When I started Suspecting my Wife of Cheating, I Somehow Ended up Living in the Middle of Nowhere - Episode 1

When I suspected my wife of cheating, I somehow ended up living in the middle of nowhere.

Well, let me tell you my slightly unusual story.

First, a bit about myself. My name is Kumagorou Zenpuku, 42 years old, middle school graduate. Sounds like a name for a bottle of shochu, but that’s my real name. I dropped out of high school because I couldn’t keep up with the studies. So yeah, technically a dropout. Currently, I work as a salesman for medical equipment. When doctors need something, no matter if it’s early morning or the middle of the night, I rush over with the supplies. That’s my job. My hobby? Going around home improvement stores.

As a middle school grad, I earn about 3 million yen a year. Seriously, at least finish high school. I have two daughters, so money’s always tight. My wife works part-time at a local supermarket to help out.

Now about my wife. Her name is Kiyomi Zenpuku, 34 years old. She’s only 156 cm tall and has a baby face. She’s 34, but people often mistake her for being sisters with our 16-year-old daughter. She loves that. She graduated high school, so she’s technically smarter than me. She was the one who pushed me into sales. At the supermarket, she works the register and stocks shelves. Recently, a new manager came in, and now she also gets to help with ordering supplies, which she was excited about.

I used to work in cleaning apartments and condos, but I was so overworked with no holidays all year that I collapsed in a parking lot. She was the one who found me and called an ambulance. After I recovered, I went to thank her with a small gift, we chatted at a coffee shop, and one thing led to another—we started dating and eventually got married.

We have two daughters. They’re absolutely adorable. The older one is 16 and in her first year of high school—a bit on the mellow side. The younger one is 14, in her second year of middle school. She’s mature for her age but lately tends to stay holed up in her room. My wife had been a little concerned about that.

If you’ve followed me this far, you’d probably think we’re just an ordinary family. I thought so too. But with just a tiny spark, our whole family fell apart.

○●○

What tips you off that your wife might be cheating? I looked it up online.

• Starts carrying her phone everywhere, even at home?
• Frequently texting or calling someone?
• Starts dressing more flashy?
• Has unfamiliar lingerie?
• Comes home late?
• Slacks off on housework?

In our case, all of the above applied. Isn’t that totally suspicious!?

I decided to find out if she was really cheating. According to the internet, the “standard procedure” is to avoid investigating on your own, hire a private detective agency to gather evidence, and then take it to a lawyer.

But apparently, if you’re hiring an agency, you need to narrow down the conditions, or you’ll go broke. I asked around, and one agency quoted 200,000 yen for two days. Is that normal? Do you and I have the same sense of money? That’s crazy expensive, right!?

But they explained—there’s a system to tailing someone. Even if you’re tracking just one person, they use at least two agents. If one person follows them the whole time, they might get noticed.

And if the subject is male, they send male investigators. If it’s a woman, they send female investigators. At least one same-gender agent is required. You can’t have a guy tailing a woman into the bathroom. Makes sense.

In my wife’s case, it turned out I didn’t need much effort to gather proof. There were two reasons.

One: At her part-time job, it was an open secret. Almost all the staff knew about it and were just pretending not to.

Two: She and the guy weren’t even trying to hide it. It was a new kind of affair—no shame or secrecy.

By then, my wife had already stopped coming home on weekends. I had the detective agency start tailing her.

She went straight to the guy’s house. No detours. No cover. Just straight there. Apparently, the guy is rich—he even sent a driver to pick her up. And she looked pretty used to it, casually getting in the car and heading off.

What amazed me about the agency was that they managed to capture footage of her entering the house and even her facial expressions.

And then, in broad daylight, with the windows open, they got started. So the agency ended up with actual video of the act. It was shot from a distance, but the resolution was clear enough to zoom in and see her face. Even her expressions. What kind of camera was that? It even captured audio. How!?

When I heard the cheating rumors, a part of me thought, “Yeah, I figured.” But seeing the actual footage… I collapsed from the pipe chair I was sitting on right onto the floor.

Strangely, I didn’t cry. Maybe I was just too shocked. Or maybe something inside me broke. I couldn’t stand back up. One of the detectives helped me back into the chair.

Then I ran to the bathroom and threw up. Gross, I know, but I couldn’t stop. The thought of my wife with another man made me physically ill.

The next day, I took the evidence to a law firm that the agency recommended. Normally, you’d have to wait about two weeks for a consultation, but since it was through the agency, they moved fast. I’m thankful for that.

The lawyer listened to me for about an hour and a half. He had that classic, clean-cut look—neat side-parted hair, calm demeanor, almost robotic, nodding silently.

I was worried at first, but I told him everything—my fears, my frustrations. Then he looked over the documents and asked me:

“Mr. Zenpuku, what do you want to do with your wife moving forward?”

That was the first time it really hit me: I needed to decide what I wanted to do about my cheating wife.