I Was Helping My Friend When His Wife Cheated On Him, But He Claimed He Would Forgive Her Once, But The Bad Luck Keeps Coming - Episode 1

Ding-dong, ding-dong, the bell is ringing.

The sound of the wedding bells, the bells of happiness.

Ah, I see, this is my friend’s wedding.
A small thing that is only between close relatives.

Next to me is Ayaka, and there are also my friends Go and Akari.

With a gentle expression, the groom Tomoya, who is waiting for the bride Sumire, is looking sharp, a stark contrast to his usual timid demeanor. He must be extremely nervous inside.

The bride, Sumire, heading towards the groom, cannot have her expression seen through the veil, but her joyful atmosphere is palpable.

A girl walking in front of the bride, scattering petals from a basket along the aisle.

I was thinking how hard it would be to clean up later, like an idiot…
Was there a girl like that?

And also, the man on the opposite side… I can’t see his face very well.

There shouldn’t be anyone among the guests that I don’t know.
When I look at that guy, I feel sick…

Who is that guy?

When I tried to approach to greet, Ayaka grabbed my arm and stopped me.
When I turned my face, Ayaka continued to shake her head desperately without saying anything.

With their eyes, they are pleading, “Don’t go, don’t come near.”

It’s fine, I’m just going to say hello for a bit…
Saying that, I was about to go to that guy who makes me sick―――――

“Koichi!!! Noooooooooo!!!!”

And then, I woke up.

I was sleeping on the double bed, and next to me, my wife Ayaka was sleeping… breathing peacefully.

“It was a strange dream. But it feels nostalgic.”

When I stroked Ayaka’s cheek as she slept next to me, the unpleasant feelings I had just a moment ago quickly disappeared. I let out a light yawn, saying “let’s sleep,” and settled back in for another round of sleep.

There shouldn’t have been anyone other than acquaintances at the wedding… but it was a dream.

That day was different from usual; the pace of drinking was slow, and it was a quiet gathering.

I meet up with my two friends, Go and Tomoya, who I’ve known for 10 years, once a month. We vent and goof around, using it as a way to relieve stress. I’ve come to realize that being able to stay friends even in our 30s is largely due to our compatibility and the fact that we live close enough to meet up easily.

“So?”
“So… that’s why, Sumire might be cheating.”

All of a sudden, Tomoya hit me with something outrageous.

Sumire-san is one of the friends we are close with from our university.

He is so humble and sincere that it really doesn’t seem like he would cheat…

She was raised in a prestigious girls’ high school and seemed a bit timid, but that’s just not my type.

“Why do you think that, Tomoya? Not just because of the atmosphere or something vague, but did you find any evidence or something?”

While carefully removing the flesh from the bones of the hokke, Go mutters with half-hearted skepticism.

“Recently, I haven’t been coming home late… and I haven’t been going out frequently on my days off either. But there isn’t any definitive evidence… maybe.”

“Alright, dismissed~”

“No objection.”

“Wait a minute, I’m seriously troubled, so please listen to me~”

Seeing Tomoya, who was crying and speaking weakly, Takuya and I sighed and continued the conversation.

According to Tomoya, it seemed like it could have been a funny story due to his misunderstanding, but then more concerning points were found one after another.

I’ve started spending more time on my makeup than before, and I’ve also been wearing more sexy underwear.
I’ve been increasingly worried about his phone, and I’m starting to wonder if he might be cheating. And I was very anxious about it, so I wanted to discuss it at today’s gathering.

While sipping slowly, I think with my slightly tipsy head.

“In the end, without any evidence or catching them in the act, we can’t do anything just because you have a feeling. Go ask directly and see their reaction. Or we could hire a private investigator.”

“Well… I guess the only ones left to ask are Akari or Ayaka from Koichi’s place, huh?”

It’s a rather shabby concrete plan, but for now, this is about all we can do.

“Please! Koichi, Takeshi, casually ask the two of them… at this rate, I can only sleep at night.”

This guy is surprisingly composed.

With all that going on, I ended up asking my wife Ayaka to gather information from Akari, who is a mutual friend of Tohru and us.

―――――To cut to the chase, it was black.

When I asked Ayaka, it turned out that, whether it was good or bad timing, Sumire-san was in the middle of consulting about an affair.

It seems that while Sumire-san was comforting the part-time university student who was feeling down after being dumped by his girlfriend, the university student became more passionate and started making a fierce advance.

At first, I firmly declined, but as we worked together, we started to feel comfortable helping each other and being considerate… What the heck is that?

Even so, I rejected him because I have a husband, but he begged me just once to remember the past, and I was swayed by my emotions and ended up accepting? And just a few days ago, I was consulted while crying.

Ayaka immediately told Tomoya and apologized, saying he would forgive her, but Sumire-san wouldn’t listen, saying she was scared, so the persuasion is ongoing.

I wanted you to consult with me too, though.

I was told, “If you consult with Koichi, who is clueless about women’s subtleties, he’ll just tell you to break up,” and I felt really down.

When Tsuyoshi casually asked Akari about it, he was surprised to hear her say, “Even Sumire…”. He had noticed Sumire’s changes but hadn’t consulted with her, and it seemed he didn’t know about the infidelity either.

What do you mean by “until”… “until”? It’s scary.

I feel scared thinking that cheating is so common around me.

“So, uh… what are we going to do about this?”

We gathered at our usual bar, but since it was a serious matter, we rented a private room at the back of the shop and reported it to Tomoya… but…

Today, to align our information and share ideas, I wanted the women’s opinions as well, so I decided to gather five of us, including me, Tomoya, Takeshi, Ayaka, and Akari.

The six of us, including Sumire, used to hang out a lot because of our long-standing ties from university.

Regarding the extent of the infidelity, it seems that there was only one instance of sexual activity (according to Ayaka). There were also dates, kisses, and body touches… It definitely qualifies as cheating, doesn’t it?

As the dishes were laid out, Akari, holding a large mug, took the lead.

“Since there are also Ayaka’s testimonies, how about directly questioning Sumire and seeing what Tomoya-kun wants to do?”

As if to agree, Ayaka drinks her oolong tea while looking at Tomoya and nods repeatedly.

“I don’t want to break up with Sumire…”

“Wait, wait, that’s the last resort. The decision is fine.”

While elegantly eating hokke, Tsuyoshi stops Tomoya… Tsuyoshi really loves hokke, and he’s also great at using chopsticks.

“Let’s put aside thoughts about breaking up for now and hear what Tomoya is thinking. That’s where we start.”

When I said that, Tomoya hung his head and fell silent.

After a brief silence, as if convincing himself, he raised his face and declared,

“I want to have a proper talk with Sumire. And if you can stop cheating, I want to start over.”

He said it so clearly and firmly.

Tomoya tends to hesitate for a long time, but once he makes up his mind, he decides quickly.

“I have anger towards Sumire and I’m also disappointed. Still, I was the one who fell in love and confessed first. I’ll forgive the first infidelity. But next time, I’ll bind you and keep you close to the point where it will never happen again.”

Overwhelmed by Tomoya, who spoke with a serious expression, we couldn’t say anything.

“Are you really okay with that, Tomoya-kun? As Sumire’s friend, I wanted you two to talk it over, so I’m a bit relieved, but…”

Ayaka must have been nervous too; her voice sounds relieved.

“Yeah. Thank you, everyone. For going out of your way to gather and listen to my concerns.”

“Don’t worry about it. If Tomoya decided, I won’t say anything.”

“Yeah.”

After Tomoya’s policy was decided, we drank and ate like at a regular drinking party and then called it a night.

However, even though Tomoya made the decision, cheating is still cheating.

Will it end with forgiveness and being forgiven?

No one dared to touch it, but… feeling a slight unease, I left the store.

Malice lurks everywhere.

I’m waiting with bated breath.