(A Reverse Harem) || A FEATURED STORY
Everything Kotori Teruhashi bakes consistently goes up in smoke, which is ironic considering it's her lifelong dream to become a pastry chef. Nevertheless, like clockwork, she delivers her burned desserts to her...
"Mom must've visited before work. She brought all his favourite stuff." Koyuki chuckled to himself. "I had no clue they still sold this. We ate it all the time when we were little."
Crouched over the newly cleaned grave, Koyuki admired the distinctive snacks and beverage placed before it. An assortment of lilies and chrysanthemums were erected on both sides as well. Despite the weather being nothing but sunshine on our journey here, dark grey clouds now swirled in the sky, a sombreness befitting the quiet around us. Families paying their own respects idled ahead. Lowering the bouquet he purchased on the way here, Koyuki proceeded to follow a ritual I wasn't quite familiar with. As the incense burned, and he offered a silent prayer, he shakily exhaled.
"This marks two years," he said. "Honestly, the last and only time I've been here was when they buried him. My mom and dad have nagged me to visit, but, I couldn't bring myself to. I'm not entirely sure I'm ready to now."
I squeezed his trembling hand. Then, bringing my palms together, I shut my eyes.
"I'm honoured to meet you, Mr. Etsuya."
"Mister?" Koyuki couldn't help but interject.
"Too formal?"
"Very. He hates that stuff. In fact, he'd sulk about being treated like an old man."
"Etsuya it is."
He gaped, clearly off-put by how easily I went from polite to casual. I fought a smile.
"Etsuya. I've wanted to meet you from the moment Koyuki told me you baked heavenly desserts, including your signature soufflé. Considering the kind stories I've heard about you, I'm sure you'd have fed me numerous delicious treats—stuffed me silly whenever I asked, despite the fact that I already binge-eat a ton. Oops, where are my manners? I'm Kotori Teruhashi, your brother's club president, life force, and number-one teaser—"
"Teruhashi."
"As you can see, we get along well." My mirth expanded, intensifying his exasperation. "Although he's extremely uptight and hardheaded and surprisingly easy to fluster, he's always looking out for me, teaching me, and goes along with my requests no matter how egocentric they are. Every day, I'm incredibly grateful I can bake with him. I wouldn't have taken these many steps forward; most likely would still be burning everything I touch, all by myself, if it wasn't for him. Thank you so much for sharing your dream with him and being the most amazing older brother. I swear, if you were our age, I'd fall to my hands and knees right now and beg you to join the Baking Society as my master."
"Hey." Despite his remark, it was few of the rare chances Koyuki was smiling. "Etsu shouldn't have to bother himself with a pain in the neck like you."
"That's a rude way to refer to your president."
He laughed, as if relieved of an unassailable weight. His grin stretched to his ears.
"As you can see, Etsu, I'm stuck attending to this obnoxious girl's whims for an unforeseeable time period. Meeting her when I did... it's almost like you were the one moving fate's hands itself. Urging me not to give up. Telling me to keep going. Even if I say I'm doing better now, being the busybody you are, you'll surely watch over me forever. Then, watch me. I'll—" His smile softened. "—we'll make that promise a reality if it's the last thing we do."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The rain bore down mercilessly from the sky. The summer flowers and leaves drooped under the weight of the droplets, and passersby twirled multicoloured umbrellas between their fingers. While some dallied to converse animatedly with their peers, a few outliers dashed out with nothing but blazers as a futile method of protection.
It'd gotten dim and gloomy—so quickly, too.
"Just our luck, huh?"
Koyuki shielded his eyes, though the damp strands of his hair clung to his forehead. We'd ducked under the nearest shelter to escape the rain but not swiftly enough. Our clothes had been drenched by the ruthless rainfall.
Droplets pattered continually from above, plopping against the concrete, which served as a background noise in the otherwise empty public garden.
"What possessed you to drop in on me again?"
"Practice!"
"Specify. Please," he said.
My shoulders drooped. "Logically speaking, we don't have to win the competition. Victory or defeat, I'm putting my efforts toward becoming a pastry chef."
"You're realizing this now? Well, unless we win, we're becoming the Cooking Club's slaves."
Kohmi's declaration I'd unwittingly agreed to months back whacked me like a golf club.
I cupped my face.
"I've blundered."
"Accept responsibility, Prez. If we have to serve those cocky people and do their bidding because of your impulsiveness, you'll regret it."
"I'm regretting it now," I said. "I've reflected. I'm sorry."
His laugh was the last thing I expected. My heart performed a cartwheel in my chest. Breathlessly, I flitted my gaze.
"Koyuki... your smile isn't good for my heart."
"It's that delicate?"
"You're that handsome."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Your face is one thing but you'd be more popular if you worked on your personality."
"Funny. I could say the same to you."
"Ouch."
"As usual, you're bad at reading between the lines." His bronzed irises glinted in the minuscule light. "I was expressing my gratitude for something else. You mentioned if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been able to take this many steps forward. But, it's the opposite. When this dream was hard on me and it felt like I was suffocating, you promised to carry half the burden. You took an impossible gamble with me so that I could be happy from the bottom of my heart again. You have no idea how much that meant to me. How much that saved me.
"Looking back, it might have been another one your spontaneous declarations. At that moment, though, it was something I desperately needed to hear. I owe you so much. Although I didn't appreciate it then, I'm thankful it was me you tackled to the ground the first day we met."
"You loved having my body that close, huh? All right. We can go for a round two if you want. Deepen our bonds."
"Seriously. Your misleading language needs to stop. Or else..."
"The rain is letting up." I extended my pointer finger, letting the numbing droplets strike my nail. "We can run for it."
When I mutely waltzed ahead into the drizzle, a splash resounded—him twisting on his shoes on the rain-soiled floor. His lips were up against mine thereafter. A gasp hitched in my throat. Procuring his palm on one side of my wet, albeit scalding, cheek, he possessively grasped my waist. I grappled his shirt, steadying myself, willing my explosive heartbeat to slow. Despite the cold rain, it burned, the places he touched me.
Onlookers, the crackle of distant thunder, the happenings of my surroundings—all of it melted and meshed altogether. The fact that he was so, so close only worsened the butterflies flapping fervently at the pit of my stomach.
"—I really won't be able to control myself," he whispered.
