Chapter 54
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: After the Fireworks (2)
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Sakuragi Yuka had grown up in a very affluent household as a child.
Her father was a section chief at a successful company, and times in Japan were good back then.
Thanks to that, the family lived comfortably, with happy days stretching on one after another.
"The company... went bankrupt?!"
That is, until the bubble burst in Japan.
The nightmare known as the bubble economy, which plunged the entire massive nation of Japan into a recession, came crashing down on the Sakuragi household.
Her father was laid off, and her mother, who had always handled household chores, Yuka's education, and her studies, started working part-time jobs.
Fortunately, like in typical Japanese society, they didn't end up on the streets right away.
Her parents reacted quickly, so the losses were relatively minimal.
The real problem was Japan's endlessly stagnating economy.
Her father tried to get back on his feet. Again and again.
And thankfully, his efforts paid off.
He landed a job at a smaller company than before, but one that was more solidly run and not a bad place at all.
But since it was a small company, it was hard for the family to live extravagantly.
Her mother kept working part-time at places like supermarkets, and Yuka herself had such a small allowance that she rarely went out, focusing solely on her studies at home.
Thanks to that, Yuka consistently ranked among the top in her entire school.
And that's where the problem arose.
During her high school days, Yuka became convinced.
'With deviation scores like these... I could get into a top university.'
She was sure her grades were good enough to enter one of those universities that any Japanese person would recognize.
It wasn't just a delusion. Her deviation score exam results for university entrance and even her teachers all said the same thing.
The only issue was...
'Tuition is such a burden...'
With the money she was saving from her part-time jobs, there was no way she could afford the university she wanted.
'A scholarship might cover it, but...'
Even so, it would still be a razor-thin margin, leaving Yuka no choice but to worry.
After agonizing over it for a long time, the conclusion Yuka reached was...
'I need to sell my first time.'
She decided to engage in compensated dating.
It might sound like the thinking of some trashy whore, but it was a conclusion she'd reached after careful deliberation.
To be precise, it wasn't about steadily selling her body ongoing.
'I'll sell my first time for a high price, then go back to honest part-time work.'
She figured she'd sell her most valuable asset as a woman—her virginity—for top dollar.
Up until the point when she first started wrestling with these thoughts, Yuka had never considered doing something like this.
She thought working diligently at part-time jobs would suffice, but even that didn't seem enough to cover both tuition and living expenses fully.
So her plan was to make a big one-time score for tuition, then earn living expenses through steady part-time work.
One might question whether her first time was worth that much, but Yuka's looks were exceptionally striking.
At the very least, men willing to buy her virginity would line up in droves.
Her skin was a bit tanned from hanging out with friends, but there were still more suitors than she could handle.
That's why she decided to sell her first time for a premium price.
Having resolved to sell her virginity, Yuka mobilized all her connections to find someone rich, not too old, and unlikely to want an ongoing relationship.
It seemed like a tall order, but surprisingly, such a person existed.
It was Sato Daichi, who would later become her husband.
Astonishingly, Daichi was the perfect match for Yuka.
He believed that losing his own virginity called for a virgin rather than a streetwalker, and for his future success, he wanted a one-and-done relationship he'd never have to see again.
But couldn't someone else have fit the bill just as well?
Word was, he chose Yuka because she resembled a gal from his school days he'd never even spoken to...
In any case, Yuka sold her first time to cover tuition, and at the same time...
"Two lines?!"
She got pregnant.
Due to the unusual state she was in—far from her normal self—Yuka quickly realized she was pregnant.
When she first learned she was having Takuya, Yuka struggled. No, it went beyond struggle; she came to hate the child.
After all, the life she had envisioned—attending a great university and paving a smooth path ahead—seemed derailed.
But...
"Yeah. This child hasn't done anything wrong..."
Abortion was absolutely out of the question. Even if it wasn't planned, the baby was innocent.
So she told her parents the whole truth and contacted that man, Daichi, to inform him of the facts.
Daichi initially demanded proof it was his child, but Yuka silenced him by saying it was her first and last experience.
Amid tears from her father, whom she was seeing for the first time, her belly gradually swelled, and she soon took leave from school to prepare for birth.
For the record, Daichi had some conscience; he covered all hospital bills, delivery costs, and postpartum care expenses.
After all the ups and downs, the child she finally gave birth to was... truly...
"I-Is this child really mine?"
"Yes. Please hold your baby, ma'am."
Indescribably beautiful.
With eyes that couldn't yet open properly, it strained desperately to peek out, twisting its large head this way and that to gaze around.
Tiny hands flailed, reaching to grasp its mother's finger.
"Ah, aa. Aaa..."
And when it spotted its mother, a smile like pure bliss bloomed across the baby's previously scrunched face. That day, Yuka truly realized she had gained something irreplaceable in her life.
"Uguuuu... You always try to do only good things for meee..."
"Hic, got it, so... Yuka... go to sleeep now..."
Once home, Yuka couldn't hold back the shock and ended up drinking heavily with Ayaka.
How much did they drink?
One beer.... Let's leave it at that.
In any event, thoroughly drunk, Yuka was supposed to head to her room to sleep as Ayaka suggested...
"Hehe. Taku-yan!"
"Mm... Yuka... Mom, what? Huh?"
But instead, she went straight to Takuya's room.
Takuya, who had just been drifting off to sleep, was startled by Yuka bursting in but then...
-Plop.
...suddenly found her diving right on top of him, blowing away any trace of drowsiness.
"Gah."
Complete with that sound effect.
Now fully awake, Takuya tried to send Yuka back to her room.
"Hehehehe, rubbing cheeks with my beloved Takuya♡ Rub-rub♡"
But seeing her grab his face and nuzzle her cheek against his, he let out a deep sigh and just let her have her fun.
She must have had a tough day. Takuya wasn't the real one, but still, he figured she deserved some comfort through this body.
After enduring Yuka's antics for quite a while, Takuya could finally close his eyes once she fell asleep hugging him.
In the dead of night, after Takuya had become Yuka's body pillow and fallen asleep.
Step. Step.
The sound of someone walking echoed through Takuya's house, where only insect chirps should have been audible.
If Takuya, who was extremely sensitive to sounds, had been awake, he would have noticed immediately. But exhausted from multiple rounds of sex and dealing with Yuka's drunken ramblings, he slept soundly without a clue.
As the footsteps drew closer to Takuya's room...
Click.
-Slide.
That someone—no.
"Hehe, sleeping so soundly?"
Ayaka, who should have been passed out drunk with Yuka, boldly opened the door and entered.
To be exact, wearing nothing but a see-through negligee with no bra underneath, everything visible...
Ayaka knelt by the bed, gazing at the peacefully sleeping Yuka and Takuya, a smile creeping across her face—indescribably ominous, or perhaps greedily predatory.
"You two are just so cute~"
She said that while poking Takuya's cheek.
"Ugh. I-I'm sorryyy..."
"Kuku."
Ayaka laughed delightedly at Takuya's discomforted grimace.
"I know best how much Takuya has changed~"
It was the kind of statement that would have left Takuya dumbfounded, even horrified, if he'd heard it. But oh well—he was asleep.
"Still, I love you, Takuya. No matter what anyone says, you're my son..."
Those words were sincere. Ayaka loved Takuya. Enough to abandon her family for him.
No—more precisely, unlike the empty shell he used to be, she truly loved her son as he was now.
And with that, directing her words toward her dear friend who valued that empty shell even more than the real thing...
"Yuka, just wait a little longer, and you'll understand too. How precious Takuya is to us."
Ayaka said, gently straightening her friend's disheveled hair as she smiled adorably in her sleep.
After admiring the pair sleeping for about ten minutes, Ayaka finally stood, satisfied.
"Sweet dreams, both of you~♥"
She murmured that as she quietly closed the door behind her.
"Hehe, Takuya..."
"Mm. Huh, Mom..."
Takuya was still utterly clueless about the people in this house.