Chapter 19
It was nearly four o'clock in the morning when Isuke arrived at her house and woke her parents up. When Isuke first told them what happened, they first thought it was a dream. Then, they thought Isuke was joking with them in her dream like state. It was only when Isuke told them that Haruki is in the house that they took her seriously.
"Isuke, when papa and I advised you to follow your heart, we don't mean for you to lend her your college fund," Eisuke said, rubbing his temples. "Yes, we can afford four hundred thousand yen, it's nothing for us. But it's the principle that counts."
"How is she going to pay you back if she has problem paying the loan sharks?" her papa asked.
"Yeah… that's where I was getting at." Isuke began proposing her idea to her dads, explaining to them that Haruki could work for them on the weekends for free. "Mama, papa… I know this may not be the most ideal solution right now, but that's the only solution I could think of. Otherwise, she has to kill someone to repay her debts."
"For you to get tangled up with her problems…" Eisuke said, shaking his head.
"You really love this girl, huh? What's her name?" her papa asked.
"Sagae Haruki. And I'm only helping her as a friend, papa," Isuke said, a hint of blush on her cheeks.
"Yeah, for now," Eisuke said sarcastically. "She's at the living room now? We'd like to have a talk with her alone."
"You're not gonna give her a hard time, are you?" Isuke asked warily.
"No, but don't you think it's fair for us to interview the girl that is about to borrow money from us, and also happened to be the girl that our daughter is so head over heels in love with that she'd do anything for her even though she had broke her heart by using her?" Eisuke asked. "She's the girl you told us during dinner, right?"
"Yes, she is, but I've forgiven her," Isuke said defensively. "I know it doesn't make any sense to you… hell, even I don't think it makes any sense, but… my life was a mess and she… I had no one who really gets me until I met her. She had helped me a lot to overcome my problems without even realizing it. And if I don't help her now… if you guys don't understand…" Isuke couldn't continue anymore as her voice began to crack.
"Wow… so this Haruki girl must be so special to be able to make our confident daughter stumble over her own words," her papa said as he patted Isuke's head. "We must go meet our future daughter-in-law, darling!"
"Papa! I'm only helping her as a friend now!" Isuke said, exasperated.
"Ok, can you go get your friend to meet us in the study room in fifteen minutes?" her papa said.
"Please don't make things awkward by asking her cringe-y questions, alright?" Isuke sighed, before leaving their room and going downstairs.
Haruki had been waiting in the living room when she heard footsteps coming down from the staircase. She whirled around and saw Isuke walking towards her. Isuke had never seen Haruki being so nervous before.
"Hey," she said, walking towards Haruki and giving her a reassuring smile. "My parents want to talk to you in their study room alone first. It will be alright. Follow me."
Once they were inside the study room, both of them sat down on the sofa. "Listen Haruki. I didn't tell them about us in details, they just know that the reason why we broke up is because you…" Isuke swallowed hard. Even saying the word now is still difficult for her. "… used me, but to what extent, they didn't know. So, if they asked, you don't have to tell them the truth. Make up some superficial stuff like you used me for a boost in your image and social status or some stupid shit like that."
Haruki could hear the nonchalance tone in Isuke's voice when she said the last sentence. Her heart twisted in pain, wondering how many students had used Isuke for that reason. "And oh, I told them that I'm helping you as a friend. Good luck," Isuke said, before standing up to leave the room, but Haruki quickly stood up and grabbed Isuke's hand.
Isuke turned around and was about to ask Haruki what was wrong, but was stopped when she suddenly felt Haruki's soft lips on her cheek.
Haruki couldn't help it. Here is the girl whom she had used and betrayed, and broke her heart in the process, and yet, not only had the girl forgiven her, but had also offered to help her. Haruki didn't know how on Earth she deserved Isuke. There were a million things she wanted to say to her, but in the end, she just gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek.
Isuke's face turned a beet red after Haruki pulled back.
"It's ok for friends to kiss each other on the cheek, right?" Haruki asked innocuously with a toothy grin, her eyes boring into Isuke's orange orbs. Isuke just nodded, having a loss of words.
"Thank you for everything, Isuke-sama," Haruki said sincerely. "Even if your dads decide not to lend me money, thank you."
"They will," Isuke said in a determined voice before leaving the room and closing the door behind her with a soft click.
At exactly fifteen minutes later, Isuke's parents arrived at their study room. Haruki had expected her parents to be intimidating and overbearing, so she was surprised when they shook her hand and talked to her like as if they had known her for ages.
"So, Sagae Haruki, right?" Eisuke said as he gestured for Haruki to sit down on the chair at the study table. He went around the table and sat on his chair. "I'm Isuke's mom. I've heard a lot about you."
"Huh?" Haruki was deeply confused. She was a nobody, so how someone of their power and status could have heard so much about her? And also, why is a man calling himself a mom?
"So, you're the girl our daughter is so in love with, right?" another man, whom she assumed is Isuke's dad, spoke up. "She had dated lots of girls before, but none of them had ever broke her heart like you had." After he said that, he let out a hearty laugh, and Eisuke followed suit.
Haruki didn't understand what was so funny about that statement. "Yeah, about that…" Haruki began to fidget nervously in the chair. "… I'm sorry about that, sir."
"Hey, don't be!" Isuke's dad said as he walked towards her and gave her a friendly pat on her back. "We meant that in a good way! In fact, we are glad that there is someone who could finally break her heart, because that means she's starting to heal and to feel."
"I don't understand…"
"Our chauffeur told us everything about our daughter's life, since we were too busy to keep track of her," Eisuke explained. "He told us that you're also the first girl she brought to meet her brother?"
Haruki nodded in confirmation. "Yes, sir."
"We also learned that you're from a poor family, your dad bailed on you and your nine siblings when your mom was hospitalized with a terminal illness, so you have no choice but to do some shady business to keep your family afloat," Eisuke said matter-of-factly. "But your mom is now getting better and has been discharged ever since then."
"Yes, sir."
"You've also briefly helped her to improve her grades in her tests," Isuke's dad said.
"I did?"
"Yes, and she'd skipped breakfast every morning just to have breakfast with you, isn't that right? She'd rather have breakfast made by you," Eisuke said.
Haruki just smiled sheepishly at that remark.
"And let's not forget that you've introduced weed to her," Eisuke casually said, causing Haruki's face to pale.
"Um… yeah I did… but we haven't smoked pot in ages, sir," Haruki said.
"Well, people your age will try new stuff, I can't blame you for that. You can't even begin to imagine what I've already tried at your age," Eisuke said with a mirthless laugh. "Now, I know you're probably wondering how we know all these. Isuke didn't tell us any of this. We ran a background check on you ever since one of our maids told us Isuke had always skipped breakfast in order to have breakfast with you. That, and coupled with what our chauffeur told us about you. It's nothing personal against you. We ran background checks on all of Isuke's girlfriends. Except for Hanabusa, because we know the family pretty well."
"Please understand that we do all these because we love Isuke very much," Eisuke's husband said. "Yes, our methods may not be the best, we realized that, but we have stopped all these now that we have more free time on our hands."
"So, now that all of this is out of the way, tell us," Eisuke said as he leisurely leaned into his chair and gestured with his hand. "We are giving you a chance to explain yourself; how did you use our daughter and break her heart?"
Haruki looked nervously at Isuke's mom, who was still leaning against the chair, and Isuke's dad, who was standing and leaning against the study table in front of her. Both of them appeared to be very casual, but the way they were staring at Haruki, expecting an honest answer from her, was somehow intimidating. Clearing her throat, she began to go against Isuke's instructions and told her parents everything. There was no point in lying to them, since they knew everything about her.
A few minutes had passed ever since Haruki finished telling them everything. The room was eerily quiet as Eisuke regarded the redhead in silent. Finally, he said, "So… the only daughter of Hanabusa made you an offer you couldn't resist, and our daughter paid the price for it?"
"Th-that is correct, sir," Haruki said and gulped nervously.
The corner of Eisuke's lips twitched as he leaned forward. "We will help you, Sagae. We will give you more than what Hanabusa offered you, and you don't have to pay us a single cent back."
Haruki stared wide-eyed in disbelief. This offer sounds too good to be true.
"We will give you ten million yen, but on one condition."
There it is. Haruki knew that it's too good to be true.
"You will use that money to pay all your debts and buy all your daily necessities. But after that, you will use the leftover to buy yourself and your family a new house far away from here. You will move to a new town, to a new school. Ten million yen should be enough to cover all these. And you won't tell anyone a single word about our deal," Eisuke finished with a grin.
They didn't need to spell it out for Haruki but she caught their hidden intention behind it. They wanted her to never see Isuke ever again because she had hurt her. Which is understandable, because Haruki had hurt their precious daughter. If Haruki had kids, and if someone had hurt her kids, she would do worse than giving that person money and telling them to move away.
Taking a deep breath, Haruki stood up and offered Eisuke her hand for a handshake. She had made up her mind.
"So, you accept our deal, then?" Eisuke asked as he stood up to take Haruki's hand for a handshake.
"No, sir. I'm afraid I don't," Haruki said solemnly, her expression dark.
"No?" Eisuke echoed in surprise. "Explain yourself."
"I've made the mistake of choosing money over your daughter once, and I will not make the same mistake again," Haruki explained simply and let go of Eisuke's hand, before bowing. "Thanks for your offer, though."
"Ah… then how about your family?" Eisuke asked. "Isn't your family more important than Isuke?"
"Yes, they're important. But this time, I don't want to sacrifice her for my own selfish needs. I'm sorry, sir, I've bothered both of you long enough. My family is my own responsibility. Isuke shouldn't have involved herself to help me." She turned around and headed towards the study room door.
"If you still love her, you will move away and never see her again," Eisuke said from his seat.
Haruki stopped and turned back to face Isuke's parents. "You're wrong, sir. It's because I love her that I choose not to move away," Haruki said, her voice firm and adamant, her golden eyes sparkling with a fiery determination. "Asking me to never see your daughter again… it will only hurt her too… and I won't choose anything that will hurt her again."
"Are you sure, Sagae?" Eisuke asked.
"Yes, sir. I'm sure." She had never been more sure of anything else in her life. The thought keeping Isuke in the dark and breaking her heart all over again is something she couldn't bring herself to do again.
"How will you settle your debts then? You can't kill the Yakuza boss now that you don't have the gun."
"I-I'll think of something. Don't worry," Haruki said and started to walk towards the door.
Isuke's dad, who had been quietly observing the situation all along, suddenly got up and walked towards Haruki and grabbed her before she could reach for the door knob.
"Congratulations, Sagae-san. You've passed our test."
Test? What test? Haruki looked at the man in bewilderment.
"Come, sit down and let us explain everything to you," Isuke's dad put his arm around Haruki's shoulders and guided her back to her chair.
"It was my idea, actually. This test," Isuke's dad explained when Haruki had sat down. "We wanted to make sure that you're worthy of our help. And if you're worthy of Isuke's… friendship." He wanted to use the word "love" but he remembered that Isuke was adamant about helping Haruki as a friend, and he didn't want to embarrass his daughter by saying something cringey. You see, a lot of the time, people only befriended Isuke because of her wealthy background and status. They are not sincere towards her."
"But you have proven us wrong," Eisuke said. "We will help you, but not giving you ten million yen."
"I don't have to move away?" Haruki asked.
"You don't have to move away," Eisuke confirmed, and Haruki sighed in relief.
"There's one thing I don't understand in your story, though," Isuke's dad said as Eisuke was writing the cheque. "Hanabusa-san dated Isuke before. Why did she make you a deal to hurt Isuke?"
"Oh…" Haruki began the story, how it started with the heiress' little blackmail, how Isuke was only fake-dating Sumireko, how Isuke had managed to break up with her by blackmailing her back, and how she herself was involved in the drama when Sumireko hired her to play with Isuke's feelings.
"… I called the deal off with Sumireko after taking the upfront cash because I… I couldn't bring myself to hurt Isuke. I love her," Haruki said, her voice cracking at the word 'love'. "The heiress didn't take my calling the deal off too well, so she turned the table around and set me up by orchestrating a meeting with me, but with Isuke overhearing what we talked about."
"Well, I'll be damn!" Eisuke whistled. "Seems like the story is more complicated than we thought. It's not only your deal with Sumireko, but it also involved Reiji, and how Sumireko made a deal with Isuke first!"
"Yeah," Haruki said. "Isuke was furious at me, rightfully so, and she broke up with me right there and then."
"Well, on the bright side, both of you are friends now, and she's even willing to help you!" Isuke's papa exclaimed.
"Yeah, your daughter is a gem, sir," Haruki said. "Anyone would be lucky to have her." Anyone but me.
After what felt like forever, the door to the study room finally opened and Haruki walked out. Isuke immediately rushed to Haruki's side.
"So? Did they agree?" she asked expectantly.
Haruki just smiled and showed Isuke the cheque. Upon seeing the cheque in Haruki's hand, she smiled in relief.
"Have you called the thug to cancel the assassination?" Isuke asked.
"Your dad had helped me call them," Haruki replied. "Turned out, the loan shark boss knows who they are and he immediately agreed to have the assassination cancelled even without me having to repay the debts. Your family name really holds a weight in the real world, Isuke."
"Hmmm… I didn't know that," Isuke said with a casual shrug of her shoulder. "So, you don't have to pay the debts anymore?"
"Yeah, your dad said I still have to pay them back even though the loan shark boss said there's no need to due to their strong connection with your dads, or something?" Haruki said, scratching her head. "But anyway, your dad insists on paying so I'm going to pay them now."
"Alright, come on let's go. I'll drive," Isuke said, stifling a yawn.
"Isuke," her mama called when he walked out. "Why don't you go to sleep? We will send Haruki to drop the cheque off and then we will send her home. I don't think you can go to school today. I'll call in sick for both of you."
"Mama, I don't need to sleep," Isuke argued stubbornly, but this time a yawn escaped her lips.
"Come on, Isuke, you need your beauty sleep," Eisuke laughed.
"How about you guys drive and I'll sleep in the backseat instead?" Isuke suggested.
"I guess there's no arguing with people who is in lo… I mean in a deep friendship with someone else, dear," her papa said and winked at Eisuke. "Just let her go. She can't leave Haruki out of her sight for one second."
"Papa! What's wrong with you!?" Isuke shouted as her face turned into a shade of red.
Her parents just ignored her and laughed as they exited the house and got into the car.
It was already seven thirty in the morning when they reached the meeting place for Haruki to pass the cheque to one of the thugs. Isuke's papa had followed Haruki to meet the thug, while Isuke was waiting in the car with her mama. As sleepy as she was, Isuke fought to stay awake because she didn't want to sleep until all of this was over.
"Don't let that one go," Eisuke suddenly said from the driver seat, while looking at his daughter from the rearview mirror.
"What do you mean?" Isuke asked, feigning indifference.
"You know very well what I mean, Isuke. Haruki's a good girl. Far better than all the ones you've dated before."
"What do you know about all the ones I've dated before," Isuke said as she stifled another yawn.
Her mama just smiled. "By the way, Isuke, we didn't use your college fund to help her. We used our own money."
It warmed Isuke's heart to hear that from her mama. She never expected her parents to use their own money to help Haruki. Eisuke turned around to face his daughter fully. "You think we'd let you touch your college fund and ruin your own future like that?" he said, and smiled warmly. "That fund is to be remained untouchable. Understand?"
"But… mama…" Isuke wanted to argue but one look at her mama's face, she knew it would be pointless. "Thanks mama. After how I've treated you and papa by ignoring you guys…"
"Hey, don't say that. We were at fault too, but we've made a vow to be good parents to you, Isuke." Her mama reached over to take Isuke's hand in his own. "The past is the past, we learn and grow from it. What matters now is the future and how you're gonna treat your loved ones, alright?"
Isuke nodded her head in understanding before she gave her mama a hug.
As Haruki and Isuke's dad were walking back to the car after giving the cheque and returning the gun to the thug, Isuke's dad suddenly put his arm around Haruki and said, "Isuke's so lucky to have you as a friend!"
"I'm the one who's lucky to have her as a friend, sir," Haruki said humbly.
"Hah! Friends! Don't let her fool you! She's my daughter and I can see that she still loves you very much. Just give her time. She'll come around," he said.
"After what I did to her, having her as a friend is good enough for me."
"We all make mistakes, Haruki. The only difference is whether you realize your mistake or not and make an effort to change. Eisuke and I had made many mistakes before in raising her and I personally, had done things I'm not proud of during my younger years."
"Sir, I'm not the one to judge. I mean, my dad walked out on me and my family and left a shitty debt for me to deal with. I think you and her mom do a better job in raising her than my dad ever did."
The man just chuckled. "Speaking of mistakes… can you keep whatever we have talked about in the study room between us? Isuke doesn't know that we ran background checks on you and all her exes before. It's just our way to make sure that she is safe with whoever she dates since we had a rocky relationship with her until recently. Besides, we have recently stopped doing all these things and promised to be better parents for her."
Haruki just nodded her head in agreement. Isuke's parents had just done her a huge favour and they did not ask for anything in return. So, this is one thing that Haruki could do to show her appreciation. "Yeah, you have my word, sir." After a beat, she said, "And sir, I know you said I don't need to pay you back, but I'd still very much like to work for you in your new café."
"Hmmm… well, we have actually found a shop and are planning to buy it over and renovate it. Maybe you can help us with that when the time comes."
"Thank you, sir!" Haruki said gratefully.
"No problem!" Isuke's dad said as he gave a pat on Haruki's back, before letting her go and walked towards the passenger side of the car.
Haruki couldn't stopped smiling as she got into the car as well and sat next to Isuke. The worst is finally over and she can finally live a normal life and be like a normal student.
As soon as Haruki told Isuke that she had passed the cheque to the thug, Isuke felt all the tension in her muscles released. Relief and exhaustion finally washed over her and she felt her eyelids getting heavier and heavier as each second passed. She wanted nothing more than to curl up on her comfortable bed and fall asleep, better yet, with Haruki's warm body next to her. The car ride back to Haruki's house was quite a distant, and Haruki was just sitting next to her. Her warm body that she had been craving for is just at an arm's reach. Finally giving in to her temptation, she shuffled closer to Haruki and lied her head down on her shoulder, before curling up and closing her tired eyes.
Haruki was looking out the window when she felt something heavy on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Isuke making herself comfortable on her shoulder before closing her eyes. Haruki couldn't fight the soft smile slowly forming on her lips as she moved her arm so that Isuke would be more comfortable lying on her chest instead. With her hand being free now, she moved to stroke Isuke's hair. The action seemed to comfort Haruki as well, and before long, she snuggled her cheek on the top of Isuke's head and fell asleep.
When they reached Haruki's house, Isuke's dad turned around to tell Haruki, but he kept quiet when he saw both of them sleeping at the backseat. Eisuke was about to ask why, when he saw the two girls sleeping peacefully as well.
"Think we should wake them up," Eisuke said as he moved to wake Isuke up.
"No, let them sleep a little while longer," his husband said. "Poor kids. They're really exhausted after a long night." He suddenly took his phone out and snapped a picture of them.
Eisuke rolled his eyes. "It's so like you to do that." His husband just chuckled and tucked his phone away.
"She'd better not be breaking her heart again," Eisuke suddenly said.
"I have faith that she won't. Haruki's really a good girl. I can feel it in my bones."
"Yeah, another one of your sixth sense, huh?" Eisuke said sarcastically.
"Hey, come on now, when did my faith ever failed me? I mean, if it weren't for me having faith in you and looking past your mistakes, we wouldn't be where we are right now."
Eisuke chuckled. "Yeah, well…" He turned to look at the two sleeping girls again. They really looked good together, if he had to admit.
"They really look good together, huh?" Isuke's dad said, as if reading Eisuke's mind. "Kinda reminds me of us when we were young."
Eisuke just smiled in response. After a beat, he said, "You know, I was thinking that it's time we pay the Hanabusa family a little visit."
"I was just about to say the same thing. I was surprised that Isuke didn't tell us about her little problem with the Hanabusa heiress, or that we didn't notice it sooner."
"It's an honest mistake. Who would've thought that the one person we didn't run a background check on because we thought that she'd be fine dating someone from a good family background, turned out to be a troublemaker?" Eisuke said. "Besides, there was no reason for us to run background checks on her, since we know her parents."
Haruki suddenly stirred and woke up. She rubbed her tired eyes and looked around her surrounding. "Oh, we're here already. Thanks for the ride home, Mr. Inukai, sir," Haruki said and opened the door. As gently as possible, she lifted Isuke's head up from her chest and laid her down on the leather seat. Isuke was so tired that she didn't even wake up. After bidding farewell to Isuke's parents, she walked into her house and was greeted by Fuyuka and all her other siblings. Fuyuka cried tears of relief that the nightmare was finally over.
Happy New Year! I hope this latest chapter answered your questions, to the guest who left me questions in the review.
