14. The Man who awfully getting over-familiar with His Wife

They take the elevator down to the first floor and walk out of the entrance.

The parking lot right next to them across the street looks shimmering in the sun.

The August sun burned his skin mercilessly, making him feel hot and sweaty in just a few minutes.

Manaka was wearing a chic one-piece dress with a jacket and unusually high heels.

Even in such heat, she showed no signs of slouching and walked with a relaxed posture.

“Should we pick up the pace?”

“It’s still fine. We even still have time for ice coffee if you want.”

“Yeah, maybe I should have one before leaving. It’s very hot outside.”

“Be careful not to get heatstroke, okay? Naoya-san, you’re working a lot outside lately.”

“Yeah, I’ll be careful… uh.”

As They were talking, he saw a man and woman he recognized walking on the street just in front of the parking lot.

Naoya looked at them without a second thought, and once he realized who it was, he stood in front of Manaka and tried to hide her.

But it was a little too late.

“Oh, Ai… ka-chan?”

“Hey… it’s ‘Manaka-san’.”

Standing right next to the man, Rin corrects Manaka’s name.

For a moment Naoya couldn’t recall the man’s name.

But he did remember that he was that obnoxious high school student he had met at the public bathhouse.

He saw him again in the sunlight and he definitely has the appearance of a young man.

He was tall, tanned like a surfer’s, and his hair was dyed dark brown.

A typical delinquent, wearing chinos, a worn-out shirt, worn-out shoes, and a silver necklace around his neck.

He approaches him with a sullen smile on his face.

“Oh, right. Sorry, It’s Manaka-chan.”

“Good afternoon, Takumi-kun. It’s fine, my name’s often getting mistaken. But I’d rather you stop calling me with ‘chan’?”

“Eeeh… why not? It’s cute.”

“No, it’s not. Haa… I guess there’s no point in telling you.”

“Well, you know me. Wow, today you look amazing! Are you going somewhere to have fun?”

“No, I’m not. I’m in a business meeting right now.”

“Heh… That’s right you aren’t a full-time housewife. That’s awesome.”

Takumi was getting so close to Manaka as he spoke that their bodies were touching, and he was trying to hold her by the shoulder as if he was hitting on her.

His attitude was not like talking to an older person, but rather like dealing with a female friend.

Manaka laughed at his behavior and pinched his hand to warn him of his brusque attitude.

However, her tone was somewhat gentle and she even seemed to be enjoying the conversation.

Naoya was a little surprised to see Manaka being friendly with a young man whom she should have disliked, even though he was a teenager.

“Umm, it’s been a while, Takumi-kun.”

“Ah… eh, who are you? … oh! Manaka-chan’s husband?”

“Eh?”

When Naoya greets him Takumi looks confused for a moment.

However, Takumi realized who he was and immediately stood in front of him with a grin on his face.

When he got up close, Naoya was only slightly unnerved by the difference in their physiques.

“Ah, right, I’m sorry I was so rude the other day.”

“What…? Oh…, n-no, it’s fine.”

Takumi was apologized to in an unexpectedly respectful manner, which left Naoya bewildered.

Naoya was puzzled. He did not like this boy, but he had no choice but to show his maturity when he was apologizing like that.

“Your wife has been a great help lately.”

“H-Huh?”

“She has been helping me in many ways. She is a very nice woman. I really feel envious of you.”

“Eh, i-is that so?”

As he said that a hand landed on Naoya’s shoulder.

When Naoya looked at Manaka with a troubled expression, she smiled somewhat awkwardly.

“Naoya-san, have you met Takumi-kun before?”

“Huh? Yeah quite a while ago.”

“Bumping into each other in a public bath. We called that the famous naked dating.”

“Eh…? Is that so?”

“Takumi, aren’t you being overly familiar?”

“Oh, that’s right.”

Rin, who had been watching the interactions since earlier in silence, finally interjected.

Takumi scratched his head and shrugged his shoulders after being reprimanded by his sister.

Frankly, Naoya wished she could warn her brother a little sooner.

“I’m sorry. This kid is hopelessly stupid and idiot.”

“That’s rude. My school is a high-level one… well barely.”

“Aren’t you about to get expelled because of your stupidity?”

“Ah… well, that’s… right…”

Rin and Takumi start their bantering.

It seems that their relationship was not bad as siblings, maybe just a little complicated.

“Manaka, do you meet Takumi-kun quite often?”

“… y-yes?”

Maybe she didn’t hear him clearly since Manaka’s voice was slightly strained.

Naoya looked at her face, she appeared to be absentminded for a moment there.

“W-What’s wrong?”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing. I’ve met with Takumi-kun several times… to thank him.”

“I see…”

Naoya really wanted to know more about that.

However, since it’ll make him look like he was jealous of a high-schooler, he decided to shut his mouth.

Without knowing what he was thinking, Rin decided to elaborate some more.

“He often comes to my house, so I see him from time to time. Just the other day, we bumped into each other with Manaka-san when he came to whine that his girlfriend dumped him.”

“H-Hey… wait, that topic is…”

“Did you know Manaka-san? This guy was finally dumped by that girl.”

“Eh? Seriously?”

“Wha… h-hey, it’s not like I’m really dumped. We’re not even in a relationship in the first place…”

“You were very depressed. Being Netorare’d for the first time.”

Naoya was stunned when he heard about the un-high-schooler life.

“Wai… hey, don’t need to tell them in detail…”

“Hohoho. What a pitiful child. Should we comfort him?”

Naoya and Manaka laughed wryly at the same time wondering how they were supposed to comfort him.

“… Oh, Manaka look at the time.”

“Eh, ah, you’re right.”

“I guess you don’t have much time anymore. Well then see you later Naoya-san, Manaka-san.”

“Y-Yeah, see you later Rin-san and Takumi-kun.”

After they left, Naoya saw that they had started quarreling again.

Not wanting to be held any longer, Naoya hurried to the parking lot.

He finally caught his breath as he got into his car and drove to the station.

“…?”

Manaka didn’t speak much and seemed to be thinking about something.

He felt uneasiness somewhat when he glanced at her, however in the end he decided to talk to her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Eh?”

“You look kind of grumpy.”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Actually, I always thought of Takumi-kun as a college student, so I was slightly surprised.”

“Ah, I know what you mean. High school students these days are so far ahead of us…”

“Yeah… it’s true.”

“I appreciated it when he helped Manaka, but I don’t have a good impression of him at all. It’s beyond the level of cockiness. Maybe it’s better if we don’t see him anymore.”

“Well… that boy is certainly a bit unruly, isn’t he? But he’s not as bad as he looks.”

“… eh? I-Is that so? I think there’s too much skinship and antics with that boy.”

“It wasn’t that different with that relative kid of yours at that time. He is a pretty interesting boy when you talk to him, he’s cute in some ways, and he is a good kid at heart.”

“Eh… is that so…”

Naoya snickered a little when Manaka tried to cover up for Takumi.

Seeing her husband like that, Manaka chuckled.

“But, since Naoya-san said it like that, I’ll think about it.”

“Y-Yeah…”

Then the atmosphere returned to normal, but it left Naoya feeling somewhat uneasy about the situation.

Even after dropping Manaka off at the station and driving back to the apartment, that hazy feeling did not disappear.

He kept thinking back to Takumi’s behavior and felt annoyed.

“… ah?

Perhaps that was why Naoya realized one thing.

Why did Takumi mistake his wife’s name for Aika?

He definitely remembered that when they met at the public bathhouse for the first time Takumi refers to his wife as Manaka.

“…”

While it was true Manaka’s name was often mistaken sometimes to the point it wasn’t strange to him anymore.

Right now he couldn’t really shake off the uneasiness inside him.

TL note:

“愛佳” = that is Manaka’s name in kanji, the first kanji for Love“愛” could be read as “Mana” or “Ai”