Good news: Your husband is super powerful, no one can beat him, and he’s handsome and refined a veritable flower among men with an incredibly long lifespan! In this era, he lives to be 80!!!
Bad news: You will die young.
It is truly enough to make one sigh with deep sorrow.
With mixed feelings, I looked up and sighed, “What is this? Can’t all the good things fall on me?”
Clearly not. I am not the “chosen one.”
Life went on as usual, perhaps even a bit more awkward. The sweet days I had imagined hadn’t arrived; he still maintained the habit of keeping his distance…
My fault. I reflected on that.
I slowly softened my attitude, attempting to change everything and no longer deliberately ignoring his feelings.
Finally, one day after lunch, he set down his chopsticks and said to me, “Are you free tomorrow?”
“Hmm?”
I had things on my mind and was a bit distracted, but hearing him, I felt a surge of excitement.
“Why, is something the matter?”
He cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks with light, silent movements, lining them up perfectly on the table. He adjusted his posture and said,
“I want to take you somewhere.”
The next day, after breakfast, we set off. I noticed the direction seemed to be toward Mr. Gotō’s residence.
Come to think of it, Mr. Gotō doesn’t like crowds and rarely has social dealings with the village, but he often calls Yoriichi over to play Go; their relationship seems quite good.
At first, I thought he was taking me to Mr. Gotō’s house, but we kept walking even after passing that woods.
Slowly,
I found myself in the mountain forest where he usually went to chop wood and hunt.
Everywhere was filled with towering trees and wildly growing plants, all looking exactly the same.
Countless trees.
A complex cacophony of bird calls traveled from one end of the forest to the other, as if they were having a cheerful conversation across the distance.
The morning light turned into millions of white swords in the hands of angels, piercing through the layers of trunks and leaves, struggling to illuminate the forest floor.
The overly dense trees absorbed the heat, making the air temperature here colder than outside; there was even some frost on the ground.
He was very familiar with the path, his steps seeming much lighter as he walked with practiced ease.
I walked unevenly, my feet starting to ache; my body had become much more delicate under his care than it used to be.
Because I no longer needed to do any of the manual labor around the house.
He noticed and slowed down, frequently looking back at me.
Finally, he reached out a hand toward me. “May I hold your hand while we walk?”
I thought, Seriously… he’s still being so polite.
I cast a look of exasperation at him.
“No?”
Seeing him about to withdraw his hand, I quickly grabbed it. “Yes!”
Please, please, we’re at the “living together” stage, right? Even if he wanted to sleep in the same bed with me tonight, I’d push back a little before agreeing! And he’s still asking if he can hold my hand? Does he really have zero dating experience…
Oh, right. He doesn’t.
I maintained my usual expression, my heart as calm as still water.
I was being led by him, holding hands.
It was magical. I looked at our linked hands; from this simple connection, it felt as if his infinite strength and warmth were flowing into my body, bringing me boundless vitality.
Is this the magic of falling in love?
Just as I had imagined, it was practically searingly warm. His palm was indeed quite hot; I experienced it firsthand.
I gently swung our joined hands.
Ah, I’d love to walk like this until the end of time! Where would “end of time” come from… I’ll be gone before long anyway.
Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of frustration.
I’m not the type to sit still. “Yoriichi.”
I called his name.
He looked at me.
“…Nothing, just felt like calling you.”
After a while, I suddenly called him again. “Yoriichi.”
I was like an idiot, tireless and happy.
Anyone else with even a slightly better temper would have said, “You’d better have a good reason,” but he showed no sign of anger at all, his gaze gentle and indulgent.
Thin, sticky sweat gradually appeared on our joined palms, but he never let go.
Actually, he really wants to hold my hand too, doesn’t he? I had this inexplicable thought.
“Yoriichi.”
When he looked at me again, I finally asked the question hidden in my heart: “What exactly… do you like about me?”
“I’m selfish, greedy for money, timid…”
I couldn’t understand it.
“Is that really how Megumi thinks of herself?” He stopped, a look of profound surprise on his face. It was rare to see him so moved.
“Cough, isn’t it true?”
Although I felt these were just common flaws that normal humans had and I never thought they were an issue…
He began to speak. “But in my eyes, you are the person with the softest heart.”
“You cherish every weak and innocent life; you are as compassionate as a deity. This is something I have known from the very beginning.”
This…
#You must be wearing the wrong filters somewhere.#
“Really?” I began to suspect he was describing the girl from the town. Why did he think of her?
“Those times I helped others were just to gain a good impression in front of you…”
Before I could finish my sentence, he suddenly let out a soft, breathy chuckle, his eyes curving.
It made me feel quite embarrassed. “L-laughing at what? Isn’t it a fact?”
He stifled his smile, his expression turning calm once again.
“Apologies, I just realized…”
“It turns out Megumi didn’t understand at all.”
He turned his face, his Sun Breathing earrings appearing dazzling and brilliant in the reflected white light. “Even without me, you would have done the same.”
“That’s not necessarily true…” I couldn’t help but want to argue.
But facing his direct gaze.
That transparent, knowing gaze that reached straight to the bottom of my heart, passing through the layers of fog in my false body to reach the place where my soul resided—a place deep in my consciousness that even I hadn’t discovered.
The purest, most authentic.
My “Self.”
He said in a tone of statement, “You rack your brain to hide your kindness, often attributing it to others the help of the villagers, the kindness of Mrs. Tomoda, and even me…”
“I didn’t do anything.”
He placed his other hand on my head and said gently, “It is you who wants to help others; you must truly face your own heart.”
Is this… a head-patting attack?
“Oh, I see.” I lowered my head and said, in an unreadable tone, “So if I weren’t kind, you wouldn’t like me, right?”
That’s right, I said that on purpose.
His movements froze.
Heh heh, naive. You can’t win me over with just a few words.
Clearly, he hadn’t been put through the grinder of “Thirty Questions for the Girlfriend.” Looking at him, the seed of mischief sprouted in my heart.
I leaned toward him and whispered like a demon: “Hey~ if I get old and wrinkly, will you still like me?”
“I will. After all, I will grow old too,” he replied after a moment of thought.
“Oh, and if I get bad-tempered or start acting unreasonably?”
To questions like these, he answered each one patiently. I had found a new little game.
The only regrettable thing was that he didn’t have the “ex-girlfriend” species; otherwise, I could have asked many more interesting questions.
However…
“Then, if your brother and I fell into the water at the same time, who would you save first?”
I was super excited. I never thought in this lifetime I would get to ask such a classic question; I thought I’d never have the chance.
“Can’t Megumi swim?” he asked, tilting his head.
“No.”
“Then I’ll save Megumi. Older Brother can swim,” he answered calmly.
Having been interrogated with the twenty-nine questions, he seemed to understand the essence of such inquiries quite well.
He had automatically learned to preempt the answer. “Even if Older Brother couldn’t swim, I would still save Megumi first. Because Megumi is a woman, and Older Brother is a man; furthermore, Older Brother’s body is healthier and stronger, allowing him to endure longer in the water than Megumi.”
Ah… he really had considered this question seriously from every angle, giving a calm and accurate answer.
I believed he would act exactly as he said. It didn’t seem like sweet talk at all it felt like I was “taking advantage of being a woman” but my heart was filled with sweetness. I sighed, “Alright, I’ll consider that a pass.”
“A pass?”
I said, “Uh-huh. Do you know what our relationship is now?”
“I… I don’t know. You haven’t admitted that I am your family yet.”
“Ta-da! We are boyfriend and girlfriend! Your answers to my questions were also my answers to you. I won’t mind if you get old, ugly, or have a bad temper…”
“Boyfriend and girlfriend?”
I looked at his confused expression and explained, “…It means you belong to me, and I belong to you! It’s a connection tighter than family, a relationship where we can have more physical contact!”
I gave him a look of wild, crazy suggestion.
“That is truly wonderful.” He gripped my hand tightly, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
Don’t be satisfied so fast! Damn it! The atmosphere is perfect, why don’t you do something!
I felt a bit dissatisfied with his plain-expressioned face. If only it were a bit more expressive…
“Boyfriends and girlfriends have to be loyal to each other.” I narrowed my eyes. He still hadn’t noticed my slightly unfriendly tone.
“Hmm, of course,” he said.
“Explain why you picked up that handkerchief for Mosa?”
I had always treated her as my biggest competitor, and I was still holding a grudge about it; I couldn’t keep it inside.
“Mosa?”
“The pretty girl in town who always comes to buy cakes!”
“Oh, the one you mentioned last time… her name is Mosa?”
I twitched the corner of my mouth. Didn’t she tell you her name very solemnly?
“Yes, that’s her.”
He recalled the scene and described it straightforwardly, “At the time, her handkerchief dropped, so I picked it up and returned it to her.”
Then he looked at me: Is something wrong?
Suddenly, I felt a sense of powerlessness in my heart. “Hmm, now that you put it that way, it doesn’t seem like much.”
He didn’t even remember her name; why did I think they liked each other? If I had just asked him one more question, I would have known the answer, but because of my own wild speculation, I almost missed out.
“Anyway, don’t pick it up in the future.”
I wouldn’t tell him Mosa liked him. If he hadn’t noticed before, and I reminded him, it might actually lead to an affair…
That’s how it always happens in soap operas!
Even a 0.0000001% chance is still a possibility!
He nodded, looking like he half-understood.
“Hey~ am I being too overbearing?” I tugged his sleeve, asking quietly and uneasily.
“I don’t feel that way. Megumi must have a reason for saying that.”
He might… be one of those ‘mindless wife-protecting maniacs.’
I couldn’t help but let my smile widen.
I’ve become headstrong; it’s all his fault!
“It’s so far away. Are we not there yet?” We’d been talking for so long.
“Almost there. Just a little further.”
“I’m tired. Will you carry me on your back?”
Without a second thought, he crouched down halfway. I climbed onto his back and wrapped my arms around his neck.
I stared at his profile out of boredom. Like a child, I couldn’t help but start touching his earrings… they weren’t as fragile as they looked; they were actually quite flexible, with moderate thickness. I didn’t know if it was my imagination, but they seemed to have a temperature.
After playing with the earrings for a while, I moved my fingers up and touched his earlobe. For fun, I used my index finger and thumb to pinch and rub the small, fleshy bead.
Then the ear cartilage… the tip of his ear.
His entire left ear was turned bright red and hot by my playing, presenting a stark contrast to his pale right ear.
I had long since felt his back muscles gradually tensing up, the rising heat radiating through the fabric…
He endured and endured, lifted me higher on his back, and finally turned his face away to avoid my hand, saying in a tone suppressing his helplessness:
“Megumi, please don’t touch my ears anymore. It feels… a bit strange…”