48 You will never get that wish

that idiot! how could he do that? i told him to move. he went ahead and threw himself into prison.

i look for his phone number in my mails. he often sent me his number and hoped that i would call him. in one of the old mails, i find it.

[rie?]

"how did you know that it's me?"

[i only gave this phone number to you. if it rang, i would know that it's from you.]

"you piece of shit! did you go to the dark side?"

[i might have, but why do you care?]

his tone is grumpy.

[you broke all ties between us.]

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"can you blame me for that?" i feel tired. i can't stop caring about this jerk. "leave the dark guild."

[why are you calling me? i heard that you ran away. your picture is all over the media. they are treating you like a criminal who broke the contract and threw away the kamiyama family's kindness. in other news channels, they are dissing the kamiyama family for treating you wrong.]

they are going that far to capture me. they are turning me into a criminal when i did nothing wrong.

"it's nothing to do with me."

[are you still in ka city?]

"asshole! are you spying on me?"

[yes, all i can do is see you from afar since you won't even stay as my friend. i get it. i should pay for my sins. you should leave the city soon. kamiyama kiyohira will arrive in 15 minutes.]

"he's late. i am already on the train." i pause for a moment. i guess he is the only one i can still trust even after everything. i can't hate this person. "i don't know where i am going."

[leave the train at s city station. keep your face hidden. i will take a flight there. from there, we will go to h island. remember we promised to go there when we were in high school?]

he still remembers that. i decide to forgive this bastard.

"don't think that i still love you." i make myself clear. "if it's okay to remain as friends, meet me. if you get any wrong idea, i would slap you until you cry."

[i am leaving now. i will arrive before you do. don't get into trouble until then.]

i hang up the phone and wonder if it's the right thing to meet ren. i want to know the truth. if he is crazy enough to go to the dark guild to protect me, i will beat the crap out of him. if he did this because he wanted a fugitive life, i will still beat the crap out of him. how could he do that? i need to convince him to leave before he does something wrong.

***

she's not here.

"the guest checked out around 3 hours ago." the hotel manager tells him, "she only stayed for an hour."

"do you know where she could have gone?" kiyohira hopes that she is sightseeing in the same city.

"sir, i have no idea." plenty of guests come and go. the hotel manager can't keep an eye on all of them. kiyohira feels hopeless and powerless. where could she go? did she find out that he is coming? how would he find her? she could be sick. what if she passes out again? she can't eat in public places. he is going crazy. it's dangerous for a single woman in an unknown city. she's driving him crazy.

"sir, i heard you talking to the manager." the guard comes to him. "are you looking for a girl in an oversized hoodie and no luggage?"

"yes, you remember her." kiyohira's becomes bright like the eyes of a traveler who saw the oasis in the desert.

"she seemed strange. so, i took notice." the chatty guard pats the back of kiyohira sympathetically. "she was asking about the nearest phone shop."

"where is the phone shop?"

15 minutes later -

"i can't reveal the personal information of our customer." the phone seller didn't forget his customer who was dressed in an oversized hoodie. it's because he thought that she stole her brother's clothes. it seems that she stole her ex-boyfriend's clothes. in any case, he won't reveal a girl's phone number to her ex-boyfriend.

kiyohira adds another thick layer on the layer of money.

the seller gulps. this is more than one day of sale. he shakes his head. it's about ethics. that girl must have changed her number because she wanted to get away from her ex-boyfriend.

kiyohira adds three more thick layers. he will keep adding until this seller gives what he wants.

***

my phone suddenly rings. a spam call? are spammers that fast these days? i only got this number a few hours ago. i don't pick up the phone.

the phone doesn't stop ringing. i wonder if i turn it off. then, ren might call. s city is two hours away.

"i don't want insurance or loan." i yell at the caller, "stop calling me. i am waiting for my friend's call. you are keeping the line busy."

[takeuchi.]

kamiyama?

[where are you?]

"aha! it's you. you already have my number. after branding me as a criminal on media for running away and breaking the contract, you still have the nerve to call me? this turned out good. now, the whole world thinks that i am the one who kicked the kamiyama family because i threw away all the goodies. that's good. the problem is finally solved. i am the bad guy. you are the good guy. but, you aren't satisfied. you want to see me rot inside the prison, right?"

[i didn't do that. i don't know how the contract was leaked. nobody knows about it other than... ]

"who? your chisa? your mizutani? your best friend eichi? your grandmother? is it our younger brother takeshi? nah! takeshi is too young to come up with this kind of scheme. i don't care who did it. this is happening because of you. you made me sign that contract. go ahead and sue me. i don't care."

[come back.]

this bastard thinks that he can fool me.

"i will rather die than return to that hell hole."

[takeuchi, it's fine if you hate me. you aren't allowed to leave me. just stay put where you are and wait for me. i will find you soon.]

this arrogant bastard thinks that i will listen to his crap.

"you are something, kamiyama. you don't want me to die because you want to torment me for life. you will never get that wish. you will never find me."

i go to the washroom and flush the phone out.