Here's another chapter. Please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango.
Sojiro woke up again with heavy head and disastrous hangover. He looked around his room to check if he bedded his dates last night. Clear. It was only him in the room. He sighed heavily and shut his eyes closed, then massaged his temple to sooth the raging headache due to excessive drinking.
The tea master quickly got up and looked for his cell phone. He was excited to read Yuki's texts. She bombarded him with thoughtful texts every time he's out for a drink or party with the other F4 member. He was expecting something like 'a very hot soup would help,' also 'you should control your drink.'
The thought of the peasant dango girl made him smile bitterly. Smile because she always made him smile, he didn't know the exact reasons but he definitely smile. It was a bitter smile because he also didn't know how to treat her properly. He didn't know how to handle her with care, she deserved it. He was known as a ruthless playboy and that didn't fit for a very gentle Yuki.
"Damn!" he hissed when he didn't find any text from her. Sojiro started to browse again all the messages, most were from his dates including the two girls last night, but from Yuki, nothing. His grip tightened but he controlled himself. He didn't want to change his cell phone yet, especially now that he was waiting for Yuki's message, desperately.
Sojiro asked their maid to send him tea and hot soup, as Yuki suggested before, to his room. He went to the bathroom to take a shower and ate his meal after.
He called her number but still with no avail. Yuki was still unavailable. Out of desperation, he dialed Tsukushi's number but was also out of reach even though he learned from Rui and Akira that the couple was in the island and cell phone signal was unavailable as well. He knew that very well but he still kept on trying and denying. It was acceptable not to contact the coupe because they were in vacation in a remote island. But how about Yuki? She always sent him messages and she should've told him if she would go somewhere. Sojiro realized that he was becoming like a possessive boyfriend. He never did that in his entire life even with Sara. Moreover, he's not Yuki's boyfriend and she's not his.
"That does it!" he hissed and decided to go for a ride.
Few minutes later, Sojiro was looking at the dango shop where Tsukushi and Yuki were working. He kept his distance because he still had his pride intact and he was trying not to catch any attention from the school girls passing by the shop. He checked his watch and of course, his cell phone for several times.
Sojiro hopped out of his expensive car when he saw few people across the street. It was late afternoon, almost sunset; he could ask Yuki for dinner.
The dango owner raised her head when she heard the door opened. "Welcome to our dango shop," she greeted. Her smile became wider when she learned who just came in. "Oh the charming Nishikado-kun! How can I help you today? Do you have an order to pick-up?"
"Well, I didn't come here to order or to buy," Sojiro shyly said. He was still hesitant if he was going to ask the owner Yuki's whereabouts. He decided to look for her and feel her presence inside the dango shop.
The dango shop owner had her own instinct. "Well, Nishikado-kun, Yuki-chan is not here. Oh don't worry; I manage to take care of my own shop. I asked my niece to help me," she informed. A girl younger than Yuki but had a quite resemblance with the shop owner came out from the back room. The girl bowed to acknowledge their visitor then hurriedly ran at the back room again while giggling.
"She looks more like your daughter, ma'am," he commented. He was still itching to ask about Yuki.
"Oh dear, every one said the same thing but I was prettier than her on that age. Oh how wonderful youth is!" she dreamingly said. "Well, I have to show my niece to the public more often. She's as shy as Yuki-chan, but fortunately Yuki-chan is no longer that shy ever since she met the famous F4."
Sojiro smiled at the cue. He could ask freely where Yuki was.
"I didn't expect Yuki-chan not to come to work without informing me. I let Tsukushi-chan take her vacation but it's not the right time for Yuki-chan to be absent," the owner sighed.
"What? She didn't come to work without informing you?" Sojiro started to panic.
"Indeed my dear. She always informs me if she can't make it to work but she has been absent since yesterday without any word from her. I'm worried, I can't reach her cell phone or Tsukushi-chan's. I am too busy here to visit her, actually I don't know where she lives," she explained.
"Since yesterday?" Sojiro was literally and figuratively worried. That might be the sudden feeling he felt when he didn't receive any message from her which he's used to. "I-I'll check on her!"
The older woman was about to respond when she realized that the young man was no longer in front of her. He was running across the street towards his car. "Oh young love."
"What are you up to Yuki?" Sojiro hissed under his breath. It made him frustrated when he didn't receive any text from her but he's now in panic after hearing from the dango owner that she hadn't showed up to work for two days and she didn't inform her about it.
Sojiro reached the Matsuoka house in no time. His car's engine roared across the street as he drove to go to Yuki's house. He ran in front of their gate and noticed that the whole house seemed to be silent. He pressed the doorbell and knocked few times.
"Oh young man, there's no one in there," an old lady told him from the other house.
"Are they on vacation?" Sojiro positively asked. He didn't want to think negative now. It would drive him crazy.
"Oh, they are in the hospital, young man," she answered. "I don't know what exactly happen because I wasn't able to speak with the couple when they came home few hours ago. I just know that there was an ambulance here last, last night and they took the couple's daughter. Are you a family friend?
Sojiro swallowed the lump in his throat. He was now sweating and his feet were numb as he heard the news. "I-I am Yuki's-"
"Oh yeah, that's her name, Yuki-chan. The sweet Yuki-chan. Are you Yuki's boyfriend? You are a very good-looking and lucky lad but as her boyfriend, you need to visit her in the hospital," she finished. She smiled broadly when she noticed the young heir nod to confirm that he's Yuki's boyfriend.
"What's the hospital's name?" he asked immediately. Sojiro was raised to respect elders so as much as he wanted to stop her from talking, he thought of it as good thing since she helped him learned Yuki's condition.
"I don't remember the name but it's the district hospital. Everyone knows where it is."
"Thank you!" Sojiro shouted as he ran towards his waiting car. He knew where the district hospital was.
The old lady was dumbfounded when she realized that the good-looking lad in front of her vanished in an instant after thanking her.
Sojiro's car once again roared across the street. He was in a hurry. He was trying his best to stay calm and not to panic. Aside from Rui, he's the usually calm, cool and composed F4 man. But for Heaven's sake, why was she in the hospital? He kept his mind positive of her condition. "Please let her be safe," he prayed as he wiped his eyes and drove his way to the hospital.
To be continued...
