Hello! I'm Sophie.
It's been a long time since I have posted a story on fanfiction. This is my first fanfic on this account.
Enjoy!
Lucky
Chapter 1: I Know
"Finally!" Kotoko exhaled, as she prepared to leave work. It had been a long and stressful day at the hospital, and she was ready to go home. She said goodbye to her colleagues and then changed out of her nursing uniform. She put on her skirt and a blouse. She let out her hair and put on a jacket. It was a chilly autumn evening. The days were getting shorter, and the chance of seeing sunlight during a work week was less likely. Nevertheless, she was glad to finally call it a day.
As she was adjusting her sandal, she heard the head nurse shout from the adjacent room, "Tell Irie-kun I said hi!". She was referring to Kotoko's husband, Irie Naoki.
"Okay!" Kotoko replied, "Have a nice day!".
It hasn't been long since she became a full-fledged nurse. It was hard, and it took a lot for her to earn her cap, but she was happy to finally be able to work alongside her husband, whom she loved and respected with every fiber of her being.
"Irie-kun!" Kotoko yelled, as she was trying to catch up to her husband, "wait for me".
Naoki was still as popular and as admired as ever. He was the handsome genius. The object of affection of many women. The one who could have "any woman he wanted". His list of admirers was endless. There was no shortage of praise and affirmation in his life.
Naoki stopped walking, and looked back at his wife with a mildly irritated expression on his face. Having been married to Kotoko for a few years, he was used to her lively personality and vivaciousness, as well as her love for him.
"What?" he groaned.
It has always been this way—her trying to catch up to him, that is. Kotoko was fine with it. She admired her husband, and was eager to show him everyday how much she admired him. She often wondered why a handsome genius like him would even give her the time of day. She was "Kotoko", after all. Known by her friends and her colleagues as "the plain girl who was married to the Irie". The one who is "so lucky" to be with him.
I am lucky though, she thought to herself.
She smoothed the creases from her skirt and smiled as she walked up to her husband and linked her right arm with his left.
"Let's go home!", she said. The two then proceeded to walk to their house. It was not a long walk, yet long enough for Kotoko to try and converse with her husband about her day.
They still lived with their parents in the family home. It was a full house, but it worked for them. They did not see or feel the need to live on their own. They had no children, and neither one of them had much of a passion for homemaking. They left that to Irie Noriko, Naoki's mom, who was waiting by the door, eager to greet her dear son and daughter-in-law as they returned from the hospital after a long day's work.
"Kotoko-chan! Onii-chan! Welcome home~", she said as she hugged her daughter-in-law.
"We're back", Irie said stoically, as he walked inside and took off his shoes. She didn't take this personally. She was used to her son's indifference, or lack of expression–that was a better term. He wasn't one to express enthusiasm very often, if ever.
"So, how was work?", asked Naoki's mom. She was genuinely interested.
"It was fine!", Kotoko replied. It really was, despite the stressful nature of her job. "I had to take care of the sweetest little girl" she said, as she took off her jacket and shoes.
"Oh no, the poor thing. What was the issue?" asked Noriko, as she started to set the table for dinner. Kotoko washed her hands and rolled up her sleeves as she began to help her mother-in-law.
"Asthma", Kotoko replied, as she placed the last plate on the table. "It's gotten really bad the past few days, and she needed to be hospitalized".
"That's horrible. It's heartbreaking when children get sick.".
Kotoko opened the drawer and grabbed a few spoons and forks. "I know. It's heartbreaking. She is still so vibrant and smart though. Today she told me about her dream to become a concert pianist one day.".
"Oh wow, that's amazing!" Noriko replied.
"It is! She's working really hard, but due to her health, she had to be pulled from piano classes. It's such a shame. She's very talented, from what I hear", Kotoko said.
"Talented, huh?" said Yuuki, Naoki's younger and equally stoic brother, as he was coming downstairs from his bedroom, "Can't relate, can you Kotoko?".
"Well hello to you too, Yuuki" Kotoko said, rightfully offended by Yuuki's not so subtle insult. She was used to his abrasive personality, but damn, she thought. She wished he would cut her a little slack.
"Yuuki!" Noriko yelled at her youngest son, "Don't say that.".
"What? It's true", he said with a smirk on his face, "What are you good at, Kotoko?".
"Lots of things!" retorted Kotoko. The truth is, she didn't know exactly how to defend herself. She knew very well that she didn't really have anything she was good at – or so she thought. She also knew that other people did not really think of her as talented or smart.
It's okay though, she thought. Irie-kun loves me regardless.
Everybody she knew admired Naoki as a genius. A very handsome one. She hears people praise him all the time. At work, and when they go out together–he was very popular. She had no problem with this praise. She wholeheartedly agreed with it.
After all–she was his number one fan. She was proud of the fact that she loved him "more than anybody else". He was her greatest achievement. And she married him. So she "won at life"–according to her coworkers, and many people she and her husband knew.
She was "lucky".