"Rie!" Umezaki Yushiro finds the bed empty. His daughter left the house again. "Did she go to the gaming arcade again?"
There is no telling when the seal on the pandora box of memories is broken. Umezaki Yushiro prays every day that it's never broken to let his daughter live happily.
"Professor, you should cut some slack. She gets bored staying at home all day." Yuhara Kozue hides his face behind the book. "She didn't tell me where she went."
Umezaki Yushiro sits down on the bed with tiredness. It's been two years since he brought her to H island. After two months of the fire, she woke up with no memories. She didn't even know her name. Umezaki Yushiro took that opportunity to give her a new life.
However, he didn't know that she would start running the moment she learns to walk again.
"I didn't know raising a daughter is this difficult."
"Technically, she is an adult. You spoil her too much."
"She's my daughter. I will spoil her as much as I want." Umezaki Yushiro glares at his student. "Did you start writing your thesis?"
Kozue stares at the ceiling. "My gynophobia is not cured. So, I don't think that I am ready to graduate... So... "
"You just want to freeload at my home, Yuhara." Umezaki Yushiro cracks his knuckles. "Don't lie to me. I saw you sitting beside my daughter and laughing at her jokes. If you ever think of dating my precious daughter, I will make you graduate faster."
It's only been 3 years. He won't give away his daughter to another man so soon.
Yuhara must be the only graduate student in the world who is scared of graduating faster. "Professor, I don't even see her as a woman. That is the only reason why I can sit closer to her without any discomfort. When it's the other women, it comes back. I swear. If I ever date, I will not date anyone like her."
Umezaki Yushiro is irked. "Why you won't date anyone like her, brat? What's wrong with her? She's the most perfect girl in the world."
"But, Professor, you just told me that you would throw me out if I date her." Yuhara is confused. "Then, can I see her as a woman or not?"
Umezaki Yushiro picks up his sandal. "Come here. I will tell you whether you can see her as a woman or not. You dare to lie about your gynophobia to me. You should be writing your thesis instead of thinking of my only daughter as a woman."
The professor chases his student around the house with a sandal in his hand.
***
"The winner is..." The announcer stares at the name. "U_413."
Dressed in an orange jacket with cat ears and funny glasses, U_413 comes to the stage proudly and takes the prize. The announcer looks at the girl. "How old are you?"
"150." She waves her hand. "Maybe, I am 99. What does that get to do with you? There is no age limit."
"I am sorry." The announcer apologizes. That's actually the case. There is no upper age limit currently in esports. It's a good opportunity to recruit this hidden gem. The purpose of the tournament was to find hidden gems from different parts of the country.
"Are you interested in -"
The girl walks away without giving any fudge. She puts the prize in her bag and drives her scooter away from the tournament.
The announcer is not affected by her arrogant behavior. She has all the rights to be arrogant.
"Get information about U_413. We will try to recruit her as a member of Team A."
***
I stop Yuhara's scooter in front of the food stall. "Aunty, do you have fish sticks?"
"Rie chan, your father was here a while ago." She packs 15 fish sticks and gives it to me. "He is furious. Go home quickly."
"Thank you, Aunty." I chuckle and go to my house. My father is probably not at home. I park the scooter and quietly make my way into the house.
"Umezaki san, you are back." Yuhara is sitting on his knees and balancing three thick books on his head. "I am getting punished because of you."
I laugh. "What will happen if the books fall?"
"He will make me write my thesis." Yuhara looks like he will cry. "Why did you run to play again? We have all the games in the house."
"I wanted to play with people who knew how to play." I pick up the books from his head and drops in on the floor. "I brought fish sticks. Do you want to eat?"
Yuhara stands up. His knees hurt. "Umezaki san, don't do that again. Professor Umezaki is extremely worried about you. You still need to take your medicine."
It's been two years since I was saved from the fire. In that fire, I also lost my memories. I woke up after two months and found my father beside me. He stayed beside me the whole time. He helped me stand up on my feet slowly. Sometimes, I wonder what I left behind in that fire. But, my father told me that past held no value. Only the present matters to build the future that I want.
However, he is always worried about me. I am sure that I am physically fine, but he would make me eat vitamins or some health tonics.
"Take this." I give the fish stick to Yuhara. I take one and bite into it. "Call my father and tell him that I am at home."
Yuhara sighs. "Let eat these fish stick peacefully."
"Leave some for him. He loves them."
Yuhara sets aside 6 of them. My father is a big eater. "I am going to die because of you and professor."
"You should write your thesis and leave." I stare at him. "I think that I would miss your scooter more than you."
Yuhara frowns. "Umezaki san, is that the only value I have in your life? How many times have I helped you leave the house to play games at the arcade?"
I start counting it in my head. It couldn't be more than...
"YUHARA!" My father steps inside the house. "So, it was you who was behind it. Instead of writing the thesis, you are -"
I run to him and shove a fish stick in his mouth. He blinks at me with surprise. I give him a big hug.
"Father, do you like it?"
The anger in his eyes vanishes instantly. "I will not forget that you stayed out at night again."
"If I tell you that I brought a prize, will you be happy?" I grin at him. "I defeated all of them and won 10k dollar prize. Aren't we going to celebrate my victory?"
He looks at me seriously. "It's only been two years. You should take the stress. Why do you insist on playing for money? I have been invited to teach at JHKP university. How about enrolling in the same university? If you don't like it, I will send you to another college."
"Father, I don't like studying. I am already 28." I make a face. "I will be too old in the class."
"That's not true." Yuhara says to me, "There are a lot of old students. I heard that there was once an 85 years old student who came to finish his bachelor degree. You look young, Umezaki san. If you want to enroll, I will also enroll in a course. Then, we will be a classmate."
"Yuhara, you can't even finish your thesis and you want to become her classmate." My father picks up his sandal. "You lazy student of mine!"
Ah! They are at it again.
"Professor, don't misunderstand. I didn't mean it that way. I only wanted to make her feel at ease."
"You big liar! Come back here."
"Yuhara Kun." Rie waves the laptop in front of his eyes. "Just look once."
Yuhara Kozue covers his ears. "NO!"
"You didn't cover your eyes." She smirks. "You can read it, right? Look at the prize money."
"N.O." Yuhara Kozue closes his eyes. "I won't take you to T city."
"Come on!" She stands in front of him. "Yuhara, we are leaving the country next month. This is a national e-sport championship. I got an invitation in the mail. I heard that professional players will come. If I win, I will be famous in the country."
Yuhara Kozue doesn't know much about her past, but he knows that there is someone who harmed her badly that night in T city. They even faked her death to hide her from that person. Going back to the city might trigger something. If she remembers, she might become worse than before. Umezaki Rie must never know about Takeuchi Rie.
"There are e-sports in E country too. You can play there as much as you want." Yuhara Kozue tells her with big eyes, "I heard that they are quite good. You will meet a lot of new people."
She places the laptop on the bed and sits beside him. "Why can't I choose the way I want to live? I don't want to study at this age. I don't want to live in a strange country. I want to live in H island. The food is most delicious here. I like the sound of the ocean."
"Umezaki san, you like computers. You can study computers deeply at the university. After you get your degree, you can find a good job and live the way you want to live. Going to T city is not a good idea," Yuhara explains to her with a kind tone.
Going to T city is definitely not a good idea. Kamiyama Kiyohira is there. They still haven't found the person who tried to kill her two years ago. Redhead Ren might be there too.
***
I look at the clock. 1:13 AM. I can't sleep.
'Going to T city is not a good idea.'
Why did Yuhara say that? He is distressed too. Is there something in T city that I shouldn't know about?
My father told me that there was nothing in the past. Our previous house burned to the ground and took all the memories away. Even family photos are gone in that fire. 26 years of my life disappeared in that fire. I never felt that it was okay. I didn't say anything because I thought the memories might come back on its own or my father would tell me.
They are hiding something, isn't? I get it that I was seriously injured in that fire. I couldn't walk for months. I am completely healed though. But, both of them shy away when I ask anything about the past. Yuhara can't lie for his life. My father is good at lying, but I notice guilt in his eyes some times.
I have a feeling that my father will never let me find out about my past if I leave with him next week to E country.
My past is in T city. I need to know what they are hiding.
I pack my stuff in the bag. I have left a letter for my father. I have a good plan to find out about my past. If I become famous, people who know me will come to find me on their own. Then, I can ask them directly. I will take part in that tournament first. It's the fastest way.
My father will be angry, but he is also understanding. I want to know about my past. How can one live without 26 years of life? I have had enough patience with this professor and his student.
I climb out of the window. I take a taxi to the airport. It's only one and a half hour journey to T city.
***
Yuhara Kozue can't sleep at all. He has a bad feeling. For some reasons, he can't trust that expression that she showed before kicking him out of her room. Did he say something wrong? He replays the conversation. Why did she look at him like that?
'Going to T city is not a good idea.'
Oh! He made a mistake.
He jumps out of the bed and runs to her room. The light is on. He knocks the door, but nobody answers him.
"Umezaki san, I am coming in." He pushes the door and finds an empty room. He finds the letter addressed to her father.
"Argh!" He grabs his hair. "Why did I say that? She is so smart. She can easily read between the lines. What should I do?"
Professor Umezaki will kill him, but he needs to tell him asap.
He dashes to Professor Umezaki's room. "Professor, Rie ran away from home."
Umezaki Yushiro opens the door. "What did you say?"
He looks at him with fear. "I made a grave mistake."
There is no time to scold or beat up his student. Umezaki Yushiro drives to the airport in his night pajamas. He hopes that his daughter didn't leave the airport yet. It's not good for her to find out this way. He has been selfish. He should have revealed it to her slowly. If the pandora box is broken suddenly, what she will become?
It's already late when they arrive. Rie is already on the plane to T city.
Bạn cũng có thể thích
bình luận đoạn văn
Tính năng bình luận đoạn văn hiện đã có trên Web! Di chuyển chuột qua bất kỳ đoạn nào và nhấp vào biểu tượng để thêm nhận xét của bạn.
Ngoài ra, bạn luôn có thể tắt / bật nó trong Cài đặt.
ĐÃ NHẬN ĐƯỢC