Chapter Notes
Yuuri tends to cut himself. If you have problems with the self-harm, skip the penultimate paragraph.
~x~
Days pass and Mari finally returns to Japan. On her cell phone, I realize that Mari has hit me at Instagram in a photo with her new girlfriend. Smiling, I go back to work when I finish listening.
"Excusez-moi"
I froze, biting my lip. Taking a deep breath, I lift my face and see Victor Nikiforov on the other side of the balcony. I realize that I begin to shake, and soon I get the cell phone, sending an SOS to Phichit.
"Welcome to the Hotel Rozen Ladunav." I say, in French, in a trembling voice.
"My name is Victor Nikiforov and I am one of the representatives of the Stammi Viccino channel, who wants to interview the enigmatic 'Aria'." The Russian says, holding out a business card for me.
"Ah yes. Of course, "I say, looking at the laptop in front of me. "I'm sorry, but can I know how many people will come?"
"Well, there's Mila, Yuri, Yakov, Lilia, Georgi, Anya ... 6 more people. They should come soon. "The Russian, Victor, answers.
"So, do you want a room or do you want to wait?" I ask, feeling sick to hear 'that name'.
"I'd like to meet with Aria as soon as possible to talk about the interview," Victor says, leaning against the counter and watching me.
"Aria already has an appointment this night..." I begin to speak, but I am interrupted by Phichit, who runs towards me.
"Yuuri, I'm here," he says, touching my right shoulder and left cheek. "Go rest. I'll finish it here. "
"Hm." I say to him, and pull away quickly.
Entering the staff room, I throw myself on a couch and begin to cry.
~ x ~
Victor POV
When I arrive in Paris, along with the people, I would never imagine that we would be separated soon. Yuri and Mila decided to stay at the airport, waiting for different flights. Anya decides to shop at the airport and Georgi goes after her as her puppy. Lilia and Yakov separate and leave me alone with my luggage. With a long sigh, I take a cab and drive to the hotel.
...
"Excuse me," I say in French, approaching the receptionist and freezing, because it's the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life.
A tall man, slightly overweight, wearing a navy blue jacket and a light blue shirt inside. When he raises his face and looks at me, I realize that he widens the beautiful hazel eyes of them that because of the glasses that only increase his cuteness, I feel my heart beat hard.
"Welcome to the Hotel Rozen Ladunav." He says, in a perfect French, even he clearly being from the East.
I notice that he starts to get pale and nervous, trying too hard to answer me properly and I wonder why. Is it because I'm a famous journalist? Suddenly, another employee, wearing the same clothes, approaches him.
"Yuuri, I'm here," he says, touching his shoulder and cheek, which makes me angry.
Do not touch him. He is mine.
I'm surprised to think so. How can I find that a stranger is mine without further ado? And his name is Yuuri. I look around and notice that nobody was looking at me and when I realize, the super cute man was gone.
"Mister ... Nikiforov. I apologize for the other employee. "He says in English, looking at the laptop.
"Is he okay?" I say, worried.
"Yes. He had only a mild panic attack. Now, I see that he has already completed his registration, and registered another 6 names on the waiting list. Here's the key to room 603. Anything else? "
"I had asked to meet Aria, but he said that Aria already has an appointment," I say, taking the key from the room in question.
"Ah yes. It's true Aria has a commitment, but I believe it's okay for you to join us. "He says, and frowns.
"What do you mean by 'us'?" I ask, and he opens a broad smile, raising his left hand, where a golden ring is on the ring finger, making my eyes widen.
"My boyfriend asked me to get engaged. And we decided to have our wedding here for special reasons. So he and I are planning to give the news to Aria tonight, since it was he who joined us, "he replies, still smiling.
"Congratulations. So if it's not bothersome, I should join you. "I say, smiling too.
"OK! At 2 am on the top floor, head to the bar. If I do not have it, look for a table with a different color. She's Aria's desk. "He informs me, picking up his cell phone and typing something. "Oh, and my name is Phichit."
"I'll be there, Phichit," I say, picking up my cell phone and setting to wake up at midnight.
I go up to my room and when I open it, I throw myself in bed, tired of flying. I close my eyes and end up sleeping right there.
~ x ~
Yuuri, are you okay?
I invited him to our meeting.
So I can be with you in case there is a problem.
I am worried. It's been a while since I've seen you have a panic attack.
Was it because of Nikiforov? I noticed that you paled when I gave the news of the interview.
...
"Phi, I'm fine."
"Great, because I have bombastic news." He says, and I frown. "In addition to Stammi Viccino, we will have the presence of other virtual media channels. It's bloggers and Youtubers who, when they heard about the news that Stammi Viccino was going to interview Aria Rozen Ladunav, decided to come along first-hand. "
"I understand. Let Stammi Viccino deal with them. I'm better already, so I'll be back to the front desk soon. "
"OK."
~ x ~
When Victor Nikiforov enters the bar, just before two o'clock, he watches the environment around him. Round tables with blue cloths circulate a large black piano. Further afield, a large bar completely decorated with bottles of drink is managed by two bartenders, a man and a woman. Both wear navy blue vests and light blue shirts, which Victor soon deduces blue to be the color of the hotel. Looking around, him sitting with his back to him at the bar and another man sitting at a table whose cloth is black. The man, in black suit, stands with his arms crossed and looks at something on his cell phone. Victor decides to take a chance.
"Aria?" He asks, approaching the man, an Asian with dark hair.
"No." The man responds sharply.
Suddenly, he listens.
"Hey Victor, Seung-Gil!" Both watch Phichit, in dark jeans, a white shirt and a black bag on his shoulder, approach them with a smile and waving.
When he arrives, he kisses the mouth of the harsh man and Victor deduces to be Phichit's fiance.
"Seung-gil, he is Victor Nikiforov, journalist for Stammi Viccino. He is here to see what a session with Aria is like. Victor, this is my super cute boyfriend, Seung-gil Lee. "Phichit introduced us, and we shook hands.
Victor sits on the table, to the left of Seung-gil, while Phichit goes to the other side, taking a black card out of his bag and placing it on the table. Victor notes that the black card has symbols and silvery words, and recognizes 3. 'Love' in Russian, English and French. Which means that others also mean the same thing, in other languages. How interesting would be to have a photo of the card.
"Hey, Aria!" Phichit says, looking behind the Russian.
When he turns, he sees a man with long black hair, with wires falling down his neck. The man, dressed in black pants with down suspenders and a white long-sleeved shirt open at the sleeves and front by two buttons on the top and heels, approaches the table with a glass of drink in his hand and a cigarette in the mouth.
"Do you mind if I smoke?" He asks, placing his glass on the table and sitting down.
"No," Victor replies, looking at that man, who, raising his glass to drink, stops and looks at him too.
"Is there a problem, Nikiforov?" He asks, surprising the Russian.
"Do you know who I am?" Victor asks.
"Aria knows you're here to interview him," Phichit says, smiling. "And before I forget. Mr. Feltsman asked to advise that there will be a lunch in our restaurant with everyone involved in the interview except Aria. "
Victor nods, still looking at Aria who ... seems to him to be somehow familiar. Victor notices a glove in his right hand and frowns.
"So how can I help you, gentlemen?" Aria asks, crossing her legs and turning her body in the chair, placing her elbow right on the table and resting her head on her fists, looking at Phichit.
Holy shit, that makes him have a perfect view of Aria's sexy body. How much Eros for one person.
"We're getting married," Seung-gil Lee replies.
"Oh, my! Congratulations!" Aria says, being taken aback, immediately undoing her posture.
Aria raises her arm to a waiter, and the three order drinks, which are soon to arrive.
"It's all thanks to you," Phichit says, holding Seung-gil's hand on the table. "Hey, why did not we tell Victor how Aria helped us? I think it's a good idea, because it's how he came to give love advice. "
"I agree," Seung-gil says, gazing fondly on his fiancé, even though he still holds the same expression on his face.
"Do you want to hear it?" Aria asks Victor, who nods. "Very well. As Phichit said, I was still not 'Aria' when he, at the time a rookie at the front desk, answered Seung-gil. Of course, soon as I arrived, he carried me into the servants' room and began to bombard me over such a guest for two whole hours. I thought it was just something of Phichit, since he has tendencies to passion to the extreme ... "
"I have not!" Phichit interrupts him.
"35 hamsters," Aria says, grinning at him. "And all named as the characters in the movies 'The King and The Skater' and ice skating moves."
"Do you like ice skating?" Victor asks, surprised.
"I competed internationally years ago. But I got hurt in my third year in the senior category and had to retire. "
"It turns out that Phichit and Seung-gil had already met in competitions in the past, since he was also a professional skater." Victor is surprised by the coincidence, but lets Aria continue. "And then Phichit started with the idea of sending anonymous letters to Seung-gil, where I had to deliver him to his room every morning. In the third, I was already thinking a thousand and one things and apologized for messing with the letters when I realized that Seung-gil actually liked to read them. I then suggested that he write an answer and that I would give it to him. He wrote, and I handed it to Phichit, who froze ... Pffff. "
"Don't laugh!" Phichit exclaims, but ends up laughing too.
"Well, after reading the letter, I suggested that Phichit write another and tell him to meet him in our garden and have him sign it. And to my surprise, Seung-gil gave me a verbal response. Days later, there they are, talking, in the garden. I approached them and handed them a letter, and I told them both to read. I pulled away and left them alone. And then, days later, Seung-gil leaves the hotel. He thanked me for the help and hugged Phichit before he left. That was 5 years ago. "
"I still have the letter. In it, there was some advice for both of us, and between them, not to rush us and meet us first. And that's what we did, via mobile and social networks. But it was when another colleague of ours received advice that I gave the idea of creating 'Aria'. And it worked."
"I see," Victor says, showing himself more and more curious about this mysterious man.
"Sirs, it's already late, so I advise you to finish our session here," Aria says, standing up.
"It is true. It's late, "Phichit says, also getting up.
Seung-gil and he leave the bar, after goodbye, hand in hand. Aria laughs with the scene and goes to the piano with the ashtray, sitting down. He asks the waiter for another glass of bourbon, breaks his fingers and starts playing Beethoven's Ode to Joy .
Victor starts to get sleepy and decides to go back to his room.
~ x ~
"Vicchan, Makkachin, Yuuchan! Let's go for a walk! "I say, opening the door to my room that leads to the huge garden that circles the hotel's roof, leaving my room, the bar and the elevators in the center. I remove my glove, looking at my wrist full of old and recent scars and a new cut, which causes the blood to trickle down my arm and drip on the floor.
"It's all right. It'll all be over soon. And with my luck, it will end in the worst possible way. And 'he' will know everything, even if he does not remember. "I say, leaning against the door and looking up at the sky.