A week has passed since his father's anniversary and what happened to them in Yamarin. His mother has been calling him about his foot every day, checking up on his status.
Just like he said, he and Sachi have been eating at the condominium's dining hall every morning. He noticed that Sachi seemed to have been avoiding him this past few days especially at night. As she would lock herself inside her room with her dog. The only time they ever saw each other was during breakfast, because he would force himself to knock on her door and ask her to go down the dining hall in the ground floor, but she doesn't seem very happy about it either.
This has only been going on for a week but it was starting to drive him crazy now. After what happened at the river bank between them, it's like Ryo has started seeing his wife in an entirely new light.
It's like he has begun seeing her in a different way and could not stop thinking about her, at home, or at work. Ever since that time, his thoughts have been filled with her. When he was at work he wanted to check on her at home, call or text her, and ask if she has eaten. He even started being nervous around her, too.
'Don't tell me, am I starting to get fond of her?' he asked himself as he was looking straight at his employee from the Finance Department who was delivering their weekly report to him during one of their corporate meetings.
And then he suddenly remembered his cousin, Aki, back in college, who suddenly barged into his apartment room drunk, began talking about a girl and declaring that he was half in love with the girl already.
'It can't be, am I already half in love with her?' he stood up in alarm from his seat after this realization. 'No, I can't be. That's not possible at all. I hate this girl, I hate her family and I'm in the middle of my revenge here,' he then told himself.
He can't believe that he was in an inner turmoil with his own self, and all because of a girl. This was a first, as his studies and now work has always come first. Love or relationship was never something that he prioritized or took seriously at all before.
'Wait, half in love, what does that even mean?' he asked himself again, even more confused now than before.
He let out a deep sigh and blurted, "I just probably need a drink."
"A drink, the director needs a drink," he heard his secretary announce momentarily halting the meeting as his subordinates prepared to give him a glass of water.
"Not that kind of drink," he grumbled. "Never mind and just continue."
It was a Friday night, and although he really felt like drinking, he decided to just do it at home, after all, he still had that whiskey that his uncle got him from Europe about a month in his office.
When he entered their loft, he immediately noticed that his wife was engrossed watching a film on their large TV set in the living room with her dog, Kuma-chi, on her lap and a bowl of popcorn in hand.
She did not bother greeting him like she used to before when he would find her at home in the living room, she would always greet her with a warm smile although he always ignored her.
'So she's more absorbed by what she's watching to even bother looking at her own husband,' Ryo snorted to himself. He set his case down, removed his jacket and was untying his tie and enter his room when he hesitated at the door.
Without thinking, he walked to the sofa where she was sitting down and sat beside her, his eyes glued on the TV screen.
Sachi was surprised by his actions that he looked at him with a frown.
"Saving Private Ryan," he said, after finding out what movie it was. He then let out a sigh but Sachi just ignored him and transferred her attention back to the movie.
'What's with him all of a sudden?' Sachi thought to herself but managed to ignore him. She was busy eating her popcorn when she felt another hand reach down the bowl.
She raised an eyebrow and shot Ryo a glare, but he did not bother to look at her reaction, his eyes were fixed on the TV screen. Sachi set down the popcorn bowl between them and scooted a bit to the side to make more room between them.
And, just like that, they sat awkwardly and silently next to each other until the movie ended.
Sachi got up when the movie credits were rolling and got the DVD out. Ryo was still there, sitting silently and unmoving. She went back to the sofa and was about to pick the bowl of popcorn when he finally broke the silence.
"You like those kinds of movies?" Ryo asked her, out of the blue.
Sachi was thinking about a smart-ass answer to reply to him but decided against it in the end and just nodded her head in reply.
Ryo then nodded his head as if he was coming to a realization. Sachi was about to get the bowl again when he spoke for the second time.
"Do you like all action movies or just war movies in general?"
Sachi let out a sigh.
"Strangely, I like watching action movies for as long as the story is good or if it's interesting enough, but, I am particularly fond of war movies," she answered.
"Do you have anything to do tomorrow?" he suddenly asked. Before she could even answer, he remembered that it was Saturday, and she spends them with her family.
"Oh, you'll be at your parents," he said and she nodded. "It's been a long time since I visited them, do you think they would mind if I come along?" he asked her earnestly.
"I don't think so but, don't you have work to do tomorrow?" she shot him a question.
"I could do them on Sunday," he answered.
"Suit yourself," Sachi said, picked the bowl of popcorn and left for the kitchen.
'This much should be fine, right?' Ryo asked himself.
"I'm driving," Sachi said as she and Kuma-chi made her way to her bedroom.
"Okay," Ryo managed to say after her before going inside to his own bedroom. He did not need that whiskey after all.
***