Eternal Melody

"Sumire?" Yuhi said.

"I do think that way."

She was struggling to hold back her tears and kept her head down. But for Yuhi, it looked like she was ignoring him. She heard a few curses before he stormed off and slammed the door. The moment she knew Yuhi had left the building, she slumped to the ground.

"Ibuki-"

"Chase after him, give him the papers, and make sure he signs it. You can message Hino afterwards."

Takeyama seemed reluctant to leave her, but she heard a rush of footsteps and saw a frantic-looking Hino. Ah, judging from that look on his face, he must have met with Yuhi-san. Instead of chasing after Yuhi, Hino came here to check on her. How silly, even though Hino said he prioritized Yuhi.

"Leave her to me."

Takeyama nodded and rushed out, grabbing the documents on the way. The moment he left, Sumire turned to Hino, but that lasted only a second before she felt her vision turn blurry and her chest tightening, followed by unsteady breathing. Ah, not again.

"Sumire Hey Sumire are you-"

"I-I'm fine; this is nothing." Sumire barely managed to say. But it hurts; she feels like she is about to suffocate.

Yuhi, she never wanted to hurt him like that. Even back when she rejected him, she only had his best intentions in mind. It hurts; she wants to be selfish and tell him to stay by her side.

'Don't go anywhere anymore. Please don't leave me.' If she said such words to him, he would certainly be happy. But she will never be able to erase the guilt in her heart.

'You're destroying his happiness.'

The reporters are right about one thing. If it were not for her, Yuhi would not have had to suffer such grief, sorrow, and pain. She may have given him happiness, but the sorrow outweighs the joy.

It's no good Ru, no matter what she does, in the end, all she can do is hurt, people.

_____

'I already knew because I investigated her. I knew. I should have-' But seeing it with his own eyes, seeing her gasping for air like she was drowning hurt him more than he thought. Hino looked around, hoping to find a paper bag, but he felt Sumire tug on his hand and shake her head.

Hino immediately understood; if he used one of those, Yuhi would find out. Even now, she is thinking about Yuhi before herself. But he can't just leave her in this condition.

In romance movies, this would be the best time for the hero to enter the room and save the heroine. They would share a romantic kiss that would heal her. But right now, even if he were to call Yuhi to return here, Sumire might not make it.

'I choose Yuhi. I made my mind up. I chose to protect Yuhi's happiness and sacrifice my own.' But ever since he became Sumire's manager, he has struggled to keep his emotions in check.

Hino takes a deep breath before he lays Sumire down and bends down. Their lips touched. 'I need to get some air into her first, and then we can use the bag again.'

Since it was his first time doing this, it took him a while to adapt, but by the time he finished, Sumire had fallen asleep. Hino sighed deeply before picking her up and placing her on the couch. He drapes Yuhi's coat around her, and the girl's expression immediately relaxed.

'Damn it. I truly can't hold back these emotions anymore. Sumire, you are more important to me than Yuhi.'

.....

A few hours later 8:00pm.

It was roughly around eight when he finished cooking and heard the door open. Hino prepared to scold Yuhi, but it wasn't Yuhi but a man with teal-colored hair.

"Kira."

"I borrowed Yuhi-san's key."

"You were with Yuhi?" Hino sighed in relief.

In the past, whenever Yuhi became emotional, he would do something stupid like sleep with other women. Or going to a bar and getting drunk.

"He accidentally called Kou, and Kou tracked him down."

"Where was he?" Hino asked worriedly.

"Beating up some thugs in an alleyway. I think he was trying to go to Bar akagumi, but he didn't get very far when some people picked a dight with him."

"So Yuhi-"

"-is in bar akagumi with Hamano Atushi. It seemed Hamano had just returned today; that must be why Yuhi was trying to go there. Kou and Ran are dealing with the reporters. It seemed Sumire-san leaked the news to the media that we would accept."

Hino could only sigh, hearing those words. That girl planned far too ahead. At first, when he heard what she wanted to do, he was reluctant to agree. After all, this would hurt Yuhi. But he agreed because he knew that this decision would hurt Sumire more than it would Yuhi.

Jun sighed deeply, and his gaze fell on Sumire on the couch. Initially, Hino wanted to bring her to her room, but he didn't want to overstep his boundaries.

"It took her a while before she could sleep."

"I can predict what happened. Sumire-san is very silly; she should know better than anybody how Yuhi-san feels. But again, she chose the path that would cause her more pain."

So even Jun understands that it's normal for the guys who like her to understand.

"I think Yuhi-san ended up signing; it's unfortunate he signed since he was being emotional. But now that he has, he can't take it back." Jun chose his words carefully. "Because Yuhi-san made the first move, the others signed too. None of us want to leave Sumire-san alone when it's dangerous, but we all understand what she wants. She would want us to go with Yuhi because she doesn't want him to be alone."

Indeed for Sumire, what is more, important is Yuhi. More than the other guys achieving their dreams, she doesn't want Yuhi to be alone.

"Her being selfish like that, you don't mind?"

"It's more like we are used to this. She has done crazier stuff before. Ibuki Sumire isn't just the girl we all like but our beloved composer. We will respect her decisions regarding our careers, even if there is something more important than that."

So that's how they see this.

"What will you do?"

At those words, Hino exhaled deeply, and he turned to the girl fast asleep on the couch.

"I will stay, so take care of Yuhi."

'I'm sorry for breaking my promise Sumire, but you have become more important to me than Yuhi.'