that not allowing me to be an actress is a 'Takahashi family tradition,' right?"
As she spoke, Takahashi Mio reached into her satchel, pulled out two documents, and slapped them onto the table.
BAM!
She stared intently into Takahashi Isao's eyes and said:
"'Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog'—you're the one who always said that, aren't you? Well, guess the anime equivalent: when you join a new guild, you follow their rules."
She took a breath.
"I'm married now. My surname isn't Takahashi anymore. So that tradition doesn't apply to me, does it? So what's wrong with me acting in a script written by my own husband?"
"?"
As Takahashi Mio's words landed, both Mr. and Mrs. Takahashi simultaneously looked down at the documents on the table. The large, bold characters at the top froze them in place—like a status effect in an RPG.
[Marriage Registration Form]
[Husband: Shiratori Seiya][Wife: Takahashi Mio]
[...]
[The couple confirms their shared surname after marriage: Shiratori...]
Silence.
Absolute, total silence.
Looking at the contents of the marriage registration form—complete with both parties' individual seals—the anger in Takahashi Isao's heart evaporated instantly, leaving nothing but ash. As if all the strength had drained from him, his broad hand slowly lowered from the air.
Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong...
Suddenly, a series of crisp doorbell rings echoed from the entrance, shattering the suffocating silence like glass.
Takahashi Isao felt his mouth go dry. He turned stiffly to his daughter and asked:
"When did this happen?"
Takahashi Mio glanced at her father, grabbed the marriage registration form, pointed at the date written on it, and held it up close to his face.
"Isn't it written clearly right here? Yesterday."
She paused, then placed the commemorative wedding doll—the little keepsake—on the table and continued:
"The official acceptance certificate is with Seiya. This is just a copy I prepared in advance. If you want to see the real one, I'll bring it over for you later..."
Taking the marriage registration form, Takahashi Isao immediately pressed his face close to it, eyes wide as he scrutinized every detail—lingering particularly long on Shiratori Seiya's photo, as if trying to burn the boy's face into his memory.
Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong...
The doorbell rang again at the worst possible moment—like a comic relief character bursting in during a dramatic confrontation. Takahashi Reie snapped out of her daze.
"I'll get it."
Her mind was in complete turmoil—spinning like a washing machine on turbo mode. She hurried to the entrance, didn't even bother checking the peephole, and simply yanked the door open, saying directly:
"I'm sorry, we have some family matters to attend to today, so I'm afraid..."
Before she could finish her refusal, she looked up—and saw an unfamiliar face.
Takahashi Reie froze for a moment. Then the young man in front of her smiled and said:
"I'm truly sorry for intruding. My name is Shiratori Seiya, and I'm Mio's..."
Before he could say the word "friend," Mrs. Takahashi frowned and cut him off:
"You're Shiratori Seiya?"
"Ah..."
Shiratori Seiya was taken aback—how does she already know my name?
Had Mio already told her family about him? Or had Takahashi Miki mentioned him after seeing him the other day? His mind raced through possibilities like a protagonist solving a mystery.
Pushing those thoughts aside, he smiled politely and nodded.
"Ah, yes. That's me."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Takahashi opened her mouth—looking like she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. Then her eyes gave him a complex, thorough once-over, from head to toe.
She studied the young man's clear, honest eyes and his polite, courteous demeanor. She nodded slightly.
He seems decent enough.
Did he come because he knew Mio was returning alone and was worried? Or for some other reason?
After briefly considering why he was here—and noting that this boy seemed genuinely concerned about her daughter—Mrs. Takahashi's mood improved slightly. She stepped aside and said softly:
"Please come in."
Hearing this, Shiratori Seiya was surprised. Something felt strange.
Mio's mother is letting me in before I've even explained anything? What exactly did Mio say?
A sense of unease crept into his heart—like a low-level anxiety debuff—but he didn't ask further. He bowed slightly in thanks.
"Excuse the intrusion."
After entering and changing his shoes, Shiratori Seiya followed Mrs. Takahashi into the living room. His eyes immediately scanned the situation.
He saw father and daughter standing opposite each other, the silent, suffocating atmosphere between them thicker than morning fog. He generally guessed what was happening.
So she told them after all.
But then he looked at Takahashi Mio's composed profile—she looked strangely calm, almost victorious—and then at her father, who was holding something and staring at it. Something felt off.
This was completely different from the scene he had envisioned.
Based on Mio's previous description of her father, if she had truly brought up this matter, he would at least be furious. She'd described slaps, disownment, being locked in her room—the whole classic strict-parent package. But now, Takahashi Isao seemed to have lost his fire.
Instead, Mio looked like she had already won the battle.
Could it be that things weren't as serious as she'd made them sound?
Just as he was processing these thoughts, Takahashi Mio's peripheral vision caught a familiar figure. She turned her head—her pupils suddenly constricted like a camera lens focusing—and she couldn't help but exclaim:
"Seiya? Why are you here?"
"I..."
Shiratori Seiya was about to answer when Takahashi Isao—standing beside Mio—whipped his head toward him like a hawk spotting prey. No, like a vulture catching the scent of blood in a desert wasteland.
"Hmm?"
Takahashi Isao tossed the document he was holding—a casual, dismissive flick—glared at him with ill intent, and said coldly:
"You're Shiratori Seiya?"
He seemed to do it on purpose. The paper fluttered through the air like a fallen leaf and finally landed at Shiratori Seiya's feet.
"Ah, yes. That's me."
Shiratori Seiya responded, his gaze shifting down to the document. He bent over and picked it up.
[Marriage Registration Form]
When he saw those three large characters at the top—bold as a title card—his mouth went dry. He swallowed instinctively.
His gaze moved down. When he saw his own name written in the "Husband" column, his mind went completely blank—like a computer crashing mid-game.
He couldn't help but look up at the young woman standing two meters away from him.
Feeling the tense, drama-filled atmosphere before him, he generally understood what was going on.
So this is her "solution."
Meeting his gaze, Takahashi Mio showed no sign of nervousness whatsoever. Instead, she walked toward him with an almost theatrical look of affection—like a leading lady approaching her co-star—then hugged his arm, gazed up at his profile, and said softly:
"Seiya... didn't I say I'd be fine on my own? I know you love me and worry about me. But you can't worry about everything for me, can you?"
She paused, then added with a sweet smile:
"But... I'm very happy you came, darling."
"..."