It was difficult for him to concentrate on working, knowing she was still going to cook. So Soujiro followed her to the other kitchen, only to find that she had already started. When he saw the girl's choice of ingredients, Soujiro understood why the explosion happened. It seems she doesn't even have the basics down.
"You'll need this and this," Soujiro said, reaching over and rummaging through various cupboards.
"Soujiro!" Sumire seemed surprised to see him.
"Good grief, you do know how to make a mess of everything."
Sumire laughs. " Aha, so you came after me because you're worried? Don't worry. I won't destroy this kitchen too."
He's skeptical to believe that.
"It's fine. I have you helping me now, right?"
Soujiro exhaled deeply; gee, she is something else. If one of the elders catches him now, they'll surely fuss about him fooling around. However, he is at the end of his peak; not even he can work twenty-four hours straight forever.
'If I do something else, it will help me relax more.'
The people around him believe he likes working non-stop, but the reality is he doesn't do this work because he enjoys it. He is the heir to his household. He comes from a long-standing traditional family. If he doesn't do this work, then the lands his ancestors have protected would fall into ruin.
Soujiro gave the girl a few instructions as he focused on his share of preparing the ingredients. But even then, he found himself staring at her profile from the side.
She has grown prettier before; looking at her like this, he really can see it more clearly. To think that the innocent-looking girl when they first met would end up becoming such a beauty.
No, there was already something beautiful about her before, though it was not obvious to the eye, unlike the girl's sister. That's why nobody had paid attention to her before. However, now it's become more evident, they are all paying close attention.
Appearances are significant that much he knew, but he disliked the fickleness of the elders. The elders are old members of the elite society who act like they rule anybody with ancient elite blood in them.
'I want to abolish this system and reform it as much as I can.' While maintaining a facade that kept up with traditions, he has secretly worked on new reforms. He wants to reform the elite society so Sumire can have one less thing to worry about."
"Soujiro, is there something wrong?"
"Hmm, it's nothing."
Soujiro reached over and intertwined a strand of the girl's locks in his fingers despite those words.
He watched as a light dusk of pink appeared on the girl's cheeks.
"What is it…? Why are you touching me suddenly?"
"No reason, I just want to. Can't I?"
Soujiro had no idea what had gotten into him, but he understood he was already close to her. The desire to touch her, to hold her in his arms.
'I would never have thought I would end up with these thoughts.' It was fine as long as they could maintain a relationship where they respected each other. It was fine if they could treat each other like close friends. But before he understood his own feelings, he learned that she already had somebody in mind.
To be exact, he caught her watching Terashima Yuhi's shows frequently. At the start, he didn't think much of it. It is normal for girl's her age to like male idols, but it wasn't that simple. If he didn't see the look in her eyes, perhaps he would have remained oblivious to everything.
"You can, but you shouldn't."
"You're right. Sorry." He murmurs. "Your hair is longer now."
"You think so?"
Soujiro nodded. "It was much shorter when we first met."
When they first met, huh? It does seem as though a lot has happened since that time. However, perhaps their relationship took more of a turn in the past year more than anything. It felt like they understood each other more, and so he believed he could change things.
"That's right, and you were already balding." She trails off. "I didn't realize that you were the one sending me those letters. And you weren't exactly kind to me when we first met either, and even after the banquet, you wouldn't get close to me."
"Sumire."
"Yeah?"
He brushes his fingers across the girl's lips.
Stuff like having the right to touch her was already something he has had for a long time now. Since he's the fiance, this amount of contact should be normal. However, he has always respected the girl's boundaries, especially ever since she started to date Terashima.
But recently, the need to respect her boundaries has disappeared just a little bit before he could lean over though they hear a ringing sound.
" ---My phone!" Sumire stammered, realizing.
Soujiro exhaled deeply. "You should answer that."
It's probably because he isn't respecting her boundaries anymore that they get interrupted as much as they do.
"Aha." She laughed nervously. Sumire pauses and suddenly reaches over to touch his cheek, causing his eyes to widen. "Thank you, Soujiro. Despite this strange situation, I am aware you were trying to comfort me."
It is odd whenever she thanks him; no, he ends up with this light feeling in his chest whenever she speaks to him.
'It seems I do have feelings for her. But, there is no need for me to do anything about it. The reason why he investigated the Nagawa family it was not for her sake alone.'
…
Since she was busy with her phone call, Soujiro decided to head back the long way to his office. The moment he stepped outside, he saw a man with black hair leaning against the large pillar in the garden.
"It's late."
Then again, he supposed that this guy doesn't think of things like that.
"But I'll presume you have business with her. She's on the phone to Eli."
"What's that? Are you trying to be spiteful?"
"I would gain nothing from that."
Yuhi laughed at those words. "Heh, that's true."
'Ever since Sumire returned, no during the time she disappeared. I have sensed something different about this guy. He seems to be more carefree - no, there's a degree of responsibility around him now..'
Perhaps he finally realized how dangerous the current situation is? The main reason for his irritation towards this man was his attitude.
"I'm not here for Sumire. Didn't you say we would talk?"
Come to think of it, at that time; he did say that.
"You are late."
He expected a call back after that first one, but the man did not respond. So he left him a text message asking him to meet, but that was two days ago.
"Number one idols don't get a lot of free time, you know?"
"I still find it odd that you are taking your job seriously enough."
Soujiro watched Terashima take out his cigarette and a lighter. "Yeah, if you're asking me personally, doing all these jobs is a pain, and dealing with all those people is rather bothersome."
He knew it; there's no way he could have changed that much.
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