Colours of the Snow | Yuki Ishikawa

18

I awoke to the sound of the doorbell echoing through my dark room. Groggily, I glanced at my phone to check the time. It was still the early hour of 3 AM.

Reluctantly, I rose from my bed, making my way towards the door. Through the peephole, I saw Yuki standing on the other side. I opened the door.

We stood there, motionless, our eyes locked in a silent exchange.

"Ran mentioned that you were outside the function room earlier," he began the conversation.

"Yes, I was there. What do you need?" I replied, trying to hide my emotions.

"I had no idea... I never expected you to come to Paris," he confessed, his expression filled with surprise.

"And yet, here I am," I responded, sounding sarcastic.

"Sorry for not knowing about your arrival," he said, contemplating.

"It's okay. I purposely kept it a secret to surprise you. Were you surprised?" I asked.

"Yeah, I was surprised. I didn't know what to do and why I am stoned in this moment," he admitted.

"Shouldn't you have run towards me and wrapped me in a warm embrace? What's holding you back?" I asked, a touch of coldness creeping into my voice.

"I... I don't know what to say. And you, Erinne, what's stopping you?" he questioned, trying to shift the focus back onto me.

"Don't return the question to me. I asked you first," I responded firmly.

"Erinne, what did you see earlier?" he asked, his eyes searching mine for a glimpse of understanding.

Rather than answering, I met his gaze with a steely stare, silently urging him to reveal the truth.

"Can we talk inside?" he requested, his tone softened with a mixture of hope and apprehension.

Without uttering a word, I simply nodded, allowing him to enter. I took a seat on the bed while he stood nearby, the weight of unspoken words hanging in the air.

"I'll get straight to the point. If you saw me with Lucia earlier, it meant nothing," he began, his voice tinged with vulnerability. "She was just an old acquaintance back in Padova."

I tried to hold back the surge of emotions within me. "Yes. I saw you with her. Something between you two? You did not act like 'just acquaintances.'" I was determined to find out the truth.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to steady himself before continuing. "We used to talk before...," he hesitantly revealed.

"Something happened between you two?" I continued to ask.

Yuki's silence spoke volumes, confirming my suspicions. Lucia was more than just an acquaintance; she used to be a romantic interest.

"Alright, everything is clear to me now. You can go back to her, enjoy your time together. Just remember to turn off the lights when you leave," I said coolly, as I laid myself back on the bed.

"Erinne, don't act like you're completely innocent in all of this. I assure you, nothing's going on between us. We were just catching up with each other," he insisted.

I sat up, meeting his gaze once again. "I'm not pretending to be innocent, Yuki. I already understand what happened between the two of you. As for me, I explained everything in one message."

"I'm sorry, I must have missed that. Why don't you explain it to me in person?" he pleaded, his eyes filled with a mix of longing and confusion.

I stood up, unable to contain my frustration. "I was going to!"

"At the party? You were planning to discuss this at the party?" he questioned, his tone laced with disbelief.

"No, of course not. I didn't want to cause a scene. I naively thought that everything would be fine once we saw each other, since I had already explained it," I defended.

"Eri, I've never been fine with this. I needed your explanation. I've been waiting for the day you would talk to me about it," he confessed, his voice filled with a mix of vulnerability and yearning.

"Yuki, I already told you that it was a coincidence that we ended up working together. I had no idea he would be there. I tried my best to avoid Ivan, but he just wouldn't stop bothering me," I explained.