Eternal Melody

At those words, Sumire's cheerful expression vanished, and she quickly turned her back on him.

Yuhi sighed. "Hey, I don't know whether you remember since you were half-conscious, but you confessed to me when I returned to your house."

'Even if she doesn't remember, he instructed Mamoru to tell her.'

Seeing that she was still hiding, he turned the girl around and sat her up—the moment he did that, he saw her red-stained cheeks.

His eyes twitched, annoyed when he realized something. "So you did remember, but you still-"

"I-I'm sorry! But I was embarrassed." Sumire exclaimed. "Moreover, I already turned you down. To run back to you and say it was a mistake on the very same day, how could I do that?"

"But you did."

It felt like an invisible arrow was hitting her heart since a dark aura surrounded the girl. Sumire kept her head down.

"I vaguely remembered it, so I called Ru and asked him if Yuhi came back here. He then told me what happened, and it matched my memories. When I felt slightly better, I remembered everything. I told you that I loved you and you even delayed going to Tokyo for a week to wait for me." She trailed off. "I was there that day, but I was watching you from a distance."

"Yeah, I know."

Her cheeks reddened more as she looked up. "You knew?"

"Sumire, when I called you, I could hear the sound of the station theme song. All I had to do was look around, and I saw where you were hiding." Yuhi ran his hands through his hair and sighed. "Did you have to hide? You were already there, and I wanted to hug you before I went."

"L-like I would have let you."

"No, it wasn't a hug. I planned to kiss you and leave you speechless."

Sumire throws a pillow at him, but Yuhi easily moves away. He grabbed hold of her hands. "I don't know why you are so embarrassed about it now. It happened a long time ago, and now we are dating, so I am just looking back on how things began."

"It's because I regretted turning you down," Sumire mumbled. "I really regretted it. I wanted to call you and tell you I changed my mind. I even bought a ticket to Tokyo. But when I went there and saw that you were doing well, I decided to leave."

Yuhi's eyes widened when he heard her say these words. Huh? Wait, what? Did she go to see him?

"When was this?"

"It was during Christmas. I wanted to see you so badly, so I took the next train without a second thought."

During Christmas- an image of Touko and him surrounded by people then appeared in his head. She must have seen that.

"So, you already knew about Touko."

"You two looked compatible standing next to each other." Sumire sounded bitter, and he frowned.

Yuhi reached over and flicked her forehead. "Stupid."

"What's with the name-calling?"

"You are stupid," Yuhi commented. "I only just confessed to you; how could I have another person already? Did you really think little of my confession?"

He can't believe this. She ought to have called out to him if she went all that way to see him. "Back then, I was missing you like crazy. Touko only noticed me because I was pouring all my emotions for you onto my paintings. If it wasn't for you, she wouldn't have even looked at me."

"Huh? Did I just indirectly help my love rival?"

Yuhi sighed deeply as he rubbed the temple of his forehead. "You are driving me crazy. I missed you so much. If I saw you, then I would have taken you away, though."

He watched as her cheeks slowly turned red.

"A-aren't you being too straightforward? H-how could you say-" Yuhi cuts her off by lightly kissing her.

"It's because I love you."

At those words, the girl buried her face in his arms. "I really don't deserve to be with you, Yuhi."

"Why?"

"I am a terrible person. My memories of my childhood are quite blurry. But one of the memories that remain clear to me is the memory of people telling me I am the devil's child. I was only young, but I was more sensitive towards other people's emotions. I could tell that the adults around me didn't like me. They preferred my sister, who was bright, cheerful, and outgoing. Whenever they looked at me with that disgusted look in their eyes, I understood even though I shouldn't have. I did stupid things to stand out, like causing problems because I craved attention. But that only reinforced their dislike towards me." Sumire laughed weakly.

"I waited for so long, waited for that one person who would reach out their hand to help me. But while I waited, I gradually became gloomier, and eventually, I turned into this socially awkward, anxious, and frightening person."

Yuhi gently combed her hair. "Sumire."

"I told myself for so many years that it wasn't my fault. But whenever I went to sleep, I would hear voices. I would hear the voices of those who looked at me with such eyes. Even if I didn't see their faces, hearing those voices kept me up at night. It isn't me; it's not my fault. I couldn't say that with confidence anymore."

'This girl, how much has she had to suffer? How much more does she have to endure?' No, he won't allow her to endure anymore. Even if it takes him time to erase the pain and scars from her heart, he will continue what he has been doing. He is determined that he will be able to make her love herself.

"I gradually lost whatever confidence I had to become a normal person. I became frightened to speak to others. What if they hate me? What if they look at me like those people did? I'm scared. I don't want to see that look on anybody's face again. Even when I did get along with people, I left them first. I left before they could leave me. If I do this, it won't hurt as much. But that was a lie; it still hurt. It hurt even more, knowing that some of them were genuinely trying to get to know me."

At this point, he lifted her face and wiped her tears with his thumb. "Sumire." He said softly. "Ssh."

"I-I'm sorry, Yuhi, I'm just so weak. I don't know what is wrong with me anymore. I don't like being alone; it frightens me. But when I am around others, I push away their kindness."

"I'm not going to tell you that everything will be okay. I cannot predict the future. But, what I can tell you is that I will never leave you."

"How do I trust you? I have heard that so many times. They said they won't leave, but they still left me."

Yuhi sat up and reached for a small box on the bedside table drawer. He turned to the girl who also sat up. She still had tears in her eyes, but she was looking at the box curiously. He chuckled.

"This is what you wanted. It took a while because I wasn't satisfied with the last design."

He watched as her cheeks reddened.

"N-no way. You can't be serious."

Is she really saying this now? Yuhi shook his head and closed the distance between them again. He grabbed hold of her hand and gently kissed her fingertips. "I already said to you that I would date you with marriage in mind."

"Y-you didn't. That was all me."

"Even if you didn't say it, I would have." He opened the box revealing a gorgeous ruby-colored ring. "This is just an engagement ring, but for now, it will do."

He watched as her expression changed from sadness, shock, and happiness all in five minutes. Yuhi slipped the ring onto her ring finger. "Will you marry me?"

Sumire stared at the ring for a few minutes before looking away. "You are being unfair. I wasn't expecting this."

"You need to stop underestimating my love for you. Or rather, you have no idea how hard it is for me."

'It is difficult for me because of her insecurities, but I will not blame her for that.'

"I don't mind working hard for you, my dear. But, once in a while, I would like-" Yuhi's sentence fell short when he felt a pair of soft petal-like lips on his. It was a brief kiss, but it was so sweet, and the most important thing was her feelings.

It was the first time Sumire had kissed him, showing not desire but her feelings for him.

She drew back and laughed with tears in her eyes. "I think you're the stupid one, Yuhi; you fell in love with me."

"Maybe we are both dumb," Yuhi mumbled. "But, I already decided a long time ago that it has to be you."

Suppose somebody asks him why Ibuki Sumire, he has no answers because he cannot describe the extent of his feelings for her through words alone. It is the same thing for her.