Yours | La Corda D'oro

16: Midnight Violinists

Yui Utsugi's POV

It was 12am.

This was right after an awkward practice session with Hihara.

He seemed to be disturbed by my company, somehow, after we shared that weird moment with one another.

Seriously, I can't believe this training camp has already strained my relationships with 2 of the seniors.

And it's only Day 1...

Anyway, enough of that. I guess I practiced enough for the day, but somehow I still had this emptiness in my heart.

Perhaps, if could play the violin, right now, this emptiness will go away.

But that's a fat hope... because I don't have a violin.

Unless...

I stood outside his door and clenched my fist tightly.

Should I.

... Should I knock?

I raised my fist to knock, but my arms and hands were trembling in nervousness.

But before I could knock, the door opened and I almost yelled out in surprise.

I fell back onto my butt.

"... What do you want?"

Tsukimori opened the door, with an annoyed face.  He was in his nightwear already, as if he was ready to sleep.

I looked away.

"Um..."

I stood up, and brushed dirt and dust away from my butt.

"Sorry for interrupting, Tsukimori." I said hesitantly.

"I- I... just wanted to... erm..."

"What is it? Just spit it out." He sounded cranky.

I guess I should just say it out before I regret it...

"Can I borrow your violin?" I said quickly, fidgeting nervously with my fingers.

Tsukimori was silent.

For a moment, I was prepared for rejection. Because he was silent, I immediately looked up to see his reaction.

His eyes were widened.

What a surprise...

"P-Please?" I stammered.

Silence.

We stared into each other's eyes for awhile.

"Utsugi."

Tsukimori's face changed.

He didn't look annoyed anymore...

Rather, his gaze was soft, and from the corner of his lips, I saw a subtle smile.

"Come in."

He stepped aside to allow me to enter his room.

"Okay." I let myself into his room.

This was getting a... little awkward.

He closed the door behind us and walked towards his violin, which was on the table.

"Here," he passed his violin to me.

The moment I touched it, a shiver ran down my spine.