Chapter 10: First Kiss

Mr. Yamato was quite shocked to see Ryu with a beautiful woman when they arrived at the private room assigned for them. Ryu introduced Arya as his girlfriend. "Oh, now I see why Mr. Ken never wavered whenever I asked him to see my daughter. He already has one-of-a-kind beauty beside him." Arya thanked him for the compliment and gave him her sweetest smile. They were going to have lunch in a Japanese restaurant. Ryu and Mr. Yamato talked about business stuff, and she couldn’t relate at all since she graduated in a different field, very far from business. It seemed that Mr. Yamato was a good associate of Ryu, based on their chatting and bantering. Arya just enjoyed the Japanese food while she let the two talk. She was surprised by Ryu’s thoughtfulness. And then, he asked if she wanted to try this and that. He even put the various dishes on her plate. "What are you doing? Are you trying to ditch this Old Man now with your sweetness?" Mr. Yamato complained while laughing. Then, he added, "So, I assume all the rumors about you, being ruthless and cold, were groundless." Ryu smiled and answered, "They are not groundless. That’s true for those who have tried to mess with me. I have hunted and brought them down. ’Mercy’ is out of my vocabulary for that kind of people." "That’s more like you," Mr. Yamato commented as he poured sake for Ryu. Arya’s face, on the other hand, paled. She stopped eating upon hearing Ryu’s words. ’Ary, you are doomed!’ She thought to herself. That moment, she felt like something was stuck inside her throat, so she suddenly coughed. Ryu gently tapped her back as he handed her a cup of water. "I’m sorry," she murmured after calming herself up. "No worries, dear. I like you. I hate girls who are too little, just to act feminine in front of others. You are cool." Mr. Yamato winked at her, and Arya just smiled. Then, Ryu spoke, "That’s one of the reasons I like her. She’s the real thing." If only the whole ground could eat her alive at that moment, she would gladly bury herself, because of the shame she was feeling. ’If only he knew.’ She thought as she looked at Ryu, who was smiling thoughtfully at her. After lunch, Ryu bid his farewell to Mr. Yamato and held his hand as they walked out of the restaurant. Arya did not react since she thought this was needed, as Mr. Yamato seemed to be still looking at their backs. "This feels nice," she heard Ryu murmur. Arya pursed her lips in confusion. It indeed felt nice, but it felt wrong too, at least on her part, because the butterflies were once again attacking her, inside her stomach. "Let’s walk some more. I saw a park nearby. I have heard that we can watch the cherry blossom and hanami there." She heard Ryu speak. He was still holding her hand, and she couldn’t even bother to pull her hand out of his grip. It was like she was frozen at that moment. When they arrived at the park, Arya felt a little bit uneasy when she noticed that most of the people there were lovers, enjoying the beautiful view of the cherry blossoms. Leaves were falling, and she saw Ryu pick one from her hair. Arya smiled when she saw some fall on Ryu’s head too. She lifted her hand to pick it. When she was about to pull back her hand, Ryu suddenly held her wrist as he looked directly into her eyes. The time seemed to stop at that moment as if the two of them were the only people in the park. ’Something is wrong with this scene!’ Arya thought as panic started penetrating her. Before she could even react, she heard Ryu speak, "Arya, I want you to be my girlfriend for real." Arya’s jaw dropped; she couldn’t find her voice to respond to his words. When she finally got a hold of herself, she said, "Isn’t it a little bit too early? You know me for just three days." Ryu smiled as he looked into her eyes, "That’s why I want you to be my girlfriend now, to know you more, to know you better." Arya’s lips twitched, "What if I am a bad person? I’ve told you before not to like me. You will regret that later." Ryu just laughed. He was not taking her words seriously. "I don’t see a point in not liking you." "I have warned you not to like me, okay? I’m a bad person, and you’ll get hurt...." Her words were cut by Ryu’s lips that sealed hers, not allowing her to speak further, while his hands cupped her face. Arya just froze. That was her first kiss. She’s been in a relationship with Jim for almost a month, but they had never gotten to the point of kissing. It was just a hug and a kiss on her hands, that was the farthest he could go. Maybe that was why he had an affair with someone willing to satisfy him physically. It was a gentle kiss; his lips were so warm against hers. ’So this is the feeling of the first kiss?’ She thought inwardly as she felt her own heart thumping out loud. Then, she felt how he pulled back, making just enough space to look into her eyes as he spoke, "You talk too much. Let’s just try and see how far we can like each other, shall we? Don’t ruin the mood with your negativity." He was smiling like a loving boyfriend at her as he winked, before releasing her face and just holding her hand once more. ’Who the hell will give a warning before doing something awful to a person?’ Ryu just laughed inwardly. Arya was really funny, and he found her even more attractive. She no longer said any words of refusal, and Ryu was happy about it. He felt alive whenever he was with her. Who cared that it’s just a few days since they’ve met? There were still a lot of days to get to know each other more and see how long their relationship could last.