Chapter Four

He smiled at the security guard as the barrier lifted and he drove his white Beetle into the condominium grounds, heading for a spot close to the far end where his apartment was located. Switching off the engine, he leaned over, grabbed his briefcase, and then exited the car, humming softly to himself.

He didn't see the small figure detach itself from the shadows after he had entered the elevator, and stand there, where he had stood.

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He entered the apartment and closed the door without locking it. He could bet that Genrou, who was supposed to come by after his shift at the hospital, would have lost his set of keys. As he peeled off his shoes and walked barefoot to the living room, he caught sight of the large, wrapped box set on the low coffee table.

Laughing softly in surprise, he walked over and sat down, before grabbing the candy-striped red and white cover and lifting it off. Inside, placed on top, was a white card.

Happy birthday, happy anniversary, Houjun.

It was simple, but it made him smile slowly nevertheless. He stood and was about to make his way to the kitchen when he heard the sound of the door being opened. He whirled, the present in his hands, and the half smile still lingering on his face, until he caught sight of who it was that waited for him.

"Kourin?"

The dark-haired woman framed in the doorway looked at him out of tear-stained eyes. Her hair was messy, half-out of its clip and scattered across her pale cheeks, and her eyes red and swollen from crying. Her clothes barely matched, and her posture, slumped and dejected, alerted him to the fact that something was terribly wrong.

"Kourin?" he asked cautiously, bending and putting the present down on the bed, and then taking a step towards his friend. "What's happened?"

She cringed in on herself as her eyes squeezed shut. "Houjun…"

"Did anything happen to Hikou?"

She shook her head violently, and the sobs intensified.

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Genrou parked the car in the lot, and then, whistling, switched off the radio and lights as he pulled the key out of the ignition. Opening the door and sliding out, the black suede boots making firm contact with the ground, he looked up and wondered if Houjun had opened the present yet. It was their one-year anniversary, and it fell coincidentally on his lover's birthday. He had gotten him a set of silk shirts, complete with matching ties and wrist cuffs. Houjun had complained the other day that he had had no time to shop since the business began making headway. He had included a bottle of wine in the box, as well as a small packet of dark chocolate shaped in hearts. Berating himself for the extreme sap factor he had indulged in, Genrou locked the car and walked to the elevator.

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"Kourin?" Houjun was getting alarmed by now. "Calm down. Tell me what's the matter?"

She shook her head at him, and then, looking away, breathed shakily, in, out, exhaling with a tremble of her slim shoulders. Then she straightened and looked at him directly, as his eyebrows knotted together, puzzled.

"I—I'm in love with you, Houjun."