"What happened?" Kiyohira questions Takes.h.i.+. When Takes.h.i.+ doesn"t answer him, Kiyohira raises his voice. "Why did you treat her that way?"
"She and I are no longer friends." Takes.h.i.+ looks away. "I don"t have anything more to say."
His uncle"s temper is so… She was crying. He looked pained, but he still dragged her out. Even now, his uncle is pursing his lips his anger, but his eyes are hurt. What is hurting him now? His uncle should have appreciated the gift and treated her like a treasurer. What should he do now? His hard work was in vain.
Yuta shakes his head at his uncle. "Uncle, both of you are grown up. I don"t think that you should treat a woman like that."
"I am sleepy." His uncle goes back to his room and closes the door loudly.
Yuta sighs and looks up at his father. "Father, are they are going to be okay?"
"Don"t worry about them." Kiyohira rubs his son"s head. "They fight like this every other day. By the weekend, they will be together again."
"But it seemed serious this time." Yuta replies to him, "Uncle might die as a single man if he lets go of this woman."
"If it"s meant to be, they will happen for sure." Kiyohira sighs.
"Are you sure?" Yuta gives him a long glance. "If I wasn"t reborn, what would have happened to you and Mother?"
"Don"t remind me of that." Kiyohira crosses his arms. "You are from the future. Because of your interference, many lives have changed. Feelings can also change. Now, we have a new future that you don"t know about. Don"t worry about them. Let them face it with their own strengths."
"If I let them be, they are going to be a mess." Yuta flicks his father"s forehead. "Can"t you see it? He has feelings for her. She has feelings for him. Why are they fighting then? We must help them. I will talk to Aunt Iori. You should talk to Uncle Takes.h.i.+. He won"t talk to me because he thinks that I am a kid."
"You are a kid." Kiyohira winces in pain and ma.s.sages his forehead. "Takes.h.i.+ doesn"t talk to me either."
"What kind of big brother are you?" Yuta squints his eyes full of judgment. "Father, I will never be like you. My younger sister would be able to tell me anything she wants."
"You are quite confident, huh?" Kiyohira frowns at him. "We will see when she comes to the world."
"I will show you how a big brother should be." Yuta pats his chest. "Meanwhile, I should teach you how a big brother should be. Go and talk to your brother. Ask him what"s wrong. If you don"t find out the problem, I will complain to Mother."
That warning is enough to send Kiyohira to Takes.h.i.+"s door. "Takes.h.i.+, open the door."
No sound comes out.
"Takes.h.i.+?" He knocks on the door, wondering if he"s asleep. He should talk to his brother tomorrow.
When Iori returns to her home, she walks straight to her room. She closes the door and collapses on the floor. Her lips tremble as tears well up in her eyes. She covers her face and cries alone, trying not to make any sound because she doesn"t want her family to hear it. Why is it always like this? Is she always in the wrong? Five years ago, she was not prepared to accept his sudden confession. When she realized it, so many things were happening in his family. He was always distant. She thought that he gave up and moved on. After five years, he has been acting vague and teasing. He could have said the words clearly once.
But she did wrong. Takes.h.i.+ didn"t show it this time, but he might have been shaken. Since he never called her, she thought that he didn"t want her with him. He already said that he had someone he liked. Why would she be needed then? But she didn"t think like this five years ago. She stood beside him as his friend. This time, she should have gone to him whether he needed her or not. Why was she blinded for a moment? An opportunity became more important than a friend.
What should she do now? Takes.h.i.+ doesn"t want to see her again. He won"t forgive her. He hates her so much that he doesn"t want to see her again.
"I am sorry, Takes.h.i.+." She curls her fingers and mumbles to herself, "I am sorry, but I didn"t know that you needed me as a friend. Why is it always happening this way? Could you not tell me that you still loved me until I believed you again? Can I blame you when I never said the words either? At least, you had the courage to confess to me. I never said it. I shouldn"t have been blinded by the opportunity. Did I lose you forever? Can"t you forgive me once?"
This is the second time when he told her that their friends.h.i.+p had died. This is the second time when he decided things on his own. He didn"t even wait for her reply and decided that she didn"t have any feelings for him. This time, she"s in the wrong, but how would she know that he still liked her? Could he not tell her to stop once? He could have told her not to take the interview if he minded it so much.
Iori wipes her tears and grits her teeth. Furious, she types a text on her phone. The message is clear. Unlike five years ago, she isn"t going to let him do whatever he wants.
[Kamiyama Takes.h.i.+, our friends.h.i.+p has ended on this day. From this day on, I don"t know you either.]
She doesn"t know this man. What does he think of himself? Is he high and mighty being who can do anything he wants? They are not kids anymore. When things break between a.d.u.l.ts, it can remain broken forever.
"I hate you." She scowls at the phone. "I hate you, Takes.h.i.+. I hate you so much. I hate you to death. Even if you say that you still love me, I won"t look at you. I will never look at you. If you really thought of me as a friend, you could have slapped my face and told me back off when I went to see your brother. Why didn"t you say anything that day? You decided to everything on your own again."
She lies down on the floor, still staring at the phone"s screen. She knows well. It"s useless to apologize. He won"t listen to her because he already made up his mind. Still, she types another message and sends it.
[I am sorry.]
There"s no reply, but the messages have been read. After a moment, she realizes that she"s been blocked.
"This…" Iori sits up and looks at the phone with disbelief. "d.a.m.n this guy! What does he think he is? I apologized already. Does he want me to beg? What did I see in this man anyway? This hard-headed man is not a husband material at all. He"s too handsome anyway. I want an average boyfriend who listens to me and speaks to me honestly. I want a humble guy who doesn"t act ambiguously. I want someone who doesn"t act him at all."
She needs a drink.