[TaroTre] My Blind Date is My Childhood Friend - Chapter 1

Taro was a legendary figure within the Intergalactic Defense Force. Among his peers, he was the first to marry, the first to have a child, and eventually the first to become a widower.

In the beginning, Taro and his wife shared a deep affection for one another. However, as Taro’s duties demanded increasingly long hours of overtime and frequent off-world missions, the bond between them gradually withered. There were days when they would spend twenty-four hours together and find they had nothing to say to one another. Despite their youth, their intimacy had vanished, leaving them living a life that felt more like a stagnant retirement.

Then came the day it all shattered. Taro had finished his work early and went to his parents’ house to pick up Taiga. The two of them planned to head home together to give his wife a surprise.

Instead, she was the one who gave them a “surprise.”

The moment they opened the door and stepped inside, they saw clothes scattered across the living room floor. Indistinct sounds were drifting from the bedroom. Taro’s first instinct was to shield his son; he immediately took Taiga back to his parents’ home before returning to the apartment alone.

When he opened the door for the second time, the noise in the bedroom had not stopped.

Steeling himself, Taro pushed the door open. Sure enough, on the bed they had bought together when they were newlyweds, his wife was tangled up with a complete stranger. The look of raw lust on their faces made Taro feel physically ill. He didn’t even feel angry; he just felt disgusted.

He realized then that she hadn’t given a single thought to what would have happened if Taiga had seen this.

In the Land of Light, not everyone liked Taro. There were always those few who acted respectful to his face but secretly yearned to see him dragged into the mud, never to rise again. Clearly, his wife’s affair would be the perfect opportunity for them to pull him off his pedestal. This was especially true later on, when his wife ran away with her lover, only to perish when a rebellion broke out on the planet where they had fled.

Caught in the act, his wife showed no sign of panic. She even had the audacity to keep going while speaking to Taro. “Well, you’re never home,” she said. “Of course I want someone to keep me company. I need a husband, not a money-making machine.”

Taro forced himself to remain calm. “Put your clothes on and come out. This is not the place for a conversation. If you aren’t out in five minutes, I will call the Defense Force and charge you both with Sabotage of a Military Marriage.”

Taro sat at one side of the table, while his wife and her lover sat opposite him.

“If you’ve made up your mind,” Taro said, looking at them, “we can go process the divorce papers shortly. I will be taking custody of Taiga.”

“I want half of the assets,” his wife demanded greedily. As for Taiga, she hadn’t been the one raising him anyway; if Taro wanted to keep him, he could.

Taro shook his head. “Impossible. I’ll give you thirty percent at most. You are the one at fault here. Since we married, you’ve had no steady income and you’ve rarely looked after the child. You are the party responsible for the breakdown of this marriage; I will not split the assets equally with you.”

“If you don’t give me half, I won’t agree to the divorce,” she said defiantly.

For the first time, Taro realized he was capable of a chilling level of detachment. He looked at the woman he had lived with for years and spoke with ice in his voice. “I assume you haven’t forgotten what I said earlier? What you’ve done qualifies as Sabotage of a Military Marriage. The evidence is all over that room. If I call the Intergalactic Defense Force right now to press charges, I won’t have to pay you a single cent.”

“Then call them! Let everyone be embarrassed together,” she spat. “It’ll be a great way to make Taiga famous, too.”

The words were not those of a mother. Taro felt as though he no longer recognized the woman sitting in front of him.

“My offer stands at thirty percent. I won’t give you a penny more, no matter how much of a scene you make. I will be there for Taiga; you don’t need to worry about him. If you truly want to take this to court, I will see it through to the end. Also, I’ll be freezing all your supplementary credit cards in a moment. Consider this your notice. Call me when you’ve made up your mind.”

He didn’t want to stay for another second. He grabbed his things and headed for the exit.

“By the way, you can stay in this house for now if you want,” Taro said, standing at the door. “I won’t be coming back.”

He had to get back to his parents’ house to check on Taiga. He had no more heart left to waste on his wife and her entanglements.