Bab 17: A Lovely Couple

In the slender ridges of the orchard, only wide enough for one person to pass at a time, they walked in single file—Hana leading the way with Jun trailing behind, a half-meter gap between them.

Without turning her head, Hana's hand lightly grazed the fruits on either side as she said, "Do you find the ill humor of young people annoying? The unnecessary drama, it's just too troublesome."

Jun watched his wife's silhouette in silence, replying, "No, it's my fault, not theirs."

He remembered his own younger days, also upset over similar trifles, but unlike Hana's courage and directness, he never dared to voice his feelings, afraid that revealing them might invite her anger or mockery. Back then, many were smitten with Hana—she had an ex-boyfriend and male friends with whom she shared deep friendship. Whenever he saw Hana laughing and chatting with other friends while out, he couldn't help feeling unhappy. He understood they were just friends, but jealousy is an irrational beast, not easily tamed by reason.

He kept his discontent to himself, and it seemed Hana hadn't noticed at the time. But once home, she pinned him to the couch, sitting opposite him and said, "Mister, you've already won me over, you're a victor in life, cheer up."

Hearing this, he found himself laughing unexpectedly, as if Hana had delicately wiped away his sulkiness. She was adept, quickly easing his mood whenever she sensed it. After the joy, he felt a bit ashamed, embarrassed that he needed his wife to console him like a baby. After all, he was three years her junior, and so unripe and immature back then, a rawness that shamed him. Young people always chase maturity as if to prove or protect something.

In his thirties, he shed his immaturity through poverty and hardship.

At forty, his once-drifting life gained substance and steadiness.

By fifty, he understood the futility of insistence.

Now in his sixtieth year, he could face situations without distress, his learning and cultivation beyond reproach.

Yet even now, he couldn't soothe the weighty yet delicate discontent in Hana at this moment. In his sixties, he suddenly looked back to realize he was still unable to fulfill that simple wish from his youth.

As Hana walked on, the sound of footsteps behind her ceased. Turning around, she saw Jun standing there, looking at her with a touch of sadness. A sudden softness overcame her heart; what's with this man who mastered the art of appealing through his gaze, a skill that only seemed to intensify with age, melting her resolve with just one look. She had no choice but to go back and take the old man's hand.

"Let it go, I won't hold it against you," she said.

Jun, in a rare gesture of affection, reached out to gently touch the hair by her cheek, his eyes soft with tenderness.

"I really do wish to see you happy," he said.

Hana, for reasons she couldn't quite explain, felt a sudden sting in her nose and tilted her head to hold back the emotions welling up inside her.

Just then, a sudden snap was heard as the dense orange leaves in the orchard were pushed aside, and a figure with a basket on their back emerged. It was one of the farmhands, busy harvesting oranges.

The basket was filled with orange on stems, bunched and tied neatly. The farmhand, noticing Hana and Jun standing on the ridge, recognized them as guests of the farm and enthusiastically pulled out several stems of fresh oranges to offer them.

"These freshly picked oranges are very sweet. People came a long way just to have some. Please, have a try."

The orange harvester took the opportunity to introduce other farm attractions: a fish pond, several fruit orchards, and, surprisingly, two strawberry greenhouses that were currently in season.

Hana's interest was piqued. She asked, "Can we go pick some?"

The farmhand smiled and said, "Sure, one of the greenhouses is open for visitors. You can pick and eat as you please, just don't waste."

After thanking him, Hana, guided by his directions, led Jun out of the lotus fields. It wasn't long before they saw the two adjacent greenhouses; one door was closed, the other open, with a transparent material overhead that looked like glass.

Outside, a middle-aged woman was on duty, engrossed in a drama on her PT, from which a woman's anguished cry came out: "You're only with me for my money!" followed by an equally angry male voice, "What about you? You're with me just for my looks and body, aren't you?"

Hana glanced at the woman's screen, prompting the woman to look up swiftly at them. She pointed to some small baskets and said, "Each person can pick one basket for free, any extra is chargeable." She immediately returned her gaze to her PT, continuing her watch.

Taking two small baskets and handing one to Jun, Hana and he entered the expansive greenhouse. There were no other people inside. As they stepped in, the sweet scent of strawberries enveloped them, and they saw rows upon rows of three-tiered shelves laden with ripe, red strawberries, each berry plump and inviting.

Hana loved the act of picking strawberries the most; the simple joy of plucking each berry was even more satisfying than eating them. She was picky, choosing only the most aesthetically pleasing strawberries. Seeing that Jun had only picked a couple, which didn't meet her standards, she insistently washed them and put them into his mouth for him to eat.

"I'll do the picking; you just carry this."

Fearing that she might still be displeased, and seeing her now so engaged, Jun didn't dare to refuse. He obediently carried the basket, watching her as she picked.

Halfway through the greenhouse, their small baskets were already full. But Hana's gaze shifted and discovered white strawberries planted in the latter half of the greenhouse. These berries had a milky fragrance, reminiscent of strawberry milk upon sniffing.

After tasting one and finding it delicious, Hana looked at their already filled baskets, contemplating how crafty it was to discover even better strawberries halfway through; additional empty baskets were conveniently placed for visitors like her.

Jun silently picked up two more empty baskets.

With two baskets of white strawberries picked, Hana and Jun each carried two small baskets as they left the strawberry greenhouse.

On their way, they encountered other association members who, intrigued by the strawberries in their hands, asked where they had been picked and then scurried off to pick their own.

Hana hadn't eaten much at noon and felt a bit hungry, so she washed some strawberries and sat down on a large stone near the orchard to eat. Some younger members of the association passed by and, seeing the two of them, Hana overheard an excited yet deliberately hushed voice from behind, "Look! Sato Sensei is actually eating strawberries with his wife!"

Hana thought to herself, 'It's just eating strawberries, what's there to be so surprised about?'

Seeing her eat so many strawberries, Jun couldn't help but intervene, "Let's save the rest for later. If you're hungry, why not go to that small restaurant over there and have the chef cook you a bowl of noodles?"

Hana agreed and stood up, pulling him to his feet.

The young girls spectating from behind couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, "Ah, they're holding hands!"

Hana thought, 'It's just holding hands, young folks. Screaming? Seriously?'

While Hana sat in the farm's restaurant eating noodles, with Jun seated beside her, she asked if he wanted some and scooped a small portion into a bowl for him.

Association members passing by saw this and remarked, "Sato Sensei and his wife really are a lovely couple."

Hana didn't understand why everyone's whispers were so loud that the subjects could hear everything clearly. But seeing Jun eating noodles without any reaction, she started to doubt herself, wondering if perhaps it was just that her own ears were too sharp and Jun hadn't heard any of it.

That was all fine, but after dinner, when they went to soak in the mountain spring spa, as soon as Hana was separated from Jun, she was almost immediately surrounded.

In the women's bathing area, it was almost exclusively family members and students brought by the association. Some of the younger ones were quite bold, and once one approached Hana, the others followed.

"Mrs. Sato," a young student came up to her, carefully gauging her expression before asking, "Did you really travel through time for forty years?"

Hana gave her a smile, "Yes, I did."

Seeing her approachable demeanor, the rest grew more daring, bombarding her with various questions. Questions like "Was Sato Sensei super handsome when he was young?" "How did you and Mr. Sato get together back in the day?" Others asked, "What was it like forty years ago?" "What's it like to time travel? Does it feel dizzying? Is it like passing through the cosmos?"

Hana found it impossible to answer all at once, relaxing in the flowing heated spring water, she picked a few questions to respond to.

"Well, those are just about forty years ago, can't you just look it up in history books? It was pretty much like that, things weren't as convenient as they are now, the older generation knows."

"Time traveling happened in a blink of an eye."

"Jun was indeed very handsome when he was young."

"How we got together? It started with a matchmaking session..."

The young women gasped, surprised by this antiquated mode of meeting a partner, and urged her to elaborate.

The truth was a bit complicated. Hana had known Jun for a long time and thought that their matchmaking meeting was their first encounter, but it wasn't until after they were married that Jun told her about an incident from junior high. Hana then realized that their encounter at the age of twenty-six during the matchmaking session was actually their second. Jun had recognized her instantly because his first impression of her had been so strong.

That matchmaking was supposed to be for Hana's friend Airi, with Jun's cousin as the intended suitor. Airi, having no time and little interest in her matchmaking partner, had Hana go in her stead as a favor. Coincidentally, Jun's workaholic cousin got caught up in an urgent meeting, and to avoid being rude, sent Jun as his replacement.

So the pair who were meant to meet for matchmaking didn't show up, and instead, their respective friends and relatives who came ended up unwittingly being matched themselves.

...

After dealing with the overly enthusiastic young women and exchanging pleasantries with a few elderly ladies, Hana hurriedly left the hot spring. Jun was right; she indeed became an object of curiosity, and it was more peaceful being with Jun.

She stepped out of the mountain spring sanatorium and sat on a small bridge over the water to catch the breeze. There, on a bench, sat an elderly lady with white hair, with a dignified and poised demeanor.

The elderly lady looked at Hana and smiled gently, "Would you like to take a walk with me nearby?"

At first, Hana thought she was someone from the association, but upon closer inspection, she felt a sense of unfamiliarity; she didn't recall seeing her that day.

"Who might you be?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.

The elderly lady smiled warmly, "My name is Kishi Akira."