Hack Into My Heart

Code 9: Revelation

"Kazuya-san, wake up."

I woke up with a start, hearing Yusuke. Damn it, he woke up earlier than me so he was still in my arms. "Are you better?" I asked, trying to look cool. I let him go and he took a sitting position.

"Yes, sorry for the trouble," he answered with a blush, "and thank you."

"Hmm," I hummed, stroking my nose and left the bed.

"I will go buy breakfast," Yusuke said before I left the room and I threw him a concerned gaze. He still looked pale as well as tired, so I couldn't take the risk to send him out.

"I will buy it, you sit still," I said with a cold tone, contrasting my worry and left the room fast before he could say anything.

Good thing it was the weekend, so I didn't have to go work and I presumed Yusuke had a day off as he didn't mention it although we woke up at eleven.

Even though I left the house with the intention to buy take-out food, after giving it a thought I decided to prepare the food by myself. As it was only me and my father before, I knew how to cook and Yusuke needed to eat some light food after that break down.

Only once, I convinced myself and went to the nearest market to buy some ingredients. When I returned to the house, hands full with bags, Yusuke was already in the kitchen, swallowing some pills.

"What's wrong?" I asked with concern, long forgotten that I was ghosting him until a day ago.

"Oh, just headache," he reassured me and changed the subject by pointing at the bags, "these are..."

"Ingredients," I answered, stating the obvious, "I just craved homemade food," I lied because it would kill me to admit that I was thinking about his well being.

"Oh," he exclaimed with a slight smile and I knew he didn't buy it, but still he let me off the hook, "do you need help? I am extremely bad at cooking but at least I can help you," he said very sweetly.

"No need," I shook my head, "just sit still," you look tired.

He didn't argue and sat on the chair, his eyes glued on me.

"Don't worry, I won't burn your kitchen down," I snorted.

"I just felt a bit melancholic, it was sensei who used to cook," he explained softly and I cursed my sharp tongue.

"So, you were living with Shimaha-san?" I changed the topic while taking out the ingredients out of the bags. I asked it because I wanted to distract his mind from the previous incident, not because I was curious. Nope, not at all.

Yusuke nodded with a sad smile, "he was my father's friend, when my parents died ten years ago, he took me in. He had no children, so he regarded me as his real son."

Well, he didn't have to reveal that much private information to someone like me, so I was surprised a bit. Trying to keep a blank face, I cracked two eggs on a bowl, beating them with a pair of chopsticks. "He sounds cool," I said, my attention on the eggs.

He let out a soft chuckle, "he was really cool, I decided to be a police officer because of him."

"Your parents..." I uttered unwittingly and shut up immediately. I turned around to wash the vegetables. Good thing the sink was on the opposite side, so I could hide my abashed face from Yusuke.

"They committed suicide."

What?! The cabbage in my hands fell to the sink with a thud. I surely misheard him, right? With hesitation, I turned off the tap and turned around slightly to see his face. Unfortunately, his still pale face was quite serious.

"Really?" I asked softly to confirm and to my dismay, he nodded.

"My father liked to gamble a lot, but he was really bad at it. He always had debts, but that didn't stop him and in the end he lost everything; our car, house, even his job," Yusuke paused for a second, his eyes glazed, obviously thinking back those days. I noticed his forefinger was tapping on the wooden surface with a repeated pattern, but before I could ask about it, he sighed and continued, "the day we had to move out, my father sent me to the police station to bring Shimaha-san. I did what he told me and when I was back with sensei, they were lying dead on the bed with empty pill boxes around."

I was too shocked, hearing his story. Who could have guessed that bubbly Yusuke had a terrible past like that? It was amazing how well he was hiding the pain of the past. Although we almost experienced the same thing, our reactions were totally different. Yusuke chose to hold onto life while I burned myself with revenge. Now, I understood why he was so good to me, it was indeed beyond his promise to Shimaha-san. I reminded him of his own past, so he wanted to be my life-line like Shimaha-san was to him.

With the revelation, the shame came. Thinking back, I was nothing more than a whimpering kid. Yusuke was genuinely trying to help me and save my future while I accused him of being fake and inconsiderate.

I didn't deserve him. He was such an angel while I was the devil himself.

"Was it too shocking?" Yusuke asked softly and only then I noticed I was just staring at him blankly.

"I..." What? Sorry?

"It is okay," he said as if reading my mind and smiled cutely, "so, am I still getting breakfast?"

"Oh, sure," I mumbled and returned back to the forgotten cabbage. Before long, I placed a few light dishes onto the table under the sparkling gaze of Yusuke.

"Ittekimasu!" he said loudly and dug in avidly. Letting out a rare smile for his childish enthusiasm, I followed his suit and we ate together again after a long time.

I am so sorry...