fic for natsunonamae (4/10)

[nino-mod.livejournal.com]

For: natsunonamae
From: sky_fish7

Part 3


~ * Chapter 4 * ~

Sho is standing behind the counter of Ohno's and his antiques shop, waiting for the hours to pass. Today is one of the boring days, not many customers show up, he has arranged all the newly repaired furniture that Ohno has finished in his workshop in the back of the shop and Sho has polished the counter what felt like a thousand times already this afternoon. Still, the antique clock hanging on the wall behind the counter is showing only 4 o'clock in the afternoon, too early to close up and leave.

"Here, you look like you need it," Sho can hear his friend's and business partner's voice behind him suddenly and it doesn't take a second before he recognizes the scent of freshly brewed coffee in the air.

"Thank you so much," the man replies, taking the cup of coffee Ohno brings from the small kitchen in the back thankfully, and letting the scent invade his tired mind.

"Did you have enough sleep?" Ohno asks, giving his friend a slightly worried look as he joins him behind the counter.

Sho tilts his head. "I couldn't sleep immediately when I returned home after delivering food last night. My thoughts kept me up..."

"Something about Satsuki?"

"Hm... not particularly, but she's kind of involved too, yeah," Sho tilts his head again, before taking a first sip of the delicious coffee.

"Want to talk about it?" the man offers.

For a while, Sho doesn't say anything and the two friends just stand next to each other, elbow to elbow on the shop's counter and enjoy their coffee together in silence. But soon, Sho has to admit, that something is on his mind that is crying to be let out, crying for advice and so, he finally spits it out. He turns to Ohno and takes a deep breath.

"Listen, Satoshi... do you think, Satsuki is ready?" he asks directly.

The other man lifts an eyebrow. "Ready for what?"

Sho clears his throat. "Ready to... share her dad with someone else, perhaps?"

Ohno smirks, understanding. He puts down the empty cup on the counter and turns around, leaning his lower back against the dark wood and looks at his friend. "Is this your twisted way of asking me if I think that you should go for it and ask that cute teacher out for a date?"

"Well..."

Ohno's smirk clearly shows that he knows exactly what his best friend is thinking. "So you really do like him."

Sho takes the last sip of his coffee. "Well, it may be too early to say if I like him but...," he puts down the mug and faces Ohno, whose smirk gets even wider.

The young man slightly rolls his eyes, pretending that he's annoyed by his friend but Sho knows exactly how amused he is about the whole situation.

"He's cute and fascinating and you do have a severe crush on him, I know," Ohno finishes Sho's sentence, chuckling.

"I guess, I really can't hide anything from my best friend, right?"

Ohno leans toward his friend and pats his shoulder. His smile is warm and sincere. "Oh Sho, if you're finally ready to give love a sincere try after so many years, you shouldn't worry too much about it. So yes, my advice is go for it and ask him out for a date. Satsuki is a big girl already, she'll surely support you."

Sho really hopes that his friend is right but to be honest, he doubts that everything is as easy as he thinks. He drops his look to the counter.

"You know... I never told her... That I'm gay."

"And you think she doesn't know?" Ohno raises an eyebrow critically. "You guys are living together for almost sixteen years now, you went through so much together. Who if not your daughter knows you best? If you're not sure, ask her if she has a problem with it. I imagine though, that her only problem is that you want to date her teacher."

Sho sighs. "After all, it's a bad idea, isn't it? He's her teacher and I'm sure he won't even be interested in me."

"What makes you think so?" Ohno wonders.

"I teased him quite a lot, you know? Further, he just broke up with his boyfriend a few weeks ago," Sho starts. "And-"

"And he wanted to kiss you the first time you met," his friend points out, cheekily. "Wouldn't you consider that as interested?"

Sho laughs at the funny memory. "Satoshi, you know that he was just drunk back then."

"Alcohol is an evil thing but it can bring truth to light," the older man remarks wisely, as if he knows just too well what he's talking about.

"Drunk and desperate."

"Anyway, be a bit more confident! You're a handsome single man, sincere, interesting, a great father, you're definitely boyfriend material. Every single gay man would be damned happy to call you his date!" Ohno slaps Sho's shoulder again. "So why be nervous? Give it a try!"

"You really think I should?"

"It's the best timing, isn't it? You're both in your early thirties - you're not getting any younger, you know?" Ohno winks. "Satsuki is old enough to accept that her father may want to share his life with a partner. Ninomiya just became single. He may be in a state of seeking for love and support from someone after what happened to him and I don't think that he's completely uninterested in you. You should hurry before he finds that love and support in someone else or worse, gets back together with his ex! So, go for it!"

Sho chuckles. "I'm shocked, since when do you have such a calculating mind?"

"How do you think I was able to get myself such a beautiful wife, Sho?" Ohno smirks at his friend. "I know that I'm not the best looking man in the world. I'm also not the highest earning man in the world. I had to put out all of my charm to get Satomi interested in me and timing played a really big role too!"

"I guess I should listen to your advice then, Grand Master," Sho laughs, earning Ohno's confident nod. "But first, I'll talk to Satsuki."

"Fine, but do it soon. The sooner, the better," Ohno replies. Then, his look suddenly gets distracted and he slightly nudges Sho at the side. "By the way, look who's coming in, your angel," he smiles, pointing at the entrance door of the shop that gets pulled open by a teenage girl just a few seconds later.

The small wind chimes hanging from the ceiling jangles and Satsuki enters the shop with someone in tow - her teacher! Sho stiffens for a moment and instinctively he looks down to check his appearance. No wrinkle on the waist apron or the striped shirt he's wearing, most important, no coffee stain, OK. Now, what is Ninomiya doing here? Sho is indeed used to meeting the young man everywhere in town already but now even his daughter is bringing him along, is this still a coincidence or is it fate?

Satsuki approaches her dad and Ohno immediately, an excited smile on her face. "Hey, Dad, Satoshi-kun!"

"Hey, Dear," her father replies, pretending like nothing has happened, his perfect composure back on.

He leans a bit forward to place a small kiss on her cheeks. His look falls back to Ninomiya immediately though, who seems stunned by the shop's interior, completely distracted by all the old furniture and decorative stuff placed everywhere. As always, Sho can't help but find him adorable and his heart makes a happy jolt. Damned.

"Who did you bring along?" Ohno asks the young girl.

"This is Ninomiya-sensei," she introduces the man following her, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Oh!" Ohno looks at him with big eyes and Sho immediately pokes him. The girl gestures at Ohno.

"This is Ohno Satoshi, Sensei. He's Dad's business partner and owns this shop."

"Nice to meet you, my name is Ninomiya, I'm Satsuki's homeroom teacher," the young man says friendlily, bowing at the shop owner. "Your shop is really impressive!"

"Thank you very much, Sensei," Ohno smiles, bowing slightly in return.

Then, Ninomiya turns to Sho, looking into his eyes just for a moment before he averts his eyes slightly, feeling nervous, and he bows at him too. "Sakurai-san, nice to see you."

"Nice to see you too, Sensei," Sho replies with his usual smile on his face, before he turns to his daughter with questioning eyes.

The girl seems excited, as she puts her school bag onto the counter and jumps up and down slightly.

"Listen, Dad, Satoshi-kun, can we use the piano for a while?" she asks, pointing at the old white grand piano standing in the front of the shop, facing the window and surrounded by old lamps, chairs and paintings. It looks like it's lost in time. "Ninomiya-sensei agreed to teach me some stuff but the music room at school is in use today so we can't practise there."

"Oh really? Sure you can use it, right, Satoshi?" Sho asks, turning to his friend. Satoshi nods smiling and gestures at the old piano.

"Sure, you know you don't need to ask, Satsuki-chan," Ohno smiles reassuringly. "I don't mind some entertainment. Please feel at home, Sensei."

"Yei!" the girl yells in joy and whirls around to run to the front of the shop.

The teacher nods politely and follows her. Sho has a good view of the piano from his place at the counter and smiles happily when he sees his daughter and her teacher sitting down on the bench in front of the instrument and pulling out some piano notes. He didn't expect to meet Ninomiya that fast again. Not that he is complaining, definitely not.

"The two of them get along well, don't they?" Ohno remarks with a grin.

"I guess, they really do," Sho replies with a smile.

"It's a good sign if your daughter gets along well with her potential second dad, I think," his friend says, grinning.

"Don't talk like that so loudly," Sho slaps his friends' shoulder, but he cannot hide the wide happy smile on his face.

"Maybe it's your chance to ask him out," Ohno continues, not caring about his best friend's protest.

"Not in front of her!"

"Then wait until she goes to the toilet."

"Funny," Sho rolls his eyes, amused before he turns to his daughter, calling out for her. "Satsuki, do you and Sensei want a cup of tea?"

The girl quickly checks with her teacher and then calls back, "Yes, please!"

"Alright," her father replies and disappears into the small kitchen to prepare a small pot of tea for the two.

He waits for the water to boil, leaning against the door frame with view of the white grand piano and after a few first accords to find the best position, Ninomiya starts playing the composition lying on the music rack on top of the piano. A nice melody, warm and flowing, until the mood changes and it becomes more complicated, more challenging. Nevertheless, as the teacher plays the piece, it still sounds light and feathery, as if it's the easiest thing in the world for the young man. Sho is moved by the music, but is also fascinated by the pianist, his heartbeat speeding up. Suddenly, he wishes, Ninomiya would play something for him. Only for him...

Just a few minutes later, the piece of music is over, Satsuki, Sho, and Ohno applaud the teacher for his accomplishment and it's just too cute how he blushes, nodding slightly, before pointing hastily at some parts of the notes, giving the teenager next to him advices on how to play which notes best. Sho turns back to the kitchen, the water has long boiled and he pours it into a small pot with jasmine tea in it, steeping it for another two minutes. Ohno in the meantime excuses himself to the back, he still has a piece of furniture to repair, paint and polish to get it ready for sale, and now, Sho can hear his daughter's play coming from the shop. She is good, and he is very proud of her, but he can hear her struggles in the later part of the piece, hears her breaking off the melody, to ask questions to the teacher who gives her more tips, patiently, and encourages her to give it another try.

Once the tea finished steeping, Sho pours it into two mugs, putting them on a tray that he brings out into the shop, placing it on a small table standing close to the piano. He doesn't intend to disturb the two enthusiastic pianists, but Ninomiya immediately nods towards Sho's direction, smiling gratefully but also shyly at him and Sho feels like he's stuck. This smile draws him in so much, the whole presence of the teacher does, and he doesn't want to go back behind the counter, he wants to keep standing here watching the two of them play the piano.

Satsuki finishes one go of the piece, jolting over the difficult parts, but she makes it through and Ninomiya praises her for the parts she did well, before he offers to show her how to do the critical ones once more. Sho is still standing there and watches him, fascinated by the suddenly changing aura around the teacher, once his small cute fingers touch the keyboard. He hasn’t been able to see it from behind the counter but now... suddenly, the always present, slight feeling of embarrassment and shyness that surrounds the teacher, is gone, replaced by pure concentration, focus on the notes and the keyboard and once Ninomiya starts to play, it's like he's a completely different person. The stiffened cute clumsiness is gone, instead, the young man is beaming with confidence and passion, the smooth movement of his fingers on the keyboard making him and the grand piano one. His body sways slightly with the melody and sometimes, he closes his eyes, completely absorbed by the melody and the rhythm that flows through the composition again.

He looks so damned sexy, Sho thinks, in fact, he cannot think about anything else at the moment, and when Ninomiya reaches the end of the piece, Sho realizes that he has forgotten to breathe. He's still staring at the teacher, when his daughter applauds again, joyfully, and it takes a few seconds before Ninomiya is back from whichever world he has dived into for the last few minutes.

"You are really talented, Ninomiya-sensei," Sho says in a low voice, still stunned.

"Ah, thank you very much, but it's nothing, really," the teacher – back to his cute and shy self – replies, rubbing his neck, slightly nervous.

"No, I mean it, you're at professional level," Sho continues. He may not be a specialist, but he has heard Satsuki's mother playing very often and he understands enough about music to judge if someone is talented or not, and Ninomiya definitely is.

"He's right," Satsuki chimes in, finally. "Sensei, why did you become a teacher and not a professional pianist?" Sho's daughter asks the question her father has wanted to ask next.

"Eh? No way I could become a professional," the teacher says, waving his hand.

"Why not?" the teenage girl asks further. "Don't you love playing the piano? I'm sure you do, I can hear it in your playing!"

"To be honest, when I was a teenager, indeed I wanted to become a pro," Ninomiya finally admits, his cheeks taking a slight shade of red.

Sho comes a step closer. "What kept you from becoming one, then?"

Ninomiya looks at his student's father for a second, before dropping his eyes. With his right hand, he starts rubbing his left wrist slightly.

"I got injured," he answers. "I couldn't play for a long time and my doctor told me that even if I could be able to play the piano again, I have to be careful. Playing the piano for hours and hours day after day, is out of question. So my career died before it started and I decided to become a music teacher instead."

There is a slight bitterness hidden in Ninomiya's voice, Sho thinks, and he's torn between feeling sorry for the young man's discarded dream and feeling happy that fate has brought them to meet thanks to the circumstance of Ninomiya having become a teacher, the teacher of Sho's daughter. It's definitely something that he's grateful for, after all.

"I may sound selfish," Satsuki finally breaks the slightly awkward silence that has invaded the place. "But I'm happy you became my teacher, Ninomiya-sensei."

The young girl smiles genuinely and immediately, Ninomiya smiles back at her, the traces of sadness gone in an instant. Sho does not want to dig deeper and he is thankful that his daughter is saying the words he wanted to tell the young man so much. He reaches for the tea standing by his side and offers the cups to the teacher and Satsuki. Both take the mugs and sip the tea. When Ninomiya praises the taste of the tea, Satsuki excused herself for the toilet and Sho can't help but be reminded of Ohno's words from earlier. Maybe, it's his chance to ask the teacher out for a date...

But just after a few lines of small talk he is using as a preamble – after all, he doesn't plan to scare the teacher away immediately, - his cell phone rings in his pocket and he quickly excuses himself, turning around and checking the caller. Damned. Why now of all time?! But seeing the caller's ID, Sho knows that it's better to take the call, or he may have trouble reaching that person afterwards, like so often. He sighs, nods at Ninomiya apologetically, and hurries to the back of the shop, joining Ohno in his workshop – who gives him just a small, confused look before returning to his task -, which is the only room far away from the others, to ensure that Satsuki wouldn't get to hear what her father has to say on the phone.

"Keiko, it's been a while," Sho finally answers the call, greeting his daughter's mother. "How are you doing?"

"Sho... I'm fine, thanks. How about you and Satsuki?" the woman's voice sounds in his ear.

"Why don't you ask her yourself? She told me you didn't phone her for weeks, what's going on, did you at least text her?" the man asks, not really able to completely hide his displeasure about the situation.

He can hear Keiko sigh. "Well... to be honest... I don't know if I will make it to her birthday this year..."

"What?" Sho asks, shocked. "Keiko! Why?"

"You see, the tour in Europe, it's... they asked for another concert in Vienna since the other was sold out and so many other people wanted to hear me playing...," the woman whines into the phone.

"That... well, that's great, congratulations, but... if the tour doesn't have enough scheduled dates, it's your management's fault, not Satsuki's," Sho points out. "It's unfair to let her suffer from that, don't you think so? Oh... oh no... Satsuki doesn't know about this yet, does she?"

Another sigh. "She doesn't, that's... that's why I'm calling you, Sho. Can you... can you please..."

The young father takes a deep breath and he has to pay close attention not to speak too loudly. "No Keiko, no! I won't tell our daughter that you won't come visit her on her birthday! You call her and tell her by yourself!"

"But Sho... she'll surely get mad at me and you know I can't handle-"

Keiko has never been really strong, Sho remembers, and he had to take care of her shit more than once. It wouldn't be the first time that the woman is going to disappoint her daughter, but this time, Sho will not support her in any way.

"No, Keiko, we had this topic so often already. If you are about to disappoint our daughter, then I want you to do it yourself and to bear the consequences. It's not my duty and that's how this thing with responsibility as a parent works, you get it?" he continues lecturing the woman. "More than mad, she will be sad, I tell you. And it will be your fault, not mine. So you either cancel that additional concert and get yourself to Japan for your daughter's birthday, or you call her and tell her yourself that you can't make it, that's how it works!"

Then, instead of a reply by Keiko, Sho can hear a beeping noise in his ears. Damned, she has ended the call, he thinks frustratedly, dropping the hand with his phone and slamming the other against the wall next to him, causing Ohno to look up from his work again.

"Sorry," Sho murmurs.

Ohno just shakes his head. He knows situations like this already, sadly.

~ * ~

The day Nino and Satsuki practise the piano in her father's shop for the first time together, Nino can't help but feel that something is wrong. When the girl comes back from the toilet, she looks depressed, and also her father doesn't look as gleeful as before, and he returns to the shop's counter after finishing his phone call. Nino doesn't know what to do and so, the only thing he can do is to continue helping the girl with the piano piece, even if her enthusiasm seems to have diminished.

The next few days, the two of them though continue to meet after school in the music room to practice together and soon, Satsuki makes noticeable progress, much to Nino's delight. Then, one day, just when Satsuki is heading home and Nino stays behind to practice a piece of music by himself, he gets interrupted by someone he hasn’t really talk to for weeks. Jun.

Leisurely, the young teacher leans against the door frame of the music room, watching Nino playing, a small smile on his face. When he spots him, Nino tries to ignore his colleague and ex-boyfriend. Still, he's not really in the mood to talk to him, whatever it may be that Jun wants to talk about. But the teacher is stubborn and waits until Nino finishes playing, before he applauds and finally approaches the young man, slowly.

"Gorgeous like always, Nino," Jun says, smiling, as he reaches his colleague and takes place right by his side uninvited. "You know, I may not understand much about music, but I always loved your playing."

Nino reaches for the piano notes to push them together and stuff them into a thin folder he has brought along.

"If you came here just to talk about old times, sorry, but I'm not in the mood to do so," Nino murmurs, avoiding Jun's gaze.

The man besides him lowers his shoulders and gives him a frowning look. "Nino... come on Nino, it's been weeks, don't you think you have punished me enough for what I did?"

"Maybe, but it doesn't change the fact that I don't want to be your friend for now."

"That's sad, because I come here as a friend," Jun says, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He pouts slightly, but Nino knows that Jun is barely offended so most likely that it's faked.

Nino rolls his eyes. "What do you mean?"

But then, Jun's face gets serious. "Do you know that the teachers are talking?"

"Talking about what?" Nino frowns.

"About you and Sakurai Satsuki."

"And why should they be talking about us?"

Jun sighs. "Nino... I know this may sound stupid and I think I know you well enough to know that this is absolute bullshit, but I have to ask you this now..."

Nino isn't in the mood for his colleague's games, definitely not. "Jun, please, don't make it so thrilling. Spit it out already."

"You and Sakurai Satsuki... you aren't... having an affair, right?" Jun arches an eyebrow.

Nino can't believe his ears. "What?! Are you serious?!"

Defensively, Jun lifts his hands and "Hey, don't get mad at me, it's not me who came up with that idea!"

"Who... why should anybody think that I am having an affair with one of my students?! Oh my Gosh...," the young teacher buries his face in his hands.

Now this is the last straw. Adding up to all the stress he's experiencing lately, an accusation of having an affair with a student is going to be even worse than if it becomes public that he had a one-night stand with a parent – just that it did not happen anyway so it wouldn't count.

"Well, for the records, you have to admit that you two get along pretty well with each other, right?" Jun points out.

"Yes? Is it a problem if a teacher and his student get along well?"

"People may think that you get along a bit toowell. You're meeting almost daily after school hours, you must admit that it looks a bit... suspicious."

"So it's suspicious if I meet with a student to practice the piano?" Nino asks furiously.

Jun frowns. "For some teachers it may look like you two are having forbidden dates in the music room."

"That's bullshit!" Nino yells at him.

Ignoring the volume of their conversation, Jun nods calmly and asks once more. "So just to confirm, you two are not dating, right?"

"Jun! Of course not! You should know it best, I'm absolutely, one hundred percent gay. I'm as uninterested in dating a female student as someone can be!" Nino says, desperately.

Yeah, especially since the one he is likely to be interested in, is her father! Oh... what a realization.

"Good, then," Jun nods again.

Nino lowers his head. His voice has become calm again. "Do the teachers really think that I... I mean, I would never..."

"I know, Nino, I know...," Jun replies sincerely and for once, Nino feels understood again by the other, like he did when they had been friends. "I can tell them that you're gay? It will solve the misunderstanding."

Maybe it will but Nino is never the type to live his sexuality openly – except in front of specific people when he's dead drunk, obviously – since he knows that he will be pegged as gay and even if society is opening up slowly, it's still a label he doesn't want to wear at school. "Jun, I don't really want them to know..."

"I thought so... so I will keep silent for now," his colleague nods understanding. For him, it's the same. He never openly admitted to his sexuality. Nino must be the only one at school who knows. It's their shared secret. "But I want to warn you before someone else comes to talk to you about this. If you want to hear my advice, I'd suggest you two to stop meeting all alone after classes."

"That's so stupid, really...," Nino shakes his head in disbelief.

"I know, but it's safer," Jun puts his hand on Nino's shoulder, making the other look at him again. "You don't want rumours to spread, do you? If the students hear about this, not to imagine what they will make out of it. Think about Satsuki!"

"But I promised to help her with that piece of music, she wants to show it to her mother on her birthday," the young teacher explains.

"I know it sounds stupid but it's in your best interest, Satsuki's and yours."

"Oh well, I guess I have to find another solution then...," Nino murmurs, already browsing his mind for alternatives.

"Good," his colleague replies, pats his shoulder for a last time and then stands up, approaching the door.

Quickly, Nino stands up. "Jun?"

Jun turns around, facing him. "Hm?"

"Uhm... thanks for the warning," Nino murmurs. He's not even sure if Jun can hear him from there, but apparently, he can.

The teacher flashes him a smile and comes back a few steps. "No problem, I'm just helping a friend."

"A friend...," the other repeats, thoughtfully. "I've been mean to you after our break-up and you still consider me as a friend even if I refused you that same status?"

Jun continues smiling. "It's my wish that we can go back to being friends," he says. "Listen, Nino, I didn't break up with you because I don't love you as a human being anymore. It's just... I know that you're searching for a life partner, for someone who's willing to spend his life together with you and you definitely deserve someone like that."

"I wanted you to be that person," Nino says.

"I know," Jun nods. "And that's why I had to go. I'm not ready for such a commitment yet. It has nothing to do with you, you've been a wonderful boyfriend, but I'm just not ready. I don't want to stay here forever, I want to see the world. I couldn't tell you back then, but I applied for a position as a teacher in America. I want to improve my English, I want to travel..."

"Did you get accepted?"

"I still have to take care of some preparations but I can start next year in fall, if everything goes well," Jun nods.

It makes so much sense, it's so Jun, Nino thinks, and he knows that he would not have had the power to hold him back, that he would not have had the right to hold him back and that sooner or later, their relationship would have broken apart because of that. Nino would not have wanted to come along, not even if Jun had asked him. He loves his job, he likes his life here, his family is here, his best friend Aiba is here... Even together with Jun, Nino might have become very lonely in a foreign country and Jun must know that very well.

"Wow, congratulations, then," he says, sincerely.

"In fact they wanted me to start this fall, their school years start differently from here, you know?" Jun continues. "But I didn't want to leave my graduation class in the middle of a school year then, so I asked them to postpone. I won't take over full classes next year then, just jump in as a substitute when someone is sick and such... or give private lessons."

Nino nods. "That's very considerate of you."

"I also thought, it's better to break up as soon as possible...," Jun continues, his voice lower, his eyes meeting the floor. "It would have been unfair to you to keep you when I know I would leave you anyway eventually..."

"You should have told me," sighing, Nino ruffles his hair.

This new information is confusing, but it also clears a lot of things at the same time. If Nino had known earlier, maybe he would have reacted differently to their break up. Or not, because he remembers exactly how much he freaked out on Jun, how hurt he was, how blind and how deaf to anything the young man was telling him during their break up. The only thing he can remember is that Jun told him he's not his type – of which Nino is still a bit miffed, by the way.

"I never wanted to hurt you Nino," Jun says. "I know I did, I was stupid and clumsy and I said stupid stuff but one way or the other, even if I didn't want to hurt you, I couldn't avoid it. I'm sorry."

"You thought if we go back to being friends now, saying good bye next year won't hurt so much, right?" Nino concludes and Jun nods.

"Maybe it's a strange idea, but that's basically it," the other teacher dares flashing a small smile at his colleague. Then, he grins, becoming bolder. "You know, I think we're great as friends, always have been. I may even be helpful to you in finding a new partner, someone who's the right one for you this time."

Nino can't help but burst into laughter at this proposal. "My ex wanting to help me find a new partner... that sounds gross, doesn't it?"

Jun shrugs. "Well, it's my style of taking care of my dear ones. Just... hands off the students, OK?" he says in his strict teacher voice.

Nino reaches out to slap Jun's shoulder. "I told you I would never -"

Jun chuckles softly while holding his shoulder. "I know, I know, I was just joking."

"I hope so," Nino smiles. Finally, he's able to smile at Jun again.

TBC


Part 5