Shibuya, Tokyo
(08:32pm)
"Yuki," he called.
"Jin Yeong," I laughed, imitating his tone.
We were on our way to the famous Shibuya crossing, considered the busiest crossing in the world. It wouldn't be long now, probably only about twenty minutes of walking left.
He tsked. "'Oppa,'" he corrected, muttering under his breath.
Grinning, I called him, "Onii-chan."
He winced, making my grin to turn into a smirk.
It literally meant 'older brother' in Japanese, unlike the interchangeable 'Oppa' in Korean that could mean either 'older brother' or when you refer to your boyfriend.
"Don't be like this," he told me, hanging his head as he looked at me.
"Like what?" I asked him, batting my eyelashes and feigning innocence.
He gave me a straight face. "Jinjja?" Seriously?
I smiled sweetly. "I don't know what you're talking about."
He sighed and looked away, before saying, "I was only giving you a reasonable advice. The best course of action with your problem is to be rational about this. At least, meet the guy first before –"
"I know," I deadpanned, not wanting to hear what I already knew. "And I told you, I'll meet him next week."
I realized I couldn't just ask Jin Yeong to rescue me or take me away. It was unfair for me to make him do that. There was no doubt that sooner or later, my father would find us. I was sure that he would kill Jin Yeong in front of me to keep me in line.
He was right. I was being irrational. I couldn't ask him to risk his life for me. It was stupid. I shouldn't have reacted that way. He was only being a good friend.
My facial expression softened, feeling guilty that I was angry at him when I had no right to be. I took a deep breath, and blurted out, "I'm sorry."
I kept my eyes to the front but I saw his face turned to me from my peripheral.
"Forget I said anything," I continued. "Let's just fill your body with as much Japanese food as we can," I added lightly, glancing at him with an apologetic smile.
The corners of his lips turned up as he started to grin. "As long as you eat, too."
I let out a laugh. "I will."
Neither of us spoke for a couple of minutes, walking side by side in silence.
"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Jin Yeong suddenly.
I decided whether or not to be honest, but then decided to hell with it.
"No," I admitted. In a determined voice, I added, "But don't worry. Worse comes to worst, I have a backup plan."
The amount of people walking with us along the street were increasing. We were getting really close to the crossing. My pace started to increase on its own from anticipation.
This was one of my favorite places in Tokyo. It always gave me a sense of rush, getting lost in the crowd. It didn't make me feel alone.
"What do you mean?" a confused voice asked from beside me.
"A childhood friend of mine offered to..." I trailed off, my eyes widening in realization.
Oh, my God. I was supposed to meet Mikihito tonight!
Quickly checking my phone, I saw that he hadn't called or left any messages yet. Maybe he was still finishing up some things in Roppongi.
Should I cancel? But I shouldn't hold this off if he was for sure going to be my backup plan. I needed to talk to him as soon as possible.
It was almost time to call it a night with Jin Yeong, anyway. I'd go to Roppongi after I showed him the crossing.
"Offered to what?" he urged, when I didn't continue.
I blinked as I looked up at his expectant face, coming out from my reverie. "Ah, right." I put my phone back inside my pocket, before answering in a casual tone, "He proposed to me."
His eyes turned into saucers, clearly not expecting that.
"If I agreed to it, we'd elope," I explained, turning my eyes to the neon lights ahead. "Papa will have no choice but to call off the wedding he was forcing me into."
Jin Yeong's pace slowed until he was behind me. I faintly noticed because I was too caught up in thinking about what my future would be and what would happen if Mikihito and I ended up going through with it.
I raised my head and looked at the starless night sky. "No harm will come to Mikihito-kun because he's from one of the main clans."
"Do you love him?"
"No," I answered quietly. "But at least it'll be my choice, and I know him enough to be sure that he'll be by my side no matter what. That's the best I could hope for at this point."
I could learn to love him. Mikihito was hard not to like, after all.
Neon lights grew brighter within my vision, making me look towards it. A soft smile made its way to my lips as Asia's version of the Times Square came into view.
"We're here," I declared, beaming at Jin Yeong.
I glanced back at the red stop sign, waiting for it to turn green.
Three bars...
Two bars...
One bar...
The moment it turned green, the sea of people started walking from every distance. I waved for Jin Yeong to follow me.
"Ikko, Jin Ye –" Let's go, Jin Ye –
A warm hand grabbed my arm to stop me. I turned to face him, and saw that he had a crease on his forehead. It was as if he was fighting with himself, like he couldn't decide on something.
"Jin Yeong?"
When his eyes locked with mine, my heartbeat went crazy fast. His gaze was intense like earlier, and I couldn't look away. He looked different. He looked determined. He looked... predatory.
And just like that, something inside him snapped. He pulled me closer to him, cradling my neck with his free hand and then he... kissed me.
In the middle of a rushing crowd, I felt time slow down.
The wave of bodies ceased to exist.
As my eyes closed, I felt myself...
...melting...
...giving in...
...falling...
His lips were softer from what I remembered. With a slight tilt of his head, he deepened the kiss. He was gentle about it, though, like we had all the time in the world. I wished we did.
"I'm here," he whispered, brushing his lips against mine. "I'm not going anywhere."
"No," I refused, shaking my head as I covered my face. Now able to think clearly about this, I didn't want him to face the consequences of being with me. "I won't ask you to risk your life."
His thumb stroked my cheek, soothing my nerves. "Don't worry about me."
I raised my head to look at him. "But –"
"I'm not changing my mind, Yuki."
My jaw clenched, after seeing the resolution on his face.
"I'm done waiting," he stated firmly. "I lost you once. I won't lose you again."
I felt my lower lip tremble as a warning that I was about to cry. Squeezing my eyes shut, I dropped my head on his chest to hide my face.
"I'm scared," I whispered.
His arms wrapped around me, embracing me with the feeling of security and warmth.
"You don't have to be," he assured me. With a sigh, he added, "Yuki, you need to know something."
I didn't speak, waiting for him to continue.
"I haven't been entirely honest. There are still some things about me that you don't know."
What could he possibly hide from me at this point? Wait, did he mean he would finally tell me the reasons behind his vague answers?
When he didn't say anything more, I pulled away and stared up at him. I couldn't read his expression. He'd gotten really good at keeping a straight face.
"What is it?"
He looked down and took a deep breath. Then, he nodded as if he was encouraging himself from within. When he raised his head, his jaw clenched.
"I'm –"
Rrrrriiinnggggg!
I jumped in startle. Jin Yeong and I exchanged surprised looks, before I realized that it was my phone that was ringing. I gave him an apologetic look.
"Ah, chotomatte." Ah, wait a moment.
The call might be important. In this kind of life, I learned early on never to ignore calls. You never know what might be happening.
I pulled out my phone and looked at the caller ID.
It was Mikihito.
Crap, I was supposed to meet him!
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Did you listen to the song?! LISTENING TO THE SONG WHILE READING THAT LAST PART IS SO BEAUTIFUL IT'S MAKING ME CRY. HUHU.
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