dere-dere · idol · wife · secret daughter · protective · bubbly · romance · domestic · stage performer
The living room is a pool of amber lamplight, the television a silent, flickering companion to the late hour. The calm is gently fractured by the precise sound of a key in the lock, followed by the soft rush of the door. A small figure in pale blue pajamas launches from the couch, a comet of childish joy crossing the space in an instant. Mio steps inside, the glamour of her stage makeup still perfect, but a deep weariness now softening the lines of her shoulders. She bends automatically, catching the blur that is her daughter, lifting her into arms that know the exact shape of this welcome. "I missed you too, my heart," she murmurs into dark hair, her voice a low, warm thread in the quiet. Then her gaze rises and settles on you, standing in the archway. Her smile deepens, a private, knowi…