A Hot Gimmick Afterstory

Chapter 1

In the spring of my third year of senior high school, my boyfriend, Ryoki Tachibana, proposed to me.

It wasn't the romantic kind of proposal like in the movies I watched with my friends after school, or sneakily during history class. In those movies, the gallant gentleman gets down on one knee and presents his lady with a sparkling diamond ring. The setting is always beautiful, like beside a lake, or at a high-class dining place with a bird's eye view of the city.

No, Ryoki has his own style of...being romantic.

He made the proposal - no, the proposal was triggered - in the outdoor carpark just outside our company apartment complex building where we lived.

"The second I turn eighteen I'm marrying Hatsumi here!"

"What?!" I exclaimed, my face half-pressed into his school jacket.

But I suppose he took that as "Yes, Ryoki! I do!"

That little drama was nearly a fortnight ago now. He's since moved from the huge penthouse at the top of our company complex apartment to the dormitories of Kaisei Academy. From what he tells me he's still the top student he always was. Meanwhile I'm still a struggling student, still living at home depending on my parents. Still the same old Hatsumi.

I look up from my homework and at the calendar on the dining room wall. I haven't seen Ryoki in a fortnight. Somehow, I miss being able to walk with him to school every morning. Back then I found it a little scary. But now that it's gone, the memories seem nostalgic.

Oh, Ryoki...

"Hatsumi!" my mother calls from the hallway. "What on earth are you cooking this time?"

A burning smell registers in my nose.

"Oh!" I throw my pen down onto my homework and jump up from the dining table.

While I've been daydreaming, the pancakes I've been cooking on the stove have been slowly...overcooking.

This evening we're celebrating Valentine's Day at my place. My plan is to surprise Ryoki with a warm home-cooked meal when he comes over tonight. Thanks to some string-pulling by my younger sister Akane, the rest of my family is out for dinner today.

The phone rings as I'm humming and washing the dishes left over from lunch time. I'm elbow deep in soapy water so it rings several times before I dry my hands and pick it up.

"Hello?" I just can't contain my excitement. It has to be Ryoki!

"Dimwit!" the familiar voice answers. "Why didn't you pick up the phone earlier!"

I deflate a little, but try nudging him into a good mood.

"Ryoki!" I say, "It's so good to hear from you! How are you?"

"You know you've pledged to be my fiance, right?" he replies. "That means you answer the phone within two rings!"

"Wait, I was doing the dishes-"

"Don't make excuses! Just because I'm not there to supervise you every day any more doesn't mean you can start fooling around with other men!"

"I wasn't-"

"I'll be there in an hour sharp, so make sure you're all ready to go by then! For chrissake, does every guy have to put this much effort in just to have a night alone with his fiance?"

"We um, haven't really told our families yet..."

Beep. He's hung up on me.

"Why, why why?" I rest my forehead on the wall with a sigh. Typical Ryoki...

I get to work, cleaning the house, putting things away, setting the table, and placing some candles in the bedroom Akane and I share. That last one was a specific request from Ryoki. Then I put on an apron, wash the vegetables, and start making curry rice. I'm not great at cooking, but the video recipe on the internet seemed simple enough. I practised it until Mum and Akane gave it the thumbs up.

An hour later, right on the dot, the doorbell rings.

I'm busy doing the washing up, but I quickly rinse my hands off. As I dry my hands I hear the doorbell ringing impatiently, again and again.

"I'm coming !" I call, untying my apron strings. On my way to the front door, I grab the nearest pair of slippers, and lay them ready near the entrance.

"Idiot!" I can hear his usual greeting before I even finish opening the door.

He storms inside, looking not the least bit Valentine's-like. A breath of cold air whooshes in after him and he slams the door shut.

"Were you gonna make me wait out in the cold to freeze?!"

He sees the slippers laid on the floor and slides his feet into them.

"Hm. Good size," he says.

"They're Shinogu's, so I thought they'd fit you perfectly," I say, trying to continue on a topic that's keeping him out of a bad mood.

"Goddamn it Hatsumi! How many times have I told you to stop thinking about him?! He's not even legally your brother anymore!"

This one hurts.

Adopted brother or not, Shinogu was always there for me whenever I had a hard time. I didn't realise how much I'd come to depend on his warm words until he had annuled his adoption and moved out of home.

Ryoki goes into the hallway ahead of me, while I bend down and straighten the shoes on the shoe rack. The only big shoes there these days are my dad's joggers, and my dad's work shoes if it's a weekend. How empty it seems, that spot where Shinogu's shoes used to sit. And another, much smaller, pair of shoes is sitting apart from the rack too. Hikaru, my toddler of a brother, must have outgrown them already.

Suddenly Ryoki stops in the hallway and sniffs.

"Is that curry rice I smell?" He turns to look at me, confused. "I thought your folks were all out today."

"They are," I answer, and I remember that my first successful attempt at home cooking is sitting out on the table, together with a new gingham tablecloth and our best glasses. I lead Ryoki into the kitchen and, putting my hands behind my back, draw myself up proudly, "I made curry rice for both of us."

I wait expectantly for his response.

"For chrissake!" he shouts suddenly, and I flinch. I was expecting something more...pleased.

"W...what is it?" I ask. He rounds on me and pins me against the hallway wall.

"It's Valentine's Day, you idiot. You know what couples get to do on that day. I finally get an evening alone with you, and you think it's a great idea to be wasting all that precious time eating?!"

"I...thought you might be hungry after school-" He throws his school bag to the floor, and kisses me before I can finish talking. I submit and put my arms around his neck.

"Ryoki..."

He starts unbuttoning my blouse but then pauses. Sweeping me off my feet, he carries me into the bedroom Akane and I share.

"This place is a goddam shoebox..." he says before shutting the door.

Outside, the forgotten curry grows cold.