[ENG] Yome ni Uwaki Saretara, Daigaku Jidai ni Modotte Kimashita! V1 Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When it comes to orientation, everyone thinks it’s a chance to make friends. But even if you make friends here, it’s usually at the department mixers later on where you really bond with people you click with. So, is it okay to skip orientation? I mean, this department has…

“Tokiwa-kun, mind if I sit next to you?”

It was the very start of orientation. I’d taken a spot in the corner of the classroom, flipping through the syllabus, when my wife spoke to me. She’d gone and done it.

“There are plenty of girls in the architecture department, so you’d be better off joining one of their groups. Hanging out with me isn’t exactly fun, you know.”

Naturally, I felt awkward. I’d braced myself for the fact that we’d run into each other since we’re in the same department. But I never expected her to approach me first. Especially considering that, even in this second loop of life, I’d already clashed with her childhood-friend-type fling at the entrance ceremony.

“I don’t think that’s true… Is it really a no?”

“…Ugh… Do whatever you want…”

Those teary, pleading eyes made it hard to say no. Or rather, I couldn’t say no. I’d once been her ATM during our brief married life, after all. My body might still reflexively try to grant her wishes. Or maybe it’s just a habit born from knowing how messy and annoying things get when she’s upset.

“Hey, that girl…” “She’s insanely gorgeous.” “You don’t know her? I think she’s a reader model.” “Didn’t she compete in the national cheerleading championships?” “With a face like that and she still got into our school? She’s too perfect.” “But since she’s in our department, maybe there’s a chance?” “Someone go talk to her already!”

Whispers echoed around me. Everyone was staring at my wife. Of course they were. She had a face that a hundred out of a hundred people would call beautiful. Her mysterious eyes and hair color even gave her an almost mystical aura. Later, she’d go on to win the campus beauty pageant by a landslide. At this point, her beauty was practically a weapon. And because I was casually sitting next to her, I could feel a vague hostility from the guys around me.

“Hey, Tokiwa-kun, which classes are you taking? At university, as long as you meet the credit requirements, you can take as many as you want or skip them entirely, right? It’s so different from high school. It’s hard to believe we were stuck with a fixed schedule just a little while ago.”

“I was a ronin, so I don’t really remember much about high school anymore.”

I cut her off mid-conversation. There’s always a gap between freshmen straight out of high school and those who took a gap year. It fades eventually, but for now, it’s noticeable.

“Huh? You’re older…? Oh, I’m sorry! I’ve been talking so casually this whole time.”

She suddenly switched to polite speech, her face genuinely apologetic. This was bad. I’d prefer she kept talking to me like this, but that attitude wouldn’t fly with other ronin students. In university, everyone in the same year uses casual speech, regardless of age.

“You don’t need to use polite speech with people in the same year. University sorts us by grade, not age—ronin or not.”

“Oh… I see! That’s a relief. Phew. For a second, it felt like a wall went up between us. I got a little startled. Hehe.”

She smiled cutely, visibly relieved. Even now, I couldn’t help but think she was adorable. I’d never seen my wife this young up close before. Back then, I’d only ever watched her from afar. That’s why I only now noticed how much thinner her half-up braid was than I’d imagined. The realization hit me with an overwhelming restlessness. So, I stood up.

“I’m stepping out for a smoke.”

“Huh? But you don’t smell like cigarettes, Tokiwa-kun. Do you smoke?”

“It’s just a figure of speech. I like buying coffee from the vending machine. See ya.”

I made up an excuse and left my seat. Then, I spent the time until orientation started sipping a canned coffee I didn’t even like in front of the vending machine on the first floor. When I returned just before it began, a crowd—mostly guys—had already formed around my wife. I quietly slipped in, grabbed my bag and materials, and moved to a seat far away from her. The instructor arrived shortly after, and orientation began.

Orientation was boring. Being in my second loop, I already knew all the university rules. I even knew which classes were easy. Every break, my wife glanced my way, but she was quickly surrounded by people and couldn’t approach me. Then came lunch break. Orientation was done for the day, and the afternoon was free. While she was being invited to eat by a group of guys, I bolted from the classroom and headed to a cafeteria far away. Komaba Campus at Teito University is massive, with several cafeterias scattered around. I chose one with pricier options—more like a trendy café than a student canteen. It’s the kind of place frequented more by local madams than professors.

“Well, well? Fancy meeting you here. Are you stalking me or something?”

Ayashiro was there, seated outdoors. As usual, she was decked out in her edgy, borderline mentally unstable fashion—today, a black hoodie and skirt paired with a pink blouse, like she was stuck in a chuunibyou phase. Her hair was in short twin tails, a style that looks cringey on most real girls but somehow suited her perfectly.

“I’m not stalking you. I just wanted to venture out a bit. What about you? This place is pretty far from your department’s lecture halls, isn’t it?”

I sat at her table and opened the menu. The prices were two to three times higher than the other cafeterias.

“I’d love to say the cheap stuff at the regular canteen doesn’t satisfy my refined palate, but honestly? I’m hiding.”

Ayashiro elegantly twirled her pasta onto her fork and brought it to her mouth. It looked oddly picturesque.

“From the guys?”

I called over a waiter and ordered a clubhouse sandwich set. It cost a thousand yen, but if I thought of it as the price of escaping my wife, it felt cheap. In my first loop, I’d moved ten times to get away from her—every attempt futile since she always tracked me down.

“Yep. Escaping the leering, hungry eyes of men and the petty, jealous glares of women. Everyone falls for me at first sight. It’s exhausting. What are they even here for? If they want to hook up, they should just use a dating app.”

“These days, university’s more a place to have fun than anything else. I’m no exception.”

Right now, all I cared about was enjoying my youth and meeting attractive women. Deep down, I wasn’t much different from the guys swarming Ayashiro.

“I figured. But you’re the studious type too, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I like studying. No point in lying about it. I came here because it’s the best place to learn architecture.”

“Good. Having a purpose is important. That’s how it should be if you’re going to university. Next time, tell me what got you into architecture.”

“Why not ask now? I don’t mind.”

“If you tell me, it’d only be fair for me to share why I chose law. Sorry, but I’m not ready to talk about that yet. Bear with me.”

“Fine, I won’t pry if you don’t want to talk. You’re such a weirdo.”

“Hehe.”

She covered her mouth as she laughed, a gesture that felt refined. Despite her odd fashion, she gave off an air of good breeding. I was starting to get curious about her—probably because I didn’t have enough experience with women. I tend to catch feelings for any girl I get involved with. This second-virgin mindset might be kind of creepy. Soon, my lunch arrived too. Eating together like this was pretty fun. It felt like youth.

“By the way, are you free this Saturday?”

“Hm? So far, yeah.”

“There’s a club I’m thinking of joining. They’re holding a welcome party, and I want you to come with me.”

I was stunned. A girl inviting me out—maybe a first, even counting my previous loop. My wife never suggested anything herself before we started dating. Sure, it’s just a welcome party, not exactly romantic, but being invited at all made me happy.

“Sure, let’s go together. Where is it?”

“Shimokita. It’s a cool area, right? I used to shop there a lot in high school.”

“Yeah, it’s a great spot. What stands out most is how the station connects to the shopping streets. That chaotic cityscape supposedly traces back to the postwar black markets. It’s gotten cleaner with recent redevelopment, but the old station area had a raw beauty to it. Every element stood on its own, yet they all shared an ideology, proving their existence in an immediate—”

Her index finger gently pressed against my lips, stopping me mid-rant about urban history and philosophy. Her soft touch silenced me completely.

“Hold it. Your face when you get all passionate is cute, but the content? Totally incomprehensible and a little creepy. Hehe.”

“Ugh. I was just getting to the good part…”

“Teehee. Don’t pout. But I’m glad. You’ve got something you’re serious about beyond just messing around. It’s nice to know that. Tell me more sometime—but make it easy to follow, okay?”

“Got it. I’ll work on it.”

Having a girl listen to me talk was a happiness I couldn’t trade for anything. My wife used to listen with a gentle smile too. Those memories were just as precious as this moment with Ayashiro. Knowing there were others besides my wife who’d hear me out made today one of the happiest days yet.

---

Orientation dragged on, and I did my best to avoid my wife. But staying in the same classroom made that impossible forever.

“Tokiwa-kun, let’s all grab food together today! I want to talk properly with everyone in the department.”

Lately, my wife seemed to have learned something from the crowds flocking to her. She’d started rotating lunch partners from the department every day. Her excuse—“I want to talk to everyone during orientation”—was honestly clever. She’s usually so carefree and airheaded, but when it comes to cornering me, she suddenly gets smart.

“Nah, I’ve got leftovers at home, so…”

Of course, I refused. I genuinely didn’t know what to say, and the bad memories made me sick and irritated.

“Oh… Well, then I’ll skip the cafeteria today too and eat at home. Yeah, that’s too bad.”

The moment she said that with a sad look, the group of lunch buddies behind her glared at me with terrifyingly sharp eyes. I got why. If they missed this chance, they might never get to eat with her again. They were desperate. And I had a gut feeling: if I turned this down, I’d have no place left in the department.

“Actually, I can just eat the leftovers tonight! Let’s hit the cafeteria! Haha! Hahaha!”

“Yay! That’s great! What’s today’s special, I wonder? I’m excited, hehe.”

I was past caring. In the end, I got dragged along to lunch.

Our group—eight of us, including me and my wife—headed to the cafeteria. It’s always packed. Our university has a ton of students, so during peak hours, you’ve got to snag seats fast. But my wife? She’s a natural-born princess.

“Oh… It’s so crowded today… I guess we can’t sit…”

She looked dejected, her face pitiful. But she’s beautiful, so it still worked. And that meant…

“Hey! We just finished eating, so take our spot!”

Some jock-looking upperclassmen nearby wolfed down their food and cleared out—for us, or rather, for her.

“Really? Wow, thank you so much! I’m so happy to have such nice upperclassmen!”

“No big deal! I’m Sato, second-year, economics, financial policy.” “I’m Tanaka, second-year, law, political science!” “I’m Suzuki, third-year, literature, English and American studies!” “I’m Saito, third-year, engineering, mechanical electronics!” “I’m… (and so on)”

They introduced themselves, clearly fishing for a chance. It was the most pathetic self-introduction I’d ever seen. My wife beamed innocently, but she’d forget them in a minute. The upperclassmen left with shy grins, and we took the empty table. Everyone grabbed their trays from the counter and sat down. My wife plopped right next to me like it was nothing. The air froze for a second. The architecture department has few girls, so aside from her, our group was all guys—a mix of nerds, introverts, and extroverts with nothing in common, all glaring at me coldly. It’s wild how humans unite against a shared enemy. I’d avoided her to not be that enemy, but this girl just naturally screws me over without even trying!

“So, why did you all choose this university?”

She kicked off a topic perfectly suited for orientation week. The guys eagerly started telling her why they came here—all shameless bragging. The introvert claiming he was his school’s top student. The extrovert boasting he didn’t study but passed when he got serious. The nerd vowing to leave his mark on architectural history. The rich kid saying he’d inherit and expand his family’s construction firm. Why are guys’ stories to girls always so boring? Absolute snooze-fest.

“Hey, Tokiwa-kun. You’ve been quiet. You haven’t mingled much with the department—are you nervous? That’s kind of cute, hehe.”

Her smile had a maternal warmth to it, breathtakingly beautiful. Normally, that’d be a blessing. The others were practically entranced. But to me, her beauty was poison. The more stunning and charming she was, the more her betrayal crushed me.

“Nah, not really.”

“Oh? Then tell me why you came to this university.”

She leaned in, peering at my face. The wife I knew was older than this—more mature. Now, she still had a childish innocence. I didn’t know her at this age, and that ignorance frustrated me for some reason. So, I decided to push her away.

“I flunked art school, so I came here. Architecture’s tied to art in some ways. I wanted to do something artsy, even a little. If I was doing it, might as well go to the best place. That’s it.”

I could feel the guys around me getting annoyed. Teito University is Japan’s top school—not a fallback option. I’m an art school reject. Even now, I sometimes wish I’d gone to art school instead.

“That’s… interesting.”

Her expression was hard to read, a little awkward. Perfect. Soon enough, I’d fall off her radar. I was relieved—until…

“Ririsa? You’re eating here today?”

“Oh! Soraka! Hiii!”

I turned toward the voice. It was Hatagiri, surrounded by medical students, all ogling my wife like lovesick puppies.

“Everyone, meet my childhood friend, Ririsa—Ririsa Igarashi.”

Hatagiri introduced her to his med school crew. It was pure flexing. He was showing off that he could be close to a girl this gorgeous. It wouldn’t be long before he had the medical department under his thumb too. The guy’s political savvy was terrifying.

“I’m Ririsa Igarashi. Nice to meet you!”

She stood and bowed gracefully to the med students. Her movements were so elegant, they visibly captivated them. Violence—beauty as a weapon. Hatagiri had total control over that weapon. Their bond was unbreakable, a solid connection that’d soon turn into something sweet and romantic. There’s no beating that. I had to accept it.

“To Ririsa’s classmates: please take care of my childhood friend. She can be a little ditzy, so help her out, okay?”

“Hey! I’m not that clumsy! Soraka always treats me like a kid!”

She flashed an embarrassed smile. She complained, but her face was bright. They bantered so easily. Back when we were together, she was quiet, always smiling gently. She rarely spoke up—a calm, reserved woman.

“We’ve been together since we were kids, after all. My feelings for you haven’t changed since then. Hehe.”

Hatagiri grinned refreshingly—a likable smile that’d win anyone over. Not me, though.

“By the way, Ririsa, we’re heading out to eat with the advertising club. Want to come?”

“Huh? But I’m in the middle of eating…”

My wife looked flustered by the sudden invitation. Besides, she still had quite a bit of her lunch left.

“It’s a shortcut to your dream of becoming a news anchor,” Hatagiri said. “Today, an alum who’s a producer at a TV station is making a special visit. It’s a golden opportunity. Let’s go make a good impression. Don’t worry—I’ll support you the whole way!”

After graduating, my wife became a news anchor at a major Tokyo broadcaster. Naturally, her stunning looks made her wildly popular, and she was in constant demand for news programs, celebrity interviews, and variety shows. There wasn’t a day she didn’t appear on TV.

“Come on, let’s go. Sorry, everyone. This is for Ririsa’s future. Forgive us.”

Hatagiri bowed his head to us architecture department guys. But the ones feeling defeated were us. Hatagiri could control where my wife went. Everyone understood he was closer to her than any man here. Yeah, I couldn’t win.

“Let’s go, Ririsa!”

“Uh… sorry…”

She said that to me, her face twisting with guilt. That same face. The same one she made when her betrayal came to light. I was sick of seeing it. Standing up, I placed a hand on her shoulder and gently but firmly pressed her back into her seat. I made sure it wasn’t rough—she shouldn’t be hurt.

“Huh… Tokiwa-kun… why?”

“Finish your food. It’s a waste otherwise.”

Her lunch plate still had two shrimp fries left.

“Hey, Tokiwa-kun,” Hatagiri snapped, glaring at me. “Are you trying to ruin Ririsa’s future?”

I glared right back.

“Shut up. My family runs a farm. I don’t forgive people who waste food.”

My folks are farmers in Hokkaido. I’ve got no intention of taking over, so I came to the city. My younger sister and her future husband will inherit it, so there’s no issue there.

“A lunch is nothing compared to a connection with a big-shot TV producer. What you’re saying is ridiculous.”

“Don’t care. Your values don’t concern me. Besides, the one who wants to meet the producer is you, not… not Igarashi, right?”

“…Meeting the producer benefits Ririsa.”

“That doesn’t answer my question. Hey, don’t you pride yourself on never lying to Igarashi? Swear to her right now that you’ve got no personal stake in negotiating with the producer.”

Hatagiri fell silent. I’ve got future knowledge on my side. This childhood-friend-type fling of hers starts appearing on TV around summer. A show centered on current Teito University students goes on air, and with his refreshing good looks, he becomes a household name. He’ll churn out study guides and self-help books, raking in cash hand over fist. That’s probably what he’s meeting the producer about. Bringing my wife along is likely a ploy to use her charm to sweeten the deal. Sure, it might open the door to her becoming an anchor, but still.

“Hey… Soraka,” she said.

“Ririsa, don’t let Tokiwa-kun sway you,” Hatagiri replied. “He’s the type who uses twisted logic to overpower people. Guys like him are bad news.”

“Soraka, I still have things I want to talk about with everyone here. And wasting food really isn’t okay. I don’t think someone like that should be a news anchor. They wouldn’t have the right to speak to people on TV all high and mighty. Yeah.”

She stared at Hatagiri with a serious expression. He seemed thrown off by the look in her eyes, but he quickly flashed that refreshing smile.

“Got it. You’re right, Ririsa. We’ll meet the producer some other time. See you tonight, then.”

“Yeah, see you later, Soraka.”

They gave each other a small wave. Hatagiri left the cafeteria with his entourage in tow. My wife fidgeted, her cheeks slightly flushed, then glanced up at me and said,

“Um… Tokiwa-kun… than—”

“Thanks for the meal, everyone. I’ll head out first. Got to study at the library.”

“W-Wait…”

I stood up with my tray. She was saying something behind me, but I ignored it and walked out of the cafeteria.