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kbtbb-soryu · 2 years

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The Wild Rose [Tomoki x OC] Chapter 5

“Let’s begin,” Aoi said.

“Each of us will test you on a different subject,” Kyo explained.

“I didn’t hear anything about this,” Tomoki said.

“Clearly,” I muttered.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, Tomo,” Itsuki said apologetically.

“Since this is a surprise, we’ll get to see what she is really capable of,” Yuma said with a smirk.

“This pop quiz is interfering with my schedule,” Tomoki stated.

“Just redo the schedule. You’re so good at making precise schedules.”

I looked from Tomoki to Yuma, and back again. The air between them seemed charged. I could almost see the sparks flying between them.

“I take it they don’t like each other?” I pointed discreetly and whispered as I looked at the butler closest in proximity to me. It was Aoi.

“Miss Ichinomiya, it’s okay. With Yuma’s bossiness and Tomoki’s obsession with planning, they’re always butting heads,’ he whispered to me.

“We’ve wasted five minutes and fifteen seconds... Hurry up and begin. You’re wasting time. Five minutes and twenty seconds.”

“Someone shut him up, please,” I said, exasperated.

“Impossible. If I could, I would have done it already. I’ll begin. First up is an afternoon tea test.” Yuma brought over a tea set and snacks. He was quick and efficient as he set up the cake stand and made the tea. “There... Enjoy your tea.”

“Thank you.” I wasn’t a fan of roleplaying, but the sooner I did this, the sooner they’d leave. I prepared and drank the tea as I always have in the presence of business clients or at parties, ignoring the eyes staring at me.

“The etiquette is there, but there’s no expression on her face. God, she looks like a robot.” I could hear Yuma murmuring to himself. I couldn’t say anything if I wanted to, because he was right. And I knew that. “Miss Ichinomiya, tell me. Do you know what brand cup that is?” he asked.

I put the cup down and looked intently at it as I tried to recognise its features. “I believe… it’s a Wedgewood.”

“Correct. But it’s the tea itself that’s important. Remember you have to enjoy its appearance as well as its fragrance.”

“Thanks a lot, captain obvious,” I retorted sarcastically.

“It’s my turn now. Here, Miss, take these.” Aoi handed me a stack of photographs; headshots. “When I point to a photograph, say the person’s name. Now say the names of these people starting from the right.” The picture he pointed at was of triplet middle-aged men. Identical triplets, I might add. The eldest of the three was the CEO of their company while the second and third born were members of the board.

“Hmm... From the right, Jiro, Taro, and Subaro.”

Aoi smiled, unfazed. “That’s correct. How did you know?”

“For one that’s how they always take pictures. Taro is the oldest, and he always stands in the middle. Sometimes Jiro and Subaro switch places, but it’s easy to pick them apart if you know what to look for,” I replied.

“Which is?” Aoi asked calmly.

“Even identical twins or triplets aren’t 100% identical. If you look closely, you'll see that Taro’s cheekbones are slightly more refined than the others’, and Jiro has dimples when he smiles. You can’t see it too clearly in this photo, but if you look really closely, you can kind of see it.” My forefinger was pressed on Jiro’s cheek in the photo. “Also, Subaro is shorter by about half an inch. But you wouldn’t be able to see it if you didn’t already know that.”

“So, you’ve met them?” Yuma asked.

“A few times. They’re nice.”

We moved on to the next picture, then the next, and the next. Until I identified every last person in the pictures. There were at least 300 pictures and it took almost an hour to get through them all.

Next was Kyo’s cooking test.

“Why do I need to know how to cook in the first place? Unless you plan to sell me off to the highest bidder and I have to spend the rest of my life playing housewife. Which, by the way, will never happen.”

Yuma crossed his arms. “A lady of society should be able to do a variety of things, including cooking.”

I crossed my own arms as I stared him down. “Let me ask you something. Do men who train to be socialites as children get lessons in cooking?” Yuma said nothing. “That’s what I thought.”

“Quite your whining and do it. Or are you trying to say you can’t cook?” A smug smirk played on Yuma’s face.

I scoffed and turned to Kyo. “Fine. What should I make?”

“We don’t have a lot of time, so just sauce for today,” Kyo said.

“What kind?”

“Sauvignon sauce.”

I sighed as I trudged towards the kitchen to make the sauce. I returned half an hour later for Kyo to taste-test it. Evidently all four of the butlers, except Tomoki, tasted it.

“It’s good,” Kyo said, his expression revealing nothing.

“And here I thought you couldn’t cook,” Yuma said, a smirk on his face. He was making fun of me.

“Just because I can do something, doesn’t mean I like it.”

The last test was on flower arranging.

“That’s pretty good, Miss Ichinomiya,” Itsuki said upon seeing my work.

“I actually never needed lessons on this, because my aunt owns a flower shop and I used to help out when I was younger.”

“Why don’t you help her anymore?” Itsuki cocked his head to the side.

I looked at him over my shoulder as I stood in front of the vase of flowers. “No time.”

“I’ll give you credit. You’re good, but you need to work on your expressions. You don’t show any emotion,” Yuma said.

“I can do it if the situation calls for it,” I said calmly, sitting back down in front of my laptop. “So, are we done? Can you leave?”

“Do you have something better to do?” Yuma’s face was filled with amusement.

“As a matter of fact, I do. And if I don’t finish it by tonight, I refuse to practice anything tomorrow.” With a sarcastic smile on my face, I lifted my hand and wiggled my fingers.

“We’re wasting time. You finished your tests, now leave us,” Tomoki said. I had already opened up my laptop and switched it on.

“We’re counting on you, Tomoki. Keep it together,” Yuma said.

“Please. I don’t need you to tell me that.”

“You, too, Miss Ichinomiya,” Yuma said. At this point I was already typing furiously away at my keyboard, and didn’t answer.

“See you later. Try not to be too depressed. I’m around if you need me,” Itsuki teased. Him, too, I ignored.

The four of them finished their goodbyes and left my apartment.

“Great. That visit was a waste of time,” Tomoki muttered.

“Yeah… Hey, Tomoki?” I asked without looking up.

“Yes, Miss Ichinomiya?”

“Could you make me some coffee, please? And bring me some fruit that I can snack on?” I looked up at him. “I’m kind of hungry.”

“Very well.”

A few days had passed since the butlers’ tests. My life was running smoothly, despite all the unpleasantness of my situation. I was home after school, walking from my room to the living room whilst talking on the phone.

“Can you take over my work for a while?” I asked. Tomoki gave me a dirty look as I passed him. I could practically hear him thinking something like Pushing your work onto someone else, what an irresponsible teen. Imagining it, I almost laughed.

“Why?” Eisuke asked on the other end of the line. “Are you planning a vacation I don’t know about?” I could practically see him raise his eyebrow at me.

“You know it’s Dad’s birthday next week. You don’t care about organising the party, but I actually do.”

“Fine. Just know, you owe me.”

I sighed. “When do I ever not?” I mumbled.

“What was that?” Eisuke asked.

“Nothing! Gotta go, bye!”

“Hey—!”

I hung up. Then I sat down in front of my laptop, notebook and pen in hand. I scribbled some ideas down for my dad’s birthday. He loved seeing me perform. Anyone can hear me sing if they look me up, though. So maybe not. I hadn’t played the piano for him in a long time. He loved Nocturne Nr. 2 by Chopin. I’d have to practice, though.

“Hey,” I looked up at Tomoki. “Do you have a piano in your apartment? For that matter, can you play?” A look of severity flashed across Tomoki’s face when I mentioned the word ‘piano’.

“I’m a butler. There’s nothing I can’t do.”

I chuckled dryly. “A butler, huh… Well anyway, I figured you could play, though.” My eyes flitted to his hands. “You have the fingers.”

“Fingers?” The more I spoke about the piano, the more annoyed he seemed to get.

“You can tell by the way someone's fingers look if they play an instrument. Long, thin fingers for piano, calloused fingertips for violin and guitar. You know, stuff like that, ” I paused, “So, about the piano, do you have one in your apartment or not?”

Tomoki pushed his glasses up his nose. “I don’t.”

I sighed. "I want to play it for my dad's birthday party, but my playing is mediocre at best. I could really use some help.

Tomoki launched into a lecture about how it would be impossible for me to master the piano in time for the party and went on to talk about lessons and practicing etiquette. It seemed like he was eager to move away from the subject of the piano, and so, I didn’t push it any further.

After finishing some work and practicing with Tomoki, I texted Itsuki to ask if he had a piano or knew anyone who did. I hoped to god he wouldn’t suggest the Ichijo residence. If I had only that as an option, I’d rather go to my dad’s house, even if it was completely out of the way.

His reply came quickly. I would be happy to help you. More importantly, did you ask Tomo to help you?

My fingers flew over my phone’s keyboard as I typed back. I did but he said no.

Itsuki’s next text told me the date and time I can use his piano, not mentioning anything more.

Previous Chapter

That weekend I met up with Itsuki at his parents’ house. Eisuke and Ran were out on a date and since I was babysitting my niece, I had brought her with me.

“Hey, Itsuki, I hope you don’t mind. I brought my niece,” I said per greeting.

“Not at all. Hello,” Itsuki crouched down to her level.

“Hello!” Lauren greeted him.

“This is Laurenay. But we all call her Lauren,” I said, her hand in mine.

“That’s such a pretty name,” Itsuki smiled.

“Thanks! Are we going to play piano today?” he asked.

I leaned over to Itsuki. “When she heard I was coming to play piano, she begged me to teach her, too,” I whispered and pulled back. “The garden is beautiful, by the way.”

“Nice, right? Tomo planted all the flowers.”

“All of them?” I asked curiously.

“Oh, yeah. They’re all tough to keep alive and vibrant. But he’s passionate and takes good care of them.”

“He mentioned before he likes growing plants…” I mused.

“Yeah. He enjoys the process up until they bloom, but once they’ve bloomed he loses interest.”

I hummed. “They need continuous care, though. Even after they’ve bloomed. Otherwise they wither and die.” I looked next to me. Lauren was intently staring at a brown and yellow butterfly perched on top of one of the flowers. She let go of my hand to try and catch it, but the butterfly flew away and she ended up catching air instead. Her face fell, but lit up again as soon as she found another one. I shook my head.

“I like flowers, too, but I’m no good at taking care of them. I’ll over-water them, and they die,” Itsuki said.

“Well like you said, growing flowers isn’t exactly easy.”

“Right. I’m an appreciator when it comes to flowers.” I smiled as Itsuki spoke proudly of his big brother. “You know, your smile never reaches your eyes.” His words shocked me, possibly to my very core.

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