Chapter 55 - What Do You Want?
To his surprise Sano burst into laughter. It was not the reaction he expected at all. But then again Yuhi did not know this man at all.
"I wanted to test your reaction, but huh.." Sanos lips curve to a smile. "It appears to me that you like Sumire a lot."
Test? Yuhi frowned when he heard those words. "What do you want?"
"To get back together with her and also, you rejected quite a few proposals from friends of mine."
Yuhi sighed. "Alright, I will accept them. But I will not let you go through with the first thing." He glared dangerously at the man. "Sumire is mine."
Does this guy truly think he would let go of Sumire? After all those years of waiting, why would he do something like that?
"What if she leaves you?"
"That is up to me to decide." A sharp voice interjected.
Yuhi glanced over at the source to find Sumire standing not too far from where they were. Judging from her expression, she heard every single world. The girl's fiery gaze however made his heart skip a beat. Why does she look so good to me even though she is glaring? Maybe he does have a strange fetish of some kind.
Sumire walked over to him and Yuhi spotted several folders in her hands. He chuckled. It seems like she found those quickly. In those folders were the drawings he did of her whenever he was bored. When he had no work to do and waited around, Yuhi would often draw her picture. Sometimes he would use his imagination, other times he would ask one of their mutual friends to take a photo. When she debuted, he used the ones from her TV appearances and concert.
"You will be late for the recording."
Yuhi nodded. "Don't worry, I can make them wait." He brushed his hands across her cheeks. "Did you sleep?"
"For a little while."
"That's good." Yuhi could not miss Sano looking at them. He hated how the man remained smiling. Does this guy like Sumire or doesn't he? Nobody would like it, if the girl he liked is being touched by another guy. But Sano does not appear phased at all.
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Floor Sixty - Recording Studio S
Sumire knew Yuhi was worried. But they both knew they could not get rid of Sano. From what she learned, this guy is friends with the president here. She did not want to cause Yuhi any problems so she even invited Sano along to watch. This move however seemed to upset him.
"So," Sano said. "How have you been the past few months?"
Her gaze dimmed at his words. "It's been a year."
"Ah, yes it has."
Does this guy even remember when they broke up? Sumire shook her head, calm down. She needs to control her emotions. But really what is with this situation? How much bad luck does she have, out of all the business sponsors this company has why does it have to be him? They could have sent any representative, but it has to be this guy.
"Did you change your number?" Sano reached over and caught a strand of her hair between his fingers. "No matter how many times I called you, I could not reach."
Does he not remember how he ended up smashing her phone when he tried to touch her after dumping her?
"Time has passed." Sumire did not mention the past nor answer his question directly. She thought if she did it this way then he would leave her alone. But it seems like that is not the case here.
Sano persisted. "It was easy for me to obtain your new number but the calls never went through. Did you block me?"
Yes, yes she did. Sumire knew Sano very well. Even if he changed numbers, he would keep the last few digits the same. That was why she made sure to block calls from a similar number. For a while his old number would appear on her block list but then a new number appeared. Sumire did not like to use her phone often so she kept track of the numbers.
"I did."
Sano laughed. "I always liked how honest you were." He trailed off and glanced over at Yuhi who finally started. "It seems like you're very fond of him."
"I like him."
"That is a lie." Sano replied. "You're not the type of woman who would jump to another guy after the death of your lover."
Sumire shuddered when she heard the words death. While she already acknowledged that Mamoru was dead. It still pained her whenever she heard it from another person. Hearing it from Sano, it gave her the creeps. She glared at him. "What do you want already?"
"So hostile, you should lighten up a bit. I haven't seen you in so long and it seems like you have become prettier."
She felt empty hearing those words. Sumire knew he was only saying it for show. This person does not harbour any feelings for her, he simply wants her as a bed companion. In a few months she would turn seventeen. She is already legal age wise, he is trying to get her to sleep with him.
"You sound very bitter." Sano commented. "Are you still upset? A year has passed already. Sure I cheated, but did you want me to touch you? If I touched you would you have agreed?"
Her eyes twitched in annoyance. Why is this guy trying to make it sound like it was her fault? Is he trying to give excuses even though he was the one who cheated on her?
Sano sighed. "Honestly Sumire, you have not changed at all. It was my fault for cheating but given your neuroticism, could you blame me?"
Neuroticism is a personality trait for an individual in a negative, anxious or emotional state. These people tend to feel more depressed and suffer from feelings of guilt, envy, anger and anxiety more severely than other people.
"So that's what you thought of me."
"I thought it was a few jealousy issues at first, but when I saw how depressed you got over it, it was a bit frightening. I realized that dating a younger girl would have its challenges. But this was a first for me. Still I brushed it off because you were young, immature and naive."
"If that's what you thought and if I caused you that many problems, why are you still talking to me?"
She does not understand this person at all. Why is he still speaking to her if she was that much of a burden to him? Sumire has not thought about her relationship with this person in so long. Mamoru did a good job helping her forget him. It helped that he worked in Tokyo often and was mainly abroad and thus out of the country. But now it seems like she will have to face him, and confront the past she thought was long and done with.