Returned to Nine Years Ago
"Aunt? Is that really you, Aunt?"
"What kind of nonsense is that? Even if it's vacation, don't sleep in—get up and do some exercise."
"Ah...... Yes, yes...."
She spoke in a sharp, irritated tone before leaving the room.
"It's really her...."
Black bob haircut, a slightly annoyed expression. And the way she spoke to me so coldly, using formal speech—it was exactly like the aunt from my memories.
"But that day, Aunt...... Urp!"
The moment I recalled the day she vanished, nausea surged up, but I barely held it back.
"Is this heaven or something?"
I'd clearly been hit by a car and died then. No doctor, no matter how skilled, could revive the dead, so heaven made more sense.
"Right before I died, I saw that girl......"
The girl who, even as she watched me dying, seemed amused as she spoke. Our conversation was hazy, but I remembered her saying something about granting a wish.
"No way......"
I hurriedly scanned the room, memories flooding back.
"This is the room I used when I lived with Aunt......"
It was the house where I'd lived with her for over ten years after my parents died.
What did I wish for...... Ah!
I remembered what I'd said—no, thought—to the girl.
- 'I want...... to go back.'
I'd clearly wished to the girl to go back.
- "Normally, I couldn't do that...... Hmm...... Alright! I'll make an exception and grant it!"
- "You seemed to have a lot of regrets in life...... This time, live without any regrets."
That's what she said, and then I died.
"No way......"
I rushed to turn on the computer and checked the date and news right away. It was the same computer I'd used before, and as I searched articles and updates, I pieced together the situation.
"I really came back."
The conclusions I could draw were two: either I really died and this was heaven, or...
"Nine years ago...... I returned."
To the past—with my memories intact. It was impossible to believe.
Or maybe that life was a dream?...... No. That can't be.
The life two years from now, after that incident with Aunt, where I lived in utter ruin—it couldn't have been a dream.
"I really came back."
For nearly an hour, I agonized over whether it was heaven, a dream, or a return to the past. In the end, I concluded it was the past.
"But what was that girl?"
Maybe she was a god or something like that, but it didn't matter right now.
"If I returned to the past, I can change the future."
My heart settled into a cold resolve. I dredged up as many memories as I could of my past self.
Even I thought it was pathetic. Timid, clumsy, always overthinking and missing chances.
"Looking back, I was such a loser......"
Life had thrown chances and luck my way plenty of times. Opportunities with women came more often than I'd realized, but I never seized a single one. Hell, I'd only been with one woman ever.
That one time left me with trauma...
Anyway, a pathetic, regret-filled life full of nothing but failures.
Not anymore.
The old me might have repeated that life, but not now.
I'll claim them all.
I wouldn't miss any chances or luck this time. Even if it was greed, even if others pointed fingers—I didn't care.
Better to take them all than miss and regret.
And the first was my aunt, the one who'd been like a mother to me. I'd lost her without knowing, but not this time.
Better I take her than let someone else. Even if it looked depraved to her or anyone else, I wouldn't hesitate.
"Whew...... Let's head out."
It was almost 11 a.m. She probably had brunch ready since I skipped breakfast.
Still tense, though.
I'd steeled myself, but seeing the aunt I'd longed for after all those years was overwhelming. To her, it was just another day; to me, it was seven years later.
I couldn't stop my lips from curling up involuntarily.
"You're here? Then sit and eat."
"Yes, Aunt."
She'd been about to call me down but saw me coming and pointed to the table. Breakfast—or brunch—was already laid out.
"Gulp......"
How long since a proper meal?
Nearly six years without one. Every two or three days, when starvation hit hard, I'd scarf down cold onigiri from a convenience store. That was it. I'd forgotten what good food tasted like—just enough to not die.
"Thanks for the food!"
"Yes, eat well."
I sat at the table beaming, and she gave me an odd look.
With her around, meals like this were routine, so I'd taken it for granted. Now I knew how precious it was.
"......Eat slower."
"Yes. Nom nom nom—but it's just so good!"
My reaction was a bit much for a simple meal, and she looked flustered.
"Drink some water with it."
"Yes."
She didn't seem to hate my enthusiasm—her lips twitched up, uncharacteristically.
Did I ever tell her her food was delicious?
We'd lived together fifteen years, eaten countless meals, but I'd rarely said it. Maybe as a kid, but not since middle school.
I took it all for granted.
Now, even half a spoonful or a bite of side dish felt like a gift.
"All done."
"I'll do the dishes, so go rest."
"No. I'll handle it—Aunt, you rest."
"Okay...... Sure."
To her, today's me felt different from yesterday. Still, I savored this moment and even did the dishes.
It wasn't even lunchtime yet. Still on summer break from university, I had time to kill.
"I have business at the company, so I'm heading out. Don't just play—study a bit."
"Yes, Aunt. Take care."
I saw her off, then wandered the house, reviving old memories.
Not out of nostalgia—the house had changed after I left years ago, and my memory was fuzzy. If I acted lost, she'd think it weird. I needed the basics down.
"Bathroom here...... Toilet there......"
Not an apartment but a spacious two-story house, bigger than average. First-timers got lost easily; the yard could host a party for twenty-plus no problem.
Simply put, Aunt was rich. She'd built a mid-sized cosmetics company from scratch while raising me.
Doing all that while raising a kid...... Impressive, even now.
If our roles were reversed, I'd probably just have a regular job and call it a day.
Thanks to her, even without parents, I'd had a wealthy childhood.
"Not that we lived flashy."
She spoke formally even to me—strict, rigid, mechanical. Like a machine.
I never dared talk back. I didn't know then it was her suppressing her true nature.
No one would normally spot that.
"That's why Aunt...... No. That won't happen now."
The reason she'd left a note saying 'Sorry' and vanished one morning—but that future was gone.
I have to do it.
Leave things as they were, and the same tragedy repeats. I'd have to steel myself.
Doing it would shatter our current life. If it backfired, we'd be estranged forever. But no other way.
"I need resolve."
What I planned, in one word: taboo.
Absolutely wrong for the woman who'd raised me like her own son. Still, I had to.
Otherwise, someone else would. Even if I stopped that, she'd suffer forever.
Her coldness, rigidity, strictness—all masks to hide herself.
I'd never seen her true nature in person. Just videos for a year.
Those videos shattered my life's purpose and hope.
If I'd noticed back then, would it have changed?...... Probably not.
I fumbled chances with girls who liked me. Even knowing her nature, I wouldn't have touched it.
But now? Different.
A new chance. One I'd never get again. No way I'd let it slip.