Chapter Nine
After the unsuccessful attempt of getting his mother to help him of attaining a gift for Kotoko, he simply wandered back to his apartment, cautiously looking over his shoulder that his mother did not follow him. He never caught a glimpse of her, but to be sure, he took the longer route home, and walked into big crowds. Eventually, he took the transport home, knowing for a fact that his mother would have lost him among the heavy crowd.
Preparing to greet his beautiful girl, he opened the door to a quiet apartment. The light from the kitchen exhaust fan gave a shallow glow, but it was enough for him to see through the dim room. The television was off. The leather couch was empty, but the lingering aroma of her heavy perfume could be found on the pillows adorn to a side. The simple coffee table appeared untouched, not a trace of her signature mark of carelessly leaving the remote was found.
He slipped off his shoes and set them near the side. Her white shoes were not found as he discovered. She had left, presumably to work. It was the third day of living together and already he began to miss her. The ticking of the clock was a sound he had long forgotten. He sat on the couch, unbuttoning the top portion of his shirt and exposed a partial of his chest.
He leaned comfortably into his seat, his head thrown back as he stared at the ceiling with no idle purpose. The minutes dragged and he let his eyes closed momentarily. Uncomfortable of the position that he had his head, he dragged his head down and lifted it as his eyes zoned on the main entrance door, waiting for his girl to arrive.
She wasn't necessarily his girl to begin with, but the thought of dubbing her that pleased him. He would never say it out loud. He already made a fool of himself by exposing his inner-feelings. Perhaps, he should revert back to his original persona, to the cold-hearted individual that he was infamously known for. Then she would recognize him and fall in love with him just like before.
He laughed, throwing his head back. In sheer mockery, he realized that Kotoko would merely distance herself and ignore him further. And he, through his deep, haze of love, could not let her go. The thought of proving his love to her clouded his mind once more.
What can he initially do for her to realize how much he needed her? He pondered immensely on the thought, recollecting in his memories the personal decisions she had to do to display her affection to him.
Then it hit him. He knew what he had to do. He burst into a smile, but he instantly sealed it away by forcing his mouth into a tight line when Kotoko graced the apartment with her presence. Flicking on the light, she took off her shoes and raised her head from her purse. She stumbled in fright, not noticing that he was sitting on the couch, aware of her entrance.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
He didn't answer. He stood up from his seat and walked toward her. She leaned her head back when he brought his lips to her cheek and planted a kiss. Unused to his affection, she gingerly tapped his shoulder as her way of partially receiving him with a greeting. Naoki pulled her into an embrace, hearing a small, "Eek," slip from her lips.
"Heh… I missed you, too?" she said, sounding confused.
"I missed you as well," he said in return, confidently.
The soft tendrils of her hair slipped through his fingers as he played with it tenderly. She shivered in his touch, unaccustomed to his display of affection. He let his hand fall on her back, lightly touching the curve of her spine. Instinctively, he lowered his head and placed a kiss on her cheek before he led a pattern of kisses toward the heavy pulse vibrating against her neck.
Uncomfortable, she pushed him away and gave him a tentative smile.
"Don't do that," she commented.
She stepped out of his line of vision and placed her purse on top of the kitchen counter, the apartment keys along with it. Rummaging through the fridge, she leaned over and pushed a few things aside before she found her peanut-butter and jelly smuckers. She turned with a bright smile, and he graciously gave a faint one in return.
Ripping the plastic at one corner, she disposed of it in the trash and took a bite of her sweet sandwich. She looked at him and offered him a bite.
"Want some?" she said with her mouth half-full.
Not fond of sweets, he did not discard the offer, however, as he leaned forward and took a bite out of her sandwich. She gave him a bright smile, noticing the peanut butter smeared against her teeth, as she took another bite.
As he chewed, and heard her hum a silly tune, he realized that she sincerely deserved the many gifts that he would prepare for her. And he couldn't deny that his eagerness to start was showing as the corner of his lips tugged into a smile. He could hardly wait for her birthday to arrive; one week from now it would come.
Kotoko will never expect his gifts.
xx
September 28.
The clock chimed at seven a.m. Her hand slipped from underneath her covers, searching for the noisy contraption before she felt the round button and slammed it off. The blankets were thrown off her head as she stretched her arms, yawning as she did.
Today was the day she turned twenty. She was beyond thrilled for the day to start, expecting embraces from her friends. Unfortunately, her birthday had to land on a school day, Thursday to be exact. It didn't matter in the end as she thought about it. Tomorrow, her three-day weekend will begin, and she could celebrate her birthday in the company of her friends.
Pulling the sheets off her legs, she moved her feet toward the ground, placing them in her slippers, and headed toward the bathroom. The light flicked on when she turned on the switch. She continued yawning when she grabbed her toothbrush, tired still from her rigorous studying. Cleaning her mouth, she looked into the mirror, until she leaned forward in disbelief.
Behind her, a folded, white paper was taped to the second door that led to the small hallway. She finished brushing her teeth and turned, peeling the tape off the door as she held the folded paper in her hands. Returning to her room, she sat on the bed, quizzically examining the paper in her hand before she unfolded it.
Her eyes grew wide in shock. The handwriting was immediately recognizable, belonging to only one person. The letter read:
Although, I come off as a jerk, I could never forget the way you were instantly heartbroken when I told you that I did not want to read your love letter. Did you know that I had stolen it from your room and kept it? Don't bother looking for it. I keep all the stuff you give me in a secret place. But, today, let's not talk about our past. Let's celebrate a joyous day—one that is revolved around you. It is, after all, your birthday.
So tell me, sweet Kotoko, what is it that you want?
With a gasp slipping from her mouth, she smothered it and stared at the letter in horror. Her brain could not comprehend her sputtering words. She pulled the letter close to her chest, wrinkling under the weight of her tight fingertips, as her words finally became coherent.
"Irie gave me a love letter."
It wasn't a love letter per say, but it was a still a letter reeking of his soft affection toward her. She gasped a second time and flew backward in her bed. Her eyes swirled in confusion, unable to handle the unexpected actions of Irie Naoki.
xx
She was going to forget about what happened in the morning and concentrate on school. Her counselor informed her that if she passed this semester, and take the winter session, there was a probability that she can sign up for the nursing program in April. Hopefully, the classes she takes next spring would boost up her overall GPA as well. That would give her a fighting chance to have a spot in the program among the hundreds that are waiting for a chance to enter. She prayed to whatever deity to give her the strength to pass the classes so that she can enter into the nursing field by next fall.
As she reeled back into reality, she looked at the math book in her hand.
There was a big math test coming around the corner, next Tuesday to be exact. She was bad in exams, always second guessing her responses, even though the majority of the time the first answer she picked was the correct one. Hopefully, by reading, she would know the answers to the upcoming questions; otherwise, she would stress, and deliberately pull out her hair in frustration.
She took a seat in the library and laid the book on the table. What a day to spend her birthday in the library alone with information that was hard for her to comprehend, but she was willing to force her brain to understand the material. After all, her future was in her hands. She threw a punch in the air, determined to pass the upcoming test. Looking at the book, she knew that there was no time to dally.
Opening it, she gasped, throwing her arms in the air before her seat flew backward, taking her with it. The students in the library looked at her, pondering on what could have caused her to fall back. Quickly, she stood up from the ground, pulling the chair upright and apologizing to everyone for the ruckus she caused. Taking a seat, she stared at the second gift Naoki made for her and pulled it from its string.
Staring back at her was a miniature face of Irie's expression sticking out his tongue. Her fingers glided over the thread he had used to sown the piece together masterfully. There was not a single thread out of place. His hands were surely the hands of a perfectionist. She chuckled and turned it over.
On the back it read, "Lucky Charm."
She began to giggle, smothering the sound with her hand. With a fervor determination, she held her lucky charm in one hand and began to study for her math exam.
She was beginning to like this new Irie.
xx
Her stomach began to growl inconsistently, making her concentration conjure up images of food, as the text before her transformed into ingredients. Her stomach growled once more, causing her to flush in embarrassment as a few students caught the sound and looked at her. With her arms covering her stomach, she gave an awkward smile toward their direction before she began to save her things and took off to the cafeteria.
There was a line at the food section upon her discovery. She heard her stomach growl in protest, perhaps, annoyed such as she, for having to wait for her meal. She patted her tummy with one hand, the other holding her book, as she attempted to comfort it. It simply continued to cry louder. With a curse, she was about to head toward the soda machine to alleviate a portion of her hunger when, out of nowhere, Jinko and Satomi arrived with a peculiar gift. Satomi was the one holding it before she robotically gave it to her.
Taking it from her hands, while giving her book to Jinko to hold, Kotoko looked at the lunch pail in her hands. It had a cute, gray owl designed in the front as the rest of the material was coated in a light blue color. She smiled, liking how her gift portrayed the child inside of her. Looking at her friends, she noticed that their eyes were wide in shock, and their mouths were partially opened.
She couldn't quite comprehend their strange behavior.
"Thank you for the gift. I really like it."
Upon her surprise, when she pulled the zipper to open it, she discovered a container of food. A huge smile took her face as her stomach growled at the sight of it.
"Thank you, guys! I was really hungry!"
She took her meal toward an empty table, her friends lingering behind her. Grabbing the chopsticks saved neatly to a side, she began to open her container. Her friends were quickly pulled from their trance and slammed their hands on the table.
"Don't eat it!" Their exclamation of urgency had gathered the attention of the entire students to turn towards them.
"Why not? It smells good." She picked up a handful of rice and began to move it toward her mouth.
In unison, they cried, standing up from their seats, "Irie made it!"
The rice tasted heavenly in her mouth, but upon hearing Irie's name, she couldn't help but to spit it out in shock.
xx
Kotoko cautiously made her way home, sneaking around the apartment building, as she ensured that Irie was not going to surprise her a fourth time with his unexpected behavior.
First, it was the letter. Then, it was the lucky charm he made for her. And, lastly, the third gift came in a meal made especially from his hands, the taste still lingering in her mouth. She never tasted such divine cooking before, aside from Mrs. Irie, and that one time he cooked for her, but he managed to reduce his mother's culinary skills to a mere mediocre. He was truly the best at everything.
Slowly, she stepped into the apartment, with her books held in one hand, and backpack slung over her shoulder. The kitchen light was turned on, but she didn't see Irie in the living room. His bedroom door was closed, although she knew he would have greeted her the moment he heard the entrance door open.
She looked at the time. It was 8 o'clock at night. He would be arriving home soon. Perhaps, he left the light on accidently and forgot to turn it off when he left to work. Taking that as the probable excuse as to why the kitchen light was on, she headed toward her room.
When she opened her bedroom door, she never expected for her room to be captivated by orange hues dimly lighting the room. She dropped her backpack to the ground and hesitantly made her way toward her bed. The candles were seen on her dressers; three were lit up. There, on her white, floral sheets, laid a heart-shaped box tied with a yellow ribbon.
She crept closer, looking around her as if she was expecting for Irie to appear. With the books dropped on the edge of her mattress, she touched the heart-shaped box with a glide of her fingers. The rough material of the ribbon greeted her soft fingertips.
Slowly, she began to untie the ribbon, before she pulled it opened with an eager thirst to taste the sweet delights. She licked her lips, taking in the different shapes of the chocolate in front of her. All she wanted to do was to pluck one into her mouth, but instead she placed the cover over it, wanting to eat a decent meal first. After, she would treat herself with a chocolate as dessert.
"Happy birthday, Kotoko."
She jumped at the sound of his voice, unaware that she gripped the box close to her chest. Turning her head, she looked at Irie as he stood by the dresser. The orange hues of the flame gave him an alluring expression, as if he was telling her to come closer with an index of his finger, but she firmly denied taking such action.
Instead, he went to her, taking the box out of her hands and laid it on top of the comforter. With her free hands, he cupped her palms and faintly smiled.
"Happy birthday…" He kissed her forehead. "…Kotoko."
With her eyes drawn to his face, she was memorized by his beautiful eyes, never imaging that his eyes would tinkle and be filled with love. Barely aware of his lips coming close to hers, she laid a hand against his chest, and felt his hand press against her lower back. His lips were soft, just as she remembered them, before she was devoured in a passionate kiss, feeling his tongue lash against hers.
And for the first time, she gave into that kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck for support. He seemed surprised, letting his hands grip her hips as he deepened the kiss. There was a slight tug pulling at the corner of her lip. Slowly, she began to smile and pulled away. He protested in a grunt, and looked at her, waiting for an explanation as to why their kiss was broken.
Her smile began to turn into a toothy grin.
With her hands brought behind her, she leaned forward and whispered into his ear, "Serves you right, Irie."
Slowly, she pulled back and stuck out her tongue at him in a childish manner. Taking his shock expression to escape, she retreated to the kitchen and began to search for something to eat. Gradually, she heard a sound, and she could merely envision his shoulders trembling and his hands loosening by his sides as the first sound of his chuckles sprang forth. Soon, his chuckles increased into a booming laughter, unable to hold her chuckle from leaving her lips as well.
Tonight, she will indulge Irie. Tomorrow, she would make him strive harder to win her heart. After all, Kotoko Aihara would not be an easy catch for the cold Irie Naoki.
