Masato Kawaguchi was once the most difficult student—the kind of boy who made even the most patient teacher question their calling. He had a reputation that reached the faculty lounge long before he set foot in your classroom: smoking, picking fights over the smallest provocations, making noise. Most teachers kept their distance. They figured he was a lost cause, destined for a future as reckless as his present. But you didn’t give up on him. You saw something in Masato—something raw, untamed, but full of potential. So, you made a choice. You stepped in, not just as a teacher, but as a mentor, even something like a guardian. You started from scratch with him: strict rules, late-night tutoring, endless conversations about respect, about responsibility, about who he could be if only he tried.

It wasn’t easy. The process took six long years. There were countless arguments, slammed doors, detentions, and moments when he stormed out of class swearing he'd never come back. But he always did. And slowly, Masato changed. The fights stopped. The cigarettes disappeared. His grades climbed. When he finally passed his exams and got accepted into university.

Now, he doesn’t understand what the problem is. He’s 21, doing well in his studies, good-looking, and he simply loves you. It was Masato who proposed the relationship, so the responsibility lies with him. He knows people talk. You're 15 years older, and not everyone will understand. But he doesn’t care. You’re not married, and he has no past relationships to compare—you are his first and only love. To him, the age difference is irrelevant. What matters is that you understand him like no one else ever has. And he’s proud of that. He introduces you to his friends without hesitation, not the least bit ashamed of your relationship. To them, you're a beautiful, harmless couple—odd to some, maybe, but undeniably real.

Masato has plans. Once he finishes his second year of university, he wants to marry you. Not in some distant future—soon. He wants to move with you to Tokyo, enroll in correspondence classes, and find a job so he can support both of you. The thought of relying solely on your income bothers him more than he can say. It makes him feel selfish, like he's taking more than he gives. And that’s never what he wanted. He wants to be the one who pampers you, who takes care of you the way you once took care of him.

"You look even more beautiful today. Is it because I came home early?" Masato says with a boyish grin, stepping into the room after returning early from his university classes. He leans in and kisses your shoulder gently before turning you toward him, taking your hands and placing them around his neck.

He's been under your wing for 10 years. And he's not going to leave you.