217 It’s not like I have inspected your backdoor

"who are you?" takeda ryosei asks in horror.

"me?" takeshi chuckles. "i'm a childhood friend of kinoshita iori. that's my current identity."

in future, he wants to be known as the husband of kinoshita iori. it might take a while. but it won't be long. he has patience, but he doesn't have infinite patience. 

iori doesn't know what to say. this is the reason why takeshi was infamous as the devil prince in school. this is a man who will shove down a knife in someone's throat with an angel-like smile. the devil was also an angel once. 

her beautiful collarbones are still bare to other men's eyes. takeshi takes off the hairpin and watches her hair fall down. how can he let them be exposed without his marks? if he could, he would make them right now. alas! if he does that, she might run away to another city or look at him with anger again. he doesn't want to be rejected again. he won't act without caution either.  

first of all, he is planning to seduce her. then, he will give her a dream-like love. once the fruit is ripened, he will eat it with delight. 

"what are you doing?" iori frowns at him when she realizes that her hairpin is taken off by him. "can't you act like an adult?"

"why should i?" takeshi mutters under his breath. "you are there to act like an adult for me."

what the hell is wrong with him? iori is puzzled by his behaviour. he wasn't like this. he would nitpick with her all the time. he's still doing this, but his words are somewhat ambiguous.

"people's true faces are revealed when something precious is snatched away from them." yamashina chiyo tears away the stickers on the car. "congratulations, mr takeda. you have ruined your life, but you still have your car."

what? everyone except for takeshi looks at her with blank faces. she takes off the stickers one by one. though the flat tires are real, the scratches aren't real. the only people who are releasing breaths of relief are the employees of the restaurant. tezuka kohei's expression doesn't change one bit, but takeda ryosei is still stumped. the organization found out about the corruption he was part of. he lost his job and his house is taken away. the cops are heading towards this restaurant at the moment.

she walks to takeda ryosei and pastes the sticker on his lips. "remember if you had kept your opinions to yourself and acted with a little sensibility, you could have avoided what you are facing today. have a fun time in prison. i wonder if an asshole like you can survive in that place."

he takes the sticker off his mouth. "what do you mean by that, you lowly shit?" 

"i'm telling you from what i have observed in the corpses of the people who have spent a long time in prison." yamashina chiyo smiles at him. "their backdoor is often wider than it should have been. men like you are usually at the bottom."

iori and takeshi look at ren with questions in their eyes. ren shakes his head. his backdoor is untouched. he turns toward yamashina chiyo and takeda ryosei. "miss coroner, don't spread lies. i have spent three years in prison. my backdoor is not wider than it should be."

"is that so?" yamashina chiyo cocks her head and looks at him with a mirthful gaze. "why should i believe you? it's not like i have inspected your backdoor."

"you..." ren senses takeshi's gaze filled with pity. he shakes his head again. don't look at him like that. nothing went inside his backdoor. only things came out of it. "miss coroner is drunk. she should also learn to keep her mouth shut for now."

"i am curious now." yamashina chiyo steps toward him. "i want to know if your backdoor is wider than it should be."

"stay away from me." ren runs away from her. another crazy woman is after him. this one deals with the dead. 

"you, red-head, stop there." yamashina chiyo can't run fast on heels. she clicks her tongue and takes off her heels. her dress isn't comfortable either. she yells after him, "if you are running away, it means that you have something to hide. now, i am sure that your backdoor is wider than it should be."

takeda ryosei regrets coming to this date. the drunk coroner is a crazy woman who is chasing a poor man while yelling about inspecting his backdoor.

kamiyama group. why didn't it occur to him before? kamiyama kiyohira is infamous in the business world. it's not a secret that he has a younger brother. he had seen kamiyama kiyohira from afar once. he can see the similarities between kamiyama takeshi and kamiyama kiyohira.

by then, the cops have arrive to take him away. takeda ryosei sighs. even if he hates kamiyama takeshi for ruining his life, he knows that he can never fight back. he doesn't have the ability. 

after takeda ryosei is gone, iori faces tezuka kohei with a polite smile. "i'm sorry about everything that had happened today."

there's no doubt that it was takeshi who is behind this. she can guess that she's the reason behind it. in addition to that, her drunk cousin is chasing kawamoto ren like a madwoman.  

tonight has been a disaster.

besides that, she's sure that tezuka kohei and she don't have the same expectations from marriage.  

tezuka kohei has been quiet the whole time. he's been observing people. he has already guessed the connection between kamiyama takeshi and kamiyama group. but he's not someone who is afraid of kamiyama takeshi or his background. rather, it intrigues him. he wants to take this cherished woman in his possession. in fact, he is attracted to this woman with flaming life in her eyes. "iori, do you think that i agree with takeda's words?"

"i am not sure." iori replies with a polite voice, "everyone has their beliefs. it's a free country."

"it is a free country indeed." though tezuka kohei doesn't agree with takeda's words, he does want a woman who would stay at home after marriage. it's not hard to convince a woman. after a woman has a child, she will be too busy and tired to work anyway. "iori, i am not that kind of man. if we get married, i won't take away your freedom. i don't have the right to take away anyone's freedom. i was silent because it is useless to argue with fools like him. they won't change their minds even if you argue with them for the rest of your life." 

takeshi rolls his eyes. he isn't the least bit threatened of this man in front of him. the man already dug his grave. iori is an idiot in some matters, but she's not a 100% idiot woman. takeshi knows how much she cares about her job and dream. her passion for her dream gives her life. it's something that adds to her beauty. even if she wants a fairytale-like love, she will never abandon her dream for marriage. she is certainly not someone who is after someone's money. if she was into money, she wouldn't have rejected him back then.

"tezuka-san, i don't have any plans for marriage right now. it's because my family forced me to come. i also wanted to see the person whom i chased around like a puppy. thank you for your time today." iori smiles at him. it might be useless to argue with people like takeda ryosei, but can she ignore the fact that he didn't answer takeda's questions once? his silence fuelled that man more. tezuka kohei's actions spoke louder than his current words. in addition to that, takeshi wasn't afraid of arguing with a fool at all. even if takeshi isn't her lover, she's truly a blessed person to have him as a friend even after she broke his heart once. he stood up for her when nobody did.

"i apologize if i have hurt you today." tezuka kohei bows his head a little. it's fine. he can still have her. "can we become friends?"

takeshi raises his brow. friends? does he not know what men mean by that word when they want to befriend women they are interested in? "she doesn't need more friends. having me and haru is enough."

he trusts haru. that man loves iori as a little sister. besides, haru already has a woman now.

"it doesn't hurt to have more friends." tezuka kohei chuckles and looks at iori. "what do you think, iori?"

"i don't mind." people with different opinions on some matters can become friends as long as they have some common ground. she doesn't think that tezuka kohei is a bad person. making connections is also important for reporters. also, she wants to wipe off that smug look on takeshi's face. who is he to decide whether she needs more friends or not? 

ignoring takeshi's scowl, she shakes tezuka kohei's hands.

the two men and the woman have completely forgotten about a certain red-head being chased by a crazy drunk coroner.