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“Furuya… I need help.” Desperation filled Eijun’s voice as he circled the bench.
“Where are you? What happened?”
Eijun could hear Furuya’s shuffles from the phone, obviously running.
“Park. I was walking with Lia when Harucchi called– I looked away for a second and she’s gone,” he answered, panicking.
“Okay, calm down. Don’t leave where you are.”
Furuya did not end the call but they both did not say anything after that. Eijun remained sitting on the bench, shaking his leg. He kept his eyes wandering, hoping to see his daughter but there’s just too many kids today.
Today’s Sunday, and despite his busy schedule, he always made sure to enjoy Sundays with his daughter. They were just talking about her week as she just started prep school, when Haruichi called to ask about his birthday. He invited them to come over later.
He should’ve held her hand as he talked to him.
His hands flew to his head as he bowed down, he couldn’t help but breathe faster than normal.
“Eijun, there you are.”
Eijun looked up and saw Furuya standing beside him, also breathing heavily as if he ran. A sigh of relief escaped his lips because someone’s finally here.
“Yeah, let’s go. She’s wearing a yellow dress and her hair’s in a messy braid. I’m just–I don’t know where to start–”
“Breathe, Eijun. She’s just here, probably somewhere we can’t see, but she couldn’t go that far,” Furuya cut him off. “Make sure you’re breathing normally first before we start finding her. We have to go separate ways to make this easier, alright?”
Eijun nodded. “I know, I know.”
With that, he tried a few breathing exercises to calm himself down, even wiped the moist forming in his eyes. When he’s fine, he looked at Furuya and nodded. “I think I can handle myself now.”
It was Furuya’s turn to sigh in relief as Eijun collected himself. He reiterated what he said, and they decided to split and find Lia in the sea of children.
The park was huge, enough to have different children in braids wearing yellow dresses, making Eijun panic inside. He went to the ice cream Lia wanted to have before they had their breakfast, but she wasn’t there. With a clenched fist, he went to her favorite slide, yet the result was the same.
It’s the first time Lia went out of his sight without knowing, he’s busy, yes, but he would make sure he knew her whereabouts always. He couldn’t help but blame himself as he walked along the grass.
Should he go to the police?
Eijun closed his eyes for a second, before he turned his back to walk where he and Furuya decided to meet again. It was the same bench earlier. His eyes dropped as he waited for Furuya.
“Come on, Eijun.”
When he realized it was Furuya, he stood up and turned his back. “No, come on. Let’s go to police–”
Furuya seemed to be surprised by that, but he kept himself composed. “No, it’s okay. Follow me.”
Before he could even ask questions, Furuya immediately left, leaving him no choice but to follow him. His eyes were still wandering as they walked, trying to see a glimpse of his daughter, but of course, he failed.
“Furuya, where are we going?”
Few minutes had passed since Lia hadn’t been with Eijun. He didn’t want to panic again because he’s not really new here, but again, it’s the first time his daughter wasn’t with him.
It was suspicious how Furuya looked away, before nodding hesitantly. “K–Kuramochi-san’s…”
Upon hearing that, his eyes widened. He immediately looked at the building not so far away from the park before looking at the man in front of him again. “What? What is she doing there? Did he kidnap her or something?”
“No, no. It’s not like that. Someone saw Lia, and well… they went straight to Kuramochi-san’s.”
“Why–You know what, let’s just go.”
He had so many questions, but for now, he’s just relieved that she’s fine. He trusted Kuramochi, but it’s still a wonder why they didn’t call him right away. Or maybe he just saw her?
The situation’s making his head hurt.
Eijun found themselves in front of Kuramochi’s unit. His hands were shaking at the thought of opening the door, his emotions were probably catching up with him. He let out a huge amount of breath, and when he’s about to knock, Furuya stopped him.
“Eijun, happy birthday,” he said. A gentle smile flashed his face while holding Eijun’s arm.
“What–”
He couldn’t even finish his sentence because the door behind him opened. His eyes widened as he heard cheers, and songs. When he looked back, someone looked like vomited silver and gold balloons there. A gasp escaped his lips when the figure of people became visible in his eyes.
And there, between Haruichi and Kanemaru, his daughter was grinning.
His emotions must really have caught up because tears fell from his eyes as he rushed towards his daughter.
“Look at what you did, Mochi!” That’s Ryosuke.
“Hey. Lia approved!”
Disregarding the noise, he knelt in front of his daughter who was holding a balloon. She giggled when Eijun’s hug tightened. “Where were you, sweetheart?”
Gently, Lia pushed Eijun. He could feel her small hands cupping her cheeks, and wiping his tears.
“I bought ice cream, Papa! But I lost my way.” She pouted. “But Uncle Kazu saw me.”
Immediately, his head snapped to his left where he heard Miyuki’s voice earlier. Their eyes met, and he expected Miyuki to only smirk at him, but he smiled as if he’s nervous.
Well, he should be!
After he made sure Lia was fine, he carried her to his arms and stood up to face everyone. “Thank you for this guys, and Kuramochi-san–” he clutched his chest. “I really thought I’m gonna die there.”
Kuramochi only grinned. “Sorry, Sawamura! We really need Lia here.”
He looked around, and finally appreciated the decorations inside. He could also smell the food, but, “where did you need Lia here?”
“Ah, Papa! Uncle–”
“Come on, Lia! Your father must be hungry, and he has to blow the cake,” Haruichi intervened, he also could not look Eijun in the eye.
Eijun could not even complain when he pulled his daughter from him because Kanemaru was already shoving a cake to him.
“Come on, blow it!”
“No, papa! Wish!”
Eijun smiled at his daughter first before he closed his eyes. Silence erupted in those few seconds his eyes were close before they all cheered.
“Happy Birthday, Sawamura!”
“Papa, happy birthday!”
And their celebration went on. He was still reprimanding Kuramochi because of what happened, and they were still not explaining anything. All while Lia was just laughing on his lap as he fed her cake.
“No, really, we almost went to the police,” Furuya said.
“When I called you, were you aware Lia's here?”
Furuya shook his head. “No, I was really worried, you know.” He frowned at Kuramochi. “But I called him to say Lia was gone while we were separated and that’s just when he told me about the plan.”
“The plan that I still don’t know, you mean?”
All of them just looked at each other and acted as if they were zipping their mouths.
“Anyway, Lia, how’s your school? We weren’t able to ask you that earlier.” Of course, expect Haruichi to smoothly change the topic.
And as Lia was telling them stories she already told Eijun before she went missing. Eijun was roaming his eyes to the table. It’s funny because these were few of the people he called for dinner later.
These were the same people who supported him while he was raising Lia alone, and he’s fortunate to have them by their side, not everyone’s as lucky. They filled the void in Lia’s life that he couldn’t fill.
He was smiling when his eyes dropped on Miyuki. Like the others, he was listening to Lia’s stories with a fond smile on his lips, until his smile dropped.
“What? Your teacher gave your papa flowers?”
He snapped from his trance when he heard that from Kanemaru. He looked at his daughter as if she betrayed him only to be laughed at by her.
She giggled. “No, he’s not my teacher, uncle. He’s a friend of Teacher Rei,” she explained.
“I thought it’s a secret between us, baby?” He jokingly pouted.
Her eyes widened. “Why is it a secret again, papa?”
“Because your uncles won’t shut up about it.”
And of course, Eijun’s right. Especially Kanemaru and Kuramochi.
“Why? Is he even kind to you, Lia?” That’s Kanemaru.
Lia nodded, glancing at Eijun. “He is! He always gives me flowers and candies, too whenever he gives papa one.”
Of course, the questioning got worse, making Eijun slap his forehead.
“Seems like a good man, Eijun. And a teacher, right?” Ryosuke looked at Lia, and when she nodded, he continued. “Good with kids too. Does he have a chance?”
And Eijun’s jaw dropped. “That’s…. That’s a tough question, Ryo-san.” He chuckled.
“Really?” Ryosuke glanced beside him before drinking from his juice.
He chuckled awkwardly. “And it’s not like the man’s saying anything. Maybe… he’s just kind.”
“I don’t trust your ‘maybes’, Sawamura,” Kuramochi commented, his nose crunched as if he remembered something.
This time, Eijun’s smile loosened. “Well, I’m fine trusting my ‘maybes’ than be disappointed with assumptions, right?”
It’s not really his intention to make the atmosphere awkward, but he did. Everyone fell silent, and even Kanemaru could only chew his food with a glare.
Fortunately, Lia was there so she continued her stories about school. This time, Eijun let her do all the entertainment talks, and could only laugh at some. He just realized his glass was empty.
“Excuse me,” he said.
He went straight to the kitchen, smiling as he was hearing everyone laugh with his daughter’s stories. She’s a natural charmer, and at a young age, she knew her way with words that could make anyone laugh.
“Hey.”
Eijun almost dropped the glass from his hand when he heard a voice behind him. He carefully put the juice in the refrigerator, before facing the man only to be greeted by a bouquet of daisies and yellow tulips.
“Miyuki, hey.”
He caught Miyuki scratching the back of his head, quite refreshing to see Miyuki looking shy. “Happy birthday.”
With that, Eijun smiled and accepted the flowers with his free hand. “Thank you, Miyuki.”
“I’m sorry I got pulled by Kuramochi’s plan.” He chuckled. Miyuki’s voice was low, chill, but there’s something behind it Eijun couldn’t point out.
“It’s okay. I’m actually glad it’s you who found Lia. She must’ve felt so safe,” he responded.
Miyuki only hummed as an answer, and Eijun didn’t know whether to leave because Miyuki seemed relaxed as he leaned on the sink. He wasn’t doing nor saying anything, but it got awkward a few seconds later because he was just staring at Eijun.
“Uh… Maybe I should go–”
“Can we talk?”
Eijun’s grip on the flowers tightened. He had his back on Miyuki, so he had to count in his head to face him again. Even he, was confused why he did that. They were fine as far as he could tell, why was he making this awkward?
“Yeah, sure. What is it?”
“I’m sorry.”
From bowing down, he looked at Miyuki with wide eyes. “What… what do you mean? I told you it’s okay–”
Miyuki shook his head. He pushed himself, and walked towards Eijun. “For.. many things. For eight years ago, for leaving you without knowing whether you’d be affected or not. I’m sorry for not being with you when you’re broken, for not being by your side, for thinking so many what ifs—for being a coward.”
As Miyuki was speaking, Eijun’s mind suddenly went to the past, how he hoped he wasn’t kidding himself believing maybe there’s something why Miyuki was acting the way he did. Maybe, he wasn’t simply assuming things when Miyuki would care for him when he didn’t eat his food, when Miyuki would go out of his way because he called, when Miyuki dropped his schedule without Eijun knowing simply because he was crying.
Nevertheless, after all those things, Miyuki left without saying anything.
And when he came back just two years ago, it was as if nothing happened. Miyuki seemed fine, and Eijun had Lia.
“I don’t have an excuse for leaving, I was simply scared of facing feelings. But, Eijun,” Miyuki gasped. “After all those times, trying to forget you, even after knowing you had a daughter, and probably a family–it’s still here.”
“Miyuki…”
“You must be surprised, I'm sorry.” Miyuki pushed his glasses as he glanced at the people outside. Eijun also did, but his eyes only landed on Lia who was speaking while laughing. “I’m sorry, but I’d fight for it this time. Eijun, I love you. And I admire you for how strong you’ve been, for raising Lia alone, for trying not to show any weaknesses to her–but Eijun, I want to be there when you feel vulnerable. I want to take care of you and Lia. Please, let me take care of you.”
Speechless was an understatement as Eijun stood in front of Miyuki. Before, he couldn’t fathom him, and he gave up on trying when he left, because no answer was an answer. Not saying anything was already something. But right now… he could hear him, he could see him. Miyuki’s eyes were moist, but they were sparkling, full of hope, and if he’s right… admiration for him.
“Lia–you know Lia’s my priority, right?” That’s the only thing he could say right now.
Miyuki nodded right away. “I actually have to thank her.” He laughed lowly. “I asked what she thought about it earlier, when I saw her, she’s the one who gave me the final push.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your daughter loves you so much.” Miyuki smiled gently. He looked down, fiddling his fingers for a bit before his hand reached for Eijun’s, removing the flower and the glass before clutching it. He seemed to wait for any reactions, and sighed when Eijun just let him. “She said, if I can make you happy, she’s gonna be happy.”
And that’s what pushed Eijun’s tears to fall. It was no way a sob, but a slow, as if he was tearing up because he’s relieved. He heard some commotion from the outside, but he ignored it. He considered the thought. He was staring at Miyuki, picturing Lia, and all he could do was clench his fist.
He cleared his throat. “I won’t say it would be easy… but, can you do it? Can you take care of us, then?”
Miyuki’s eyes widened, and if they’re still in the same high school team, he probably would have teased him, but he could only gasp as Miyuki’s tears started falling.
“Why are you crying….” Eijun’s voice sounded like a whisper.
Miyuki shook his head, his hands gripping Eijun’s hand tighter as if pouring all his emotions on him. “I’m just so happy.”
Eijun sniffed. “I am too, but Kanemaru and Kuramochi-san probably saw me cry and they’re most likely just being restrained there, so prepare yourself, I guess?” He chuckled, voice still hoarse.
He saw how Miyuki glanced outside before grinning. “What are they, your father?”
Wiping his cheeks, he replied, “they might as well be.” He laughed.