Aunt Kasumi was waiting for the couple in a tea house inside the airport. The decoration of the tea house had mainly used traditional elements, appearing simple and rustic. Once they went inside, they quickly spotted the older lady who was sitting at a corner.
"Aunt Kasumi," Ren greeted his aunt while Tsubaki doing the same.
"You two are here already," Aunt Kasumi was clearly pleased with their appearance. "Come! Have a seat here!"
Ren and Tsubaki sat on the cushions provided on the tatami mats. Ren crossed his legs while Tsubaki sat while bringing both of her legs to her left side. Aunt Kasumi gracefully poured them tea and pushed a plate of dessert to their side.
"Your health is already good, Tsubaki?" Aunt Kasumi placed a cup of tea in front of Tsubaki. Tsubaki accepted it gratefully.
"I'm already okay, Aunt Kasumi," replied Tsubaki with a smile. "Thank you for asking."
Aunt Kasumi smiled slightly. She turned around to one side, looking for something inside her bag. Both Ren and Tsubaki only stared when she brought out a file from the bag. Aunt Kasumi handed it to Ren.
"This is..." Ren scanned its contents before he raised his eyes to look at his aunt. "Your portfolio?"
Aunt Kasumi replied with a nod. She took a bite of her cake, letting Ren gave Tsubaki a look of the file. Ren pushed aside the teacups between him and his wife, placing the file down on the table. The intrigued Tsubaki quickly looked at the contents. Her lips parted slightly. She looked at Aunt Kasumi and Ren respectively.
"Aunt, is this about our wedding plans?" Ren smiled in amusement, he didn't expect that the sudden call from his aunt was related to him and Tsubaki's wedding preparations.
"I shouldn't go back to the UK without asking about your wedding," Aunt Kasumi giggled. She was truly happy on behalf of her late cousin's son. "This is my portfolio for this year. So, have you already picked the date? Have any rough ideas concerning the wedding?"
A fond smile curled up on Ren's lips. He turned to look at his wife who was still looking carefully at the file. Tsubaki's eyes gleamed as she looked at all the beautiful pictures of weddings inside the file. The excitement was so obvious on her face.
"I'm thinking of an autumn wedding," said Rain after pondering for a little. He glanced at Tsubaki who heard him, "An outdoor wedding under the fallen maple leaves. What do you say?"
"Yes! Yes!" Tsubaki answered in giddy. Her smile was so wide as she excitedly held onto his arm. "It's going to be a beautiful one!"
Ren chuckled, he found her reaction so cute. He gently patted her head before he returned his attention to Aunt Kasumi who was looking at them with a smile.
"An outdoor wedding during autumn is nice," Aunt Kasumi gave her opinion, supporting his suggestion. "The weather would be quite chilly but it'd be a good thing as the guests would mingle with each other. I could already picture your wedding. So, do you want to make the wedding a private one? We have a reception to be thought of too."
"The wedding?"
Tsubaki pursed her lips as she was thinking about the pros and cons of a private wedding. She actually preferred it to be a private one but she still needed to consider Fuse Family's status. Grandma might want to invite all of her friends and acquaintances. Moreover, this was her beloved grandson's wedding.
"We could make the wedding a private one," said Ren as he had already guessed what was on her mind. "You don't have to fret about it."
"But..." Tsubaki looked worriedly at her husband. "Would Grandma agree? You're his only grandson. I don't think Grandma would want you to have a private wedding with a small number of guests."
As Ren was her only grandson from his only child, Tsubaki thought Grandma would want the best for the wedding.
Ren laughed quietly. It was really Tsubaki's habit to worry about others. He hummed as he watched her worried face. In the end, he laughed again. "This is our wedding. It should be about us. Others' opinions don't matter."
Aunt Kasumi whistled once she heard Ren's dangerous statement. As she put her chin on her palm, she leaned forward on the table. "If your grandmother heard that, I'm sure she would scold you for being an ungrateful brat."
Ren smirked, he raised his brows provocatively. "Grandma won't know if you didn't report it to her."
Aunt Kasumi chuckled, she shook her head helplessly. "Okay. Since I actually agree with your opinion, I won't say anything to her."
"It's really okay?"
Although Tsubaki was a bit hesitant, she was still hoping for a quiet wedding. As her husband said, it was their day. By having countless guests whom she didn't know of, she was sure she would be pressured by their presence on that day.
"How about this? You two hold a private wedding but make the reception a big one for Grandma's sake?" Aunt Kasumi suggested. When she saw the couple was listening to her attentively, she began to explain, "A wedding reception is an opportunity for the guests to mix with each other even though it's supposed to celebrate the newlyweds, more like a social event. They'd still meet with the wedded couple but most of their time would be spent among another. Especially for the people in high society, this type of event would mostly be used to create networks between them."
As an experienced wedding planner, Aunt Kasumi had a lot of advice to be given to Ren and Tsubaki. Tsubaki looked at her husband once Aunt Kasumi had done speaking. He was smiling fondly at her.
"What do you say?" Ren asked for her opinions as he explained, "If you're afraid of disappointing Grandma with our private wedding, we could compensate her with a big reception. Nowadays, there are quite a lot of families holding weddings in a small scale, exclusive only for the family members and close acquaintances. The elite families aren't excluded."
Tsubaki took quite a while before she could finally decide. Ren waited patiently. He calmly sipped the warm tea, eyes fixed on her. Tsubaki was looking at the pictures in the file again. Slowly, she raised her head, looking at her husband.
"Let's do that," Tsubaki agreed with his opinion. "It should be okay, right?"
Ren nodded. He placed his teacup on the table. "It'd be okay."
Aunt Kasumi's eyes teared up as she watched the couple sitting opposite her. In almost 50 years of her life, she had never seen Ren treated someone as warmly as he did to Tsubaki. Even though he was close to her, she was still his family. Tsubaki was a stranger before he filled the void in his heart with her love.
Slowly, her lips curled up into a smile. No matter who he chose, she knew he made it by following his heart.
Ren and Tsubaki sent Aunt Kasumi to the departure hall. She would take a rest at the private lounge inside the hall before her flight departed. Aunt Kasumi suddenly pulled Tsubaki towards her. Ren watched the two of them in confusion as Aunt Kasumi dragged his wife with her until there was quite a distance between them.
"What's wrong, Aunt Kasumi?"
Aunt Kasumi smiled. She held both of Tsubaki's hands. As her eyes on the young lady's, she spoke, "I want to thank you for being with him. I know he isn't an easy person to deal with but I'm so happy because he finally found the one he loves."
Tsubaki was stunned, she didn't expect for Aunt Kasumi to suddenly saying things like that. She smiled warmly.
"You really love him, right?" Tsubaki asked in a gentle voice. "I'm glad when I know he has someone like you and Takuma during his childhood. Grandma has told me how he would always be indifferent to someone else. I think... he must be quite lonely in his childhood."
Aunt Kasumi sighed. "Yes. He refused to open his heart to anyone, especially after his parents' deaths. I could only count with my fingers the people he warmed up with. So, I really want to thank you for loving him."
Tsubaki nodded. Her eyes gleamed with tears as suddenly she felt sorrow from hearing the older lady's words. "Thank you for entrusting him with me."
Aunt Kasumi smiled as a response. She pulled Tsubaki into a hug. One of her hands gently patted Tsubaki's back. "Whatever happens, you two would always have my support. Don't bother with what others say. This is your life. Hold on to it."
Tsubaki nodded quietly. Her fingers trembled slightly on Aunt Kasumi's back.
The couple waved the older lady goodbye as she stepped inside the departure hall. After Aunt Kasumi disappeared from their sight, both of them turned to leave. As they walked, Ren looked at her wife's teary face.
"You've just met her and you're already this attached to Aunt Kasumi?" A hint of wonder mixed with jealousy could be heard in his voice.
Tsubaki giggled. She rubbed the corners of her eyes. Looking up to him, she asked, "Do you have works waiting at the company?"
Ren smiled. "What if I said I don't?"
"Then, could we go on a date?"