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 12

After getting married, I worked hard together with Shinichi. We saved desperately to afford a down payment. Finally, we bought a house! It’s our dream home. I’m deeply thankful to Shinichi for all his hard work. Misaki is growing up and requires less attention, so I feel like my time as a busy mom has settled down. It was around this time I began to feel a little restless.

One day, I decided to go shopping at “Super Matsunaga,” a supermarket farther away with a better selection, instead of my usual one. After finishing my shopping and packing everything into my eco-bag, I noticed a flyer placed on the packing station. Curious, I picked one up to check if I’d forgotten anything, or to see if there were any bargains or upcoming sales. That’s when my eyes landed on this—

“Part-Time and Casual Staff Wanted! Come work with us!”

—It was a job advertisement tucked into the corner of the flyer.

The thought of “working” caught my interest. It wasn’t because we were struggling financially. Shinichi was doing well at work, and he was climbing the career ladder. But I felt that working could help with household expenses, and more than that, I thought it might give me a new sense of purpose in life.

“I was thinking… I’d like to work part-time.”

When I shared this with Shinichi, he immediately said yes. He even told me to keep all the money I earned as my personal allowance. I felt so lucky to have such an understanding husband.

I quickly bought a résumé form and made an appointment for an interview.

“My name is Atsushi Matsunaga, the store manager,” he said.

On the day of the interview, I was led into the office at Super Matsunaga. I sat across a long desk from the manager for the interview. He looked to be a little older than me. He had short, light brown hair and seemed a bit flashy, but as the manager, he must be good at his job. He alternated between looking at my résumé and at me.

“Akiko Takagi, right?”
“Y-yes!”

The manager put the résumé down on the desk, looked up, and smiled warmly.

“We’d love to have you work with us.”
“Re-really? Thank you so much!”
“With someone as lovely as you, I’m sure our sales will go up.”
“Oh, Manager, you’re too kind!”
“No, no, I’m known for being honest to a fault.”

We both burst out laughing. With such a cheerful manager, I felt like working there would be a lot of fun. My heart was full of hope.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

“Ms. Nagata, as a thank-you for all your hard work, how about joining me for a meal? I know you’ve turned me down before, but I thought I’d ask again.”

It had been three months since I started working. This was not the first time the manager had invited me to dinner. I’d refused every time, but with his kind smile and repeated invitations, I started to feel guilty about always saying no. It didn’t seem like he had any bad intentions, and he knew I was married.

“All right,” I said.

I gave in. It was just dinner. It wasn’t like I was going to have an affair. Maybe if I went once, he’d be satisfied and stop asking.

The manager looked delighted, and while I forced a smile, I thought to myself, “One dinner can’t hurt.”

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

I expected something casual, like an izakaya, but it turned out to be French cuisine at a high-end hotel’s private dining room. I was shocked. The food was incredible, and I never imagined the dinner would be this fancy.

“Ms. Nagata, please relax. Here, you don’t need to worry about table manners or anything like that,” the manager said.

I didn’t know much about proper dining etiquette, so his words made me feel at ease. Thanks to that, I could enjoy the conversation, and we had a great time talking.

After the meal, there was a short pause. I thought the evening was about to end. That’s when it happened.

“Ms. Nagata… May I say something without you laughing at me?”
“Of course.”
“Ms. Nagata… no, Akiko. I love you.”
“What!?”
“I know I shouldn’t say this, but ever since I first saw you, I felt like you were my destiny…”

My heart started pounding.

“Manager, I have a husband…”
“I know! I know that… but I can’t lie about my feelings.”
“But you’re married too…”
“My wife doesn’t love me. She doesn’t even talk to me anymore.”
“I see…”
“Akiko, I’ll say it again. I love you. I truly love you.”

I couldn’t calm my racing heart.

The manager then placed a hotel room keycard in front of me.

“If my feelings seem foolish or make you uncomfortable, I’ll take you home right now. I would never force anything on the person I believe to be my destiny. But… if you can even slightly understand my love for you…”

His sincere gaze made my heart waver.

I thought, “There’s a man who wants me this much.”

At that moment, thoughts of my family completely disappeared from my mind.

I slowly reached out and picked up the keycard.

“…Just this once… You have to promise it’s only this once.”

Something deep inside me, long dormant, began to stir again—