I'm In Love With My Baby-sitter's Best Friend

I'm In Love With My Baby-sitter's Best Friend (Part Two)

Ohno Satoshi is in his final year in college. He took up art since it was his hobby when he was a kid and well, his first love says that he’s good at drawing so he just pursue what he really loves. He misses him. A few years after they made their promise to each other, he came to see him one day to tell him that he received a scholarship in a music university in Kyoto. It was a good thing that his mom was transferred there from the Tokyo branch of where she works. The last time he heard about Nino was that a couple of scouts from The Juilliard School watched the recital conducted by Nino’s university and learned that most of the pieces played in the recital was composed by him so they offered him scholarship to study in New York, his other expenses paid. And now he’s making a name in the music industry in the US as a composer to great artists there. While he studied at Tokyo University of Arts and in a few months time he will be conducting his first exhibit. His former baby-sitter, Sakurai Sho, now a renowned newscaster (he didn’t take over their business empire since Sho will always be the stubborn one and went to journalism instead and so it was his brother Shu who took over the company while Mai also chose a different path like him), will be the one who will report about the event. His friend and manager Matsumoto Jun was the one who organized his exhibit and who contacted influential people, art critics and famous people who will be coming to his show.

“Ne, Ohno-kun, what are you thinking?” his friend in school, Ikuta Toma asked him.
“Hm?” Ah− I’m just thinking about my upcoming exhibit,” he said.
“Are you excited? You’ll get to see your former baby-sitter, right? After he graduated in high school and got busy in college, he quit his job and you were not able to see him anymore,” Toma said.
“Yeah but recently he called me to tell me that he will be the one who will report my exhibit. Actually he told me that when he heard that I’m going to have an exhibit, he was the one who told the producer that he wanted to cover it even though he doesn’t usually tackle about the arts and entertainment. He said that with people seeing my works, they might come to Japan to buy it and that will be good to our economy,” he explained.
“Wow, Ohno-kun, that’s the longest sentence you’ve said in one go!” Toma teased.
Ohno pouted at that. “Mou, Toma-kun, you’re mean!”
“Hahahaha, I was just teasing you Ohno-kun! But you think Nino will come?”
His heart beat fast when he heard Nino’s name. “I’m not sure.”
He told Toma about Nino and the promise they made.
“Well being the composer of great artists in the States, he sure is busy, ne? But I hope he’ll come. Your birthday is near, right? A month before your exhibit.”
There’s a pang of realization hit him when Toma mentioned that his birthday is coming up. His twentieth birthday. He wonders if Nino remembered their promise when he was six years old. Maybe he had forgotten about it. Why would he? He was six, who would take him seriously. And Nino, Nino was thirteen, young and reckless and peobably made that promise on a whim just so he would stop crying. But for him, it was his most precious memory. Because it was made with Nino. Because it is Nino.
“You know Ohno-kun, I hope Nino remembers your promise as well,” Toma said interrupting his train of thoughts.
“Yeah I hope so, too,” he replied.
“Gambare, Ohno-kun!”
“Arigatou, Toma-kun!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Are you really sure you want to go back to Japan, Nino? Your career is doing great now here in New York! Why go back?” his friend and famous saxophonist in the US asked.

Aiba Masaki also got a scholarship grant at Juilliard School when they were scouted during their recital conducted by the Kyoto University for Music and Arts. It was a shock for the both of them because they were just in their second year in college and they were offered such scholarship and at Juilliard School at that! Of course they grabbed it. They continued their undergraduate studies there and then after they took a master’s degree and as they say, the rest is history.