"I've already apologized, so can't you just forgive me?"
"I didn't mean for what happened before…"
"It's not like I meant to cheat on you. I just… forgot to break up with you first. You understand, right?"
Tokyo, Bunkyō Ward. At a street-facing, retro round table in a small book café near the ward office, Harano Tsukasa lowered his head slightly, taking a small sip of his now lukewarm iced Americano. The ice clinked faintly against the plastic cup as he set it down.
Condensation had formed along the cup's wall, dampening his palm. He pulled out a napkin and wiped his hand dry.
Across from him sat a beautiful woman in a beige baseball cap. Her expression was tinged with pleading pity, but under the table her foot tapped impatiently.
Bunkyō was packed with universities, which meant it was also full of young couples. The summer heat swept under the pleated skirts of passing girls, and at nearby tables, groups of college students chatted noisily, some using compacts to touch up their eyebrows — the air thick with youthful energy.
Yet Kato Masami, the woman in front of him, kept glancing nervously around as if she were hiding something.
And she was. The biggest difference between her and the local university girls wasn't her clothes or makeup — it was the unmistakable round swell under her dark green dress.
"I understand," Tsukasa said at last.
He finished wiping his palm, then carefully dried the condensation on the cup before putting the napkin aside. His gaze drifted from his hands to Masami's face… then lower, to the belly she was trying — and failing — to conceal.
Hearing his answer, Masami finally relaxed. The tension in her tapping foot eased, and she shifted her legs under the table. But this wasn't over yet — she still needed one more thing from him.
"So… Harano-kun, will you help me?" she asked, leaning forward slightly, voice dripping with sincerity. She bit her lower lip and stared into his eyes — a move that had rarely failed her before.
Even after two years without contact since graduation, Masami still remembered how he used to grant her every unreasonable request without hesitation. But this time… things weren't going so smoothly.
Tsukasa spun a black pen between his fingers, his gaze steady. After a pause, he said, "Faking a paternity test is illegal. If anyone finds out or reports it, I'll lose my job."
They weren't married. They weren't exactly exes, either.
Truthfully, he'd been her backup.
Back in college, the original "him" had chased her for four years — rain or shine, always there for her. Even when Masami had a boyfriend, he'd quietly support her. Not because he couldn't take "no" for an answer, but because she'd never actually said it — just dangled him along with mixed signals.
When single, she'd say she needed time to think. When dating someone else, she'd tell him he'd find a better girl, but that they could still be "friends."
Eventually she gave a vague "yes" — and three days later, before the poor guy's excitement even wore off, she dumped him for a new boyfriend… arm-in-arm, right in front of him.
After graduation, they drifted apart. He'd heard she got married, and that finally killed whatever feelings he'd had. Until now — two years later — this reunion.
The current Tsukasa, reborn into this body a week after the original's suicide by carbon monoxide, hadn't expected their first meeting to be this unpleasant. But when the pale-blue light screen appeared in his vision, he decided to stay seated and see it through.
"I'm out of options!" Masami blurted, grabbing his hand across the table, panic flashing in her eyes.
Realizing she'd overstepped, she let go and lowered her voice, her eyes reddening. "Even if we didn't end up together… you don't want to see my life ruined, do you? I really treasure what I have now. Even if it's humiliating to ask, I still came to you."
If you know it's humiliating, maybe don't open your mouth.
Your sky could fall and it still wouldn't be my problem.
Classic simp-and-manipulative-girl situation.
"Whose kid is it?" Tsukasa asked flatly, pulling his hand back.
Masami froze. She avoided his eyes, clearly unwilling to answer, but under his steady stare, she finally mumbled, "I drank too much that night…"
Apparently thinking that wasn't enough to play the victim, she lowered her head further, voice hoarse. "I'm a victim too… I just don't dare tell Watanabe-kun. I'm afraid he'll leave me."
Masami really was afraid of divorce.
She'd grown up in a small village in rural Ibaraki, eldest of three siblings. If she hadn't pushed herself to finish high school and make it to college, she'd still be stuck in that mountain village — two hours from the nearest city. University was her escape.
And once she arrived in Tokyo, she saw the lights of Asia's most glamorous city — and decided she was never going back. Using her good looks and steadily sharpening social skills, she worked her way toward men with money, laying the groundwork for her future from her freshman year.
By graduation, she'd landed a Tokyo-born graduate student as her target. She became a literature teacher at a national elementary school, and her husband joined a major shipping corporation through family connections. He traveled often, but brought home millions of yen a year.
It wasn't exactly marrying a tycoon, but compared to her old classmates, she was living the dream.
But she'd played too much.
As for what happened that night… there were too many people, and the room was too dark to tell who was who.
"In that case," Tsukasa said evenly, "why fake a paternity test? If you'd gotten an abortion earlier, this wouldn't be a problem."
She had thought about it. But even after taking emergency measures, she'd gotten unlucky — very unlucky.
The only reason she was asking him was because his job in the Ward Office's Health and Welfare Division meant he could help discreetly, for free.
Even so, she was shocked he hadn't instantly agreed. Fighting her irritation, she put on a teary-eyed look. "Watanabe-kun really wants a child. The moment I showed pregnancy symptoms, he told the whole family. Even if I wanted to… end it… afterward, it was already too late."
"…I see." Tsukasa nodded slightly.
Masami clutched her chest and looked up, eyes shimmering. "Harano-kun, you once promised to take care of me for the rest of my life."
"Just help me one last time. Please?"
The one who made that promise wasn't me.
But if you insist… I can make sure the rest of your life is taken care of — just not the way you want.
Under her anxious, hopeful gaze, Tsukasa finally nodded. "Alright."
After all — delivering a recording of this conversation to her husband and parents was also a form of "taking care of her." Or maybe even gathering ten possible fathers for the kid and sending them all to explain things in person.
"Thank you," Masami said, visibly relieved — especially since he hadn't even hinted at any physical "payment" for his help. She glanced at her watch, then quickly stood up, slinging her bag over her arm.
"Then I'll leave it to you. I won't disturb you at work — I'll treat you to dinner sometime. You've really saved me."
"Goodbye," Tsukasa said, waving as he pressed the stop button on the recorder hidden on the table.
She gave one last nod of thanks and walked off, her pregnant belly swaying slightly as she blended into the crowd. In seconds, she was gone.
Tsukasa finished the last sip of his coffee, eyes focusing on the faint red screen floating in front of him.
[Wish List Assistance Activated]
[Full Reward System Activated]
[Wish Monitoring Activated]
[Current Wish Target: Kato Masami]
[Wish List]
Make Harano Tsukasa agree to forge a fake paternity test for me, or I'll have to spend a lot of money. (White)
I really want to have a fight with my mother-in-law. (White)
The neighbor's dog is so annoying — maybe I should buy some poison tonight and get rid of it. There are no cameras, so I won't get caught. (White)
[First wish fulfilled]
[Random basic reward drawing…]
[First-wish achievement unlocked]
[Rewards granted:]
– Automatic Salary Raise Card (+0.1 yen/sec)
– Random Achievement Card (stored)
[Automatic rewards active. Accumulated amount can be withdrawn at any time.]