I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

To think I’d be asked to cosplay…
By a friend’s mother, no less, and only the second time we’d met.
Just then, Rika flinched and jumped in.
“Mama! What are you talking about all of a sudden?! You never told me that!”

“Oh my, but you’ve heard it now, haven’t you?”
Maria-san said this casually, then turned to me.
“So, Yu-seong-kun—what do you think?”

The spotlight had suddenly shifted to me, but unfortunately for her, my answer was already decided.
“I’m sorry, but I think that might be a little difficult. I’m definitely interested in Comiket, but cosplay seems a bit too high-level for me.”
As I replied hesitantly, Maria-san let out a long, regretful sigh.

“Really? That’s a shame. If you’d helped, I was going to ask my husband to give you one of his secret prized possessions as a gift.”
“…Could I maybe hear a bit more about that part?”
“Didn’t you just say it’d be difficult?”

“Now that I think about it, trying cosplay at least once in your life doesn’t sound so bad.”
“Ryuu-chan! You’re being tricked by Mama right now! Snap out of it!”
“Hup!”

Thanks to Rika, I managed to regain the reason that had momentarily slipped away.
What was I just about to do?
I already had too many promises lined up—I couldn’t afford to add more on top of them.

Maria-san clicked her tongue in disappointment, but I retreated behind the counter like I was fleeing the scene.
***
A short while later, my mother came out carrying the food herself.
“Oh my, look who it is!”

She spotted Rika sitting at the table and smiled brightly.
“Hello, ma’am!”
Rika waved with a lively grin.

In response, Mom beamed as she set the bubbling earthenware bowl of cheonggukjang right in the center of the table.
“Came to eat with your friend?”
“Nope! This is my mama!”

“Nice to meet you.”
As Maria-san offered a polite bow, Im I-ja laughed warmly and returned the greeting.
“My, you’re such a beauty. Where are you from?”

Maria-san responded with a pleased smile.
“From the UK.”
“England! What a lovely place!”

Despite this being their first time meeting, the two of them were chatting so easily, it was like they’d known each other for years.
Is this what they call that middle-aged lady superpower?
Figuring the conversation would go long, I carried out the rest of the food Mom had left behind.

A table filled with classic Korean dishes: gimbap, cheonggukjang, yukgaejang, assorted jeon…
Rika sniffed the air, drooling a little as she declared how good it all smelled.
Watching her, my mother spoke kindly with a pleased smile.

“Eat up, Rika-ya. Let me know if you want more—I’ll bring it right out.”
“Thank you!”
“Well then, enjoy your meal.”

After hearing Rika’s cheerful thanks, Mom returned to the kitchen.
And with that, the two of them began their meal in earnest.
It turned out Maria-san really was used to eating Korean food. She scooped some cheonggukjang into her side dish bowl with practiced hands.

Then, after a bite, her eyes widened.
“Oh my, this is delicious.”
“Right?”

Rika puffed her chest out proudly, and Maria-san looked at her with a doting smile as she took a few more spoonfuls.
She tried the gimbap and the jeon next, then finally the yukgaejang.
It seemed like a weird combination of dishes, but the two of them were inhaling their food with great enthusiasm.

“Phew! That was great!”
Rika, having even mixed her rice into the yukgaejang at the end, leaned back against the chair with a satisfied sigh.
Maria-san looked just as content.

Watching them from behind the counter, I grabbed a bottle of sikhye from the fridge and brought it over.
“What’s this?”
“On the house. It’s called sikhye—a traditional Korean drink usually served after meals.”

As I explained, I poured it into cups myself, and Maria-san, intrigued, swirled the cup before taking a cautious sip.
“Oh, it’s good.”
Rika followed suit after watching her.

“Mmm! Delicious!”
So they really are mother and daughter—even their tastes are alike.
I was just about to set the bottle on the table for them to drink more if they wanted, when—

“Have some fruit too~”
My mom came out from the kitchen holding a plate piled high with fresh fruit.
***

“My son’s problem is he’s not very cute~”
“Oh, but he’s so dependable! That’s a good thing~”
The fruit had barely hit the table before the moms launched into the classic “mom talk” about their kids.

I thought the conversation earlier had been it—but clearly that was just the beginning.
It felt like sitting on a bed of nails, but surprisingly, Rika was joining in, chatting between the two of them like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Is this what they call solitude in the midst of a crowd?

“Ever since he started high school, it’s like he suddenly matured. Started exercising, studying… I know I should be happy, but honestly, I liked it better when he was cuter and more childish.”
“Oh! I saw a picture the other day! He really was adorable!”
Nodding at Rika’s comment, Mom pulled out her smartphone.

“I have a picture right here. This was taken during his middle school cultural festival.”
“Oh my, oh my!”
“Waaah! So cute!”

That was the reaction the two of them had after seeing the photo.
From a guy’s perspective, I wasn’t sure how to feel about it.
Personally, I think I look way better now.

Then, as if something had just occurred to her, Maria-san turned to Mom and said,
“Come to think of it, I heard Yu-seong-kun helped tutor my daughter recently. Her grades really improved, so I just wanted to say thank you.”
At that, Im I-ja laughed and replied teasingly,

“My son did that? I thought all he ever did was exercise—turns out he’s doing a lot more than I realized.”
Classic middle-aged lady tag-teaming.
But what surprised me was how Maria-san actually played along.

“If anything, Yu-seong-kun’s the perfect husband material. Good at studying, good at sports, responsible… Honestly, I feel like our Rika’s the one who’s not enough.”
Hearing that, Rika, who’d been silently listening, turned beet red and shouted,
“Mama!”

“My ears are gonna burst, girl.”
Maria-san chided her daughter, then turned back to my mom with a grin.
“If you ever change your mind, let me know. I’ll make sure she’s fully trained as a bride.”

“Ohoho, then should I start calling you in-law already?”
“In-law has a nice ring to it.”
As the jokes between the two of them escalated to absurdity, I finally cut in.

“Ladies, shouldn’t you be getting up soon?”
That snapped Mom out of it. She stood up with an awkward smile.
“Oh dear, what am I doing? I’ve still got a sink full of dishes and I’ve just been chatting away.”

Same went for Maria-san.
“Rika, let’s go home.”
And just like that, the aunties’ tea party came to a close, and Rika and I—mentally and emotionally worn out—shared a silent look of shared suffering.

“That’ll be 3,000 yen.”
“Thanks for the meal, Yu-seong-kun.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

I accepted the cash Maria-san handed over and bowed my head.
“By the way, are you sure you don’t want to try cosplay? I actually already had a costume made, thinking you’d say yes…”
I ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) couldn’t bring myself to directly say no in the face of her sparkling eyes.

“…Can I have a little more time to think it over?”
At that, Maria-san clenched her fist with a triumphant “Yesss!”
“So you’ll reconsider, right?”

“If nothing else comes up in my schedule.”
I had to admit… as a fan, I was really tempted by the idea of receiving one of Musashi-sensei’s prized items.
It was the kind of thing you couldn’t buy even with money.

“Fufu, I’ll be looking forward to your message then, Yu-seong-kun.”
Maria-san winked at me, then said she’d go pull the car around and left the shop.
“Rika, aren’t you going?”

“Ah, uh… just a sec.”
I asked since she looked like she wanted to say something, and Rika, hesitating, pulled something out of her handbag.
It was a promotional flyer.

“Ryuu-chan, there’s a festival happening this weekend at the shrine nearby. Want to go with me?”
“This weekend?”
“Yeah. …Is that okay?”

Rika looked up at me with an anxious expression.
To be honest, that kind of gaze is cheating.
It’s got this magical power that makes it impossible to say no.

So, after a brief pause, I answered honestly.
“Uh, I’ve already got something on Saturday, so it might be hard…”
Rika seemed to take that as a soft rejection, and her shoulders slumped.

“Really? I guess it can’t be helped…”
But you should always let someone finish their sentence.
“Instead, I’m free on Sunday. If that works for you, I’d be happy to go.”

Rika’s face lit up instantly.
“Really?!”
If she had a tail, it would’ve been wagging like crazy.

“Yeah, really.”
“Then Sunday at 7 PM! I’ll text you the meeting spot!”
Rika said this with a huge smile, and just before she stepped out the door, she glanced back and said,

“You better show up!”
I gave her a wry smile and nodded.