3 years ago, early autumn
Kamogawa River, Kyoto
From a distance, he saw her looking out to the river. It was nearly dusk and many had left but he noticed her fiery red hair and costume. It was not the color of her hair, nor her iced-blue sword that attracted him. Her face was glistening. She was clearly crying. Her mascara was slightly smeared. He could have turned away and left her but it did not feel right.
Before he realized it, he found himself moving towards her. "Sumimasen. I think you might need this." He said in Japanese, handing her a packet of tissue.
When she looked up, he saw the biggest brightest eyes he had ever seen. Her brown eyes were glistened with sorrow that they tugged his heart.
She sniffed and took the packet, nodding "Arigato." She took a piece out and blew her nose, not minding the presence of a stranger. Then she turned to him and smiled. "Thank you for making my day. I feel much better now." She dusted her skirt and adjusted her hair, turning her back from him, she walked away.
That was the last time he thought he would see the fiery red haired Cosplay girl.
(I took this photo during a trip to Kyoto in 2017. I wished I made time to sit by that river bank. Next time.....)
Present day, Suzhou, China
September music club
"Are you still the Wang He Di we know?" Wu Xi Ze gave him a hug. "It's been ages, Didi. Welcome back!"
The ash grey haired boy with bright eyes and striking looks, broke into a wide grin. "Except for my heart, the rest are the same. Good to see you guys again."
He gave Kuan Hoong a high five. "Where is Kang?"
The group of four boys were friends since high school. Even though, Didi had been living abroad for few years, he considered them as his best buddies.
"He is getting ready for the performance tonight. We will see him after his show. Why did you take so long to meet us? You've been back for six months!" Xi Ze complained.
Didi touched the nape of his neck. "My dad left a huge chunk of unfinished business after he passed away. I honestly didn't think I would be back in China. I really got used to the life in Kyoto."
Kuan grinned. "Yeah, I'm sure. Don't you get more girls after becoming a rapper?"
He shook his head. "The girls there are different. I don't understand them at all. I think I will die single if I still stay there." The guys laughed.
"I'm pretty sure there are many Chinese girls living in Japan too. Maybe you are too picky." Kuan commented casually.
Didi shrugged and took a sip of beer. It had been four years since he left China. After his heart transplant, his mom brought him to Japan to recuperate.
He still remembered the day he collapsed at the basketball court and how they rushed him to the hospital.
The rest was blur to him. He learned after that, they found a match for him and did his surgery immediately.
"By the way, how did you pick up rapping? Rap was never your thing," Xi Ze teased him.
"This is a mystery. I started having interest to listen to rap music after the surgery. And then I picked up the beat and the words. The rest is history."
"I still cannot believe you rap in Japanese. Do one for us now," coaxed Xi Ze.
His friend laughed. "No, I don't perform that much. I write for Kandytown, a rap group, after their founder passed away. Sometimes, I perform with them. Besides, my face is not Japanese enough to be popular."
"You are half Japanese and that is fact." Kuan pointed out.
"Hey, back to the rap mystery...I read somewhere that experts say you will change your behavior according to the donor. So maybe yours was a rap artiste or something. Is that true, Kuan?" Xi Ze asked.
Being a police detective himself, Xi Ze had seen a fair share of criminals who were psychologically influenced in committing crimes, rather than pure malice.
The boys looked at Kuan who was calmly drinking his juice.
"I'm a psychologist only but yes, I have personally counseled a few patients who have had heart transplant before. Not all of them changed but some do."
Didi sat up with interest. "I have always been wanting to find out about this, Kuan. It will be really cool to know."
"Is that really important? You better take care of his heart!" Xi Ze laughed.
"Xi Ze, it was a miracle that they found a match for me. You know how sickly I was in high school." Didi pointed out, remembering his high school days with his friends. Didi and Kuan were the so-called geeks in the class, while Xi Ze and Kang were average in academics.
"But you still played basketball."
"I'm just the stubborn kind, you know. Being on the team, is one of my biggest life achievements." he boasted. "But I can't play like before."
He paused, thinking about his occasional pain in the lower waist and back, yet another mystery after his surgery.
In fact, there were many unexplainable things that he experienced besides the new talent. One year after, he started having recurring dreams of the same girl. For three years, she visited him in his dreams.
When it started initially, he brushed it off casually like any other dream. Then, it happened so often that he could even sketch her image out vaguely.
Up to a point, he named her Tsuki, Japanese name for the moon since she only appeared at night when he slumbered really well. She would appear smiling or laughing. But it felt like sunshine to him.
He had not told this to anyone. They would think he was a freak. After all, he could not explain who she was and why she kept appearing in his sleep.
Tsuki was now part of him and he was not complaining. Each time she appeared, his heart felt at peace.
His thoughts were distracted by the host on the stage. "Welcome friends to September music club tonight! Are you ready for a good time?"
The audience cheered. Didi watched with anticipation. "Let's put our hands together for the Dream Catchers!"
The lights dimmed.
A girl appeared on the stage. She was wearing a full black outfit, with short skirt and boots, a guitar sling over her shoulders. Her hair was almost shoulder length, her face almond-shaped.
She is pretty.
Then, she stepped forward and under the spotlight, she smiled.
Didi almost dropped his glass.
That smile. He recognized it.
It was her. Tsuki.
Didi shifted in his seat and leaned forward. How could it be? She was in his dream. She could not be a real person. But there in front of him was or looked like her.
Didi squinted his eyes, trying to see if he had problems with his eyesight. Maybe the lights created an illusion.
She took a step forward to the microphone and said "This is one of my favourite songs from my idol, Deng Ziqi or you know her as G.E.M. I hope you will enjoy it. I present to you, 'Lai Zi Tian Tang De Mo Gui'. (please watch the MV on the header)
She started the chord to the song and the band started playing. Didi could see Kang was at the drums. His friend had always been musically inclined.
夜裡造了美麗的惡夢
Beautiful nightmares
想清醒我卻抵不過心動
awakening deep desires within
夢你是無底的黑洞
You're the black hole in my mind
我無力抗拒失重
I can no longer resist
我的意識自控脈搏流動
All of my control and intuitions
全被你神秘引力操控
are held by your mystical attraction
親愛的你是危險的迷宮
you dear, are a dangerous maze
我找不到出口
a maze without an exit
When she sang, her rich, sultry voice filled the room and there was silence when everyone sat to listen to her.
Didi started feeling goosebumps on his skin. She was not just beautiful, she was also very talented, even though she sounded melancholic when she sang the chorus.
Her big eyes gazed at the crowd as she belted out the lyrics.
You took my heart away, away, away, away
My head is blown away, away, away, away
你就是傳說來自天堂的魔鬼
You're the notorious devil from heaven
'Cause You took my heart away, away, away, away, away, away, away
Her gaze met his eyes somehow, and she lingered on him as she sang. His heart skipped a beat. The girl in his dreams, literally, had come alive. And he had to find out who she was. Why was she in his head all these years?
You took my heart away, away, away, away
My head is blown away, away, away, away
你就是傳說來自天堂的魔鬼
You're the notorious devil from heaven
'Cause You took my heart away, away, away, away, away, away, away
Xi Ze noticed Didi was staring at the singer on stage without budging. He smacked his friend's arm and he almost jumped up from his seat. Chuckling, he teased him, "She is really pretty, isn't it? She always attract a full house on the weekends."
Didi nodded. "She is very good. Is she a professional singer?"
Xi Ze tilted his head as to remember something, "The last time I heard Kang said she was scouted and would be signing up under an independent music label, KIO. But this is where she started gaining loyal followers."
Kuan smiled. "Someone looked smitten."
Both of them stared at their half-Japanese friend whose eyes never left the stage.
"Wang He Di!" Xi Ze moved his arm when the song ended and there was a thunderous applause in the room.
"Hey, watch it!"
The boys laughed. "I have asked Kang to join us once he has a break. Shall we invite Shen Yue too?"
"Shen Yue?"
"That's her name."
Yue. Tsuki. What a coincidence.
His mind was miles away as he watched her removed her guitar and adjusted her mike before announcing the next song. Why did he feel that she was smiling to him directly?
"My next song is also from G.E.M. If you like any songs, you can do song request but please, don't give me hard ones. This song is for all the girls in the house, Miss Similar, Cha Bu Duo Gu Niang. Don't fit in, let's stand out!"
Didi's jaw almost dropped to the floor when she started singing after the opening.
"She raps!"
He was speechless. Watching her on stage was just mesmerizing. Till now, Didi had never found a girl in the same league as he was. Talented, good-looking and a girl who raps was hard to come by.
"I think our friend is in love." Kuan commented calmly, taking a sip of his drink. "I thought Didi never like girls who rap."
"That was before he knows how to rap. He had found his match," Xi Ze said.
Didi finally was able to close his mouth and swallowed his saliva. "I want to know her. Can you introduce us?"
"Are you serious? You wouldn't if you knew what she is like," Xi Ze grinned.
He cocked his ears. He could not care less about other's opinions but he was curious. "What is she like?"
Xi Ze cleared his throat. Kuan gave a half smile, and looked down at his drink.
"Shen Yue is a wild mare. A complete badass too. She is really not your type, Didi."
Didi smirked. "I'm a badass myself."
Kuan chuckled. "Please, Wang He Di. You are the smug, straight A student, who wore geek glasses and braces in high school. Except for basketball, you would not even dare to skip classes or hang out with us on the weekends."
"Hey, that was high school. I have changed since then." Didi said defensively.
Xi Ze's eyes bored into Kuan's. "We all wore geek glasses. Jia Qi liked me in them, though, " he said smiling, thinking about his girlfriend since high school.
Turning to Didi, Xi Ze said. "Trust us. Yue is our friend. We don't mind her speaking her mind and telling us to fvck off. But when it comes to relationship, we have never seen her stay long with any guys so far. She goes on her first date with them and they disappear right after."
"Makes me think she had stashed them away in a dungeon. Or maybe sacrificed them to her blood god." Kuan laughed.
Didi seemed unperturbed. His eyes sparkled instead. "Interesting," he quietly said.
The young singer was moving to the beat and encouraging the audience to sing with her and waved their hands. He thought she was really a good performer. Her moves were slick and totally matched the song.
He could not find another word to describe her unconventional beauty and voice. Like the song she was singing.
而現在各位姑娘 這裡我要分享
And now ladies, here I want to share
曾經的我都一樣 有差不多的憂傷
I used to be the same
差不多兩個禮拜沒有吃飯
Did not eat for almost two weeks
差不多我就把命給送上
Almost I gave my life away
數不盡的差不多 都差不多
It happened almost countless times
差不多 人生真的不該這麼過
This similar life should not be like this
像我唱的那首歌
Like the song i sing
He turned to his friends. "I am up for the game."
Xi Ze slapped his back. "My friend, you have no idea what you are getting involved with. There is something else you want to know about her."
"I will know her when I know her."
"She was the girlfriend of the singer, Jackson Wang."
"Jackson Wang? The one who passed away 4 years ago?"
Xi Ze nodded.
Didi smiled. "Jackson had good taste."
He stood up, and ran his fingers through his hair. "Tomodachi-desu, you can't change my mind. She can be a wild one but I'm the horse whisperer. Just watch me."
The boys groaned. "Some things never changed with Wang He Di. He is still the same stubborn brat we know."
Author's notes:
I felt like my writing is getting extremely rusty! 😂😂 But I'm back.
When I wrote this in August 2019, I had no idea that Didi would release a rap single! So, I guess I can predict the future?
G.E.M has one of the most versatile and talented female singers in Taiwan. I love her style. You will be hearing a lot of her music in this ff.
Tomodachi means friend in Japanese.
💜💛Hsien
21.2.2020