♪♪♪
THE next day I slid into Mr. Nonaga’s Benz for the Genda estate. Maestro Noboru was busy following Miss Ayumi on her Europe tour and hadn’t returned to Japan this year. Miss Ayumi’s mentor Mr. Saito looked after my piano lessons while she was away.
Mr. Saito was the one who gave me tips during the junior music competition. The disadvantage I had from not attending the seminar was counterbalanced by his detailed advice as a member of the judging committee.
He was a well-groomed older gentleman in his early-sixties who courteously instructed me. His method of teaching stayed true to the music score, the complete opposite of Maestro Noboru’s eccentric style.
During our first lesson, Kon had whispered in my ear, “I feel both relaxed and like something is missing with his style. What do you think, Mashiro?”
I agreed with her on the whole, but resisted fully accepting it because it felt like we had been trained by Maestro Noboru to think this way. I’d feel horrible towards the serious Mr. Saito if I agreed wholeheartedly with Noboru’s crazy, nonsensical lessons.
Midori was staying at her family’s main estate since she couldn’t use her brother’s house while he was out of the country. “I seriously don’t want to go home because that old man is pigheaded and the house is stuffier than living in a capsule,” she complained on the phone before coming to Japan.
The rich and powerful have all sorts of problems unique to them… How many times have I thought this exact same thing? At least it doesn’t seem like celebrities have a life full of rainbows and kittens either.
I was walking towards the Genda annex wiping the sweat from my brow with a handkerchief, when I received Midori’s passionate welcome.
“MASHIRO!!”
“Whoa! Welcome back, Midori.”
“There’s nothing that makes me happier than to hear you say that to me, Mashiro! I’m home!” Arms coiled around my neck, she rubbed her soft cheek against mine.
“Okay, okay! I get it. But I’m sweating and smell, so let go.”
“Aww, you always smell good Mashiro.”
“That’s not the problem here!”
Finally satisfied, Midori released me from the bear hug. Her frank display of affection made me happy, but I was pretty sure I’d never get used to these Western-style greetings as long as I lived.
“Hi, Mashiro. Don’t worry, I received the exact same treatment.” Kon smiled sympathetically as she put slippers on the floor for me. She wasn’t kidding—her silky brown hair was tousled. I pulled a comb out of my purse and we fixed up each other’s hair after surviving the hugging wars.
“…Oh, Kou’s here too!”
I saw a tuft of red hair over the couch when I walked into the main annex room. Is the siscon Kou camping out at Kon’s house because he loves his sister too much? I’ve been bumping into him a lot here lately, so I guess it’s not too weird that he’s here today too…
“Welcome, Mashiro.” Kou stood up and sat back down once I sat on the couch.
What a gentleman! This guy is seriously always too cool for real life!
“Hi, Kou. Is it just me or have you been cutting back on the dating business lately? Everything okay?”
“Can you please quit treating me like a host every time you see my face?” His bright smile fell and a clearly disgruntled frown took its place.
I can’t stop myself from teasing him every chance I get because I love this look on him much more than that shady smile. I should really get help.
“Sorry. I was just curious because I’ve seen you here a lot since the beginning of the year. Are you hanging out with the fanclub girls on Sundays instead of Saturdays?”
“…Does it bother you that much?” Kou combed back the hair that fell on his cheeks and stared intently at me. All of his gestures were just too sexy, it made me dizzy.
I barely managed to stop myself from crying out, “How are you so perfect?!” and went with, “Yeah” instead.
“…Wha-?” The great and mighty Kou’s mouth fell wide open. A good-looking guy had the ability to make even that facial expression wildly attractive.
“It bothers me,” I declared in a strong voice. “Tell me if there’s a reason for it.”
This was something I would’ve never admitted when I first entered middle school. Back then, I was constantly on guard around Kou. But close to three years have gone by. As time went on, my opinion of him changed dramatically. I honestly believed he no longer viewed me as an outsider. I became capable of believing that he cared for me like I cared for him.
Kou held my gaze and let out a small sigh. “…No real reason for it. I just grew sick of going through a lover a day.”
Though he wasn’t telling the whole truth, I still laughed out loud at the way his real thoughts slipped in.
“I get that. My condolences.” I gave a little bow and Kou chuckled. Midori and Kon were watching us with strange expressions.
“…I don’t really get the whole picture, but isn’t this where you should find fault with him?” Midori thrust her thumb at Kou and angrily added, “He’s the scum of the Earth, toying with the feelings of the girls who like him. I think Sou’s still the better choice over Kou. At least he isn’t a manwhore!”
I could see why people who knew nothing about his situation like Midori would interpret his actions that way. But Kou would never pursue a girl who was serious about him. He was the type to firmly reject someone who seriously confessed their feelings to him.
Did the members of his fanclub truly like Kou as a person? I doubted anyone who had real feelings for him would agree to share him with other girls. The fanclub members planned their date schedule whenever they got together for fun, presenting it to him only after they ironed out the details. A convenient boyfriend who’s good-looking and only whispers sweet nothings in their ear—that’s what they viewed Kou as.
Prouder than most, Kou set aside that pride and became their plaything, all to protect his precious little sister. And that ticked me off to no end.