Chereads / LIFE : HOW’S JOURNEY? / Chapter 10 - BYE FRIENDS & HELLO BUDDIES!, RUN TO THE LIGHT

Chapter 10 - BYE FRIENDS & HELLO BUDDIES!, RUN TO THE LIGHT

"Andaiku tahu semua akan sia-sia,"

"Takkanku terima cinta sesaatmu,"

"Bagaimana dengan aku terlanjur mencintaimu?"

"Yang datang beri harapan, lalu pergi dan menghilang,"

"Tak terpikirkah oleh mu, hatiku hancur kar'namu,"

"Tanpa sedikit alasan, pergi tanpa berpamitan,"

"Takkan kut'rima cinta sesaatmu."

Alisha sings a song when she goes down the stairs to leave her apartment. She is so happy and can't wait to see someone today.

 

 "Lady Ms.! Wait for me!" Jess asked Alisha to wait for her because she had been left by Alisha when she locked the door of their rented apartment. She ran as fast as she could to catch up with Alisha, who had already gone downstairs.

 

 "Come on, Jess. I'm craving Yuuma's food now. I'm starving." Alisha told her to hurry up when she went down to another floor. 

 

 "Lady Ms., do you crave the food or miss the owner?" Jess catches up with Alisha and playfully teases her about someone she thinks her manager has a crush on as she pokes her waist with her index fingers.

 

 "Shut up.." Alisha asked Jess to stop teasing her about someone she thought she had feelings for. However, Jess continued to tease her and made jokes about it as they left the apartment to go to Shimizu Restaurant.

 

"Kuputar mesin waktu,"

"Ke saat kita masih tertawa,"

"Ku terus hentikan pita,"

"Seakan bisa kembali lagi,"

Alisha continued singing a song because she was happy to see Yuuma after a while. She misses him so much now. It's been a month and a half since she locked herself in her room to focus on her work. During this time, she did not maintain to get a healthy diet or get enough rest. She only ate some bread, took short walks outside for fresh air, and to release her stress, and then returned to her work.

 

 "So, when you'll go to Malaysia?" Hisao wondered when Hana would go on vacation when she sent him out of her house.

 

 "Eeerrmm… It's next week, I guess. After I packed all my things, I heard Malaysia is a beautiful country and heaven of food. I've been dreaming of going there a long time ago. The people there are nice and sweet. " She'll be leaving the country next week. And feel amazed about that country. She got so excited and couldn't wait to go there when she thought about that country.

 "So, I hope you'll be happy there and find whatever you are searching for." He wishes her the best of luck and waves at her before he walks away. When he arrived at the train station, he looked at the terminal signboard and saw Chiyoda and Minato station. It reminds him of Yuuma. He wondered what he had been doing now. It's been a while since he left Yuuma's house. He suddenly thought of visiting his buddy to say hello but hesitated whether he needed to go or not.

 

 Chiyoda, Tokyo – When Hisao arrived at Chiyoda station, he suddenly realized he had to choose between the restaurant and Yuuma's home. He stopped and thought for a while. If he wanted to go to Yuuma's house, he needed to go to Minato station, not Chiyoda station. He felt he needed to follow his heart and got off the train at Chiyoda station. On his way to Shimizu Restaurant, he stopped by a convenience store to buy some beers.

 

 "Hhhmmm… I think Yuuma restaurant is around here. I guess he still has not closed the restaurant yet. Should I bring something? He already quit drinking, maybe I'll take a snack for him." At the convenience store, he realizes he's already nearby at Shimizu Restaurant and wants to buy something for Yuuma as an apology gift for never telling him how he was when he was home.

 

 "Thank you for your treat, Yuuma. We appreciate it. I'll treat you back if you come to visit Malaysia." Alisha thanked Yuuma for his treat and gave him a sweet smile. Jess glared at them both when they were lovey-dovey in front of her.

 

 "Errr… welcome. It's my pleasure to serve you both. So, when are you coming to Japan back?" Yuuma's face turned red when he saw Alisha smile. However, he suddenly wonders when she'll come back to Japan. He hopes that he can meet her again in the future.

 

 "Errrmmm… I don't know, I need to wait for the next instructions from my boss, but I promise I'll find you when I come here next time." Alisha makes some promises to Yuuma that she'll find him when she comes to Japan next time and once again, she smiles at Yuuma once again as she wants to tell him not to worry about her and that she'll never forget him.

 

 "So… tomorrow…" Yuuma feels so shy when Alisha keeps smiling at him as he puts his hand behind his back and because of that smile, he is scared that he can't let her go. He hesitates letting her go because he is too scared he'll lose her this time.

 

 "Hey, Buddy! Hey, Buddy! It's been a long time since I saw you! I miss you!" When Yuuma tries to ask Alisha about something, suddenly they hear someone shout calling his buddy. Three of them wondered where the voice came from. Yuuma recognizes that voice and looks around to find where the voice comes from. Then, he saw Hisao wave him from afar and he seemed very drunk.

 

 "What the? What happens with this man?" Yuuma was surprised to see Hisao come to meet him while he was drunk. Yuuma feels so embarrassed when Alisha and Jess look at them both with a weird look. He is curious about what is inside their mind thinking about his friend.

 

 "Hey, Buddy! Don't just stand there and pretend not to know your best buddy!" Hisao walked staggered when he tried to go to Yuuma.

 

 "Careful Hisao! You'll fall if you keep walking like this." Yuuma caught Hisao from falling to the ground when he approached him. Yuuma feels so awkward when Alisha still looks at them with curious looks on her face. Jess recognized Hisao but chose to remain silent about him to Alisha. She knew Hisao was the lawyer who would work with them if their boss agreed with the agreement. She decided she didn't want to tell her manager about it because she didn't want to damage his reputation. Even she knows her manager, not someone who judges and prejudices someone with their behavior, especially in that state.

 

 "Oh, I know you! You are Mr. Journey!" In the chaotic situation between Yuuma and Hisao, the situation suddenly became silent when Alisha called someone's name out of the blue. The three of them look towards Alisha with shock on their face, curious about who she talking to while Alisha looks straight at Hisao with a smile on her face, she is so happy to see him again. She can't believe she can meet him again after they bumped into each other at the convenience store.

 

 "Eeerrmm… Who are… Oh, Ms. Sweets Smile! We meet again! Blaargghh…" Hisao tries to focus on Alisha's face while narrowing his eyes to identify the lady who smiles at him, and he suddenly realizes that the lady he met at the convenience store last time. Unfortunately, he was too drunk to continue the conversation and suddenly puked at Yuuma's shirt. Yuuma started to piss off by Hisao's behavior but tried to hold his anger in front of someone his crush on.

 

 "Hehe… Looks like it is our destiny to meet again but unfortunately you are so drunk this time. I hope we can meet again when you are in good condition." Alisha laughed at Hisao's behavior and hoped they could meet again after this. Hisao and Yuuma were mesmerized by Alisha's sweet smile, but Hisao cut off the atmosphere when he suddenly vomited at Yuuma's shirt again.

 

 "What the? I… I'm sorry Alisha. I need to take this guy home now. He looks so bad." Yuuma had no choice but to come up with an excuse to leave. He didn't want to embarrass Hisao in front of the woman he loved.

 

 "It's okay. I understand." Alisha didn't question anything. She just allowed him to go home quickly.

 

 "Don't worry. I'll contact you later and send you to the airport tomorrow." Yuuma tells Alisha not to worry about him and that he will be the one to drop Alisha and Jess off at the airport tomorrow. Alisha just nodded, waved at Yuuma as a goodbye, and understood what Yuuma was trying to tell her.

 "Did he know that we'll go back to Malaysia tonight?" Jess felt curious and asked Alisha if Yuuma knew their flight schedule had changed. She glared at her and started to feel annoyed with her careless manager while Alisha kept staring at Yuuma and Hisao walked away from the restaurant.

 

 "Nope, he didn't. I forgot to tell him the schedule had already changed. B… But don't worry. I'll tell him later." Alisha felt the tension from Jess when she said she forgot to tell Yuuma about her flight schedule and gave an excuse to soften her heart. Jess attempted to take a deep breath when she heard how careless her manager was. She started to feel irritated with her, but she tried to hold her anger as much as she could. When she saw her assistant start to feel pissed off with her, she distanced herself from her assistant to avoid her anger.

"Hhmmm… It's not the point Ms. Lady. The point now is who will take us to the airport tonight? I didn't arrange to book an airport taxi because you told me not to because your crush is sending us to the airport. Haaa… why I've been so naive to trust you tonight." Jess sighed heavily when she tried to hold her anger towards her manager. She questioned her how they would go back to their country tonight. She hadn't prepared a backup plan to book a taxi for them to go to the airport tonight, it's because she thought she could depend on Yumma for it, but because her careless manager didn't tell Yuuma that the schedule of their flight had changed, they had no one else to send them that night. She feels so foolish to trust her manager that night. Alisha can't answer those questions, so she remains silent and walks away from the Shimizu Restaurant to go home. She admitted her fault, she let her assistant nag at her without saying anything back to her because she didn't want to start a fight with her assistant. She understand her assistant was exhausted from the workload and taking care of her during their time in Japan. Jess continued to talk to her manager as they walked home, and at the same time, she arranged transportation to the airport that night by calling the Tokyo airport taxi service. Thankfully, she managed to find an available taxi to take them, but Jess continued to scold her manager.

Minato, Tokyo – After arriving at Yuuma's house and taking Hisao to his room, Yuuma went to the bathroom to clean himself after Hisao puked on his clothes several times. After showering and getting dressed, Yuuma looked at his phone and rushed out of his house.

 

 "Yuuma, I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you that my flight schedule has already been changed. It will be tonight at 2 a.m. I'm sorry, I must leave you behind once again. I hope you have a great day and I hope if we meet again it will be our destiny to be together =)" A text message from Alisha that Yuuma saw on his phone then suddenly rushed out and left Hisao unconscious in his room.

 

 "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday…"

 "Every hour, every minute, every second… Lalala" Alisha sang for a long while waiting for her taxi to go to the airport. She is so happy because she can't wait to go home to see her family in Malaysia. She misses them so much.

"After you make me to work overtime tonight. You still can sing and wiggle, ha?" When Jess saw her manager was so happy, she ruined the joy by continued scolding her.

 

 "Errmmm… What time do we get on the flight?" Alisha was surprised by Jess's question. She stopped singing, tried to change the topic, and asked her assistant about their flight schedule.

 

 "Maybe 1.50 a.m.," Jess answers her lady Ms. right away.

 

 "Arrgghh… I feel sleepy. Can you wake me up when the taxi arrives?" Alisha slept beside her assistant on the couch while waiting for the taxi.

 

 "Where… where am I? Why… why this place is so dark?" Hisao opened his eyes and saw everything around him so dark that he saw nothing except himself. He was puzzled by the situation.

 

 "Hisao! Over here!" Hisao heard someone calling his name and when he looked around, he saw Hana standing in front of him.

 

 "Hisao, What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here. Don't stay here too long. You'll drown deeper if you still stay at this place. You have to leave this place. But I can't help you, I need to go now. There is someone who will come here any minute now to help you out from this place but don't be fooled with someone you think you can trust. I have to go now, my light is here. See you again then. Bye now." After telling Hisao to get out of the place, Hana walks away and disappears in the light. Hana leaves, taking the light with her, leaving Hisao alone in the darkness.

 "Wa… wait, Hana! Don't leave me, Hana! I… I'm scared." Hisao tries to stop Hana from leaving him, but Hana has already disappeared with the light. He looks around but he can see anything. He hugged himself when he started to feel scared and freezing at that place.

 

 "Mr. Watanabe! Come with me!" Another woman calls out his name and emerges after Hana leaves. Asuka, the mistress at Yamada Bar, has feelings for Hisao. She reached out her hand to him, hoping he would join her, but it triggered his nightmare of her.

 

 "No! No! No! Leave me alone! I don't want you! Don't come near me! Go away!" Hisao suddenly remembered what happened last time in his nightmare. Asuka suddenly turned into a monstrous creature. He is afraid that his nightmare will be repeated if he follows Asuka again. He screamed out loud and asked Asuka to leave him alone. He pushed himself away from her as far as he could to make it clear that he didn't want to follow her. He closed his eyes closely because he didn't want to see her change to that monster.

 

 "Mr. Journey! Honey! Is that you? Are you okay? Hey… Hey, Shhh… It's alright now. I'm here." When he tries to make Asuka leave him alone he still keeps his eyes close, but he suddenly hears another woman's voice talking to him and asking him to leave the place. He recognized that voice, and he tried to open his eyes slowly full of hope he looked in front again, Asuka already left, and in front of him was Alisha smiling at him. She hugged him and tried to comfort and calm him down.

 

 "You. Love! What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here. This place is dangerous" Hisao wondered why Alisha was in this horrible place either.

 

 "Me? I only want to show you the direction of the light. This place is too dark for you to stay. It's not safe here. This place is getting darker. You have to go there. What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here. You have to keep going. Look at there. That's your light. You have to go there as fast as you can. Come, stand up. We need to go now." She told him that she was there only to help him out. This place was too dangerous to stay while her finger showed to the right side. Hisao looked at the direction that Alisha showed him, he saw the light there.

 

 "The light." Hisao stood up and saw the light while holding her hand.

 

 "You need to go there. Someone is waiting for you." Alisha tells him to go through the light.

 

 "How about you? You do not come? You said this place is not safe, we need to go from this place. So, you need to come with me." Hisao takes a step to go to the light that Alisha showed him but suddenly he stops when he sees her not follow him while he keeps holding her hand and looks back to Alisha to ask her to come with him.

 

 "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I'll be waiting for you there. Besides, that's your light, not mine. Just go and don't look back. The darkness will come after you if do. Go now." Alisha let go of his hand and smiled, reassuring him not to worry about her. He has to go through to the light, and she'll be waiting for him there. He looked at her with worry but with no doubt, Hisao trusted what Alisha told him and started to take a step to go through the light. He knows they will meet again one day as they promise. However, as soon as he takes a step, the ground shakes as if there's an earthquake.

 

 "Run! Don't look back! Run as fast as you can!" She strictly told him to run as fast as he could and never look back but because of worriedness toward Alisha, he looked back to look for her, but he didn't see her anymore except a monstrous creature who ran after him.

 

 "Mr. Watanabe!! Don't leave me…!!!" The creature shouted his name and ran after him. Hisao ran as fast as he could through the light without looking back until he reached through the light.