Chapter 2: Emptiness

TL: Akabane

***

[Father’s POV]

When I was in college, I met Naruse Yuna.

She was cute, kind, and easy to talk to.

She was a charming woman.

I fell in love with Yuna’s cheerful personality and confessed my love to her when I was a freshman in college.

I told her, “I love you!Please go out with me!”

“……”

It was the first time I confessed my feelings to a girl.

I was really nervous at that time.

“I also …… like you.”

Yuna gave a good answer to my confession.

Yes, we became lovers.

That day we moved to a hotel and lay skin to skin.

It was my first time.

But it wasn’t Yuna’s first time.

I heard that she had given her first time to someone she loved when she was a freshman in high school.

Hearing that, I felt a little sad.

— Four years later…

Yuna got pregnant.

I was confused when I found out.

How did this happen?

I don’t understand …….

We never had sex raw.

We had been using contraception.

Despite that, Yuna got pregnant.

I was confused by this fact.

I think the rubber probably broke during the act.

***

A child was born.

It’s a boy.

The child’s name was Yuji.

Yuji had a medieval face.

He looks like a boy or a girl.

Yuji looks like Yuna, but not like me.

A lady in the neighborhood said to me, “You don’t look like him at all.”

I was a little shocked.

Yuji is a daddy’s boy.

He is always saying, “Daddy!Daddy!” He is always sweet to me.

Yuji is really cute.

***

When Yuji was in the fifth grade, Yuna started acting strange.

She always wore revealing clothes that were open at the chest and her body smelled of cigarettes.

Neither Yuna nor I smoke.

But I could still smell cigarette smoke on her body.

And that’s not all.

She is always playing with her phone.

The look on her face as she stared at the screen of her phone was, to say the least, weird. ……

It’s suspicious …….

Maybe Yuna is having an affair?

I thought so and hired a detective to investigate the affair.

The result of the investigation was black.

Yuna was cheating on me.

I was shocked by this fact.

Oh, that Yuna is cheating on me …….

That’s ridiculous.

The name of the cheating partner is Sakata Umi.

Sakata Umi is also married.

And apparently he has a daughter.

He is an unfit father. ……

I took the liberty of operating Yuna’s computer and found a mysterious video.

As soon as the video was played, the naked Yuna and Sakata appeared on the computer screen.

They were making love in the hotel.

My mind goes blank after watching the video.

“What the hell is this ……?”

I feel like I am watching a cuckold porn.

I found other obscene videos.

Damn …….

In the wardrobe, there were fancy underwear stored away.

You’re wearing this and making love to your affair partner. ……

“Hm?This is …….”

Condoms and tissues were scattered in the trash can in the bedroom.

I haven’t had sex with Yuna recently.

And yet, there was a used condom thrown away in the trash.

Probably, she’s had skin-on-skin contact with her affair partner in this bedroom.

The moment I thought of that, I became angry.

“……”

— The next day

Yuna came home.

Her body smells of cigarettes.

Was she meeting with her unfaithful partner again today ……?

“Where have you been ……?”

“I’m at work. I’m tired today too!”

Yuna says so and makes a sigh of relief.

She must be tired after having sex with her cheating partner. ……

As soon as I think that, the blood rushes to my head.

I want to hit her right now.

No, hold back. ……

“Yuna.”

“Hm?What?”

“You’re cheating on me, aren’t you?”

“……”

Yuna’s body trembles at my words.

She looks at me with a very pale face.

“I’m not cheating on you. ……?”

Her voice was trembling.

She must be nervous.

“You’re sure you’re not cheating on me?”

“Yeah, yeah. …….”

“Then what’s this?”

I said and took out my phone from my pocket.

There’s a sex video, and I showed it to Yuna.

Yuna looked at the LCD screen of the phone and a look of despair came over her face.

She rattled and shook her teeth.

She admitted to cheating on me.

She said she and Sakata Umi became friends over the Internet.

Also, I found out that Yuji is not my kid.

Yes, he is not my child. ……

Yuji’s father’s name is Fumiya Hosoya.

I heard that Yuna had an affair with Fumiya Hosoya when she was in college.

She was cheating on me before we got married. ……

Knowing this leaves a huge hole in my heart.

The wound will never heal for the rest of my life. ……

–One day–

Me and Yuji were currently in a family restaurant.

I talked to Yuji.

“Yuji ……”

“What ……?”

“Me and your mom are getting divorced.”

“……Eh…….”

Yuji’s eyes widen at my words.

He looks at me, “Are you kidding me ……?” He has a face like that.

“Yuji, I’m going to say goodbye to you.”

Yuji makes a dumb voice, “What ……?”

Ignoring Yuji’s confusion, I continue talking.

“You go with your mother. You’re leaving me.”

“Oh, no, no, no. ……”

Yuji started to cry at my words.

Seeing Yuji crying, I felt a prickle of pain in my chest.

I always thought I was Yuji’s father.

I thought he was my own child and loved him dearly.

But I was wrong.

His father is not me. ……

The moment I thought that, I felt a strong sense of emptiness.

“No, I don’t want to leave my father …… I want to be with you all the time. ……”

“…..”

I raise my voice inaudibly at Yuji’s words.

I’m sorry, Yuji. ……

You should go with your mother.