Kyouhei fell hardly on the floor. Groaning in pain, he complained to Sunako.
'Jeez! Could you be any clumsier!'
As she didn't reply, he meant to check if she was okay and met her purple eyes, wide open with shock. She was close to him. Very close. Too close for Kyouhei to be comfortable. Her mouth was about two inches away from his. He could feel her warm breath. Without realizing what he was doing, he drew closer to her, as if attracted by her lips. Sunako pushed him back to the floor and got up swiftly.
He had almost kissed her. He hadn't intended to do so, but he had wanted it. He looked at her discreetly, dreading her reaction. She was sitting as far away from him as possible, glaring at him. Okay, he must clear the air if he didn't want her to throw him out of the room, and even worse, cancel the date. Any explanation would be pointless of course. Therefore, he decided to pretend nothing had happened. He drew the chair under the lampshade, like Sunako did moments ago, and stood on it.
'I'll take care of this. I'm taller. You can remove the wallpaper if you want.'
Sunako didn't move at first. Kyouhei could see mistrust in her eyes. It didn't surprise him. The Sunako he knew had taken a long time to trust him. And even in the present time, after months of cohabitation and all the things they had done together, he wasn't sure she really trusted him. Maybe she would always have suspicions. It was quite ironic since she was the frightening one but well, Sunako and logic didn't really match. For two minutes, she would remain prostrated in the corner of the room where she had taken shelter. She wouldn't look away, as though she was afraid he would try something. Kyouhei thought she looked like a wild cat, ready to scratch the face of the first person that would dare come near her. Finally, Sunako slowly got up and started tearing the wallpaper apart, keeping a safe distance. Kyouhei watched her, half amused, half pained. Some things would never change. He got back to what he was doing.
They worked for the whole evening in silence. There was no other incident whatsoever, except once, when Kyouhei brushed past her to throw away a pink money-box. She started violently and huddled up to the wall. Kyouhei didn't even react. He ignored her. Around midnight, the room was clear of everything. Only the pieces of furniture showed the room was not vacant.
'I'll come back tomorrow morning around ten,' Kyouhei told Sunako. 'We still have a lot of work ahead of us and must hurry if we want the room to be ready for your friends' visit.'
He didn't wait for her reply – that wouldn't come anyway – and left the room.
The night was long for both of them. Sunako couldn't get used to the emptiness of her bedroom. Even though she couldn't have born sleeping in the pink decoration she had designed herself, the room was miserably cold now. She felt like a stranger in her own kingdom. Kyouhei, as for him, was hurt by the distance between Sunako and him. Every time he was around her, he felt rejected over and over again. He wondered if his pushy attitude had provoked her hatred, but he felt like even if he left her alone, she would despise him anyway. Like his mother despised him and rejected him. And all of this was because of his looks. But what could he do about it? Scar his face? He would be considered a poor lamb which had been hurt, and his number of fans would increase. Attempt plastic surgery? It was a waste of money, and moreover, he refused to go on the operating table for such nonsense. He wasn't at fault. If people couldn't look beyond appearances, well, he could do nothing about it.
The morning came as blissful for the both of them, who had not slept many hours. As they were both up at 8, they decided to start earlier than planned. The first half hour, Kyouhei explained Sunako what he meant to do. She never reacted. At times, she would raise an eyebrow, or would be surprised. Once, Kyouhei even thought he had seen the shadow of a smile. But she didn't say a word, didn't look at him. She must still be afraid because of yesterday, he thought. He was hurt because he had really not done this on purpose. He knew the consequences too well. The first thing to do was to stick the paper on the walls. According to Kyouhei, the dominant colour of the room would influence his choices of decoration. At first, all went smoothly. She wouldn't look at him, but at least, she stuck the deep purple wallpaper. In truth, Kyouhei had chosen this colour because it fit her eyes, even though he could never confess it. He got really pissed off when she objected to helping him move the chest of drawers. He wondered how she had even succeeded in moving it when she had first stuck the wallpaper, that thing must have weighted a ton.
'I'm not gonna touch you you know? I only want to help, you ungrateful girl! Yesterday was an accident, you were about to fall, remember? You're always hurting me when I want to be nice. You were the one to ask for my help. You called me back. If you don't want to be near me, that's fine with me. I had rather leave than see you sulking.'
Sunako looked at him with a mixture of annoyance, irritation, and… what was it? Guilt? She mumbled some words that looked like apologies and held the other side of the chest, waiting. After that, she was much more cooperative. She replied when he asked for her opinion, she complied when he asked for her help. When Sunako's mother called the two young people for dinner (the leftovers of the day before), they had stuck all the wallpaper and the stickers were pasted on it. For these stickers, Kyouhei had chosen the colours black and white, which matched beautifully with purple. The patterns had for the most part tribal motifs that they had placed at the corners of the walls. There were various other motifs: climbing plants, giant flowers, and even a few cute pirate skulls and crossbones. After lunch, they took care of placing the objects of decoration. For the set of bed linens, Kyouhei had chosen pale lavender purple of course, with nuances of deeper purple to enhance it. Sunako seemed quite pleased with it. She had a small smile when she looked at them, touching the duvet cover softly.
Among the ideas for decoration, Kyouhei suggested that she could put a silken headscarf on the bedside light in order to subdue the light. Sunako was afraid that the scarf would be put into fire, but Kyouhei reassured her, explaining that the lampshade would avoid the scarf to be in direct contact with the light. A lampshade made with red and purple big pearls was chosen to wrap the ceiling lamp. If Kyouhei and Sunako could not keep all of Sunako's belongings, at least, some of them remained. Notably, a skull served as a book end for her book shelf, the mug that contained the pens had bones patterned on it. These reminders of death were discreet enough for her friends not to freak out, but present enough for Sunako to feel at home.
Before sunset, the room was finished. Sunako was amazed. She scanned every detail of the decoration. Everything had been thought. Whereas her decoration had consisted of only two motifs repeated indefinitely, here, the variety of patterns was quite extraordinary. The whole decoration was very coherent. Not too girly, not too gory. Not too bright, not too gloomy. Kyouhei observed her face, appreciating this victory. He didn't know if Sunako would keep the room the way it was, but at least, she was not about to tear it apart and start all over again. All the choices he had made had been done according to her personality and tastes. He had only thought of her. He was far from being an interior designer. In truth, these superfluous ornaments usually bored him. But he had wanted to please her. A strange yellow ray of light shone her face. Kyouhei looked at the room and saw the sunset through the window. The colours of the sunset brought a new atmosphere to the room. Not only was it clearer and warmer, but it gave a feeling of safety. Kyouhei stepped backwards, without taking his eyes away from the scenery, and so did Sunako. Both of them started when their shoulders met. They gazed at each other. Contrary to what he was used to, she did not look away. A big smile appeared on her face and she expressed, for the first time since he had returned to the past, her gratitude that meant a lot to him.