Eternal Melody



HINO

Walking alongside Sumire has become so natural, as well as spending nearly everyday together. That Hino understands that when Yuhi returns, there will be an empty hole in his life. It would be rude of him to continue spending that much time with her when her boyfriend, her husband is back.

Hino continued to explain the rest of Sumire's schedule to her but the girl was too busy focusing on the stalls they were going past. When she ended up with several food packages in her hand, he exhaled deeply.

"How many times did I tell you to control what your eating?"

Sumire rolled her eyes. "It's not like I will gain any weight from it."

Indeed she makes a point there. "You do realize the media have been following us for a while now?"

Sumire nodded. "That's why I did it."

Hino sighed deeply. "Why do you and Yuhi both like to provoke people so much?"

"The people we provoke tend to be the annoying ones."

"Even so, if you stopped provoking them maybe they'd calm down-" Hino paused mid-sentence. "Actually, I don't think it will make much of a difference."

After all, when  Sumire first came to Tokyo, she did her best to ignore those reporters. But, they still persisted. Actually, her lack of reaction led to the media thinking it was okay to write whatever they wanted about her. 

Sumire laughed. "Right? No matter what I do, I'll always be the villain to them. This way, I can act like myself and not resort to pretending to be someone else who tries to please others."

Sumire extended one of the takayoki's towards him. "Open wide."

Hino's coughed. "You know, you don't have to feed me-"

Rather, didn't they just have a discussion about the reporter following them? She is too careless and the scary thing is, she has no idea what impact her actions have on others. She has no concept of personal space and always gets too close. Hino takes a deep breath, grabbed her hand and took a large bite of the takayoki.

Spotting a trail of sauce disappear into her sleeve, he licked inside her wrist and caught it. 

Sumire's hand trembled. "Um..? Hino?" she whispered, breathing unsteady.

Hino mouthed at the tender flesh on the side of her hand. Her skin is so soft. He wonders how it would feel if he had her fingers inside her mouth.

"H-Hino!" Sumire exclaimed.

It felt like someone had doused his head with cold water. Hino looked up to see Sumire, her face was bright red. Her lips quivered. He looked at her face and then at her hands and cursed in his head. What did he just do there? He takes a handkerchief from his bag, and wipes Sumire's palm.

The entire time doing his best not to look at her, once he finished

Hino reached over and flicked her forehead. "This is why I  told you to watch your behaviour."

"R-right, but if you wanted to prove a point. Did you have to do that?"

"The bold approach works better with you." Hino shrugged.

"Geh, did my dearest tell you that?"

"No, it's obvious from watching your actions." Hino trailed off. "Any other guy would have taken that further. You're lucky I'm the other guy."

But even if it's him, even he has strange thoughts with her getting so close to him.

Sumire laughed. "I guess that's true.  You're such a good guy Hino."

Hearing that now feels like a jab, especially since he just entertained such dark thoughts. 'I'll allow them to take photos, but the moment Sumire gets inside the building. I'll take them aside to have a little world.'

"Oh, this is good. I should buy more later. I'm sure Huan will like this."

"Street food isn't good for children, remember that."

"Eh, I know. But isn't it fine once in a while?" Sumire trailed off. "When he was born, he spent most of his time hidden. Now that he is able to go out. I want him to experience things that make this world sparkle."

"Is good food included in that?"

"Good friend, the pretty scenery, the fresh air." Sumire started listing things one by one. 

It is during times like this where he thinks Sumire is truly amazing. She is amazing when she goes onto stage too. But, when she talks about how beautiful the world is. He truly respects her. This world has been nothing but cruel to her but she can still say good things about it. Nobody would blame her if she truly became a villain. But far from it, all Sumire does is praise the world and everyone around her. 

With the TV station across the road, he goes through some details with her.

"Alright, listen up. Since this interview is happening before your concert, the questions the hosts ask will mainly be about the concert. But, keep your eye out. They may slip in an insensitive question or two. The other group on the program can ask questions too."

"Hmm by insensitive questions. They'll probably bring up the rumors about me and San won't they? Or even Toh?"

Hino nodded. "Right. I know you don't like lies, but I think you know better than to tell the truth."

Sumire sighed. "I'm not that clueless. I hate lies, but I understand very well that lies are necessary in order to survive in this industry. There is no one in the entertainment industry that has survived by remaining honest. Lies are necessary, and some think that lies can be considered as a form of love."

'In order to survive huh? Sometimes, I think that perhaps Sumire isn't suited for this industry. She has already had many experiences showing her how ugly this world is. But, being in the entertainment industry? It skewers her views and experiences more.'

He entertains the idea of asking her to quit for own mental health. However, everytime he thinks of asking her to do that. He sees the sparkle in her eyes as she talks about singing and her dreams. How can be possibly bring up the subject when she looks so enthusiastic all the time?

If she was all talk and no show, he would have told her to quit already. But Sumire is very serious. He sees how hard she works at practice. She even actively asks for criticisms, and immediately acts on those critics. She works harder than any other member of this industry, and he has seen many talents as a president of an entertainment company. 

*Unedited*