"Darling! What are you doing?"Tsubaki peeked her head from outside of the door, her eyes looking at her husband who had just changed into an old pair of clothes he found inside Satsuki"s closet. The T-shirt was slightly big for his slender body and got a few cuts on the fabric while the trousers had faded in color.
"I want to clean the yard," Ren answered with a smile. He took a towel and a wide-brim hat from his luggage. "There are still many dry leaves and sticks. It"d be dangerous if we just let them be."
"Have you reapply your sunscreen? It"s so hot and bright outside right now." Tsubaki walked inside the room. Seeing her husband"s guilty face, she knew he hadn"t.
Tsubaki quickly sanitized her hands with the liquid sanitizer before she poured the milky sunscreen on her fair hands. She instructed Ren to sit on the bed with her eyes as she moved closer to him. With a gentle move, she began spreading the sunscreen on her husband"s face. After a while, the sunscreen set on his face without showing any white casts.
"Alright, you"re ready to go," Tsubaki patted his cheeks with a loving smile before she pecked his lips.
Ren snaked his arms around her waist just as Tsubaki wanted to pull away from him. She fell on his lap. Tsubaki yelped when he suddenly bit her lower lip. His deep laugh resounded in the room as she glared at him with a pout.
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"Who asked you to tease me?" Ren asked against her lips.
"What? How is it my fault?"
Tsubaki felt wronged. She just felt like pecking him, couldn"t she do that? She too wanted to take advantage of him once in a while. This was just a small one if she wanted to compare to what he did to her countless times before.
Such a devilishly handsome man, how could she just look at him? After all, he was her husband!
Tsubaki furrowed her brows while silently swallowing her dissatisfaction inside her heart. Who knew what he would do if she continued complaining to him? Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him.
Ren laughed heartily when he saw the sulky look on his wife"s face. She seemed like a kitten trying to bare its short teeth toward a much bigger dog.
"I won"t tease you anymore," His laugh was still resounded in the room as he brushed her bangs aside. "Don"t strain your body too much organizing the kitchen. Just leave the heavy tasks to me, okay? Go and get some rest after this."
"Okay..."
Suddenly, her heart melted.
Aiya! A woman"s heart was so fickle! Especially when having a husband like him. Why should she continue sulking when he took care of her like this?
Tsubaki could only complain of the indecisiveness of her heart.
The husband and wife walked to the kitchen. As Tsubaki began to separate all the items they bought before started preparing the ingredients for their late lunch, Ren too continued his work from the morning.
He wore a pair of thick gloves, his hands reaching for the rake leaning against the fence. He had trimmed the gra.s.s before cleaning the platform this morning so he just needed to cast the gra.s.s and sticks aside and gather them inside garbage bags. He planned to check the fence and doors too, fixing what should be fixed.
Ren worked diligently under the sun. He sweated profusely, his torn T-shirt stuck on his back. Sometimes, he would pause his work to check on his wife through the windows. After he made sure she was alright, he continued his work. His movements were fluid, as if he was already familiar with the heavy tasks instead of just knew how to work in the comfort of his s.p.a.cious and cool office.
"Darling! Come and drink first!" Tsubaki shouted from the back door, calling for her husband.
"Coming!" Ren shouted back. He wiped his sweat with the towel hanging around his neck as he made his way to her. He looked at something from the corner of his eyes, his lips smiling crookedly.
Tsubaki couldn"t help but be extra soft to him when she saw his dirty face. He looked so different than when he wore his usual three-piece suit and expensive items. Right now, only an old and torn T-shirt and worn-out trousers clad on his tall body but somehow Tsubaki preferred seeing him like this.
Maybe because he looked more normal? Tsubaki laughed in her heart, chasing away the funny thought.
"Here, drink first," Tsubaki handed the cold gla.s.s with her two hands. She just stood at the edge of the kitchen, didn"t step on the lawn.
"Thank you, sweetheart," Ren smiled as he accepted the cold drink gratefully. After he emptied the gla.s.s, Tsubaki used a clean towel to wipe his face. Ren just smiled as he enjoyed the treatment.
"Our lunch would be ready soon. Be careful with the sharp tools, dear," She reminded in a gentle tone. Ren nodded, he couldn"t stop himself from smiling. "Alright, sweetheart."
While Tsubaki continued with her cooking, Ren silently ducked under a bush and stepped outside from the yard after escaping from someone"s view. He had realized it for some time already but since he didn"t want to alert the enemy, he deliberately trying to find a suitable time to act.
Suddenly, his eyes were like a hawk"s, focusing on his prey once he got a clear sight of him. He walked soundlessly on the ground, his feet dodged all the sticks and dry leaves that could announce his presence as he became closer to his target.
Ren narrowed his eyes as he looked at the back of a man hiding behind a tree. He could hear the quiet mutterings of him, his head bobbed up and down while searching for something or someone in the direction of Tsubaki"s family home.
"What an honor to meet the respected village head here."
The man jolted up once he heard the bone-chilling voice. He spun his body around and once he saw a look akin to the drawings of Asura, he almost shrunk his body.
"You! What... why..." Mr. Kurosawa stuttered as he tried to find his words. His body trembled under the cold stare.
"I saw some strange movement from the tree so I came to check."
While the older man looked like he almost p.i.s.sed in his pants, Ren remained calm. He stood casually and even though there was a layer of frost forming a cold mask on his face, his voice sounded lazy to Mr. Kurosawa. As if he was dealing with a trivial matter.
"I... I just came to see!" Mr. Kurosawa blurted out some words. He straightened his back, trying to gain the upper hand by displaying his authority as a village head. "After all, this house has remained vacant for too long! So, I just came to see if... there"s a problem here."
Mr. Kurosawa"s eyes darted around as he couldn"t look at Ren in the eyes. He felt so small under his indifferent gaze. Without meaning to, his shoulders slumped as he couldn"t bear the pressure.
After a long period of awkward silence, Ren curved up one of the corners of his lips, forming a crooked smile. "Oh."
Mr. Kurosawa timidly looked back at Ren, he was perplexed with the short response from the young man.
Oh? What did he mean by that?
"I thank you for showing your care to one of the residents here," Ren said slowly, there was no warmth in his voice. "It seems like you have become a good village head in the 5 years I wasn"t here."
"I just..."
"If that was the case, I won"t bother you any longer. I"ll return to my house first."
Ren gave the man a slight nod, his words and the small bow were showing his respect to the older man of power but they both knew it was a silent form of mockery.
"You..."
Ren spun his heels around, turning his back to the older man who was now speechless. Mr. Kurosawa didn"t chase after him, he just looked at the man"s cold back while cursing under his breath for getting caught red-handed.
Why did he become so stupid and come here? He should just leave them be. It wasn"t like their sudden reappearance would bring any harm to him.
Since he had been caught, Mr. Kurosawa didn"t bother to be sneaky any longer as he walked openly to leave the area. Even though he wanted to appear calm as if nothing had happened, no one knew how much he was shuddering inside.
Ren"s steps toward the house was a slow yet steady one. Even though from the outside he looked indifference, the layers of frost in his eyes intensified.
If he just had his suspicion when he saw the older man at the market, now he could confirm one thing.
Mr. Kurosawa was probably involved in the incident 5 years ago.
But, as for how did he get involved or why he was in the picture, he needed to investigate it first.
Ren"s smile was so cold as if he could freeze the scorching hot sun.