ღ ℌ𝔢𝔩𝔩 | ᴋᴀᴋᴜᴄʜᴏ | ʙᴏɴᴛᴇɴ ღ

EIGᕼT

After I parked my car in front of our house, the smell of the sautéing garlic and onion was the first thing I noticed. Mom had to be in the kitchen.

"I'm home," I exclaimed loudly enough for them to hear. Before even stepping into our house, I removed my shoes and replaced them with slippers.

"Mom! Junjun's home." screamed a small voice, as the sound of it running towards me grew louder and louder. My younger brother hugged my waist despite his small height.

I dropped my bag and lifted him. He's getting bigger and heavier every day.

"Hey, you little monster," I said, forgetting about my fatigue as I kissed his little cheek. "How's school?" I asked as we walked towards the house.

He said with a smile on his face, "School's fun, we learned basic math." I carried him till we arrived in the kitchen, where Mom was preparing dinner.

Eri is in second grade, and our age gap is so wide that it made me look like his mother sometimes.

"I'm studying hard so I can be smart and strong," he revealed, to which I didn't reply. "Then become a police officer, like you."

"Alright, then you'll work hard to protect everyone right? But you must know that it's not easy," I commented as I helped him to his feet.

"Is that why you're gone for so long?" he looked me straight in the eyes and asked with a saddened tone. I knelt until our faces were at the same level.

"Yes, but I'm working very hard to help and protect anyone. So, don't be sad if I'm not here." I caress his cheek. "Just think that whenever your sisters are at work, they're like superheroes who's saving anyone, ok?" he simply nodded.

"Ok, so go back to what you're doing now." I kissed his temple, and he walked over to the table beside the television where he was working on his schoolwork.

I turned towards my mother who was cooking something.

"How's work? You've been gone for a while," she said without turning her head.

"A little pressure, we're still working on the old case we're dealing with." I sat at our kitchen table, propping my elbow on the table as I rest my cheek on my palm.

"Tachibana?" she clarified, and I just hum.

"Well, I hope you're careful with what you're going through. I told you, being a cop is a difficult job. You'll always be suspicious of everything because you'll never know when or where dangers might happen." she repeated.

I growled, "You already told me that a hundred times before I became one."

"I just want you to be careful. You're risking your life to catch those criminals." she continued to remind me, but I didn't react.

"Is sis already here?" I changed the subject.

"She's not here yet. Maybe she has a lot of things to do in their clinic or a lot of patients that her colleagues need to deal with that require her assistance. I noticed she often works overtime like you," she replied, I only hum. "Being a psychologist is also difficult," she added.

"Yeah, especially if there's a lot of people with mental illness these days. That's why we need more specialists in psychology or therapy." I said. She didn't respond afterward.

Seconds of staring blankly, I yawned. I stood up from the chair and walked over to the door, where I had placed my bag on the floor. I proceeded to head towards the stairs towards my bedroom when mom saw me. "You're heading upstairs already?"

"I'm tired, I'll straightly go to bed," I replied loudly enough for her to hear.

"But I made your favorite."

I halt from taking another step. I rarely eat lunch or dinner here since if I went home, I would immediately go to bed because I'm always exhausted.

"Just spare me food, then I'll eat it tomorrow for breakfast," I answered

"OK, I'll just put it in the fridge, and don't forget to put some ointment on your hands," mom added as she stirred the food she was making.

"Goodnighttt." Eri shouted as he paused from writing in his schoolbook.

"Night," I said as I walked upstairs.

𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 :)