Eternal Melody

He knows she is using him.

He knew from the very beginning.

After all, she said that during the first day.

Then, what would you do for me?

The answer to that question was the trigger for her to keep seeing him.

Sano’s gaze fell on Sumire’s back. She woke up earlier than him and was cooking. It was the absence of her warmth and the pleasant smell that woke him up.

“I’m still cooking.”

She won’t push him away.

This woman doesn’t like him. She might even be scared of him, and sometimes he sees her shoulders tremble. 

Yet she always looks at him with those sharp eyes of hers.

“Hey…how can I finish cooking if you do this?”

“Sumire, will you stay tonight?”

The girl sighed deeply. “I already stayed last night. I don’t want to make Yuhi worry too much.”

What a cruel woman mentioning her boyfriend now; then again, this is the current her. But this way, she will stay by his side, right?

Their breakup took a huge toll on him. Sano didn’t realize how attached he was to her. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“I don’t want you to leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” She switched the stove off. “San, are you worried about something?”

“…again, don’t leave me alone.”

Sumire didn’t reply immediately, but she suddenly mumbled. “But you are the one who left me.”

That is right, and he was the one who let her go. But only because he had no option. At that time, he had no choice but to let her go because of his family. One day he wants to talk to her about that, but that day is not today.

Sano pulled away from her. “What are you making? I haven’t had your cooking in awhile.”

At that comment, her eyes brightened like a child. “I’m making omelets; you like those, right?”

Her bright child-like eyes aside, her flushed cheeks made his heartbeat.

“Ye–yeah.” Sano stammered. What is with that expression of hers? Since when could Sumire look like that? 

…

A few hours later – Nagawa Corporation –

It was difficult for him to concentrate after he saw that expression on her face. Sano knew he messed up the work today, so he quickly excused himself when he got the chance. What on earth is wrong with him? No, what on earth is with that girl? 

Why did she smile so brightly like that? It seems like he is slowly starting to understand her less. So much for getting to know her more, he does not know what is on her mind.

She is using him like a puppet, and he is allowing her to do that. It would be fine if he did not know, but he knew everything. It didn’t take him long to realize why she kept meeting with him and going to his house. At first, he thought it was due to her loneliness, but he was not the one she went to when she was lonely; it was Hino. 

Hino huh? Sano sighed when he thought of his friend. He thought something was off from the very beginning, but does that guy like Sumire? If Hino also liked Sumire, this would be a huge problem. But no, with that guy’s personality, he won’t do anything.

Sanos thoughts broke off when he spotted somebody familiar.

Isn’t that? Sano quickly rushed enough to identify the person; sure enough, it was Sumire.

She was leaning against the door to his office.

“I thought we could eat lunch together.”

‘Lunch, huh?’ Sano didn’t even realize it was time for that. He slowly nodded and pulled the girl into his office. The moment he closed the door behind them, he was all over her.

He has her backed against the wall as he leaned forward and kissed her. It was a brief kiss since she kept fidgeting, but he liked it regardless. Her lips are so soft and beautiful. He wants to explore a bit more.

“San, can you do a favor for me?”

“A favor?”

“Mmmm, just a little someth–” Sumire stopped him from lifting her shirt. “I think we should set some rules.”

“You don’t want to?”

“I won’t cheat on Yuhi.”

Hah, of course. Even if she is an evil and cruel woman, she won’t go too far. She lets him kiss her, though. So why are kisses okay? Then again, even with kissing, she trembles, doesn’t she? It rubbed him the wrong way. If she is going to mess with him like this, then why is she still afraid of him?

He does not understand her at all.

“Will you?”

“If you let me keep kissing you.”

After he said those words, he watched as her expression darkened. There it is, a brief look of disgust. Sano pulled away from her.

“Oh, done already?”

Sano took out his lighter and cigarettes from his drawer. “Why did you chose me?”

“Maybe because I wanted revenge.” Sumire trailed off. “Or maybe because you just happened to show up. Either way, isn’t this a convenient arrangement for both of us?”

Indeed it is convenient. After all, the current him cannot live without her. Initially, when he heard of Tsueno Mamorus passing, he only wanted to see her reaction. But there was not a single report of her after the accident, almost like she stopped appearing in public. 

He asked his men to investigate, and yet it was hard to get any information. So he had no choice but to ask those people, they quickly found out that she was going. She was the reason why he even bothered coming to Tokyo. Initially, he intend to take her back by force, but when he saw how badly affected she was, he changed his mind.

His thoughts broke off when he heard her approach. Sumire sits down on his desk and plays with the photo frame. “I didn’t know you kept this picture.”

“Why would I throw it away?”

“Did your other girlfriends after me see this?”

“They did.”

“Hmmm…”

‘Annoying, it’s annoying. I can’t tell what she is thinking.’ But none of that should matter since she is here.

Sano walked back over to her and traced her lips with his fingers. “Your beautiful.”

“Beautiful, huh?”

“You don’t like it?” Sano sensed her odd tone.

“Well, it’s more like I can’t see myself that way.”

“How come? I used to say this to you every day.”

He often told her how pretty she was whenever they did intimate things.

“Well, even back then, it was weird. Besides San, you said that to every girl.”

‘Shoot, right he did, didn’t he?’ “I won’t do that now.”

Sumire laughed softly. “I already know you won’t.”

She already knows, huh?

“Did you come here just for lunch?”

“No, I have work in this building, so I thought I would drop by here since it was along the way.”

“And the lunchbox?”

“It was for Yuhi, but he couldn’t make it.”

She is so blunt about this whole situation. It irritates him, but he doesn’t want to not see her again. It was painful not seeing her for so long. After she gave birth, he seldom saw her around. He does not want that to happen again.