Red Strings ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

Twenty-Eight String

Coming out of the OR, Chishiya let out a tired sigh, leaning against the wall. That was his first surgery, and although he was just an assistant, it was draining for being five hours long. As the patient was being wheeled out, the surgeon in charge of the surgery walked out after and spotted Chishiya to the side.

"Tired, rookie?" he asked, laughing softly. "You did a great job though, for your first surgery. Not as you imagined it, is it?"

"Completely different, yeah."

"You'll get used to it. Well done."

With a pat on Chishiya's shoulder, the surgeon walked off and left him alone.

He only had a few more hours left in his shift, and Chishiya would be on his way home. Specifically, on his way to Kurenai's place. He already told her that he would have his first surgery today as an assistant, but he could not wait to tell her how it went. Never in life was he so excited to tell someone about something.

Taking a little break, he went to his locker and checked his phone for messages. There were a few from Kurenai, but what caught his attention was the one missed call and one message from a number he did not recognise.

Usually, Chishiya could not care less about unrecognised numbers. He was the type to reject the call if the number was not saved in his contacts. He rejected many calls from his classmates before purely for that reason.

But something in his guts was telling him to check the message this time.

Tapping on the screen, he clicked on the message. It was short, but it was odd.

-

[Unknown]: Mr. Chuya Atsushi would like to meet with you. You will be picked up after your shift.

-

That was all the message said.

Chuya Atsushi was a name Chishiya was extremely familiar with. In fact, not a single person above the age of ten would not know that name in Japan. The man who built the Chuya Group to be what it was today, he was a legend in the business world. Though, Chishiya knew him better as the man whom Kurenai hated.

He was curious to know why her father would like to meet with him, though he had an inkling as to what it might be. Then, he became curious about how Atsushi came to know about their relationship. They were not trying to hide their relationship, but Kurenai did not particularly want her father to know either.

There was only one way to find out.

Once his shift ended, Chishiya changed out of his scrubs and left the hospital. As the message said, an expensive looking car was waiting by the entrance and as soon as Chishiya stepped out of the building, the driver got out of the car to open the door for him.

The car ride was short, and he was taken to the Chuya Group building. He was greeted by a woman in the lobby and she took him up to Atsushi's office without saying a word.

Before long, he was sitting in a chair on one side of Atsushi's desk.

"Chishiya Shuntarou, is it?" Atsushi asked.

"Yes, sir."

"I'm a busy man so I'll get straight to the point. What's your intention in dating my daughter?"

If he were to tell the truth, Chishiya knew Atsushi would not believe him because that was not what he wanted to hear. He did not want to know that they were dating because they were genuinely attracted to each other. No, he wanted to hear that there were dark intentions on Chishiya's side so when he would tell him to leave Kurenai, it would be completely justified.

"What do you want to hear? That I'm looking to climb the ladder in my career and I know she can help me? Or the fact that I know she's richer than ten billionaires combined so I'm set for life?"

"You have a smart mouth on you. Like Kurenai." Opening a drawer to the right, Atsushi pulled out a cheque book, writing as he spoke. "But let me ask you something. Do you think Kurenai is more powerful than I am? She can help you climb the ladder, but I can remove that ladder entirely. And it's surprisingly easy for me to just freeze her accounts. However, if you leave Kurenai, this is what I'm willing to give you."

Tearing a cheque out of the book, Atsushi slid the piece of paper over to Chishiya.

He took a look at the number he wrote, smiling a little at how ridiculous this was. Why was he constantly finding himself in situations that only appeared in dramas and movies?

The number written on the cheque was one that most people could only dream of. If Chishiya were to accept this, he could open up a clinic of his own and still had enough to buy about two to three houses.

"Is this how much your daughter is worth?"

"This is how much I think the future of my company is worth," Atsushi corrected him. "Kurenai is just a tool. Are you going to accept? Or do you want more?"

Coming to hand over a contract to his father, Aoi stopped just outside the door when he heard Chishiya's voice. What was he doing here? How did he know their father? Why would Atsushi meet with him?

With his ear pressed to the door, Aoi was trying to eavesdrop. From what he could hear, he was starting to piece together what was going on.

--

That night, Kurenai texted Aoi and asked if he had time to go shopping with her.

He said yes, with the intentions of telling her what he overheard at the office earlier that day but the moment he saw her, he could not bring himself to say it. He had never seen his sister so happy. Even Ayako said so. This was the happiest she had been in her entire life, and Aoi did not want to tear it down. He knew he had to, however. He could never let Chishiya hurt her.

"Do you have this but in blue?" Kurenai asked the staff, holding a button-up shirt.

All the stores they went into, they were all for men. Kurenai had already bought new shoes, new jackets, and a new watch for Chishiya. The more she bought, the happier she seemed, but the more worried Aoi became.

Kurenai would be so devastated to know the truth.

"If you could get them custom made too," Kurenai said. "These are the measurements, and this is the address you should send the shirts to once they are done."

"You know his exact measurements?" Aoi asked.

"You don't know your own boyfriend's exact measurements?"

Of course Aoi knew Toshiaki's shoe and clothes size, but if he were to get something custom made for him, he would need to bring him to the tailor. This was just further proving that Aoi had to tell Kurenai the truth. She was falling deeper and deeper for Chishiya by the second, and she was going to get hurt.

"Kurenai...Do you really think Chishiya is the one for you?"

"Why the sudden question?"

"Just...how do you know he's the one for you? What if he has ulterior motives for being with you? What if-"

"Aoi, I know you don't like Shuntarou, but he really makes me happy. I'm sure you can see it too. So why don't you give him a chance?"

"Because I heard him talking to father today."

Chishiya spoke with their father?

Sitting down with her, Aoi told her everything he heard. It sounded very much like something her father would do, but Kurenai wanted to believe in Chishiya. She wanted to believe that their relationship was much stronger.