In Our Corner of the World || y.h.

thirty-one ; we need to see spring

Yuzuru spent the entire night looking for Misaki. He wanted to tell her what happened with Celeste, and what he had said to her.

"You know Yuzuru, you and I would make a great couple." She told him as she pressed her lips against his, but he was quite unresponsive, and once she pulled away, she smiled a disappointing smile, "If only you weren't in love with Misaki."

He was taken aback and didn't know how to respond to her.

"I, uh."

"It's okay. I know how it is." She said, "Just promise you'll take good care of her. She doesn't really fancy the polo boys as much as I do."

Yuzuru smiled and nodded. When he got back to the gala, he couldn't find her, and when he went to ask Koichi where she was, he told him that she had an emergency and that her mother needed her to be home immediately.

Rushing to the docks, he noticed the boat had left for the mainland, and he was sure she was on that boat. Filled with frustration, he realised he had no choice but to be stuck on this island until the next boat.

Morning came and he took the first boat to the mainland, and once he got to the airport, he took the first flight home as well, wanting so badly to see her. But this time, he couldn't come back to Japan.

He had to prepare for the Olympics. 

Calling her and only getting through her voicemails, he felt completely at a loss, thinking of how he could get to her. 

Misaki arrived home early and spent the rest of her remaining time crying in her room. She didn't want to see anyone nor did she want to eat. All of her energy drained as she read whatever book was on her shelf.

The day came when her mother came knocking on her bedroom door, and she walked in on her daughter in a complete mess, but instead of yelling, she sat beside her and said.

"I didn't get the tickets to Pyeongchang." She stated.

"That's okay. We can do something else together." She said through sniffles.

"But, the Japan team gave us these two VIP tickets. We won't even be sitting in the seats, we'll be by the rink! They must be really big fans of you to give you these!" She handed her daughter the envelope and kissed her temple with excitement. But to her, she wished she could be asked to do any other movie or photoshoot on that day just so she wouldn't have to fly to Korea to see him.

She opened the envelope, and two lanyards were there, with VIP passes, and a note.

I need to tell you the truth. I hope to see you there Misaki. -Yuzuru

Her thoughts began to think again at the note, and she wondered if she should even go. Not being able to handle the mess that's going on, she could only head to the one place in the city where she could straighten out her thoughts.

Grabbing her coat, she headed out and took a train. Wearing a mask to not gain attention, she stopped when she had reached her destination twenty minutes after. 

She came to a coffee shop which was owned by a close friend of hers - a girl from high school that had recognised the romance between Yuzuru and Misaki before they even did.

When the bell by the door rang as it opened, a woman's voice said in a polite yet cheerful manner.

"Welcome!"

"Hey, Hana." Misaki greeted.

"Hey, Misaki! How are you?" She asked, hugging her.

"I've been better. I need to clear my head for a bit. Are you still open?" She asked as Hana turned the OPEN sign to CLOSED.