Prisoner of Love (Fanfic)- Chapter 9
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Chapter 9: Waiting
“Sir, you have to stop shouting or I’ll have security remove you,” the nurse warned him.
Selina heard soft but firm voices in the background. Where was she? All she could remember was separating from Jun on the train platform. The departing train was too noisy and then nothing.
“Hai. Hai. Its just...” Jun trailed off.
The nurse gave him a sympathetic smile. “She would be alright. She had a slight anemia. Not enough nutrition or sleep. We’ll keep her overnight for observation but she would be ok, Matsumoto-san.” Jun looked over Selina worriedly. The nurse sighed in slight envy. She wished she had a boyfriend like him who would worry like this over her. She bowed as she left the room.
Jun took a seat beside her bed. Some color have returned to her cheeks. She took a deep breath as she slowly opened her eyes. “Selina.” All he could do was say her name.
She gave him a slow smile. Even though she was confused as to where she was, his familiar face was a comfort. “Jun,” she croaked. Jun can’t help himself but laugh. “What?” she asked once more in that voice. He reached up to the glass beside her bed. With a straw, he guided the water to her lips. She sipped a little. “I know you can’t resist my croakey voice in the morning,” she started.
Jun did not know if he should get angry at her, laugh at her or scold her. Hell, he wanted to do all of those at the same time.
“Don’t get angry at me. Just admit it,” she pleaded. Behind her shaky smile was the fear of being scolded. They both knew that it was her fault that she was in this situation. Selina still hoped the scolding would come later.
He scratched his head and sighed. He understood what she wanted but was still torn. He sighed again. Jun let her win. For now.
“Baka. Its evening now. And who the hell would get enticed by your froggy voice?” Jun teased back.
She smiled in appreciation. “I bet you get terrible bed hair in the morning,” she replied back.
“What the hell has that got to do with your froggy voice?” Jun replied with a laugh. “Trying to steer the conversation away?”
“Thank you,” she answered softly.
“Selina, I...” Jun started.
“We both thank you,” someone else said. Both of them turned around to Sho entering the room. Jun didn’t even realize it was the same hospital. It was the nearest one to the station, of course.
“Sho,” Selina greeted him.
Jun stood up from his seat. It would appear awkward if he continued to be by her side. The other man took this opportunity to be beside her.
Sho clasped her hand in between his. “You can’t keep doing this to me, Sel,” he chastised. Selina flinched in silence. Jun noticed that as well. Sho gave her a smile to tone his scolding down. “If you continue on this path Sel, you’ll probably kill me.”
She blanched. Jun almost took a step towards Sho. Can’t he see how this was affecting her?
Sho laughed and reached out a finger to caress her cheek. “You’ll kill me with worry, baka.”
She was clearly uncomfortable with Sho’s words. Not that his words were untrue. She really did not want him to see her in such a condition. Or with Jun. Selina cannot help but feel that Sho did not like Jun at all. And the speculation of Jun liking her...
Sho stood up distracting Selina from her thoughts. He leaned over and deposited a kiss on her hair. “Rest well. We’ll talk tomorrow ok?” She only nodded in response.
Jun took a worried glance at her. She gave him a reassuring smile and nodded her thanks once more. Before he could say goodbye, Sho took his arm and escorted him out of the room. Once her door was closed, Jun shook Sho’s hand away. Sho released him with a surprise look on his face.
“Good night, Sakurai-san,” Jun bowed politely.
“Actually Matsumoto-san, I would like to have a word with you.” Sho really did not give him time to answer as he lead the way.
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The cafeteria was already deserted at that time of the day. It was located on the 3rd floor of the hospital that overlooked some part of the city. It was a quiet time. A place where they can talk.
“You must be feeling better, Sakurai-san,” Jun started.
His back was towards him as Sho took in the sights of the darkened city. “Yes. Much better.” He paused before he continued. “Can I speak frankly to you, Matsumoto-san?”
Jun stiffened. He remembered the last time he had a talk with Sho. It was not good. He braced himself for the confrontation that was sure to follow.
Finally, Sho turned around to face him. Jun was surprised at Sho’s pleading face.
“I do love her, Matsumoto-san. This...” Sho gestured with his hands. “Her being in the hospital is not something I want.”
“It was caused by something that you did, Sakurai-san,” Jun said sternly.
He nodded once. “I admit to that. I won’t deny it.”
Jun took a step closer to him. “Then end it, Sakurai-san. Apologize to her. End her suffering.”
Sho sighed. “I wish I could.”
“What do you mean you wish you could?” Jun was getting confused.
“But I am afraid.” He chuckled softly. “With all the history behind us, I am afraid Matsumoto-san. Afraid that I’ve already lost my chance.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I love her. I just want to be given the chance to prove it to her,” Sho declared passionately. “For that, I need your help.”
Jun shook his head. What was happening here? “You should just talk to her about it. Selina might be unreasonable sometimes but she would listen. Specially that you are her best friend.”
Sho sighed. “Yes, I am that. But, Matsumoto-san,” he looked at him seriously. “Do you know how harder it is to make a friend see you as a lover? Much harder than from a stranger starting to court someone from scratch?” Sho walked around Jun. “There is the fear of rejection. The fear of breaking a good friendship. Or making things awkward. It is such a huge risk.” He looked down to his feet. “But that is what love is, is it not? A huge gamble. Win all, lose all.”
With that, Jun understood some of his pain. There might have been a time in the past where Jun was also in the same situation as Sho. “I agree on that, Sakurai-san but I still can’t figure how I can help you with this?”
Sho smiled and turned to him once more. “A chance is all we need. And time.” Jun waited for him to continue. “Would you give us that chance, Matsumoto-san?”
Jun frowned. “What exactly do you want from me, Sakurai?” He was getting impatient. He just wanted to know what this was leading to.
Sho smiled. “A month. That is all I need. Give me a month to be alone with her. That means you are not to make contact with her in any way or form.”
“What?” Jun snorted. “You think you can control her like that?”
“Control?” Sho raised an eyebrow. “This is not control. All I want from you is to leave us be. I am not going to tell Selina who she can or cannot see. But by that one month time is up, she’ll be doing it naturally.” Sho then looked contrite. “This is not even my happiness at all. It is hers. All for her. Selina is my only concern.” He looked at Jun straightforward. “Don’t you wish for her happiness as well?”
Jun clenched his fists. Yes. Her happiness. That’s what happened when you are in love. You place somebody else’s happiness and welfare above your own. “How do you know that you can make her happy?” Jun replied back.
Sho smiled. “That is only thing I am confident about.” He started to walk away. “Are you?”
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Heavy thoughts weighed on Jun’s mind. To leave her alone, wouldn’t be hard, would it? It was a big city after all. If Sho was with her, he probably would make sure she was not in places that they could meet. He wondered if the other guy would even let her know of this plan of his? Jun looked up to heaven. Why did things have to be so complicated?
“Oi! Jun! Jun!” someone shouted for his attention.
Toma was on the other side of the street waving his arms frantically. People gave him looks. Jun gave him a salute as he met up with the other guy.
They both decided to go to a food stall since Toma didn’t open his store that night.
“How come?” Jun asked.
Toma took a sip of his beer. “We fought.” Jun waited patiently for him to continue. “Malvika wanted to return home. Well visit her family at least.”
“Why don’t you let her?”
Toma shook his head. “It is not a matter of “letting” her go. She wanted me to meet her parents.”
“Ah,” Jun replied.
The other man rubbed his hands together. “Sometimes it is hard for me to understand where Malvika comes from, ya know? And I really don’t know if...” He somehow didn’t want to say the words.
“You’ve been with her for what? A couple of years?” Jun inquired. “At this point, I mean, she practically lives with you, man. She helps out in the store. Stuck out with you rather than going back home where everything is nice and easy.” He heard from Nishikido-san that Malvika’s family back in India was well off. Her parents probably did not approve of their daughter staying with a foreigner in a far away land that cannot care for their daughter without her having to work. Knowing Malvika, Jun knew this did not bother her. From what he saw, she was happy with how her life is with Toma. Toma, on the other hand was another matter. Jun had another question. “If by chance they come here and see you in your terms, do you think you can face them?”
Toma gave a snort. “You sure do ask the hard questions, don’t you Matsumoto?” He never did answer Jun that night.
Now that Jun knew what Toma has to go through, he wondered what his answer will be to his own question.
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“Ah!”
A female gasped in surprise as tea spilled all over the table. It was another day at Bishounen Cafe. Another normal day but not so normal for Jun. All day he had been making mistakes like spilled coffee or missed orders or wrong orders. He knew that Nishikido-san gave him odd looks. So did the other waiters.
He immediately pulled out a rag from his apron to contain the spillage. “Gomenasai.” The lady hurriedly removed the papers she had on the table so they would not be wet. “Let me get you a fresh pot of tea...ahhh....” Great. He just forgot his patrons’ name.
“Inoue. Matsumoto-san, are you ok? You seem off today,” the lady remarked. Inoue Mao-san started coming to the cafe a couple of weeks ago. Jun learned that she aimed to become an actress. The cafe had been her haven to practice and memorize her lines. Although she looked like a shy one, Mao-san was actually very outspoken. It reminded him of someone else.
“Hai. Sumimasen. Let me get you a fresh pot.” Jun gathered the tea pot, made sure the table was dry and fetched her another. When he was at the counter, Nishikido-san whispered something like talking after work. He nodded in assent. He returned quickly to her table to set the tea pot down. Before he could pour it, she already did it by herself. Jun bowed again in apology.
“Ii yo, Matsumoto-san. You looked like you really are troubled. Wanna share?” Mao asked. The soothing aroma of chamomile tea filled the air.
Jun took a deep breath of this. It only meant one thing. Inoue-san had another audition today. She always ordered this tea to calm her nerves. It helped with her concentration. “Another audition today, Inoue-san?”
She nodded as she sipped her tea. Warmth spread all over her body. Mao made sure the table was dry before putting the script back down. “I’m not supposed to tell anyone what I am auditioning for but the drama is based off a manga. Its called Hana Yori Dango,” Mao softly replied.
Jun wasn’t aware of the said manga. “I hope you get the part,” he wished her in luck.
Mao gave him a grateful smile. “I hope so too. I’ll give it my best.” Then she went back to her memorizing. He gave her a bow to give her some privacy.
That same night when most of the waiters have gone home and the store was closed did Nishikido-san come over and had the talk with Jun. He was still wiping the last table when Nishikido-san asked his first question.
“You’re not in love, are you, Jun?” he started.
Jun stopped in mid-swipe as he straightened to face his employer. “I know I have been making mistakes lately, Nishikido-san,” he admitted.
Ryo shook his head. “We all do. But you weren’t like this before her.”
Jun frowned. “What do you mean?”
The other man crossed his arms as he leaned at a pillar. “You are one of the top requested servers here at Bishounen Cafe. You work hard, always nice to our customers and I have no problems with you.”
“But it seems like you do, Nishikido-san,” Jun replied with as much humility as he could. He always hated beating around the bush.
Which his employer knew too well of Jun. “You know our rules. Its not there to only protect the store but to protect you as well. I can’t tell you what or what not do, Jun.” Ryo patted his shoulder as he passed him on his way out. “All you need to do is just decide.” After that, all Jun heard was the closing of the door.
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He really didn’t know why he agreed to go. The next day, Malvika, Chri and Pi showed up at the cafe and wanted to visit Selina. Toma was nowhere to be seen and Jun did not ask. Chri asked if Jun could come with them and for some reason, he did not resist. Maybe it would help him decide faster if he saw her one last time. That one last chance to make his resolution. He told them the address of the hospital and told them he would follow after his shift.
Selina was sitting on her bed when they arrived. She appeared rested. She was happy to see them.
“You really are a handful, aren’t you?” Chri teased.
“Same bird, right?” Sel answered her friend back. Chri snorted. “I bet Pi has his hands full of you,” Selina said as she winked at Pi.
Pi chuckled. “You’d probably win big with that, Sel.” Chri jammed her elbow at his ribs.
Selina turned to Malvika. “How are you girl? Are you doing ok?”
Malvika reached out to Sel and squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry about lil’ ole me. You should be more worried about you. You seem to be doing better.”
Selna nodded. “I’m too pampered here. If I stay here any longer, I’ll probably get fat.”
“In which we would still love you all the same.” Malvika replied back.
“Maybe,” Chri interjected.
Selina put out her tongue. “You turd!”
“I wonder what time he’s coming?” Malvika said aloud.
“Who’s coming?” Selina inquired.
Sho heard the laughter before he entered the room. It was good to hear her laugh. Things were still kind of awkward between them but he believed that all it took was time. Time to remember the old days. Time to bring back the past so they can both continue on to the future. Together.
“Matsumoto-san,” Chri replied. “We went ahead because he was still working but his shift should be over now. Shall I give him a call?”
Sho knocked on her door once. “No need. He should be here pretty soon.” Selina’s smile kind of froze. Sho nodded to everyone. “Thank you for coming to visit her,” he started.
Pi frowned. Like Jun, he noticed the strained atmosphere between the two. Ever since that showy proposal that this guy did inside the cafe, Pi never really like the guy. Just first impressions. “Iie. We are glad to see that you are doing well too,” Pi replied back.
Sho smiled at Pi. He didn’t know how much he knows but he sensed the somewhat reserved nature of Pi towards him. “Thank you for your concern. Its all thanks to Sel. She took real good care of me. Now if we can say the same for her, we’d all be good.” This earned him a few strained chuckles. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll see if our friend Matsumoto-san is in the hospital lobby.” Sho went out of the room.
Chri crossed her arms. “I don’t like him.”
“Chri!” Malvika warned.
Chri shrugged as she looked at Selina. “I’m sorry Sel but I just don’t.”
Selina just nodded. “I don’t expect everyone to like him. He...he has a hard life, different from mine and yet, similar. I hope in the future that we all both can find some common ground.” She rose from her sitting position. “Let me see if I can find a vase for these flowers.” Selina knew she shouldn’t have left her guests but she wanted, no needed, to talk to Jun without Sho being there.
It was good timing that Jun was on his way to see her. Sho patiently stood by the lobby. As soon as Jun appeared, he walked towards him.
Sho and Jun stood across each other. Each of them tense. Sho started with a smile.
“Is this your response, Matsumoto-san?” he inquired, polite and yet with a hint of sarcasm.
Jun gave him a polite smile back. “I don’t know. Does it appear that way? Maybe it is.”
“Jun?” She softly called out to him.
Jun had to step to the side for a bit to see her. Selina looked well. She had flowers in her hands. But her face was worried.
Thunder boomed.
“So you don’t trust that she would come back to you after a month with me? Is that why you couldn’t agree to this?” Sho had to ask.
Jun turned his attention back to the other man. “Its not her that I don’t trust,” was all he said before he reared his right fist and punched Sho on the face.
“JUN!” He turned around to flee from him.
From her.
From them.
From himself.
Rain started to pour as Selina chased after Jun in the parking lot. “Jun! Wait! Stop!” The rain drowned out her voice. But miraculously he did.
“Be happy,” he cried out without turning to face her.
Selina can barely hear him. She requested him to repeat it.
He wished he was man enough to face her. To talk her. This is the best he can do for now. To agree with such a request. Jun Matsumoto gave a chance to somebody else. With that, the rain swallowed him whole.
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This took awhile ne? Sorry for the long delay. Real life is real life. Hope you’d still continue to support this story. Do you agree with what Jun did? Let me know! Of course, don’t forget to comment!
Chapter 9: Waiting
“Sir, you have to stop shouting or I’ll have security remove you,” the nurse warned him.
Selina heard soft but firm voices in the background. Where was she? All she could remember was separating from Jun on the train platform. The departing train was too noisy and then nothing.
“Hai. Hai. Its just...” Jun trailed off.
The nurse gave him a sympathetic smile. “She would be alright. She had a slight anemia. Not enough nutrition or sleep. We’ll keep her overnight for observation but she would be ok, Matsumoto-san.” Jun looked over Selina worriedly. The nurse sighed in slight envy. She wished she had a boyfriend like him who would worry like this over her. She bowed as she left the room.
Jun took a seat beside her bed. Some color have returned to her cheeks. She took a deep breath as she slowly opened her eyes. “Selina.” All he could do was say her name.
She gave him a slow smile. Even though she was confused as to where she was, his familiar face was a comfort. “Jun,” she croaked. Jun can’t help himself but laugh. “What?” she asked once more in that voice. He reached up to the glass beside her bed. With a straw, he guided the water to her lips. She sipped a little. “I know you can’t resist my croakey voice in the morning,” she started.
Jun did not know if he should get angry at her, laugh at her or scold her. Hell, he wanted to do all of those at the same time.
“Don’t get angry at me. Just admit it,” she pleaded. Behind her shaky smile was the fear of being scolded. They both knew that it was her fault that she was in this situation. Selina still hoped the scolding would come later.
He scratched his head and sighed. He understood what she wanted but was still torn. He sighed again. Jun let her win. For now.
“Baka. Its evening now. And who the hell would get enticed by your froggy voice?” Jun teased back.
She smiled in appreciation. “I bet you get terrible bed hair in the morning,” she replied back.
“What the hell has that got to do with your froggy voice?” Jun replied with a laugh. “Trying to steer the conversation away?”
“Thank you,” she answered softly.
“Selina, I...” Jun started.
“We both thank you,” someone else said. Both of them turned around to Sho entering the room. Jun didn’t even realize it was the same hospital. It was the nearest one to the station, of course.
“Sho,” Selina greeted him.
Jun stood up from his seat. It would appear awkward if he continued to be by her side. The other man took this opportunity to be beside her.
Sho clasped her hand in between his. “You can’t keep doing this to me, Sel,” he chastised. Selina flinched in silence. Jun noticed that as well. Sho gave her a smile to tone his scolding down. “If you continue on this path Sel, you’ll probably kill me.”
She blanched. Jun almost took a step towards Sho. Can’t he see how this was affecting her?
Sho laughed and reached out a finger to caress her cheek. “You’ll kill me with worry, baka.”
She was clearly uncomfortable with Sho’s words. Not that his words were untrue. She really did not want him to see her in such a condition. Or with Jun. Selina cannot help but feel that Sho did not like Jun at all. And the speculation of Jun liking her...
Sho stood up distracting Selina from her thoughts. He leaned over and deposited a kiss on her hair. “Rest well. We’ll talk tomorrow ok?” She only nodded in response.
Jun took a worried glance at her. She gave him a reassuring smile and nodded her thanks once more. Before he could say goodbye, Sho took his arm and escorted him out of the room. Once her door was closed, Jun shook Sho’s hand away. Sho released him with a surprise look on his face.
“Good night, Sakurai-san,” Jun bowed politely.
“Actually Matsumoto-san, I would like to have a word with you.” Sho really did not give him time to answer as he lead the way.
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The cafeteria was already deserted at that time of the day. It was located on the 3rd floor of the hospital that overlooked some part of the city. It was a quiet time. A place where they can talk.
“You must be feeling better, Sakurai-san,” Jun started.
His back was towards him as Sho took in the sights of the darkened city. “Yes. Much better.” He paused before he continued. “Can I speak frankly to you, Matsumoto-san?”
Jun stiffened. He remembered the last time he had a talk with Sho. It was not good. He braced himself for the confrontation that was sure to follow.
Finally, Sho turned around to face him. Jun was surprised at Sho’s pleading face.
“I do love her, Matsumoto-san. This...” Sho gestured with his hands. “Her being in the hospital is not something I want.”
“It was caused by something that you did, Sakurai-san,” Jun said sternly.
He nodded once. “I admit to that. I won’t deny it.”
Jun took a step closer to him. “Then end it, Sakurai-san. Apologize to her. End her suffering.”
Sho sighed. “I wish I could.”
“What do you mean you wish you could?” Jun was getting confused.
“But I am afraid.” He chuckled softly. “With all the history behind us, I am afraid Matsumoto-san. Afraid that I’ve already lost my chance.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I love her. I just want to be given the chance to prove it to her,” Sho declared passionately. “For that, I need your help.”
Jun shook his head. What was happening here? “You should just talk to her about it. Selina might be unreasonable sometimes but she would listen. Specially that you are her best friend.”
Sho sighed. “Yes, I am that. But, Matsumoto-san,” he looked at him seriously. “Do you know how harder it is to make a friend see you as a lover? Much harder than from a stranger starting to court someone from scratch?” Sho walked around Jun. “There is the fear of rejection. The fear of breaking a good friendship. Or making things awkward. It is such a huge risk.” He looked down to his feet. “But that is what love is, is it not? A huge gamble. Win all, lose all.”
With that, Jun understood some of his pain. There might have been a time in the past where Jun was also in the same situation as Sho. “I agree on that, Sakurai-san but I still can’t figure how I can help you with this?”
Sho smiled and turned to him once more. “A chance is all we need. And time.” Jun waited for him to continue. “Would you give us that chance, Matsumoto-san?”
Jun frowned. “What exactly do you want from me, Sakurai?” He was getting impatient. He just wanted to know what this was leading to.
Sho smiled. “A month. That is all I need. Give me a month to be alone with her. That means you are not to make contact with her in any way or form.”
“What?” Jun snorted. “You think you can control her like that?”
“Control?” Sho raised an eyebrow. “This is not control. All I want from you is to leave us be. I am not going to tell Selina who she can or cannot see. But by that one month time is up, she’ll be doing it naturally.” Sho then looked contrite. “This is not even my happiness at all. It is hers. All for her. Selina is my only concern.” He looked at Jun straightforward. “Don’t you wish for her happiness as well?”
Jun clenched his fists. Yes. Her happiness. That’s what happened when you are in love. You place somebody else’s happiness and welfare above your own. “How do you know that you can make her happy?” Jun replied back.
Sho smiled. “That is only thing I am confident about.” He started to walk away. “Are you?”
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Heavy thoughts weighed on Jun’s mind. To leave her alone, wouldn’t be hard, would it? It was a big city after all. If Sho was with her, he probably would make sure she was not in places that they could meet. He wondered if the other guy would even let her know of this plan of his? Jun looked up to heaven. Why did things have to be so complicated?
“Oi! Jun! Jun!” someone shouted for his attention.
Toma was on the other side of the street waving his arms frantically. People gave him looks. Jun gave him a salute as he met up with the other guy.
They both decided to go to a food stall since Toma didn’t open his store that night.
“How come?” Jun asked.
Toma took a sip of his beer. “We fought.” Jun waited patiently for him to continue. “Malvika wanted to return home. Well visit her family at least.”
“Why don’t you let her?”
Toma shook his head. “It is not a matter of “letting” her go. She wanted me to meet her parents.”
“Ah,” Jun replied.
The other man rubbed his hands together. “Sometimes it is hard for me to understand where Malvika comes from, ya know? And I really don’t know if...” He somehow didn’t want to say the words.
“You’ve been with her for what? A couple of years?” Jun inquired. “At this point, I mean, she practically lives with you, man. She helps out in the store. Stuck out with you rather than going back home where everything is nice and easy.” He heard from Nishikido-san that Malvika’s family back in India was well off. Her parents probably did not approve of their daughter staying with a foreigner in a far away land that cannot care for their daughter without her having to work. Knowing Malvika, Jun knew this did not bother her. From what he saw, she was happy with how her life is with Toma. Toma, on the other hand was another matter. Jun had another question. “If by chance they come here and see you in your terms, do you think you can face them?”
Toma gave a snort. “You sure do ask the hard questions, don’t you Matsumoto?” He never did answer Jun that night.
Now that Jun knew what Toma has to go through, he wondered what his answer will be to his own question.
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“Ah!”
A female gasped in surprise as tea spilled all over the table. It was another day at Bishounen Cafe. Another normal day but not so normal for Jun. All day he had been making mistakes like spilled coffee or missed orders or wrong orders. He knew that Nishikido-san gave him odd looks. So did the other waiters.
He immediately pulled out a rag from his apron to contain the spillage. “Gomenasai.” The lady hurriedly removed the papers she had on the table so they would not be wet. “Let me get you a fresh pot of tea...ahhh....” Great. He just forgot his patrons’ name.
“Inoue. Matsumoto-san, are you ok? You seem off today,” the lady remarked. Inoue Mao-san started coming to the cafe a couple of weeks ago. Jun learned that she aimed to become an actress. The cafe had been her haven to practice and memorize her lines. Although she looked like a shy one, Mao-san was actually very outspoken. It reminded him of someone else.
“Hai. Sumimasen. Let me get you a fresh pot.” Jun gathered the tea pot, made sure the table was dry and fetched her another. When he was at the counter, Nishikido-san whispered something like talking after work. He nodded in assent. He returned quickly to her table to set the tea pot down. Before he could pour it, she already did it by herself. Jun bowed again in apology.
“Ii yo, Matsumoto-san. You looked like you really are troubled. Wanna share?” Mao asked. The soothing aroma of chamomile tea filled the air.
Jun took a deep breath of this. It only meant one thing. Inoue-san had another audition today. She always ordered this tea to calm her nerves. It helped with her concentration. “Another audition today, Inoue-san?”
She nodded as she sipped her tea. Warmth spread all over her body. Mao made sure the table was dry before putting the script back down. “I’m not supposed to tell anyone what I am auditioning for but the drama is based off a manga. Its called Hana Yori Dango,” Mao softly replied.
Jun wasn’t aware of the said manga. “I hope you get the part,” he wished her in luck.
Mao gave him a grateful smile. “I hope so too. I’ll give it my best.” Then she went back to her memorizing. He gave her a bow to give her some privacy.
That same night when most of the waiters have gone home and the store was closed did Nishikido-san come over and had the talk with Jun. He was still wiping the last table when Nishikido-san asked his first question.
“You’re not in love, are you, Jun?” he started.
Jun stopped in mid-swipe as he straightened to face his employer. “I know I have been making mistakes lately, Nishikido-san,” he admitted.
Ryo shook his head. “We all do. But you weren’t like this before her.”
Jun frowned. “What do you mean?”
The other man crossed his arms as he leaned at a pillar. “You are one of the top requested servers here at Bishounen Cafe. You work hard, always nice to our customers and I have no problems with you.”
“But it seems like you do, Nishikido-san,” Jun replied with as much humility as he could. He always hated beating around the bush.
Which his employer knew too well of Jun. “You know our rules. Its not there to only protect the store but to protect you as well. I can’t tell you what or what not do, Jun.” Ryo patted his shoulder as he passed him on his way out. “All you need to do is just decide.” After that, all Jun heard was the closing of the door.
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He really didn’t know why he agreed to go. The next day, Malvika, Chri and Pi showed up at the cafe and wanted to visit Selina. Toma was nowhere to be seen and Jun did not ask. Chri asked if Jun could come with them and for some reason, he did not resist. Maybe it would help him decide faster if he saw her one last time. That one last chance to make his resolution. He told them the address of the hospital and told them he would follow after his shift.
Selina was sitting on her bed when they arrived. She appeared rested. She was happy to see them.
“You really are a handful, aren’t you?” Chri teased.
“Same bird, right?” Sel answered her friend back. Chri snorted. “I bet Pi has his hands full of you,” Selina said as she winked at Pi.
Pi chuckled. “You’d probably win big with that, Sel.” Chri jammed her elbow at his ribs.
Selina turned to Malvika. “How are you girl? Are you doing ok?”
Malvika reached out to Sel and squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry about lil’ ole me. You should be more worried about you. You seem to be doing better.”
Selna nodded. “I’m too pampered here. If I stay here any longer, I’ll probably get fat.”
“In which we would still love you all the same.” Malvika replied back.
“Maybe,” Chri interjected.
Selina put out her tongue. “You turd!”
“I wonder what time he’s coming?” Malvika said aloud.
“Who’s coming?” Selina inquired.
Sho heard the laughter before he entered the room. It was good to hear her laugh. Things were still kind of awkward between them but he believed that all it took was time. Time to remember the old days. Time to bring back the past so they can both continue on to the future. Together.
“Matsumoto-san,” Chri replied. “We went ahead because he was still working but his shift should be over now. Shall I give him a call?”
Sho knocked on her door once. “No need. He should be here pretty soon.” Selina’s smile kind of froze. Sho nodded to everyone. “Thank you for coming to visit her,” he started.
Pi frowned. Like Jun, he noticed the strained atmosphere between the two. Ever since that showy proposal that this guy did inside the cafe, Pi never really like the guy. Just first impressions. “Iie. We are glad to see that you are doing well too,” Pi replied back.
Sho smiled at Pi. He didn’t know how much he knows but he sensed the somewhat reserved nature of Pi towards him. “Thank you for your concern. Its all thanks to Sel. She took real good care of me. Now if we can say the same for her, we’d all be good.” This earned him a few strained chuckles. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll see if our friend Matsumoto-san is in the hospital lobby.” Sho went out of the room.
Chri crossed her arms. “I don’t like him.”
“Chri!” Malvika warned.
Chri shrugged as she looked at Selina. “I’m sorry Sel but I just don’t.”
Selina just nodded. “I don’t expect everyone to like him. He...he has a hard life, different from mine and yet, similar. I hope in the future that we all both can find some common ground.” She rose from her sitting position. “Let me see if I can find a vase for these flowers.” Selina knew she shouldn’t have left her guests but she wanted, no needed, to talk to Jun without Sho being there.
It was good timing that Jun was on his way to see her. Sho patiently stood by the lobby. As soon as Jun appeared, he walked towards him.
Sho and Jun stood across each other. Each of them tense. Sho started with a smile.
“Is this your response, Matsumoto-san?” he inquired, polite and yet with a hint of sarcasm.
Jun gave him a polite smile back. “I don’t know. Does it appear that way? Maybe it is.”
“Jun?” She softly called out to him.
Jun had to step to the side for a bit to see her. Selina looked well. She had flowers in her hands. But her face was worried.
Thunder boomed.
“So you don’t trust that she would come back to you after a month with me? Is that why you couldn’t agree to this?” Sho had to ask.
Jun turned his attention back to the other man. “Its not her that I don’t trust,” was all he said before he reared his right fist and punched Sho on the face.
“JUN!” He turned around to flee from him.
From her.
From them.
From himself.
Rain started to pour as Selina chased after Jun in the parking lot. “Jun! Wait! Stop!” The rain drowned out her voice. But miraculously he did.
“Be happy,” he cried out without turning to face her.
Selina can barely hear him. She requested him to repeat it.
He wished he was man enough to face her. To talk her. This is the best he can do for now. To agree with such a request. Jun Matsumoto gave a chance to somebody else. With that, the rain swallowed him whole.
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This took awhile ne? Sorry for the long delay. Real life is real life. Hope you’d still continue to support this story. Do you agree with what Jun did? Let me know! Of course, don’t forget to comment!