The Shape of Happiness: A Family Crumbling Due to the Mother's Infidelity, a Wounded Middle School Daughter, and a Struggling Father Finding a New Form of Happiness. - Episode 10

At the welcome party for new employees at my workplace, I met Shinichi Takagi. He was the same age as me and a fresh graduate. He wasn’t particularly handsome, just an ordinary guy… but for some reason, I found him intriguing. Unlike the other new graduates, he didn’t have a flashy vibe and seemed serious. But, guys like him can sometimes turn into beasts in bed, right?

As I kept glancing at him, the seat next to Shinichi became vacant, so I casually stood up.

“Hey, Akiko-chan, are you going somewhere?”

“Sorry, just going to the bathroom…”

Maybe it was the alcohol, but a senior colleague at the same table started to jokingly approach me. I skillfully dodged him with a smile. It was annoying how he called me by my first name when we weren’t even close.

Pretending to go to the bathroom, I sat down next to Shinichi.

“Good evening.”

“Oh, good evening.”

“You’re Shinichi Takagi, right? The new graduate like me?”

“You’re… Akiko Nagata, right?”

“Wow! You remembered my name!”

“Yeah, I heard it during the new employee introductions. Thanks for remembering mine too.”

Shinichi smiled shyly, his cheeks turning a little red.

We continued chatting happily, and he didn’t come on too strong, making the conversation comfortable. What was different about him compared to other guys? It was a strange feeling.

“…Takagi-san, would you like to talk more at my place?”

After the welcome party ended, people scattered outside the izakaya—some going home, others heading to karaoke or a second party. I turned down the invitations from others and decided to ask Shinichi. I wanted to talk more with him, and I wanted him to desire me. But—

“Nagata-san, you live alone, right? I can’t come over.”

—I was rejected flat out. Normally, a regular guy would happily follow along.

“I don’t want to do anything that would hurt you.”

His words made my heart race. I had invited him, but he rejected me! Was he not interested in me? Normally, I would think that way.

But it wasn’t like that. It wasn’t about lacking courage. This guy was different from the others I’d been with.

Shinichi’s troubled smile carried warmth and care. He genuinely didn’t want to make me uncomfortable. Then, he grinned.

“There’s a bar nearby, how about we talk there?”

Oh, I see, he wanted to get me drunk—

“They have a lot of non-alcoholic cocktails there. You didn’t drink much earlier, so I thought that might be better.”

Shinichi was pleasantly surprising me with his thoughtful approach.

“Yes, I’d love to go. Let’s go together.”

Shinichi smiled with happiness at my response.

“Alright, let’s go. They even have tasting options at that place!”

“Though, I might end up gaining weight.”

“True! We should be careful not to overdo it!”

“Hahaha!”

Shinichi and I disappeared into the nightlife district.

The places you spend the night with a man aren’t only on a bed.

It was Shinichi who taught me that simple truth.

The following week, at the office building…

“Hey, did you hear? Nagata-san from the general affairs department is apparently a huge slut!”

One afternoon, as I was walking back from the bathroom and heading to my office, I heard my name being shouted from behind the door of the break room. The words were filled with contempt. I froze in place.

“Nagata-san is the new graduate, right?”

“Yeah! My junior in college knows her, and he says if you ask, she’ll sleep with anyone for free. She was apparently famous for that throughout the university!”

“Anyone for free?!”

“Yeah! She first hooked up with someone in a club, and they said she’d follow anyone easily and just do it. Then after playing around with her, they started spreading rumors, telling everyone she was like a public toilet!”

“Rumors?”

“Yeah, a ‘public toilet’ that’s free for anyone! The rumor spread throughout the whole university.”

I felt like I had been hit on the head with a heavy blunt object.

I had thought I was the one playing with the men. I had thought of myself as the goddess of love who controlled men. But reality was different. I was just a dumping ground for men’s desires. I had no idea that I was known as “the public toilet” in university. The shock was so overwhelming, I couldn’t even cry.

I thought back on my foolish actions. I regretted them deeply, but it felt like regret wasn’t enough. Would people start seeing me the same way here at this company? A huge wave of anxiety rose from deep inside me. I was frozen in front of the break room door.

But then, I heard a voice from inside the room…

“Can we stop talking about that? It’s really making me uncomfortable.”

It was Shinichi’s voice.