“Paper Box”
Valentine’s Day One-shot
Inoo Kei x OC
Author:
Yannah
Propely credit to the author and RYPH FC
“Rie-chan, try saying ‘ah’,” the voice therapist, a
rather plump woman who was well into her late 40’s, smiled professionally as
she—for the nth time—prompted me to talk. She was probably getting tired of how
my therapy was going, how I was not cooperating and meeting her expectations.
So was I… tired of trying, over and over again, to no avail. The only
difference between us was that she knew very well, by forced practice, to
always bounce back and face her client like everything was alright and say,
“I see, well
then…let’s try again tomorrow, okay?”
I came close
to tears, frustration getting the better of me but I simply nodded and
politely, exited her office.
---
Until today,
I went on with my routine and made very little progress but it was progress,
nonetheless.
This
morning, I was introduced to a “volunteer” who was to stay with me and assist
in my therapy on an assigned schedule for the next few weeks. The volunteer’s
name was Kei Inoo. He was a couple of inches taller than me, had short wavy
black hair that highlighted his rather pale features, and looked a few years
older.
We sat
across each other at one of the stone tables at the recreation area outside the
building, but still within the boundaries of the facility when he took out a
small box made of paper. He then looked at me, smiling, which I returned with
an earnestly curious stare.
“Rie-chan,” he
started. “Will you keep this origami for me?”
I still had
no idea how it was supposed to help with my ongoing treatment but nodded
anyway, though quite hesitantly. I held out my hands and he placed the paper
box in between them.
“Ha…a…i…” I
replied huskily, slowly enunciating the syllables as my voice therapist had instructed.
“It’s a gift
for doing well, ne?” He laughed lightly, moving his hand as if to pat me on the
head but quickly withdrew it. “Ah, sorry… I have this bad habit of ruffling
other people’s hair.”
It was my
turn to smile at him, almost giggling. He started chuckling, too, and that
time, I had the chance to properly look at him andrealized how beautiful his
smile actually was.
---
“Have you
already figured out what the box origami was for, Rie-chan?”
A few days
have passed since I was first accompanied by Inoo-kun who was a volunteer at
the center. As I was still recovering my voice, I communicated my thoughts to
him primarily with the magic board the facility provided, but from time to time
he would encourage me to speak words or phrases.
“Nooo…” I
whined, though it came out like a monotonous elongated syllable, as I pulled at
his sleeve. “Te…ll meee…”
“I’m not
telling~” he replied teasingly, successfully making me pout in defeat. “It’s
for you to figure out, and if you do, I’ll give you a reward.”
“Wha…at?”
He grinned,
but for some reason, I had a feeling he wasn’t as happy as he tried to seem.
---
It took me a
day to figure out the box origami… after several attempts at pulling out a
couple of the woven triangle pieces of the cube, I finally uncovered its true
form.To my surprise (and delight), the
paper cube turned out to be an origami of a rose.
I sat beside
Inoo-kun who was currently seated in front of the upright piano in the common
area as he was playing one of his original piano compositions—supposedly, that
was my reward. I couldn’t help but notice that his hands were rather feminine
as I watched them sweepgracefully across the keys and that he seemed like an
entirely different person while immersed in the piece he was playing that I,
too, lost myself in his music. Moments after, I was subconsciously humming
along, though in a croaked, hoarse tone.
If only he
hadn’t told me afterwards that he had composed the songa year ago for his
fiancee, I would have already completely fallen for him then and there...
...but the
mention of his "fiancee" stung, nonetheless. It hurt, but I clapped
in appreciation of the piece and thanked him for letting me listen anyway.
Stop it… I might just end up liking you more.
“Hey, why
are you crying? Rie-chan, what’s wrong?”
---
“Whe…re… we…
go…ing?”
It was my
first time being outside the rehabilitation center, and truthfully, I felt a bit
unsure about our little trip but Inoo-kun’s firm yet gentle grip on my hand as
we walked along the bustling streets eased away my uncertainties.On his other
hand, he held a leashforhis two very cute schnauzers and apparently, they had
equally adorable names: An and Jam.
“Where do
you want to go?” He replied playfully, then looking at me expectantly that I
could feel my cheeks heat up instantly.
“I…don…
know…” I looked down, pouting and closing my eyes, in an attempt to flush out
my embarrassment.
“Cute~” He
then laughed lightly, I almost wanted to say ‘you’re the cute one and I hate it’. Maintaining his light-hearted
tone, he continued. “Then, if you don’t mind, there’s this place I want to go
to…”
I simply
nodded, still avoiding his gaze as we walked on, An and Jam treading along his
side. We finally arrived at a local park, where Inoo-kun motioned towards an
empty playground swing. I sat there, pushing myself lightly back and forth as
he moved to tie the leash onto the steel pillars of neighboring, quiet monkey
bar area. Moments after, he was sitting beside me. We stayed that way for a
couple of minutes more, not saying anything and simply enjoying each other’s
company until I finally broke the silence. Out of nowhere, I said…
“Your
fi…ancee… Do you… still… lo…ve… her?”
Inoo-kun was
slightly taken aback, but he smiled at me like he always did. I almost felt my
heart skip a beat.
What if he says no?
What if… he says yes?
What do I do?
He sighed,
shifting his gaze towards the sky as he answered, almost in a whisper. “I do… I
love her so much, even if I don’t know if she still feels the same…”
“Why…?”
What did she do to make you love her that
much?
“Well… How should I say this…?”He broke into a
half-hearted chuckle, blinking away the tears that were forming at the corners
of his eyes. “It’s pretty cheesy but, a lot of things happened, I almost gave
up on life at some point but she… she taught me how to breathe again and live
on.”
“I sort
ofowe her my life, and I still intend to spend the rest of it with her.”
“Why…?”
What do I have to do to make you direct those
feelings to me… to love me instead?
“Eh,
R-rie-chan…? “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”I hated how he looked so guilty, when it
was not his fault at all. It was me. I
was the one who came to like him knowing his heart already belonged to someone
else.
And knowing so… still going ahead and asking
selfishly,
“Can… t it
be… me…?”
---
You don’t know how much it broke my heart
when you looked into my eyes as tears streamed down your cheeks, pleading.
“Can… t it be… me…?”
Maybe I was wrong, after all, thinking that
letting you forget the past was the best way I could protect you from the pain
it brought… thinking that watching over you in the guise of a complete stranger
was enough to help you start all over again.
Maybe, in the first place, I should have just
chosen to stay by your side through the hardships, tossing away all the hidden
truths, the lies.
I’m sorry I was a coward, Rie. From now on, I
vow to be here for you, as the Kei that was to take your hand in marriage, as
the Kei to whom you were to commit the remaining parts of your forever.
“I love you so much, Rie...”
“E-eh…?”
Finally, pushing away my hesitation to the
back of my mind, I embraced you, only pulling away as I continued.
“It’s sort of a long story, but will you
listen to me… please?”
---
(Kei’s POV)
I loved you so much, I didn’t want to see you in pain.
I
didn’t want to remind you of all the painful memories… of why you lost your
voice, of how you lost your family, of what happened right before we were about
to have our own “happily every after”.
I loved you so much…
“Who… a…are… you… u…?”
…that even though it hurt seeing you have no
memory of me—of us—I kept my act, keeping a safe distance so I wouldn’t trigger
any of the “bad memories”. So I smiled, introducing myself,
“Hi, I’m Kei Inoo. Starting today, I’m going
to be the volunteer to stay withyou, Rie-chan. I hope we get along well!”
Because I said so, didn’t I? I loved you so
much, I didn’t want to see you in pain—even though it meant starting all over
again as a stranger to you.
But you see, as days passed, it became more
and more painful for me to watch you struggling with your ability of speech. I
knew you were very disappointed at how slow your progress was, so I did mybest
to cheeryou on.
Even if it were just to get the frustration
out of your mind for a bit, I wanted to help you feel better. Even if it were
just to encourage you to try saying a few more phrases, I wanted to help you
take little steps forward.
---
“Cute~”
“An! Jam!” I have been searching all over the
park hysterically for my two schnauzer puppies, wading my way through the
“couple-filled” public place until I reached the playground of the same area.
“Ah, hahaha! You two… stop, hahaha!” Seated
on the swing, I saw you giggling like crazy, with two puppies on your lap
licking playfully at your face.
“Arf! Arf!”
“An! Jam!” I exclaimed out of relief, running
towards your direction. Immediately, you seemed to notice me hurrying towards
you and looked at me curiously, trying to pacify the two schnauzers with you.
“Oh, sorry… are you the owner of these two?”
“Yes, yes I am… and I would like to have them
back.”
“A-ah… yes, sorry.” You blushed, standing up
and letting An and Jam down the ground. “Uhm, I saw their collars, cute names I
have to say and uh… you must be Kei Inoo?”
“Yes, that’s my name.” I replied, though
kneeling down to pat both my dogs before looking up at you again and
continuing. “Thanks for taking care of my dogs, I guess. Miss…?”
“J-just call me Rie.”
“Oh, nice to meet you, Rie-chan!” Remembering
what day it was, I then asked out of honest curiosity. “Ah… did you perhaps
come here with someone?”
“E-eh?” You were blushing again, but I could
tell you were trying really hard to hide it. “ N-no… I’ve never even dated
anyone before.”
“I see, I see,” I chuckled. “Neither have I…
that is, if these two little pups don’t count.”
You simply giggled in response.
---
“Hey, why are you crying? Rie-chan, what’s
wrong?”
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Rie.”
I was your first and so were you mine—and we
have both agreed to be each other’s last. With that thought running through my
mind, I was more than inspired to make our Valentine’s date more and more
special every year. Of course, this year was no exception, soI spent the last
three days and nights just to arrange and practice a new composition for you,
just in time for February 14.
“Kei… that was just… so beautiful.” I didn’t
expect you to cry, so I was taken aback when you came running to me, hugging me
and sobbing right after I finished playing the piece.
---
“Have you already figured out what the box
origami was for, Rie-chan?”
“Kei, what on earth are these bunch of
boxes?” You looked at me, amused yet probably confused at what sort of surprise
I had for you this on this year’s Valentine’s Day. “Seriously, what am I
supposed to do with these?”
I replied, smirking. “It’s for you to figure
out, and if you do, I’ll give you a reward.”
“Whatever. I’m not playing another one of
your games.”
Even though you said you wouldn’t, you did.
The rest of the boxes lay on the floor of your living room for the next hour as
you busied yourself, focusing on one paper box. It took you more than an hour
and several times I wanted to just tell you the answer… but you looked so
determined, I just kept my mouth shut and instead, kept checking the paper box
I had in my pocket.
“Oh my gosh!” You perked up, lifting your
hand towards my direction, with the origami finally in its true form. “T-these…
these things are all paper roses!”
“Took you long enough,” I leaned forward,
planting a light kiss on your forehead. “As I promised, here’s your reward.”
I took out what I had in my pocket, placing
it in between your hands.
“I spent an hour… just for another paper
box?!” You pouted, your shoulders dropping in defeat, but then I took the
origami from you and said,
“It’s not just some paper box.” Carefully, I
opened it, taking out a white gold band, on which was embedded a small
heart-shaped diamond stone.
“Rie, will you marry me?”
---
“Rie, what would you say if I asked you the
same question right now? Will you marry me…?”
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