Somewhere in my heart, I can't throw away hope and end up thinking that someday... Maybe, someday... ― Anata Wo Suki Ni Natte (Falling For You), Fujita Maiko
xxxxxx
[Setsuji]
5:30 PM, later that day...
It was the time that I saw on my wristwatch. I just arrived at home ― or rather, I just arrived at the flower farm owned by Aunt Mari, my paternal aunt.
I decided to head there right after Fukuizumi and I ate those ice creams. I smiled when I remembered that. I could say we had fun, even though her patience nearly reached the edge because I was teasing her again.
But calling her beautiful when she was angry or when she was blushing wasn't considered teasing, right? And besides, it was the truth. But I would only admit that to myself. Or maybe she wasn't just used to hearing those words, huh? Heck! Maybe she doesn't even believe those words.
The smile on my face faded when I remembered something else. Because of that, I was like a wilted vegetable with the way I sat on the sofa and I even heaved a deep sigh. After that, I took the very thing that reminded me of something from my pocket.
This was absurd!
How could one cellphone become the holder of all the weird and "nasty" memories that both Fukuizumi and I had?
Okay... That item held a different memory when it was about Fukuizumi. Those memories had something to do with the guy who broke her heart months ago. A broken heart that I never even knew she had. It wasn't even obvious. She was such a headstrong girl even at first glance.
As for me, that cellphone had only made me recall the way how the conversation between Mayu and I turned out the day I confronted her. It was the day I found out the possible reason why I could see nothing but sadness and pain in Fukuizumi's chocolate brown eyes.
"Well, if you ask me, I don't like the look on your face, Setsu-nii."
The frown on my face creased even more as soon as I heard those words from a certain girl. That was my paternal cousin Misako who was even younger than my brother Shuji and Aunt Mari's only child.
"Do you have to point out my face again? I was just being quiet here."
"Well, that's exactly my point. You're just being quiet and you let those frowns go along with it. You looked like someone who lost a million dollars."
Yeah, right. As if I had that kind of money. Even if I would be able to get my inheritance from my parents, it won't even reach half of a million. Maybe even lesser than a quarter million.
I just noticed that Misako was also looking at the very thing I was holding at.
"Isn't that the phone of the girl whom you gave that love-in-a-mist before?"
I just answered with a nod because it was the truth. The only people who knew about that were Seiho and Misako since they were the ones who helped me at the time. I didn't remove my gaze from the cellphone that I was holding.
"You don't have any plans of returning that to her, huh?"
I just sighed. "How am I suppose to return something that she already threw away?"
"You seriously took that from the trash? Since when did you become a trash collector?"
I looked at Misako incredulously as soon as I heard that. Seriously speaking, I could smack this girl. If she wasn't younger than me...
"Can't you just say that curiosity got the best of me when I took this out of the trash?"
"Yeah, right. Enough with your reasons. You acted like a trash collector and you can't deny that."
This girl was seriously insisting, you know that? She was even more insisting than Seiho, honestly speaking.
"You know what? Maybe you should just head to the farm and stop pestering me," I said as my way of making Misako go away before I lose my patience when it comes to this cousin of mine.
"Why can't you just tell me that you only needed some time to think things through together with the cellphone that belonged to the person you're talking to?" And my irritating cousin just sighed after that. She even shook her head. But before she left the room, she faced me once again with a grin. "In all fairness, Setsu-nii, she's beautiful. And I had this feeling that her beauty even surpassed your criteria. To be honest, I like her for you. Just tell me if you ever have any plans to pursue her. I won't hesitate to help you."
After that, Misako finally left the room. Finally, she had given me peaceful and quiet surroundings.
But I had to admit, I smiled when I heard what she said. Even though she was insistent, she was one of my supporters when it comes to the things that I wanted to do. And yes, I even admitted the fact that I was the one behind the love-in-a-mist phenomenon at that time. I asked for help from the Engineering club.
Oh, and do I need to say that the gloxinia flower came from me that became the catalyst for Fukuizumi's path and mine to cross for the first time? But I had to say that its falling was purely accidental. It was those delinquents' fault who was waiting for me at the time. I was supposed to give it to the first pretty lady that I would meet that day and it had to be the one who would fully catch my attention. And if luck allowed it, it would have been better if it was a transfer student.
But I didn't even expect to land on both ― the first pretty girl I would meet and would catch my attention who also happened to be a transfer student.
Until that moment, I could only laugh at myself whenever I would remember that day. Who would've thought that Fukuizumi and I would reach this point after that unexpected crossing of paths?
I looked at the cellphone once again after reminiscing. When I did that, my mind immediately recalled what Mayu and I had talked about three days ago...