The Model Father

Chapter 5

Kevin stared in awe at his uncle giving another shameless yawn. They were sitting at the school office outside the principal’s door before school. Jun had woken up early and drove him here. Jun smacked his lips and looked at Kevin.

“Why are we here?” the kid asked. “Am I in trouble?”

“No. I’m here to transfer you out.”

Kevin grinned widely.

“Does that mean I get the day off after this?” he asked hopefully.

“Fat chance. I have a couple of go-sees. Who’s gonna take care of you?”

A receptionist called them in to see the principal before Kevin could reply. They walked into the small office of a big man, Mr. Blake, the principal. He stood up to his full height of 6 feet and shook hands with Jun and Kevin; Jun felt tiny at 5’8”. They sat down.

“So, you’re the new guardian,” Mr. Blake said, apparently aware of his student’s situation. “Miss Inoue had informed us as such. I was wondering if you’d ever transfer him to a closer school.”

“Yeah...” Jun trailed off, aware that making an excuse might sound too weak to be a good one.

“I had Mrs. Smithsonian prepared the transcript and progress report before you came.” He handed a folder to Jun, and looked at Kevin. “We’re gonna miss you, buddy.” Kevin nodded shyly at the man.

They got up, and Mr. Blake walked them out to the hallway. Seeing it was his last day, Jun explained Kevin needed to stay to get his things ready. Mr. Blake agreed. Kevin didn’t want to stay but the grown ups said so, and he didn't have a choice.

***

Jun came back home and placed the folder onto the counter. He had woken up early to catch Kevin before going to school for the earlier purpose, and didn’t have a chance to take a shower. Taking off his clothes, he made his way to his bathroom and took a much-needed shower.

Someone was ringing the doorbell insistently just as he got out of the shower stall. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he shuffled his feet to the door.

“What d—“ Jun cut off in surprise.

Mao let go of the doorbell and stared at him. Her eyes scanned down his body. She quickly darted her eyes away, as two red spots appeared on her cheeks. Jun stepped aside for her to come in, and she looked everywhere but straight at him. Jun smiled to himself at how someone who was so put-together could break down at the sight of a half-naked man.

“Uh, um, Mr. Matsumoto, I came by to see how Kevin’s doing,” she spoke to the foyer table. She could see Jun in her peripheral vision clearly amused at her uneasiness. She forced herself to look straight at him and kept her eyes on his face. It’d be safer not to let her eyes wander passed his smooth neck, down to his collarbone, and… she caught herself and shifted her eyes back to his face.

Jun smiled and combed his fingers through his wet hair. Mao pretended she didn’t see a droplet of water run down from his shoulder and trail down to his chest. She fidgeted with her bracelet.

“He’s doing fine,” Jun replied nonchalantly. “Listen, Mao, I’m gonna change since I have to drop by my agency for go-sees. Can you wait a bit?”

Mao nodded and didn’t seem to hear him using her first name. Jun smiled slightly and went to his room to change. He figured he had tortured her enough with the PG-13 “nudity”. Jun couldn’t help but wonder how she’d react if he had been totally naked. He smiled at that thought.

Jun came out ten minutes later looking fresh in dark jeans and a white t-shirt. A black bomber jacket completed his look. He found Mao browsing through his DVD and CD collection. He took a moment to drink in her gorgeous silhouette before clearing his throat.