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Chapter 16: Final : The Amber Afterglow and the Economics of the Night
Ting. The glass mugs collided with a pleasant ring, the clear, pale-gold liquid swaying gently inside. Just as the white foam atop the surface threatened to spill over the rim, the middle-aged men raised their glasses and drained them in one go, letting out simultaneous sighs of satisfaction.
"Feels like it's been a long time since we sat down like this."
Yoshida picked up the bottle and refilled the glass of the friend sitting across from him.
"Isn't that because a certain someone has been 'busy' lately?"
Hashimoto glanced at him, tapping his finger lightly on the table.
"Well, how should I put it..."
Observing that Hashimoto was already visibly tipsy, Yoshida deliberately slowed his movements. After filling his own glass, he placed the bottle a bit further away.
"I should be more free from now on."
Some time had passed since he and Sayu had bared their hearts to each other. Occasionally, Yoshida would receive a message from her while at work, telling him it was fine if he came home late.
Taking the hint, Yoshida would usually go to have a tryst with Ms. Goto. The sudden spike in sexual frequency had been blissful for her at first, but after a few days, she had actually burst into tears—reaching a climax just as her swollen, reddened entrance accepted his ejaculation.
Even though Ms. Goto repeatedly explained afterward that she was just "too comfortable" and that she would open her legs for him whenever he wanted to insert, Yoshida still felt a deep sense of self-reflection after seeing her walking with tiny, ginger steps at the office, her brow furrowed in discomfort.
Coincidentally, Hashimoto had returned from a short vacation, leading to today's little gathering.
"I'm not blaming you," Hashimoto's voice pulled Yoshida's drifting thoughts back. "After all... dating her must be exhausting, right?"
Draining his beer, Hashimoto sighed. On the surface, it seemed their situations had swapped, but getting entangled with a runaway high school girl wasn't exactly an enviable position for a mundane salaryman.
"It's alright. But what about you... still the same?"
Right, I don't really have the luxury to worry about others, Hashimoto thought with a bitter smile as he heard Yoshida's concerned tone.
"It's probably hopeless."
"Do you want to tell me what's actually going on?"
"She..."
After a moment's hesitation, Hashimoto decided to discard his useless pride and vent the bitterness in his heart.
"She wasn't at her parents' house at all. I have no idea where she went."
Yoshida remained silent, performing his duty as a listener.
"Maybe... maybe she's cheating. Staying with another man..."
Once the seal was broken, the rest wasn't so hard to say. Hashimoto spoke with a look of total defeat, detailing the descent: from the mysterious temper tantrums and arguments, to the refusal of intimacy, to sleeping in separate rooms, then the frequent outings with hidden destinations, and finally, her total disappearance.
Yoshida was still immersed in a faint melancholy as he stepped off the train and walked the final stretch toward home.
Hashimoto's wife was a peculiar woman. Petite and sweet-looking, she spoke without mercy and acted with fierce efficiency—a personality diametrically opposed to her appearance. Occasionally, unfamiliar colleagues would express pity for Hashimoto being "henpecked," but he would always say with a smile that marrying her was the greatest happiness of his life.
And yet, even someone like her...
"Yoshida-san~"
A sweet, syrupy call broke his train of thought. It came from a girl in a high school uniform standing under a nearby utility pole.
"Sorry, have you been waiting long?"
Getting Hashimoto settled back at home had taken quite a bit of time.
"Not at all, I just got back myself."
Sayu, who had been leaning against the pole, stood up and lightly brushed the dust off her back. The uniform she wore, somewhat wrinkled, seemed a size too small; the skirt barely covered the base of her thighs, and the silhouette of her large breasts was strikingly clear.
"Ah—what is it?"
Before Yoshida realized it, he had pulled Sayu into his arms, burying his face in the crook of her neck to greedily inhale her scent. The surging emotion in his chest was uncontrollable. He was simply thinking: I'm so glad I met her.
"I haven't showered yet."
Sayu didn't pull away, returning the hug tenderly. Her body carried the lewd scent of recent intercourse with another man — a thick, musky mix of sweat, latex, and masculine cum.
"It doesn't matter. It's better this way."
"Yoshida-san, honestly... chu~"