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 18

After that, I made Okubo a concubine too and enjoyed her body. I took utmost care to ensure that my shifts with Koyanagi didn’t overlap as much as possible, avoiding any clashes. This level of control is a testament to my power as the manager and king, showcasing my ability to coordinate. I plan to increase the number of concubines even further. I have to save many more women.

My father and mother were still as annoying as ever, but I handled them by simply saying, “Yes, I understand” or “I’m sorry,” keeping things peaceful.

The real problem was Ryoko. I wanted to break up with her, but her father was an executive at the bank that financed us. Cutting ties could put Super Matsunaga at risk, and I couldn’t let that happen. Besides, Ryoko wouldn’t accept it easily. What should I do…?

To me, Ryoko had become nothing more than an obstacle.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Home—

“Welcome home, Atsushi-kun.”

“Yeah…”

“You’re home early today. I made dinner.”

“I don’t need it.”

“I see…”

Ryoko put on a sad expression, which only irritated me.

“Oh! Then maybe I should pack lunch and dinner for you to eat at work? If you prefer it fresh, I can bring it—”

“I said I don’t need it!”

She started crying softly. It was frustrating.

“I just… I just want to help you, Atsushi-kun. I want to make sure you can work comfortably—”

“Help me? Make my work comfortable? Don’t be ridiculous!”

“Atsushi-kun…”

“You destroyed all my dreams and hopes!”

“Huh…?”

“What good are you if you can’t even have children?”

“…!”

I knew I shouldn’t have said it. But I couldn’t stop myself.

“I wanted a happy family! I wanted to see my children’s smiling faces! And who ruined that dream?!”

“Ugh… uhh…”

“My life is a mess! And it’s all your fault! What are you going to do about it?!”

Seeing Ryoko, who was hanging her head and shedding tears, I felt like breaking her.

“Hey, I’m in the mood. Let’s go to the bedroom and get undressed.”

“Eh…?”

“Just hurry up and go already! I’m telling you, I’ll hold you!”

“……Yes”

Ryoko trudged towards the bedroom. Annoyed by her demeanor, I grabbed the collar of her shirt, dragged her into the bedroom, and threw her onto the bed. With the force of tearing off her clothes and underwear, I stripped her and covered her face. I declared that I couldn’t do it while looking at her ugly face. I ordered her to keep quiet because it was depressing. I would trample all over her dignity. She kept sobbing throughout the act, but this was her punishment.

When I vented my anger and hatred, Ryoko silently got off the bed, trembling and staggering as she tried to leave the bedroom. So, I told her.

“I hope we have a child.”

For a moment, she stopped moving her body, but without looking back, Ryoko headed towards the bathroom.

I had no guilt at all. I felt refreshed and good, thinking that I had done it and given them their punishment.

I discovered a new value in Ryoko as “someone to vent my frustrations on”—

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Super Matsunaga Office —

A woman applying for a part-time job sat across from me at a long table. She was in her early 30s, slightly petite, with her chestnut hair styled in a medium inward curl. She says she is a full-time housewife. She’s quite a beauty.

“Akiko Takagi, correct?”

“Y-yes!”

I placed her resume on the table and looked up with a smile.

“I’d love to have you work here.”

“Really?! Thank you so much!”

“Someone as beautiful as you would surely help boost our store’s sales.”

“Oh my, manager, you’re quite the flatterer!”

“Not at all. I’m known for being an honest man.”

The sound of my and the woman’s laughter filled the office.

“If it’s with such a fun manager, I’m sure we can work happily together—”

—I bet she’s thinking that, this woman.

I had started to take on multiple concubines. The thrill of seducing and swapping women every day was something that couldn’t be replaced by anything else. However, I also felt a sense of dissatisfaction. It didn’t have to be real. I wanted something that made me feel love more intensely. Something more profound. Something that clung to me more. I wanted something like that. I set my sights on the woman in front of me, Akiko.

Unlike the other part-timers, she wasn’t struggling in life. That meant I had to make her believe that what we had was something deeper than what she shared with her husband. It had to be a slow process—never pushy, always natural. If she rejected me, I would just laugh it off and try again later. Any frustration I felt could be taken out on Ryoko—after all, that was her only “use” to me now.

There would only be one chance to make a move. If I failed, I would have to give up.

And then—

“…Just once… Promise me it’ll only be once…”

—Gotcha. Idiot. There’s no way it would end with just one time.

She had fallen for it. As if it would only be once.

Akiko, who had completely become the heroine of forbidden love, was intoxicated by her misunderstanding. Whispering love into her ear, I loved her over and over again. The ephemeral love that was born eventually. I wanted to melt together even more, to fall deeper and deeper. We surrendered ourselves to lust, trembling with the pleasure of infidelity, sinking into the bottomless swamp of sin.

I, Atsushi Matsunaga, “king” of Super Matsunaga. If you want to laugh at me for being the king of a tiny world, for being a naked king who doesn’t know the larger world, go ahead and laugh. Even so, I am the king who commands many women in this small world. That is my new “shape of happiness.” I will make this kingdom of happiness even more prosperous. Definitely.