Umi lined up the five empty ceramic bowls on the counter with military precision. As Agung began ladling the steaming, fragrant *Bubur Ayam* into each one, he paused, the wooden spoon hovering over the pot.
He looked at the sleepy faces beginning to peek out from the hallway, then back to the mothers.
"So, I have a question," Agung said, his voice lowering so only the adults (and Aoi, who was busy inhaling his second bowl) could hear. "Do all the children habitually wake up at 4:00 AM? Or... did all of your crying and shouting wake them up? Even back at your own homes, after 'he' disappeared?"
Umi's hand paused on a stack of spoons. She let out a soft, elegant sigh. "Aoi wakes up at four for his Kendo forms. That is a Sonoda tradition. But the others? Today, they woke up because Chika was laughing like a hyena and you were shouting about Android phones and street sweeping."
Kotori stepped forward, her gentle amber eyes filled with a wistful sadness that tugged at Agung's heart. "When he first vanished three years ago... yes. Yuki-chan used to wake up in the middle of the night because I couldn't stop crying. But she's older now. Today, they just sensed that something in the house had changed."
Agung swallowed hard, the guilt of his "other" self weighing heavily on his shoulders. He turned his gaze toward the Nijigasaki trio, who were leaning against the kitchen island.
"And for you three?" Agung asked gently, looking at Kanata, Ai, and Lanzhu. "Did he disappear after you gave birth? Or... before?"
The playful atmosphere in the kitchen evaporated, replaced by a heavy, poignant silence.
Kanata hugged her purple pillow tightly, her usual sleepy demeanor entirely gone. "Kureha-chan was barely a year old," she whispered. "He promised to buy her a new stuffed animal, walked out the door, and just... never came back."
Ai crossed her arms. The cheerful, pun-loving gyaru looked unusually serious, her blue eyes piercing into Agung. "The twins were still in my tummy, Agung-chi. You vanished three months before they were born. I had to go to the hospital with just the girls holding my hand."
Lanzhu whipped her head away, her twin-tails swaying, but not before Agung saw the shimmer of unshed tears in her eyes.
"Lanzhu is flawless, so Lanzhu handled it perfectly," she said, her voice wavering slightly. "But... Lanzhu had to welcome her little princess into the Queendom alone. You missed her first breath. You missed her first steps. You just... vanished."
Agung stood frozen, the ladle feeling incredibly heavy in his hand. He looked at the three Nijigasaki mothers, realizing the sheer magnitude of the "Deadbeat's" crimes. The other Agung hadn't just been a bad husband; he had abandoned them at their most vulnerable moments.
He took a deep breath, the "plump and squishy" Pekalongan street sweeper suddenly radiating an aura of absolute, immovable resolve.
"Three months before the twins were born. Kureha just a baby. Lanzhu left alone," Agung repeated, his voice thick with emotion. He set the ladle down and bowed his head deeply, a proper, formal apology right there in the ryokan kitchen.
"I cannot excuse what that man did. And I know saying 'it wasn't me' doesn't heal the pain you all went through," Agung said softly, raising his head to look them in the eye. "But I swear on my life, from this morning onward, none of you will ever go to a hospital alone again. None of you will ever have to cry in the middle of the night alone again. I am here. And the 'Panda' isn't going anywhere."
He turned back to the counter, snapping his fingers softly.
In a flash of warm light, three items materialized on the counter:
* A perfectly crafted, incredibly soft **dream-sheep plushie** for Kureha.
* Two tiny, matching **soccer balls** that jingled softly when moved, for Ai's boys.
* A delicate, beautifully ornate **rose-gold tiara** for Lanzhu's princess.
"Let's get these bowls finished," Agung said, his voice steady and warm, breaking the tension. "We have five hungry kids walking into the kitchen, and they need to know their Papa makes the best Bubur Ayam in the world."