Sister

Standing on the other side of the open door was not Jin, as Miyuki had hoped. Instead, it was a girl a few years older than Miyuki with fiery red hair. The height difference between the two girls forced Miyuki to tilt her head back to look her in the eye. Judging by her sleek facial features, she assumed this must be Jin’s older sister, Nao. Though, the last time Miyuki saw her she did not have red hair.

“You must be Nao?” Miyuki smiled.

“I’m surprised you recognized me,” Nao said. “It’s been a long time.”

“It sure has. By the way, is Jin home?”

Nao blinked in surprise. “He’s at school right now. Does your school have the day off?”

Silence ensued for a moment while Miyuki’s brain processed the revelation. “Wait, there’s school today?”

“It’s Monday,” Nao stated.

“Eh??? It’s Monday!?” Miyuki’s eyes were wide as an owl’s. Panic surged through her body. “Nanami’s going to kill me… I knew something was off this morning.”

“You really thought it was still the weekend?”

Miyuki nodded in humiliation, shame bowing her head. Upon hearing a giggle, she looked up.

“Looks like you didn’t change much in that regard,” Nao grinned. “Since you’re here, want to hang with me until Jin gets home? You’ve come a long way, I’d hate to see you go home empty handed.

Immediately, Miyuki’s dilemma took backstage. “Sure!”

“Come in, then.” Nao motioned for Miyuki to enter the house and closed the door behind her. It was almost as plain inside the house than it was outside. To the left of the door was a small room with wooden floors. Only a large cedar table and four padded chairs filled the room.

On the other side was a small coffee table, with a large leather couch behind it and a few shelves along the wall.

Nao pulled her into the room with the couch and beckoned her to sit. Once they were settled on the couch, Nao shifted toward Miyuki. There was a gleam in her eye that made Miyuki feel a little uneasy. “I’ve heard you’re a celebrity now! How’d that happen?”

“Um, I’m not really sure to be honest. I decided to make music and before I knew it, I had a huge fanbase that kept growing with each new song.”

“What made you want to be an idol?” Nao leaned closer, the gleam still inhabiting her eyes. “You were quite shy last I saw you.”

A soft rosy blush surfaced on her cheeks. For a moment she was quiet, wondering how much she should tell Nao. “I was desperate to find Jin and bring him back into my life, but I wasn’t sure how to do that. Then the idea came to me. If I was famous enough, Jin would surely see me.”

“Ah,” Nao leaned back, satisfied with her answer. “You loved Jin too much to let him go, and that’s what made you choose music.”

Her blush deepened. “I guess you can say that… Wait, how did you know I like Jin?”

Nao broke into laughter. “Isn’t it obvious? Why else would you go to such lengths just to reconnect with him?”

“Is it really that obvious?” She glanced away, embarrassed.

“It is. You should probably hide that detail from the public. You’ll lose a lot of fans once the boys know you already have eyes for someone.”

“Really?”

“Some people are only fans because they think you’re pretty, rather than because they like your music,” Nao explained.

“That’s weird,” Miyuki shivered. “I hope that’s not true. Anyway,” she continued, “enough about me. Can you tell me more about Jin? Has he changed much in the last six years? What’s he been up to?”

“Not going to ask about what’s new with me, huh?” Nao raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, s-sorry. I didn’t mean to–”

“I’m just teasing,” she said. “I know you’re here for him. There's still a few hours before he returns… Sure, I'll tell you about him. I'll also throw in a few of his embarrassing stories for free,” she winked.

“Thank you so much!” Miyuki beamed. “But I'm not sure about the embarrassing stories, though…”

“Oh, come on. You'll love them.”

“As long as Jin isn't going to push me away out of embarrassment,” Miyuki said.

“That won't happen. If anything, he'll get mad at me. I'm the one sharing the stories, after all,” Nao chuckled.

The next few hours, Miyuki tuned in to Nao's commentary of Jin's life like it was her favorite movie.

She learned many things about Jin's recent life–the fact that he had leveled up his soccer game to become the star of his school's team, that he would always try to cheer up a crying girl, though he's never had a girlfriend. Everything Nao told her reminded her of the Jin she used to know. Despite being apart for six years, it was as if he had never changed. The biggest difference she could gather from the information Nao shared with her was that he had become a little more reserved–a byproduct of his move to an unfamiliar place, Miyuki imagined.

Nao also enlightened her on Jin's friend Yuu, whom he had befriended shortly after arriving in Tokyo. Miyuki recalled Jin mentioning that Yuu was the name of the friend that gave her Jin's contact information.

Time flew by like a cheetah. Before they knew it, three hours had passed, and Jin would soon arrive.

A feeling crept into Miyuki's heart and squeezed with an iron grip. Whether it was excitement or anxiety, she couldn't tell.

Sensing Miyuki’s anticipation, Nao put a hand on her shoulder. “He’ll be happy to see you.”

“I hope so…” Her gaze was fixed on the door, her heart pounding in her chest while she waited for Jin to walk in. “He is about to be here, right?”

“Yes, it’s usually about this time when he makes it home.”

As if her words had summoned him, the door opened. “I’m home,” came Jin’s voice.