120
A Nameless Pair of Birds Wanting to Be Together
The following spring, we got married.
The wedding was modest. Modest by Sebastian’s standards. We only invited people who really had to be invited. But that was 2,000 people. Me? Not even 50. Of those, 30 are family.
In this situation, what happens is… 2,000 people keep following around those 30, trying to become acquainted. Meanwhile, I was no longer the most famous person among our family. A star emerged among my siblings. It was our cute youngest, Jochen.
We still don’t know why he’s popular, but he was incredibly popular nonetheless. The fact that he’s innocent. But actually, having grown up in a slum, he has a strong mentality. The fact that he’s quite good at fighting thanks to the self-defense I taught him. And his excellent physical abilities. The fact that he was cute-looking to begin with. These things seemed to blend well together. Plus, Jochen is a good speaker. So he was surrounded by young guests lined up for his autograph. Lee came over to me and clicked his tongue.
“Looking at you, I understand why your father interfered so much with your sisters’ marriages.”
“Suddenly?”
Not understanding what he meant, I looked at him, and Lee clicked his tongue again.
“One family member who makes a good marriage can feed the whole family, even in the 21st century.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Sebastian introduced Jochen to an entertainment agency, right?”
“He did.”
“That agency has quite a lot of loans. I wonder which bank they’re from?”
When I couldn’t answer, Lee continued. He wasn’t looking at me but at Jochen in the distance.
“After Jochen joined, that company received additional loans. Well, officially, there’s no connection, but…”
Seeing Lee’s twisted lips, I looked back at Jochen. I thought for a moment. Is Jochen’s luck simply due to Sebastian’s capabilities? It might have been to some extent. But I soon frowned.
“Do you think the public is stupid? That they’ll like him just because money is pushing him?”
“…”
“People have eyes too. To say that the feelings of those who like Jochen are due to Sebastian’s money, do you think money is that impressive?”
Two family members entered the entertainment industry, and one of them achieved what could be called a great start. As a result, I’ve been hearing things about that industry, and it seems there are indeed cases where money pushes things forward.
However, since entertainers must be loved, manipulation can only take indirect forms like “exposing them more often” or “making them appear more likable on screen.” It’s impossible to go around buying love with money. Just because they’re exposed more often doesn’t mean they’ll be loved, and even if they are exposed, if they don’t have the ability, they can’t capture speaking opportunities or atmosphere within broadcasts. If someone without ability is exposed more often, it quickly creates a sense of dissonance. People who just enjoy shows without caring about the industry might not notice, but fans of other entertainers notice quickly. Then they end up carrying an enormous number of anti-fans, and can a newcomer secure enough public support to bear that? Looking at it long-term, it’s an unstable approach. Once someone becomes disliked, it’s hard for them to become liked again.
—That’s what Sebastian said, and I think it’s correct. And even if that’s not the case, if Sebastian interferes with Jochen, protection is enough. It’s sufficient to ensure he doesn’t make strange contracts due to lack of knowledge or get involved in bad situations because he doesn’t have backing.
That’s what I thought, but there seemed to be some overprotection. And Jochen didn’t really like that overprotection. Apart from him liking Sebastian, it was annoying that people kept approaching him mentioning the Riegel family.
Lee clicked his tongue and walked away. Looking closely, Gleinach was coming from a distance. No way we sent him an invitation. It seems Lee brought him again. At this point, aren’t they just dating?
After being with people throughout the wedding, having a moment alone was peaceful. While blankly looking at the spring flowering tree Sebastian had planted, wondering “What was that tree originally called, not a spring flowering tree?” I saw Sebastian under the tree. He was making a phone call alone.
Seeing him like that felt like some kind of déjà vu.
Haven’t I seen him like this before? Him under that tree. It feels like I saw it a very long time ago. He had that kind of face. Gradually, my consciousness blurred. My mind became foggy.
What night was it? He sang a song.
“How many years did the mandarin ducks and the trees with intertwined branches and a nameless pair of birds have to spend to die at the same time?”
Dying at the same time means living together.
It was truly a long time. A long, long time… love so overflowing, flowing, unable to be gathered and hidden with both hands, to the extent that one could only watch it flow away. Wanting to be together but unable to reach because the other was so high. Staying by their side with all their might, but still falling short.
And now.
Connected.
Satisfaction overflowed through my entire body. Now they’re truly together. Walking side by side for a lifetime. No longer in a situation where they sacrifice everything for each other. Just being together to be happy.
It was an endlessly long time to get here…
“Armin.”
Someone is calling me.
“Armin. Armin!”
Someone touched me, and at that moment, I woke up sharply.
Huh? What was I thinking about? My head suddenly throbbed. As if I had just woken from a dream.
Sebastian was standing in front of me.
He was standing under the tree earlier, when did he come here? As I looked at him blankly, he looked down at me holding glasses in both hands.
“Are you okay? Did something happen?”
“No, nothing happened. Just…”
My mind came back. What was I just doing? Wow, that’s scary. Was I so happy that I lost consciousness in the middle of the wedding reception? I feel like I was thinking about something, but I can’t remember anything. My mind was completely empty.
“I think I was just spacing out for a moment.”
That was the only way I could explain it. At my answer, Sebastian looked worried, so I shook my head and turned my gaze to what he was holding in his hand. It was to change the subject.
“Is that alcohol? It smells like alcohol?”
“It is.”
He had brought alcohol in cups that looked like they would be used in Asia. The cups seemed too large for alcohol. Plus, there was a light pink flower in it. What was the name of this flower? As I tilted my head, Sebastian told me.
“It’s a peony.”
“Pretty. But do you drink alcohol with flowers in it?”
“In some countries’ weddings, they do.”
“Hmm, I see. That country is definitely in Asia.”
At my words pointing out his Oriental obsession, Sebastian burst into laughter.
“Right, that country is definitely in Asia.”
His voice echoing my words sounded somewhat distant. He often becomes distant, but I don’t understand when it happens. Anyway, I took the glass from him and clinked it with his.
“Always together, happily, healthily, let’s live well.”
Sebastian stared down at his drink. He stared intensely at the flower in the glass and then looked up. His face looked relieved.
“Yes. Because this is wedding alcohol.”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
When I burst into laughter, he laughed too. He clinked glasses with me once more. And we both put the glasses to our lips and drank simultaneously. It was quite strong alcohol, but I didn’t want to take my mouth away in the middle. My throat felt like it was burning, but I didn’t mind and emptied the glass cleanly. While drinking, I worried, “What if I get drunk and act shamefully?” but I was confident that if that happened, Kouri over there would knock me out and lock me in a room if necessary.
The spring breeze blew.
From a distance, the DJ played music. It was a dance song with a fast beat. When I lowered my glass, I could see Sebastian’s face. His cheeks were flushed red from drinking the alcohol in one breath. My cheeks must look the same. We looked at each other’s faces and laughed. It wasn’t even something to laugh about, but we kept laughing.
The sound of people dancing could be heard. I didn’t want to dance. I stuck the wet peony that had been in my glass behind Sebastian’s ear, and alcohol dripped down. He could have been annoyed, asking what I was doing, but Sebastian just laughed. Then, with the flower stuck behind his ear, he kissed me.
Somehow, the way of kissing had become familiar. So it aroused excitement more comfortably. As I was intoxicated by the hot and languid feeling, Sebastian caressed my neck and whispered.
“The monster inside me has died.”
I don’t know what that monster was, but considering it died on our wedding day, it must be like you, with an incredible sense of timing. I sincerely congratulated the death of a monster whose name and identity I didn’t know.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
