Love Him...Forever

Shine was taken aback when Yuzuru suddenly ran toward her. Without a single word, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly against his chest.

"Yuzu, why are you here? I thought you were—" Shine began, but Yuzuru didn't let her finish.

"I missed you so much, Shine," he whispered. Shine melted into his embrace the moment she heard him call her name. For her, nothing in the world felt better than hearing Yuzuru say Shine again.

"I missed you too," she replied with a soft smile.

Yuzuru pulled back just enough to check her for injuries, scanning her face and arms with panic still lingering in his eyes. When he was sure she was unharmed, he pulled her into another tight embrace.

"Yuzu..." Shine breathed, feeling safe and warm inside his arms.

"I missed you so much," he repeated, holding her even tighter, inhaling her familiar scent.

He finally released her again and cupped her face gently.
"Are you okay?" he asked in Japanese.

Shine nodded.

Yuzuru sat beside her on the bed and continued in Japanese. "They told me my flight was delayed until 3 a.m. Apparently, they made a mistake with the booking. But now that I'm here—with you—I think it was a good thing."

Shine looked at him with a smile full of warmth and relief.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Yuzuru asked curiously.

"Nothing. I'm just really happy to see you," she replied.

Yuzuru's gaze dropped to the bed, where he noticed the letters he had written for her.
"Did you finish reading them?"

"Almost. But then you came," she said with a grin.

"Shine..." he murmured, brushing his knuckles gently along her cheek.

"Yes?" she whispered back.

"I never once lost hope that I'd get to say your name again. Now that I can... I still can't believe it," he said, smiling softly.

"You can call me Shine all you want now," she replied, touching his face. Yuzuru took her hand and held it tenderly.

"You know, I had to keep reminding myself to call you Hana. I needed that, just so I wouldn't accidentally slip and say Shine. Because the last time I did... it tore us apart. I couldn't risk that again. It hurt too much."

Shine nodded. "Kami already told me earlier that you knew the truth. I just... refused to believe her."

"Why?" Yuzuru asked gently.

"Because after all the lies I told you... I couldn't believe you were still here. Staying loyal to me, when you could easily replace me," Shine murmured.

Yuzuru lifted her chin and held her face firmly.
"I can't replace you. I've waited too long just to be with you again. Do you really think I can find someone like you that easily? Maybe after a thousand years—maybe."

Shine finally smiled again.

"When my parents and Allen told me everything, my heart sank. I knew I had to leave you. I couldn't let you get hurt because of me," Shine said in Japanese, wanting Yuzuru to understand every word clearly.

"Even if loving you hurts me, it's still worth it," Yuzuru replied. "But honestly... I almost believed you were really gone. Remember the day Allen caught us sleeping together?"

Shine nodded.

"That day, while you were in the hospital... Allen came to me and showed me a video of someone being pushed into the morgue."

"He did?" Shine said in disbelief.

Yuzuru nodded again.
"I tried to pretend I believed you were dead so no one would suspect I was still holding on. But Allen must have noticed. Maybe that's why he gave me that video—to force me to accept it."

"And you still believed I was alive after seeing it?" Shine asked, amazed.

"Yes. That video only made things clearer."
"How?" Shine asked softly.

"That girl... she looked like you from a distance. But something was off. I couldn't feel anything when I saw her. Maybe because she wasn't you."

Shine placed her head on his shoulder, happiness filling every inch of her.

"I wish we could stay like this forever," she whispered, releasing a long breath.

"Ah—" Yuzuru winced. Shine instantly sat up.

"What? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. Just a scratch," Yuzuru said, covering his shoulder. But Shine quickly moved his hand away and pulled down the sleeve of his jacket, revealing the bandage wrapped around his shoulder.

"What happened?" she asked, alarmed.

"I'm not sure. I woke up, and the nurse had already finished dressing the wound," he said honestly.

Shine touched the bandage gently.
"Because of me—" she began, but Yuzuru stopped her immediately, cupping her face again.

"Because of you, I learned what true love is. Because of you, I realized nothing in my life makes sense without you."

Moved to tears, Shine hugged him tightly.
"I don't know what I did in my past life to deserve you... but I'll love you until you tell me to stop. No—actually, even if you tell me to stop, I won't."

Yuzuru laughed softly and pulled back to look at her.
"In that case, you'll have to stay with me forever."

They stared into each other's eyes, full of affection and relief. And then they kissed—soft, warm, and filled with everything they had been holding inside.