Chapter 10
Kaho locked the door and leaned against it. What just happened to her? Her heart had raced, her mind had reeled and now her insides were in knots...She experienced all that discomfort—patches of it between happy feelings she could only compare to the dips she felt in her stomach when riding a rollercoaster.
A voice broke into her thoughts. "Excuse me Hino-san, you have a delivery."
She opened the door and received a small envelope from a tall guy who looked as if he was about her age. "Thank you," she said, a little perplexed. "Who is this from?"
He didn't answer her question. He handed her the envelope and winked at her from the stairs, "The camera footage for your room has been pre-recorded. There's no need to hide...at least for an hour."
She understood immediately. She shut the door, sat in one of her upholstered chairs and opened the envelope. The letter read:
Hino, I'm sorry if my sudden appearance has come as a shock to you. I should confess that I wasn't the person you were going to meet originally. That person actually is a friend of mine. He didn't want to be part of this contest and I myself would never have joined something like this. But when I saw your picture, I thought of taking his place even before I considered whether or not you would mind.
She stopped reading. Then reread his last sentence. She couldn't help the blush that crept on her cheeks.
Now that we are in this situation, I realize that I have intruded into your life...
He had joined because he had seen her picture. She had joined by mistake. But he had taken his friend's place because of her. Guilt began to gnaw; if given the chance, it could reduce her bone by bone.
Oh no! She had to make this as painless for him as possible. She had made him go through something unpleasant to save her. Oh no! What had she done? She was the one who had intruded!
I hope you don't think that I am making light of your feelings by saying this but there's still some merit to staying in Vienna. I also have to tell you that had it been another person and not me or my friend, the show we are on still could not promise you what you had come for. If you want to stay, tell me on our next on-camera appearance. If you don't, say the next elimination, you will be sent home.
She folded his letter back into a neat square. Len had given her the opportunity to stay in Vienna. And also the option to go home. How would he fare if she went? He would have to propose to someone by the end of this show.
Who would he propose to? He hadn't committed himself to the idea of marriage. How was he going to escape a proposal?
She felt a tightness around her heart. She couldn't let him do it! This was probably the first impulsive thing Len Tsukimori had done in his life and he had done it for her. She had to help him through this. She had to stay to the end and prevent him from making the worst decision of his life!
Hasn't he already made it?
A part of her, perhaps her conscience, told her she had involved an innocent bystander in an accident that was her making. When she had finished her interview, when she had stared at her innocuous looking ticket, she had no inkling that something like this would happen. She knew Len's career was his life. She had taken time away from his practice schedule—time that was supposed to be spent building his career—because of her mistake.
There's still some merit to staying in Vienna...
He was right. She'd never been out of the country and she wasn't in a hurry to go home. But what about him? He had sacrificed his time for her...
It reminded her of high school. He had given up part of his practice time to tutor her. But the sacrifice was much greater now. At this level...I've made a grand mass of things!
...the show we are on still could not promise you what you had come for...
He didn't come for romance and neither did she. The show had promised a tour of Vienna but she had gotten more—she went to a live performance; the Sibelius Violin Concerto was magnificent and was imprinted in her memory.
She realized she had the better end of the deal. She couldn't go home. She had no right...
I have to stay. She would have to play her part, protect him and be that person in the end. He had saved her and now she had to save him.
...
I hope your time here will be splendid
or
There will be more of those to come...
or
I want you to have a good time...with me...
Len had been going back to those words since he had arrived at his apartment. In his mind, he was re-doing his most recent conversation with Kaho. He should have said, "I'm looking forward to spending more time with you."
"Oi, Len," a disembodied voice addressed him, "why are you talking to yourself?"
Len recognized the voice. "What are you doing here? And how did you get in?"
"What's with that tone, I'm not a burglar," Etou said.
"Is it right to enter someone else's apartment without knocking?"
"It doesn't matter if you've done it before. And this is just your apartment," Etou answered.
Len ignored Etou's faulty reasoning. "Why are you here?"
Etou sat on a bar stool at the far end of the room. "I got you champagne to celebrate," he popped the cork. Len watched the foam spill from the bottle. "I take it your date was a success..."
Len sighed, "It wasn't a date."
Etou poured himself a glass of champagne. "It's the first time you went out with a girl. I think that qualifies as a date. You asked her out didn't you?"
"More or less," Len answered.
Etou shook his head. "It was a date, there, I've said it for you. Hey, do want to watch a replay?"
"What?"
Etou held up a cd case. "I got it taped right here," Etou said as he helped himself to the DVD player behind the bar. Len's face appeared on a screen suspended above Etou's head. "Hey, you don't look half bad..."
Etou hit the forward button, skipping all the scenes before the concert.
Thank you again Tsukimori-san. I just...I'm so glad you decided to bring me.
Etou hit the forward button again.
Your performance was wonderful, Tsukimori-san. I'm glad I was able to come here and witness it.
Thank you, Hino-san.
Etou stopped the cd. He shot Len an incredulous look. "Tsukimori-san? Hino-san?" Etou said, "Shouldn't you be on a first name basis?"
"We were never on first name basis," Len said.
Etou considered pressing Len for more answers, he wanted to learn a bit more about Len's relationship with the mysterious redhead. "Where did you meet her? You've already decided how you should refer to each other..." He yawned while stretching his arms, "I guess you weren't that close if you hadn't dropped the 'sans'."
There was no reaction from Len. "Well?" he said, half expecting Len not to reply. His sister had termed it "pulling teeth" when the act of asking information was long and tiring, especially if the information to be got was difficult to obtain because the source himself would not give in so easily. Pulling teeth. He might end up pulling his teeth because of Len.
"We both went to Seisou," Len said finally.
"Oh wow, was she in your class?"
"She didn't go to music school, she attended Gen. Ed.," Len added. "She was also a participant in the concours."
Etou was grateful for the clarification. He assumed the two were classmates in the music school. It was hard to imagine how they had become close especially since they were rivals in the concours. Len would have alienated her. "Wait a sec..."
"She got to participate even if she was in Gen. Ed.?"
"Gen. Ed. students are allowed to take part in the concours."
"Is that the way it goes? How did you guys get along?"
"Fine. We got along."
"Right," Etou said. It was time for the direct approach. "Did she become your girlfriend?"
"No, she was never my girlfriend."
She was never his. She belonged to no one. If she did, why would she be with him in Vienna? He had wanted to ask her why she had joined in the first place...
"Have you thought about it already? Now that she's here, she could become your fiancée."
Len was silent. Etou was tempted to give him a play-by-play. This is you, you're the only choice these girls have and this is the girl in the photo, she was the reason you joined the show. You will be going on dates with her. She could fall in love with you if you tried hard enough.
Etou sighed heavily, "You should call her by her first name. Tell her to call you by yours. It's supposed to be that way, Len. Call the other girls by their first names too. They will call you by yours automatically. Hino-san didn't because of the formalities you got used to in high school."
Etou waited for a response, when there was none, he added, "You have to be careful. Don't let anything in reference to your past slip from your mouth. You can't let anyone know that you knew each other."
"So what if they found out?" Len turned to Etou.
"Uh? Well..." Etou was dumbstruck. So far, the couple's exchange hadn't revealed anything about their past acquaintance. If the audience found out about Hino and Tsukimori...What was there to know except that they were schoolmates? He said she'd never been his girlfriend. They acted like it was their first time to meet but that was probably because they had been guided by the format of the show.
"It just looks bad, ok?" Etou said with some exasperation. "If the audience gets a clue...they'll lose interest. My sister's ratings will drop and she will blame me. You have to pretend like last night was the first time you met. Got it?"
"I understand. I know you have a right to be concerned," Len said.
"You've got to remember that it's not just your reputation that's going to be questioned. She might get in trouble too."
"We will both be careful," Len promised.
He could speak for her couldn't he? He couldn't know the details of what she would be going through emotionally but this show was something they had to face together, that is if, she had decided to stay. He had given her a choice through his letter; it was his way of making things as uncomplicated as possible.
"I checked with my mother before coming here and she isn't as disappointed," Etou said. "She thinks you could test pilot the show and I could get pointers from you."
"I don't believe that last sentence..."
"Yeah...but I didn't make up the part about the disappointment," Etou said. He wanted to bait Len, "I would have performed the role with more gusto if it had been me. I've been meaning to ask...how did you pick your lucky 13?"
Len sighed and said nothing.
"Whoever was least annoying right? If you don't say anything I'm going to stick to that theory."
Len glared at him. "It wasn't random."
"Were you at least interested in a few?"
"No," Len said without hesitation.
"I'm not surprised. They're willing targets but you're no match for them." He had imagined Len would have trouble with the situation. After some seconds, he sighed and said, "I get it, don't worry. I honestly think this is something that needs getting used to."
"So you don't think it would have been easy for you?"
"Nope. Not at all. But have you thought about it?"
Etou had skipped verbalizing the thought before his question. It sometimes annoyed Len when he did this. "Thought about what?"
"I guess you haven't huh."
"What haven't I thought about Etou?"
"About the possibility that you might, just might, fall in love with one of these girls..."
He had loved the one girl since high school. He had meant for her to listen; had reserved the best seat in the house. And he acknowledged that she was as big a part of the concerto as he was. The performance was dedicated to her...
"It could be any of these girls. Might not even be the redhead."
"I haven't thought about it," Len said.
"Then why did you join?" Etou asked.
"To save her from you."
"That's funny," Etou said, heading for the door. "You could have asked me to send her home but you had to volunteer to take my place. Well, I hope you know what you're doing." He raised his right hand and waved with his back turned to Len.
When Len didn't reply, Etou added, "Be a good boy and think about your motives before going to bed, ok? Ja ne!"