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 36

One month after the condemnation—

In the morning, the parking lot of Super Matsunaga, which was usually full of cars belonging to many shoppers, was completely empty.

“We will be temporarily closed.”

A large sign with these words was posted on the inside of the automatic doors, which were turned off.

Inside the dimly lit store, only the office in the back room had a light on. A man sat at a desk, holding his head in his hands with a pained expression. It was Atsushi.

“Why… why did this happen…?”

Atsushi muttered his regret. No matter how many times he said those words, there was no answer.

On the day of the condemnation, his parents dragged him back to their home, where they scolded and hit him all night. The next morning, he staggered back to his house, but Ryoko was gone. Reality hit him hard. He wanted to take a break from the store, but that wasn’t an option. So, with his swollen face, he went to work.

The first big problem was the sudden resignation of the six part-time workers he had affairs with. In a small, privately owned supermarket, losing so many workers at once was a major issue. However, as stated in the settlement agreements, he could not contact them. Most likely, their husbands had made similar agreements with them. Atsushi adjusted the schedules of the remaining part-timers and temporary workers to get through the crisis.

One week after the condemnation, the store’s sales had noticeably dropped. Even sales events didn’t attract customers. The rival supermarket in the shopping mall wasn’t even holding special sales, yet business was bad. Atsushi was puzzled.

He soon found out why. Customers at the store were talking about his affairs. Gossip had spread throughout the neighborhood. The customers, mostly housewives, were sharp. When they heard that the store manager had been having affairs with part-time workers and using the company car to visit love hotels, they naturally assumed he was abusing his position. The looks directed at him, as he wore his “Store Manager: Matsunaga” badge, were cold.

Two weeks after the condemnation, all remaining part-timers and temporary workers told him they were quitting. In other words, Atsushi would be the only one left. Even when he offered to increase their wages, their decision did not change. They all had the same opinion.

“I can’t take it anymore. If I keep working here, people will think I was involved in the affairs.”

Some married workers said their jobs were causing problems in their families. Some students said their relationships with their partners had worsened. Atsushi desperately tried to convince them to stay, but they looked at him with disgust. In the end, all of them quit two weeks later. He urgently posted job openings with high salaries.

Three weeks after the condemnation, several suppliers came to take back their products. When Atsushi asked why, they explained that the bank had withdrawn its loans due to his affairs, employees were quitting in large numbers, and there was a risk of bankruptcy. So, they had come to retrieve their goods. The shelves were left with only the minimum stock needed for sales, while the rest was taken away. When other suppliers heard about this, they also came to collect their goods.

With empty shelves, sales continued to drop. Soon, all employees had quit. There were no applications for new hires. Without stock or workers, the store’s fate was sealed. The money was running out. Bankruptcy was inevitable.

The negative cycle would not stop. Atsushi’s parents never showed up at the store. He didn’t know what to do. He was terrified as time passed, indifferent to his suffering.

Today, he decided that continuing business was impossible and temporarily closed the store. The few customers who arrived, unaware of the closure, smirked as they left.

Atsushi sat in the office, holding his head in despair.

Click.

“Hello, store manager~!”

The ones who entered were his parents and Sakuma, a member of the underworld.

Bang!

His father slammed a document onto the long office table. With eyes filled with hatred, he glared at Atsushi, who picked up the document and read it.

“…! Th-this is…!”

“Super Matsunaga is being sold—land, building, everything—to a major supermarket chain. The money will be used to pay off the debts. This place will become a branch of the big chain. Super Matsunaga is closing.”

“Closing!?”

“Your mother and I will work at the new store—she in accounting, and I in backroom management. Because someone was too busy having affairs, we lost everything! Everything!”

“……”

Atsushi couldn’t say anything.

“Sakuma introduced us to the company. He explained that this store was a necessary part of the community and had a profitable market.”

Atsushi looked at Sakuma in shock.

“I owed a lot to your grandparents when I was a kid. I don’t want this store to disappear. But continuing under the name ‘Super Matsunaga’ is impossible. So, I found another way to keep it running.”

Tears ran down Atsushi’s face. Because of his foolish actions, he had ruined many families, hurt the people close to him, and ultimately destroyed the store. No amount of regret would ever be enough.

Seeing him like this, Sakuma grinned.

“Alright. You’re coming with me.”

“…What?”

“You need to pay the compensation money.”

“!”

“Clean up your own mess. Now, get up.”

With his face pale, Atsushi stood up and followed Sakuma out of the office.

As he passed his mother, she muttered:

“…I wish I had never given birth to you…”

Atsushi stopped and glared at her.

“A parent who abandons their child has no right to call themselves a parent.”

He turned his glare to his father.

“Did you ever love me as a son?”

For the first time, Atsushi spoke his true feelings. Deep inside, he wanted to scream, I wanted you to love me! Why didn’t you love me?! If he had grown up feeling his parents’ love, maybe his twisted way of thinking wouldn’t have developed. The weight of his words left his parents speechless.

A black luxury car was parked at the loading dock. The driver opened the back door.

“Get in.”

Atsushi silently obeyed and got into the backseat.

Sakuma sat beside him and spoke.

“You’ve been through a lot. But don’t blame others. There was someone who truly loved you. You were the one who betrayed them. The reason you’re here now—it’s all your fault. Don’t get it twisted.”

Ryoko’s gentle smile appeared in Atsushi’s mind. The pain in his chest was unbearable. He buried his head in his hands.

“Let’s go.”

The black car drove away from Super Matsunaga. It sped toward the highway. When Atsushi turned around, the store was already out of sight.