{Atsushi Yamaguchi and Miyuki Satou 1}

By the time I realized it, there were less than two months left until the end of this school year.

This end of the year held significant meaning for both her and me.

That’s because we had decided to start living together from the next year.

And so, as we reached February 14th, it might be the last Valentine’s Day we spent at our parents’ homes.

This year, she handed me the gift in person, unlike in the past when it was delivered.

“This is handmade…”

What Miyu handed me certainly looked homemade.

“I made chocolate too, but I thought that might not be enough. And since we’re going to need this soon, I decided to give it a shot and make it myself.”

“Oh, uh, I see…”

I was at a loss for how to respond.

Miyu had shown her unique sense many times before.

Back in high school, she froze fondant chocolate and even sent it to me by courier. When we went on a short trip, she brought frozen mandarins—just a couple of many amusing stories about her.

Still, I couldn’t deny that I found these quirks cute, remembering every little detail.

But this time, I was genuinely baffled.

Not many girlfriends give their boyfriends a nameplate for Valentine’s Day.

A nameplate—though it might be more accurate to call it a door plate, the kind you hang outside your front door to show whose home it is.

The wooden oval-shaped plate had an adorable-looking mouse face on it, and the names it held were ours:

“Atsushi Yamaguchi & Miyuki Satou”

All written in hiragana, with each letter also cut from wood.

“I couldn’t find any good mouse designs, so I searched for a long time,” she said with her usual carefree smile.

“We’re going to live together soon, so I thought we’d need something like this.”

“Oh… yeah, thanks,” I replied, finally recovering from the initial shock.

Of course, I appreciated Miyu’s thoughtfulness. I wasn’t particularly fond of door plates, but I was happy she was feeling positive about the start of our life together.

But did I want it? Well…

“It’s hard to say, but Miyu…”

I carefully chose my words.

“Nowadays, for security reasons, a lot of people don’t put their names on the door anymore. Hanging this outside might not be a good idea.”

“Really? I didn’t know that!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide in surprise.

My mom had told me that.

It’s better not to put up a nameplate if it’s just the two of us, and when answering the phone, don’t mention names.

“Especially if Miyu’s home alone. Something could happen,” my mom had said.

I wasn’t too thrilled about how she dismissed my safety, but it was odd enough for my usually carefree mom to worry about me, so I let it slide.

When I explained this, Miyu nodded, seeming to understand.

“Now that you mention it, that makes sense. It’s for safety…”

From now on, we would no longer be under our parents’ protection.

We’d have to think about things we never considered before, all on our own.

“You’re amazing, Atsushi-kun. You really think things through.”

“That’s just something I picked up from my mom,” I said modestly, but I really intended to follow that advice.

From now on, I have to protect her. That’s what I thought.

“In that case, we can’t use it, huh? I should’ve asked before making it,” Miyu said, looking a bit disappointed as she gazed at the door plate in my hands.

I hurried to reassure her.

“If we can’t put it outside, we can hang it up inside the house. Besides, I’m sure you’ll bring more mouse decorations, right?”

“Yeah… Thanks, Atsushi-kun!”

She smiled brightly, her mood instantly lifting.

Seeing that radiant smile, I felt relieved in more ways than one.

I hadn’t particularly wanted a door plate.

But the fact that she made it, preparing for our future together, made me very happy.

“I’m glad you’re looking forward to it,” I said sincerely.

“Leaving our parents for the first time, I was a little worried you might feel lonely, Miyu.”

She blinked in confusion.

“Are you going to feel lonely, Atsushi-kun?”

“Not at all. I don’t feel lonely in the slightest.”

With my busy parents, I’d already gotten a taste of living alone, so I couldn’t wait to start living with someone else.

Especially since that someone was her.

“Really zero regret,” I said again.