Eternal Melody

What is with that bright smile on his face? That's cheating. She trusts him, huh? Even though she shouldn't trust him. Yuhi is very kind to her. Sure his perfect behavior towards her makes her suspicious at times. But he is a very good person. She understood that much. Now that she thought it through didn't Ru occasionally mention Yuhi? Her thoughts broke off when he tucked a strand of loose hair behind her hair.

"I think everything about you is beautiful," Yuhi commented.

Her eyes widened when she heard those words. This time around, she definitely heard him, he called her beautiful. For a guy like Terashima Yuhi, saying such words is simple. But for her? Sumire felt overwhelmed hearing such a word used on her.

Sumire knew her appearance didn't look bad; she wasn't ugly. Many people have often complimented her for being a beauty. But whenever others complimented her, she felt disgusted and violated. The beauty they see is superficial. The moment anybody sees her scars, all of them react the same way.

'..wow…'

'Who would have thought?'

'That's sick, get away from me you psycho.'

'To think you're one of those types.'

'You're only doing that for attention.'

Tsueno Mamoru and Terashima Yuhi were the only exceptions. Sure she has other male friends who are kind; they don't criticize her. But whenever they see it, Sumire cannot miss the pained looks on their faces. They don't judge her, and that is a good thing.

However, she cannot stand the looks on their faces. Please don't make that face, and it isn't their fault. The one at fault is her.

Her thoughts broke off when she felt Yuhi's hands linger on her cheeks. Soon both of his hands were on her face. "What are you doing?" Sumire questioned.

"So, hey." Yuhi muttered. ".. you're prettier than I thought."

Sumire tried to look down, but it was difficult.

"Now that I think it through, I never got a proper look at your face back then. You always kept your head down around me."

That's because she was embarrassed, and she couldn't look him in the eye. Ru often teased her about it before they started dating. One of the conditions of her dating Ru was him insisting that he would make her forget Yuhi. For a while, she did forget and yet… her gaze fell on Yuhi, who was looking her up and down.

She never looked at Yuhi properly; she was very nervous around him. He was not only somebody she respected but somebody she loved.

"Your red Sumire." Yuhi pointed out.

"Anybody would lose their composure if you breach the personal space thing."

Yuhi chuckled. "That's true, but you're normally so composed around me."

This idiot doesn't understand anything. Then again, it is better for her if he remains this way. If Yuhi doesn't understand, then nothing would change between them.

"Yuhi.."

A flash of sadness appears on his face, but it quickly vanished. "Let me treat your other wounds. Do you have anymo--" Yuhi paused. "- in areas I probably shouldn't look at." he concluded.

Sumire looked away awkwardly. "I do, but I think I can handle the rest myself."

"Just be careful from now on. If you do end up doing this, make sure to treat the wound right away. If it gets infected, it will hurt more."

"Okay, Yuhi."

"Also, the nurse said earlier that you're not eating properly." Yuhi shook his head. "I find it strange since we always eat together."

At that comment, Sumire laid back down on the bed and hid under the duvet. She can't tell him that whenever he looked away, she would pour the food down her sleeve or tuck it away in a napkin. If he knew then, Yuhi would undoubtedly feel guilty; he would blame himself for not watching over her properly.

She heard the sound of the bed creaking and realized that Yuhi climbed on. "H--Hey, what do you think you're doing?

"As you can see, I am taking a nap."

"Huh?" Sumire looked at him puzzled. "Cl--Class, you should go back."

"No."

This person is so unreasonable! Then again, does Yuhi even need to attend class? He isn't like Ru, but Yuhi is very smart and learns things quickly. His IQ must be very high. According to what she learned from Nakara, Yuhi skips class a lot.

Since she came here, Sumire also observed how Yuhi likes his naps. He takes them often. Her gaze fell on the clock, and a knowing ah escaped her lips. This is usually the time he takes naps. Sumire turned to him. "I'm sleeping too?"

"You're anemic as well, so you're excused. The nurse said if I am skipping anyway, I should take care of you."

Sumire laughed. "I see."

"She also said if I wanted to try something, I could do so since the walls here are soundproof now."

She hits him lightly, but Yuhi grabbed hold of her hands.

"I think this is nice," Yuhi mumbled. "I mean spending time with you like this. Back then, we were close, and yet we couldn't spend time like this."

Back then, huh? Sumire knew what he was referring to. The moments they had with one another than were fleeting like snow. Cold, and yet beautiful moments. There were moments where they only had a few minutes to speak, and even if they spent most of the day together, they would part at the end of the day.

"Yuhi, you remember those times very well. Is your memory that good?" Sumire asked.

She usually would avoid speaking of the past since it ends up making things awkward. But everything's different now. Right now, this is the perfect opportunity for her to get to know the man called Terashima Yuhi. Sumire took a deep breath. "Will you talk to me? I'm not sleepy."

Is this pushing it? Yuhi never misses his daily naps. To her surprise, Yuhi nodded and wrapped his arms around her waist. He brought his face to her hair and mumbled softly. "I can't sleep when you insist on hearing my voice. What would you like to know?"

"My previous question."

"I thought the answer would be obvious, but it isn't because of my memory. Sure I have a strong memory, but it isn't because of that." Yuhi paused and looked at her cautiously. "I think I should leave it there. I don't want to make it awkward."