As soon as he ended the call, Kiyotaka flopped onto his bed, his face pale.
“What’s gotten into you, kiddo?” Komatsu asked. “What happened?” He shook the young man’s body.
“Sorry,” Kiyotaka murmured. “Please leave me alone for the time being.”
“What?”
Kiyotaka’s phone buzzed again. He tapped the answer button without getting up.
“We were in the middle of a conversation.”
The call was from Ensho. Kiyotaka had his phone on speaker, so Komatsu could hear his voice too.
“You aren’t done yet?”
“I wanna ask you something.”
Kiyotaka slowly sat up. “What is it?”
“Why’d you come all the way to Hong Kong in the first place?”
“Because you sent me that letter.”
The letter had contained a poem: “Let the mountain cherries dictate our farewell; the flowers shall decide our fate.” Kiyotaka had explained it to Komatsu the night he’d received it. Written by Yusen Hoshi, it meant, “Let the scattering of the mountain cherry blossoms determine how this farewell will go. The flowers shall decide whether I hold you back or not.” It was said that he had recited it when parting ways with people.
“Aoi said that you quoted part of that poem to her when we met at Mount Hiei,” Kiyotaka continued. “At the time, I assumed that you were saying farewell to her.”
Ensho chuckled. “Then why didn’t you think I was saying farewell to you too?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Huh?”
“If you say farewell to me, that means ‘Come see me,’ doesn’t it?” Kiyotaka replied bluntly.
Ensho fell silent for a while before bursting out laughing. “Ha ha ha! What an idiot. You’re reading too much into it.”
Komatsu didn’t know Ensho’s true intention. Perhaps it had been a genuine farewell letter. Still, his voice sounded happy.
“There’s something you gotta know.”
“Yes?”
“When this exhibition is over...I’m gonna tell Aoi.” He didn’t need to elaborate. He was obviously planning on confessing the feelings he’d been harboring all this time.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Wouldn’t be fair otherwise.”
“Fair?” Kiyotaka smiled cynically. “You say that while teaming up with...” He fell silent as if he’d just realized something. Then he facepalmed and sighed. “I understand. Well, I’m going back to Kyoto now.”
“I’d like to say take care, but can it wait until tomorrow? Gimme some of your time.”
“All right.” Kiyotaka nodded.
Komatsu had no idea what Ensho was thinking, but it seemed that all had been made clear in Kiyotaka’s mind.
✦ ✦ ✦
Yilin had been visiting M+ every day to look at Ensho’s painting, Present City. The bidding deadline was in two days, but she was still struggling to choose a price.
After staring at it for a while, she sighed and left the museum. As she was heading to the parking lot, a tall man suddenly appeared before her. She looked up, startled. The man was dressed casually in a T-shirt and jeans, and he wore his hat low over his face. For a second, she didn’t know who he was, but then the realization set in.
“Ensho...”
“I hear you’ve been coming every day,” he said with an amused laugh.
“Yes, well...”
The two of them walked to the sea together.
“Kinda feels like Shanghai all over again,” Ensho said in a nostalgic tone as he looked out at the water.
Yilin glanced at him quickly before returning her gaze to the sea. “You give a very different impression now,” she remarked. “I always thought you were handsome, but you’re even on par with Kiyotaka now.”
“I was never inferior to him to begin with.” Ensho chuckled. “Which version of me is better?”
“Neither is better or worse than the other. Most people would probably say your current self, but I really liked how you looked before.”
“Well, thanks.” He laughed mischievously. “The theme of the exhibition was equality, but once it began, it got messy quick.”
“Messy?”
“Even with the names withheld, anyone who knows their stuff can tell right away who painted what. They’ll ask the artist directly, ‘Did you paint that?’ and the artist’ll give a vague reply that hints at the truth. Even the organizers have silently accepted that’s how it’s gonna be.”
“That’s true,” Yilin said with a strained smile. “If I asked you right now if you painted that piece and you said yes, it would ruin the concept.”
“Yeah, it’s a pain.”
“But the project created a lot of buzz, so I don’t think it was a bad idea. There’ll be a lot of points to address for the next installment, though.” Yilin gave him a sideways glance. “Did people ask you about it too?”
“Yeah. A certain old man called me and said, ‘You don’t have to answer me, but that painting is yours, right?’”
“I think I know who that might have been.” Yilin giggled.
“Are you hesitating over the bid?” Ensho asked with a serious expression.
Yilin gulped and lowered her gaze. “I’m going to bid on it. What I can’t decide is...”
“Oh, the price.”
“Yes,” she said softly.
“But you’re filthy rich. Can’t you put up whatever you want?”
“Of course not. The amount of money I can use freely is less than you think. And I can’t help but worry about what my father would think if I spent that much...”
“Moron.” Ensho snorted. “If you want it for yourself, then bid on it. If you’re trying to stay on daddy’s good side, you’re going about it the wrong way.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just go with him to see it. Why’re you trying to handle this all by yourself?”
“But...” Tears welled up in Yilin’s eyes. “My father is your fan and wanted to support you. Now that things have turned out this way, he must be really angry that someone else struck a deal with you first...and disappointed in me for not obtaining that information.”
“You really are dumb. I don’t know how other families work, but when you make a mistake, the best thing you can do is apologize right away. Not whatever trick you’re trying to pull off.”
Yilin fell silent for a moment. “You’re right,” she murmured. “I’ll tell him the truth—that this happened without my knowledge—and invite him to see the painting. That’s the best choice, isn’t it?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
Her eyes widened. “Huh? Why are you suddenly distancing yourself?”
Ensho chuckled. “It’s a Kansai thing.”
“Taking back what you say with ‘I wouldn’t know’?”
“Yeah. It means, ‘I said all that, but in the end, you gotta make the decision yourself.’”
“Oh...” Yilin placed a hand over her mouth. Her expression relaxed. “It sounds like a good thing when you put it that way.”
“See? Anyway, I wanna ask you something.” Their eyes met. “Why’d you come to my atelier just to cry and apologize? Am I right in thinking it meant ‘Forgive me for not being able to step into this dirty place’?”
Yilin glanced around uncomfortably. “An atelier is like an artist’s sanctuary, isn’t it? I wanted to know what yours was like, and I was over the moon when you said I could visit. And I thought...something special might happen.”
“Something special?” Ensho asked blankly.
Yilin felt her cheeks flush and looked down. “I wore new underwear when I went to your place that day.”
“Oh, I see.” Ensho nodded. “Of course you wouldn’t wanna do it in such a run-down apartment.” He chuckled.
“The building’s condition did make me hesitate, but more importantly, hadn’t someone else been there before I came? When you opened the front door, I saw lots of beer cans and food packaging on the table. It meant you must’ve spent Christmas Eve with someone, so I...” That was why Yilin had run away, unable to enter the apartment.
“Uh...” Can’t say I was expecting that. “Holmes said there might’ve been ‘various sentiments’ behind your actions, and I guess he was right. I had no idea.”
Yilin looked at Ensho and covered her face in shame.
“You said you wanted to see my atelier, and I really didn’t think it was anything more than that.”
“That’s because you aren’t interested in me,” Yilin said self-deprecatingly, lowering her hands from her face.
“Hmm...” Ensho looked out at the sea. “I probably like Aoi.”
“I know.” Yilin shrugged. “But why do you say ‘probably’?”
“’Cause that’s how it is. I probably like her. I like her, but the word ‘probably’ is always there. So I’m thinking of telling her for the sake of clearing up this vague feeling.”
“Even though she has Kiyotaka?”
“Eh, it’s my way of settling things. But if I’m gonna do it, I gotta be better than him.”
Yilin examined Ensho again. “Is that why you changed your appearance?”
“First looks, then money. Trust me, I know Aoi ain’t swayed by those things. It’s a me problem—my mind can’t help but think, ‘In the end, I lost to his looks and money.’”
“So you secretly signed a contract with another agent because you wanted to make a fortune?”
“Not exactly. Like I said, the goal is to settle things. Call it a fresh start.” Ensho grinned and looked at Yilin. “I like you too. Most rich people repulse me, but not you. You’re a fine woman in your own right.” He ruffled her hair and turned to leave.
Yilin stood still for a while as she watched him go. But once he was out of sight, her legs caved, and she crouched down on the spot.