Uncle Hikigaya is Forever Young [58]

Seeing the faint, subtly mischievous smile tugging at the corners of her mother's mouth—a smile that only she could truly understand—Yuigahama Yui instantly knew that her days ahead probably wouldn’t be easy.

But hearing her mom mention Hikigaya Hachiman, she couldn’t help remembering that day when the seemingly ordinary, black-haired boy had rushed out to save her.

Her cheeks flushed just a little.

Still, this girl was troubled.

Originally, she had planned to thank Hikigaya Hachiman properly at school, but he seemed… a bit unapproachable.

Has he even talked to anyone on his own yet?

Every time she wanted to approach him, she'd hesitate again.

How would the others look at her?

Well! Maybe it was better to wait and see!

If he was really going to become her neighbor, there should be plenty of opportunities to talk, right?

Yuigahama Yui slumped on the sofa, suddenly thinking about this.

In truth, for a teenage girl her age, it was impossible not to care at least a little about a boy who had bravely stepped up for her.

That was just how a young girl’s heart worked…

...

Before bed that night, Yui couldn't resist calling her friend Miura Yumiko to complain.

But as soon as the conversation turned to Hikigaya Ryōhei-sensei, even Yumiko, on the other end of the phone, began teasing her mercilessly.

“Wow, Yui! Your teacher’s gonna be living next door? Congratulations, haha!”

“Ah! Yumiko, not you too…”

Holding back laughter, Yumiko paused a bit, deciding to share a secret with Yui as well.

“Actually, this Hikigaya-sensei is connected to my family too! I heard my dad mention him a long time ago. Apparently, they’re childhood best friends or something. Thank goodness he’s not living near me, otherwise my dad would definitely drag me there every day for tutoring. Adults in their midlife crisis are really impossible to understand.”

Having just taken a bath, Yumiko lay on her bed, her hair still steaming as she chattered on endlessly.

“Hey! So, what kind of person is Hikigaya-sensei anyway?”

Yui’s curiosity was piqued. Or rather, girls her age were born with gossip radar.

Especially when it came to teachers—without some juicy gossip, she simply couldn’t sleep tonight.

“Well, from how my dad talks about him, he must be a good guy. He said stuff about them studying together, even holding guns together, and being good friends with my mom too. Oh, right! Seems this uncle recently got divorced, lost his job, and went bankrupt or something. But now he's teaching at our Sōbu High. Pretty amazing, huh?”

“Ooh! Hey, so why did he get divorced? Isn’t Hikigaya-sensei pretty handsome? He’s funny in class, too.”

By now, Yui had already forgotten why she’d initially called. “Sensei probably has a good personality, right?”

Naturally, the girl assumed that a father who raised such a brave son couldn’t possibly be bad, right?

Yumiko on the other end got more excited as she spoke, unconsciously activating her hidden mode as a neighborhood gossip lady.

“Well, apparently… don’t go spreading this around, okay? I accidentally overheard my parents talking. This uncle’s story seems pretty dramatic, something like an eight-o’clock soap opera… Basically, he pampered his beautiful wife for over ten years, but then she suddenly rekindled things with her first love. One abandoned her husband and kids, the other abandoned his wife and kid… something along those lines. Well, I overheard it secretly, anyway.”

Ehhhhh?!

Is this what the adult world is like?

So, this is how adults really are?

Yuigahama Yui widened her eyes, staring blankly at the familiar ceiling for a moment.

Then realization hit her!

“Wah! First love… Is first love really that intense?”

Apparently, she only picked up on the phrase “first love.”

Speaking of which, she was already sixteen, but she had never dated anyone yet.

Sure, a boy had confessed to her once before—but his reason was just because her voice sounded similar to the famous voice actress Tōyama Nao, so he wanted to go out with her…

Sure, she liked her own voice too, but there was no way she’d accept him just because of that, right?

“Hey, hey, hey! Yui! What nonsense are you thinking?!”

Yumiko’s angry voice snapped the little dango out of her fantasy.

Yui was startled—what had she said wrong to irritate Yumiko again?

“That's not the point! Aren’t they already adults? Chasing after first loves like little girls—don’t you think that's ridiculous? Yui, something’s definitely wrong with your values! Are you even listening? Answer me!”

Without closing her eyes, Yui could vividly imagine Yumiko’s harsh glare at her phone.

Wait, Yumiko, aren't you a little girl yourself?

“I-I’m listening! It just slipped out randomly, haha!” Yumiko’s scolding made Yui nearly want to kneel in apology immediately. Only when she sat up straight in bed did she remember she was still in her own home.

“The fact you just casually say stuff like that is the real issue! Your thinking is really dangerous…”

Yumiko kept lecturing nonstop, launching into a full-blown rant.

Yui didn’t dare hang up, so she could only obediently endure Yumiko’s lecture for a while.

Geez, Yumiko could be like this sometimes—exactly like an old mom nagging endlessly.

Even my own mother never scolded me like this!

...

“What’s up with that girl? Still awake at this hour, chatting endlessly on the phone? I should go give her a piece of my mind!”

Meanwhile, downstairs in the Miura family home, lying exhausted on the sofa after a weeklong business trip to Vladivostok, Miura Kōzō complained loudly.

However, his wife immediately pressed him back down gently.

“She’s probably just chatting with her best friend. Don’t worry about it—it’s not like she does it often anyway.”

His gentle wife’s slightest tug was enough for Miura Kōzō to surrender and obediently rest again, nestling his head comfortably onto her soft thighs.

“Forget about that silly girl for now! Tell me, while I was gone, did you remember to take your medication properly?”

After closing his eyes briefly, Kōzō suddenly opened them again, asking quietly.

Though his line of sight was slightly obstructed by a familiar softness, he couldn’t clearly see his wife’s eyes.

Perhaps it was his imagination, but he felt that even that comforting softness had gotten smaller recently.

After all, Fusako had been in poor health for over a year now—regular gene therapies every month, along with countless rounds of medication.

She’d become noticeably thinner… all because he hadn’t taken good enough care of her…

“Yes, yes, of course I have. Anyway, let’s change the topic! Today, Machida-san’s mother called me again. She mentioned wanting Sonoko-san to meet with Ryōhei again.”

A pang of bitterness rose in Miura Kōzō’s heart. He had already seen the medicine bottles. There were clearly more pills left than there should’ve been.

Fusako was secretly reducing her dosage to save money, wasn’t she?

He was just worried she’d stress herself out too much. After all, wasn’t it just money?

Money… it was really hard…

“Tch! Didn’t that old lady look down on my buddy last time?” Kōzō lazily twisted his neck, pressing his cheek against his wife’s belly as he grumbled.

“No, she didn’t! Machida-san neither accepted nor rejected last time, you know?”

---

A/N: About Kasumigaoka-senpai, the current setting is that she's a sophomore university student, considering Editor Machida-san is almost 32 already.

Suddenly realized—in a Great Depression setting like this, Tomoya’s life must be truly miserable. He probably wouldn’t even find bricks to carry.

T/N: LMAOOO Tomoya getting strays

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!