Wayside - 1920s Japan Dramedy

“Woah-oh,” Alfred whistled through trembling lips. He inspected the daintily painted coffee cup placed in between his hands, the difference in size far too large to be anything but comical. “These are some fancy cups you got here! I won’t lie, it looks like it’ll break if I drink from it, and I don’t know if I could pay you back ahaha!”

You fucking idiot! Alfred cringed. What the hell was taking Yuko so long!?

“There’s no need to be afraid of breaking it.” Nasuko, Yuko’s aunt, cooly replied. “I wouldn’t have offered it to you if I thought otherwise.” She had just returned from the second floor, calling Yuko to meet her unexpected, and unwelcome, guest.

Alfred turned red. He looked across the coffee table to Yuko’s Uncle Ryuji, who gave him a forgiving smile, and suddenly Alfred felt as if he were back in the schoolhouse corner, face to the wall and clad in a dunce hat.

“Yes, ma’am.” He forced a gulp of the coffee down his throat.

He hated coffee, always had, but who was he to ask for something different? Hell, it was a miracle Nasuko even let him in the front door after Alfred’s lackluster first impression.

The unforgettable night he brought Yuko home, her aunt flung the door open and scooped an arm around her shoulder, shooting a bewildered glare down towards Alfred while her uncle sheepishly sneaked a look from between the second floor curtains.

What’s more, a gnawing in the back of his head made him certain the fat lady from the other day had told them some wild story about him meeting Yuko once again.

Alfred rolled Yuko’s pearl earring in between his fingers. Even more surprising than Nasuko’s unexpected welcome was her apparent indifference towards the purpose of Alfred’s visit - she never pushed for proof of the supposed lost earring Alfred used as a ticket into her home to see her niece.

“You’re the man from the other night. The nerve-” Alfred remembered Nasuko lightly tossing her head to one side as she opened the door, her eyes roaming about the tops of Alfred’s new shoes up to his slicked golden hair. “What on earth is it?”

“Morning- I mean, good morning.” He composed himself with a deep breath. “Is Yuko home? I have something she lost that I’d like to give back to her.”

“She’s always home.” Nasuko sighed, shaking her head with a forced frown. “Ever since your little tête-à-tête on the side of the road. Her chaperone told me everything.”

Alfred’s mind went blank as he cocked his head to the side. “Sorry, a teeth-a-what?”

Nasuko felt her eyebrow twitch. “I should have known.” She made no effort to refrain from rolling her eyes. “Well, in any case, hurry it along. What exactly did my niece leave with you?”

“An earring, it…fell off her ear and I found it on the sidewalk.”

“And you’re sure this is Yuko’s earring?” Nasuko quipped. “Couldn’t it be any random woman’s bauble?”

“Oh no, ma’am.” Alfred bobbed his head up and down. “It’s the exact same one she was wearing. I remember everything about her on that day-” With a sudden flare upon his cheeks, he slammed his lips shut before he could embarrass himself further. For once, he had no complaints about his beet red, sunburnt skin from work.

“Hm.” Nasuko rested a hand on her hips, her black eyes throwing a glance over her shoulder before waving Alfred inside. “Well then, come in. I’ll call her down, she should be ready for the day by now.”

“Really?” Alfred blurted out with a surprised laugh. It was that easy?

All the sleepless nights!

“I'm not going to compromise my karma because of you. You must have some virtue,” Nasuko cooed with a snippy laugh, “bringing my niece back home safe and sound after a night on the town.”

What the fuck was karma?

“I don’t mean any disrespect, but I don’t think that’s anything to laugh about.” Alfred felt his skin go hot beneath his collar as Nasuko led him to the sitting room. “Yuko was really upset the night I found her. Don’t you think you could go a little easier on her? She already really misses her dad back home and-”

“Oh, look at you, the knight in shining armor.” Nasuko snickered, bringing a pot of coffee to the table. “She misses her father? Well, the quicker she finds a man the quicker she can go home.” She poured Alfred a cup. “And I’m very sorry to say, Mister Alfred, but that man is not going to be you.”