All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

Kotomi and Iroha arrived at Chiba Municipal Hospital together. Having been there once before, they now moved with familiarity, heading straight for Tetsunosuke Isshiki's current hospital room.

On the way, Kotomi had stopped to buy some fruit, carrying the bag in her hand.

Just as Iroha was about to knock on the door, Kotomi suddenly grabbed her hand, signaling her to wait.

Iroha looked at Kotomi in confusion, but Kotomi simply motioned for her to stay silent and then gestured toward the room's window.

Through the small glass panel on the door, they both peered inside—and instantly froze in place.

Tetsunosuke's hospital room was a private single-patient room.

Through the window, they could clearly see two figures standing close to each other inside.

A man and a woman.

The man, of course, was Tetsunosuke Isshiki. The woman, dressed in a white lab coat, was Kumi Motokawa.

The two stood with their backs to Kotomi and Iroha, leaning intimately against one another.

Tetsunosuke looked a bit nervous, his right hand hovering awkwardly as if unsure of how to embrace Kumi. Meanwhile, Kumi's face was flushed all the way to her ears as she slowly rested her head on Tetsunosuke's shoulder.

They gazed into each other's eyes, utterly oblivious to the world around them, as if everything beyond their moment had ceased to exist.

And then—after a few beats of breath—their lips met.

Neither Kotomi nor Iroha had been prepared for such a scene. They stood there, wide-eyed and completely stunned.

Kotomi suddenly believed what her mother had told her before—next time she met Kumi, she really might have to call her "Aunt Isshiki."

Iroha rubbed her eyes in disbelief before looking again. Just last night, when Kumi had walked her home, she had confessed her feelings.

She had mentally prepared for this… but this fast?!

Was she really about to have a new mother this soon?

She had only heard the confession last night, and now—today—her father and Kumi were already kissing in broad daylight.

Kumi truly was an esteemed surgeon at the municipal hospital.

That decisiveness… she must have honed it on the operating table.

Kotomi and Iroha exchanged glances.

There was no way they could walk in now—they refused to be third wheels to this.

Kotomi quickly estimated that this kiss wasn't going to end anytime soon, so she decisively pulled Iroha away by the hand, leading her far from the hospital room.

That severe, unapproachable doctor from their first meeting definitely would not want them witnessing this moment—especially not Kotomi and Iroha of all people.

Being a third wheel at this moment would be one of the worst offenses possible.

Once they reached a quiet corner, Iroha let out an exasperated sigh.

"Oh my god—I can't believe my dad actually had the guts to make a move! Right there in the hospital room! And Aunt Kumi—wow, she's braver than I thought! That level of boldness and execution… no wonder she's a surgeon."

Kotomi, sharp as ever, immediately picked up on Iroha's change in address.

"You're already calling her 'Aunt Kumi' now? I thought you'd hesitate for a while before accepting her."

Realizing her slip, Iroha scratched her head, laughing sheepishly.

"Hehe, to be honest, I'd already figured out that Aunt Kumi liked my dad. Last night, she walked me home and even bought me a bag of sweets."

"On the way, she came clean about her feelings."

"I thought she'd take some time before confessing to my dad, but nope! She went for it today. And she succeeded."

"Quick, precise, and ruthless—definitely the skills of a surgeon."

"Yesterday, she just confessed to you as her daughter, and today she's already putting her words into action. So strong. The way adults handle relationships is so straightforward," Kotomi marveled at Kumi Motokawai's decisiveness.

"Yeah, if only Senpai could be this proactive too~" Isshiki Iroha suddenly said in a soft, affectionate tone, her gaze toward Kotomi seemingly filled with love.

Kotomi had to admit—

In that fleeting moment...

She had been completely caught off guard by this little devil.

The two of them sat on the chairs in the hallway, waiting for a while. No matter how much those two wanted to express their years of pent-up emotions, surely they were done by now. So, Kotomi and Iroha decided to return to the room.

As expected, when they peered inside, Tetsunosuke Isshiki and Kumi Motokawa had already separated. Kumi was now seated, looking down as she peeled an apple with a fruit knife.

Tetsunosuke, on the other hand, was sitting up in his hospital bed, seemingly reading a newspaper—but from a distance, it was clear that he was holding it upside down!

Such an obvious attempt at covering up, along with their nervous movements just moments ago... Were these two really adults? They looked more like innocent high schoolers in their first romance.

Iroha knocked on the door symbolically, then reached for the handle and entered together with Kotomi.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Kumi Motokawa, who was still lost in the moment, hurriedly raised her head. Her cheeks and lips were slightly red.

Seeing that it was Iroha and Kotomi, she froze for a moment before quickly lowering her head again, pretending to be as calm as usual.

Iroha placed the plastic bag with the packed meal onto the cabinet and said, "Dad, while I was out for lunch, I happened to eat at a restaurant with really good sweet porridge and custard buns. I brought some for you to try. You like sweets, don't you? Senpai came along too!"

Kotomi took the fruits she had bought and placed them onto the fruit tray, smiling as she said, "Uncle Isshiki, these fruits are just a small token from me. I hope you'll accept them and get well soon!"

"Ah, thank you, Kotomi, for coming to see me. Hahaha, I hope Iroha hasn't been causing you any trouble?"

"No major trouble, but a whole bunch of little ones. She loves teasing me too much," Kotomi pursed her lips and playfully "complained" pitifully.

Of course, she wasn't really trying to tattle, so she exaggerated her expression a bit—making it obvious that she was acting, inviting everyone to smile knowingly.

Then, she turned to Kumi Motokawa and introduced herself with a warm and confident tone, "Hello, Aunt Motokawa. I didn't have a chance to properly introduce myself last time. I'm Kotomi Izumi, the older sister of Iroha's friend, and I've recently become her friend as well."

"Just call me Kotomi. Of course, if you want to add a few words and call me 'cute little Kotomi,' I would raise both hands in approval!"

Kumi Motokawa, who was already feeling awkward, was caught off guard by Kotomi's straightforward and outgoing personality. Internally, she was a little shocked—this short-haired white-haired girl, who looked so well-mannered, turned out to be this self-confident?!

Then, taking another closer look…

She had to admit, Kotomi did have the right to be this confident.

Hearing that Kotomi was Iroha's friend, Kumi adjusted her mindset, trying to approach the conversation from the perspective of Iroha's mother.

"K-Kotomi, hello. Thank you for looking after Iroha. Have you two had lunch yet?"

Kotomi couldn't help but chuckle internally.

Iroha had literally walked in carrying sweet porridge and custard buns, even saying they were from a restaurant she had eaten at. She and Iroha had arrived together—how could she not have eaten lunch?

But Kotomi didn't want their first proper conversation to be awkward, so she answered without hesitation—

"Iroha ate. I didn't."

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