Red Strings ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

Fifty-Fourth String

In the silent room as they ate, a phone started to buzz. His colleagues looked at him, but Chishiya was just eating his lunch as if he could not feel his phone buzzing in his pocket.

"Are you not going to answer that?" One of them asked.

"It's just Kurenai sending me a list of vendors to look at for our wedding."

She mentioned that it was no rush, she just wanted him to take a look whenever he was free and get back to her with his opinions. Although, if Chishiya were to be honest, he did not care as much as she did. Not because he did not care about the wedding, but he was not the type to make a big deal out of things. If it were up to him, they would probably just hand in their marriage application and that would be the wedding for him.

"Man, I can't believe you're getting married," Colleague No. 1 said. "You don't seem like the type to want to settle with anyone."

"You don't seem like a doctor either yet here we are."

"Okay, I take it back. You don't seem like the type of person anyone would like to settle with."

Chishiya grinned.

His relationship with Kurenai had baffled many people. They were confused not because she was a multi-billionaire and he was just a doctor. They were confused because according to them, Chishiya had a pretty rotten personality and they just could not wrap their head around the fact that Kurenai would see him as loving.

"Let me give you some advice as your senior, kid," Colleague No. 2 interrupted. "Don't do it. Don't get married."

"Aren't you married yourself? We attended your wedding last year," No. 1 frowned.

"And I've regretted it ever since," No. 2 sighed. "Trust me. All women pretend to be docile, and they treat you like a king when you're just dating. As soon as you're married, that's when they show you the fangs and claws they have hidden away the entire time. You can say goodbye to your freedom and your sanity."

"Then why did you get married in the first place?"

"I got her pregnant, what else? Kid, I had no choice because she was carrying my child. You have a choice and you still chose to dig your own grave? Get out while you can, man."

If this conversation happened many years ago, Chishiya would most likely agree.

Marriage always seemed like a hassle. He did not understand why you had to put on such an extravagant show for others to see that you loved each other. All for what? A piece of paper that said you were legally bound to another person? He never saw himself getting married, or into any kind of relationship.

But that was back then. Before he met Kurenai.

While he still stuck by the idea that a wedding was just a show, he could not wait to marry Kurenai. He could not wait to sign that piece of paper dictating her as his, and him as hers. What he did not understand now, were people like No. 2.

Ever since the announcement of his engagement, so many people would approach him telling him that he was making a mistake, that he was 'digging his own grave'. He was told that he would lose his freedom, his friends, and anything else remotely meaningful to him because his wife would try to control him and ruin his life.

Which seemed rather amusing to Chishiya seeing as he did not have any friends, and the only thing meaningful in his life was Kurenai. He could not see how she could ruin herself for him.

"Kurenai's not like that."

"Bullshit," No. 2 retorted. "They are all the same, kid, trust me. I thought my wife was a gentle and very docile woman too. She was a nightmare when she started planning the wedding, and she's still a nightmare now. We got into a fight because I got the wrong shade of pink for the napkins. She wanted baby pink, and I got coral pink."

"What's the difference?" No. 1 asked.

"There is absolutely no difference! And just last night, she yelled at me because I didn't get face wipes for her on my way home. She started crying, saying that I don't love her and I don't care about her. Really? I've been working my ass off for thirty-six hours and you're telling me I don't love you because I didn't get face wipes?"

"So why didn't you?" Chishiya asked. "If you really love someone, you'd remember everything they tell you. And you wouldn't complain about getting face wipes."

"Kid, you really don't know what you're talking about. You see your girl as an angel now, but there's a devil living inside her. I'll prove it to you. Text her right now, and tell her that you don't like any of the vendors she just sent you."

Although Chishiya knew what the outcome would be, he decided to text Kurenai just to entertain No. 2. And to prove him wrong.

He clicked into the messages Kurenai sent him, and it was a long list. She had at least five different choices for each aspect, i.e. flowers, DJ, invitations, etc. He felt a little bad to ban the entire list because she must have done a thorough research to pick the top five for each vendor. He made a mental note to explain the situation to her later.

Within seconds, Kurenai replied to his response.

"Let's see."

-

[My King]: Just went through the list, don't really like any of them.

[My Queen]: What don't you like?

[My King]: Don't know. Just don't like.

[My Queen]: Okay, I'll look for others then.

-

As No. 2 read through the messages, he was in disbelief. Chishiya smirked at his victory, taking his phone back and told Kurenai to forget what he just said, that he would talk to her when he got home so she should not look up other vendors just yet.

"I told you, Kurenai is not like that."

"Yeah well...it's still early in the relationship. Just you wait, I know I'm right."

--

After much persuasion from Kurenai, Chishiya finally agreed to tell Niragi about their engagement. He never really considered Niragi as his friend, but according to Kurenai, they were best friends. If wanting to kill Niragi because he kept stealing food from his cupboard meant that they were best friends then of course, they were the bestest of all best friends.

They agreed to meet up for a meal after work, and Chishiya arrived at the restaurant first. It was not long after when Niragi arrived too.

"I'm getting married," Chishiya said.

He wasted no time, and straight after they ordered their food, he told Niragi what he asked to meet for. He was sure Niragi would appreciate it too, since neither of them was the type to enjoy small talk.

"...to Kurenai?"

"Of course to Kurenai. Who else would I marry?"

"How should I know? Kids these days change partners like they change underwear. Actually, they probably change partners more often than they do underwear."

"It's Kurenai I'm marrying."

"Congratulations, nerd."

Chishiya stared at Niragi, not saying a word. He had a little frown on his face, but it soon turned into a smile.

"What?" Niragi asked.

"Nothing. Just...I was expecting you to tell me that I made a mistake. Like everyone else did when I told them I'm getting married."

"But you're not making a mistake. You marry someone when you love them, and you two love each other. A lot. And that's coming from me. I knew you were gonna get married one day, it's just a matter of when."

"Would you like to be my best man?"

"Hell no."