Even so, we are living in the present

Chapter 60 – Yuu’s Concern

Although Natsume was supposed to be driving them home from the cemetery, where they arrived was the grounds of the Saiki family. Having climbed out of the driver’s seat first, Natsume opened the backseat door for them.

“Alright, off you go.”

“Eh, Natsume…?”

As he exchanged glances up at the person who held the door open, Kyosuke threw a puzzled look at the fact that this was not his home.

“You know that business card you got earlier? Nobody except Yuu seems to understand it, including me. Seeing you guys alone makes me uneasy, so I’ll check it out with you.”

After saying this, he went walking towards the front door.

“Ah, yes! Yuu, can you go?”

Replying to the other person who went ahead of him, he offered his hand to Yuu who had first taken both of his feet off the car.

“Ngh, I’m fine.” Yuu simply gave a nod and stood up with his hand on top of Kyosuke’s.

“Well, this is your first time here, Yuu. Welcome to the Saiki’s household.”

With his back facing Yuu, he welcomed him, and Yuu clung to Kyosuke’s arm as he took a look around the grounds.

“… It’s vast.”

Kyosuke lifted the corner of his mouth and gently stroked his hair as he murmured a few words.

“I was taken aback too.”

The two followed Natsume together while Yuu stayed close to Kyosuke, and a familiar youth greeted them at once after the front door was opened.

“Ichinose! Sonohara!”

At the top step of the doorway, Tomoya stood and waved at them, appearing like a dog welcoming its owner with a beaming expression while calling out to them with the vigor of an invisible tail wagging in a buzzing manner. As Natsume patted his innocent little brother on the head, he removed his shoes and went up to the house.

“Tomoya, I’m home.”

“Welcome back, big brother!”

He hugged his beloved brother with both arms to the fullest and rubbed his cheeks against his muscular chest before separating from him. Rather than following Natsume to the bathroom to wash his hands, Tomoya’s gaze darted to the two men who subsequently joined him. Seeing the sparkling eyes, Kyosuke held out his hand as if dazzled, before exhaling with a laugh.

“Thanks for welcoming us.”

“As promised, you brought Sonohara with you!”

“Ah, yeah.”

Indeed, he was reminded of his previous parting words that he would bring her, so he nodded with a mixture of a wry smile. At their conversation, Yuu inclined his head and pulled on the sleeve of Kyosuke’s clothes to draw his attention to him.

“What? What are you guys talking about?”

As if Yuu was saying, don’t ostracize me, Kyosuke caressed the other’s hair with a gentle motion as he lowered his eyebrows.

“The other day, on the day I left, I ran into Natsume and he brought me here.”

“… Hmm.”

Somehow convinced, Yuu directed his gaze at Tomoya with no further comment.

“Sonohara, it’s been a long time!”

Looking up at Tomoya, who voiced his happiness at meeting him and held out his hand, Yuha kept a hand attached to Kyosuke’s and reached out another to link them together softly.

“… It’s been a long time.”

Although his face was devoid of any emotion, he returned the words with a soft expression.

“Hehe! Well, well, come in. I’ll be in the living room!”

Having said that, he turned on his heel with a contented note and slipped away towards the living room.

“Excuse me.”

As Kyosuke said, he and Yuu took off their shoes and went up together, and then they fearfully made their way for the living room, hoping to find Natsume first.

“Oh, you should head upstairs.”

Natsume was in the modular kitchen at the back of the living room. By the look of the boiling water in the pot, it seemed that he was preparing tea again.

“Thank you very much.”

When he bowed in reply, Yuu followed suit. Kyosuke, who had been here the other day, led the way up the stairs and entered the Japanese-style room on the second floor with Yuu.

“… How spacious.”

Viewing the Japanese-style room, Kyosuke gave a warm smile and a nod to Yuu, who muttered something about the room.

“Yeah, the tatami has a pleasant smell to it too.”

While saying this, he settled down in front of the table as he had done the other day. Opposite him, Yuu seated himself with his legs outstretched.

“…”

“…”

There was nothing in particular to say, and silence reigned for a short period of time. What breached the silent atmosphere was Natsume who ascended the stairs. In his hand was a tray, on which were two cups of hot water and a wooden plate filled with cookies.

“Eat, drink, and talk. I’m going to check out that company.”

Saying this, he placed the teacups and the wooden plate on the table.

“Thank you.”

“Thanks…”

When Yuu made a small thank-you after Kyosuke, Natsume flashed a grin with his teeth showing through, and stroked Yuu’s hair again roughly.

“You can finally say that. That’s good, that’s good.”

After praising him in satisfaction, he left the room taking only a tray in his hand, closed the sliding door, and descended the stairs.

“… Well, let’s eat for now.”

“Yeah…”

The two remaining people modestly nodded to each other, then sipped from their cups of tea, and quietly reached for the cookies that had been served to them and proceeded to have them.

“…”

“…”

The silence re-emerged as they consumed cookies and sipped tea.

“… Hey, Yuu.”

“…?”

A moment passed before Kyosuke called out to him, prompting Yuu to look up. Once their gazes intersected, he dropped his glance to the teacup and after a slight hesitation, carried on.

“What is it that’s bothering you?”

“Eh? About what?”

Taking a few sips of his tea, Yuu tilted his head.

“… Your dance is coming along nicely, and yet you seem to be dragging on your feelings about modeling…”

“…”

At the content of the words, Yuu opened his eyes once, then slumped his shoulders, and cast his gaze down.. Either he couldn’t bring himself to say it, or he didn’t want to. However, Kyosuke, deciding that the issue will never be resolved at this rate, boldly asked for the next step.

“If you have something on your mind, Yuu, just tell me.”

“…”

Turning his prone face forward, Yuu slowly removed the eye patch that had been covering his left eye. Owing to the painful surgical sutures, it had the appearance of a straight line extending from his upper to lower eyelid. When his left eye was opened, a deep red prosthetic eye, like a jewel, was installed, and its appearance was delicate and somewhat fantastical. While Kyosuke almost lost himself in the beauty of the figure, he was brought back to awareness by a murmur from the other person.

“… It’s impossible.”

“Eh?”

As his small voice managed to find its way to Kyosuke’s eardrums, a question mark broke out, as if to ask why.

“…”

After staring for a moment, Yuu’s expression clouded over and he arched an eyebrow, glaring at Kyosuke.

“… With such a scarred face, there is no way I can be a model.”

“Yuu…”

“The scars from the operation will never fade away… and people who glimpse these scars are bound to be horrified… so it’s impossible…”

Biting his lower lip, Yuu lowered his head and began to sniffle with the cuff of his garment over his eyes.

“…”

All Kyosuke can do was to stare in silence at his partner, who revealed the feelings he was experiencing.

So that’s why you said you lacked confidence…

:I’m sorry for not realizing.”

“Ngh… but I don’t want to be hurt anymore… I’m afraid of how people will react to me…”
…”

He wondered if Yuu had been attending school or the dance school with such fears until now. Perhaps that was why he wanted to be with Kyosuke more than before.

“Is school intimidating for you, too?”

When he asked softly, Yuu shook his head.

“Everyone at school knows it, so I’m fine… even the dance school is alright…”

As Kyosuke calmly finished listening to the words assembled in a tearful voice, he was struck with a sense of understanding.

So you are frightened of facing someone you don’t know?

“I want to be a model… but I can’t…”

Silently moving next to the person whom he has concluded he can’t, Kyosuke drew him by the shoulders and embraced him intensely.

“Yuu, don’t try to face it alone, by all means. You have a beautiful face. Nobody would be freaked out by it… Besides, there are a lot of ways to do it, if you look for them, okay? I’ll search with you. Let’s not give up until after we’ve looked and can’t find what we’re looking for.”

As he told Yuu while hugging him so tightly that his thin bones threatened to creak, the other man shook his head faintly.

However, it did not mean that he would stop thinking about it.

“… Why am I the one who met such a cruel treatment…”

The words were mumbled like a complaint, as if to vent it all out after having revealed this much. While stroking his hair tenderly, Kyosuke nodded to those words as well.

“Ah, that’s right. Only Yuu is being treated awfully… so…”

Hugging him even stronger, Kyosuke peered into the other’s face and brought down a kiss that merely brushed against his small lips.

“… Now it’s Yuu’s turn to reap lots of blessings.”

Getting a soft, fluffy feeling on the lips, Yuu bashfully gave a nod as they mutually drew in each other’s breaths.

“Yeah… thanks.”

His reserved arms went around Kyosuke’s back and wrapped around him in an embrace. After a few moments of embracing each other, the sliding door slightly opened.

“… Is it fine now?”

An awkward-looking voice of Natsume called out.

“Ah, yes, I’m sorry.”

Kyosuke hurriedly loosened his arms around Yuu, but the latter remained in his embrace and did not move away.

“Oh, just stay right there, here.”

“Ah, thank you.”

With that, Kyosuke accepted the several copies of the paper in Natsume’s outstretched hand and examined the contents.

“It’s the information about the company and the contents of the published magazine. It’s my bad for interrupting you. Whether Yuu wears an eye patch or not, I don’t think his beauty will change. The former you were beautiful, but the present version of you is equally beautiful. You have a beauty that others lack. See you later.”

Leaving these words, Natsume left the room and the sliding door was closed.