Only I, Her Future Husband, Know How to Make Her Act All Lovey-Dovey - Chapter 3

Episode 3: My Middle School Wife is Too Cute

“How do you know my name? Have we met somewhere before?”

She tilted her head with a puzzled expression.

It’s definitely Yuki. 

Middle school Yuki!

Tears welled up in my eyes. 

Maybe because I’m younger now, my tear ducts have become more sensitive.

“……”

While I tried to hold back my tears, she walked closer to me and peered under the bridge.

“If you’re planning to jump, I’d advise against it. You probably wouldn’t die from this height. At best, you’d just break your legs.”

“What? J-Jump?!”

Apparently, she thought I was a would-be suicide victim.

Well, I couldn’t blame her. 

It was the middle of winter, with a swollen river below, and I was standing on the railing of a bridge. 

To any onlooker, I must’ve looked like a desperate person about to jump.

“Are you my age? Burned out from studying for exams? Or maybe being bullied?”

“N-No, it’s not like that…”

“Is that so? Well, whatever. I’ve got exams coming up soon. Could you not ruin the mood with bad omens?”

Bad omens… Exams… Oh, she meant “falling” as in failing.

She scratched the back of her hand and sighed in exasperation.

Her attitude seemed indifferent, but I could tell she was worried.

She had a habit of scratching the back of her hand when she was anxious. 

Apparently, that habit dated back to her childhood.

“Are you done with the jumping idea?”

“Ah, yeah.”

“Good. Then go home already.”

Relieved, she exhaled softly and started walking toward the train station.

“W-Wait!”

“? What is it?”

Before I realized it, I had called out to stop her from leaving.

But no words came out. I had so much I wanted to say.

We had spent years talking every day after we got married.

Yet the words that finally escaped my mouth sounded like a clueless middle schooler trying to flirt.

“W-Which high school are you aiming for?”

“? Shichibo Gakuen. I just came back from their open house today.”

The name she mentioned was the prestigious school I’d heard her talk about in the future.

She would enroll there, graduate as the top student, and—

“Is that all? Then I’ll be on my way.”

I stood frozen for a while, watching her walk away.

I was stunned—not just because I had met her again.

“Middle school Yuki… She’s adorable.”

I had seen her countless times as an adult, but there was a distinct charm to her younger self.

The word “cute” suited her more than “beautiful.”

“I want to see her again…”

Without realizing it, I had whispered those words.

“Thanks for the meal.”

After dinner at home, I went to my room and took out a piece of paper from my school bag.

It was my High School Preference Survey.

The high school I had graduated from was Miyagi Town High. 

It was five stations away, a decent school where I’d spent a somewhat enjoyable student life with my male friends—though she wasn’t there.

The first-choice field was blank. 

What should I write there?

“……”

This was a turning point.

If I didn’t write “Miyagi Town High,” my life would undoubtedly diverge from the one I had lived before.

I wasn’t entirely without fear.

What if the life I’d already lived turned out to be better?

But—

I gripped the ballpoint pen tightly.

“If you could go back in time, confess to me as many times as it takes. Teach me what youth is.”

Her words from the future lingered in my mind.

Maybe this time leap was meant to fulfill her wish.

Why else would I have returned to this exact winter in my third year of middle school, right before deciding my path?

The reason must be—

“Alright, let’s do this!”

Before I knew it, my fear had vanished.

All that remained in my heart was one wish: to meet her again.

I scribbled the name of the high school onto the preference survey.

Masamune Suzuhara. Desired high school: Shichibo Gakuen

Reason for choice: Because my wife is there.