Eternal Melody

"That outfit seems different from what you would usually buy."

Yuhi only intended it as a casual remark, but her expression gave it away immediately.

At that comment, Sumire coughed awkwardly. "Uh."

"Now that I think about it, during Christmas day, you received a package."

She acted so secretively about it, so he decided not to think too deeply. But, 'Sumire is close to a designer guy.' Those rumors lingered in his heart. He even overheard those women discussing it in the bar the other day.

Sumire bit her lip and sighed deeply. "I can't keep hiding this from you, Yuhi. Have you heard of the name Kozumi Toh?"

Yuhi blinked when he heard her words. "Is that guy the designer student you fooled around with?"

"Yes." Sumire trailed off. "To be honest, we weren't fooling around."

"Was it serious?"

"It became serious. I was seriously considering him to be my boyfriend, and we talked about it a lot being in a serious relationship."

"But it never happened?"

"Well, we did date, but it was in secret. Nobody knew except us two. I didn't refute the strange rumors about us because it seemed like Toh's guardian was a hard person to deal with."

"His guardian?"

"His benefactor, it's Lucifer."

At those words, his eyes widened. He did not expect this piece of information.

"So the reason you didn't make your relationship official was this?"

"Yes. Toh was sent on a mission to star town to find a woman; that woman was me. But he did not know it and gradually fell in love with me. When Lucifer finally told him the truth, he was horrified. Back then, a famous model from abroad liked Toh's designs. She wanted to be his muse. But Toh was already designing for me, and she did whatever she could to break us apart. Toh was put in a bad situation; instead of declining the rumors about him and that model, he went along with it. Afterwards, he called out to me and broke up with me."

Yuhi saw the tears in her eyes, and his eyes widened.

"He was really stupid. Even though I had the power to help him, he told me that he could not betray Lucifer."

Yuhi stood up and sat down beside her. Sumire buried her face in his arms.

"Toh was a really good guy. He accidentally slept with me when I was drunk; that is how things started between us. He waited until I was ready to contact him, and afterward, he went to the company and asked permission from my guardian. He never touched me without my permission."

"He does seem better than Nagawa. But he was still older than you."

Sumire shook her head. "Do not blame him. He truly never tried to harm me; he treated me very well. I met him a month after the break-up with Sano. I was still heartbroken. I wasn't ready for romance at all. So after that one night stand, I didn't plan to contact him again. But then Futaba invited me to go visit crescent fashion university. It seemed the students there were searching for models for their upcoming show. It was there where I met him again." Sumire laughed.

"He was so straightforward when he said. 'I found my muse.' Everybody was competing to be in his show, so you can imagine what happened."

Yuhi continued to listen to her talk about her memories with this guy. He only interrupted a few times to ensure that he truly asked for her consent before he did anything.

"So, Toh and I were serious. At the very least, I liked him enough. But it just wasn't meant to be. When Toh left, Ren came back at the same time. Ren declared me as his girlfriend, and I didn't have the energy to refute him. I was exhausted, and I missed Toh."

So that's how it was. It is a good thing he decided to ask her instead of listening to those rumors. Yuhi wondered if Sumire knew how bad those rumors were. He gently patted her back.

"I am sorry, crying about this."

"No, it is alright. Since it was a secret relationship, ,you must have been devastated when he left. Did you cry alone?"

"No, Ru comforted me. He probably guessed at some point that Toh and me were dating, but he never said a word."

'That is good; at least she did not cry alone.' But huh, seeing her reaction now.

"Do you still like him?" Yuhi asked softly.

Sumire shook her head. "I don't. I love you. But I do have some regrets; that is probably why I cried just now."

He likes how she easily said that she loved him; however, the last part bothered him. She has regrets towards Sano too, and he is already having a hard time with that one.

"Did you remain in contact?"

"He came back when he heard what happened to Ru and slept with me a few times. But then he sadly said. 'It seems I am scum after all. How could I do this with you now? Sumire, you have to get better. When you do, we can discuss things again.' He left and went abroad again. When he heard I came to Tokyo, he sent me a few messages asking about my well-being. When I started dating you, he congratulated me, but I decided it wouldn't be right if I kept talking to him."

"You didn't have to."

"It didn't seem right. Before my concert, he sent a message saying he got me a Christmas gift and when it will arrive."

"Those clothes do look very good on you," Yuhi admitted. Although he does not like the idea of her wearing clothes given let alone made by another man. He does not know anything about fashion.

She seemed to really like the clothes. He watched how happy she was when she was dressing up earlier.

Her gaze softened. "Toh's clothes always look good on me. It's like all his clothing was made for me. This is why he was initially the chief designer for my brand. Ru took over, and I liked Ru's clothes too. But Toh's clothes are indeed special."

The more he listened to her, the more worried he became. Huh? What is this feeling? He thought Makoto Soujiro and Nagawa bothered him. But, this is the first time he is seeing Sumire behave this way.