Red Strings ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

Thirty-Ninth String

When she woke that morning, Kurenai did not feel like getting out of bed.

Ever since she took over the company, she had been working every day, even through the weekends. Finally, she managed to have a day off and coincidentally, it was Valentine's Day. What she did not count on, however, was the fact that Chishiya had to work.

Hospitals did not have holidays. No Christmas, no New Year, no Valentine's.

They should, but they did not.

So here she was, laying in bed alone, staring up at her ceiling.

The only thing she hated ever since she met Chishiya and started dating him, was the fact that she could no longer be by herself. She used to be able to spend the entire day in bed, only coming out to eat or use the bathroom. She could go the entire weekend without turning on a single light in the apartment, just going on her phone. Sometimes, she would send Ayako home just so she could have the apartment by herself.

Once, she even changed the passcode so Aoi could not show up uninvited.

Now, however, she was always with someone.

At work, she had her colleagues. At home, she had Chishiya. And if he was at work, she had Ayako. If Ayako was busy too, she would call Kuina and hang out with her instead.

"Good morning, Ayako-san."

Kurenai dragged herself out of bed, going downstairs to the living room. Ayako had just woken up too, and she was about to start the day. As the woman was walking over to the kitchen and the fridge, Kurenai called out to stop her.

"Ayako-san, how about we go out for brunch together?" she asked. "Since I'm all alone on Valentine's Day."

"You are not alone, sweetie," Ayako smiled, pinching Kurenai's cheek. "But sure, let's go out for brunch. How about the café you like near here?"

That was when Kurenai's phone started ringing.

She thought it was Chishiya calling, but it was rather unlikely since he was working. And when she looked at the caller ID, Kurenai could not help but rolled her eyes a little. Why was Aoi calling her now? Should he not be celebrating with his boyfriend?

When she answered the call, however, Kurenai could hear it in Aoi's voice. He sounded lonely and disappointed. So when he asked if he could join them on their brunch, Kurenai said yes. It seemed ironic that they both found a partner yet they were both spending Valentine's Day alone.

Her day went better than she thought, however.

Chishiya had always been in the back of her mind but she was more focused on the time she was spending with Ayako and Aoi. They had a great meal at the café, and they had a lot of fun shopping with Ayako at the supermarket.

Their day together soon ended, however, as Aoi was whisked away by his boyfriend.

Kurenai looked down at the rose Toshiaki gave her out of politeness, and she could not help but feel a little jealous. She was never one for all these over the top romantic gesture, though now that she was in a relationship, she thought it would not be bad to experience one of these over the top moments. Chishiya, however, was not the romantic type.

He was romantic in his own ways, and Kurenai loved that part of him. He would remember little things about her, and do little things that others would never think of doing. But sometimes, just sometimes, she would like it if he would surprise her with a bouquet of flowers.

"I have to go home, Miss Kurenai," Ayako suddenly announced.

"What? Why?"

"It's a tradition in our family. My nieces and nephews always make dinner for us on Valentine's Day."

"Really? You spent last year with me though," Kurenai frowned.

For a split second, Ayako looked like a deer in headlights. Kurenai was getting a little suspicious, but Ayako insisted that she had to head home. She even handed over the grocery bags, which Ayako never did before.

Carrying the grocery back up to her apartment, Kurenai could not help but sigh. How was it that she ended up being alone anyway?

She entered the passcode, opening the door and walked in. There, wearing an apron, standing in the kitchen in front of the stove was Chishiya.

Kurenai dropped the bags and ran up to Chishiya, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist from behind. Caught off guard, Chishiya managed to turn the stove off just in case they burnt themselves or the food burnt.

"Careful!" Chishiya frowned, taking a few steps back and covered her hands with his. "You nearly burnt your hand."

"What are you doing here, Shuntarou? You said you had work."

Chishiya turned around to face her, squishing her cheeks with his palms. He liked seeing the surprise look on her face. "There's something called a lie," he smiled, kissing her forehead. "I wanted to surprise you."

"I'm pleasantly surprised," Kurenai grinned, tilting her head back and puckered up her lips. Chishiya smirked, pressing the wooden spoon to her lips instead. "Shuntarou~"

"Not now. I'm cooking. Take a seat at the table, I'll be done soon."

With a pout, Kurenai went to pick up the grocery bags, dropping them on the counter then went over to the dining table, sitting down. As promised, Chishiya did not take long and served her a plate of omurice with 'Happy Valentine's Day' written in ketchup.

To others, it might not be the romantic meal that they look forward to. For Kurenai, however, it was the perfect meal.

Ever since she met Kuina, she had been obsessed with different 'commoner' food every so often. It started with fast food, then it was convenience store food, and then it was instant noodles and cup noodles. Her recent obsession was omurice, and how when she would cut it open, the omelette would gracefully fall and cover the rice underneath.

"Do you want me to cut it for you?" Chishiya asked, holding the knife.

"Yes. Wait, no!" she gasped, taking the knife from him.

She could not contain her excitement as she poked the knife into the omelette and swiped it down, cutting the omelette open. Her eyes widened as she watched the egg unfolded, covering the rice as it fell. She was giddy, looking at Chishiya with big eyes.

It was a look that brought a smile to Chishiya's face.

And he wanted to see it again so he took her plate away, putting his own in front of her so she could do it again with his omelette. Like a child on Christmas opening presents, Kurenai's eyes brightened as she cut the omelette open once more.

"I could do this all day," she giggled.

"Then I'll make you omurice everyday."

"Yes!"

They enjoyed their dinner, and Chishiya even did the dishes after; Kurenai was absolutely pampered.

Once he was done with the dishes, Chishiya sat down on the sofa with Kurenai and they exchanged gifts. Kurenai's gift for him was a watch; it was branded, and definitely cost a lot but she chose a subtle design so he could wear it daily without being too in-your-face. Chishiya then surprised her with a big box.

Inside was something Kurenai never thought Chishiya would get her. It was something she would never get herself either, and it was something she definitely did not have,

In the box, there were four framed photos.

One of her with Ayako, one of her with Aoi, and two of her with Chishiya.

Kurenai did not have a single photo in her home. Not of herself, and definitely not of her family. She did not need a reminder that she was related to Atsushi, and she did not want to remember her mother after what she had done.

But her life was no longer miserable and depressing.

She never had happy memories, but she did now. She had Ayako who was like a mother to her, and her relationship with her brother had improved a lot. And she was definitely happy with Chishiya.

"It's about time you put some photos around here. Do you like them?"

"I love them."