Love (Ai)
By
Suilan Lee
Published by Suilan Lee
Copyright 2012 Suilan Lee
Love (Ai) is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
License Notes
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Chapter One
Rock music filled the loft style studio, intense, jagged, and thrilling, Kyo Tatsuya used it to fuel his creative juices. Working a color filled brush over the stretched canvas before him; he continued working on the last piece of his collection. It was the final scene in an illustration of twenty paintings, which he’d been working on for two months, locked up in the loft without seeing anyone but his assistant. This collection would mark the start of his new life. Shaking his head, he stepped away from the painting and dropped his brush onto the palette. Using the back of his wrist, he wiped his brow and grabbed a paint-filled cloth to wipe at his hands. Looking around the room, he frowned when he didn’t find the person he was looking for.
His stomach was growling. Hunger had struck again, shaking his head; he made his way to the kitchen attached to the open space living room and workroom. The only clean and pristine place was this room he mused taking in the gleaming steel counters and cooking range. Walking to the fridge, he rummaged through it trying to find something to eat. Finding a bottle of milk, he took a healthy sip.
“You could use a glass,” Shuji Hisoka, his assistant said appearing from nowhere. He came up to the refrigerator and pulled the bottle of milk away. Reaching for a glass on the counter beside the fridge, he filled it with milk and handed it back to Kyo. “Sit at the table and I’ll heat you some food.”
“Shuji,” Kyo said with a grin, drinking his milk thirstily. “Are you angry with me again?”
“You need to get out to the world, once in a while. It doesn’t stand still just because you’re in here working. Your boyfriend is driving me crazy,” Shuji said pulling out containers from somewhere in that fridge. He hadn’t seen that many containers when he’d looked in. Frowning at the mention of his boyfriend, Kyo shrugged.
“I’m sorry, Shuji. Can you hold him off for a while longer? I’m almost done.”
“Kyo-senpai,” Shuji said sticking a full plate into the microwave. He turned to look at Shuji, a frown dancing on his forehead. “Pushing Ryuu-san away is not right.”
“Don’t start, Shuji,” Kyo said, sighing. Rubbing at his eyes, he shook his head. He didn’t want to think about the reason why he was hiding in here. The illustrations he’d done would play a large role very soon and he wasn’t going to allow the effect he wanted go so easily. No, Ryuu was going to see them at the exhibition, or not at all. Taking the food from Shuji, he took a bite and nodded for his assistant to take a seat. “Sit, Shuji and I’ll tell you why I’m doing this.”
“I won’t change my mind. I’m the one who has to turn Ryuu-san away and hear him plead. I’m starting to feel evil saying no to him,” Shuji said taking a seat on the stool across him. He took a napkin from a holder on the table and reached out to wipe at Kyo’s face. “You have paint on your face, again.”
“Shuji,” Kyo sighed. “Just listen, alright. You need to understand why, and since you’ve become a friend in the past two months, I owe you this.”
Shuji paused, giving him a short look and then because they really were friends, he nodded. “Fine, but if I don’t like your reasons, after you’re done, I’m going to call Ryuu-san.”
Kyo winced. “Alright, Shuji, I just have to explain it really well so that you are convinced.”
Taking another bite of the rice and vegetable stew in his plate, he took in a deep breath and forced his thoughts back to the memories he’d been working through for two months now.
“It all started a year ago. I was presenting an exhibition at the Geidai art gallery, right before school ended for the year. It was closing time at the gallery and I was helping pack a painting a client had bought when he walked in. That was the first time I met Ryuu Shin.”