Okaasan No Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara Ne Now

When Yuki woke up an hour later, she found her son’s arm linked through hers. She kissed the top of his head. He pretended to stay asleep.

But his cheeks were wet.

“Hey, Mom.”

And Haruki, for the first time in years, didn’t add his usual line. okaasan no koto nanka zenzen suki janain dakara ne

Haruki sat beside her. Quietly, he took off his own scarf and wrapped it around her neck. Then he leaned his head against her shoulder and closed his eyes. When Yuki woke up an hour later, she

The next morning, walking home in the frozen dawn, Haruki kicked a can down the empty street. Yuki walked beside him, still wearing his scarf. But his cheeks were wet

“Okaasan no koto nanka zenzen suki janain dakara ne” — “It’s not like I like you or anything, Mom.” Every morning, thirteen-year-old Haruki muttered this under his breath before slamming the front door. His mother, Yuki, would just smile from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. “Have a good day, Haru!”