"Why I am here?" Haru asks himself for the umpteenth time. He wouldn"t come to the bar with her today if he hadn"t heard her crying on the phone. "Why I am always dragged when you fight with him?"
"Haru." Iori wraps her arms around his waist. "He hates me. He really hates me. What should I do? If I didn"t take that interview, I would have been stuck in that city forever. I wanted to come back here because this is the city is my home. Both you and Takes.h.i.+ are here. Life was so lonely there without both of you."
"I get it. I get it." Haru moves his head back and pushes her face filled with mucus and tears. "Tell me the details."
"What happened is…" Iori tells him with a meek voice. When she sees Haru glaring at her, she puts her head down and cries louder. "I am sorry."
"You did wrong." Haru slaps her head. "Of course, he"s angry. He doesn"t show it, but he is sensitive. Remember when his brother was in the hospital? He was barely functioning. His nephew was abducted while his sister-in-law was taken in custody. They barely won the court case. Among all this, you didn"t go to him. You went to see his brother. Did you forget that he knows how you had a crush on his elder brother for years?"
"But I was young and idiot back then." Iori defends herself with a loud voice. "It was just a crush. I knew that he would have never liked me back. It was like… liking a celebrity. You know that it would never happen, but you can"t stop admiring them."
"That celebrity is his brother." Haru slams his hand on the table. "If you also loved him back, why didn"t you say it once?"
"I was afraid of… being laughed at." Iori curls her fingers around the gla.s.s filled with beer. "I thought that he might… dislike me more if I said that I liked him now."
"n.o.body dislikes being told that someone loves them." Haru sighs. "I would never hate it. You can tell me anytime."
"I love you as a friend." She takes a sip of the beer. "I love him as a man."
"You should have said that to him." Haru laughs. "Did you ever think about how much courage he needed to tell you that he loved you? You couldn"t say it to him once. Even now, you can"t say it to him."
"I am sorry." She picks up her phone with tearful eyes. "I am sorry, Takes.h.i.+. I love you a lot. If you forgive me this time, I will marry you within this year and make my mother"s dream come true."
"Hey, there"s only two days left before this year ends." Haru frowns at her. "Why are you saying this to your phone?"
"It has Takes.h.i.+"s face." Iori shows him the phone"s screen. "I have been practising like this since he came to see me on my blind date."
"If you had practised it once in front of his real face, we wouldn"t be sitting here and drinking like this." Haru pities his drunk friend. "By the way, why didn"t you call him once and asked him for the interview instead of going straight to his brother?"
"I thought that he would say no." She puts down the phone. "He blocked me, Haru."
"I would have done the same." Haru clicks his tongue. "You knew you were doing something wrong."
"What should I do?" She leans back. "I am tired of this. Why does he never makes it clear?"
"You would have noticed it if you dared to look." Haru pours her another gla.s.s of beer. "It was obvious to everyone. Just tell me. Is there any childhood friend who would disturb his childhood friend"s blind date if he didn"t have feelings for her? Did you see me coming to your blind date? Heck! I asked you to find a woman for me. You can"t even manage to do that."
"Don"t say anymore." Iori bawls her eyes out. "I can"t hear anymore. I already feel unhappy. You are making it worse."
"Then, why did you call me here?" Haru takes a breath. "All right, I will talk to him. But you know his temper. It might take some time for him to calm down. Since you know that he never stopped loving you, how about you tell him that you also love him?"
"He already blocked me." She looks at the unanswered text. "He"s never going to talk to me again."
Haru grabs his hair. This is frustrating. He"s been an audience to this nonsense for years. When one person takes a step, the other one pulls away. When the other one comes closer, this one runs away. When will he ever see them together for the sake of his sanity?
"I don"t care anymore." Iori tosses the phone to the floor and stomps at it. "I don"t care at all. Haru, let"s date. I will marry you."
"Nope." He rejects her right away. "I don"t see you as a woman."
"Haru!" She exhales, exasperated. "Didn"t you reject me too soon?"
"Feelings can"t be forced, Iori." Haru points at her chest. "Your b.o.o.b.s can"t shake my heart."
"You!" She fists her hand and strikes his shoulder. "You don"t have to say it outright."
"Truth hurts." Haru finishes his drink. "I will take you home, but…"
"You don"t have to take me home." Iori grabs her purse and shoves some money in his hand. "I am paying for my drinks."
"Iori, what about me? Pay for my drinks too. I am still poor." Haru yells after her. He looks down at his wrist.w.a.tch and chuckles. "Let"s see if he really stopped caring about you."
Iori dashes toward the exit, cursing both Haru and Takes.h.i.+ loudly when she hits a hard chest. She steps backwards and mumbles an apology. When she looks up, she sees Takes.h.i.+ watching her with an emotionless gaze.
"T-T-Takes.h.i.+." Baffled by his sudden appearance, her fingers tighten on her purse. "I was--"
He walks away from her. She turns around to look at him. He steps in front of Haru.
"This trick won"t work every time," He tells him with a quiet voice.
"Are you sure?" Haru grins at him. "Sit down. It"s been a while since all three of us had a drink."
Iori doesn"t know whether she should stay or go. Takes.h.i.+ seems indifferent. Just then, Haru waves at her. "Oi, Iori! Why are you in a hurry? Didn"t you get a promotion recently? You have to pay for all the drinks tonight."
He didn"t have to mention that promotion. Iori returns to the table and sits down beside Haru. She peers at Takes.h.i.+. He"s looking at his phone. She"s sure that he had read her texts. Now, she"s ashamed of the text she sent. She shouldn"t have acted rashly.
"Takes.h.i.+, Iori wanted me to ask you if you had a woman you like." Haru leans forward. "Do you?"
Takes.h.i.+ looks at him. "Hook me up with a woman. As long as she"s pretty, it"s fine. My nephew wants a pretty aunt."
"You are asking me to hook you up with someone." Haru clicks his tongue. "Just look around. We are in the bar. Pick any woman you like."
"That"s why I came tonight." Takes.h.i.+ glances at the scantily dressed women eyeing him. He smiles and waves at them. After seeing this, Iori gnashes her teeth and punches Haru"s shoulder.
"Why are you hitting me?" Haru winks at her. "If you are frustrated, find a man to solve your excess body heat which is turning into frustration."
"You are right. I should do that." Iori nods at him and drinks another gla.s.s of beer. "I will do that. I have been single for too long. Tonight, I will sleep with any man who… who…"
She glances toward Takes.h.i.+, but he"s already gone. Where did he go? She follows Haru"s eyes. Takes.h.i.+ is standing next to a woman with long black hair. He smiles at that woman and touches that woman"s hair. He leans closer and whispers something to that woman.
"Look at that b.o.o.b size." Haru interlocks his fingers. "How does it feel like to squeeze them?"
Iori stares at that woman"s chest. Big. Definitely bigger than hers. She folds her arms over her chest. "Haru, I hate you. You made this worse."
"If I was him, I would also choose that woman." Haru tells her, "All is not lost. Get him or give up."