All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

The night streets were quiet.

Iroha Isshiki and Kumi Motokawa walked side by side.

Kumi Motokawa was not someone who spoke proactively. Due to her work habits, she always kept things concise—if something could be said in one sentence, she wouldn’t drag it into two. In the hospital, she was often described as a ”very efficient person.”

She was beautiful, but her cold demeanor deterred potential suitors. Though she had been pursued before, repeated failures discouraged anyone from trying again, and she herself enjoyed the peace and quiet.

For someone like her to initiate a conversation with Iroha was almost an impossible feat.

”Iroha, if you’re too busy, you don’t have to bring dinner to the hospital anymore. Since I’m now fully responsible for your father’s care, I can take care of his breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The hospital cafeteria’s food is quite good,” Kumi said softly. The street was quiet, so even her gentle voice was easy to hear.

”If there’s ever a day I can’t make it, I’ll let you know in advance, Aunt Motokawa. I’ll be counting on you then.”

”No trouble at all, not even a little!” Kumi responded quickly, a hint of joy in her voice after receiving Iroha’s approval.

She had been worried that Iroha might refuse her offer.

”I’ll have to trouble you to take care of my dad while he’s in the hospital.”

”It’s nothing, really. Who could have expected such an accident…”

After learning the full story of what had happened, Kumi couldn’t help but feel heartache for both Tetsusuke and Iroha. She had even secretly cried over it.

Seeing Iroha, still a middle school student, being forced to face the reality of her mother being a murderer made Kumi’s heart ache. As a doctor, she had seen too many separations and deaths, and while she seemed accustomed to it on the surface, a soft spot still remained deep inside her heart.

The place that has heard the most prayers in the world is not a church, but the walls of a hospital. And yet, hospitals never become truly cold and indifferent.

Iroha glanced at Kumi and could roughly guess what she wanted to talk about. It wasn’t because Iroha could read minds—rather, Kumi was skilled in medicine, reliable, and serious, but she wasn’t good at hiding her emotions.

Right now, everything she was feeling was written all over her face.

”Aunt Motokawa, were you and my dad middle school classmates?”

Kumi appeared a little wistful.

”Yes, three years in middle school, three years in high school—we were desk mates every single time.

A lot changed in those six years, but the fact that we were desk mates never did.

It wasn’t until we went to different universities that we finally stopped sitting together.

Before university started, your father and I had a farewell meal. While we were eating, he joked that if we ended up at the same university, we might still end up as desk mates.”

Recalling the past, a rare smile appeared on Kumi’s usually serious face.

”My dad never mentioned you before. When I first saw how well you were taking care of him, I was really surprised.”

”Well, that’s understandable. After we went to university, we never met again. Then, I heard that he got married... but I didn’t have the courage to attend his wedding. I never expected that our next meeting would be in an operating room at the hospital.”

A trace of self-mockery appeared on Kumi’s lips, as if she were laughing at the unpredictability of fate—or perhaps at her own weakness back then.

”No courage?” Iroha keenly picked up on those words.

Kumi was momentarily stunned. She hadn’t realized that, without noticing, she had spoken her innermost thoughts to Iroha Isshiki.

Was it because Iroha was Tetsusuke’s daughter?

Just as she was about to hurriedly explain herself, Kumi paused.

—Was she really going to keep running away?

Just like back then, when she had known Tetsusuke was going on a matchmaking date but didn’t have the courage to confess her feelings before he went. In the end, all she could do after learning of his marriage was sit there in a daze, crying uncontrollably without warning.

The choice in front of her now felt eerily similar to back then...

She could either continue being weak, fumbling to deny any connection with Tetsusuke.

Or she could stop running away, stop being a coward, and finally voice her true feelings in front of his daughter. Just like she once wanted to rush to him before his matchmaking date, confessing that she had loved him for twelve whole years.

As they approached the Isshiki family’s home, Kumi came to a halt, took a deep breath, and slowly said to Iroha:

”Iroha... If you don’t mind, I’d like to call you Iroha, just like your father does. You’re a smart child, and you’ve probably already realized it. If that’s the case, then I can only say—you’re absolutely right.

I fell hopelessly in love with your father in our very first year as desk mates in middle school.

Back then, I was just a bookworm, burying myself in studies, not even knowing what it meant to have a crush, and I lacked the courage to tell him how I felt. All I could do was cherish every single day we spent sitting next to each other.

Perhaps fate was kind to me, allowing me to be his desk mate for six full years.”

Kumi’s eyes grew misty, and her voice trembled slightly as she continued:

”Middle school, high school, university, and now becoming a doctor... So many years have passed.

Everything around us has changed—Tetsusuke married another woman and had a daughter. But one thing has never changed—my feelings for him. They have never wavered, not even for a moment!”

”No wonder your expression was so complicated the first time you saw me in the hospital room,” Iroha couldn’t help but laugh softly.

But in the next second, Kumi’s unexpected action made Iroha’s eyes widen in shock.

Kumi bowed deeply to Iroha, as if she would remain in that position indefinitely until Iroha allowed her to rise.

”Iroha, I’ve never been in a relationship, and I’ve never been married. I don’t know how to be a good mother... but I beg you, please give me a chance.

I want to become Tetsusuke’s wife. From now on, I want to be called Kumi Isshiki.

I want to become a mother who can take good care of you!

Would you... be willing to accept me as your new mom?”

Iroha stared blankly at Kumi. She had guessed that Kumi had feelings for her father, but hearing her say that she wanted to become her new mother still left Iroha stunned.

”New... mom...” Iroha softly whispered the words.

Kumi remained in her deep bow, and for once, the usually composed woman couldn’t maintain her calm demeanor.

Iroha gazed at her for a long time before shrugging slightly and letting out a small sigh.

”Aunt Motokawa, shouldn’t you be saying something like this to my dad first?”

”That’s because... I have no experience, I don’t know what to do, so I just took things one step at a time... and before I knew it, here we are,” Kumi muttered, still bowing her head, feeling a little embarrassed by her own actions.

Yeah, who asks the daughter first? Usually, people start dating first, and then the father introduces the new mom to the daughter.

How embarrassing!

Kumi felt the words ”so embarrassing” weighing heavily on her mind.

”But this also proves that you care a lot about my feelings,” Iroha Isshiki said with a smile.

Kumi had chosen to tell her first because she truly cared about how Iroha, as Tetsusuke’s daughter, would feel about the situation.

Thinking about her own mother, Yuuha, Iroha felt a mix of emotions. So, mothers do care about their daughters’ feelings after all.

Iroha stepped forward and patted Kumi Motokawa’s shoulder, urging her to lift her head.

”Actually, my mother never really cared about me, so I don’t even know what a good mom is supposed to be like.”

The tension in Kumi’s eyes gradually gave way to a sparkle, and she solemnly declared, ”In that case, I’ll do my best!”

”Before you do that, you need to muster the courage to confess to my dad first. Good luck, Aunt Motokawa!”

”You… you still call me Aunt Motokawa...” Kumi murmured, momentarily so overwhelmed with joy that she didn’t know what to say.

”I’ll change how I address you once you and my dad get married,” Iroha said with a light laugh.

”O-Okay! Can I call you Iroha?”

Kumi asked nervously, sweat already soaking her back. She could remain calm and composed during even the most complex surgical procedures, yet now she was visibly anxious.

”Haven’t you already been calling me that?” Iroha couldn’t help but chuckle. She suddenly realized that Kumi, who usually seemed so emotionless, actually had a nervous side too.

Was this what people called a contrast in personality?

Hearing Iroha’s words, Kumi was almost moved to tears.

”I will do my best to be a good mom!”

Kumi declared once again, then handed over a bag to Iroha.

”This... is fruit milk and a cheesecake I bought for you. You can put them in the fridge and have them for breakfast tomorrow.”

Iroha smiled as she took the bag. It felt heavy, and upon looking inside, she realized it wasn’t just fruit milk and cake—there were all sorts of sweets Kumi had picked out for her.

And there was also an envelope. Opening it... 10,000 yen in pocket money?!

Was this the first allowance from her new mom?

It seemed Kumi Motokawa had been thinking about how to be a mother all along.

”Goodnight, Aunt Motokawa,” Iroha said, waving as she stepped through the front door, smiling.

”Goodnight!”

Kumi quickly responded, looking toward the Isshiki house with a dazed expression.

If Tetsusuke accepted her feelings, would this become her home in the future?

Thinking of this, a smile formed on Kumi Motokawa’s lips, as if she had finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel.

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