As The Wind Blows Your Scent To Me

The lights began sneaking through the crack of dawn, slowly illuminating the city that was blanketed in the remaining darkness of the previous night. The lives in the city started to move at their own pace again, regaining the hustle and bustle of yesterday.

Inside a room of a five stars hotel, a tall figure was deeply sleeping on a bed. From time to time, he would change his positions, finding the most comfortable one. In the end, the man settled by laying on his stomach and hugged a pillow tightly.

Knock! Knock!

"..." 

Knock! Knock!

"Brother Ryuu! Open the door!" A voice sounded so urgent from the outside of the door.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"BROTHER RYUU!"

"..."

Ryuu was stirred awake by the incessant knockings. Although the distance between the door and his bed was far, Riku had successfully transferred the sound of her loud yellings to him. 

God. Thank goodness he was adamant to not let both Yousuke or Riku held the key to his hotel room. 

If not, they would just barge and drag him out of the bed.

"...Yeah, yeah. Wait!" Ryuu shouted back toward the door. His voice was so husky as he had just woken up.

No matter how sleepy he was, Ryuu still had to get up now. His eyes fell on the wall clock. It was just a little over six o'clock here. 

Another day had begun.

Ryuu forced himself out of the bed, lazily walking to the door. Once he opened it, Riku and two stylists were already waiting outside together with a moveable cloth rack. Different kinds of clothes were hung on the rack.

"Brother Ryuu! Why did you just open the door! We have to quickly put you on makeup!"

Riku nagged as she made her way inside the hotel room. The two stylists quickly followed from behind. They carefully but steadily wheeled the cloth rack with them.

Ryuu frowned while scratching his head, "What's the rush? The photoshoot would begin at ten, right?"

"Yes! But, you have an interview beforehand at nine! Quick! If you don't want to skip breakfast, go and wash up now!" Riku was busy checking the schedule for today as she nagged at Ryuu nonstop.

Ryuu rolled his eyes. 

There was nothing he could do when his assistant was an efficient one. He had to move along with her pace.

This was the usual happenings if Ryuu had schedules that required him to stay out of the country. To avoid people prying on his privacy, the organizer would book the entire floor just for him and the other important cast and crew. 

If there were female actresses together with them, they would be allocated to the rooms that were far from the film emperor's. It was an early precaution to not allow the notorious tabloids making such a fuss to sell their headlines.

"Alright, alright. I'll go and wash up first," Ryuu finally gave up. He could never win against his little assistant.

"Make it quick!" Riku shouted without even looking away from her tablet.

"Yeah, yeah."

Before going inside the washroom, Ryuu walked back to bed. He picked up his phone from the bedside table and checked if he had new messages.

It was one of his habits.

The time back in the country should be around early night. His wife was supposed to have fun at the resort. Ryuu heard that Yuina and Hiro would go to one local restaurant in a scenic spot. The restaurant only would take ten minutes of their time driving.

"...En?"

While there were no texts from Yuina, he received a few from Hiro. His young brother-in-law sent urgent-sounding texts to him making his brows almost merged together.

[Hiro: We're back in the city. Have to leave early]

[Hiro: Something happened. My mother got called to the police station]

[Hiro: Sister might be upset. I'll call you to explain later]

Countless assumptions popped into Ryuu's mind once he finished reading the messages. He glanced at Riku who was busy giving instructions to the two stylists.

"Riku."

"Yes?"

Ryuu lifted up his phone and showed it to the assistant. With a look, Riku understood the meaning of the film emperor.

It was a signal that Ryuu always used whenever he wanted to be alone. Usually, it was to call his hidden wife.

"...Okay," She could do nothing but act along when the film emperor suddenly had a serious look on his face. It might be something urgent. Riku clapped her hands and looked at the stylists, "Alright. Let's go out for a bit."

The stylists understood and stepped out of the room without asking much. Years of being in the entertainment circle made them understood that it was a matter of privacy.

There would always be a few things that any figures of the circle had to keep as secrets.

Once the door was closed shut, Ryuu moved away from the bed, heading to the balcony. Even though the hotel room provided perfect sound insulation, he still wanted to be careful.

The balcony was quite spacious. Ryuu stood at one corner and cast a sweeping look over the city. Every inch of the city had been brightened by the rising sun.

His figure tapped on Hiro's name.

"Hiro, what actually happened?"

Without as much saying hello, Ryuu immediately threw his brother-in-law a question once the call was connected.

"...Brother, aren't you busy now?" Hiro sounded so cautious as he spoke.

"Tell me everything," urged Ryuu.

Leaving with no choice, Hiro immediately reported what had transpired to Ryuu. Ryuu quietly listened to Hiro before he raised any questions.

"...Sister Yuina didn't bother with my mother when she tried provoking her but, she looked gloomy when I sent her home. I asked if she wanted me to accompany her but she refused. Brother, should I just go and check on Sister?"

The young man sounded remorseful even though it was not his fault.

"It's okay. You've done well, Hiro. I'll contact her directly then see what should we do," Ryuu answered before ending the call.

This matter didn't directly affect Yuina but, Ryuu was still worried. After all, she had to face her unpleasant aunt.

Without wasting even a single beat, Ryuu made a call to Yuina's number. His index finger was tapping nonstop on the balcony guard rail as he waited for the call to be connected.

"...Ryuu?"

"Yuina! Are you okay?"

His tone raised a bit as his anxiousness got to his head. 

"Ah, I'm okay. Have you just woke up?"

Even though his wife's voice sounded like nothing was bothering her, Ryuu still couldn't let go of his concerns. He understood how, sometimes, his wife could mask her real feelings well.

Ryuu smiled in helplessness. He spoke gently, "It's a pity that your trip was cut short, isn't it?"

At this time, he really wished he could be by her side. 

But, they were separated by hundreds of miles. They could only be linked with this phone call.

"Hehe, yes ah. I really wanted to see the sunrise after hiking. It's been a while since my last hike," Yuina complained to her husband with a light tone.

Yet, the soft sound of her voice made his heart throbbing in pain.

Ryuu lowered his eyelids, staring at the ground tens of meters away from where he stood on the balcony.

"Then, let's go for a hiking trip together later?" He asked, "We can even go camping?"

"Really? Okay! I'll wait for you to come back!" 

How could he ask further when she purposely sounding happy in front of him?

"Have you eaten? Would you cook?" Ryuu changed the topic as he sensed his wife really didn't want to talk about the matter.

"Not yet. I feel lazy right now. Maybe I'd just have some instant noodles."

"Don't make anything. I'll order something for you."

"Hehe, you're going to make an order when you're so far away from here?"

Ryuu smiled softly, "En. Anything for you, my love."

They talked for a bit more before the call was ended. Next, Ryuu called Hiro again and asked him to buy food from Yuina's favorite restaurant and personally delivered them to her. The young man immediately agreed.

Hiro also wanted to check on his sister even without being asked by his brother-in-law.

Ryuu didn't delay any longer after finished the calls. Riku and the others were still waiting for him. After letting them re-enter the hotel room, Ryuu immediately went inside the washroom.

Under the flowing water from the showerhead, he stood motionless with his eyes lowered to the floor. The stream of water pooled around his feet before it slowly streamed to the shower drain.

The matter related to Hiro's mother had already made his wife sullen. What would happen to her once that man was released from prison in less than a year? Would she have to continue pretending that she was fine and hid her fears?

If possible, he wanted to bring her away from this place where her bad memories stemmed.

But, would she has the heart to leave?

Ryuu pursed his lips. 

It seemed like, he should have a good talk with her once he returned.