Eternal Melody

Thursday 11th June, Iro Road High School, Main Library.

A week after her first week of arguing with Yuhi-san, Sumire found herself eventually caving in to search for him. When she woke up after having a panic attack, she grumbled to Hino about how frustrating Yuhi was. ‘Not just you but Kou and the others understood my intentions. How come he doesn’t understand?’

So for the past week, she has avoided him, and the same went vice versa. He has not tried to reach out to her. She, however, was made aware of his whereabouts at all times by their mutual friends.

It seemed like everybody was under the impression that she would misunderstand since Yuhi was not returning home. It’s not like she was worried that he would sleep around. But some of her felt relieved knowing he was crashing in bar akagumi or the M5 mansion.

Even though graduation and the festival were tomorrow, Shin had assigned her a sudden assignment that would count for extra credits. Does she need extra credits when she has already been accepted into the university of her choice? Moreover, the assignment Shin assigned her was something a third-year university student would struggle to do. Even with her higher IQ, this will be a struggle.

Sumire thus found herself in the library after class. She wanted to have one last practice run-through with the other guys for tomorrow’s performance. But Shin wasn’t having it.

‘Yuhi-san has frequently been staying in the library too.’

When she recalled that, she understood why Shin was so persistent. That guy is doing this deliberately. The resources and information she will need to complete this assignment can only come from this library.

Since the festival was tomorrow, the library was a ghost town. There was not a single person there, and even the usual librarian had put a sign on the desk.

If it’s a place Yuhi-san would lounge around- Sumire glanced over towards the back of the library. He will most likely be over there. Sumire turned in another direction but glanced at the note in her hands.

‘Shin, I will seriously get back at him for this.’ Making her go to the library to do some phony assignment is just a pretext so she could meet with Yuhi-san.

Tomorrow is the festival, graduation, and afterward, it was supposed to be their wedding. But, after the graduation ceremony, Yuhi and the others will be on their way to the airport to fly to the US.

Their first ever fight, normally the media would have caught word of it and taken advantage of the situation to write more bad stuff about her. However, it seems everyone is more occupied with the fact that not only Yuhi, but the entire M5 is going.

If they don’t makeup now, the performance tomorrow will not be good.

But to make up for this reason, no. She doesn’t want this to continue any longer, either. A week is enough; they are not children. They need to meet face-to-face and talk it out again. Sumire takes a deep breath before she makes her way to the back of the library. The moment she arrived, the first thing she saw was a figure lying down on the couch. It was Yuhi; hebooks surrounded him.

‘The window is open; it must be cold.’ Sumire removed her poncho and draped it around him. He looks tired, and his face seems a bit thinner. Has he not been sleeping and eating well?

Sumire shakes her head. Forget it; even if she expresses her concerns now, she will only look like a hypocrite. She turned her attention to the bookshelves. Focus on the report now; the apology will come later. She had only been searching for a few minutes when Yuhi stirred awake.

“Sumire?” Yuhi mumbled.

The moment she heard her name escape his lips, she froze. This is bad; she hasn’t seen him properly in a week. Although she caught glimpses of him from a distance, she hasn’t talked to him properly since that day.

“I-I’m just borrowing some books, don’t mind me,” Sumire said, startled.

“Are you writing a report?”

“Yes.”

“It was probably Shin; he lured you in here to make up with me.”

Uh, oh busted already.

“M-My dear, are you still angry at me?” Sumire managed to ask despite the awkward atmosphere.

“I am.”

His answer was swift, and yet she didn’t feel the same coldness in his words as a week ago. Maybe it’s okay now? Just as she was thinking about what else to say, she spotted the book she was reaching out for on the verge of falling. She felt a familiar sensation in her palm. Yuhi’s large hands had stopped the book in mid-tracks, but this caused a large red-colored bruise to appear on his hands.

Sumire immediately grabbed hold of it and inspected the damage. To an artist and a musician, a single injury can be serious.

“You know, I’m still angry at you.”

Ah, of course, he is. Even though she was upset that he didn’t understand her intentions. The truth was she didn’t see him because she felt too ashamed.

“At least, it should have been that way. Have you heard from the others that I have been staying here a lot?”

“Ah–y-yes?”

“Over here, there is a clear view of the gardens.”

It takes her a moment to understand that he was not only speaking to her normally but the fact that he is admitting to watching her.

Her lips curved into a smile, and she laughed softly.

“Don’t laugh. It’s really hard for me to get angry at you. You’re too cute; my eyes follow you no matter where you go.” Yuhi seemed embarrassed since he averted his gaze.

She reached over and tugged on his sleeve. “Then, it’s okay if we talk now?”

Yuhi nodded and led her to the couch. She reached over, opened the couch drawer, and found a medical kit.

Yuhi burst into laughter, and she pouted. “It’s better to be prepared!”

“Indeed, I wonder why the unused drawers were suddenly locked. Did you ask the teachers for permission?”

“I asked the library committee.”

‘For your sake.’ But Sumire didn’t want to say it out loud. Yuhi extended his hands out, and she started to disinfect the wound. For the next few minutes, she spends it on treating his wound.

“Stop looking at me.” Sumire broke the silence when she realized that he was staring at her closely.

“You’ve gotten prettier again.” Yuhi sighed deeply. “I leave you alone only for a week, and look what happens. What happens when I go? You will become so dazzling and have even more men lined up at the door.”

“The only man I will allow inside our home is you.”

“I see; you love me that much. Even if I were to leave you alone, you’d still love me?”

Despite his casual question Sumire understood the meaning. Deep down, he must have been afraid, afraid that her feelings would change if he were the one to leave again. He doesn’t want a repeat of what happened before.

“Yes, I will only love you.”