The Melancholy Schmaltz

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN: ELEVATOR

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"My goodness, I think I grew fat." Kahoko mumbled. She was pulling her tight green body fit gown that took her breathe away. "Oww…"

"Is anything wrong Kahoko?" Nao nudged her.

"My gown seems to be crumpling me." Kahoko sighed.

Nao giggled. "You better bear with it. Today is a very special day for Mio."

Kahoko smiled and nodded. "She's finally getting married."

"Yeah," Nao agreed. "Don't you think she's lucky? I mean, Yuki is a nice and decent guy. He's well to do too."

"In my opinion, the two of them are lucky to have each other. You see, Mio and Yuki are together since College and look at them now, they're going to give their vows already." Kahoko placed her bouquet down to her waist.

"You are right." Nao patted her arm.

"Please prepare for the entourage." The wedding coordinator informed them.

"Gotta go." Nao moved since she was the Maid of Honor.

Kahoko moved to her line and waited. She tried to look for her partner but he was not there. 'To think of it… Where is my partner and who is he?' She thought.

The entourage started. Kahoko became uneasy upon seeing that her partner hasn't arrived. She sighed as she moved forward and smiled upon walking down the aisle.

'Crap. This gown is killing me. I can't breathe…' She thought without dropping her smile. Yuri, Mio's husband-to-be smiled to her in acknowledgement. 'He looks happy.' Kahoko returned his smile with a nod before she turned and went to her seat.

After everyone had passed, the Maid of honor, which was Nao, marched. She had a cheerful smile etched on her face. After her, everyone then turned to the most awaited woman down the main door of the church, the bride. She glistened like a beautiful nymph walking down the picturesque radiance of light. The smile on her lips was not like any other. Her eyes were full of gladness as it focused to the people around her before looking at her groom. The two held each other's gazes. It was indeed a remarkable sight to look at.

The wedding ceremony began. Everyone listened as the two exchanged their vows together. After everything had been accomplished, the Priest showed the newly wedded couples to the people around the,

"Now, let us congratulate this wonderful couple." The Priest said as everyone gave them thundering applauses.

'Finally, Mio found true happiness.' Kahoko told herself.

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The reception in the hotel ran smoothly. Kahoko went to the powder room together with Nao for a retouch.

"Are you still suffocated?" Nao teased.

"I've survive." Kahoko smiled.

"Anyway Kahoko, I'll be going ahead okay? Mio might need something." Nao patted her as she kept her make-up kit inside her bag.

"Sure thing." She nodded in response.

"Get back quick!" Nao ran outside.

Kahoko was left alone. She stared at herself. She was truly happy for her friend's found happiness while wondering if she will be that happy too if her special day will come.

Slowly, Kahoko gave herself a smile and picked her things up. She kept them inside her bag and got out of the room. As she hurried, she unexpectedly bumped into someone.

"Sorry, I was not able to—" She was stopped upon seeing the person's face.

He gave her a grin. "Fate, don't you think?"

Kahoko was flabbergasted but she tried to compose herself. "I don't believe in such anymore." She lowered her gaze.

"Why are you here?" He questioned.

"You? What are you doing here?" She returned.

"I am having a convention next door." He answered. "How about you?"

"Today is Mio's wedding." She said. "Now, if you would excuse me." She walked pass him.

"Tell her my best regards." Yunoki commented, making Kahoko stop to where she was. He looked at her then moved forward.

'Calm down.' She took a deep breathe. 'What a day.' She remarked as she went inside the reception hall.

The reception went well. Kahoko mingled with everyone, forgetting about the encounter that had just happened.

"Congratulations!" Nao embraced Mio tight. "You're dream has finally come true!"

Mio chuckled. "Thanks for being with me on my special day."

"Of course." Nao replied.

"Mio, Congratulations!" Kahoko neared them as since the hall was already empty. "Best wishes."

"Kahoko…" Mio embraced her. "Thanks for coming despite of the busy schedule that you have."

"Don't mention it. I am actually happy to be here on your special day." Kahoko smiled.

Yuri, Mio's husband then neared them. "Are you tired Mio?"

"No, I'm not." She shook her head.

"Good." Yuri charmingly smiled. He then turned to Kahoko. "Hino-san, thank you for coming. You made this day memorable for us."

"I am honored to be here since this is the day that you took our beloved friend to the altar and swore to take good care of her for the rest of your life." Kahoko giggled.

"I agree to that." Nao said. "Oh!" She reacted upon seeing the time. It was already nine forty in the evening. "I have to go now. Best wishes again, Yuri, Mio. Enjoy your honeymoon!"

"Thank you Nao. We'll miss you. Good bye." Mio kissed her cheek.

"I'll miss you too." Nao whispered. "Kahoko," She went to Kahoko and gave her a big hug. "I hope to see you again and take care. I also hope that the next wedding that I'll be attending will be your and Tsukimori-kun's."

"Nao!" Kahoko alerted her.

Nao giggled. "Okay, bye bye. Also you Yuri… please take good care of Mio." She waved her hand and went away.

"Kahoko, why is Tsukimori-kun not here?" Mio wondered as her husband stood beside her.

"He's actually busy for his upcoming recital." She explained.

"Oh, I see." Mio nodded.

"But, I am here in his place." Kahoko simpered.

"Yeah, and that's great." Mio held her husband's arm.

The three of them held little conversations but when the clock struck 10, the couple declared that they will be going. Kahoko on the other hand bid them good bye then went to the rest room.

Kahoko was humming to herself while washing her hand. After, she dried her hand using the dryer and went outside. She made her way to the elevator and waited. Luckily, the elevator door opened in no time. She entered it and pressed the ground floor button. When the door was about to close, a hand stopped it. It opened once more, revealing a dazzling man in black expensive coat. He entered the elevator and pressed the Basement 1 button.

'What he doing here?' Kahoko thought.

"How was the reception?" He questioned.

"Fine." She answered in a stiff tone.

He looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "Are you not going to ask me in return?"

"Is there something worthy to be asked?" She returned. 'Please open now.' She thought in anticipation.

The elevator door opened in the tenth floor. A middle aged man went in and pressed the eight floor button. The two kept silent as the man stayed inside. Once again, the elevator door opened and the man went out.

"Why do I get the feeling that you are feeling awkward?" He asked in a sarcastic way.

'If I have some guts, I'll confirm that.' She stayed quiet.

Suddenly, the elevator stopped and the light inside the elevator went out. Kahoko and Yunoki turned to the ceiling.

Uh-oh… This was something too unpredicted.

"What happened?" She questioned in a low tone.

"I think the elevator got stuck." He told her.

"Oh my…. No!" She turned to the door. "Let us out! Somebody… help!"

"Let's try pressing the emergency button." Yunoki suggested. When he pressed the red button, nothing exactly happened.

"Now, what happened?" She curiously asked.

"I think its not working." He answered.

"What?" She reacted. "It can't be." She neared the door and screamed for help but was no use. "Let's call someone." Kahoko suggested as she took her phone out. "Ugh! I don't have any signal."

Yunoki watched her calmly.

"What should we do?" She worriedly said.

"We can't do anything right at this moment."

Kahoko curled her brows. "What are you talking about?"

"It's no use even if you scream inside here. No one will hear you out. And in addition, I guess, the machine is out." He explained.

"No way…" She shook her head.

"We might as well, stay intact." He said.

"No, I want to get out of here. This can't be happening." She cursed the thought. "You, how can you be so relax when we are trapped here, dying?"

"You are not going to die so don't hope for that to happen." He seriously said. "Are you stupid or something?"

"Don't call me stupid!" She exclaimed, obviously mad. "I will get out of here, with or without you!"

"Don't hallucinate. Whether you like it or not… you're staying here with me." He emphasized.

Kahoko watched him in disbelief as he watched her in a stern yet sarcastic way.

Author's Note: I wanted to make an update during Yunoki's birthday but I couldn't since I was so tired. In addition to that, I had a lot of assignments towering and I had to prioritize them. *Oh my…* Sorry about this late update.

Even so… thank you for supporting. Oh my! Elevator scene... Hmmm… I wonder on what will happen. *hahahahaha*

Please let me know your insights! (Perhaps some of you were disappointed for making me cut this, but don't worry, I'll be updating this soon enough!)

PLEASE READ MY NEW STORY TOO!

Why Did I Fall In Love With You?

Its story is different from this one but I'm hoping that you will check it out.

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eliza: Awww, thanks for that wonderful compliment. You know, I don't really consider myself good. As you can see, I am not good at grammars at all. But I can say that I love imagining things. *hahaha* Thank goodness, you like my fic! Don't worry, I'll do my very best to live up to your expectations.

P.S: Thanks! I love you a bunch! You got me inspired and I thank you for that.

Shadow Kitsune67 : Wow! Thanks for liking this fic of mine. It made me smile! Though I couldn't understand your mix emotion quite well… I think you are feeling what Kahoko was feeling as the story goes on (It's just my theory though). Please continue supporting me. Thanks for everything!

Shadow's Tears : Yes, you are right! Sleeping with someone you trust is precious. But do you think that really exist? I mean, it's dangerous. *hahahahaha* I am glad that you are commenting on what you think about Len in this fic! Thanks for that! You made me happy.

White Melancholy : Thank you for appreciating my fic. Frankly speaking, I was really plotless (is there a word?) when I made this. But as time goes on, I kept thinking about things so I came up to this kind of plot. As you can see, I am trying my very best to vary this fic out from the other fics. Though its hard, I am giving it a thought since I want it to be different among the rest. I am glad I helped you get some ideas for your own fic.

I'm very thankful that you like Len and Kahoko's interaction here. To tell you the truth, Len is so hard to portray. *sighs* I don't want to make him OC… so I'm reading the Manga a lot. I like Miyabi. She's acting as an advisor indeed but Yunoki got something in mind.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Take Care!

sagittariusleo: I can't do that. *ahahahaha* It is hard to be an authoress! But in the same manner, its fun. But you know, the best reward in being an author is to hear wonderful comments about your story. Just like you people! Your reviews make me happy and it persuades me to do my best more!

Jiyu22: You are right! *hahahahaha* I'm afraid to result breaking the violin romance too, but I'll have to make twist and turns… Please watch out and Thanks for reading and Reviewing! Take Care!

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Please read my NEW STORY entitled "Why Did I Fall In Love With You?"

I'm hoping that you will check it out!

Please?