It was around sunset.
I was on my way home after school.
"Man. The sun's just about to go down."
Today, I had to stay behind for extra classes at school, so I ended up getting home way later than usual.
Could my luck get any worse?
"This feels more exhausting than usual..."
I rolled my stiff shoulders and thought about the one waiting for me at home.
Just thinking about her made some of the fatigue fade away.
With a slightly lighter step, I got home and opened the door.
"I'm home~ Huh? Nobody's here?"
She should have been here at this hour.
Did she go out to buy groceries or something?
Just as that thought crossed my mind, I heard hurried movement from the living room, and a woman came out to the entryway.
"Yeees~ Welcome home~"
"Yes. I'm home, Mayuri."
Right.
The one who welcomed me home was Mayuri.
"...?"
But for some reason, Mayuri didn't look very happy.
Her expression was completely different from when she usually greeted me.
She was puffing out her cheeks and staring at me like she was sulking.
"H-Huh...? Mayuri? I-I'm home?"
"......No. Do it again."
"Huh? Do what again...?"
"If you don't call me the way you usually do... I won't accept your greeting."
At Mayuri's declaration, I felt cold sweat trickle down my back.
Of all things, she had to ask for that.
"Ugh... Y-you want me to say that...?"
I took a deep breath and said,
"I-I'm home, honey."
"Welcome back, dar~ling!"
Ugh!
I could feel my skin crawl.
Why was she making me say something like that?
I couldn't take it anymore.
"Mayuri. Sorry, but I really can't do this. Please, let's just call each other normally."
"Eeeh... I like this better, though. Honestly, Hii is such a shy boy. Well, I guess this big sister has to go along with it!"
Mayuri shook her head as if there was nothing to be done.
Honestly, I could put up with a lot, but I had zero tolerance for cringey nicknames like that.
I could maybe use them once in a while if I wanted to, but using them all the time was impossible.
"Welcome home, Hii. My husband. Hehe."
"Yes. I'm home, Mayuri."
Husband.
As you could tell from the way Mayuri called me, I was married to her.
Of course, that was a secret from everyone else.
If people found out I got married while still in high school, it would cause an uproar.
Especially the people in my class.
Anyway, it had already been a month since Mayuri and I got married.
Even now, we were still awkward and inexperienced as a couple, but our newlywed life was going surprisingly smoothly.
"Mayuri takes care of all the housework even while going to school, so I really can't do anything but be grateful."
She really was like the ideal wife.
Still, I wished she'd go easy on the cooking.
Not that it was bad, exactly, but it always felt a little off somehow.
"What are you standing there thinking about, Hii?"
"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how grateful I am to you for all sorts of things, Mayuri."
"E-even if you say that, it's not like there's anything special about it!"
"Why would I say something like that expecting anything in return?"
Just getting married was already something special enough.
"That line is a little annoying, but whatever. For now, why don't you take off your shoes? How long are you going to stand in the entryway? Give me your bag too."
"Ahaha, thank you."
Following Mayuri's words, I took off my shoes and handed her my bag.
After taking it, Mayuri flashed a sly grin as if something had just occurred to her.
"Oh, right. Hey, Hii."
"Yes? What is it?"
"Do you want to eat first? Take a bath first? Or maybe... me firs~t?"
"Cough!"
What the hell was she saying?
"M-Mayuri! That's going too far for a joke!"
Startled by the sudden ambush, I raised my voice without meaning to.
"What? You want me?"
"Huh?!"
"Just kidding~ I'm joking, joking."
Seeing her laugh at my reaction, I got a little annoyed.
"The bath is still heating up, and dinner's still being cooked. Oh, unless you weren't joking—"
"Hmm. Then maybe I should really choose Mayuri?"
"Eh...?"
As I took off my shoes and stepped closer, Mayuri's pupils started shaking like there'd been an earthquake.
I wasn't about to waste the opening, so while she was still flustered, I gently took her chin in my hand.
"Mayuri, I'm a man too. A high school boy in the prime of his youth, no less. So what do you think would happen if you said something like that to me?"
I lifted her chin a little so she had no choice but to meet my eyes.
"U-uhh..."
"Mayuri. I have my limits too, you know? You just crossed that line. So, are you prepared to pay the price for crossing it?"
"Th-th-then, um..."
I pressed a finger against Mayuri's lips before she could say anything else.
"Shh. I don't want excuses. Mayuri just needs to stay still."
As I said that and tilted my head slightly, Mayuri squeezed her eyes shut and puckered her lips a little.
But instead of kissing those lips, I leaned in close to her ear and whispered,
"Actually, I was lying."
"Huh?"
Mayuri looked at me with a dazed expression.
"Ahahaha! Got you. I was joking too. Realistically, there's no way a high schooler would do something like that."
No matter how much Mayuri and I were husband and wife, I wanted to wait until we were adults for the next step.
Once we were adults, we'd be able to take responsibility for each other.
Well, it wasn't like we were short on money. It was more a matter of mindset.
"......You little—!"
"Ghk!"
And then I had to pay the price for teasing her.
Mayuri was so fiery that even someone like me, who could barely feel pain with one hand, felt it.
*
After changing clothes in my room and coming back to the living room, I found Mayuri wearing a yellow apron and cooking.
"Mayuri? Why are you cooking...?"
"It feels bad to keep making you do everything all the time. It's not done yet, so it'll take a while. Go watch TV or something over there."
"Ah, okay."
I was a little worried about Mayuri cooking, but her food wasn't bad.
And even if it were bad, she made it for me because she cared about me, so there was no way I wouldn't eat it.
"Hmm..."
"Hm? What's wrong, Hii?"
"No, I just suddenly had this thought."
"What thought?"
"That having my wife welcome me home and make dinner for me feels like such a blessed everyday life."
At my honest remark, Mayuri puffed out her chest and said,
"Exactly, exactly. If you think that way, then you should treat this wife even better."
"Ahaha, of course. But aren't you getting a little too confident from one compliment?"
Mayuri getting all smug just because I praised her once was pretty cute.
"What, you got a complai—"
"That's one of your cute points too, though."
"......"
"Mayuri?"
When she didn't say anything, I wondered if I'd done something wrong, but then I noticed the tips of her ears turning red and realized she was embarrassed.
"Come taste it."
"Yes, then..."
What Mayuri was making was miso soup.
The kind people in Japan usually call miso shiru.
I let some of the soup she scooped for me slip into my mouth.
"Mm~ This is good. You've gotten better."
"Really!?"
"Yeah. Why would I lie about that?"
I said it calmly, but honestly, I was surprised.
When Mayuri used to cook, there was always this slight 2% something missing from the flavor, but now it felt like that missing 2% had been filled in.
"Now your cooking's about on my level."
"That good?"
"That good."
Feeling happy about Mayuri's improved cooking skills, I nodded.
"You can do all the housework, and now you can cook well too. You're the kind of wife I'd be proud to show off anywhere. Really, I'm happy that you're my wife."
"W-why are you saying something like that all of a sudden!"
Saying that, Mayuri spun around and stirred the miso soup.
Her ears were completely red, so she must have been really embarrassed.
"Then I guess I'll set the table."
I felt bad letting Mayuri do everything while I just stood around.
I took a bowl from the shelf and served the rice.
After setting it on the table, I took out the utensils and placed them beside the rice bowl.
"Mayuri. Is the miso soup ready?"
"Yeah. It's done."
After hearing that the soup was finished, I took out another bowl, filled it with miso soup, and brought it to the table.
All that was left was to microwave the leftover meat dish in the fridge.
A table with rice, miso soup, and a meat side dish.
We sat facing each other at the table and said with smiles,
"Let's eat!"
"Let's eat!"
*
After dinner, I decided to do the dishes.
Mayuri said she'd do everything herself, but she had made the rice, so I wanted to do at least this much.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
While I was drying my hands after finishing the dishes, Mayuri hugged me from behind.
"Nothing. I just felt like doing this."
"Then, just a moment."
I turned around and wrapped my arms around Mayuri.
"This is better, right?"
"Yeah. This might be sudden, but Hii. I love you, my husband."
"I feel the same."
We held each other tightly.
And then my vision went black.
*
"This time it was Mayuri...?"
When I came to on the school hallway, the events from just now were still vivid in my memory.
I really had no idea why I did that.
I covered my hot face with both hands and leaned against a nearby wall.
"What's wrong? I liked it. Right, hus~band?"
"Aaaagh! Please don't call me that!!!"
Cringing and embarrassment hit me at the same time, and I twisted around while begging Mayuri to stop.
"Still, that was bold. Grabbing my chin like that..."
Seeing Mayuri mutter that while blushing made me realize she was pretty embarrassed too.
Thank goodness.
I was relieved that I wasn't the only one embarrassed.
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