The mont Chihaya Tetsuya pushed open the door to his ho, he was greeted by Chihaya Anon's small face, which was written all over with displeasure—
"You're so late!"
Chihaya Anon complained with puffed cheeks: "What kind of interview takes that long!"
"...A small incident occurred."
Chihaya Tetsuya said as he hung his suit jacket on the coat rack.
Although his own sister was about to beco Togawa Sakiko's schoolmate, considering Sakiko's complicated family background, difficult living conditions, and her own strong and resilient personality, he chose to keep matters concerning her a secret.
"Sorry for making you wait."
"Well, you don't have to apologize. After all, you did say you were going to see her ho..."
Faced with Chihaya Tetsuya's frank and direct apology, Chihaya Anon, realizing her own willfulness, cooled down.
"But looking at your expression, it seems the interview went pretty well."
Although Chihaya Tetsuya wasn't the type to wear his heart on his sleeve, Chihaya Anon, who had known him for many years, could still see a clear hint of relief in her brother's expression.
"Was the person who ca for the interview to your liking?"
"..."
Chihaya Tetsuya thought for a mont before nodding.
"You could say that."
"That's great!"
Without thinking too much about it, Chihaya Anon was genuinely happy for her brother.
"To celebrate, I'll go make you a late-night snack!"
"Hm? What kind of snack?"
"Fruit sandwiches!"
"...The ones we bought this afternoon aren't finished yet?"
"Hehe... I'll go heat you a glass of milk, too."
"...Well, thank you for all your hard work."
After helplessly comnting on his sister's "housewifely" skills, Chihaya Tetsuya sat on the sofa, skillfully took out sketch paper and a pencil from under the coffee table, and spread them out.
However, after that, he made no other movents.
After the whole series of events with Togawa Sakiko, Chihaya Tetsuya indeed had no inspiration to start drawing at the mont.
On the way ho, he had been constantly thinking about how he should help that girl who had gone through a similar ordeal to his own.
In terms of salary... while it couldn't be as generous as an assistant's, it should at least be enough so she wouldn't need other part-ti jobs.
As for work duties, for now he could only assign her miscellaneous tasks. Once she had grown a little, he could let her try her hand at cutting and sewing.
Of course, the first priority... was that he really needed to prepare a few sets of work clothes for her.
The studio had many sharp tools that could damage clothing. For this girl from a difficult background, the cleanliness of her uniform was a necessary condition for maintaining her dignity.
He should prepare a few one-size-fits-all solid-colored T-shirts and pants for her. She would surely find such simple and inexpensive clothes easier to accept...
"Starting work the mont you get back?"
Just as Chihaya Tetsuya was lost in thought about his new apprentice, Chihaya Anon ca to his side with fruit sandwiches and hot milk.
"You should at least take a little break!"
"I just took them out by habit."
Hearing his sister's voice, Chihaya Tetsuya's thoughts returned to the present.
After taking the milk from Chihaya Anon's hands, he didn't drink it right away. Instead, he reached out with his other hand and repeatedly caressed the still-warm cup—
"It's so warm."
Chihaya Tetsuya blurted out subconsciously.
From this cup of milk, to the warm water Anon had prepared for him when he woke up this morning.
"Even after not seeing each other for half a year, you still rember my favorite temperature, Anon."
"Hmph, of course. Who do you think I am?"
Chihaya Anon lifted her head with a smug look.
"As a qualified and competent little sister, rembering a small thing like that is a piece of cake."
"A small thing..."
Chihaya Tetsuya held the cup of milk, his expression becoming sowhat distant.
"The more casually you say it, the more I'm reminded of my childhood..."
For him back then, he didn't even have a single piece of clothing to keep him warm in winter, let alone hot milk.
And this mory of cold from his childhood left him with the indelible weakness of being "afraid of the cold."
"Anon, do you rember why I wanted to beco a fashion designer?"
"I do."
Chihaya Anon sat down beside him.
"Because you wanted to design warm and comfortable clothes for others."
"And the person who first made think that way... was Ai."
Chihaya Tetsuya stared into the cup of milk as he spoke:
"That winter, I got an old cotton coat from the adults at the orphanage for her, altered it to a child's size by hand, and gave it to her... That look of comfort and relief on her face was the origin point of my dream."
"..."
Hearing this, Chihaya Anon subconsciously leaned against Chihaya Tetsuya's shoulder, as if wanting to use her own warmth to drive away the cold he had experienced in his childhood.
And feeling the warmth from beside him, Chihaya Tetsuya continued:
"Then do you know who was the one who set on the official path of a designer?"
"?"
Chihaya Anon was stunned for a mont before she said in an uncertain tone:
"Was it... Mom? After all, she was the one who advocated for you to go to art school."
"Nope. Although she has always supported , the person who made take that first step... was you, Anon."
"Eh?! ?!"
Chihaya Anon pointed at herself in surprise.
"For real? Did I do sothing special?!"
"Do you rember the woolen gloves I gave you for Christmas the first year I ca to our family?"
"Of course I rember! I still have those gloves!"
"Hm?"
Hearing his sister's unhesitating reply, Chihaya Tetsuya, the one who had brought up the topic, actually showed a montary look of surprise.
"...You still have them? Haven't they been too small to wear for a long ti?"
"They were the first gift you ever gave , Brother. Of course I have to treasure them!"
Chihaya Anon said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"So, what about those gloves?"
"I made those gloves myself. I asked Mother to buy yarn, and then I spent a week knitting them."
Under Chihaya Anon's gradually widening eyes, Chihaya Tetsuya said:
"Back then, I hadn't systematically learned how to knit, so both the shape and the finger proportions of those gloves were incredibly strange. But you still put them on without any hesitation, and you didn't show the slightest bit of dislike."
"Huh? Is that so?"
Chihaya Anon had no recollection of this at all.
"I didn't feel anything strange when I put them on! And I quite liked the crossover pattern in a few places!"
"..."
The so-called crossover pattern was, in fact, the mark left by his tangled stitches due to mistakes during the making process.
(Could it be... that I'm the one responsible for warping Anon's sense of aesthetics?)
After making a silent retort in his mind, Chihaya Tetsuya continued:
"In any case, the happy look on your face when you received the gloves, and the trust you showed by putting them on without hesitation, completely solidified my goal of becoming a fashion designer. I hoped that through my own hands, I could bring warmth and comfort to more people."
"So that's how it was..."
Hearing this, Chihaya Anon felt a strange warmth welling up in her heart.
"So Brother set out on this path because of ... Hehe, hehehe... I see, so that's how it was!"
An indescribable sense of pride and superiority filled her heart, making it impossible for her to control the corners of her mouth from rising high.
"It seems I'm quite important to you too, Brother!"
"? Isn't that a given? We're family, aren't we?"
"Noo~ that's not what I'm talking about!"
Chihaya Anon giggled and rubbed her cheek against Chihaya Tetsuya's shoulder.
"It's just that you were talking about Hoshino Ai all day today! So I thought she was the more important one to you..."
"There's no comparison between the two of you, is there?"
Chihaya Tetsuya tilted his head, not quite understanding.
"One is my childhood benefactor, and the other is my irreplaceable family now. They're completely different things."
"Oh, you don't get it!"
Chihaya Anon giggled and brushed off her brother's confusion, while thinking to herself:
(Next ti I go back to our old house... I have to bring those gloves with !)
When her brother truly beca a top-tier designer, she could proudly declare that she was his very first client!
At this thought, Chihaya Anon couldn't help but let out another joyful giggle.
...anwhile...
"Good work today."
A girl with short blonde hair handed a water bottle to the purple-black-haired girl in front of her.
"Here, Higuchi-san specifically prepared warm water for you."
"Mhm, thanks!"
Ai smiled and took the water bottle, while pulling a slightly worn towel from her own backpack—
"Haaah~ Today's practice was tough. It's really hard to keep up with Uika's pace."
"You've only just started learning all this, after all. It's normal to find it a bit strenuous."
Uika said as she sat down next to Ai.
"Speaking of which, I've been a little curious... The agency always provides towels, right? Why do you always use this one?"
"This... it's a long story."
Ai's usual smile faded from her face, and she slowly put down the towel.
"This towel... was a gift from soone very important to ..."
"...I see."
Seeing the unusually serene expression on her companion's face, Uika didn't press further and silently began to pack her things.
On the other side, Ai gently unfolded the faded old towel and reached out to stroke the hexagonal pattern hidden in the corner...
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