Chapter 9 : The mystery gift

Ayase reached the apartment late, her bag heavy with documents, her head even heavier with thoughts.
Aki’s soft gaze.Ren’s cold voice.Yurina’s smug diagnosis.
It had been… a day.
She opened the apartment door quietly.
Too quietly.
Because the moment she stepped in—
“SIS GOT A PACKAGE!!”
Souta sprinted toward her holding a cardboard box like a trophy. Ayase nearly dropped her bag.
“Wha— Souta! Don’t shake it!”
“I didn’t! I guarded it with my life!” he declared proudly. “It arrived an hour ago! Haru signed for it!”
Ayase blinked. “A… package? For me?”
Before she could react, Haru appeared behind Souta wearing the expression of a detective who just found a clue to a murder.
“Ayase,” he said seriously, “we need to talk.”
“What… why are you looking at me like that?”
Haru crossed his arms. “You got a mysterious box. From a mysterious sender. During a week where you’ve been smiling at your phone like someone in a drama.”
“I have not been—”
“Please,” Haru deadpanned. “You literally giggled while eating yogurt yesterday.”
Ayase covered her face in her hands. “I was watching a cat video…”
“Suspicious,” Haru said.
“VERY suspicious,” Souta agreed, nodding vigorously.
Ayase sighed. “Just give me the box.”
“Nope!” Souta hugged it like a teddy bear. “We’re opening it together.”
Haru smirked. “Family bonding.”
Ayase stared at them. “I hate both of you.”
They dragged her to the living room anyway.

---
Haru placed the box on the table like it was radioactive. Souta sat beside him holding a notepad.
Ayase rubbed her temples. “You two are acting like detectives.”
“We ARE detectives,” Souta said, scribbling something. “Detective Haru and Detective Souta.”
“That sounds like a bad variety show.”
“Exactly,” Haru replied. “So tell us, suspicious older sister… who sent this box?”
“I don’t know what’s inside yet!”
“That’s what a guilty person would say,” Haru said gravely.
Ayase glared. “Open the box then!”
“We will,” Souta said, eyes shining. “With SCIENCE.”
He dramatically searched for scissors but grabbed a butter knife instead.
“Not you and not with that!” Ayase grabbed it. “You are too young to hold a knife”
“Oh. Right.” Souta put it down sheepishly.
Haru sighed, reached for the scissors, and sliced the tape.
All three leaned in.
Inside the box was:
A small, sleek black gift bag
A handwritten note
A neatly wrapped package in dark blue paper

Souta gasped. “A love letter?!”
Ayase choked. “No!”
“Then what’s the note?” Haru lifted it and cleared his throat dramatically.
He read aloud:
> "Thank you for guiding me. I hope this helps you relax after the long day. — Aki Hayama"
Dead silence.
Souta’s jaw dropped.
Haru blinked twice.
Ayase covered her face. “Oh no…”
Her brothers looked at each other—
Then chaos exploded.
“AKIIII HAYAMA ?!” Souta shouted, leaping onto the couch. “ I knew it !”
“wait...who is that?”
“isn't he the new actor from your project?” Haru narrowed his eyes. 
“He sent a box and a handwritten note. Handwritten! That’s serious.” Souta said with a serious face.
Ayase shook her head wildly. “It’s not like that! I just helped him during the shoot!”
“Uh-huh,” Haru said. “And in return he sends gifts to your house? After knowing you how many days?”
Ayase counted on his fingers. “One… or two days ?!”
Souta pointed dramatically. “THAT IS ROMANTIC BEHAVIOR!”
Ayase groaned. “It’s not romantic!”
Haru gently pushed him aside. “We don’t know if it’s romantic yet. Could be admiration.”
Souta gasped. “Admiration is the first step to LOVE!”
Haru nodded.
“ who taught you that!?” Ayase buried her face in a cushion. “Please stop.”
---
Haru picked up the wrapped object and tore the paper carefully.
Inside was a small box containing…
“Aroma bath salts?” Haru blinked.
Souta sniffed it. “Smells like the expensive aisle at the supermarket.”
Ayase stared. “Oh my god.”
Haru nodded solemnly. “A man sent you something that helps you relax.”
Souta nodded too. “He wants sis to smell good.”
Ayase shrieked. “SOUTA!!”
Haru leaned back thoughtfully. “This is a safe choice. Polite. Not too intimate. Aki seems young… maybe he wanted to be thoughtful but not creepy.”
“Awwww he's shy,” Souta said with sparkling eyes.
“He is shy,” Ayase admitted softly. “He asked me for advice earlier today. But that’s it.”
Haru raised an eyebrow. “Ayase. Men don’t send bath salts to women they feel nothing for.”
“who taught you that !?”
“I read a lot”
Haru shrugged. “Okay, then tell us—why would he send it?”
Ayase hesitated.
Aki’s earnest expression replayed in her mind.
I felt calm when you were near.
“...He’s grateful. That’s all.”
Souta poked her arm. “Do YOU like him?”
Ayase sputtered. “W–what?!”
Haru leaned forward. “Yes. That is the question.”
Ayase grabbed the nearest cushion and hugged it. “I don’t know!”
Souta fell dramatically onto the carpet. “SHE DOESN’T KNOW! IT MEANS SHE HAS FEELINGS!”
Ayase threw a cushion at him.
---
Haru leaned against the couch. “Okay, so this Aki guy likes you. Or at least is getting there.”
Ayase opened her mouth to protest—but Haru stopped her.
“And there’s also that other one.”
Ayase froze. “What other one?”
Haru looked at her like she was the densest person alive. “Ren.”
Souta nodded seriously. “The pretty one.”
Ayase turned pink. “H-he’s not—!”
“Oh please,” Haru said. “You come home every day with a Ren problem. ‘Ren was cold.’ ‘Ren was weird.’ ‘Ren stared at me.’ ‘Ren glared at people.’”
Ayase covered her face again.
Souta poked her shoulder. “Do YOU like him?”
Ayase nearly exploded. “STOP ASKING ME THAT!”
Souta whispered to Haru, loud enough for Ayase to hear: “She doesn’t know here either.”
Haru nodded. “Classic triangle.”
Ayase groaned into a pillow. “Stop calling it that!”
Haru placed the bath salts on the table with a sigh. “Look. Aki is shy and sweet. Ren is cold and fiery. You’re… clueless.”
“HEY!”
“I mean it lovingly,” Haru said.
Souta hugged Ayase’s arm. “It’s okay sis. You can date whoever. As long as they buy snacks.”
Ayase glared. “That’s your only condition?”
“Yes.” Souta nodded.
“And that they don’t break your heart,” Haru added softly.
Ayase softened. “Haru…”
He grabbed the note again. “Anyway, we have to be careful. If this Aki guy is sending gifts, the other dude might step up his game.”
Ayase blinked. “Ren? No way. He barely talks to me outside of work.”
Haru smirked. “Trust your big brother. When one guy makes a move… the other usually notices.”
“I will ask you one last time, who taught you that ?”
Ayase thought of Ren dragging her away in the hallway.His tense expression.His cold, clipped words.
A strange flutter twisted in her stomach.
No… Ren wouldn’t… right?
Souta turned on the TV. “So who’s sending the next gift? I wanna bet.”
Ayase threw another cushion. “We’re NOT betting on my love life!”
Haru caught it midair. “ohhhh so there's a love life, too late we are already betting.”
Ayase stared up at the ceiling as her brothers started arguing over predictions.
She wasn’t ready for this. Not for gifts. Not for attention. Not for confusing feelings.
But deep down…
She couldn’t deny she felt something.
For Aki’s gentle smile.For Ren’s intense gaze.
And somewhere, quietly—
She wondered what tomorrow would bring.
End of chapter 9