Garden of words

"Shishio-kun?"

Yukinoshita was in a daze since she had never expected to see him in this place.

Shishio was happy, but then he frowned when he noticed tears in her eyes. "Senpai, are you crying?"

"Crying?" She was stunned before she covered her lips and tried to hide her yawn. "I am just a bit sleepy." She also tried to wipe her tears and asked, "Anyway, why are you here?"

"............"

He was in silence for a while, but his silence seemed to put pressure on her, making her uncomfortable with his gaze. He let out a long sigh before he sat next to her, and he stared at her with a gentle smile. "Because I know a certain someone is missing me." He wasn't sure why she seemed uncomfortable by his appearance, and he also could clearly tell that she tried to avoid answering his question by changing the conversation forcefully.

He could fully press her, asking her what was happening, but watching her pained expression. He decided to hold back. As of now, he could see how bad her complexion was. This complexion might not be apparent since she hid it with her makeup, but it was impossible for her to hide this change from him.

Her complexion was haggard, her beautiful black hair lacked a luster, and her skin was so pale as if blood was drained from it.

When he saw this, it hurt him and made him wonder what he had been doing.

Why didn't he see her?

If he saw her, would this happen?

A regret flooded his heart, so he didn't press her and tried to make her smile by teasing her.

Still, she looked at him blankly like she usually did before she let out a long sigh. However, it made her realize how amazing his presence was for her. When he was with her, she felt all the fright she felt was swept away, and she felt peaceful that she wanted to depend on and entrust her life to him. This feeling made her addicted, yet she knew she couldn't depend on him again.

She looked at him for a while and couldn't help but be in a daze since it had been a while since they had met each other. She wasn't sure how many times she prayed and called his name during her day and night when they parted away, so when he appeared beside her, so close, she almost couldn't control her emotion.

The dam she had built for so long was broken, and all her feelings flooded in.

Yet she endured this feeling.

She looked away, trying to calm her feeling as if the water was on a man-made lake. However, she didn't dare to look at him since she was afraid the willful part of herself might resurface, hoping they could be together for so long.

"So, what are you doing here?" Yukinoshita asked plainly without looking at him.

"You're ignoring me?" He let out a helpless sigh and said, "My parents told me to visit this party. You can see them there if you want."

"Then, why are you here?"

'Parents, huh?'

She remembered his mother, but she hadn't seen his father, which made her curious, yet she also felt complex when she thought about her situation.

"I am tired. I want to get fresh air."

"As the eldest son, you should get used to this kind of situation." She let out a helpless sigh and said, "Come on. Let's go back." She didn't want him to see her in this situation. However, what could she do? If possible, she wanted to tell him that she had a fiance and would have her engagement soon.

Yet what would happen if she told him that?

Did she expect something from him?

This was her problem, and she shouldn't involve him.

'Yes, this is my problem. I shouldn't involve him.'

Like before, she handled everything on her own. She didn't need anyone's help and could do it by herself.

Yet when she was about to stand up, the sky flashed pure white, and there was a clap of thunder.

The air trembled like the diaphragm on the speaker.

*Rumble!*

She was startled and subconsciously moved toward him like she usually did. She hugged him tightly, feeling slightly scared.

"It's alright. Everything is alright."

Her hair was gently caressed, and the fear in her heart was swept away. All she knew was that everything would be alright as long as she was with him, yet she knew she didn't have a right to depend on him anymore.

"...thank you."

She quickly moved away and tried to make her voice cold, yet it was impossible to hide the tremble in her voice.

"No problem."

He frowned slightly, but he didn't voice the question in his heart. Only sighed inwardly, wondering whether his existence was unreliable in her heart.

Suddenly, another lightning struck, and it was close. The two looked at each other, then up to the sky. The blanket had billowed up into cumulonimbus clouds like gray clay, and streaks of light flicked deep within like blood vessels. A low rumble slowly rolled around above the clouds like a drum. A cold wind suddenly whipped the surface of the water into waves, and several large drops fell, splashing loudly into the man-made lake.

By the time they realized the downpour had already turned their surroundings misty white.

"It's raining."

It was lucky that they were sitting on the arbor, so they weren't drenched.

"...yes."

Her voice was almost audible under the heavy rain.

He looked at Yukinoshita for a moment and saw how gorgeous she was. Her body might be slender, yet it couldn't hide the charm of her body. She was dressed in a gorgeous dark purple dress and tied her hair in a ponytail that she draped over her shoulder. The dress showed her shoulders and beautiful nape, yet he could see it tremble because of the cold.

While the night in the summer was quite hot, the rain made the temperature cold.

He took his blazer and draped it over her shoulders.

She was slightly stunned but watching how natural he was, she showed a light smile and said, "Thanks."

"It's okay."

"You don't feel cold?" She was quite worried since the temperature was quite cold.

"I can bear it, but if I can't, can you hug me again?" Shishio looked at Yukinoshita while trying to remind her about that night at the summer camp.

However, she fell into silence and lowered her head. She clung to her blazer tightly, and her lips trembled, seemingly hesitating.

"Senpai?"

"Shishio-kun."

"Yes?"

She looked at him with a smile, yet even if he was blind, he could tell how forced this smile was. It was so unnatural, yet before he said something, the words that came out of her mouth stunned him in place as if he was struck by the thunder.

"You can't tease me again, you know? I have a fiance now."

"...fiance?"

He wasn't sure how his expression was, but it was fortunate to know that she had never tried to look at him, looking away as if she was afraid for him to see her expression.

"Yes."

He tried to calm himself, asking her with composure. Unfortunately, he couldn't.

"So don't ask for a hug again, alright?"

Yukinoshita also lost her composure, and she just didn't know what she was talking about with him. The only thing she hoped was that he would leave and forget her since she just couldn't control her emotions.

His lips trembled, but he asked, "Did your parents ask you to marry?" He didn't feel angry at Yukinoshita, but he felt angry at himself for not having to meet her.

She opened her lips before she closed her lips. "No, I asked them to marry me to this person."

"...why?"

He didn't look away this time and looked at her, wondering why she kept pretending and lying.

"Why..." She was at a loss before she shook her head and said, "There is no why. I just want to get married. That's all." She just wanted him to give up and not be involved in her life anymore since she felt that was the best for the two of them.

"Can you say that again while looking into my eyes?"

She struggled, biting her lower lip, before she made up her mind and looked at him. Unfortunately, it was impossible for her to hide her emotions. Her tears were impossible to stop, and they kept falling, drenching her face wet.

"Why did you lie to me?"

"I am not lying." She was still stubborn.

He took a deep breath and asked, "If it's marriage, can you marry me? The status of my family shouldn't be worse than your fiance, right?"

"Why do you want to do this...?" Suddenly, something was broken in her heart. She stared at him with tears and asked, "Did you pity me? I don't need it! I can handle everything on my own!"

"Then, why did you lie? Why did you lie that you want to marry?" He was also annoyed by Yukinoshita, who always tried to be stubborn when she needed someone the most. Even though he knew it might be because of how she was, it annoyed him to think how stubborn this girl was. "Do you want me to just ignore you and just continue living without you?"

"Yes!" She shouted. "Just live happily with your women! Forget me! I can live on my own! Just ignore me!"

"But I can't." He held her hand and didn't let her go. "I can't just leave you alone."

"Why? There are many beautiful women around you, right? They're not worse than me, and compared to me, who is troublesome, they're more obedient and love you, right? Why can't you just ignore me?"

Her eyes were still stubborn, without looking away from her. Even if she was frail, weak, and in her worst state, she waited for his answer.

"What else can that be?"

"What?"

He wasn't sure why he felt this girl was teasing him, but he was slightly embarrassed and couldn't say his feeling honestly.

"Aren't you smart? You should have realized it!"

"If you don't say anything, how can I understand it!" Yukinoshita was also embarrassed, but she shouted at him.

"Guess it, dummy!"

"I don't know! I don't know! Give me a clear answer!"

The two fought each other for a while before they let out a helpless sigh. Suddenly, the tense atmosphere between them disappeared, and all that was left was a strange atmosphere that made them shy.

"If I don't love you, why do you think I can't let you go?" He said helplessly and felt that his face was reddened. "Are you satisfied?"

"Oh..." While she was blushing from cheeks to ears, she still stubbornly looked at him, but it was so hard since she was so shy.

He stared at her for a moment and said, "If you reject me, push me away."

She saw him getting closer and was about to take her lips. She was about to close her eyes, and the responsibility she needed to take as someone from Yukinoshita's family suddenly resurfaced. This responsibility pressed her slender shoulders like a boulder. She was helplessly crushed by it, but at that moment, she threw that boulder away and ran toward him, hugging him tightly and accepting his kiss as tears dripped from her eyes.