The offer to display Ensho’s work at the M+ exhibition had come from one of Fuga’s customers. “We’d like to gather young up-and-coming creators for an exhibition,” the woman on the organizing committee had said. “Can you find some art brokers for us?”
Fuga had done as requested, and Shiro Kikukawa had been among the enlisted art brokers. The two men had immediately colluded because both had a grudge against Kiyotaka. The decision to display Ensho’s work at M+ had come naturally from that.
Also, the theme of “equality” had been Shiro’s suggestion. “We’ve got Taisei Ashiya, so the organizers had no objections. They agreed instantly,” Shiro had revealed. Taisei Ashiya was the alias Ensho had inherited from his father.
“Everyone knows that even Mr. Jing couldn’t buy his painting with money, after all,” Fuga had replied in amusement.
It was well-known in the industry that not only had Mr. Jing taken a liking to Taisei Ashiya, but he had also been unable to purchase the mysterious painter’s work.
Suddenly, Shiro’s phone rang. “Oh!” He cheerfully answered the call, only to frown and hang up a few seconds later. “As we suspected, he didn’t succeed.”
“Too bad,” said Fuga, not actually sounding disappointed. “How’s it looking on your end?”
“I began preparations quite a while ago, but it seems like it’ll be difficult.” Just as Shiro shrugged, his phone beeped. “Looks like we got another bid.” He eagerly tapped the screen. “It’s from the kid—Kiyotaka Yagashira,” he said, surprised.
“Huh?” Ensho’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
“But what’s with this price and comment?” Shiro asked, baffled.
Ensho stood up and peered at the phone. The moment he read the comment, he took out his own phone, went to the corner of the room, and called Kiyotaka.
“Hello?” came Kiyotaka’s voice.
“What the hell was that?” Ensho asked immediately.
Kiyotaka chuckled. “I assumed I’d get a reaction, but that was faster than expected.” His relaxed tone annoyed Ensho to no end. “What are you referring to by ‘that’?”
“The sentence and the price.”
In the bid’s comment field, Kiyotaka had written, “For I lacked time to prepare a staff and paper streamers, please accept a brocade of Mount Tamuke’s autumn leaves instead at your mercy.” It was a poem by Sugawara no Michizane that meant, “This trip was sudden and I have come without preparing an offering for the gods. Instead, I offer the beauty of the autumn leaves of Mount Tamuke. Please accept them at your mercy.”
“You sent me a poem, so I sent you one back,” said Kiyotaka.
“Fine, but what about the price? A hundred thousand yen? Is that all my painting is worth to you?”
“That’s the cost of the plane ticket.”
Ensho was lost for words.
“For now, just come back,” Kiyotaka continued calmly. “You may be able to earn a lot of money by partnering with Shiro Kikukawa, but you’ll lose something important in the process.”
“What makes you think that? As long as I’m making money, who cares?”
“Shiro doesn’t understand what makes your paintings good. He only latched on to you because Mr. Jing likes your work. He probably thinks of this exhibition as the starting point to getting back into Mr. Jing’s good graces. In other words, he only sees your paintings as tools. Partnering with someone like him will impoverish your heart as a creator.”
“And you’re different?”
“I...know how wonderful your work is.”
“That’s—” Ensho’s response was interrupted by Shiro standing up and beckoning to him. He returned to the table and switched his phone to speaker mode.
“Hey there, Kiyotaka,” Shiro said cheerfully.
“Ah, it’s been a while,” Kiyotaka replied in the same tone.
“It’s not just me and Ensho right now. Do you know who else is here?” Shiro glanced at Fuga.
“I haven’t the slightest clue. Who is it?”
“Futa Hiramasa, aka Fuga. Your beloved big brother.”
“Ah, it might’ve been even longer in his case.” Kiyotaka’s voice didn’t sound perturbed, at least not over the phone.
Fuga shrugged and said nothing.
“I see. So it’s a gathering of people who hate me?”
“Yeah. We’ve formed the Kiyotaka Yagashira Victims Association.”
“A victims association?” He laughed. “That must be why you hired someone to attack me.”
“Hmm?” Shiro tilted his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re welcome to stage more attacks against me if you’d like.”
“Oh? You’re giving us permission?”
“People call me a snake because I normally behave myself in my cave. I don’t go out of my way to attack people. That is why I left you alone until now. However, if someone attacks me, that changes everything. I won’t show any mercy.” Kiyotaka’s tone was as calm as always, but there was power behind it, and Ensho could tell that Shiro felt the pressure.
“Yeah, I’m sure you wouldn’t,” Shiro said, feigning a laugh. “That’s why I couldn’t do anything to you despite being pissed off. But there’s only so much I can take, you know? I really wanted to make you suffer, so I asked Ensho, ‘What would hit Kiyotaka Yagashira the hardest?’ and his answer made me laugh.”
Kiyotaka silently awaited his next words.
“He said, ‘Aoi Mashiro falling in love with someone else.’”
“What?”
“If we took her away from you by force, you’d do anything to eliminate us. It’d ruin our careers in the art world. But there’s nothing you can do if she changes her mind on her own, is there?”
“How would you manage that?” Kiyotaka asked, exasperated.
“That’s the thing. I figured she was into good-looking grad students, so I found one and bribed him to seduce her, but it seems it was a waste of effort.”
“Oh, him,” Kiyotaka muttered in annoyance.
“That plan isn’t going to succeed, so I came up with another one. Aoi’s interning at KNM right now, isn’t she? I heard she started preparing her application in February.”
Kiyotaka remained silent.
“As an art broker, I get all sorts of requests from all sorts of people. For example, ‘This pianist wants to hold a recital in Japan. What would be a good venue?’ I recommended KNM’s Meiji Kotokan Hall. Aoi was still preparing her application at the time, but I knew that with you supporting her, she would probably get selected.”
What is he going on about? Ensho frowned, unsure what the purpose of this story was.
Kiyotaka again remained silent.
“The pianist’s name is Toko Kuroki. Your former friend with benefits, right?”
“Huh?” Ensho looked up and heard Kiyotaka gulp.
“You never stuck with any woman for long, but she was an exception. She had a boyfriend, so neither of you got attached. But as soon as she asked, ‘Why don’t we become real lovers?’ you rejected her. You seem like you’d be loyal, nice, and sincere, but you’re actually the worst kind of guy, huh? Aha ha ha! She’s funny because she speaks candidly about everything when she’s drunk. She said she could never forget you. You’re such a bad guy. In a way, she’s a member of the victims association too. Anyway, I told her your current girlfriend was at KNM, and she said, ‘I’ll have to say hello, then.’”
“So that’s where this was going,” said Ensho.
“A girl might forgive her boyfriend when he tells her about his past, but she won’t be able to stay calm if the ex-girlfriend actually shows up. Is it because the story suddenly becomes real? What’ll happen if that honest Aoi meets your former hookup? She could definitely end up hating—”
Kiyotaka ended the call.
“Huh?” Shiro looked at the phone. “Did he hang up?”
“Yeah.” Fuga nodded. “I didn’t think it’d actually work.”
“Hah! Who would’ve expected something this stupid would affect him?”
Ensho sighed. “By the way, Fuga, you didn’t get a single word in. Are you all right with that?”
“Eh, it’s not like I had anything to say.” Fuga sipped his wine.
Ensho hummed, picked up his phone, and left the room.