Husband and Wife Pass by Each Other - Chapter 3 English

 Chapter 3 - Bewildered Husband

Ryuji glanced at Kasumi, who was gripping the steering wheel with both hands, staring intently ahead. He let out a small, almost inaudible sigh.

Kasumi had returned from work with an unusual aura, and, in a tone that suggested she might be angry, she declared, “We’re going out today, just the two of us. You’re free, right?” Though she wasn’t exactly asking.

Kasumi wasn’t the type to lash out in childish fits of anger, so Ryuji couldn’t help but feel anxious, wondering what he might have done wrong.

Ever since they’d married and their daughter Akari was born, they’d rarely gone on dates, just the two of them. Sure, they’d both been busy, but on top of that, Ryuji always felt guilty leaving Akari with her highly capable, important in-laws just for a date. So, such time alone was rare. He hadn’t imagined it would come about in a mood like this.

Ryuji felt a bit tense.

As they reached an intersection and Kasumi hit the brakes, a slight vibration pulsed up from beneath his seat. Oddly enough, today they’d taken his small car instead of Kasumi’s usual ride.

Ryuji had offered to drive, but with a cool “It’s fine,” Kasumi had declined. Having long accepted that his driving skills were no match for hers, Ryuji simply nodded and said no more.

Normally, their conversations mostly consisted of him listening to her. But right now, all that filled the car was a stifling awkwardness.

With no other choice, Ryuji turned his gaze to the scenery outside, letting the passing view distract him.

As he watched the world flow by, he found himself thinking back to his college days when he first met Kasumi.

Ryuji had been a serious student.

Or perhaps it was more accurate to say he’d had no other choice.

For college students, then and now, the social landscape is everything: who you know, the friends you make—those connections determined success in navigating campus life, lab placements, job hunts, and even those treasured youthful moments. Without friends, a student’s fate was almost certainly bleak.

For a loner like him, the only defense against such hardship was to be extremely diligent.

He didn’t have friends to tell him about easy classes, but he could just study harder to pass. Even without old exams to study from, he could earn good enough grades by genuinely working hard.

He handled lab assignments and job hunting by researching on his own, trying, failing, and still persevering. This way, he figured he could graduate and find a job on his own merits.

That was Ryuji’s life—a painfully dull, often grueling campus experience.

No friends, no girlfriend, no dreams, no hobbies. He lived frugally, stretching the hard-earned money his parents sent him from their rural home. His days were filled with nothing but study and experiments. He felt like he was wasting the university life his parents had worked so hard to give him.

Ryuji thought he’d live his entire life that way, working and going through the motions. In fact, he’d begun to suspect that he was the type of person who would eventually become a burden to those around him, someone people found bothersome.

So when Kasumi first spoke to him, he couldn’t understand why.

It had been one of those days when he sat through a lecture like a fool.

It was the kind of end-of-term class most students would skip—no attendance taken, no tests. All it required was a short paper mixing lecture notes and a bit of internet research to earn the credits. Yet there he was, listening from the front row.

For Ryuji, who had no friends to travel with or money to spend, showing up to unimportant classes was the only way he could maintain his sense of self.

And that’s when Kasumi spoke to him.

Of course, he knew who she was.

She was, without question, the prettiest girl in their year. She was always in the middle of a lively group in the classroom, laughing and chatting. Whenever he saw her, his eyes would inevitably follow.

Yet here she was, talking to him. She asked for his contact info, and they arranged to go out for a meal.

At first, he thought it was some sort of prank, but it wasn’t. He wondered if she might be trying to recruit him for a multi-level marketing scheme, but it wasn’t that, either.

She said she wanted to date him, and they went on several dates. He didn’t understand why. They went to the aquarium, the movies, karaoke—places he chose with no sense of flair. Yet she genuinely enjoyed herself.

For Ryuji, this was the first time anyone had seemed so happy just to be with him.

That was why, when graduation neared, he agonized over whether they should keep dating. She was a good person, and he feared his presence would drag her down. The snide remarks from her friends weren’t just malice or jealousy—they were probably true. He wrestled with these thoughts over and over.

And then, when he tried to break things off, she yelled at him. He was shocked, but it made him happy, and before he knew it, they were married.

In appearance, income, lifestyle skills, and taste—however you looked at it, they were nowhere near a match.

Ryuji stared out the window.

Their little car had traveled far from the city center where he, Kasumi, and Akari lived. The scenery outside grew sparse.

Where were they heading? All he had to do was ask, but Ryuji couldn’t bring himself to say a word to her.