By half past ten, most people had left the club. There were a few tables occupied by couples mostly. Even Wang He Di was nowhere to be seen. She supposed he had left without saying goodbye. Why did that bother her?
Yue decided it was time to head home. Bidding farewell to her bandmates and Dee Hsu, she grabbed her helmet and keys and headed out to the exit. She had earlier changed to an oversized black sweatshirt and shorts, with long socks to keep her warm when she rode.
Right out there next to the sidewalk was Wang He Di. His hands were in his pockets and he looked like he was waiting for someone, as he shifted his feet back and forth.
"I thought you'd left," she called out.
He turned and smiled. "No, I came out for some fresh air. The smoke was getting to me. And, I was waiting for you."
His eyes, roamed, looking at her from head to toe, while checking her expression. He liked her casual outfit too much. Those legs.
"Oh..." she paused, before remembering something she had in mind. "Hey, I just want to say thank you for tonight. I owe you one."
"You sure do." He took a few strides towards her. Yue took a deep breath. He caught her hand and shoved a box into her palm.
"Here, this is for you. Happy Valentine's Day."
Yue looked at the tiny box curiously. Thank God, it was neither square or long rectangle. It was a flat black box, almost the size of a bookmark. It was not even wrapped. Not that she minded it at all.
"Open it up. I can change it if you don't like it." he offered, waiting anxiously.
Yue placed her helmet on the ground and flipped the box opened. Inside, was the most exquisite-looking hair clip of a single pink and red tinged white Sakura flower. She beamed. "How did you know l love Sakura?
"I didn't. My guess is you like anything Japanese." I bet you like sakura ice-cream too.
"This is beautiful, Didi. Thank you." She looked up at him, feeling grateful. She had not expected a gift from this boy whom she just met yesterday.
"Do you like it?"
"Very much."
They stood there for a few seconds of silence. It was comfortable silence.
"I better head home. I will see you around." She carefully put the gift in her bag and started placing the helmet on her head.
Didi grinned. "I thought of sending you home. But I guess not."
She knocked her helmet with her knuckles. "A girl's gotta be independent."
Almost immediately, Didi gushed "When can I see you again?"
Again, that caught her off-guard. She smiled. "You know where to find me."
Patting his arm, she turned towards her bike and put her key in the ignition. "Good night, Wang He Di."
He nodded and waved.
Yue drove her bike down a few hundred meters, when she glanced at her side mirror. That boy was still standing on the pavement, looking at her direction. She sighed heavily. "What the heck."
She turned her bike handle and made a U-turn. She stopped right in front of him, liking that she caught him by surprise. Flipping her front flap up, she asked, "Are you hungry?"
He nodded. "A little."
"Meet me at Minatoya. The least I can do is feed you after you helped me."
Did she see him jump up a little? He was grinning from ear to ear.
"Come through the back."
Again, he looked like he was about to dash to his car. Yue chuckled inside her helmet. I don't owe you anything after this, Wang He Di. Her bike sped off.
Didi was ecstatic. It was only his second day meeting her and she wanted to feed him. He pumped his fist in the air and said "Yes!"
Small win. But still a win.
"Moshi moshi, Shen Yue," he called, knocking on the back door.
"It's not locked. Come right in."
He opened the door and immediately the smell of butter hit his nostrils and he smiled. "That smells good. What are you cooking?"
She must have driven really fast in her bike. It looked like she was in the kitchen for a while.
Glancing up, she smiled. "You will know. Can you please set the table? And grab some Asahi from the fridge."
He did as he was told and then looked around the kitchen. "Where shall we have this?"
"On the rooftop. Take the stairs next to the back door. That is our staff area," She said, flipping the food over.
"Sounds great. Oh, are you making sweet tamagoyaki too?"
Yue eyed him. "You just had one this afternoon. Careful of diabetes. I will make one with dashi for you, okay?"
He smiled much to her delight. He bounced out of the door and up the stairs.
He had not noticed the rooftop when he was eating here yesterday. There was a table with few chairs on a fake grass patch and little lights dangling from the top. It looked cosy.
Around the rooftop were also small plants that looked like herbs and creepers. Whoever planted these was definitely an ardent food lover. Basil, spring onion, coriander, onions, green lettuce, chilli, okra and even sweet potatoes.
He placed the plates and cutleries and beer on the table, just about the same time as Yue reached the top with two plates in her hand. "Here we go- tamagoyaki and sautéed Chinese yam. Best to eat with beer."
Didi's eyes widened with glee. "Is it the one from Kyoto? That kind of yam?"
She nodded. "Try it!"
He put one piece in his mouth and there was a soft crunch to it. "Oishii!! How did you learn this, Yue?"
"It's not that hard. Butter and shoyu. Do you cook?"
"Definitely. Let's do potluck one day." So, Yue had something in common with him. That made his heart soared.
They sat down and started eating and drinking. Yue was the first to break the ice. "So, why did you come back to China?"
"I had to take over my father's business after he passed away last year. He runs a trading company. But I'm venturing into food and entertainment industry too."
"Mmmmm..I heard that you are the new boss of Minatoya." She mumbled, putting another yam onto her plate.
He raised his eyebrow. "News travel fast. Perhaps. Discussion is underway."
"That's good. I will miss working here. Did Xi Ze tell you I'm signing up a contract with KIO next month? I'm both excited and nervous."
"That is amazing. You should be proud of yourself.
"I am! Hey how did you become a rapper? Kang told me that you hated rap when you were in high school."
"Have my friends been talking behind my back?"
She laughed. "I have been snooping around about their mysterious Japanese friend." The beer seemed to made her loosen a little tonight. She had enjoyed this conversation so far.
"I only started listening to rap after my heart transplant. I picked up the beat and the words pretty easily. That's when Kandytown scouted me and the rest is history."
"You know, you don't seem like a guy who have had a heart surgery. You look healthy and fit to me." She said eyeing him all over.
Didi enjoyed this sudden attention from her. He straightened up in his seat and reached for the tamagoyaki.
"I was sickly in school but basketball was my favourite. What about you? Did you always know that you want to sing?"
"Not really. But I took music and arts in college. I think Jia Er influenced me a lot." She said.
"Jia Er is Jackson?"
"Yes, he is a few years my senior and he was already a rising star. That is when I decided to be more serious in singing."
Didi pursed his lips. He wanted to probe further about their relationship but he did not want to seen too intrusive.
"Jackson was a good singer. His music was one of my point of reference when I started being interested in rap."
Her eyes had a faraway look. "He was. You know he died in a hit and run accident? They never found the driver. I tried my best to investigate but to no avail. Not that it's going to bring him back. But at least I can bring justice for him." She said, her eyes filled with sorrow.
Realizing she had spoken too much about the past, she smiled. "Let the past stay in the past, shall we?"
"The past is equally important, don't you think? Like I have this heart. I want to know whose heart it used to belong to."
"And if you knew, then what?" She asked.
Didi kept quiet. She got a point.
"Some things in life better remain as a mystery, Wang He Di. But..." her words slurred. "I would like to know who is that girl that you said you missed. Is she your lover in Kyoto?" She teased, feeling mischievous suddenly.
There was something about being with Didi. She had dropped her guard unconsciously.
Didi gave her a lopsided smile. Dammit Wang He Di. That is the next best smile after the boyish grin. Yue glanced downwards to her beer, feeling a warm rush on her face.
"She is not my lover, yet. But I have been dreaming about her for three years." He said casually. "Recently, it stopped. And I miss her. It's a longing that I never had with anyone else."
Yue was playing with her beer can when suddenly, she crushed it with her hand, making a loud sound. "Sorry, I didn't mean it."
She ran her fingers through her hair. "So, is she the girl of your dreams?"
Her mind was wandering to the names they mentioned last night- Sun Qian, Chao Yue and Bam-something. Which one of this is he referring to?
He smiled, putting his hands behind his head. "She is perfect."
Suddenly, there was a loud screech from Yue's chair as she dragged pushed it to the back. Didi looked at her in surprise. She stood up, her gaze was piercing. She looked like she was forcing a smile. "I'm going to get some water. Do you want more beer?"
He shook his head. Yue was behaving strangely as the night unfolded. There was so much he wanted to know about her but watching her right now gave him goosebumps. She looked upset about something. No, he would take his time.
When she returned, she brought a plate of edamame. Didi exclaimed. "Oh, my favourite too! I'm almost full but I can never say no to this."
"I know" she muttered.
"What did you say?"
"Hey, do you wanna play a game? A Japanese game. It's called "Achi-muite-hui" she said changing the subject.
"Haven't heard of it."
"My Japanese friend taught me. So, I will be pointing a finger at you and when I say the magic word 'Achi-muite-hui', I will be pointing either to your left right up and down. But you must not follow the direction of my finger."
"Ahhhh I see. Okay let's do it."
"Loser drinks."
"Deal."
"Achi-muite-hui! You lose! Drink!"
Both of them took turns to play to a point they were laughing until their sides burst.
"Cheater!" shouted Didi.
"No, I did not! You are too slow!" Yue giggled.
Finally, after many rounds of games and small talk, they decided to call it a day. It was past midnight. But neither one of them felt tired.
"Cheers to blooming careers and new friendship!" Yue made a toast and clinked his can of beer.
"Would you consider more than just friendship?" Didi suddenly turned serious, his gaze was intent on her.
She was looking up at the stars, pointing upwards. "Anything is possible, Wang He Di."
A wide slow smiled appeared as he brought his beer close to his lips. "Anything is possible," he repeated to himself.
Author's notes:
Only 2 days after they met and 5 chapters are gone! I realize that this fan fiction will extend to beyond 30 chapters possibly, by the pace of their interaction. That is way beyond what I anticipated. But I will go with the flow. Let's see how it goes!
Most of the recipes I share is inspired by Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories and I have personally cooked them. The sautéed yam is my favourite. One chilly evening in Kyoto, my family and I were searching for food. Joy was sleeping in the stroller. We randomly picked a restaurant and hurried in. Their main was okonomiyaki but it also came with something else. That was the first time I had sautéed yam. It was delicious. He did not use shoyu though. But the memory of biting into the crunchy yam was heavenly on a chilly evening. 😍
The game 'Achi-mui-te-hui' is a real game that I used to play with my friends after Japanese classes. I learnt Japanese at a very tender age, tagging along my older sisters but never taken it seriously. I even failed twice in the exams. So, perhaps it's time I relearn my Japanese for DDYY 😂
💜💛Hsien
28.2.2020