A few days later
Iori walked out of the elevator with her brother walking beside her. Haruki nodded at the slightly surprised secretary and they went straight for the office. Then they went inside without knocking.
Inside, the president sat alongside Jun as they talked. Iori and Jun’s eyes met for a brief moment but Iori quickly averted her gaze from his. She wasn’t there to exchange gazes with him, she was there for a reason and she couldn’t afford to let her feelings for Jun be in the way of what she needed to do.
“Iori, I know we had an appointment but I didn’t know that you were bringing a guest,” Satoru said with a welcoming smile his poker face ever-present.
“Since I came to the conclusion that you can’t be trusted, our meetings can’t go on unwitnessed anymore so I brought my lawyer with me to ensure that everything is legal here,”
“Don’t you think that’s
Iori stood beside Jun as he spoke on the phone her hand on his tense shoulders silently reassuring him."So everything is settled? How about Kokuro are they going to plead guilty?" Jun asked and waited for the answer,"If they want to settle things with money drag them on for a bit longer and make sure that they will be under our hands next time. Tabloids can be valuable in the trade for the long term, I don't want to destroy them. Just make sure that they take a big hit... a public one..."Iori sighed, Jun was out for blood, after both the tabloid and Tohru fell for his trap, he was playing with them like a cat playing with his meal until he falls hungry and devours them. Who knew Jun could be so ruthless in business, he surely seems to be his father's son.But, Iori was worried that this was more than that. She was worried that Jun was exercising his revenge in the most rightful way he could find, not even daring to admit to himself that he was taking h
Iori leaned against the wooden walls of her room in the mountain estate her eyes on the scenery in front of her, the beautiful cascades of the mountain forest views as they peeked through the misty presence that always seemed to cover the mountain early in the morning left Iori breathless whenever she looked at it.Usually, this view was enough to make her feel so fulfilled and empowered that she could take on anything that may come her way. But these days she couldn’t help but note the loneliness that was taking root in her heart.Her mind kept wandering to Jun and wondering how he was doing, how his meeting with Tohru’s father went. Since he had contacted her to ask if she arrived well there had been no signal from him. It’s been three days since then. Iori’s phone had been taken away two days ago. Her aunt claimed that she needed to disconnect from the city and reconnect with the mountain spirits.In any other circumstances, Iori would
“How…” She whispered,“I picked him up on my way from the airport. He made his way up the mountain on his own and waited for me to come and pick him up so that he could come in.” Her father explained and Jun smiled.“You went through all this trouble…”“Sorry I couldn’t contact you, there was no cell reception on the way and I couldn’t reach you or your brother,” Jun said coming into the room as her father made way for him and went outside,“I’ve missed you,” He said, “God you look so beautiful,” He added and Iori laughed throwing her arms around him.He was there, he came for her… Iori felt on top pf the world.“How have you been?” He asked her“Fine! How have YOU been! I was worried about you, how did things go?!”“I settled everything,” He said‘What did you exa
Every person has their Trigger, in fact, every person has the right to have a trigger that other people should avoid. Maybe there should even be a rule about stating your trigger when introducing yourself so that people can avoid setting it off. If Iori had to choose one, her trigger would be 'someone disturbing her plans'. Maybe she's making a big deal out of this, but, receiving a text from the president of her publishing company at 6 AM on a Saturday stating that they had an important meeting in less than two hours and that she should present herself at the company or there would be trouble with her contract. Well, if that doesn't trigger her anger, what would? Since this morning her mind had been tirelessly looking up ways to change humanity by infiltrating a ridiculous rule into their daily lives, just to avoid the murder ideas that keep whispering in her mind seductively. Funny how her single-minded publisher doesn't even have to try in order to give her inspir
Both Jun and Iori remained silent after the president's announcement Iori was still in denial, she really wanted to wake up and find out that she was having a terrible dream. But there was none of that. If the man thought that she and Jun were capable of staying together in the same room long enough to write a paragraph, then he was sorely mistaken."Mid-life crisis?" Jun said looking at her and she shrugged, if this was something because of his midlife crisis, then they were done for because this man's whims were hard to keep p with and he has a perverse enjoyment in seeing others struggle to keep up with his demands."Old man, are you okay?" Jun asked leaning forward matching the president's posture.Iori didn't say anything, she felt like anything she did and said at this moment would be her downfall in the battle of witts. And she didn't feel like she had the patience to be laying word games with the president."of course I am! if I wasn't okay, I wou
People live their lives restricted by rules and obligations. some of those are self-imposed, and that's fine. Because a person had to live by the standard he or she believes in. But, most of those rules are imposed on them by society, expectations, and such things that do nothing but pin down people and restrain their dreams and hopes stealing away their chances of experiencing life and living it to the fullest. Jun didn't believe in that way of life, and he had no interest in submitting to society and its rules. He had no interest in their Idea of happiness nor did he ever want to be happy to start with. His goal in life had never been happiness. Or perhaps it had been a long time ago. But, now, he was living for life itself, savoring life and going through it in a way that makes him satisfied with each day that passes. Some called him a free spirit for that, and some say he's a player, but some others like his father, were much harsher in describing him sayin
Iori never thought of herself to be prejudiced until now. She was completely disarmed and faced with her own preconceived judgment and she truly felt ashamed of herself. To make things worse, the person she who owed her apologies for that is no one other than Jun Kamikoi. And, to top it off, the person who will be smirking at her while saying "I told you so," Is the annoying and whimsical president who had currently entered her black list to remain there for the remainders of her days on this earth. The truth is that Iori followed that annoying old man's nagging advice that came in the form of several emails, text messages, and enjoyed packages through her editor. She took a copy of one of Jun's books that the president had sent her and she read it. And to her utter surprise and annoyance, the book was a real page-turner... His book was fun, engaging and his words flowed life the smoothest melody over paper transfixing her and diving with her into a magical word weav
Iori sat down watching the rain drizzle outside through the coffee shop's front window. The place was quiet and the faint sound of music drifted over to her ears along with the occasional scent of roasted coffee beans creating an ambiance that put her mind at ease and stirred her desire to write. She slowly lifted her coffee mug to her lips and let the rich aroma coat her tongue and send a rush of energy over to her brain. This was really the perfect setup to write the scene she'd been thinking about since that morning... If only she brought her laptop with her. As she kept eying the street before her, she saw a person in a suit running through the drizzle, hopelessly trying to avoid getting drenched to no avail. She followed him with her eyes as he made his way to the cafe's door and swung it open making the bell at the top jingle announcing his entrance to the waiters and staff. The waiter hurried over to him with a towel and the young man gave him a smile