The Left Out Memory

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Aaron Kimura's POV

There I was waiting for my chauffeur at the entrance of the airport with all my luggage. I felt gazes from people from time to time, but it didn’t surprise me at all. Ever since I was young, I have been complimented by many strangers for my blue eyes. It’s probably because they rarely see a half Japanese around here.

My father met my mother in Paris while he was on a business trip. Apparently, they both fell in love at first sight. My mother followed him back to Japan to pursue her dream as a designer, then they got married and finally, I was born. So basically, I am half Japanese and half French.

As I saw my car pass by, I quickly gathered up the luggage. The car stopped in front of me and a very familiar chauffeur came out.

“It has been awhile, Master Aaron, please let me take your luggage.” said the man gracefully.

“Long time no see, I see you still work for my family, Sebastian.” I said with a mischievous smile.

He smirked at me, opened the door of the black Mercedes-Benz and gestured me to go in. I sat quietly in the back seat and waited till I reached my new home.

The moment I saw the high-rise condo, I was quite satisfied, although I would’ve preferred living in my old house, but apparently, my parents put it up for sale after I went abroad and bought themselves a new one. So that old house was bought by some random businessman. That building was where I spent all of my time studying, I thought I had hated that place, but it is also where I made many wonderful memories. I feel a little sad just thinking that I could no longer call it a home to return to.

As I came back to my senses, I quickly thanked Sebastian for preparing me such a nice home and as usual he flashed me one of his brilliant smiles.

“Your room number is 2525 and here are your keys. Have a nice day, Master Aaron.”

For once, I felt really independent. All my life, I had people support me. Even with my time abroad in France, mother’s followers helped me all the time, but I finally get to live on my own now. I got out of the car and made my way proudly into the condo.

After a fifteen hours flight, there was no way that I couldn’t be exhausted, so I went up to my room and put my suitcases on the side. I lied down on my bed and fell asleep in approximately five seconds. Suddenly, I heard my phone ringing, but I was still half asleep. After hearing the same ringtone for about four times, I picked it up and it was mother.

"Why did it take you so long to pick up my phone call?" she said irritatedly.

"Sorry, I was very tired and I just woke up, so is there something you want?" I said annoyingly.

“Why didn’t you come to our house right after you came off of the plane?”

“I had to bring my stuff to my room first; I wasn’t going to bring all my luggage there.”

“Well then, come now, your father and I have something important to discuss with you.”

Just when I thought she actually cared enough to see me since she hasn’t seen her only son in about ten years, she HAD to bring up another one of these “important” discussions.

I quickly changed clothes and called my chauffeur to drive me to my parents’ house.

As I arrived, I wasn’t so surprised about the size of the house, or should I say mansion. It was exactly made to my father’s likings. It stood out from the rest of the fancy houses surrounding it. They must’ve been making a lot of money while I was gone, I thought. I went up to the giant gate in front of the mansion and pressed on the buzzer. The gates slowly opened as I walked in.

Making my way inside the big luxurious living room, I saw my parents sitting on the couch with stern faces. I sighed and sat on the couch in front of them. I was ready for whatever they were going to throw at me.

“Son, we applied you to T University.” said my father.

I rolled my eyes. So, they decided on my future on their own again? I felt frustrated, not as much as I did when they told me to go to France, but I wished they would consult me about these things first.

“You will be majoring in business.” said my mother.

Even though, I was somewhat annoyed, I was pretty much expecting this kind of situation. I was born as the only son in the Kimura family, there’s no doubt that I will be taking over my father’s company one day. It’s not like I have any dreams either, so I have no right to object their decision.

“When am I starting?”

“Next week.”

I nodded, sat up from my seat and headed for the door. Right before I opened it, my mother stopped me.

“Could you go pick up the flowers from Mrs. Hanazawa on your way home? I need them as an accessory for the bride who is going to wear my newly designed dress. And bring them tomorrow to my office.”

“Can’t you ask someone else to go pick it up?”

“Mrs. Hanazawa is very fond of you; she would like to see you.”

I left the mansion with a very weary face.

The next day, I woke up at 11:30 AM which was very late compared to my usual morning wake ups. I dressed up neatly and headed to Mrs. Hanazawa’s flower shop.

The shop wasn’t very big and fancy like what my mother usually likes, but the flowers were certainly treated with a lot of care which made them blossom prettily. I guess that’s what made my mother attracted to this shop.

As I walked passed, I could smell a very nice and nostalgic fragrance. There were beautiful and colorful flowers in front of the shop. The HANAZAWA banner on top of the store was there as usual.

“Ooh, Aaron, long time no see!” Mrs. Hanazawa said with a grin.

“Hello Mrs. Hanazawa, great to see you again.” I bowed

“You’ve grown so much after 10 years; you’ve turned into a fine man. What brings you here?”

“Thank you. I’m here to pick up my mother’s flowers.”

“OH RIGHT! I totally forgot.”

She led me to the place where the lilies were located. I bowed once again and left the shop. At the shop’s entrance, I saw a young girl looking at the poster which said “Now Hiring part timers”. She looked as if she was around my age while wearing casual clothes that weren’t really feminine with her hair roughly tied up. As she kept staring at the poster with a perplexed expression, I took the occasion to speak up to her.

“Do you want to work here? I could ask the manager for you.”

At my words, she finally snapped out of it and looked my way.

“Uh, I-”

She was cut off by the loud sound of a pot dropping on the floor. I quickly looked behind and saw Mrs. Hanazawa bending down to pick up the bits of the pot. I hurriedly went to help her leaving the girl behind.

When I finished, she was already gone. And so, that day ended.

As I went to sleep, I thought back about the things that happened today. The moment I closed my eyes, an image came to my head and I noticed something about the girl I met…