Eternal Melody

But, if somebody were to ask her to let go of her happiness. Sumire knew that she would fight for it.

"That was my intention," Sumire mumbled.

Yuhi laughed. "I thought so."

That innocent laughter and smile of his has to be a crime. However, it is during these times that she remembers Yuhi-san's age. He is two years older, so he is twenty. In society's eyes, age he is already an adult. But the Yuhi right now is worrying like a child and laughing so carefreely.

"But still, I worried a lot, and although it was sly and cruel of me. I asked Mamoru to send me photos and videos of you. I wanted to keep looking at you. I wanted to see every change."

Hold on, photos and videos? Ru was indeed in the best position to do that, and that was why she was upset when she found him sending such things to San. But, even Yuhi? W-what did he send to Yuhi? How much did he see?

Yuhi took out his phone and flicked through it for a few minutes. It was the hidden gallery in his library. She noticed it when she was browsing before, but she did not pry. Could it be, he stored all the photos and videos?

He passed her the phone. "Here, it's all in date order, and I starred my favorite ones."

"I- I don't think I should look."

Yuhi only laughed again and circled his arms around her waist so and drew her towards him so she would get a look. She reluctantly glanced at his phone screen as he scrolled. There were various images of her just going to class, talking to people, playing the piano, drawing, failing at cooking, and most importantly.

Sumire saw the star mark on a photo of her sleeping face.

"I like this one the most," Yuhi mumbled in her ear.

"H-hooligan."

"To think you would look so pretty when you were sleeping. Who would have thought that a photo would be enough to turn me on?"

"You're trying to get back at me." Sumire sighed. "But these were when I slept next to Ru. You knew?"

Back then, she did not think much of it. She was lonely, and she feared her nightmares and state of mind. She felt that if she was left alone, she would go crazy. During those times, she would stay over at Ru's place, not just stay over; she would sleep in the same room and the same bed as him.

Now that she thought about it, what on earth was she doing? No matter how lonely she was, a grown man and woman sharing the same bed when they are not dating is wrong.

"I knew. Mamoru confined in me. I almost misunderstood since he was so nervous. I thought something happened between you two."

"That wouldn't happen. Ru never had such weird thoughts. He used to freak out whenever our hands brushed against each other."

Yuhi sighed. "I see Mamoru was a saint, and I'm a beast."

"I think I prefer the latter."

At those words, Yuhi nibbled on her earlobe and mumbled. "When he told me, I was very confused. I didn't know what to say to him."

"That's normal, you probably thought; why is he informing me?"

"No, I knew what the reason was. Mamoru wanted to reassure me that he would never make a move on you. He wanted me to know that he supported us being together."

Sumire only sighed when she heard Yuhi's explanation. Ru was so weird; she never understood how he could do that. It was the main reason why she thought he had feelings for her during the moments. She would end up doubting.

No normal man can push the woman he loves towards the arms of another man. But Ru did it so easily, and yet he cared so much for her,

"When I saw this photo, I understood how lonely you were. I'm sorry, you cried a lot because you missed me, right?"

"That was my fault. I was the one being stupid. I thought to myself that we were still young and that I would get in your way. Your career really took off when you returned to Tokyo. If I accepted your confession, you would have been dragged into scandals and not achieved that level of success."

"Don't be so silly," Yuhi said sharply. "The only reason I succeeded was because I was thinking of you. I wrote the best songs about you that year. If it weren't for my feelings for you, I wouldn't have succeeded."

Huh? It took Sumire a moment to understand what he was talking about. But after listening to him, something came to mind. Now that she thought it through, during that year, Yuhi's songs-

'He is still writing songs for you, and you doubt his feelings?'

Asuka harshly reprimanded her when she cried about the possibility of Yuhi moving on and not loving her anymore. That's right, Yuhi's songs. He never stopped writing about her. Those songs brought him to further success internationally and stabilized his position in the industry.

"So I helped you?" Sumire repeated as she tugged on his clothing, causing him to drop his phone. "I-I helped you? I didn't get in your way."

She had wanted to meet him for so long, but she feared that she would only drag him down with her terrible reputation.

'If I ever became an obstacle to his dreams, I would never forgive myself.'

She does not want the man she loves to sacrifice everything for her sake. What she wants is for him to find happiness and to succeed in what he loves to do.

This entire time she assumed that she was only an obstacle to Yuhi's career and that she would stand in his way. So rather than being a hindrance, she helped him?

She currently felt very emotional, and before she knew it, she was crying again. Yuhi wiped her tears away with his fingers. "Are you happy?"

"I was so silly. I wasted too much time."

"Exactly, you silly girl. I always loved you, and you know I loved you, even more when you turned me down. My feelings for you just continued to grow even when we were not together. When I realized that you would sacrifice your own feelings just to make sure I succeed. I was even more determined to work hard. I will work harder, and stabilize my position at the top. Then I would propose to you on a grand stage, in front of thousands of people. I want them to hear me clearly propose to the special girl I want to spend the rest of my life with."