This is the story of Ayame, a young artistic gymnast who, due to a stroke of fate, can no longer practise her sport. In search of a new purpose in life, she comes to Sendai from her home town of Sapporo by chance to work in the house of a famous fig...
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Ayame had slept in the Shinkansen for a while. It was clear that the last few days before her departure had been very stressful. All the farewells and the ending of important relationships at work had been an emotional and mental challenge for her.
And then there was the future: what would await her in her new phase of life? How would the first few days in Yuzuru's house feel, would she be up to the task?
She had suddenly realized that she had no experience of running a household for a bachelor. She also had no idea what really made Yururu tick.
After a while, however, Ayame put all these thoughts to one side; it was pointless to dwell on them. Without knowing Yuzuru's personality better, she could only make assumptions anyway. She relied on his mother's intuition, who probably knew best what was good for her son.
So Ayame flipped her inner switch to "function" mode and tuned in to simply move forward, step by step.
***
Yuzuru was too early. The Shinkansen from Hokkaidō arrived at 12:35, and now it was only five past twelve. He sighed. His over-punctuality was once again to blame for him having to kill time and, what's more, deal with not being recognized while he waited for Ayame.
Pull yourself together, he thought to himself. Don't be grumpy now that she's about to arrive. He stretched out on the seat of his car and pulled his baseball cap a little lower over his face. He was wearing his disguise, as Yumi called it. Loose sportswear that completely concealed his figure. He could easily have been 90 kilos and had a big belly. You couldn't tell.
He decided to stretch his legs a little outside the car. He was in Sendai, there wouldn't be hordes of fans mobbing him. So he put on his mask, another effective and less conspicuous means of making himself unrecognizable. Sunglasses were a must today anyway. It was a glaringly bright summer's day.
He had managed to get a parking space just a few meters away from the main entrance and, if he didn't want to miss Ayame, he had to get a little closer anyway. So he decided to wait near the entrance.
He spotted the luggage lockers located there, right next to a pedestrian underpass. He strolled over there and, once he had arrived, leaned against the railing that secured the exit, his eyes fixed on the sliding doors. He just had to hope that someone wouldn't come to deposit his suitcase now of all times...
***
Let's go, Ayame thought as she got off the bullet train and tried to find her way around the platform with her luggage. She quickly saw the signs for the exit and set off.
She knew from Yumi's last message that Yuzuru would pick her up personally from the station, and she assumed that he would be waiting for her outside the entrance. She hadn't asked him to pick her up. But Yumi insisted. Well, it was just fine, the cab ride would have cost money, and of course it was much more comfortable this way.
She was excited. What would it be like to meet him alone?
When she finally left the station entrance hall in the stream of other travelers and looked around, she didn't see him. A little to the right of the entrance, she did notice a somewhat bulky male figure standing nearby, leaning casually against the luggage lockers there, but not looking in her direction. But wasn't he far too fat?
She tried to make eye contact, moved a little in his direction, raised her hand a bit, questioningly in an implied wave. But she couldn't see his eyes, nor did she notice any reaction that could have given her a clue. Not after all... so she looked searchingly in the other direction, hoping to spot Yuzuru soon.
Suddenly she felt a gentle touch on her right arm and was a little startled. She hadn't expected it and had been too focused on finding her new boss.
"Ebihara-san, I'm glad you've obviously arrived safely," she heard a gentle voice say to her. She turned in the direction of the voice and there stood the hooded figure in front of her, who had just been standing several meters away from her. How had he managed to get to her so quickly?
"I hope I didn't scare you?" Yuzuru said a little awkwardly and bowed. Then he pulled her slightly aside by the arm so that they were no longer standing in the middle of all the people and right in front of the entrance. Then he took off his sunglasses, as if to prove to her who he was. And there she saw him again! That look. It was him, clearly!
"Hanyū-san, thank you for welcoming me and picking me up! I'm happy to finally be here!" Ayame was a little confused, but she quickly regained her composure. "We can leave right away." "Perfect, my car is over there. Please, follow me. And let me carry your suitcase."
She gladly let him take the suitcase, even though it was on wheels, light, relatively small and not a burden. But, if Yuzuru wanted to be the perfect gentleman, she didn't mind.
She followed him at a slight distance, watching his gait. Her time in gymnastics had taught her to analyze people's movements carefully, even when they were in concealing clothing. And today, Yuzuru's gait was neither lively nor light and bouncy, as it had been on the day of the job interview. Today he seemed firm and a little heavy, but not necessarily tired.
"Was the journey pleasant?" Yuzuru interrupted her thoughts. "Yes, to some extent. I slept for a while. I guess saying goodbye made me tired..." "Understandable! All that must have been very emotional for you," he remarked. "Yes, it really was. But now I'm looking forward to my new job with you!"
Yuzuru just nodded and said nothing, because they had arrived at the car and he immediately opened the trunk. With a sweeping movement, he heaved her suitcase inside. "Please, take a seat in the car, it's about to start. The journey won't take long."
And with that, they were on their way.
Ayame suddenly became very nervous again. She was sitting in a car with a strange man, she realized. Even though almost the whole world knew him. She glanced over at him furtively. He had taken off his sunglasses and mask, but kept his cap on once they were in the car. She didn't want to stare at him, but couldn't help but notice how absolutely focused he was on the traffic. He wasn't distracted by anything, hadn't started a conversation.
She was fine with that, it gave her a little time to get used to his presence. And she could clearly feel that it was very special. He had such a strong presence - even though he didn't do anything special - that she had never felt before. At least, she couldn't remember...
So they drove in silence to his house, which would now be their shared home.
