Memories of Tattsun Day (The Day I Was Freed from Toxic Parents)

This is a story about my boyfriend when I was a senior in high school.
I called him "Tattsun." (Because his name was Tatsuya.)
During summer vacation, it was suddenly decided that I would go stay over at Tattsun's house.
At the time, I was self-conscious about having many moles, so I used concealer to hide them during dates. (Though I'm sure he knew.)
However, if I was going to stay over, I would naturally have to show him my bare face.

Thinking, "I have to get rid of them!", I clutched the New Year's money I had saved up and went to a clinic to have the moles removed. (Since I was a minor, my mother accompanied me.)
Back then, cosmetic surgery clinics weren't everywhere like they are now, and I had them removed while a surly dermatologist grumbled things like, "It's not like you're sick or anything."

On the day I had the moles removed, I felt an intense itch while sleeping, and although I thought, "No, I shouldn't scratch, I shouldn't scratch...", I must have scratched them unconsciously while I slept.
I had moles removed from my cheeks, forehead, and under my eyebrows, and I scratched them raw. On top of that, I'm naturally prone to mosquito bites, and perhaps because I went to sleep without even applying toner that day, mosquitoes finished the job on my face. Until then, even if my hands or feet were bitten, my face never was. When I woke up in the morning, my face looked just like Oiwa's.
Gah!!!This is too terrible!!My face!!
I was naive back then, but I knew what a sleepover implied.

What if Tattsun's 'tattsun' doesn't 'tattsun' because I'm staying over with such a disastrous face...

It was Saturday, so the clinic wasn't open... I should have given myself more time...
I decided I had no choice but to say I couldn't go, so I called Tattsun.
"Huh!? Why? We were looking forward to this so much."
I'm not the type who can tell a good lie on the spot. While stammering, I said,
"Um... since it's our first sleepover... I've fallen into a situation where Tattsun's 'tattsun' might not 'tattsun'..."

"No, I don't get it. Anyway, you're acting weird, Yuriko, so let's meet and talk. Though you're always weird."

I went wearing an eye patch, but my face was too terrible to hide with just an eye patch. To make matters worse, the drugstore near my house said they were "out of stock," so I only had a black eye patch. Aside from the fact that cosplay is popular now, back then I thought,Is there any demand for this other than Date Masamune?I thought.

"Yuriko, what happened!? That face."
I told him everything about my foolish actions.
That I had a complex about my moles and had been hiding them with concealer until now. That I had them removed because I would be showing my bare face at the sleepover. That I scratched them because they were itchy and ended up looking like Oiwa, and that I was worried,Tattsun's 'tattsun' wouldn't 'tattsun'.Tattsun said gently,
"You're such a fool... Yuriko. I like you because you're Yuriko. It doesn't matter what your face looks like."

"But what if this face never heals? I won't be able to get married."
"In that case, I'll take you."
"Tattsun..."

Cuddle, cuddle, cuddle, cuddle, cuddle, cuddle, cuddle...

Tattsun's 'tattsun' successfully 'tattsun'-ed.

Perhaps because my father was a toxic parent, I thought that unless there were "conditions," people wouldn't like or love me.
I always thought that if I wasn't a good girl, studied hard, and did my chores properly, I wouldn't be allowed to stay in the house. I always thought that. Otherwise, I had no value.
My father would frequently yell at our family, "Who do you think is putting food on the table! You freeloaders! You pieces of crap!", and if something didn't please him, he would raise his hand against us. On days when he was in a bad mood, he would smash the dishes my mother or I had cooked with, plate and all.

I was young and cute back then. (Don't say you're cute yourself.) So I thought that was why Tattsun liked me.
I am truly grateful to Tattsun for teaching me the important lesson that it's okay to just be Yuriko, and that he liked me because I was Yuriko.
If someone says that because I was a child with no responsibilities or burdens, it was just a pure romance, then that may be true.
But that day, Tattsun definitely saved my heart and taught me that there are wonderful men in the world, not just pieces of crap like my father.
I have since parted ways with Tattsun, but he is doing well with a wonderful wife.
I hope Tattsun is happy forever.

Keiya Mizuno, famous for "The Elephant Who Grants Wishes," have you ever read "Sparta Marriage Hunting Cram School"?
It contains various dating techniques, but the author's personal experience at the end is incredibly wonderful.
Mizuno-san was what you call a "body dysmorphic," constantly worrying about whether his face was swollen.
He said that whenever someone treated him coldly, he always thought it was because of his appearance.
When he was at a video rental shop with his girlfriend at age 19, she took him to a movie, saying, "There's a movie with an actor who looks just like you," and the movie she picked up was a Leonardo DiCaprio film.
Mizuno-san thought she was joking and said something like, "Oh, come on, you won't get anything by flattering me," but her face was completely serious. She truly believed it. At that moment, he broke down in tears.
There wasn't a single day he didn't worry about his appearance.
But with those words from her, his worry turned into emotion.
If he had been someone who didn't worry about his appearance to begin with, he wouldn't have been this moved.

Mizuno-san's own account is tens of thousands of times more moving than anything I could introduce, so if you are interested, please read it. (You can also read it on Ameblo.)
I cry every time I read it, and in fact, I'm crying a little bit right now as I write this.
Mizuno-san's writing is simply hilarious, so it might be a good reference for those who want to "write interesting prose." (His analogies are just brilliant.)

Thank you for reading until the end.
Thank you for the likes and follows as well 😊
I will definitely go visit you too⭐︎ I always keep my promises★