courage dear heart | Yuki Ishikawa

21

We decided to divide the tasks among ourselves to prepare the room for the karaoke night, do the grocery shopping, and decide who would cook.

There was a small village near our dormitory with all the essentials, so Yuki and I joined Yuji and Sarina for the shopping trip, taking their car.

The drive wasn't long, and with Yuji being so talkative, time passed even quicker.

Once we got out of the car, I put on a cap before taking Yuki's hand and heading into the supermarket.

It wasn't large, but it was well-stocked. The owners were a sweet elderly couple, and there was also a little boy, around six years old, doing his homework.

Sarina, Yuki, and I went in search of everything we needed—drinks, chips, and other small requests for the evening from the rest of the group.

Meanwhile, Yuji stayed behind, chatting with the owners, and you could hear his voice echoing through the entire small supermarket.

Every now and then, I'd hear Sarina chuckle at something her husband said or the way he said it, which made me smile.

"You and Yuji make such a lovely couple. How long have you two been together, Sarina-san?" I asked as I tried to choose between two types of chips.

"Thank you, Chō, that's very kind of you. We've been together for five years, and we got married two years after we started dating," she replied.

I looked at her, slightly surprised. "Wow, I always thought couples should spend more time together before making such a big decision like marriage." Meanwhile, Yuki took the bags of chips from my hands and placed them in the cart.

She laughed softly. "It just felt right, and we've never regretted it. At first, it was hard for me to adjust to married life, and with my age, I decided to retire from the national team after the Paris Olympics."

Her words made me a bit sad, and I think she noticed. "No, no, I'm not sad about it. I played for many years, and it was time for me to step aside and focus on other priorities. But I didn't retire just because I'm a wife and can't do sports anymore."

I nodded. "I understand."

Though, honestly, I didn't fully understand...

After we finished shopping, we joined Yuji at the register to pay.

"Isn't my wife beautiful?" Yuji asked loudly, holding Sarina's hand and pulling her closer.

Aww how sweet, Yuji!

I giggled to myself.

The elderly lady nodded. "Yes, she is very beautiful!" Then she turned to us. "And you two, are you married? You look so good together."

I quickly waved my hands, shaking my head. "No, no, ma'am, we're not married!"

"What? You've been married for two years?" The lady leaned in closer.

Her husband placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke loudly, "Dear, she said they're *not* married!"

I glanced at Yuji, who was chuckling. "The lady has trouble hearing," he explained.

Then the lady turned to Yuki. "Young man, so when are you going to marry her? You know, it's hard to keep beautiful women like her close!"

Yuki, embarrassed, scratched the back of his neck and laughed nervously.

How cute he is when he's nervous.

"We should get going, we've got a bit of a drive ahead! Thank you so much!" Yuji said loudly as we all bowed and headed out.