Showered by the Stars

40. The Greenhouse

“Eh???”

“Is that Minami-san?”

“Huh? Really?”

“She dyed her hair!”

“Ah! And Konoe-san is with her.”

“So the rumors were true. That they’re engaged.”

“Engaged?! But how come?”

“Ah! Idiot! It’s not how come?! You see them leave school together, right? And there was also news about them eloping. But they were found and brought back. The media featured their engagement as well. The only granddaughter of the Director of Minami Electronics Corp. and the only grandson of the richest businessman in all of Japan and he’s also one of the top three richest man in the world.”

“Eh? Really? Then that means it’s purely business, right? But why elope? Or did they just run away together to escape the arranged marriage?”

Talks like these circulated the whole day. I slumped on my chair. Geez—how troublesome.

“Oi! Mizuki! How dare you not contact us for three whole days!” Kana-chan said, angrily.

“Eep! I’m really sorry. I’ll answer anything you ask, so just forgive me.” I said, with fake tears.

“Eek! Stop it. Alright! Alright!” she said.

“Why did you suddenly run off during your engagement party?” Ran-chan asked.

“Erm—a lot of things happened.” I looked around. This doesn’t seem to be a perfect place to talk about this stuff. “Why don’t we go to the greenhouse?”

“Fine.” Ran sighed.

We went to the greenhouse and made sure no one was there. Kana-chan prepared some tea and snacks. This is our very own hang out place in the school. To be specific, it’s built for us.

“Now, talk.” Ran-chan said, in a commanding voice.

“Er—well. You remembered what happened on Friday?” she nodded. “Well, during the engagement party, Takeshima was there and he brought be somewhere. The he just did the same thing he did last Friday. I managed to leave just in time for the announcement about the engagement. When I heard Takeshima’s voice again, calling out my name, I panicked and ran away.” I said.

“So. Because you were feeling pressured you decided to run away? How foolish.” Bull’s eye.

“Ah—well. I wanted to leave it all. To be honest, if Eri-kun wasn’t there, I would have really ran away to somewhere no one will know.” I said. I wanted to escape my responsibilities as Minami Kyuusuke’s granddaughter. I wanted to escape from being married off. I wanted to forget about Takeshima Masato and this lingering feeling deep inside me.

“Why was he with you in the first place?” Kana asked. Eh?

“Who?” I asked. Was she talking about Takeshima? Or Eri-kun?

“Konoe. Why was he with you? Because of that, they even thought you both eloped.” She said. “You know media, they always twist up the truth to make it interesting.”

“Umm—When I got out of the house he was outside with his motorbike. I didn’t want him to come with me. But if I left him right then, he would have called my grandfather immediately. Then my plan wouldn’t work. And that’s why; with him tagging along I just decided to make it a vacation instead of an escape.” I sighed.

“Oh? So that’s why he disappeared after your dance. We thought that he had an upset stomach or something. So, he followed you. Tch!” Ran said.

“Eh? What do you mean ‘Tch’?” I frowned.

“Ah! I just remembered something. You still remember Oda Chiyemi, right?” Kana said.

Huh? Who?

“You know. The 1st year from Class A who is good in cooking.” She said.

“Ah! Yeah. What about her?” I asked.

“Well, it turned out that she’s a distant relative of that Kajiyama Ai.” She said.

“Oh? Then?” I said, seeming uninterested.

“She’s actually not Takeshima’s girlfriend. More like ex since they lost communication when she went abroad.” My eyes widened. What? “And you know what else? The whole school where they both go to knows about this because Kajiyama broke off their relationship because of some reasons.” Kana said. What? I don’t understand.

“Actually, Mizuki. I looked her up. She is a patient of your mom’s hospital. She goes there every 6 weeks to have examinations. She has a weak heart. And she’s in need of a heart transplant. Her days are already numbered.” Ran supplied.

Really? Poor girl. Maybe that’s her reason to break up with him? Ex or not. I know that he still likes her. And Ai must have loved him very much.

“By the way, how did you know about this stuff? Isn’t this confidential?” I said.

“I have my sources. Underground friends are very much useful at times, you know.” She smiled, menacingly.

“So, now that you know about those two, what’ll you do now?” Kana asked.

“Hmm? Nothing really.” I looked at them. They seem unconvinced. Maybe I should tell them straight out. I laughed. “Hey. Did you know? I loved him.” The moment I said those words, tears fell down. “And I thought that it’s nothing. Geez—The moment I tried to like him, I don’t know how to stop anymore. It sucks but I still love him even if he betrayed me. God! I look so pathetic right now.” Kana wanted to hug me. I stopped her. “Please—Don’t—Just let me say it all—I hate myself for being weak.”

“Okay. You can cry, or shout as much as you want. Just let it all out.” Kana said.

I cried.