And I Hate You So - Chapter 2

"Where is it?" Mimi was high on a chair, looking for a dictionary on the top shelf of one of her many bookcases. Her boyfriend Greg was squatting at her fridge, pulling out a beer and taking a quick swig, before swallowing with a grimace.

"Why is the beer warm?" he asked.

"I thought I told you about the power cut." Mimi said, four feet above him. Greg looked into the fridge, taking numerous things out and throwing them into an overflowing bin beside the fridge. Mimi climbed down, looking triumphant with a red dictionary in her hand. One look at him made her frown again.

"Don't throw my things away."

Greg immediately froze, his hands inches from the bin, holding a can of unopened beer. He stared at it for a second before shrugging and placed it back in the fridge, shutting its door. Looking around the messy apartment, he walked slowly over to Mimi.

"You have two choices," Greg started. "First, hire a maid. Or, you can move in with me." He hugged her, and enjoyed the sweet smile she was giving him.

"Rent free?" Mimi asked, continuing to smile.

"Pay just a little. You're paying so much for this place!"

"But it's still my own place," Mimi said, and turned away, breaking the hug. "If I move in with you, I'll have to tolerate with you and you're buddies."

"But I need someone to share the flat with me..." he picked up a wine bottle and investigated the label.

"...I've warned you."

"If you have to rent it out, you'll have to return my..." Mimi paused, and tossed back her chestnut hair, looking at Greg. "Oh, I never gave you anything." She turned back to the big cardboard box where she tossed out all her junk, trying not for the first time to 'clean the apartment'.

"Come on, let's go out. I'm meeting my matess at Moonshine." Greg suggested. Moonshine was a local club, and quite popular. Although to Mimi, it was dangy and lacked atmosphere. The name of the club was merely a deceitful lie.

"I'm sorry," Mimi said, her voice being anything but sorry, "I don't want to listen to men gossip."

"You have to meet more people."

"Well I'm sorry I don't write gossip columns or advertisements for friends."

Greg sighed. "You sure you don't wanna go?" Mimi shook her head. "Fine. I'll see you, 'kay?" He gave his grumpy girlfried a quick hug before walking out, closing the door behind him.

Mimi sighed herself, and continued searching for her thesaurus. Men are useless. She didn't need them. But in her heart, she knew that she was lonely...

Kathleen stared at the clock. Only a minute to 6 o'clock. Where was he? 'Please don't be late,' she prayed silently. A few seconds before 6, she saw Yamato Ishida, also known as Matt, rush in, carrying a new vinyl record in his hand. He hurriedly sat down, grabbed the headphones and shoved them on his golden blond hair, while his other hand yanked the microphone into position. One signal from the director and he begins to speak into the microphone, his voice contrasting with his disshevelled entrance.

"It's 6:00 and it's time for Starlight Music, with your host, Matt Ishida." Matt smiled to himself. He felt like a star, even though he was just a DJ. He had a strong love for music, and although he could have been in a band, he hadn't been interested. However, being the local DJ suited him just fine. He was able to get fame without mass recognition. It was comfortable to talk to other people and gossip about what he felt like at times. He often spoke his thoughts out loud and he loved it. It was his own release, in a way.

"I've heard of something called the 'Beauty of Imperfection'. For example, when we listen to Sally Moore, we can hear that she has good lyrics, good tunes, but her voice is far too girlish and squeaky. I feel that this is what they call the 'Beauty of Imperfection'.

"There's also the 'Beauty of Regret'. What is that? I shall tell you, right after Sally Moore's song, 'Darling Goodbye', so stay tuned." With that, he placed the disk on the player and pressed 'play' before sitting back, enjoying the music.

Matt enjoyed playing modern songs normally, but he also loved the old classic vinyl records and he couldn't resist once in a while to buy one, and even play it on air sometimes. Music allowed him think about his life.

Kathleen, his work partner gave him a small welcome smile behind the glass panel of her sound organising section of the office.

Within minutes, the song had ended, and a red signal told Matt that he's supposed to take a phone call. It was a woman, telling him about her recent break-up with some guy. Matt rolled his eyes. Sometimes women are just so frivolous.

"I still miss him. I don't know how to forget him. I make myself very busy. I'm still at work, see. I called so I wouldn't think of him." The woman spoke over the phone.

"You're still at work? Well don't let your boss hear, he'll complain about me, and I might lose my job." Matt replied, deliberately dispassionate.

"You men have no sympathy!"

"Well, rich and pretty girls have taken all the sympathetic ones. You see, the more pity I show, the worse you feel. But if I make fun of you, you'll get angry, throw a fit, and curse me to hell. If you turn your sadness to anger, then you'll feel better..."

Mimi sat in the bathtub, playing with the bubbles. The radio was on beside her with some Matt Ishida as DJ. She only started tuning in every night when she realized that his style was similar to her writing - straight from the heart. After the phone call, she took the remote and turned the volume higher.

Matt kept on speaking. "I just mentioned the 'Beauty of Regret'. You like something, but you can't have it. That's the 'Beauty of Regret'. Not everyone is intelligent enough to accept it. Today, a woman begged me to let her have a vinyl record, saying that ti's a gift to her first love. Of course I didn't give it to her, for her own good..."

Mimi opened her eyes and bolted upright in the bath. Oh no. It was the man. She couldn't believe it. That bastard! How dare he...

"...I hope that she can feel the 'Beauty of Regret'. It's not always good to possess something with deep impressions. Momentos from those cause sadness. Why keep them? I'm playing this duet for this woman I just met on the phone." His voice ended with gleeful smugness, as the intro of the music took over.

Mimi's eyes flared with anger. She wasn't going to let him do this. Who did he think he is? No, he was going to pay. Not only did he steal her possession from her, utterly refusing her without compassion, and now he was broadcasting her misfortune to the whole world! Suddenly, an idea formed in her mind. She normally handed in her columns two days before the newspaper was published, but...

Mimi picked up the cordless phone up from the small table beside her and started dialling. "Kari? It's me. I'm writing a piece and I want to run it off tomorrow. Tell the Layout Department, for me okay?...Thanks, Bye!"

With that, she quickly got out, dressed herself and made a cup of coffee. It was going to be a long night, writing her new column, but she looked forward to it with anticipation, fueled by her anger.

Opening her laptop, she started typing straight away: "Regret starts with cold-heartedness."

To be continued...