The House with the Red Roof (Episode 4 of "Love for Sale")

Last time, I wrote about a woman (Akane) who was a hybrid of sugar daddy and serious love.

I have a daddy I love,

① When you want to meet the daddy and go on a date, you don't need to pay any extra (serious love),

2) When a sugar daddy asks to meet me, I want to receive an allowance (sugar daddy),

3) When her schedule overlaps with that of another sugar daddy who receives a higher allowance than her sugar daddy, she prioritizes the other sugar daddy (sugar daddy).

 

I told this story to a girl named Haruka and asked her if she had any similar interesting stories. After thinking for a bit, she replied,

Haruka: "This is about me. My ex-boyfriend from college contacts me every now and then."

Me: "Oh?"

Haruka: "When I say contact, I mean via LINE, but every time I do, he gives me a gift worth several thousand yen."

Me: "Maybe he's interested? Maybe he wants to get back together?"

Haruka: "No, my ex-boyfriend is already married and has children."

Me: "Oh, I think that's an attempt to have an affair. That's not okay."

Haruka: "Of course I don't feel that way either. But you know, you're doing this kind of thing now (sugar daddy activities), so I thought maybe it would be okay if I were a daddy."

Ah, I see.

Ex-boyfriend (serious crush) → sugar daddy, huh? It certainly does seem like a hybrid.

Since it's "transition," does that mean transmission?

 

Next, I told another girl named Mino about Akane and Haruka.

Mino-chan: "I see. It's interesting how money is so naturally involved in romance."

Me: "What about you, Mino? Do you have any interesting ideas?"

Mino-chan: "Well, I grew up in an all-girls school, and although I had a boyfriend in college, it was more of a group relationship, and we ended up breaking up after just holding hands. I haven't met anyone since I started working, so I've never really experienced the thrill of being attracted to a man. My first sexual experience was with Mr./Ms. X (me)."

Me: "It's similar for me, too. I went to an all-boys school from middle to high school. Listening to Akane and Haruka's stories, I thought that when a woman hits 20, romance is about marriage, so it's essentially similar to sugar dating, where money is involved. You think about the benefits and losses, right? That's why hybrids and transitions come into play. What you can really call pure romance is the feelings you have for the opposite sex that arise during adolescence, in middle and high school, without thinking about the future or money, and maybe we missed that stage."

Mino-chan: "That's true, but isn't that also the case with love when you reach your age?"

I said, "What do you mean?"

Mino-chan: "Mr. ○, you have a girlfriend who you've been married to for over 20 years, right?"

I started sugar dating about 6 or 7 years ago, and I had been dating a woman for a while before that. I was still young, and I was reluctant to go into the sex industry, so I persuaded the unmarried woman, who was still in her 30s at the time, on impulse and without thinking about the consequences, and we started dating.

Mino-chan was talking about his weekend girlfriend.

surely.

My current relationship with my girlfriend does not involve conflicts of interest such as money or marriage, which young people in their 20s tend to think about.

What would it be like to write about her in the style of "I'm Selling My Love"? Let's give it a try.

 

A short distance from Orchard Village, where the road leaves the forest and meets the mountain path, there is a small house with a red roof.

The house was located far from the villages and was inhabited by an elderly woman who made a living by gathering medicinal herbs in the forests and mountains and making tea from them.

She has been alone for a long time, but she has a mysterious talent: she can talk to dolls and stuffed animals.

The dolls and stuffed animals don't talk when other people are around. They only talk to her when she's alone. So we can't be sure if it's true. She doesn't tell anyone about it because no one would believe her.

"Bear, when will he come next? Do you think he'll bring us some delicious sweets and flowers again?"

The teddy bear answers.

"Of course, it's the full moon again. You know that, right? Oh, I just wanted to make sure. That was rude of me. Of course, as always, you'll bring me delicious sweets and a beautiful bouquet of flowers. It's been that way for over 20 years now, hasn't it?"

The woman answers.

"That's right. I'm sure you're smiling just like always. I hope this lifestyle continues forever."

The woman's final words were significant: she was sick. Twenty years ago she was young and very healthy.

"That person" refers to a certain traveler. She doesn't know where he came from or where he's going, because she doesn't ask, and he doesn't tell her. But for the past 20 years or so, the traveler has been coming to her house around the time of the full moon and spending the night with her.

They had once been in love, but she had no family, and she wondered if she and this traveler would become a family.

However, the traveler never said anything and time passed, and now they just spend time together drinking the herbal tea she made.

She is unaware that the traveler is trading love-scented fruit and life force with young fairies in the village of Orchard up ahead.

If anyone tried to tell her that, she would cover her ears.

Her blind grandmother, who raised her, always said:

"There are many things in this world that are better left unseen. There are many things that we are happier not knowing. That's why I'm happy even though I can't see. You're by my side, and I can touch your soft cheek, and that alone is enough to make me happy."

That's probably why she started talking only to dolls and stuffed animals, because dolls and stuffed animals never tell bad or sad stories.

"So, Mr. Bear, will he come to my house again on the next full moon?"

"Of course she'll come. I'm sure she'll bring some delicious sweets and flowers."

"What kind of sweets do you think would be good, Bear? I like vanilla-scented cookies."

"For me, I guess chocolate with lots of nuts."

That's how her days went by.

The story takes place in a small red-roofed house located a short distance from the village of Orchard.

 

love affair.

It's not like the waves of adolescent passion, but as Mino says, is our relationship romantic?

If that's the case, I can define love in one very simple word.

"Love is when you can't be apart from each other."

Some people may think I'm a terrible guy and feel sorry for her, but I don't care about other people's opinions.

Travelers will visit her home until the end of their lives.