Hachiman ate with his head down.
He was confused; his father seemed different. Not just the mood, but even the cooking. He never made fried rice with this kind of flavor before.
Was it the shock of the divorce?
Thinking of his mother, Hachiman felt a mix of shame and resentment. That woman hadn't called once since she ran off. He remembered seeing her cry over a photo of a man who wasn't his father when he was in middle school.
Now, even the good food lost its taste.
"Hachiman! I saw your enrollment notice. Sobu High, right? Sounds like a good school," Ryohei said, using his practiced "teacher voice."
It was his first real attempt at "father-son" interaction. He needed to play the role to survive as Hikigaya Ryohei. Under the table, Komachi kicked Hachiman's leg, giving him a "don't you dare be chuunibyou and make Dad mad" look.
"Uh, Father... Sobu High's deviation value is pretty good in Tokyo. You asked me this before," Hachiman replied cautiously, afraid of getting hit.
Ryohei, a former teacher, knew how to handle boys like this.
He ignored the sass.
"Part-time work is okay for holidays, but focus on school once it starts. I'll handle the money. Just one thing, don't rush into romance in high school. Study hard and get into a good university so I can worry less."
"I know. I'll try my best," Hachiman muttered. "Komachi will try her best too!" the young girl chirped, relieved her brother didn't say anything about wanting to be a "house husband."
Ryohei looked at the two of them. In his past life, he was an average guy from a small town with no talent, his edges smoothed down by a boring life. Looking at this narrow but warm room, he felt that starting over at zero wasn't so bad.
That night, he made Komachi sleep on the only bed and rolled out a futon on the floor with Hachiman. He mentally recapped.
Name: Hikigaya Ryohei, age 35.
Current Status: Divorced (Ex-wife: Kazusa Touma, music teacher, currently eloped).
Financials: Bankrupt. ICU bills ate the rest.
Conclusion: The previous guy was a world-class simp. What a mess he left me.
In terms of social relations, he at least had a friend named Miura Kosanjuro.
Ryohei had discovered the name of that kind-hearted man in an old school yearbook he found at home.
The most urgent matter now was to quickly find a job; next month's rent was already looming... Thinking of this, Ryohei gradually closed his tired, aching eyelids. It was perhaps the most peaceful sleep he'd had since his transmigration.
Until, around the first light of dawn, the phone resting by his pillow began to vibrate. Driven by the body's subconscious instincts and habits, he reached out and answered it.
"Hikigaya Ryohei, you bastard! Are you even going to control your woman? ...Seduced someone else's husband!! Waaaah! Sob!"
Early in the morning, while his brain was still foggy and far from awake—
Ryohei was jolted upright by a hysterical phone call. It was the voice of a miserable woman, sounding like the ultimate "discarded wife" even through the receiver. Later, Ryohei would recall the moment like this:
"Are you insane?! It's the crack of dawn, let me sleep! If you can't keep a leash on your own husband, that's your problem, don't blame me!"
In his half-asleep state, Ryohei hadn't even realized the woman was calling "Hikigaya Ryohei." He didn't understand her tearful curses and simply hung up in a huff. He tossed the phone aside and closed his eyes.
Five seconds later, it clicked. Wait... I actually AM Hikigaya Ryohei now.
He had learned from his diaries that his ex-wife's "irreconcilable differences" were actually an affair.
That "Licking Dog" predecessor of mine!
So, that woman on the phone was the other victim?
A fellow "cuckold"?
It seemed Kazusa Hikigaya had divorced him for a married man, abandoning her children in the process. Is this what people call "True Love"? Ryohei couldn't fathom how a happy housewife could discard a doting husband and two children for a midlife affair.
He grabbed his phone again and checked the caller ID: Setsuna Kitahara.
The name was in his contacts.
She knew his name.
This meant he, Setsuna, her husband, and Kazusa were all part of the same social circle. This feels like a 150-episode urban soap opera, Ryohei thought with a bitter smile.
No matter how complex the entanglement, he didn't want any part of it.
The original Ryohei might have begged for his wife to return, but the new Ryohei knew better. If she isn't yours, you can't keep her. Just let go. He quietly got out of bed and dressed.
Looking at his beer belly in the mirror, he saw a man ravaged by years of "996" overwork and zero exercise.
He decided to start training, not just for health, but to build the stamina needed for a new job.
As he tiptoed out, Hachiman and Komachi shifted under their covers. They had heard his response. Sensitive to the reality of the divorce, they realized the deeper meaning of that call before Ryohei even did.
It's about Mom again...
Setsuna Kitahara stared blankly at her phone, face stained with old and new tears.
Her home was immaculate, every piece of furniture hand-picked with care, but it felt devoid of warmth.
"Liars! All of them! Do they think I'm a fool?!"
Ryohei's blunt rebuff was the final straw for a woman who had spent the night waiting for a husband who never came home. The emotional knot between her, Haruki, and Kazusa was too tangled to unravel.
She had spent the night calling them both, heating bone soup until it dried out, and crying until her eyes burned.
Setsuna was once an elegant beauty, a "natural enchantress" with healthy, glowing skin. Now, she was the ultimate form of a Loser Heroine. Her skin was dry, her face a sickly pale, and her hair like straw.
"Why, Kazusa... why must you go this far?" she whispered.
Between her husband's affair and the man she thought was her ally, Ryohei, dismissing her, Setsuna spiraled into a pit of depression and self-doubt.
A week ago, her inability to focus had even cost her her job. She hated Haruki, but she hated Kazusa more. Yet, she felt powerless, believing this tragedy began with her own confession all those years ago.
"I'm going to find him and ask him to his face! Is he even a man, letting his wife run wild like that?"
She looked at her wedding photo on the wall.
For a moment, the bride's face seemed to morph into Kazusa's cold, beautiful features. Dizzy and malnourished, Setsuna grabbed her bag and stormed out.
She was going to find Hikigaya Ryohei.