Chapter 1
1241words
Waking up in the morning, I found no one beside me, though the bed still retained some warmth.
She had woken up early to make breakfast for me again.
I got dressed and walked out of the bedroom. On the small dining table sat all my favorites: steaming miso soup, freshly cooked rice, and a perfectly shaped tamagoyaki with slightly burnt edges.
"Good morning, James."
Emily Johnson smiled as if she were the happiest person in the world.
"...Mm, good morning."
I responded plainly, picking up my chopsticks. As I bit into the tamagoyaki, a burnt taste spread through my mouth.
She isn't good at cooking, but she loves me deeply. This was the result of her practicing countless times. I knew that.
"Is it good?" she asked carefully, her beautiful eyes fragile as glass.
I nodded and said, "It's good."
Her expression instantly brightened with joy as she watched me finish that plate of burnt tamagoyaki. She then asked the same question she'd been asking since we got married: "Do you love me?"
After finishing breakfast, I wiped my mouth and replied as I always did, "No, I don't."
I stood up, my movements inevitably cold. "I'm going to work."
Her eyes flashed with disappointment, but she quickly recovered. "It's okay, I'll make you fall in love with me."
She turned to clean up the mess she'd created in the kitchen.
Her slender silhouette looked somehow lonely.
But I don't love her, and I can't give her the answer she wants.
Before all this, I never imagined she would marry me after college graduation.
After all, we were just good friends before.
But that day, she seemed to have encountered something terrible; she was deeply upset. She said she loved me very much and wanted to marry me.
I only regarded her as a friend. Throughout our four years of university, we were nothing more than very good friends.
Not wanting to lose this friend, I agreed to her marriage proposal.
That day I told her plainly that I didn't love her, that I just considered her my best friend.
She didn't say a word.
But after getting married, she would often ask me, "Do you love me?" My answer was always no.
I'm a pragmatic person, and she knew this well. I wouldn't lie to her, not even for her sake.
I didn't love her; I just treated her as a friend, living together in an ordinary way.
I was holding my briefcase, about to leave, when it happened.
"Wait, James. Your tie is crooked."
Emily stepped in front of me as if it was the most natural thing. A sweet scent of shampoo wafted from her hair. Her snow-white, slender fingertips touched my tie, then inadvertently brushed against my Adam's apple.
My body suddenly tensed.
"Still can't accept my touch?" Emily keenly observed. She sighed and said dejectedly, "It seems James truly only sees me as a friend, but I'm your wife now. You need to learn to get used to it."
Her voice was soft, almost teasing.
I pushed her away and said awkwardly, "Emily, you need to give me time to adjust."
Emily instantly burst into laughter. "Our James is still so innocent, he can't even handle a light touch on his Adam's apple!"
I couldn't look directly at Emily's face as she nodded with satisfaction. Forcibly suppressing something welling up from deep within me, I quickly said, "I'm heading out."
"Okay! Be careful on your way!"
From behind came a voice as bright as the sun. Emily must be waving with that dazzling smile that seemed to gather all the happiness in the world.
As if escaping from that smile, I bolted down the apartment stairs without looking back.
After work, just as I entered the door, a sweet voice greeted me.
"Welcome home, James! Tough day at work again? Look, look! Today's hamburger steak is my masterpiece!"
As I pushed open the apartment door, Emily, wearing an apron, ran up to me with a beaming smile. Before I could answer, she spun around lightly and darted back to the kitchen.
"Hehe, I tried to make it heart-shaped. Can you tell? The sauce is special too!"
"...Yeah."
That's all I could manage. Emily's excited voice echoed unusually loud in our small apartment.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The violent knocking at the door abruptly cut off Emily's cheerful humming.
"Eh? Coming! Who is it..."
Just as Emily approached the door, I grabbed her arm.
"I'll get it."
"But, James..."
"Listen to me."
I kept Emily behind me and slowly opened the door. As expected, standing there were men exuding an aura of violence.
"Yo, James Smith. Long time no see."
One of the men glared at me, sizing me up.
"...What do you want."
"Ha, cut the act. Your old man still owes a huge debt. It's only right for a son to pay his father's debts, ain't it?"
"...I don't have that kind of money."
"Huh? Then go earn it! Get a second job or whatever!"
Just as the man was about to grab my collar—
"Please stop!"
A trembling voice came from behind me. It was Emily.
"What do you want, girl? Step back."
"No! This person... this person has nothing to do with this!"
Emily ignored my attempts to stop her and suddenly rushed in front of me.
"How can he not be involved? This man is my husband! I absolutely won't allow thugs like you to torment him!"
"Oh? Quite a spirited wife you've got. So can you pay? This huge sum."
The man sneered. Emily bit her lip hard, then shouted.
"I'll pay it!"
"...Emily!"
"I'll pay it back! I'll work day and night if I have to! So... so please don't come looking for him anymore! I'm begging you!"
Her voice was almost a wail. The men looked at each other and finally sighed impatiently.
"...Tch. Fine, consider this a warning. Next month we'll collect with interest. You better remember that."
The men spat these words and left.
The door closed, and a heavy silence filled the room.
"...I'm sorry."
Hearing my strained words, Emily shook her head. Then, with a smile that seemed forced, she said:
"It's okay! James, you didn't do anything wrong. Come on, let's eat? The hamburger steak I made will get cold."
She didn't ask anything more about it.
That night.
"Um, James... this."
Emily shyly handed me a hand-knitted sweater. The stitches were crooked, and no amount of flattery could describe it as skillful work.
"Um... the shape turned out a bit weird. But I've been knitting it since last year. Because James, you get cold so easily..."
I couldn't find words.
"Ah, don't worry about it! If it bothers you, then..."
"No... I'll take it."
I interrupted her and accepted the misshapen sweater. Emily's smile bloomed with relief.
"That's great! This way, winter should be a little warmer for you..."
"...Yes."
I looked at her gentle smile, feeling the rough texture of the yarn in my palm.
During the day, she becomes my shield; at night, she tries to give me warmth.
I must repay all of this.
By any means necessary.
Emily hopes I could fall in love with her, but I can't lie to her. So I'll work hard to earn money, give her a good life. I'll be good to her, make her happy!
