art of desire | h. rindou

Chapter 64

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Chapter 64
Weakness
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"H-Hah?" Y/N stares at the Lady in front of her eyes wide. Is this real? "What are you waiting for? Seems like you and my son already enjoy making love with each other." She sits back on the chair. "How old are you this year, dear?" Y/N leans back against her chair, fixing the wrap of her scarf again. "27." The Mother doesn't look surprised, but she gasps. "27 already! Rindou is 29! Oh my, you both are getting so old. You really should get married faster." That makes Y/N shrug. "Your wedding dress? Is it still here?"

She looks up, frowning. "I kept it in a box." The Mother clasps her hands together, smiling, "Can I see it?" Y/N tries to hide her blush. Do I have to wear it? In front of this lady? She bows first, before heading to her room. "Where's the box, where's the box?" She makes a mess. Y/N looks for it inside her closet throwing away all the items. "Aha." She finds the cream coloured box, at the very corner of the closet. Y/N bends down, picking it up. She hasn't seen it for years. Y/N gently opens the lid, finding the dress is still there, being folded nicely. "Wow," She stares at the beautiful dress, the diamonds are still sparkling, like she just bought it a few days ago.

"Here." Y/N places the box on the Mother's lap. "It still looks pretty!" Rindou's mother lifts the dress up, examining every detail. "You'll look so pretty in it." She folds it again, lending the white dress to Y/N. "Give it a try. Let me see it." Y/N clutches on the soft material in her hands, "But—" The Lady crosses her thighs on each other, glaring, "You should. Go and try." Y/N doesn't want to be stubborn anymore, so she reaches for her bedroom. "Damn, how to wear this?" Y/N tries to find the entrance to insert her body inside the dress.

"Oh lord," She's amazed. Looking at herself in the mirror. When she last wore this, her hair was long. And now she looks much better with short hair. Ut fits her well. The curve of her body is visible with the dress pressed onto her skin. "Are you done?" Shouts the Mother from the living room. "Y-Yes." Y/N lifts her dress up, quickly heads to the Lady. "Oh my—" Her eyes widen, as she scans Y/N up and down. She turns Y/N's body around, with that surprised look still on her face. "You look so— Like an angel!" Y/N chuckles. "I missed those days where I got to wear this kind of dress too!"

"For your hair, we can style it. Then, you should wear a crown. A veil too, perhaps? Then earrings are a must to make you look elegant! And makeup too. And then, wedding heels. Necklace, bracelet, oh my god, so many to buy!" Y/N shakes her head, stepping back. "N-No no, It's okay. I can use my money for those." A frown comes across the lady's face. "What are you talking about? Of course we're going to use Rindou's money." The lady giggles, staring at Y/N. "You're so pretty," She lands her hands on Y/N's shoulder. Um, an embarrassment. Because the Mother is taller than Y/N.

"Can't imagine how cute your children will be."

Y/N gasps loudly, "Too quick for that!" The Mother smiles. "I had Ran in my womb three days after the wedding, you know?" That's too— Um. "But don't worry, you guys can take it slow. I understand how busy both of you are." Y/N sighs in relief. "You don't want to have a child?" Y/N looks up again, shaking her head in denial. "It's not like that! Just— I don't think I can bear the pain of giving birth." The Mother walks towards the sofa, picking her black handbag up, "I used to think like that too. But when I saw my sons' faces, all the pain suddenly was gone." She gives a hug to Y/N before wearing her sunglasses again. "I have to go now. See you next time." Y/N bows again. "And Y/N," The surgeon follows the Lady to the door, accompanying her. "Yes?" She rests her handbag on her arm, looking at Y/N seriously.

"Beware of Sekiya."

***
"You've been pacing out for two minutes and 43 seconds." The nurse in front of Y/N says. She's at the department counter now, using the computer to check about her new patient's information. "Really? You counted that?" The nurse only chuckles. "What's going on inside your head?" Y/N slowly shakes her head. "Nothing." She focuses her attention on the computer again. "Have you had your lunch?" Y/N nods. "Where's Ishida?" The nurse leans against the counter. "Maybe he's dealing with patients."

Another voice enters, another nurse. "You know, Doctor? Doctor Ishida visits Doctor Koharu's grave thrice a week. That's very frequent." Another nurse pouts, "We all miss her noises." Then someone enters, probably just came out of the elevator. "M-Mr. Haitani." The nurses now look at him as Y/N looks up. She finds him in his usual coloured suit, his assistant and body guards around him. "What are you doing here?"

"Why can't I? This is my hospital." He walks towards the woman, standing in front of her. "Are you busy?" She nods. "Yes, Sir. Look at these piles of paperwork." Y/N can feel all eyes on them. But she needs to cool down. "I have another three meetings to deal with. See you later." Yea. Just like the Mother said. They're both busy in each other's careers and worlds. "Oh~ Doctor, what was that?" Y/N hits her own forehead. They really were watching it. "Are you guys dating?" Y/N sighs.

She has dinner alone by herself. She orders simple Japanese food for dinner. And it's cheap too. Really suitable for her who's on the saving money journey. Y/N pays for the food at the counter. "Aren't you Doctor Y/N?" Y/N's eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Yes?" The worker seems to be happy. "You're famous on social media! Due to your brave action on what Haitani Sekiya did to you!" Oh— wow. "I don't play social media. So I don't know." She smiles, taking the balance. "You look much more beautiful in person!" Y/N can't help but to chuckle. "Thank you for that." She nods before walking out of the restaurant.

Oh no. Am I becoming sort of a celebrity now?  Celebrity. Y/N hates that. She thinks that celebrities are just normal people who made money with their looks. Some of them aren't that talented, but because of their looks, they became famous. That's the world now. Producers search for good looking people to act in their dramas, not talented ones. People nowadays really love to judge people by their looks. As if the look makes everything better, as if the look is permanent until they die.

Y/N looks down on the receipt, it's cheaper than she thought. Really, she should eat at that restaurant daily so she can save up more money. And then she becomes a billion and conquer the whole world. Sorry, that's just a joke. Y/N slips the receipt back into her pocket. The night is cold. People in Japan are very active. Foreigners are everywhere. Seems like they really enjoy coming to Japan. They're taking pictures, making videos, laughing, and walking together. Alas, it isn't her hobby to take pictures and record videos. Because she hates the way she looks in those.

She has to walk through the empty street first to reach for her car. God damn it. She regrets parking her car in that place. Y/N hugs herself, starting to walk through the quite empty and lonely street. This street is like being abandoned, because it's too old. Y/N stops. She has been feeling odd since she left the restaurant. Like— somebody's following her. Y/N turns around, finding no one suspicious at her back. Or perhaps she should say, no one behind her. She lets out a nervous sigh. And continue to walk again. And there she feels it.

Y/N turns away again, finding the same thing. She starts to feel scared. Y/N takes her phone out, trying to dial for Rindou's number. Please answer, please answer. Yet he doesn't. Y/N calls him again, and no answer. She has no choice. She has to call the police. Y/N taps for the number on her screen, walking and quickly turns around fastly. And yet, no one is behind her. She isn't scared if it's a ghost. But— she feels scared if it's a human. Y/N breathes in and out. As soon as she's about to turn around to the front, a person wearing back mask stands really near in front of her. His or her face is very near to her. Y/N drops her phone down.

She's really scared. It was not a pleasant jumpscare. Y/N backs away and tries to get her shaky legs to run, but the person grabs her from behind. The human covers her nose and mouth with a white handkerchief. Y/N understands. That handkerchief has been doused by chloroform. To make her drop unconscious. Y/N tries to jerk away, to kick, to smack, to elbow everything. But soon, she starts to feel weaker. Her body parts can't move the way she asks them to move. Y/N shouts for help, yet she's too weak to let her voice out. The chloroform is sucking all her strength. And before she knows, her vision goes black and her eyes start to close. She passes out.

***
art of desire | h.rindou is now available on AO3 by @hitomifaust ! Please appreciate my hard work by commenting and voting ♪('ε｀)!

Before you guys say anything, I want to clear up that I'm a type of person who doesn't like a straightforward happy ending story, and I love to have many obstacles and twists. So I'll do the same to my books too.