Brothers' disagreement

"What do you think of the food?" Haruki suddenly asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Good," she gave him a quick response before she continued to eat. She held her cutlery tightly hoping it did not show that her hands shook. His sudden warmth made her even more nervous as this was not what she heard people say about him.

She remembered the doctor she would love to have a meal with, the warmth in his light-colored eyes was very different from the coldness in Haruki's eyes. She did not feel the urge to eat anymore but remembering her mother thought good of the young man before her, she chose to show some respect by eating well.

***

Hiroshi finally got the chance to rest after working for more than six hours. He could avoid such workload if he wanted but there was nothing more distracting from his crazy thoughts than saving lives.

He pushed the door of his office open to take a nap before going out for dinner. He was taken aback to see his office occupied even though the occupant was his younger brother.

"You should have called me as soon as you arrived, hope you did not wait for too long?" Hiroshi asked a perfunctory question although he had been avoiding such a situation.

"An hour ago," Aki responded after glancing at his wristwatch. "I figured that you would be busy so I decided to wait."

"Next time, call me," Hiroshi told his brother before sitting down behind his work desk. He could feel a throbbing headache slowly intensifying.

"Do you think there is any need for all these empty talks? You never cared about me, I have always been that stepbrother you wanted out of your sight, why did you stop me from pursuing the love I wanted?" Aki who tried to remain calm voiced out all his frustrations only stopping to take a breath when he was done.

Hiroshi who was reaching for a bottle of water stopped midway meeting his brother's gaze as confusion caused his brow to furrow deeply. "What do you mean?" he asked as he tried to replay all his brother said.

"Did you like Haruki for all these years and tell me all that brotherly advice so you could get your chance now?" Aki asked seriously believing all he said.

"Take a breath and think about what you want to say before saying it," Hiroshi reached for the water and gulped as silence lay heavily in the office.

Aki took deep breaths and looked down at the picture of their family on the desks. The three men in the picture smiled looking both handsome and dignified despite their ages. He reached and pulled the picture down.

Hiroshi watched his movement and could finally guess how much his brother hated him at that moment. "You are married. You might think it was a simple engagement but remember you did that in the temple and before your family," Hiroshi spoke calmly.

His calmness only made Aki frustrated as he felt none of his feelings were understood by his brother whom he loved and respected for most of his life. "Did you sleep with Haruki?"

"What if I did, what difference does it make?" Hiroshi who hoped his brother would see things rationally asked coldly.

"I . . ."

"You got over a high school crush and found a girl to spend the rest of your life together . . . well . . . at least that is what you told us when you brought your fiancée home," Hiroshi interrupted him.

"What made you think I . . ." Aki scoffed.

"If you don't love her, I think you should break up rather than put someone's daughter through undeserved pain," Hiroshi interrupted Aki. Seeing his brother's nose flare at his advice, he continued, "I will help you explain to our father and anyone you think might not understand."

"Do you understand what I am trying to say?" Aki folded his hands across his chest and leaned back slightly before he asked.

"I understand. You think you would have had a chance if I had let you pursue the new chairman of Yugen Holdings simply because he was a high school crush," Hiroshi responded very calmly. He had been trying to get over his feelings after Haruki's words in the restroom only coming to terms with the fact that he was willing to sacrifice his self-esteem to spend any minute close to Haruki.

"Don't make it sound more complicated than it is."

"I agree with you and I understand that I had no right to stop you from pursuing a love you believed in and I am sorry," Hiroshi apologized. Just before his brother could sigh in relief, he added, "If you want to pursue him now, go ahead but don't forget the life you would have to give up and prepare yourself for his rejection in the process."

Hiroshi hoped his brother understood what would lay ahead of him. He would most likely lose his friendship with Haruki from the moment he confesses. He could see defeat in his brother's eyes as he stood up.

"When do you plan to leave?" he asked worriedly.

"Don't act like you care," Aki responded as he walked to the door. He paused holding the doorknob for two long seconds. He turned to look at his brother not bothering to hide the abhorrence in his eyes. "If I had confessed to him, we would have gotten together, we were all we had in high school. I will leave tomorrow, I hope he treats you any better than his other playthings."

Hiroshi froze at his brother's words. A brotherhood he invested energy and love into for most of his life seemed to dissipate like steam. Like smoke, it felt impossible to grab it, impossible to be safe. He swallowed and parted his lips to speak only pressing his lips together and nodded.

Hiroshi looked away from Aki's accusing gaze coming to terms with the fact that the love he warned his brother against was the same pit he had fallen face-first into so hard he could not recover from the palpitation of his heart.

"I wish you a safe journey back. Can I drop you off at the hotel?" he asked cautiously. It would have been a given if they had not had such a conversation.

"Whatever," Aki replied before pulling the door open. He walked up before Hiroshi could respond and closed the door behind him.

Seeing his brother his brother did not spare him a glance after his response, Hiroshi could only sigh in relief. He would drop his brother off at the airport his fear that he would lose his relationship with his brother faded away almost instantly as he thought of an apology gift to get his brother in the process.

His phone buzzed startling him out of his thoughts minutes later. Glancing at his phone, he was even more shocked when he saw the caller was Miyoko.