"It's me, Aki," came a voice that suddenly became familiar.
Haruki leaned forward as memories of when he was in high school having only one person who cared for him in school, a friend who was his best friend and more like a brother to him than his cousins.
His voice had gotten a lot deeper and he sounded even more mature than he did when they were in high school which was a lot more mature than Haruki was then.
Haruki paused for a second surprised as he had long forgotten the connection his only friend had with the man he wanted in his bed for fun. He could remember how they parted and how neither of them wanted to deep down but they both considered it the right thing to do.
"Oh . . .," he muttered unsure of what to say. He did not want to be awkward but it had been a long while since they spoke last.
"Are you busy?" Hiroaki asked as though he had never left and they were always close friends.
"No, I am not busy," Haruki found himself responding although he still had a few things to do but they were not important enough for him to miss meeting his only true friend despite being apart for years and separating the way they did.
"That's good then. My brother is free too, we could all hang out today . . . well, if you don't mind but I don't think you do," Aki gave him a very jovial invitation that was so like the Hiroaki he was familiar with.
"Okay," Haruki agreed.
He went into the room in his office and changed his outfit before informing his assistant. He did not take any obvious guard but he was sure they were some of his men with him, they could never leave him alone.
When he was led to the private room in the bar, he paused to take a deep breath before walking into the room when the door was pushed open for him. He wished he had taken a day to think things through as he was not sure he wanted to meet Aki without preparation.
"Wow!" he heard the voice he heard on the phone call out to him.
Focusing now, he noticed the room had a few others he did not know and Aki was running over to him with a big smile. He looked different from his brother, Hiroshi was his half-brother.
He was almost taller than Haruki, looking like a fitness model. He had not cared about Aki's life and he did not know what happened to him after their last phone call but he could see that the young man did not suffer at all he looked even more jovial than he did when they were younger.
"It has been a while, right?" Aki asked giving Haruki a half hug before pulling him towards the seat.
The room went quiet and after he got seated, he noticed the brother. Aki just happened to place them together and when the doctor placed his glass of drink down and turned to look at him, he froze only for a couple of seconds but his heart raced even after he looked away.
Aki went on to jovially introduce him to the others in the room who happened to be friends Haruki was not interested in as his heart had not stopped racing from the scent of the man beside him even in a room with others.
Haruki was not focused but when he heard Aki mention his girlfriend, he raised his head and having something to focus on, he saw the petite blonde by Aki's side and he felt a relieved.
He even found himself wondering why he was worried for no reason as it has been so long and there was almost no way Aki would have remained stuck in his childhood friendship.
He smiled at the lady although his cold countenance had clearly reduced the liveliness of the gathering. His smile went a long way to break the ice and everyone was smiling and talking jovially once again. Some of them did not seem to know who Haruki was as they were mostly foreigners or had lived most of their lives abroad. Although it was hard to see that Haruki was powerful and rich thanks to his countenance and outfit.
The more he smiled, they felt it was okay to try to make friends with him but as someone who took boundaries in relationships very seriously, Haruki tried to be polite for Aki's sake but he let them know he was not interested in knowing them any further.
They all continued drinking and having fun while Haruki watched and sipped from the glass of drink he was served by Aki. It had high alcohol content and it was expensive but as someone who was used to drink stuff like this, Haruki reached for the fourth glass, Hiroshi who seemed to be unable to keep watching, stopped him and drank the drink, emptying the glass.
"You two seem to get along a lot," Aki voiced his observation with a hand over his girlfriend's shoulder.
"No, we don't, he is my doctor," Haruki replied casually.
"Ahhh . . . that is right. I guess the years I spent abroad made me forget who you are, great Haruki," Aki laughed releasing his girlfriend, his hand finding their way to Haruki's shoulder.
It seems only Aki could have the guts to touch him the way he did. "Are you back for good or do you plan to go back?" Haruki asked seriously leaving the hand resting on his shoulder that seemed to take his mind to the past, his past.
"No, I have to go back to get married to my cute princess. I came for my engagement party, we agreed to hold the engagement party here while we will get married in her hometown."
Haruki listened seriously and nodded. "I guess I have to get my gifts ready then."
"No need, why do you seem so eager to marry me off?" Hiroaki laughed.