But she didn"t have to be smart to understand the words on that paper. "n.o.body died at the scene." n.o.body died - how is that possible? He died and… Yumeko bit her lip. She never saw his body. When she woke up in the hospital, she yelled and screamed. She went through emotional trauma. She never saw his body, so why did she never think of the possibility that he was alive?The reason why? Yumeko understood it deep down. It was something selfish. "This way, she doesn"t have to choose anymore." She could end the awkwardness between Haruka and Atsuya. The two would no longer have to fight because of her. n.o.body would have to be in pain.
How pathetic of her, trying to escape even that situation. But other than run away, what else could she do? She still couldn"t believe it. Atsuya was dead; he was gone. He would no longer smile and hold her hand, or shyly kiss her.
She would never see him again. It was difficult for her to accept the reality of her situation. Waking up every day without that person by her side. In the background, Yumeko could hear her phone ringing. But she simply buried it under a pillow as she turned to the side.
Yumeko did not want to admit that she still loved him.
If she admitted it, it would mean she could no longer suppress her longing to meet with him, to have him hold her again. Yumeko felt very miserable; she wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and fall asleep. But her phone continued to ring. Eventually she sat up and grabbed her phone, when she saw who was calling. Yumeko"s eyes twitched in annoyance.
"Stop calling me! Let me brood--"
"Ah? Your only brooding? Then look out of your window."
Huh? At that comment, Yumeko abruptly stood up. She walked over to her window and saw a man with ginger hair waving happily at her. "Wait, you know where I live? Are you stalking me?"
Aida laughed, "I"m not. I asked Lila where you lived."
"Lilchan gave that information away too easily.." Lila did tell her before that this guy is a close friend. But, even then, Yumeko was suspicious of him. Why does he keep changing his hair color for?
"Did you want something?"
"If you"re just going to sulk. Spend some time with me."
"I"m not in the mood."
"Then, let"s just stay here."
Yumeko looked at him awkwardly. Doesn"t he realize how that would look like to the servants? She honestly didn"t want to get up again. However, if she doesn"t, then she will hear it from her father. If father finds out that Aida came here…
…
In the end, Yumeko followed him out of the house. "So, there is this beautiful park nearby here. I"m sure you will like it."
"Doesn"t this guy have anything better to do?"
A park, huh? Back then, she often went on dates with Atsuya in the park. Or rather, that was their main date spot. Atsuya didn"t know the first thing about dating, even though he is older than her.
A strong breeze blew before her, and she wrapped her arms around herself. She ought to have worn something else. But it felt like somebody would notice if she stalled any longer.
Yumeko"s gaze fell on the sky; it was no longer raining. But droplets of rain from the past few days worth of rain remained on the leaves. How peculiar - everything in Star Town seems so mystical. Then again, unlike Light Town, Star Town felt more like a city. Tall buildings and more modern looking houses. Light Town was not in the countryside, but it was certainly different from the city.
No matter how much she tried to stop a.s.sociating her memories with beautiful scenery from Atsuya. Yumeko could not do that. The bright blue skies un.o.bscured from smoke or ash. That large river that would glisten like a diamond whenever the sunlight hit it.
Yumeko took a deep breath, and Satoru"s words from earlier echoed in her head. It seems like she can no longer deny it. She did not understand why she even bothered hiding something so obvious anyway.
From the very beginning, she held nothing but deep respect for Atsuya. It was because of him that she could transform as an idol. Also, the reason why she is in this position now because he is the one who gave her that push forward.
When she formally got a chance to meet him, she was thrilled. Although she didn"t want to meet him until she truly became someone worthy of his presence, she was happy when he showed interest in her and even happier when he finally asked her out.
It was obvious who she liked this entire time. But her feelings for Haruka were real too, or were they? Yumeko thought it through, and after she did, she realized something. The feelings she had for Haruka were different.
"Yumeko-chan, you like scenery, don"t you?"
Yumeko blinked, surprised at his words. "What about it?" Did she tell him that she liked it? Or was it Lilchan again?
"Follow me."
Is she not already doing that? Yumeko quickly followed him. She looked at their surroundings. The two of them had left the housing district and made their way across the temple. "Uh, where are we heading?" Yumeko questioned.
For the first time since Aida brought her out, Yumeko was finally talking to him.
Aida laughed. "Do you think I am a bad guy Yumeko-chan?"
"Well, your hiding something… your appearance isn"t your real one, right?" Yumeko hesitated to bring this up before, but now that she has the chance to do so.
"Yeah."
He admitted it just like that? Maybe this guy isn"t as bad as she thought. "Are you trying to hide from someone?"
"I am," Aida trailed off. "From my first love."
"Your first love? Eh, why would you do that?"
"Hmmm, well, I went ahead and got myself engaged to someone else. If she knew I was alive, then she would get disappointed."
Yumeko paused when she heard that sentence. Is he trying to say he faked his death? That almost sounds like what Atsuya did. Should she ask him more questions? Something has been nagging at her since she first met him. When she first met him, she called him Atsuya. If she thought about it carefully, the two resemble one another. He just said he faked his death and got himself engaged to someone else. If Aida and Atsuya are the same people, Yumeko knew she would feel devastated.
It can"t be true. If he were, he would have said something by now besides the fact that Atsuya is alive and has not appeared before her yet. Atsuya is avoiding her. It sounds very similar to Aida"s situation; she ought to research and ask around when she comes back. But, if by chance, Atsuya is Aida. Then if she finds out, he would leave her side, right?
One of the main reasons why she managed this entire time despite her fight with Lilchan was this person. Even before Lilchan introduced him as a friend, she already knew who he was. Back in London, she noticed somebody following her around a lot.