Uncle Hikigaya is Forever Young [60]

When Ryōhei heard Yuigahama-san ask him if raising the kids alone was hard—

Of course it was hard!

Because he was poor!

But how could he possibly say something so blunt in front of such a gentle, refined woman?

Besides, compared to some of his worst moments in his previous life, his current situation was far better.

With a small sigh, Hikigaya Ryōhei assumed his role: “If I told you it wasn’t tough, Yuigahama-san, you probably wouldn’t believe me anyway. At first, it really was rough. After all, a lot of embarrassing things happened to me, and their mother was also quite a—… Let’s not mention her. Honestly, there are many things you just have to grit your teeth and get through. The kids are obedient and understanding, and gradually I got used to it. Hard or not, life goes on anyway.”

Ryōhei had just casually said this.

Unexpectedly, Yuigahama-san tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and nodded earnestly, “That’s true. As parents, we must set an example and live bravely. From what I’ve seen, your three children seem quite close. You really are an admirable person, Hikigaya-san.”

“You’re too kind. There are still many areas where I need to improve.”

“You’re truly humble. But a good attitude really is important, you know!”

Even Ryōhei felt a bit embarrassed to be praised like this by Yuigahama-san.

Actually, his aesthetic tastes differed from the original Hikigaya Ryōhei’s quite a bit.

The original Ryōhei seemed especially infatuated with the cool, aloof, high-maintenance beauty type like Tōma Kazusa—beautiful and proud, yet awkward and troublesome.

There’s nothing wrong with liking beautiful women, of course, but given the original Ryōhei’s modest circumstances, his pursuit seemed completely irrational.

Just a momentary lapse of judgment, probably!

But, after all, love itself is illogical—sometimes you really couldn’t help yourself, could you?

The current Ryōhei, however, wasn’t especially drawn to Kazusa’s type. In his previous life, he had preferred interacting with gentle, considerate, soft-spoken, and sensible women.

And if they shared common interests, like books they’d read or things they’d learned, that would be even better…

Ah…

Today, Yuigahama-san remained as gentle and lovely as ever, wearing the same simple, elegant turtleneck sweater and long skirt she wore the first time they met.

Although she lacked the refined elegance Kazusa displayed, if you looked closely, she was the type of woman whose beauty might not strike you immediately, but grew more appealing with time.

Any lack of glamour was merely due to her modest appearance.

Her skin couldn’t be described as porcelain-smooth and flawless like Kazusa’s, but even without makeup, there wasn’t a single imperfection. Her features were undeniably soft and graceful.

Of course, he merely admired Yuigahama-san and perhaps envied the husband he’d never met—he didn’t have any inappropriate thoughts.

A mature, steady adult knew exactly where to draw the line. Simple admiration, that’s all.

“Yui! Come out quickly and help Hikigaya-sensei tidy up the house a bit!”

Yuigahama-san called toward the house.

“Oh, there’s really no need for that,” Ryōhei hastily waved his hand.

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all! Besides, my Yui and Hachiman-kun are classmates.”

...

After shooing her daughter off to help Sensei in his new home, Yuigahama-san chatted idly with Ryōhei for a few more minutes by the front door.

They made plans to meet again more formally in a couple of days.

Then Ryōhei headed back to his old place to fetch some pots and pans—there really wasn’t much left. Just two quick bike trips would probably be enough.

Yuigahama-san also returned inside to start cooking dinner.

Yuigahama-san’s full name was Yuigahama Asuna.

She’d just turned thirty-three this year.

At first glance, with a daughter old enough to help around the house, one might think she was older, but actually, she was barely two years older than someone as carefree as Machida Sonoko.

She had gotten married early. Yui was sixteen this year, meaning she’d gotten pregnant and had her daughter at only seventeen.

Holding the spatula, she found herself recalling Hikigaya-san’s earlier words.

Raising children alone was indeed terribly, terribly hard!

She had thought she’d long forgotten.

But today, Hikigaya-san’s experience stirred up old memories once more.

Back when she was still a young girl, she too had wholeheartedly sacrificed everything for love. Ignoring their vast family-status differences, she’d stubbornly insisted on staying together with the one she loved.

She’d even fallen out with her family over this.

Her parents had long ago planned to marry her into an established, noble family.

Those days truly were painful.

Now and then, in quiet moments at night, Yuigahama-san still wondered: If I could go back and choose again, would I still make the same decision?

...

“What am I thinking about? That’s all ancient history now.”

Yuigahama-san suddenly snapped out of her reverie and laughed self-deprecatingly.

“Look at you, already so old yet still rieminiscing about youthful days…ha…”

The first few years after Yui was born were also incredibly tough.

Two inexperienced teenagers trying to raise a child while juggling part-time jobs was already exhausting enough.

Those days had been filled with hardship.

So much so that even now, there wasn’t a single proper family photo of the three of them together.

Much later, Yui’s father had managed, thanks to some talent in programming and sheer luck, to get a job as a programmer at a leading global ICT company, finally improving their living conditions.

He’d worked incredibly hard, determined to provide his wife and daughter a brighter future.

But the young Asuna quickly learned a harsh truth—not all sincere efforts are rewarded.

Just like not all injustices are eventually righted.

Back then, Yui’s father had desperately pushed himself every single day.

If he didn’t work hard, he’d be replaced.

If he lost his job, how could he protect his family?

No matter how exhausted he was, he never dared to rest.

During his time at that company, he was even expected to remain on-call at the client’s site throughout holidays.

Twenty-two months into his relentless schedule, one evening when she had brought dinner to him, he suddenly complained of a severe headache and wanted to go wash his face. But just as she’d helped him take a couple of steps…

He collapsed, quickly lost consciousness, and then began vomiting.

Just like that, without even a final word, he closed his eyes forever in her embrace.

...

Dinner was ready, but Yuigahama-san still sat quietly on her chair.

Her expression was calm—she wasn’t crying, nor were her eyes red.

She glanced toward the photo sitting on a cabinet a few meters away—a portrait of her and her late husband, taken when they were both just sixteen.

Heh, no matter how many times I look at it, this picture is always a bit embarrassing!

Strangers might even mistake it for a picture of two siblings—one with tea-colored hair, the other black-haired.

They’d been so young back then…

---

A/N: Though I personally prefer Setsuna slightly more, I’m still firmly in the Tōma-Kitahara ship.

Lately, it seems that stocks for the “Big Dango” are doing pretty well, huh?

This is a fan translation of 比企谷大叔永远年轻 by Stargazer All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!