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 21

“Mr. Takagi, thank you for coming all the way here. I apologize for the trouble.”

“No, not at all. Thank you for everything you’ve done.”

In a room in a shared office building, Shinichi bowed to the staff member at the private investigation agency. He was led into a reception area with a low table, a sofa, and a TV.

The staff placed a heavy, thick file on the table. A sticker with the words “Investigation Report” was affixed to the cover.

The staff member, now serious, faced Shinichi.

“Mr. Takagi, I’ll get straight to the point.”

“Yes.”

“Your wife, Akiko, is guilty.”

“……”

Though Shinichi had already suspected this, hearing it said so directly still hit hard.

“…And the person involved?”

“The manager of the part-time job at Super Matsunaga, Atsushi Matsunaga.”

“The part-time job…”

“I’ll show you some photographic evidence.”

The staff opened the thick file on the table.

There were pictures of Akiko and the store manager walking together with their arms linked, a photo of their company car entering a hotel, and another of them embracing and kissing in the car. These were all images that Shinichi could barely bear to look at.

The staff member continued explaining.

“From what we’ve observed, on the days your wife works part-time, she would definitely go to the hotel, among other places. When leaving the supermarket, she tried to hide in the car… but… it was pointless. It’s a mystery that no one’s talking about it. The manager is also unusual—driving a company car with the store’s name and going to a hotel. I believe he’s an idiot with no common sense.”

Shinichi held his head in his hands. He couldn’t understand why Akiko had fallen for a man like this.

“Also… there were other incidents outside the hotel.”

“Huh?”

Shinichi made an odd noise without thinking.

“They also had encounters in a free parking lot at the prefectural nature park. At night, inside the car.”

This was the same place he had met Aika’s father. It was true that there weren’t many people around, but hearing that they had done such things there left Shinichi speechless.

“We’ve got footage of it.”

“!”

“We were able to capture the footage clearly enough that Akiko’s face is clearly visible. It’s quite a shocking video… Would you like to see it?”

Honestly, Shinichi didn’t want to see it. However, if he didn’t, he couldn’t move forward.

He slowly nodded.

The staff prepared a laptop and inserted a USB drive that seemed to contain the recorded data. Then, they connected the laptop to the TV via HDMI, and the laptop screen appeared on the TV.

“We’ll play it now. Is that alright?”

“Yes, please.”

The staff double-clicked on the video file, and the footage began to play. The image on the large TV screen showed the two of them in the back of the company van. The private investigators, being professionals, had filmed them without the couple noticing. The clear footage felt like torture to Shinichi as he had to keep watching.

How long had he been watching them in the car? Shinichi gritted his teeth, just staring at the TV.

Eventually, the couple, who had been lost in their frenzy, stopped. The man who had been on top of Akiko slowly pulled away—

“!”

—The man hadn’t used any protection.

A violent wave of nausea surged through Shinichi as if his stomach had flipped over. The staff quickly handed him a plastic blue bucket.

“Ugh…”

“Mr. Takagi, are you alright?”

“Ugh…”

Shinichi’s vomit splashed into the bucket, carrying with it the faint love he had left for Akiko.

“Get some water, and bring a towel.”

“Yes, right away.”

Another staff member brought a bottle of mineral water and a towel to the table. It seemed like this happened often, as no one appeared to be in a rush.

“Ugh…ugh…”

Even though there was nothing left to throw up, Shinichi couldn’t stop the intense nausea. He buried his face in the bucket, tears and snot dripping down. The staff gently rubbed his back.

After a while, Shinichi finally calmed down.

“I’m sorry for making a mess in your office…”

“No, no, it’s no problem at all… Mr. Takagi.”

“Yes…”

“Mr. Takagi… it’s clear that you truly loved your wife.”

“…”

“I think that’s why you had such a strong reaction. Many people would have been able to turn away, but not to that extent. You were able to watch until the end because you were thinking of your daughter, right? I understand how you feel, I have a daughter too.”

Tears ran down Shinichi’s cheeks.

The staff handed the thick file in front of Shinichi.

“The second half of this file isn’t directly related to your request. We are providing it to you as a free service. How you use it is up to you.”

“Yes… I’ll review it later…”

“Also, we can introduce you to a lawyer who specializes in divorce. With this evidence, there shouldn’t be any problems, but if you want to make sure you put pressure on your wife and the man, we can help. Feel free to contact us anytime.”

And so, the investigation was over.

Shinichi, still trying to suppress the nausea that was rising again, grabbed the heavy report and got into his car.

“First, I need to go over the report with my mother-in-law…”

Shinichi headed to Saori’s house.