Remnants

Remnants- Part 1

Inoo closes the front door. He put his backpack on the coffee table and immediately lie on the couch. Today has been a really exhausting day for him- both mentally and physically.

But his emotions are the one having the real challenge.

A notification sound comes from his cell phone.

That must be the manager, thought Inoo as he reaches for his phone in his left pocket.

But he was wrong.

Today was fun. I had a good time. Thank you. - Yuya

Inoo takes a long breath in. Tears has begun to accumulate in his eyes. Indeed, the location shooting he did with Takaki today brings back a lot of memories to both of them.

Bittersweet memories.

"Thank you for tonight," says Inoo, trying to break the silence as they walk along the beach. "The sushi was delicious."

"Em," Takaki only replies with a simple nod. The man's eyes are fixed onto the sand, as if he is carefully calculating his next steps.

Or perhaps he is carefully choosing his next words.

Inoo stops moving. "You are awfully quite today."

"I'm okay..."

"Yuya, you know you can share anything with me right?"

Takaki sighs. He finally stops walking and turns to face the boy. The moonlight enhances Inoo's beauty even further, that for a moment Takaki thought he is in the presence of an angel.

I don't want this to end.

"I have something to tell you," Takaki gets closer to Inoo.

"What's the matter?"

Takaki hesitated.

Inoo has been observing the man all night. He is not as cheerful as he usually is. There is sorrow in Takaki's eyes and uncertainty in the man's voice. Fear begins to cloud Inoo's mind. The night may not have the fairy-tale ending Inoo hoped.

There is a long silence as the two stares at each other. Neither one of them is ready to continue. The two had enjoyed a lot of private time together at this beach for the past year, but today everything feels different. The sound of the waves that once symbolized their secret romance hits differently to Inoo's ears now.

"Say it. I'll be fine," Inoo urges.

"I think we should stop seeing each other in private."

Inoo's hands tremble. Not because of the chilly ocean wind, but due to Takaki's shocking statement.

"Why?"

"It's not you, it's me," Takaki diverts his eyes.

"I don't understand. Did you not enjoy spending time with me?"

"Kei please... don't make this difficult..."

"But you are making it difficult for me!"

Inoo's scream caused Takaki's to stunt. This is the first time he witnesses Inoo in such state. Deep inside his heart Takaki wants to pull Inoo into his arms and embrace him tight.

But Takaki can't. There are too many things at stake.

"I realized that I've been giving you false hope," Takaki lies.