Kourin felt it was a bad idea to ask Tetsuya to help her prepare for her date. But so was Amiko. Both had not helped her choose the right dress that would suit her for her first date. Then again, bakit ba siya umasa na matutulungan siya ng mga ito?
"My lady, you're truly taking this seriously, aren't you?"
She faced Tetsuya who was only looking at her with a teasing smile on his face as soon as she groaned. She was allowed to punch this guy's face for acting this way, right? Gagawin niya iyon kahit alam niyang mali at wala naman talaga itong kasalanan.
"Siyempre, kailangan kong seryosohin ito, ‘no? How am I not supposed to take this seriously when it's my first date? And it's to the guy I liked for a long time..."
"What I meant is that you need to calm down. You're only running around in circles for about an hour, trying to figure out what to wear. But I don't think it even matters to Seiichi at this point."
Tetsuya had a point, though. But at the moment, Kourin's mind was muddled because of so many worries. And to think she didn't even know where those worries came from. May mga pagkakataon talaga na hindi na niya maintindihan ang sarili niya basta ang lalaking iyon ang usapan.
"Why didn't I experience something like this before, anyway? I should've asked my brother about all this before."
Amiko frowned at her statement, however. "Did Lord Hitoshi even date someone before?"
"Should I even call 'omiai' as a date? From what I knew, he attended several of them. Sapilitan, kung tatanungin mo siya dahil mas madalas sa hindi, nakasimangot si Kuya kapag nasasabihang magpunta sa mga iyon. All candidates were from other noble families. But knowing my brother's situation, I don't think he fully entertained them."
"I do recall one of them, though," Tetsuya stated, making Kourin face him. "There was even one lady he met who was quite rude, if you ask me. She was also a demanding person. Lord Ryuuki was supposed to step in when she became aggressive and demanded too much. But your brother handled it well. From what I know, the family of that lady disowned her after that ruckus she made and they even apologized to Lord Hitoshi for that."
"My brother was straightforward when it comes to people he doesn't like. He could be friendly when he knew he had every reason to be. And he'd be loyal to anyone as long as they don't break that trust he'd given to them."
"But was Lord Hitoshi always aware of your feelings for Seiichi?"
Kourin wasn't expecting that question from Amiko. But she didn't let the surprise show on her face. She sighed after a few moments and nodded.
"Since when did I have the ability to hide my thoughts to a perceptive person as my brother, anyway?"
"If he's here and could see you being anxious like this because of your first date, what do you think he'll say to you?"
Doon na natahimik si Kourin. Come to think of it, such a scenario didn't come to her mind since Hitoshi died. What would her brother say kung sakali ngang makita siya nito sa ganitong sitwasyon?
Even as she tried to think of an answer, a certain dress soon caught her attention.
'I don't think I've ever used this one before. Why is it still here?' Regardless of the thought lingering at the sight of the slightly familiar dress, she sighed before approaching her closet to pull it out there.
"I remember Lord Hitoshi giving that dress to you a year before he..." But Tetsuya trailed off and couldn't continue what he wanted to say.
Kourin sighed. "But I didn't get to wear it even after I received it from him. I don't know what to feel now that I realized that. Baka nga nagagalit na siya sa akin dahil ngayon ko lang naalalang ilabas ito sa closet ko."
None of her shadow guardians said a word after that. Though the air felt heavy around her because of that, she chose not to say anything that could intensify it and make things awkward for the three of them.
She faced Amiko and Tetsuya as she placed the mint-green lace dress in front of her. "What do you think of this?"
Both shadow guardians smiled and nodded.
"I think it's about time you put that to good use," Amiko said.
"Since it's Lord Hitoshi who gave that to you, it will make that dress even more special for you. Not to mention, you're using it on your first date with his best friend. Walang dudang matutuwa si Lord Hitoshi kapag nalaman niya iyon."
She was able to smile brightly after hearing those words. Perhaps there was a good reason why she didn't remove that dress from her closet in years. Though she'd let the maid wash it from time to time once it started accumulating dust, she never actually found any reason to use that dress.
Until now...
"Alright! Time to dress up."
xxxxxx
Though Kourin felt like she was properly dressed for her first date, her nerves still wouldn't stop making her jittery. She wasn't going to a battle or anything. So why was she feeling like this?
Then again, even with her anxiety making her jittery, she knew that backing out would mean breaking Seiichi's trust in some way. She didn't want to disappoint him, as well. With a sigh, she walked towards their meeting place ㅡ the park where they first met again.
Or at least to her, the park where she first saw him after a long while. Hindi naging maganda ang alaalang iyon sa kanya. Pero ngayong naroon na siya, gusto niyang palitan iyon ng mas maganda, kahit papaano.
To her surprise, however, someone was already there as soon as she arrived at the spot that he indicated. She stopped upon seeing who it was.
"He's already here? But there's still 30 minutes before the appointed time."
Could it be that... he was just as excited as she was? But was that even possible?
'No use overthinking. Let's just get this over with, shall we? Huwag ka nang kabahan para matapos na ‘to.'
Before Kourin could even take a step once again, she saw Seiichi turn in her direction and his eyes widened. It didn't last long, though. Before she could even process it, he smiled and stood from the bench he was sitting at.
"Rin!" he called out and even waved at her.
How in the world could she resist this young man smiling at her like this at the moment? Lagi na lang ganoon ang epekto nito pagdating sa kanya. She found herself smiling soon after, as well, and started walking to approach him. She didn't pay attention to the strong pounding of her heart as each step she made brought him closer to her.
At the moment, she truly didn't want to care about anything else except for this day and this moment. Together with the man she liked for a long while now.
"You came here early," she started as soon as she stopped in front of him. "I thought I'm the one who made it here earlier than our supposed meet-up time."
"I'm just excited, that's why." Seiichi stopped talking and looked at her.
So tama nga siya sa hinala niya. Then again, mukhang wala naman itong planong i-deny iyon.
Of course, the way he would look at her up and down made her a little uncomfortable. But a part of her wanted to know what he thought about her outfit on her first date. So she did her best to fight it down.
She knew he was doing it for a reasonable reason. Not to mention, she had every reason to kick his face if it went down to a weird conclusion. Of course, it was still a question if she could seriously do that to him.
"You look different when you're dressed up like this."
She frowned at his words, however. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I didn't mean it the bad way. But I'd usually see you wearing casual outfits, mainly jeans and blouses. Seeing you in a dress for the first time is quite refreshing."
It took a while for his response to sink in her mind. When it finally did, she let out a burst of laughter and shook her head.
"Now I don't know what to think of what you just said to me. But I'll take it as a compliment. Wala namang masyadong nagsasabi ng ganyan sa akin, eh."
Kourin's words made Seiichi's smile widen and laid out his hand to her. "Shall we?"
She had no reason to hesitate this time. This was something she didn't even consider even before her brother died. But at the moment, this chance was in front of her. As soon as she took a deep breath, she took his hand and held it tight. If he was surprised by what he did, he didn't show it to his face.
"Let's go."
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