I'm Elvin. I have a beautiful wife and a lovely son.
Today, as usual, I went to work at the oil palm plantation. The palm trees had already been fertilized, so now we were working in the oil press house, producing edible oil. Before I knew it, it was noon — lunchtime.
"Time for lunch!"
"Yeah."
The one who answered was Gray, a man with short golden hair tied into a small ponytail at the back.
Gray is my childhood friend — we practically grew up wearing the same pair of pants. He's always calm, composed, and surprisingly mature.
Gray lives right next to my house. He is also married, with a dazzling wife and a bright, lively daughter. The villagers call them the "Shiny Family."
After a while, my wife still hadn't shown up.
"Why hasn't my lunch come yet?"
"Yeah, seems a bit slow today," Gray replied.
Usually, my wife brings lunch because she eats with my son first, so the food she brings me is always freshly made and hot.
Just as I was grumbling, a bright, cheerful voice echoed.
"Daddy!"
It was a shining little girl running toward Gray, holding a lunch box in her hands. That was his daughter — Lina.
Compared to my son, she's much more energetic. Since Lina's here, that must mean my son should be here too… huh? Where is he?
Gray, delighted to see his daughter, asked her, "Lina, did Mommy ask you to bring Daddy's lunch?"
Lina nodded vigorously. Gray smiled and patted her head.
I, on the other hand, felt disappointed. Why wasn't my lunch here yet? I hung my head low.
"Daddy, lunch."
Then, I heard that familiar voice. I looked up — it was my son!
"Karen, you finally came! Daddy's starving to death!"
Finally! I stood up, opened my arms, and charged toward Karen, ready to give him a big hug — but he dodged to the side! My heart broke a little.
"Karen, why did you dodge Daddy's hug!?"
"Because you smell bad."
Still as straightforward as ever. I covered my eyes and pretended to cry.
"Karen, you're still so blunt. Daddy's heart is broken."
"Stop pretending."
Karen saw right through my perfect act — as expected of my son. Feeling a bit awkward, I quickly changed the topic.
"Karen, did you learn that dodging move from your mother? It looks exactly like how she dodged me when I was trying to woo her!"
Seeing his movement reminded me of my younger days. Karen replied indifferently, "Is that so."
I recalled how long it took me to win her heart — every move, every approach, gracefully dodged.
But heaven rewards the persistent. One day, a wild boar broke into the village, rampaging everywhere. The moment I heard the news, I thought only of Atris's safety and ran out to find her.
Unfortunately, I found the boar first. Atris was there too — sitting on the ground, trembling, her face pale with fear. The boar had its eyes locked on her and was ready to charge. My body moved before I could think — I dashed toward the beast.
It started running — fast, but I was faster. At first, I wanted to block it head-on, but realized I wasn't its match, so I tackled it from the side instead. I trusted my strength.
Sure enough, the boar was thrown off course. We both crashed into someone's house. Great — now I had to apologize and pay for the damage.
The boar wasn't dead though — barely hurt. I was the one covered in bruises, every movement burning with pain.
Then, the boar turned its fury toward me. Just as it was about to charge again, Gray appeared. He raised his hand and cast his wind spell — "Wind Blade" — cutting straight through the beast's neck.
Gray reached out a hand. I grabbed it weakly and stood up. Soon, the villagers gathered around, showering Gray with praise. Meanwhile, I was left battered, humiliated, and owing someone for their broken house.
Then Atris approached me. I instinctively looked down, too embarrassed to meet her eyes. But then, she softly called my name.
"Elvin."
I kept my head lowered. "…What?"
Atris leaned closer and whispered by my ear.
"Thank you for saving me."
Atris's words stunned me. I looked up, and her beautiful face was right in front of mine. My heart froze, and I stumbled backward, falling to the ground.
Atris hurried over, worried. "Are you okay? Is my face that scary?"
"N-No… It's just… your face… it's… beautiful."
I could feel my face burning. Atris looked at me and laughed.
"Hahaha, your face is so red."
"Really?"
I quickly covered my face with my hands and peeked through my fingers.
"…Eh?"
Atris's face had turned red too. She touched her cheek nervously, eyes on the ground, not realizing I was staring. I quickly looked away. Then, in a small, shy voice, she said:
"About what you said before… I'll accept it."
I lowered my hands, eyes wide.
"What? You mean…?"
Could it be… my confession? That was the only thing I'd ever said to her like that.
"…Mm." Atris nodded, her face turning even redder.
"Really? With me?"
"Yes."
"Is this for real?"
"If you don't want to, then forget it."
I must've asked too many times; Atris was getting annoyed.
"I do! I do! I just… why did you agree?"
I didn't understand. I hadn't done anything special.
"Because I saw you risk your life to save me. Gray may have killed it, but if not for you, I might've been dead — or seriously hurt. Why are you crying!?"
Atris's words filled me with overwhelming joy. She noticed my tears, and I quickly wiped them away.
"No, I'm just… really happy."
"Is that so?"
Then Atris added, softly, "You looked really cool when you saved me."
Caught off guard by the sudden compliment, I turned to her. Atris smiled — the most beautiful smile I had ever seen.
And that was how we got together. A few months later, we got married, and not long after, our son was born.
"That's why I said — it reminds me of when I saved your mom. She saw my sincerity and agreed to be with me."