In the evening, my son Keita came home later than normal despite school ending in the afternoon. He shook his shoes off in the foyer and clamored into the living room. A big smile adorned his face.
"Mom! Mom, guess what?" Keita exclaimed.
"It's six, and you're about to apologize for coming home late? Where were you?" I scolded him from the kitchen.
Keita rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, I went to Satoshi's house to play. But get this! Principal Iwata called me into his office after school. He told me there's a high school in Osaka that takes mid-term transfers!"
The wooden spoon dropped from my hand. It settled into stir-fry vegetables sizzling in the wok. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Keita would be going to school in one of the biggest cities in the country. Principal Iwata actually held his word.
"Mom, you're gonna burn the veggies!" Keita warned.
"That's great!" I deftly snatched the ladle back up. "Your transfer progress, I mean. Are you excited? You're working hard in school to make sure it happens, right?"
"Of course, I am. What do you take me for? A liar? I said I'd start giving it my all," he said.
Guilt tugged at the arteries of my heart. Was it really because of Keita's hard work? Only I knew the truth, and it wouldn't ruin just my family if that came out. The whole village of Togetsu might shun us. I'd lose my husband, too.
With every day that I continued to play the NTL app, my sin grew just as much. By now, Satoshi, Principal Iwata, Mr. Shiraishi, and Akemi were involved. If any one of them came out with what I did, my life would be ruined. While absentmindedly stirring the vegetables to a crispy finish, Keita's joyful recounting of his day at school seemed to drown out. I wasn't able to hear anything. The green and red bell peppers, onions, broccoli, and mushrooms swirled within the wok, entangled with one another like I was with some of the village men.
"Keita, can you grab the plate?" I glanced over my shoulder, but my son was already gone. Probably in his room by now. Sighing, I took the wok off the stove to grab one myself. Dinner was ready. All there was left to do was wait for Tetsu to come home.
Then, as though fate had given my husband a cue, the door swung open. I lifted a glad gaze only for him to come in with a group of men. The smile on my face flipped to a frown. My hope of a quiet dinner with my family, dashed by their intrusion.
"Hey, Marika… I'm back, and I, uh… brought a couple of work friends, too." Tetsu lowered his head apologetically.
This wouldn't have been a big problem if one among them wasn't Nick Guo. The big man strolled in as if he owned the place. He plopped right down into the middle of the couch, throwing his arms out on the backrest.
"Thanks for having us over, Marika!" Guo grinned.
"Tetsu, what is this?" I put both hands on my hips.
"I told Boss Guo he could come over for dinner. Wanted to thank him for driving me and the others to work every day. I sent you a text, too. Didn't you get it?" Tetsu asked.
I checked my phone and sure enough, I had received a text from Tetsu much earlier in the day. He informed me exactly. Looking at the time, it would have been around when I was at Principal Iwata's place.
"I'm sorry, Tetsu. I missed your text. I was busy at the time," I said.
"Busy with what?" Guo butted in.
The answer caught in my throat. There was no way I could say.
"Oh, it's fine." Tetsu glanced at the table where I'd prepared dinner. "Looks like we won't have enough food for everyone though."
"No, I'll make more. You all just sit tight," I insisted anxiously.
Tetsu introduced the others to me first. Fumi, short for Fuminori, was a tall and lanky man in his 40s. He sported tarnished glasses that were in need of replacing years ago. Haruo was an acquaintance of Tetsu's from another village who I'd met before. Although in his early 20s, his head was already clean-shaven and complexion a dark tan from being under the sun so often. Tetsu had told me once Haruo didn't like wearing a sunhat or putting on sunscreen. Finally, there was Eisuke. He shared the same age as Fumi, but the bags under his eyes and receding hairline made him appear much older.
I didn't need an introduction for Guo, but Tetsu gave him one anyway out of courtesy. Aside from Guo, Tetsu and the other three tended to work together on farms around Kumamoto on a rotating basis. Together, they were a raucous bunch. I brought them beer from the fridge. When I handed a can to Guo, he briefly grabbed my hand on purpose. I didn't want to make a fuss and returned to the kitchen. While he was on the couch, the other men didn't dare sit near. Instead, they grabbed foldout chairs or sat on the floor.
Keita suddenly poked his head into the living room, taking a gander of how many more people were in the house.
"Are we having a party? Does this mean I can call Satoshi over for a sleepover?" Keita asked.
"I don't think that's a good idea," I said, worrying about what the NTL app might do with so many men in the house.
"Please? I gotta deserve something for getting into a new school!" my son pleaded.
"Wait, really? Why didn't you tell me earlier, Marika? Keita, that's amazing! Come here, you. I'm so proud!" Tetsu wrangled our boy and gave him a nuggie.
"Well, I was hoping we'd get a chance to talk about it, but then you brought some guests home. And it isn't a given yet. Keita still needs to be on his toes in school," I reminded him.
"Sounds like a cause for celebration!" Guo thrusted himself into the conversation. "Let your kid have his fun. He's gonna leave this dump and be a city slicker."
"Okay, Keita. Satoshi can come over." I relented, knowing that would add another mouth to feed.
My son cheered, and so did the entire room. The evening turned out to be a noisy one. Any neighbor passing by would think we were having a party, when it was just a friendly get-together dinner. I exhausted the fridge of food to make everyone something to eat. There was nothing inside now except for half a head of lettuce, some carrots, and salted edamame.
I let Keita and Satoshi eat in my son's bedroom. The smell of beer and sweat quickly filled the small living room from five grown men occupying it. They had come straight home from working under the sun, too, and probably haven't washed up yet. Tetsu and the others mostly talked about work. Guo frequently brought up the topic of women. He steered the discussion into a vulgar direction, talking about soaplands, prostitutes, and what type he preferred. Tetsu stayed out of those talks, even though the rest were more than enthusiastic to keep it going.
Come to think of it, none of my husband's coworkers were married. At least the ones present in this house. They were born from villages that were also in decline and likely had trouble finding partners.
As the evening winded down, I washed the many dishes left behind from our large dinner. Thankfully, they cleared the plates. We had no leftovers. Men were the most hungry after work. Beer cans were stacked into a pyramid on the coffee table, and they didn't seem to be finished yet despite being hammered. When I went to pick them up, I felt the leering gazes of four drunk men on me. Even though I'd since changed out of Shiraishi's wife's clothes and into a more modest outfit, that didn't stop them.
A foul thought crossed my mind. What if Tetsu wasn't here? Another thought tormented me as I picked up another can into a bag. What kind of round would the NTL app make me play? These questions made my lower body tense and heated up.
Needing some air to cool down, I took the trash out even though the bins in the house weren't full yet. A welcome breeze caressed me as I took the first step outside. Bright stars undeterred by pollution in Kumamoto shone down on our tiny village. Even out here, I was able to hear everyone's chattering inside. I put the bags down at the curb, where a collector would come to collect everyone's trash to bring down to the nearest city's waste disposal.
Oftentimes, insects and animals get to the bags. But the collector only came by once every two weeks because of how remote Togetsu was. I tossed a net over the trash to keep out racoons, but the bag containing beer cans spilled out. Aluminum clattered and rolled across the ground. I cursed under my breath. When Keita transfers school to a big city, he wouldn't have to deal with these little inconveniences. I just wanted to give him a better life than one in a deteriorating village.
"Makina—"
I jumped with fright. It was Eisuke. He had come out of the house with a can in hand. His kindly demeanor was darkened with a shade of red from all the beer he drank.
"I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to toss my empty can." Eisuke bowed his balding head.
"No, it's alright. I can take that for you," I said and reached out.
"I'm out here anyway. Let me help pick these up," he insisted, keeping the one in his hand and kneeling down to start picking up the others.
I dropped to the ground to do the same.
"Sorry for having you do this. Looks like I didn't tie the bag tight enough," I explained.
"Don't worry about it. Must be tough doing all the housework. Tetsu's always in the fields, but he tells me you go around helping the whole village! If I had a beautiful wife like you, I'd grit through it after coming home and give you a hand," Eisuke offered with a soft laugh that bounced his beer belly.
"Hehe. You're sweet, thank you. I'm sure there's plenty of women in your village who would be happy to be your wife." I smiled courteously.
"Aha! You think so? Unfortunately, there's not a lot of bachelorettes left in my village. I'm also getting on in years. I bet if my parents had given birth to me in Togetsu, we would've met and been a happy couple!" he exclaimed.
My brain stopped working, and my hand froze hovering over an aluminum can. I wasn't sure how to respond and simply humored him with laughter. We returned to the house, where the other four were still seated in the living room. The television was turned on to a news channel talking about a coming heatwave in the next week.
"What took you two so long out there? Got busy?" Guo sneered with vulgar implication.
"Hey, come on! My wife would never. She's as loyal as they come by!" Tetsu exclaimed, followed by a hiccup.
"One of the trash bags spilled. Eisuke was just helping me throw everything back in," I explained, glaring at my husband's boss.
"It was because we drank too much beer. The bag was bursting!" Eisuke erupted in laughter.
The men never ran out of things to talk about. My house only fell quiet because they passed out in the living room an hour before midnight, too smashed to keep awake. Boss Guo had taken up the entire couch. Eisuke, Fumi, and Haruo were sprawled out on the floor. I tried smacking Tetsu awake to get him to bed, but he passed out and was more dead weight than a sack of potatoes.
I gave up and decided to head to bed alone, but not before taking a bath to wash off all the sweat and grime. As I sank into the warm waters, its embrace did little to soothe me. Not even the thought that Keita would be going to a better school. So many opportunities were going to open up for him. College being one, a chance that Tetsu and I— as well as so many others in Togetsu— didn't have. I should be overjoyed, but my heart remained heavy. Him leaving meant I'd see him so much less often.
"Is letting him transfer really a good idea?" I wondered aloud and swished the water around me.
My phone buzzed. Dread welled within the depths of my chest. Just what I needed right now. Another problem. I feared it was the NTL app and hoped it was just a late text from Akemi. To my horror, another round had started.
[Walk out wearing nothing.] +5,000pts
[Walk out wearing only underwear.] +3,000pts
[Walk out and instigate a gangbang.] +125,000pts
[Random Choice for x2 points], [Reroll Choices -500pts], [Upgrade a Choice]
I blanked out looking at the third choice that I definitely wasn't going to choose. It was incredibly late, and everyone was fast asleep. Earning a little extra points shouldn't be a problem. My thumb lingered over the first choice, but curiosity fastened my gaze on the [Upgrade a Choice] option. This meant I could earn more points, right? But the choice was certainly going to involve something more… intense.
Swallowing my hesitation, I selected [Upgrade a Choice] and applied it to [Walk out wearing nothing.] The first option exploded with fanfare. Saya, the digital avatar, flew in and grabbed the text. It deformed in her grasp like fabric. She pulled it away to reveal another, [Walk out wearing nothing for the rest of the night.] +7,000pts. Saya saluted me.
"Okay. Easy. The entire house is sleeping. My room is just a short walk from the bathroom." I psyched myself up, then got out to dry myself and begin the trek.
It dawned on me, standing in front of the door, that this could go terribly wrong. My quickening pulse was proof of that. Someone could be on the other side, waiting to use the bathroom. What then? Regardless, I couldn't stay inside the bathroom forever. I opened the door stark naked, clothes and towel in hand. My bedroom was within sight and just a few paces away, but not more than one step forward and Keita's door creaked open.
Satoshi came out, and my stomach dropped. I tasted sandpaper on my tongue. We stood there in the hallway, his eyes taking in the full sight of my naked body until I came to my senses. My arms snapped up to hide my private bits. I hurried to my room and closed the door behind me, but a foot wedged in. Satoshi entered, shutting it behind him and backing me up to my bed.
"Satoshi, what are you doing…?" I asked meekly, never more weak in my life than now.
"Mrs. Kashiwagi, I can't stop thinking about you! I know you're married, but p-p-please have sex with me! I-I even bought a condom," Satoshi begged.
"What? No, I can't! We can't. It's not too late to forget this ever happened. Just go back to Keita's room… If Tetsu comes in now and sees this…" I didn't even want to fathom how fast this sight would ruin my life.
Satoshi stepped away. His shoulders slackened. He looked down at his own two feet with misty-eyed shame.
"I'm sorry… I'm not sure what came over me. When I saw you naked in the hallway, I just…" Satoshi swallowed the rest of his sentence, head bowing repeatedly.
While that was happening, I almost put on my clothes. I stopped. Doing so would fail the game and incur consequences. For now, I just needed to somehow get Satoshi out of my room.
"Hey, don't cry. What's wrong?" I laid a trembling hand on his shoulder.
"Keita told me it looks like he will actually transfer. He's my only friend. I don't have a girlfriend. I see the old men around Togetsu and think that's going to be me one day. Am I going to end up all alone?" Satoshi lifted his head and asked.
I wasn't sure what went over me. I wrapped my arms around him. Satoshi might be eighteen, but he still had a lot of growing up to do. He buried his face into my shoulder. Tetsu and I were lucky to have each other. It made living in Togetsu bearable. Satoshi, on the other hand, would have no one if Keita left.
"You're going to find a wonderful girl one day. You still have your parents, too. I'll be here if you ever need someone to talk to," I said.
"Is that… okay? To talk to you and come by to hang out in Keita's room?" Satoshi sniffled.
"More than welcome." I stroked the back of his head, comforting him as a parent would.
"Thanks, Mrs. Kashiwagi… and… You can let go now…" he murmured.
It was then I felt his erection pressing against my thigh. Oh, no. And I was hugging him naked. What the hell was I doing? I quickly let go and ushered Satoshi out. When I was finally alone in my room, I slumped into bed and heaved a sigh. He was so hard just now. My hand wandered to the damp spot between my legs. We were a three-letter word answer away from actually having an affair. That was close. But if I had said yes…
I slipped two fingers into myself, recalling the pleasure Mr. Shiraishi and Principal Iwata's touch inflicted on me. I was so wet. From entrance all the way in. Thumbing my clitoris quickly brought me to an orgasm.
"Ugh, Tetsu. Why did you have to be passed out drunk?" I groaned.