Dearest 03
Guitar
ryo
“Ryo!”
A girl with a Country Road bag calls to me, struggling to keep up. Her brown hair is cut short to her shoulders, with the ends immensely layered, as though the hairdresser did nothing more than sharpen her garden shears on the girl’s locks.
I stop, my mind filled with tonight’s research, a phone call from Tatsuya and my guitar.
“Ryo - thanks for waiting.”
Each word is delivered in a series of short gasps - Yumi Hirodo’s health wasn’t the best, and her smoking habit did nothing to help it. She was, however, a brilliant bass guitarist, and our band would be lost without her,
“Is there something on your mind?” Yumi questioned as we walked towards our practise room -the university’s unused basement. “You seem out of it lately.”
I shrug, and she giggles before pulling out a carton of cigarettes and lighting one. I watch with dull interest as she plays with the exhaled smoke, twisting the grey around her fingers.
Our drummer, and band leader, was waiting for us. Actually, he was waiting more for Yumi. Jae Hoon (a transfer student from Seoul) and Yumi had been going out even before we had formed the band, their love for music fuelling their relationship.
“Ryo,” he greeted, giving Yumi a peck on the cheek. “How’s it going?”
The rhythmic guitarist, Kay Tee (yes, she was really born with that name) walked in just as I answered.
“It’s been good.”
“Hey Ryo.”
Kay Tee was beautiful. Her mother was from Japan, whilst her father was from Norway, and Kay Tee had taken the best from the two. When I had first met her, she had sent my heart - and hair - alight. The party we met at got out of hand and she had mistaken my head for barbeque starters. Obviously, she apologised for a month after, and after two, I had agreed into teaching her the guitar. We dated for about four months, then realised whilst our friendship was unbreakable, our ‘love’ was not. I still love her, but as one would with a younger sibling.
The last to arrive was our vocalist. Not only was she was one with the highest academic result, but also the highest voice range. Kumiko reminded me of Louis Lane at times - always wanting to help, but gets protected instead.
“What are we going to play this time?” Kumiko asks, adjusting the microphone stand.
As she, Yumi and Jae Hoon converse, I amuse Kay Tee by plucking out the Super Mario game theme song.
“How are you and him?" She asks suddenly, careful not to let any of the other members hear.
“… I still make coffee for him every time he comes in,” I reply, and Kay Tee laughs.
“You really do love him,” the girl muses, and I smile.
“He makes me grateful for who I am, and that -,” I strum out a chord and realise that my A is flat. “ is something that I can never thank him enough.”
Kay Tee’s eyes curve upwards in shared delight.
“He seems like a wonderful person.”
I lie back onto my guitar case, closing my eyes.
“He is, and I love him.”
“Tell me about your guitar,” Tatsuya had asked once. Him and I were lying, chest down, on my bed, the covers strewn across our bodies chaotically.
Tatsuya’s skin was soft, but his lips were softer.
“My guitar…” I had begun, turning over to stare at the ceiling.
“My guitar is my wife.”
Tatsuya laughed and I blushed, turning away from him.
“She’s… indestructible” I continued. “Whenever I’m down, she’s there to cheer me up. Whenever I’m happy, she’s there to share the joy.”
“Who are you describing?” Tatsuya asks in soft tones, and I roll over again to kiss the tip of his nose.
“Hush, you,” I reprimanded.
“Play for me,” my lover requested, and I comply with a slow version of the song Ai ni nante.
The next morning, Tatsuya went to a department store and bought the single.
Note: All names apart from Ryo and Tatsuya's are fiction. Photos have been taken without the owner's permission for use only as a character photo - if you own one of these photos found off an ulzzang site and wish to have it removed as a character photo, please tell me and I will remove it right away.
Yumi
Jae Hoon
Kay Tee
Kumiko
