I Am Big Brother (I Am Big Brother 1) ✅

Chapter Three

May 7th, 2029

"Satoru."

Satoru glanced up from his breakfast. The dining room table was long and ornate. Ten chairs framed each side. He sat at one end, and his father, Hideaki Kunihara sat at the other end. His mother, Nashiko Kunihara, sat to Hideaki's left eating quietly. Satoru didn't know why his parents had invested in such a lavish dining room set when only three people ate in the room.

"Yes, Father?" Satoru asked after a long pause.

Hideaki narrowed his eyes at Satoru over the rims of his classes. "You have seven seminars on your schedule for this week. Two of them on Thursday. I expect you to attend all of them, so for this week Ueta will be driving you to and from school so he can bring you to the office."

Satoru swallowed hard and slowly set his chopsticks down. "...Thank you for thinking of me, Father," he said. "But it's not necessary. I can drive myself to the—"

"You have skipped the last three seminars that you have been assigned, Satoru," Hideaki interjected sternly. "Your absences caused me considerable embarrassment. You will not miss these seminars."

What's the point? Satoru wondered, but he didn't say it out loud. He had asked that question before, and the result was a huge argument. "All right, Father," he murmured.

"And I commend you for not getting arrested once during Golden Week," Hideaki said, though his tone was coldly sardonic. "That's an improvement from the three arrests you garnered last Golden Week."

Satoru narrowed his eyes. "I haven't ever been charged with a crime, Father."

"That is because I've opened my wallet to keep your record clean," Hideaki pointed out. "I refuse to—"

"Say, Satoru!" Nashiko suddenly burst out, forcing a smile at her son. "Has Yukinaga announced the summer holiday trip this year?"

"Not yet," Satoru said. "But we will most likely be going abroad again."

Hideaki scoffed. "Macau was an inappropriate location for a class trip for high school students. Especially at a hotel with an adjacent casino! You didn't gamble, did you Satoru?"

He had, and had won the equivalent of 150,000 yen playing roulette. But he wasn't ever going to tell his parents yet. "For the umpteenth time Father, I have not."

"Don't talk to me like that," Hideaki said sharply.

"Anata," Nashiko said quietly, reaching out to touch his hand. Hideaki said nothing more.

Satoru checked his watch. School started in an hour and a half. "I need to get going," he announced, tossing his napkin on the table as he stood.

"Oh Satoru, you can finish your breakfast," Nashiko protested.

"It's the first day of classes after Golden Week," Satoru said. "I want to make sure everything is in order with my classes."

"Good to see you being responsible for once," Hideaki grumbled.

"Anata!" Nashiko admonished him, but Satoru left the dining room.

"Bocchan, I'll make whatever you want for dinner," the housekeeper, Sano, told Satoru as he made his way towards the entryway. She was holding his schoolbag under one arm. She had been working for the family for the last ten years, and she was almost like a second mother to Satoru.

"I appreciate that Sano, thank you," Satoru said politely. He texted a message to Ueta that he was ready to go.

"What are you in the mood for?" Sano asked him.