Tsubaki wiped her hands clean before she switched off the lights in the kitchen. She had just finished making a pot of hangover soup for her husband, just in case he did drink a lot during his meeting with his friends.Click!
Tsubaki"s smile blossomed once she heard the door being opened from the outside. It was her husband! She had been familiar with the sound of his steady footsteps.
Even though tonight it sounded listless.
Did he drink a lot?
"Dear! Welcome home!" Tsubaki ran quick steps to him.
Ren was startled with the cheery greeting. He turned around, seeing her with a smile on her face. He stiffly replied with a small one.
"I"m home, love."
"Are you okay?" Tsubaki asked, her face slightly frowning. It didn"t escape her notice the stiffness of his smile. "Did you feel awful after drinking? I"ve prepared the soup for you."
Ren shook his head, denying Tsubaki"s guess. He did feel horrible even though it wasn"t because of drinking. He pulled her inside his embrace as an attempt to mask her sight. As he rested his head in the crook of her neck, he answered.
"I didn"t drink much. I"m just tired." Ren sneaked a kiss on her neck. "You still do not want to sleep? It"s getting late."
"I haven"t feel sleepy. But, you really need your sleep soon," said Tsubaki as she pulled out slightly from his hug.
She carefully scrutinized his face. He looked so weary, unlike the vigor he had during their time together this afternoon. Dark circles had started forming under his eyes.
"Okay, I"m going to sleep after I have my shower."
Ren stared back into her eyes. His gaze turned complex as time pa.s.sed. He immediately averted his eyes from hers as he felt uncomfortable hiding things from her.
"Good night, sweetheart. Don"t stay up too late," Ren gently kissed her forehead. His hand moving down from her head to the end of her long hair.
Tsubaki just nodded as she watched her husband going upstairs. His back didn"t look as firm as usual. There was something wrong with him. She could make a guess but for now, she would just silently look over him.
Ren entered his study first. He threw his briefcase on the couch, only to miss it by a short distance. The briefcase fell on the floor. Ren turned around to face his working table. He slammed his fists hard against the st.u.r.dy tabletop.
Now he"s back to square one!
After the shocking revelation, he immediately ordered Akashi to find Yagi Takashi again. This was a race against time. He didn"t know whether the mastermind would target Tsubaki again or not but he wouldn"t just sit still and let it happen.
Before the man struck his attack, he would kill him first.
Ren shook his head helplessly. He walked to exit the study. A cool shower might help him to calm himself. He couldn"t think calmly when he wasn"t at his best state.
Tsubaki was casually lounging on the couch after Ren headed upstairs. She would sneak a glance toward their room now and then, worrying about him. It had been almost one hour since he went to take a shower.
Does he fall asleep already?
Tsubaki turned off the television. She switched off all the lights too as she was preparing to return to their room. Her steps were slow and quiet in the middle of the night.
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Tsubaki turned to her left when the corner of her eyes spotted something. The door of the study was opened. It would usually shut closed since many of Ren"s works were in the study. She rarely stepped inside when he wasn"t in there for fear of misplacing his things even though he didn"t forbid her from using the study.
Tsubaki placed her hand on the doork.n.o.b. The lights inside the study were on. She turned to look at their room. It was quiet. He said he wanted to sleep early. Did he forget to turn off the lights?
Tsubaki entered the study. Just as she wanted to switch off the lights, her eyes unconsciously landed on the floor. There was a briefcase lying near the couch. She immediately went to pick up the briefcase. She recognized it was Ren"s.
"Eh?"
Once she held the briefcase, the case opened into two. The lock was loose, sending the items inside flying on the floor. Tsubaki put the case back as she began to organize the items.
A black pencil case, a leather notebook and papers were among the items scattered on the floor. Tsubaki placed them one by one inside the case back. As she was putting all the papers together, her eyes caught sight of the envelopes behind the papers.
The logo on the envelopes triggered her curiosity. They were from National Genome Inst.i.tute.
Why did Ren have these envelopes?
Tsubaki took a closer look at the envelopes. The seals had been torn off. The sides of the envelopes crumpled as if being held with high pressure.
These are...
"What are you doing?!"
Tsubaki startled as she heard a loud voice coming from behind. She immediately stood up and turned around, only to see Ren"s fiery eyes. Before she could say anything, Ren walked over in a haste and took the envelopes from her hands.
Seeing his scary face, she trembled in fear.
"I... I didn"t mean..."
Tsubaki was at a loss of words. Ren had never shown such an expression to her. It was usually directed to anyone who tried harming them. There was anger waiting to explode in his eyes. Tsubaki clasped her mouth shut. She took a step back from him.
She could feel the oppressing air surrounding them.
Ren was shocked when he finally realized what he had done. He blinked once before he looked at his wife standing opposite him. Tsubaki was clenching the hem of her shirt, her fingers were trembling as she lowered her eyes towards the floor.
The envelopes fell from his hands. Ren sighed heavily. He didn"t make a move to get closer to his wife. Instead, he bowed his head slightly.
"I"m sorry! I"m really sorry! I shouldn"t... yell at you..."
His expression worsened as he raised his head to look at Tsubaki who was silently watching him. His eyes darted left and right. His hands flailed at his sides. He really didn"t know what he should do.
Once he exited the bathroom, he suddenly remembered his briefcase which was lying on the floor due to his sudden outburst. He immediately went to the study to hide the envelopes inside his safe. When he saw his wife was holding the envelopes in her hands, his blood rushed to his head as he suddenly yelled at her.
"I"m sorry..." Ren"s voice went quieter. Guilt started to build up in his heart as his mind filled with uncertainty. "I didn"t... mean to yell at you... I..."
As Ren was feeling helpless, he didn"t realize he had taken a few steps back from Tsubaki. Tsubaki"s heart ached when she saw the terrified expression on his face. Without thinking, she ran to him and threw herself on his body.
"Tsubaki?" Ren gasped. He didn"t expect that she would willingly come to him.
Tsubaki didn"t say anything. She just held him close to her. The tips of her fingers were still shaking, her heartbeat quickened as she laid her head on his chest.
Rather than being downhearted because he suddenly raised his voice to her, she was more concerned with the frightened look on his face as he slowly distancing himself from her.
As if he wanted to disappear from her sight.