🌸 long chapter
Kyoto, 2 Winters ago
Yuri Restaurant
The best way to learn Japanese cuisine is to work with a Japanese chef. She took the challenge boldly while most of the people on the program chose theater or Hana arrangements. She loved food so that was her first choice.
Her schedule was packed. She would need to work at Manga Museum in the morning, and work at the restaurant at night. For the past few months, it had been tiring but exciting. She stayed in the kitchen as an assistant chef and occasionally helped out as a waitress.
That night, a special menu was required for a private function. The whole restaurant was closed for these guests. She worked hard in the kitchen, prepping the ingredients for their famous yudofu, octopus salad and omu-rice.
"Tsuki-san, please help me to serve our main course to the guests. We are short handed. Hitori is doing the deserts," asked Sensei Kaito.
"Hai, sensei."
She forgot she was still wearing her face mask when she served the guests when she felt there were smiles and whispers around the table.
"Sensei! We didn't know you have a new student. She is so shy."
Sensei smiled. "Tsuki is here for a year half on a program but she is a fast learner. She makes the best sweet omelette here now."
Everyone at the table gushed. "Can we have some now? In fact, it is Haruto's favourite. He is the reason for today's celebration. He turns 22 and his first single hit No.1 in the radio charts."
He nodded and signaled to her. She bowed and started back to the kitchen, as she heard the other guy saying "I still can't believe that he is a newbie in song-writing. He is way beyond his time."
She might have turned too fast when she bumped into the chest of a gentleman. "Sumimasen! I didn't see you. You are really tiny." the stranger exclaimed.
She looked up and stared into his eyes. Is it coincidence that they meet again?
He frowned. "Have we met before? Your eyes seemed so familiar."
She quickly shook her head. "Sumimasen. I need to get back to my work." Why did she say no? Didn't she want to talk to him again?
That night, she stole a glance at him as he took a bite of her tamagoyaki. His face lit up. His smile went his eyes and created sparks in her heart. She closed her eyes to record this moment. Soon it would become a memory, like how it would always be.
That whole winter, was the best winter she had, watching Haruto coming to Yuri almost every night to eat the tamagoyaki she made. He also liked her sautéed Chinese yam and oven-baked edamame, taken with light sake or Asahi.
She never spoke to him even once when he came, but his presence alone filled up the emptiness of her heart in those cold and lonely days.
Yue inhaled her breath sharply.
Against the blue skies, he looked immaculate and handsome in his bright red sweater and long black overcoat, showing off his endless legs. His hair was mildly tousled, his arms crossed over his chest, a soft look on his face as he cast his gaze to her, when he sensed her walking towards him.
He turned his body towards her and smiled, his hands in his pockets now.
Her heart thumped fiercely. She blushed and her skin tingled when she recalled their intimacy last night.
She strolled towards him, with tight-lipped smile and bright eyes and when she stood in front of him, she tip-toed and leaned forward. "Hello fifth brother, I'm your third sister." She broke into a cheeky grin.
Didi groaned and opened his arms to envelope her in a hug, nuzzling his face in her soft hair. "I miss you, Yue. I shouldn't have gone home last night. I stayed awake thinking about you."
She clasped her hands together around his waist to tighten her embrace, her ear listening to his steady heartbeat. She closed her eyes and said a little prayer. His heart was beating. This is not a nightmare, this is real.
"I miss you too," she responded softly.
The world around them seemed to have stopped revolving. He kissed the top of her head and lifted her chin up, planting a lingering kiss on her lips. They ignored passer-by's stares and smirks as they felt each other's warmth on the lips.
So this is love, her little heart said.
When they finally broke apart, he still held her around her waist. "What should we do today? I told Okaasan I'm not going home tonight," he beamed, raising his eyebrow.
Yue hit his arm and he yelped. "Did you become stronger again?"
She shook her head. "No, you are weaker." She paused. "Didi, how is your health?"
He smiled and pulled her in again for another hug. He could not stop holding her. "Could be better, of course. I know what Kuan told you. Yue, give me a chance to explain. After we talk. Or rather after you talk."
"Okay. Right now, I just want to stay inside your arms," she said, with a lazy drawl.
"I don't mind. Why don't we sit down and you can still hug me all you want?" He grinned. "All day long, all night long," he added in whisper. Yue allowed a blush to creep to her face.
"Where shall we start? I want to know if you knew me when you came to Japan." He said, his arms around her as she leaned on him.
"Can I tell you a story?"
"Oh..is it a funny one?"
She laughed. "I can't tell funny stories. Don't laugh at this one, so shush." She felt his arms tightening around her and she took a deep breath. The river always calmed her nerves down.
"Once there was a black wild horse. No one could tame her. She runs freely in the fields and meadows and for years, she loves her freedom. Then, something bad happened and she was deeply wounded. She decided to run a little further from home. Hoping to forget the bad things that happened. Hoping to pick up her life again."
She paused. "And then when she was mending her heart, she met a horse whisperer."
Didi smiled and leaned next to her ear. "Is that me?"
She smiled. "Shut up and listen to my story."
He chuckled softly. "I'm all ears."
"He was not like the one before. He made her heart beat again. Strongly. His smile, gestures, his eyes, were all so kind and gentle. One day, she galloped to the river and cried. When a horse cries, there are no loud sounds. The horse whisperer was nearby. He saw her tears. So, he came next to her, started whispering kind words to her while stroking her mane. Then, he left."
She took another breath and continued, her soft voice was music to his ears as he held her. "The horse wondered about him. Since then, everywhere she went, she saw him. She felt a strong connection with him. But yet she could not be close to him. She was afraid of commitment. She had to leave him soon. Eventually, she went home alone."
"Yue...did she ever meet him again?"
She smiled. "Yes, she did. One year later. He came and he said he had been dreaming about the wild black horse, even since she left. She never told him, but she never stopped thinking about him. Never."
"What happened when they meet?"
"She promise herself to open her heart and stay with him. Wherever he goes, she follows. She has made up her mind to be his."
She turned her face towards him. "Will he accept her?"
His gentle eyes said it all. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "The horse whisperer have been waiting for her all his life."
Tears started to stream down her face as she linked her arms around his waist. "I'm here." His hands went inside his pocket and took out a packet of tissue paper. "You need this."
When she saw the tissue pack, she started giggling through her tears. Didi frowned. "What's so funny?"
She took a tissue from him and blew her nose loudly. "Don't you remember?" Again, she blew her nose. "Arigato. I feel much better now." She smiled. "This was where we met for the first time. You were Dragonball."
He stared at her face, for a few seconds. He lifted her arms and scanned her body. Then, he knew. He jumped up. "You! The red-haired Cosplay girl! And that icy blue sword!"
She nodded, her grin stretched from ear to ear. "I owe you something. It's three years late but —" she opened her bag and handed a packet to him. "I'm returning this to you."
"You are such a crazy girl, Shen Yue." He laughed. "That's why I'm crazy about you." He stopped smiling and caressed her cheek. "When did you start to have feelings for me?"
She chuckled. "Make a wild guess. Do you want to go for a walk? I want to bring you to where the wild horse met the horse whisperer again," she beamed, interlacing her fingers in his. She glanced down and saw how small her hands were in his.
He chuckled. "Tiny girl, tiny hands. But our children will be okay since they will get my genes."
She pretended to glare at him and tried pulling her hands away.
"Shen Yue, I know you like my teasing," he dropped a kiss on the back of her palm and drew it to his heart. "My heartbeat is out of control today. It beats faster when you are around me."
"Put a rein on it," she joked. Mine too.
He shook his head. "No. This way I know I am very much alive and in..." he paused, looking at her. "Very much into you."
It was a pleasant walk to Gion Street, from the Kamo River, as they walked hand-in-hand, catching up with things they missed out when they were apart.
"Are we eating at Yuri's?" he asked curiously.
"Lunch is not served yet, Wang He Di. Are you hungry already?" They stopped for awhile. Yue looked around and smiled. "Take a photo."
"You alone or with me?"
"Of course with you, silly."
A passer-by helped them with a photo with Yue linking her arm around his. "Doesn't this scene reminds of part of Bon Odori photo booth?" she asked, suddenly aware that Didi had taken one step closer to her. She looked up and met his burning gaze.
"Uh-huh, I almost kissed you that night."
"You were a teaser, Wang He Di. I was upset."
He raised his eyebrow. "Because I didn't kiss you?"
"Must I say the obvious?" She pouted, turning her face away.
The next moment caught her by surprise when he held her face and leaned down to capture her lips in his. A soft, gentle, kiss that lingered for several seconds.
"I owe you this." he said softly as he pulled away, both their chests rising and falling. "I'm sorry I teased you."
Yue's face turned tomato red. She smacked his chest. "Who gave you permission to kiss me?!"
"You did not push me away, Yue. Must I show you the marks you made on me last night? On my arms and shoulder?" He smirked.
She started walking away, with her hands over her ears. "I can't hear you, bla bla bla.."
He laughed as he caught her hand again. He missed their bickering. He missed her. So much.
They walked a few more minutes when Yue halted and tugged his hand. He looked around the area. They were on the main street, leading to the theatre.
He frowned. "Hey, this is where I met that geisha. Remember the one I told you about? She is about your height, she wore a red kimono, white painted face, of course. And her eyes are huge. Like yours." He paused.
"You met Kaguya," Yue casually said.
"Yes! Yes, that is her name. We were being introduced during our second meeting. It was kind of embarrassing for me."
He touched his nape. "I had no idea what to say to her. And she...she didn't talk much so I sat next to her the whole night. But when she laughed, it was refreshing. You really reminded me of her, Yue. Same height, features, laugh..."
Yue started laughing. "Does she laugh like this?"
"Exactly! I told you, Yue—"
"Wang He Di, idiot! Look at me!"
He turned his gaze towards her, puzzled by her outburst. "You asked her a question and she said she cannot tell you where she come from. Am I right?" Her hand reached out and touched his hair.
"Watashi-wa Kaguya desu," she said softly and bowed. She lifted her eyes to check his expression. There was none.
For a moment, she thought he would burst into anger for keeping this from him. All of a sudden, Didi clapped his hands and jumped around, his hands in his hair. "Oh my goodness! Oh, gosh! I can't believe it! The geisha I had a crush on is YOU!!!"
"You had crush on me?" She asked, surprised.
"Of course, I did! I was checking you out the whole night. My palms were sweaty, my heart was beating. It was like meeting a high school sweetheart. Couldn't you tell?"
"No, I was too busy trying to be a geisha that night. Besides...." she rested her hand on his cheek. "I knew who you are. That was the fourth time we met. I already had feelings for you," she said, smiling softly.
"Yue, you are such a good actress. You hide it so easily."
"The white paint helped," she laughed.
"Oh, my heart is going to burst open. Can you see how the universe is working for us? Is there anything else you will reveal to me today? I'm not sure if I can take it." he said, clutching his sweater where his heart was, but his face flowed with excitement.
"There is. But first, let's eat. Nishin soba!" She announced, tugging his arm.
"Wait, Yue" he pulled her into his arms again. "I wanted to kiss you that night. At the geisha gathering. Can I do it now?"
He turned his face to look at her but she had a palm covering her mouth, her big eyes, teasing him. She shook her head and mumbled "No more kissing!"
"Just one more!" He forcefully pried her hand away and landed a peck on her mouth.
"WANG HE DI!!" She screamed as she chased him down passed the Gion theatre.
"Why are we here?" Didi whispered, as they walked between the giant racks of manga at the museum. She smiled. "I thought you like mangas."
"I do. I come here once in a while."
"Follow me." They turned the corner into another ceiling-height rack, filled with thousands and thousands of Japanese comics. "Bring me that ladder. The manga is on this top shelf".
"I'm taller. I can reach it for you."
"Tsk tsk, Didi, there is a reason why people created ladders. If I don't use it, it has no purpose in life," she commented.
"Your point of view is just strange, Yue." He grinned, bringing her the step ladder. "Be careful. If you fall on me, you will crash land on me, killing me in an instant. You're not that light, you know," he teased as she climbed up.
"We will have world peace sooner if Wang He Di keeps his mouth shut," she responded sarcastically.
"Oh, touchy-touchy."
Even with the ladder, she had to tip-toe. How did she get on here the last time? Her eyes ran through the volumes of the manga and finally caught a sight of 'the one'.
"I got it," she exclaimed. "Didi, don't laugh when you see these. It's really very, very amateur," she said, squeezing her eyes, when she pulled out a loose piece of white paper, carefully folded and placed inside one of its pages.
Didi looked at it thoughtfully. She continued babbling, "Okay, you can laugh but not so loud, okay? I know the drawing doesn't look like you at all."
Again, she waited for him to speak. Why is he taking so long to say something?
"Did you draw me, Yue?" He said pointing to Dragonball. She nodded. "And that's me, with a camera around my neck. I took a lot of photos when I first came to Japan. That's why I won't leave home without it," he said, his eyes still digesting the pictures.
"And this?" He pointed to a picture of a girl looking sad, her eyes were at a boy hugging a girl on her shoulder. "Is that me, too? Who is that girl?"
She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, looking sheepish. "That summer, I saw you at the basketball court. Then, she came. And I thought she was your girlfriend. But now I know she is your god-sister."
"But who is this girl, watching them? Why does she look sad?"
Her face was so warm and she suddenly felt embarrassed, showing him her manga drawings. What was she trying to tell him?
She grabbed the piece of paper from him and placed it inside her bag. "Forget it, Didi. This is just child's drawing. Doesn't mean anything." She climbed up the ladder and returned the manga.
"If you insisted us to come all the way here, it must have meant something to you. And it's important too." He said. "I want the drawing . Give it to me as a present".
"Didi, I can do a better one for you." she said, holding her bag tightly. Why was she feeling so nervous? He knew she liked him.
But drawing him was another thing. It felt intimate, personal. Like she was his stalker. Or creepy fangirl.
"Come here," he said, pulling her hand.
"Where are we going?" She asked looking at him, almost stumbling, trying to catch up with his large strides.
"Dark corner where I will kiss you senseless if you're not giving me that drawing."
Her hand automatically flung across her mouth. "You wouldn't! It s a public place!"
"You need to be punished, Yue." he said, his lips pursed, as he continued pulling her. "Damn! Is this the only museum in the world that has no private corners?"
Yue looked at the man she had been secretly infatuated with, her heart thumping furiously, thinking what he would do to her later.
"Staircase," he grunted, and opened the door to the fire escape. He removed the bag from her, carelessly dropped it on the floor and kabedon her to the wall. His eyes were dark and dangerous. She felt her knees unbuckling beneath her and she swallowed her saliva.
"I'm punishing you for keeping this secret from me. It makes me go crazy. Thinking that we could have met years ago and started something back then."
"Didi, I'm sorry."
"Kaguya, Tsuki, Shen Yue, whoever you are, I take all of you. I want all of you!"
His lips crashed on hers before she knew it, sucking and licking and his tongue diving inside her mouth and teasing her tongue to respond. His hands went to her hair and he leaned towards her body against the wall, kissing her open-mouth as she moaned.
She closed her eyes and clung around his neck, else she would had crumbled by now. He was just taking and taking from her, his mouth hot and moist on hers.
She could feel warmth creeping downwards from her stomach to her feminine core, the familiar pulsing feeling, growing and unstoppable. She responded fervently, all her pent-up desire for him, registering in her shivering body as their tongues mingled furiously and urgently.
His hands went behind and grabbed her bottom, lifting her up to him as she curled her legs around him, feeling his arousal. "Yue, damn I can't stop," he mumbled as his lips nibbled her neck and down to her throat, licking her. "I want you so bad."
He went back to kiss her passionately, as he carried her in that position for a few minutes, worshipping her mouth. Yue thought she had gone to heaven.
He finally grunted and pulled himself away, licking his lips. She untangled her legs from around him and held onto his arms, to steady her. That was wild.
He put his forehead on hers, caressing her sides. "Yue, I thought I will tell you this much later, but I can't hold it any longer. Not after today," his voice hoarse, his breathing still ragged.
She looked up and saw the longing in his eyes. That depth. Burn souls. "What is it?" She whispered.
His eyes searched her and finally, he rested his gaze on her, it was soft.
"I love you."
Her heart jumped right out of her chest. She unconsciously gripped his arms.
"You are my forever."
He closed their gap again and claimed her lips gently, enveloping her in his arms, as though keeping her safe from danger. Yue did not want it to stop.
Author's notes:
Phew! 🔥This is one of my favourite chapters. 💜💛💜💛💜💛
I hope you like the early publishing of these chapters. I realize that I want to spend more time working on the next few chapters. I'm sorry 🙏🏻 There will be 12-15 chapters more to this story. I will definitely have withdrawal symptoms 😩😩
Now for some detective work! Piece up all the 6 flashbacks in the story so far and find out which season that they did not meet up.
Clues:
1. Yue was in Kyoto for 18 months.
2. Didi went to Japan one year after his surgery, Yue went 6 months later after he left.
3. Jackson died in spring April, four years ago (when DD receives his new heart).
Assuming the present year is 2022, which year and season did they NOT meet in Kyoto?
If you guessed correctly, I will write a new chapter for MOTH/ Heart & Soul (whichever inspiration comes first) and it will be dedicated to you! 😘🥰
Thanks for staying with me.
💜💛 Hsien
6.5.2020