A well-dressed man shivered as he walked through the winter wind but kept a wide smile on his face. The city he briskly walked through was well lit, illuminating the dark sky. The tall man was handsome, with a lean, athletic figure that built his frame. His face was cleanly shaved, and his blue eyes darted between the road and the walking signal's timer.
Seeing the timer running out, he quickened his pace, the smile on his face not fading. He carried a black umbrella in his hand, shielding himself from the lightly falling snow.
As he walked, many people stared at him, but the man seemed used to it. He eventually reached a small restaurant, a classic family-owned pizzeria he had frequently visited in his high school days.
They did some renovations again
He opened the restaurant's glass doors and entered the shop, immediately greeted by the smell of pizza and beer. As soon as the people in the restaurant noticed the man, they immediately shouted with smiles and cheers.
"Kichiro! Damn, it's been forever!"
A slender man with glasses gave a cheesy grin to his old friend. He put a hand on Kichiro's shoulder and guided him to the rest of the group.
There were quite a few people seated, all sharing the same blissful smile as they stared at the new face in the building. An older man with a thick red beard suddenly took the opportunity to land a solid hand on Kichiro's sturdy back.
"You're late, lad! We were just about to start without you!"
Kichiro's grin grew wider, and the joy on his face couldn't be masked, even from the pain inflicted on his back. It had been half a decade since the group had all come down to Old Man Fredrick's pizzeria. He began to reminisce a little about skipping class to eat here or hiding out during storms.
Kichiro took a seat next to the slender man, who wore a nice dark green turtleneck and had his brown hair tied in a bun. Kichiro's eyes were drawn to his hand, seeing a ring on one of his fingers.
"Lance, you're married? Why didn't you tell me?" Kichiro asked with a questioning smile.
The slender man, Lance, chuckled and looked down at his simple ring, a calm smile spreading serenity to his eyes.
"Yeah, it's been a little less than a year, but it's been the best time of my life so far. Though I'm going to miss the taste of liberation," he sighed dramatically.
That sentence alone summarized my fear of marriage. He gave a laugh and patted Lances back in comfort.
"You can say that again!"
"Yeah, my wife's got me locked down."
Two more guys joked in agreement. One of them, Derek, grabbed his glass and chugged a bunch of it, letting out a satisfied breath.
A few more jokes were thrown, and while the atmosphere was great, Kichiro turned to a tap on his left. A blonde-haired girl with a high ponytail smiled at him.
"Forgot about me?" she teased.
"The scar on the back of my head doesn't," Kichiro teased back.
The blonde girl's face turned red and her eyes widen in surprise by the quick reply.
She furrowed her brows.
"You said you wouldn't talk about that anymore!" she said, pouting, obviously not appreciating the remark.
Derek chimed in with a smirk, "Ah, the infamous golf incident strikes again," adding fuel to the already lit fire.
The blonde girl's eyes seemed to be getting misty at the thought of the incident, and the blush on her face spread to her ears.
"Come on, guys, can't we just let bygones be bygones? That was a decade ago," she murmured, her hands covering her face, now as red as a tomato. No maybe it already had become a tomato.
"That's easy for you to say, Cece. My scar throbs every time it rains,"
Kichiro retorted with a lighthearted tone towards the red vegetable looking at him.
"Don't say that... you promised not to bring that up again!"
The girl, clearly distressed, looked as if she was about to cry from the resurgence of memories. Her eyes were about to burst with guilt and embarrassment.
"You also promised not to practice golf near people's heads,"
Kichiro teased again. However, seeing the girl's face full of guilt and embarrassment, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah... that was a swing and a miss on my part," Cecilia confessed solemnly.
"It's alright, Cece. At least we can laugh about it now," Lance comforted her.
Cecilia's mood immediately brightened. "Actually, I'm thinking of starting golf on the side!"
The scary sentence suddenly made the long-healed small scar near Kichiro's ear throb with pain.
He hoped for everyones sake that was a joke
"That reminds me, remember that time we skinny-dipped in the school's lake?"
Feliks, another boy in the group who was previously engrossed in his beer, recollected quickly shifting the subject.
Feliks was always a free spirit, and it seemed like that hadn't changed.
Rosella, the girl next to him who bore a strong resemblance to him, let out a heavy sigh, remembering how her twin brother got them all a full month of task duty at school.
Derek immediately picked up on the topic. "Those were the days. I would go and do it again if I wasn't married."
"I still remember the beating we got when we went home,"
Rosella muttered in a low voice, a chill coming down her spine.
Everyone laughed heartily and continued with their banter.
"We were so young and reckless. It's good to see you all again, scars and all,"
Kichiro smiled, but the sentence jabbed Cecilia's heart.
She felt like crying.
The banter and fun continued but were abruptly stopped by a familiar scent.
The old bald man came out of the kitchen with two large pizzas balancing on the palm of his hand. He grinned deeply, laying down the pizzas in front of the crew.
Feliks immediately jumped up excitedly.
"Alright! The pizza's out!"
The pizza was a work of art. A droplet of undignified drool fell from the corner of Kichiro's lips.
It was surrounded by a perfect golden-brown crust with slightly charred edges. Melted cheese bubbled from the center of the culinary masterpiece, topped with red greasy pepperoni, mushrooms, and green peppers.
Feliks was the first to take a piece of the pie. As he pulled a slice, a joyous string of cheese followed, catching everyone's eyes. Immediately after seeing this, everyone began to take slices too, Kichiro hurriedly following, wiping his shameful slobber.
He took a bite of the pizza and felt a nostalgic and heavenly taste flood his mouth.
The chatting continued, not as lively as before, as everyone focused on devouring the pizza while it was still hot. Kichiro didn't typically drink, but who could pass up hot pizza and cold beer?
The group ate heartily, filling the pits of their stomachs well, and when Kichiro was finished pigging out, he tapped on his stomach, feeling it swell a bit. He'd have to diet for a while after this.
Lance glanced over at the black-haired man next to him. "Things have been good on your side, Kichiro?"
Kichiro was a bit taken aback by the unexpected question before smiling. "Yeah, I got signed for a couple of shoots recently, so I haven't been at the company much."
"But it's been fine. I'll get back early next year, and since we're already wrapping up, all that's left is production and distribution."
Cecilia, hearing this, was reminded of something. "I completely forgot you're an engineer, Kichi."
"Most people know you for your modeling gigs."
Most of the group nodded. Although Kichiro was an active model, he was also an established engineer. He worked on a multitude of projects, namely for car dealerships and NASA.
"Well, Kichiro has always lived life well," Derek spoke.
Kichiro and Derek had grown up together for the most part. Derek's older brother gained custody of him and was living in Japan with his girlfriend at the time.
Derek had trouble adjusting to an entirely new culture, so even making friends was a reach. However, Kichiro, his neighbor, helped him greatly as Kichiro already knew a bit of English at a young age.
When Derek's older brother wanted to move back to the States, Kichiro actually followed, allowing them to spend most of their lives together.
But even from a young age, Kichiro was different, and Derek knew that. Kichiro was kind and compassionate, yet no one took advantage of him. Anyone he talked to felt relaxed and comfortable around him shortly after meeting him.
Even growing up, he became popular and well-received due to his personality and good looks. He excelled academically and athletically and was decently good at anything he started.
It was hard not to gravitate toward him, but even with all this, Kichiro remained humble and modest. Admittedly, Derek was jealous of Kichiro for a while, but he realized it was hopeless. Kichiro was just Kichiro. Besides, everyone has their own problems.
Everyone immediately understood what the dark brown-haired man meant.
Kichiro could practically feel the unanimous agreement among the group members.
"Haha, I know. However, I'm grateful for everything and everyone. Meeting you all and growing up together was some of the best moments of my life. I cherish and appreciate each and every one of you. You all mean the world to me, and I can't help but feel undeserving of such good friends. Thank you for being there with me then and here with me now."
Kichiro gave a shy smile, his eyes filled with even more gratitude than his words.
Everyone paused for a moment, a bit stunned. Derek was the first to recover and raised his glass up and shouted
"That's a good time to cheers!"
The silence washed away as everyone smiled brightly with their friends.
"Cheers!"
Derek's lips curved as he thought
*He's seriously the prime example of someone you should envy but can't.*
He immediately downed half of his glass and exhaled, satisfied. "To Kichiro!"
"To Kichiro!" everyone echoed, raising their glasses high. The sound of clinking glasses echoed through the cozy pizzeria, pushing back the chill of the winter night outside.
As they settled back into their seats, Feliks nudged Kichiro with a playful grin. "So, Kichiro, got any crazy stories from your modeling gigs?"
Kichiro chuckled and shook his head. "Nothing too wild, but there was this one time we were doing a shoot on a cliffside. The wind was really strong, it nearly blew us off the edge! We had to anchor everything down to keep it from flying away."
"That sounds terrifying!" Rosella exclaimed, her eyes wide.
"It was an experience, that's for sure," Kichiro replied with a laugh. "But it's all part of the job. You never know what to expect."
Cecilia leaned in, her curiosity piqued. "And what about your engineering projects? Any cool inventions in the works?"
"Well, I can't reveal too much," Kichiro said with a mysterious smile.
"But let's just say we're working on some pretty groundbreaking stuff. The future of space travel is looking very exciting."
Derek leaned back in his chair, a satisfied smile on his face. "You've always been one to aim high, Kichiro. It's inspiring."
Kichiro nodded, his expression turning serious for a moment. "It's important to chase your dreams, no matter how difficult it is never give up, And to have friends who support you along the way... that's priceless."
The group fell into a comfortable silence, each member reflecting on Kichiro's words. The bond they shared was evident, and the years apart had done nothing to diminish their connection.
Old Man Fredrick approached their table with a tray of steaming hot chocolate mugs. "Thought you folks might need a little something to warm up," he said with a grin.
"Thanks, Fredrick!" Lance said, taking a mug and inhaling the rich aroma.
The others followed suit, and soon they were all sipping on hot chocolate, the perfect end to a satisfying meal. The conversation turned to more lighthearted topics, filled with laughter and playful teasing.
As the evening wore on, the restaurant began to empty out, and the group knew it was time to say their goodbyes. They stood outside in the crisp night air, the snow already stopped falling.
"This was a great night," Kichiro said, his breath visible in the cold air.
"Agreed," Lance said, pulling Kichiro into a hug. "Take care, man."
The others followed suit, each offering their own heartfelt farewells. As Kichiro walked away, he felt a deep sense of contentment. He had missed these moments, and now, more than ever, he appreciated the value of true friendship.
Kichiro picked up his umbrella. The snow had stopped, so he didn't really need it, but it felt right to have it in hand. As he was about to walk away, he felt a warm touch embrace his arm. He turned around to see Cecilia.
"Kichiro, you heading home now?" Her face was flushed, probably from the alcohol, and her hazel eyes seemed to shimmer under the streetlights.
"Yeah, I'm a bit exhausted. What about you?" Kichiro asked, staring into Cecilia's eyes.
They were just as mesmerizing as he remembered.
"Oh, um, I am too..." she started, looking away shyly when she caught Kichiro's gaze.
Kichiro, seeing this, couldn't help but chuckle softly. "Did you need something, Cece?"
With that, Cecilia looked back up at Kichiro, her flushed face turning even deeper. She mustered up all her courage and then spoke.
"Yes. Kichiro, can you meet me back here... tomorrow? I have something I want to say to you."
His eyes widened a bit, not expecting to hear that. He immediately recovered and nodded. "I promise."
Cecilia's face slowly lit up so brightly that it almost blinded him. Was she some sort of light bulb? What happened to the tomato?
Seeing her happy made him smile too. With that, they said their goodbyes. Cecilia waved him down, and he waved back as he walked off.
The streetlights kept the streets from being too dark, yet he wasn't sure what look Cecilia had given him just now. He shrugged it off, deciding he would just ask her about it tomorrow.
As he walked, he thought about the successful reunion and was tempted to make it every five months instead of five years, but he knew deep down he was too busy for that.
He sighed, then thought about the hazel-eyed girl he had just parted with. Her image lingered in his mind, bringing a smile to his face. Maybe tomorrow he could also say something to her.
That he...
Just as the thought flashed through his mind, he heard a shout and turned his eyes to see a large truck rushing towards him.
And then everything went black.