"Good morning, Yori."
"...Good morning."
The next morning, Mrs. Yori saw her husband emerge from their room and hastily shoved the clothes that needed washing into the machine. Those were the residual marks left from her activities during her dreams last night...
To be honest, the young married woman felt embarrassed. She wasn't a schoolgirl anymore, yet for the past few nights, this had been a constant occurrence... Alex had not only left a deep impression on Mrs. Yori but also brought about a fundamental shift in her mindset.
Now that she bore his mark, she had repeatedly looked at the peach-heart imprint on her intimate area. Every time she looked, she felt shame, yet it was thrilling.
She just desperately hoped her husband wouldn't discover it...
"Are you doing laundry?"
"...Yes, the weather is nice today, so I'm washing the piled-up clothes," Mrs. Yori stammered out a superficial answer. Fortunately, Kenji Azuma didn't pry further. The young husband, who had just woken up, saw his wife's enchanting, alluring posture—
The tight nightgown accentuated her beautiful curves. She was absolutely gorgeous, and the sight ignited a fire in Kenji's chest. He walked over, reaching out to hug his wife, looking for some affectionate intimacy...
Swish—
But she evaded him.
"Yori?"
"Breakfast is ready; let's eat first," Mrs. Yori nervously refused her husband's intimacy, stepping back slightly, forcing a smile. "I have to get to work soon."
"It's still early for work. There's time, honey. Yori..."
"I haven't been feeling well these past couple of days, Kenji... I'm sorry," Yori turned her head to avoid her husband's gaze, speaking with a guilty conscience.
"You're not feeling well. Well, I can't force you then. But you don't need to sleep in separate rooms, do you? Why don't you move back in?"
Mrs. Yori frowned, suddenly unsure how to explain herself. After a long moment of internal struggle, she met her husband's eyes, shook her head, and sighed. "No, I want to be alone."
Kenji didn't understand what was wrong with his wife. Since he returned from his business trip, she had been distant, refusing his affection and even moving out of their room. Her attitude towards him had become... very strange.
That feeling of estrangement lingered in Kenji's heart after he left for work, casting a dark cloud and giving him a bad feeling.
"Kenji, what's on your mind? You look preoccupied." As he arrived at the company, he ran into his boss, Gozo Kamezo. The strong, fat man's face momentarily darkened when he saw Kenji, but he quickly plastered a smile on. The worried Kenji clearly didn't notice the change in his boss's expression.
Tch, he couldn't believe he failed in such a good opportunity last night. What in the world was that? Gozo Kamezo was frowning. He had been on the verge of succeeding with that beautiful young wife, she was almost his, but he was thwarted by some strange ability...
Judging by Kenji's look, he must not know about it either. Of course. How could this useless man possess such miraculous power? Maybe it was a charm, or an omamori of some sort?
Was it that little brat next door?
Thinking of the scene where Mrs. Yori and the young man were privately meeting, Gozo Kamezo's piggish face darkened further. He glanced at the cuckold beside him and offered a false smile. "Kenji, bad mood?"
"No, not at all," Kenji quickly shook his head in front of his boss; he wouldn't dare show any negative emotions.
"Don't pretend with me, Kenji; what kind of relationship do we have?" The blonde put his arm around the cuckold's shoulder. "Let me guess, is it about your wife, Kenji?"
"How did you know, Boss?" Kenji was surprised. "You're right, Boss. I... I don't know what's wrong. I feel like Yori is a bit... distant from me."
The cuckold sighed. "Our relationship used to be so good, so loving, and now..."
"Loving, huh? To be honest, I truly envy you for having such a beautiful wife," Gozo Kamezo said with a smirk. "But Kenji, precisely because your wife is so charming, you should be careful."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, with a wife so beautiful, you should watch her closely. You should know that even married women can easily become targets."
Is he implying himself?
However, Gozo Kamezo knew it would be difficult to force the beautiful young wife again, so he simply directed the fire toward the little brat. If it weren't for that stinking kid who suddenly appeared, why would he be so helpless now?
He might have succeeded already!
"Impossible!" Kenji's reaction was strong, and he shook his head vigorously. "Are you suggesting Yori is having... an affair? Impossible! I'm the person she loves most. She isn't that kind of frivolous woman! How could she betray me?"
Kenji didn't believe it, absolutely not.
"Kenji, I saw it with my own eyes. During your business trip, she invited the boy next door over to the house, alone. I'm not lying to you. If you don't believe me, you can go home and ask your wife—"
Facing Gozo Kamezo's meaningful expression, Kenji froze on the spot, gradually falling silent.
Click—
Kenji Azuma, who should have been at work, quickly returned home under the one-day vacation specially granted by his boss. He opened the door and met his surprised wife's gaze.
"Kenji? You're not at the company? Why are you back?"
"..."
Due to his boss's revelation and his wife's recent unusual behavior, Kenji believed about seventy to eighty percent of the story. "I have something I want to discuss with you... Yori, due to a company transfer, we might have to move."
"Company transfer? Move?" After a moment of surprise, Mrs. Yori frowned. "Is it your boss again... We haven't paid off the mortgage on this house yet. Moving isn't practical."
"Yori, you don't want to move?"
"...I don't."
The young wife spoke bluntly.
Even though Kenji had already guessed this, hearing his wife's candid admission made his face turn pale. Sure enough, his boss was telling the truth. Yori really did have an inappropriate, intimate relationship with the young man next door.
Why?
You're my wife! We used to be so loving, so close! You were so gentle and virtuous! Such a perfect Yamato Nadeshiko, my wife, is now entangled with another man!
The thought of her intimately wrapped up with Alex next door, betraying him, caused Kenji's head to pound, his eyes turning bloodshot.
"Kenji, what exactly is your boss's intention to transfer your job at a time like this?"
"No, that... Yori, if you don't want to, I'll go talk to the boss again." However, no matter how conflicted, shattered, or angry Kenji felt inside, he couldn't show it. He couldn't confront his wife, pretending not to know anything.
"That's good. If the job transfer is unavoidable... then you should move by yourself, Kenji. I want to stay here."
Faced with his wife's statement, which was practically an open declaration, Kenji's face turned crimson, suffocated by the pain. Yet, despite the humiliation, he could only force a smile. "I, I understand..."
Yori actually said that. He couldn't believe his wife had become like this.
Both husband and wife were smiling, yet the rift between them had inevitably widened. After Kenji left, the beautiful wife sighed softly, picked up her phone, and opened the screen to send a message to Alex.
"Alex-kun, Kenji seems to know about us..."