In Chapter 1, the protagonist Tomoko, a mother in her 30s with a one-year-old son, deals with family drama when her husband’s younger brother’s wife accuses him of infidelity. Tomoko refuses to forgive her sister-in-law and decides to spend the New Year at her parents’ house to avoid her. However, her mother-in-law insists they come to her house, causing tension. Tomoko confronts her mother-in-law about the situation, but the mother-in-law continues to push for reconciliation. Despite trying to avoid the issue, Tomoko becomes increasingly frustrated with her mother-in-law’s behavior.
Continuing from last time. I (Tomoko) am around 30 years old and a mother to my almost one-year-old son (Fuyuma). My husband, Hiroaki, is also in his 30s. When Hiroaki stayed at his parents’ house, his younger brother’s wife (Ryuuji, 30 years old) and (Mio, 30 years old) accused him of having an affair. Prompted by my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law finally apologized via LINE a few months later, but I have no intention of forgiving her. I decided to spend the New Year holidays at my parents’ house instead of my in-laws’ house because I do not want to see my sister-in-law. However, my mother-in-law is insisting on going to my parents’ house, and I am in a dilemma.
It is tiresome to hear my mother-in-law saying, “Just like always, come to our house for the New Year holidays!” every day.
I told Hiroaki, “You should talk to your mother properly.” However, whether my mother-in-law knows that her son has no decision-making power or not, she eventually contacts me even after consulting Hiroaki. When I ignored her calls, she kept calling persistently until I answered, and when she suddenly showed up and asked, “Can we talk now?” I got nervous.
My mother-in-law used to be kind and gentle, but it seems like she has become overly attached to her son’s family since her husband passed away. Or maybe she always had that kind of personality, and her husband was just good at controlling it.
I think the balance of the entire in-law family was good when my father-in-law was alive. Recently, my mother-in-law seems to want to do whatever she pleases.
I was also annoyed by my mother-in-law’s thoughtless remarks. I don’t want to apologize, so I want to improve my mood and put an end to it.
“Mother-in-law! You’re accusing the wrong person. This issue will not only affect our marital relationship but also ruin the sibling relationship! Surely you have no room for argument, Mother-in-law!?” But this time, he did not respond.
Of course, even after returning home, my mother-in-law kept calling me.
In the end, only my brother-in-law’s family returned to the in-laws’ house for New Year’s. My brother-in-law seemed surprised that our family did not go. However, my mother-in-law told him, “Hiroaki is working, and Tomoko (and I) are planning to relax at my parents’ house,” and he understood.
Still, I cannot help but feel irritated by my mother-in-law’s words insisting that I should forgive Mio since she apologized. I think this is something I should say from my perspective and not something my mother-in-law should say!
To be continued in [Episode 7].
Original: Mamasta Community Script: Rolling Dell Illustration: Chrono Editing: Yasai Shii