Haruki tried to be as casual as he could about Satomi’s invitation. He could guess there was sothing else she was hinting at through the invitation but he wasn’t hesitant rather, it made him curious.
It was the weekend and although he shouldn’t be at work, he stopped by his office for an impromptu eting, one he made up his mind to be present physically.
They were done before lunch and parted to enjoy what was left of their weekend. Haruki told Kiyoshi he wanted to drive himself. Kiyoshi without hesitation gave him the key to his car and waved him off before joining Haruki’s guards in their car.
Haruki drove leisurely for a while without much thought on his mind. If he had not stopped at the office, he would have gone golfing with two of his friends and they would always have sothing planned afterwards. With that, he would be busy until dinner. Mostly passively, but watching his peers live carefree during those monts was enough entertainnt.
He stopped and parked at a popular park with a manmade lake. This was one of the sites he loved visiting with his parents when they were alive. It was only after he had parked and walked into the park, that he took in the fact that he had subconsciously gone back into his buried past.
He ran his fingers through his hair. This was the first ti this was happening in a long ti and he had not been foolish enough to let this happen with how fortified his mind was.
A small mocking smile pushed the corners of his lips upwards before he scoffed and stopped in his tracks. The park was busy as usual because it was quite popular.
Kids running around blowing bubbles, so playing with the fountain barefoot, youths, young adults enjoying their picnics with family and friends. The scene was just too harmonious and the more he watched, the less he felt like he belonged in such a place.
He felt the urge to turn and walk back through the path in the little garden that brought him there, away from the world he had stumbled on but he didn’t give in. Perhaps he had to remind himself that the past was long gone and he had no luxury for such things. Or he just wanted to see more of that world.
A child in the distance began crying and his young mother hurried to him and hugged him while a man who seed to be the father smiled and shook his head before reaching to brush back the untad hair of the little girl sitting on the picnic mat with him.
A smile tugged at the corners of his lips but this ti, he held back and turned to live. He must look very out of place considering how he was dressed. The day was bright but the sun wasn’t too scorching creating a perfect day to hang outside but he was dressed very formally and it was a bit too hot.
Like that man, when he gets married, he could co over with his family and he would be able to enjoy the mont more perfectly but for now, he hasn’t even found a woman who fits perfectly into the picture.
He got into his car with a new determination he hadn’t taken note of. His wife would have been more of a business partner than a lover and it would have stayed that way if he had not driven to the park.
The scene at the park made him hope that even though his relationship with his wife wouldn’t be considered as that of lovers, he would still want to be on very friendly terms with her.
His phone vibrated in his pocket just in ti for him to park his car at a restaurant. He just wanted to have lunch alone although a bit late, he thought it was Satomi who might have called him to remind him of their dinner plan.
When he got his phone, the caller ID showed him a foreign number, It had to be the doctor after all it was the sa code so he picked up the call without much thought.
"Hello Haru," Aki’s voice ca a bit hoarse on the other line.
Haruki held back a smile as he spoke in a friendly manner, "How’s your health now?"
"Better considering the care I got. It would have been worse if my brother hadn’t co," Aki replied.
"That’s good to hear," Haruki told him sincerely. "You should take care of your body."
"I will. Don’t worry, I won’t steal your doctor anymore," Aki laughed jokingly.
"Stop the joke. He was your brother before he beca my doctor so you obviously co first," Haruki said reflecting the sa playful tone Aki used. His tone did not ease the bitterness those words caused.
"Now, it’s your turn to stop the joke," Aki laughed in a very carefree manner.
"You sound very healthy now, that’s a relief," Haruki voiced his observation and rested his head against the headrest of the car seat. He wondered when the doctor would return since his brother was obviously in good health.
"Yeah, however, the doctors wouldn’t let go back ho and my brother insisted on dragging back ho with him," Aki complained to Haruki.
"I have to plan a nice party to welco you back," Haruki suggested seriously. It has been a while since he went to a party and one for Aki wouldn’t be a bad idea.
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah. What do you want for a welco gift?" Haruki asked sincerely.
"Anything you give will be the perfect welco gift," Aki replied excitedly.
With these words, more words than he had expected to say casually to anyone in just a day, Haruki had begun anticipating Aki’s return. They might not have been friends in the past few years but many things about the call made him feel as though they had never parted and were still close friends.
After a few words again, Haruki hung up and walked into the restaurant. There was sothing about the day since he stepped out of his office that made him think a bit differently from the usual.
He had a simple light lunch before driving back to his penthouse unwilling to drive the distance to his main house. He took a cold shower and went to bed.
*
Kiyoshi who had followed Haruki along with the guards could not help but feel sothing was wrong with Haruki. He also felt the need to protect Haruki even more because, at tis like this, Haruki would gladly get hurt by anyone.
Haruki was strong enough to protect himself and he was usually ard. It would be difficult for anyone to harm him close up but he still needed a lot of guards. Ren insisted he does because they could never predict when Haruki would let soone stab him.
It was sothing they had tried until they could not understand. The first ti it happened, they thought the man he was sparring with in the family house was stronger than Haruki and Haruki didn’t want to lose in front of his subordinates that’s why he didn’t tap out.
Haruki was hit badly on his head until he passed out. The man although of high rank among the other n, was taken and beaten rcilessly by Ren and Kiyoshi until he finally confessed that Haruki had threatened his life if he didn’t put in his all and when he was scared to continue on the ring, Haruki threatened to go after his family too.
The man scared for his family had thrown a very hard blow on Haruki’s head. Haruki was unconscious on the bed for a day. When he woke up, he was calm and the gloominess around him was gone.
They thought he wanted to commit suicide but after the second and third ti, they knew Haruki just wanted to be unconscious for a while.
They could not understand why no matter how hard they tried to co up with possibilities and Haruki refused psychological treatnt even threatening Kiyoshi who made the suggestion.
With the thought on his mind, Kiyoshi stepped down from the car and walked into the building.
He could not bring himself to let Haruki stay along because although Haruki hadn’t gone out of his way to threaten soone hurt him since the first ti, there were still many things that could be used and have hurt Haruki in the past.
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