34 Want to go to the south pole

kawamoto ren waits in front of her room. he knocks four times, but no one opens the door. he sighs and decides to wait for more time. she really hates him.

he closes his eyes and runs his fingers through his red hair in frustration. in the last eight years, she never replied to his calls and messages once. he didn't expect that he would ever see her again suddenly. she has changed drastically.

he expected to see hate, but he only saw anger. he is relieved, but he is also worried. what will she do when he tells her the real reason? will she be disappointed or call him a coward? a person who ran away because he was afraid of...? he was a coward.

he puts his head on the door and leans on it. he is still a coward.

suddenly, the door opens and he falls straight on the floor. "ow!"

he sits up and rubs his red swollen forehead. the door is open, but there is no one here. he stares at the huge bundle of the blanket on the bed. it looks like she didn't close the door before she went to sleep.

"rie chan." his nose is bleeding because of the impact. "a woman should lock the door properly."

else, bad people might come inside.

takeuchi rie doesn't answer him. she is sleeping her griefs off, dreaming about being in her house where no one could ever bother her.

ren goes to her bedside and glances at her small face. his heart clenches when he sees her wet cheeks. she mumbles something inaudible when he wipes her tears. ren leans in to listen.

"...miya bastard...will break your...too..."

"..." break mine what? ren is afraid. what is she dreaming about?

suddenly, someone grabs the back of his collar and drags him away from sleeping rie chan. he turns his head around and finds a scary looking kiyohira behind him. before he came to see rie chan, he has looked into that man. rie chan has been in trouble lately because of the kamiyama family. this man is her step-brother.

"what are you planning to do?" kiyohira wanted to talk about something with her before she went to sleep, but he found this tomato leaning too close to her when he entered the room. it looked like this fool wanted to kiss her. the supposed victim is asleep without any case. for the first time in his life, kiyohira felt this cold rage inside him. he wanted to kill them both right at this moment - ren for his audacity and rie for her carelessness.

"i was planning to..." ren frowns deeply. should he answer him? rie chan and her step-brothers are not close. why does this guy...? he looks at him carefully, somewhat annoyed by this guy's interfering attitude. "i was planning to steal a kiss before you interrupted."

kiyohira grits his teeth. "you were going to molest her in her sleep?"

"molest?" ren shakes his head. "she is my girlfriend. isn't it normal for a boyfriend to give a sweet goodnight kiss to his girlfriend?"

"you are not her boyfriend." he tries to pull him out of the room.

"it's between me and her." ren jerks his hand off. "rie chan is just mad at me. her feelings for me haven't faded away. she has been waiting for the last eight years. i know her. she will always love me."

ren wonders if he is trying to convince himself or the man in front of him. kamiyama kiyohira's eyes become dangerous. he clenches his jaw and fists. ren takes a few steps away from him. he narrows his eyes at kiyohira. does this man have feelings for her? does she have feelings for this man? a lot of questions arise in his head.

kiyohira gives him a cold smile. "there is a difference between a friend and a lover."

ren rolls his eyes. "whether i am a friend or a lover, it shouldn't matter to you. i don't know what you are doing here. rie chan hates your family. her entire childhood was ruined because of your father and her mother. you know what? she hates you the most because..."

he closes his mouth and looks away. he shouldn't say it. rie chan will beat the soul out of him if he does. he can't break her trust.

"why does she hate me the most?" kiyohira takes a step toward him.

with a kick, rie throws away her blanket. she sits up with her head wobbling on her shoulder. both men stare at the woman whose head is swinging like a pendulum. she raises her left arm and points at kiyohira.

"you are kamiyama bastard." then, she raises her right arm and points at ren. "you are asshole ren."

"rie chan." ren blinks his eyes at her. "i want to talk to you about something."

"this country...too hot." rie closes her eyes and clumsily undo the first button of the shirt. "want to go....to the south pole."

ren opens his mouth widely when her fingers move to the second button. kiyohira dashes to the bed. he wraps her in the blanket in a hurry and yells at her, "sleep, you idiot."

the koala resists inside the blanket. kiyohira glares at the shocked ren and shouts, "turn on the air conditioner."

ren follows his command. within seconds, the room is so cold that he is trembling. the koala inside the blanket stops moving. kiyohira lets out a deep breath of relief.

the catastrophe has been prevented.