Words I Was Afraid To Hear

Two days before his engagement, Xiu Jin came to City T, despite the objections of his mother .

"What are you doing here?" Aoi was confused and delighted at the same time . He had told her about his engagement during his previous visit . Now, he appears in her office .

At first, Aoi was mad because she thought that he was only playing around with her . However, as he tried to explain his circ.u.mstances, she somehow believed him . She was just disappointed that they could not be together in the end .

"Here . " Xiu Jin brought out a pink box of sakura mochi .

"Hey!" Aoi was delighted . Contrary to her tomboy antics, this is the part of her that proves she is still a girl .

She excitedly untied the ribbon and lifted the lid . As she saw the paper covering the dessert b.a.l.l.s, she frowned .

"What"s wrong?" Xiu Jin thought there was something amiss from her expression .

She looked up to him and smiled . Then she shook her head . "It"s just that, the package has changed . "

She reached into her bag for her wallet and took out a torn piece of baby pink paper with dark pink sakura petals design .

Xiu Jin was confused .

She chuckled . "When I was young, I got lost while roaming around the Old Capital . I was crying my heart out when a boy who had a box of sakura mochi approached me . He tore a part of the paper and used it to handle a piece of mochi, then handed it to me . "

He had bewildered eyes .

She chuckled again . "He did not say anything . I thought he was deaf and mute, but when I said my thanks, he furrowed his brows as if not understanding what I just said . Before I could tell him my name, my mother found me and took me away . " She giggled .

Xiu Jin had his gaze stuck on the paper .

"Jealous?" she laughed .

He cleared his throat . "Coming to City T was not my first time coming to Country N . " he declared .

"Oh?" She tilted her head . "You lied to me then?"

He shook his head . "My family visited City K . While sight-seeing, I saw a crying boy . He seemed lost so I gave him one of my glutinous rice cakes . Too bad it was a boy and not you . " he chuckled .

Aoi stood from her seat and came closer to him . "Did your first gay crush had a blue knitted vest and a buzz cut?" Her smile was teasing .

"What gay crush?!" Then it dawned on him . "You know him?"

Aoi laughed heartily . She walked to a bookcase, took a book, and opened a certain page to get an old photo .

Xiu Jin"s eyes widened when he saw it . "It"s him! It"s him! Is he your brother?"

She chuckled . "Flip it over . "

His expression was unimaginable as he read her name, beside which was the date the photo of the boy in a blue vest and a buzz cut was taken .

He rushed towards her and enveloped her pet.i.te frame in his arms .

"It"s you . . . " his voice full of realization .

"Ji-jin . . . you-you"re suffo- . . . can"t breathe! Jin!" Aoi was trying to free herself .

Before she was squished, he let go of her partially, his hands still securing her arms .

She looked into his deep eyes . It was filled with longing .

Just then, his hand cupped he cheek as he kissed her deeply, pa.s.sionately .

"Igarashi Aoi, marry me . " He was serious .

"What?!"

____________

The current Aoi Xiu had a sweet smile on her face as she looked at the innocent pieces of pink mochi on the box .

"Okaasan, daijoubu desu ka?" Midori had come in her office without her noticing .

"Ah! Hai . How"s your morning?" Aoi smiled at her .

"Terrible! I was retching until I came to work . " Midori complained .

Aoi chuckled . "I did it twice . You can do it . "

Midori squinted her eyes . "Here are the year-end reports you asked for . " She placed several folders on the desk .

"Hmmn . " Aoi nodded . Then she pushed the box towards her daughter . "Want some?"

Midori vigorously shook her head . "My sense of smell is abnormal right now . I don"t even like what I used to like . "

Aoi laughed . "Shall I call your husband to punish him?"

Midori frowned . "I"ll do it myself . " With that, she exited the office .

Aoi Xiu had a bright smile towards the pink box . Her daughter is going to be a mother soon .

When she had her daughter, Xiu Jin wanted to name her Sakura, but Aoi objected . Just like her, she wanted her daughter to be strong and outspoken, not some damsel in distress . Combining her name, which would mean "blue or bluish" and her husband"s which means "gold," the fusion of colors came out with "green" in her mother tongue . Thus, Midori got her name .