My Japanese Childhood Friend Is Too Flirty - Chapter 150



149. Isn’t She Lovely

To cut a long story short, it happened.

What?

“You’re pregnant.”

“……”

…Our second.

“However, looking at the ultrasound, it seems like it might be twins.”

“Twins…?”

“Yes. You see this placenta here? Whether the fetuses share it or not distinguishes identical from fraternal twins… This form indicates a high probability, no, almost certainly identical twins. Congratulations. You’ve become the father of identical twins, a 1 in 250 chance.”

“Ah, the probability of twins is only 1 in 250?”

“Yes. That’s about the average worldwide. In a natural state, the probability of twins is about 1%, and of every three sets of twins, about one set is identical.”

No, to be more accurate, I should say our second and third. Because this time it was twins. Identical twins, no less, which were said to be even rarer.

Why rarer, you ask? Because fraternal twins are formed when two eggs are fertilized separately. And identical twins are formed when a single fertilized egg divides into two separate eggs for some reason…

Honestly, I don’t know much about this sort of thing. I’m no expert. It’s just that the OB-GYN said that worldwide, identical twins are rarer than fraternal twins, so I took her word for it.

“I see. Thank you.”

“Thank you…!”

Anyway. Aki and I bowed our heads together in gratitude, and then we were told about what to watch out for during a twin pregnancy.

The general gist wasn’t that different from when you’re pregnant with one child. Be careful about what you eat, be careful about strenuous exercise, be careful not to get hit in the stomach.

But, there was one difference. Which was, you have to visit the hospital more often than during a regular pregnancy. Twin pregnancies have a higher risk for both mother and fetuses than single pregnancies, so they said we’d need to come in for check-ups frequently.

Case by case, of course, but if we assume that a normal pregnancy involves check-ups once every two weeks in the early stages, and then once a month after the middle stages. With a twin pregnancy, it’s better to have check-ups once a week in the early stages, and then once every two weeks after the middle stages.

So that’s what we decided to do. Our next appointment is in one week, on Saturday. We’re about 9 weeks along now, so I guess we’ll be coming in once a week until around week 13.

“Here, get in. *Agasshi*.”

I opened the passenger door and said a little something.

“Heh…. What was that? Why *Agasshi* all of a sudden?”

“You’re so pretty, I can’t call you *Ajumma*, can I?”

“I have a kid, so I’m *Ajumma* now. Well, whatever….”

“Oh hush now, what are you saying? Aki is definitely *Agasshi*, no, a Princess.”

It wasn’t an exaggeration. If it were 500 years ago, she’d almost certainly be treated like a Princess. Aki’s family, the Fujiwara family, is undoubtedly a noble family with deep roots, no matter what anyone says.

I glanced at the passenger seat as if to tell her to get in quickly, and Aki, who had been refusing at first, smiled prettily and made a seemingly haughty expression. As I watched the series of actions full of grace as she got into the car with such refined elegance, a thought suddenly came to me.

‘Really, if it were 500 years ago….’

From noble mtl dot com

Aki, Yura, and of course even our twins in the womb would have been treated like princesses and princes, right?

“My Lord Husband, aren’t you getting in?”

“Ah, yes.”

I went around to the other side and got into the driver’s seat.

…Even now, as I’m starting the engine, it’s still amazing to me. This girl sitting next to me, fastening her seatbelt, is from a prestigious noble family.

“Hold still. I’ll do it for you.”

“Oh. You don’t have to…”

“No. I want to.”

I turned my body towards the passenger seat and fastened Aki’s seatbelt for her.

“Is it uncomfortable?”

“Uh-huh. Ah, but this is….”

“What’s wrong? Is something wrong?”

Aki was touching the seatbelt, so without thinking, I leaned in again. That’s when it happened.

*Chok*—

Aki pressed a k*ss to my cheek. I turned to her, slightly startled, and she met my gaze with the same aloof expression she’d worn when we got into the car.

“Let’s go, *Seobangnim*.”

“……”

To launch a surprise attack like this…

Should I just do as I’m told and drive off…? But then, seeing as we were already parked, there was no need to rush. So, I k*ssed Aki back.

No, I just straight up k*ssed her.

I’m the type of person who needs to return things twofold.

After imprinting a seal on her reddish lips and pulling away, Aki stared at me with a look that said, ‘Oh, is *that* how it is…?’

Without a word, I grinned and pressed the accelerator.

“……*Seobangnim*. Should we pick up some snacks on the way home?”

“Snacks are good. But for a day like today, wouldn’t eating out be better? It’s a special day, after all.”

“Hmm…. That’s true. Then, should we go out for lunch with Yura?”

“Let’s go to the place we went to last time. Yura really liked the food there.”

Yura takes after her mom, who loves sweet things; she also has a weakness for anything sugary. Especially food with sweet sauce. Like *donkatsu* or chicken salad.

“Okay. Let’s do that. ……But, it’s amazing.”

“Huh? What is?”

“Having twins. The doctor said so, didn’t he? The probability of having twins naturally is only about 1%, and out of that, only a third are identical twins.”

Aki murmured, stroking her stomach with her hand.

Watching her out of the corner of my eye, I steered smoothly forward and said,

“It’s a kind of miracle, too. Right. Wasn’t the probability something like one in 250?”

“Ah, speaking of miracles, something just occurred to me. *Seobangnim*. Did you know?”

“Hm? Know what?”

“Last night, while I was putting Yura to sleep, we were chatting about this and that, and Yura said to *Atashi* that she has two friends who look exactly the same.”

“Friends who look exactly the same? Ah, maybe they’re twins, too?”

“Right. So *Atashi* explained it to her. That they must be twins, that twins are siblings who look exactly the same.”

“What did Yura say then?”

“Exactly this. ‘Wow. Amazing…! Mommy, I wish my younger siblings were twins, too!’ she said.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah, really. So it’s amazing. How did this happen the day after she said she wished her younger siblings were twins?”

“Yura must have some kind of peculiar intuition. Perhaps it’s because she takes after you, Aki…?”

“Heehee… Yura would be so pleased to hear that.”

“Indeed. Let’s hurry and tell her. I’m curious about her reaction.”

“Ah, we mustn’t hurry! Safe driving always comes first. Understand?”

“Yes, yes. I understand, madam.”

“One response is enough…!”

“Yes~”

* * *

And so, another twenty minutes passed, and we arrived home.

After parking the car, Aki and I brought Yura into the living room straight away.

“Yura. Papa and Mama have something important to tell you.”

“Something important to tell me…?”

Yura gazed up at me with an innocent, unblemished face.

Meeting the gaze of Yura’s blue eyes, so much like her mother’s, I paused, drawing out the moment before finally speaking.

“Yes. It’s that…”

“…Ahem.”

“Mama is expecting.”

“Huh… Expecting…?”

“……”

Ah. Perhaps Yura doesn’t yet know the word “expecting”?

Indeed, it’s a slightly difficult word for a child not yet even four years old. I cleared my throat with a little cough, and rephrased.

“Simply put, you’re going to have a little sibling, Yura.”

“Heok…! Really? I’m getting a sibling?!”

“Yes. But… there’s something even more important than that.”

“W-What is it?”

“There isn’t just one sibling.”

“Not just one…!”

Yura’s eyes widened as she echoed my words.

That adorable sight made me chuckle quietly, and Aki beside me did as well.

“Inside Mama’s belly… there are two of your siblings, Yura.”

“Two…?! Mom, is it true? Yura has two little siblings?!”

“That’s right. Yura’s siblings are twins.”

“Hwaaah, twins…!”

Yura couldn’t hide her excitement and jumped up from her spot.

“Mom. Twins, that’s…you know? Th-those, people with the exact same face! Or, siblings…? Uh, what was it called….”

“Not siblings, two people who grow together in the same tummy!”

“Ah-ha, that’s right…. U-um, anyway! There are two little siblings with the exact same face inside here…?”

“Uh-huh. That’s right. There are two.”

“Whoa. Whoaaa….”

Yura tiptoed over to Aki, placing her hand on Aki’s belly, still smooth and showing no outward signs.

“When can I see my siblings, Mom?”

“It’s been about 9 weeks now…. So, roughly 30 to 31 weeks left. Yura, do you know how long 31 weeks is?”

I answered instead of Aki, turning the question back on her.

Yura looked like she was momentarily fl*stered by my sudden question, but soon calmly began counting on her fingers.

“One week has 7 days, and 31 weeks are left…. Uh…. 217 days…?!”

“……Wow. Yura, how are you so good at mental math?”

That she could calculate 7 x 31 so quickly. I was honestly surprised she got it right away when she could have stammered or gotten it wrong if I had asked her so suddenly. Maybe our Yura is secretly a genius?

“Is that right, Dad?”

“Yep. That’s right. 217 days.”

“Yay…!”

Yura pumped her fist, happy to have gotten the answer right.

Well, of course, the birth wasn’t exactly 217 days away, there was bound to be some plus or minus. But explaining all that would just complicate things, so I let it slide. The exact date wasn’t the important thing, after all.

“So, 217 days means I have to sleep 217 times, right?”

“Mm. Something like that?”

“……Dad. Good night. I’m going to go to sleep now.”

“Going to sleep now? Why, are you tired, Yura?”

“Nope. Because I have to sleep 217 times to see my siblings…. So, from today, I’m going to sleep three times a day.”

Yura told me with a serious expression.

“……”

“……”

I turned toward where Aki stood.

“…Pfft.”

“Pffft….”

We burst out laughing at the same time.

“…Ah. I’m going to die laughing.”

“Our Yura, who made her so adorable…?”

Aki smiles prettily, embracing Yura gently. Beside them, I covered my mouth, chuckling for quite some time. Clever though Yura is, she’s still a child. Trying to sleep three times a day to make the 217 days pass quickly. As if each nap marks the end of a day.

“Yura-ya. Sleeping a lot doesn’t make several days whiz by. A day isn’t over until it’s past midnight, you see…?”

“Heok, really…? Then what time is it now?”

“Let’s see… Ah, it’s exactly 11:30 AM.”

“Then, 12 hours and 30 minutes… must pass for a day to end?”

“That’s right, no?”

“Sonna…!”

“…Pfft. Our Yura, she’s good at Japanese too, eh?”

I guess she takes after her mother. Aki used to mix Japanese and Korean when she was little too.

“Heeing. That’s so much time left…!”

“…Hehe. Adorable.”

“Yura-ya. Let’s save the sleep for later, shall we go get something delicious to eat?”

“Something delicious…?”

“Let’s go eat tonkatsu, which Yura loves. How does that sound?”

“Heok, great…! I want to go!”

“Alright, get ready with your mom. Let’s head out right away.”

“Yay. Tonkatsu, tonkatsu…!”

As if she hadn’t just been sulking, she quickly returned to her usual self, chanting tonkatsu over and over.

In such a rush, she started taking off her clothes right away. I looked down at Yura, smiling.

“Ah, she’s so cute I could die…”

So *this* is the joy of raising children.

I feel like I finally understand why so many fathers become daughter-obsessed fools. Truly.