Chapter 49
The First Snowfall
Aksel: So, watcha doing today?
Elyna: just grabbing coffee outside
Aksel: with mister incredible or the golden trio?
Elyna: Guess and you?
Aksel: beach and chill
Elyna: you’re going in? ??
Aksel: hell yeah, the waves are incredible. Wind’s from the East.
Elyna: Oh Yeah! I want pictures, and be safe
Aksel: ??don’t worry… be happy
Winter was upon them, and with it, harsh winds and freezing temperatures.
Yet, one particular couple had decided to brave the weather, huddled in their scarves.
Sano’s long coat gave him a very distinguished air, like a gentleman who’d just shed his top hat to visit a lady’s parlour. Very Pride and Prejudice.
His leather gloves, in particular, called to Elyna. Timidly, she brushed his sleeve. Sano stopped in his tracks, eyes searching hers with an intensity that made her blush; she wasn’t used, yet, to taking the brunt of his full attention. It left her breathless.
“Is there anything you wanted?”
Blushing, she glanced around. Public displays of affection were frowned upon in Japan, yet she couldn’t help but long for more contact. “Ano… do you think…?”
She bit her lip, tasting the balm she’d spread earlier to soften the bite of winter. Puzzled, Sano hovered over her huddled frame. “Ask away.”
Gathering her courage, she smiled nervously. “Can I hold your hand?”
His features lit up at the prospect. Wordlessly, Sano offered his gloved hand, palm up. The same way he’d done that fated evening in the dōjō. Elyna slid her fingers across his, marvelling that his warmth seeped through her wool mittens.
Satisfied, she tugged on his hand to resume their leisurely stroll, watching the last leaves scatter in the wind. The air smelt of snow, crisp and moist, biting at her cheeks.
“Are you cold?” Sano eventually asked as they reached a cluster of slumbering trees.
Elyna shook her head, hoping to prolong their time together. He pulled her towards him to drop a minimalist kiss at the corner of her mouth. Elyna gasped, quelling the need to chase his lips. When his body enclosed hers, Elyna’s ability to think scattered to the high winds.
“You’re cute when you blush.” His voice had taken this delicious tone that made her shiver. Smooth talker. Smooth looker. Smooth everything.
“You, sir, are a terrible flirt,” she accused, flustered.
He laughed then, eyes travelling to the canopy where naked branches danced overhead. Christmas decorations hung between them, ready to flare to life at night. Something akin to melancholy passed over his features, before a smile replaced it.
“Hai. So I was told… in my youth. But who could resist such a pretty heart?”
Elyna blushed; his mischievous side sometimes sent her in apoplexy. But it was a delicious process. Little by little, Sano shed the numerous layers of propriety to reveal himself, without adornments, without the sensei persona.
She wanted to discover every facet of his character, every nook and cranny of his mind. When the cold’s assault turned her nose fully red, Sano’s lips curved in the discreet smile he kept just for her, brown eyes dripping with honey.
“How about coffee and cake?” he suggested, the tone of his voice causing Elyna’s insides to melt in a puddle.
The young woman smiled; his own cheeks were red, timid snowflakes dancing around them. An announcement of the winter, and its Christmas break. Elyna offered her hand to the icy petals, mesmerised by their flurry dance.
“In Korea, watching the first snowfall with your beloved is a good omen for the relationship,” she said.
When he did not reply, Elyna took a peek at him; he was watching her with an intensity that made her knees buckle. “Hai, so I’ve heard,” he finally responded, offering his own glove to adopt a few stray flakes. They melted on the leather instantly, too weak to sustain his body heat.
“What is the significance in Japan?” she asked, wondering about the shift in his mood. For a long moment, he just watched the snow melt on his hand, brows furrowed.
Elyna shamelessly observed him; she still couldn’t believe he’d asked her out on a date.
Am I dreaming? His fine features looked regal, hair brushed backwards by the icy winds.
Those thin eyebrows, so expressive, eventually relaxed, as if he’d finally resolved the puzzle that caused him such turmoil.
“Impermanence. Duality,” he responded, the words sounding ominous. Then a soft smile bloomed upon his lips. “But also beauty and danger, exactly like you, my sea fairy.”
She was aware of the risks he was taking. Every day, Elyna thanked all the gods of creation that he had caved in; she might have wilted away if he’d asked her to wait. You stupid teenager, she berated herself. But her heart was so full that it felt it would implode.
“Let’s get you something to drink. I wouldn’t want you to think I do not know how to treat a lady.”
This kind of line, years ago, would have made her cringe. Young Elyna, strong from her mother’s teachings, would have baulked at the condescension of such a chivalrous declaration. Gallantry had no place in her mind… until the divorce, and the discovery that the world wasn’t black and white.
Today, Elyna had a very different take on what gallantry meant. Heart swelling in happiness, she beamed at the man who had accepted to celebrate their love.
As they retreated from the park at a leisurely pace, she looped her arm around his. They wandered, unhurried, like a pair of stragglers with no care in the world. Flakes dispersed in the wind; Elyna allowed her frame to relax. Head cushioned against him, she felt like a cat purring its life away.
Sano led her to a quaint café. A sense of surrealism washed over her as they walked in; this could become a new normalcy, a man and a woman going out together, a set of lovers rather than a teacher and his assistant. Sano caught her gaze and gestured to the display.
“Anything striking your fancy?”
She still wasn’t used to this proximity. At the kōkō, proper distance needed to be maintained at all times. Katayū was the only one that sometimes intruded in a student’s personal space. To feel Sano’s body so close as he peered into the showcase caused butterflies to dance in her belly.
“You need to choose something to EAT, Elyna.”
I’d eat you…
Perhaps her thought conveyed through her hungry gaze, for a blush dusted his cheekbones. With an awkward cough, Elyna returned to the delicious looking pastries, and selected one that reminded her of a kawaii kitten face. A chuckle escaped him, the sound rolling off him like a deep wave.
“Coffee?” he asked.
“A white mocha, please.”
Her heart skipped a beat when he paid for her pastry and the drinks. To anyone else, a coffee date might have seemed insignificant. To Elyna, it felt inestimable. A gift that her memory would cherish. They settled in a corner, hidden from prying eyes. Floating on cloud nine, Elyna sighed happily.
Sano’s gaze sharpened on the caffeinated drink that steamed right under her nose. “That is a sugar bomb laced with toxic fat.”
“I know,” she winked. “But I don’t indulge too often, and I’m burning it all.”
Her companion pursed his lips. The health instructor persona sometimes leaked through, pushing her to take better care. But Elyna was young and carefree, too much was happening in her life to bother about extra pounds, especially after losing so many.
Eventually, her beloved sensei dragged his fingers through his dark hair, the nervous gesture leaving it deliciously tousled.
Elyna felt her mind spiral; he was devastatingly attractive like this.
The fitted t-shirt peeking underneath his open coat screamed domestic, a far cry from his usual button-up shirts.
“Ah, forgive me,” he sighed. “I’m getting old, you know. I worry about these things.”
Eyes widening, Elyna rushed to reassure him. “There’s nothing old about you!”
He seemed to wrestle with some internal battle for a heartbeat before a slow, devastating smile spread across his lips. “Are you quite sure? You haven’t seen the whole of me yet.”
A squeak escaped her. Mortified, Elyna tried to keep the blush down with her cold hands. To no avail; her cheeks felt like a furnace. The gall of that man! Pulse hammering, she gave him a mock glare.
“That’s… You, really!” she accused.
He chuckled, looking delighted. Those smooth innuendos were as dangerous as the fire burning beneath his composed exterior. Worse, he’d just reduced her to a stammering mess.
“I seem to have broken you,” he observed, eyes dancing with mischief.
So handsome… I’m a just a helpless kitten in the face of those eyes.
“I am not broken,” she protested. “Just… recalibrating.”
That earned her a startled laugh that made her knees go weak. Good thing she was already sitting down.
I need to hear that sound again.
What business did he have to look so attractive? A few looks darted their way, mostly feminine. Jealousy flared in Elyna’s gut; yes, she didn’t deserve him. But she’d be damned if she didn’t enjoy every drop.
His expression gentled when she fanned her flaring cheeks with a napkin. “Gomen[18], I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
“No, I…” Her mind was a mess. “I do like that side of you. A lot. I’ll just need to… develop a tolerance.”
His eyebrows rose, dark eyes blazing. “A tolerance? That almost sounds like a challenge.”
Oh, she was in a world of trouble. Elyna took a shaky breath and decided to retreat to safer waters before she completely combusted. “Anyway. Regarding your age…”
His expression tightened at once. “There is no hiding the truth, and no running from it.”
Several times, he had mentioned their substantial age gap; one of the reasons why he’d tried so hard to stay away. Being her supervisor would be easily remedied, but not their age difference.
“Eight years. The more time passes, the less it will seem.”
He pinned her with such a look that she froze like a deer in headlights.
Where did that confidence come from? Elyna couldn’t say; their relationship was fresh, but she wouldn’t settle for anything less than the long haul.
It wasn’t worth risking his career otherwise.
Would he want that, too? How long before he grew tired of her immaturity?
His eyes turned into simmering coals; Elyna took a mouthful of her over-sugared brew to ground herself in reality. “Perhaps I’m just an Edo woman?” she shrugged. “It will be like old times, right?”
Old times, when Edo merchants married in their late thirties in order to ensure they could provide for their spouse and children. Surprise bloomed upon his face, calling a smile to his lips. “You really know our history.”
The praise was almost embarrassing. “Japan’s history is fascinating.” As if it explained how much of a nerd she was, images of the past brimming in her overzealous mind.
“As was Mexico’s?” he snorted. “And European? Scandinavian?”
“Yeah, that too,” she sheepishly admitted. Suddenly self-conscious, the young woman’s gaze dropped into her cup. A warm hand came to settle over hers and squeezed, seeping warmth into her skin.
“You are amazing, Elyna. I just don’t want to… break that brilliant future you are preparing. I don’t want to hold you back. You could probably study anywhere you wanted.”
Hold me back? Eyes wide, she looked at him in disbelief.
“On the contrary. It is your support that brought the success of the Culture Festival. It’s because I wanted to impress you that I found the guts to dress up like a Victorian lady.”
Rose dusted his cheekbones anew, and Elyna shifted her palm up to intertwine their fingers. To watch his stronger hand engulf hers felt like a miracle. His skin was so warm, calluses from wielding Kung Fu weapons marring his palm. A perfect representation of his personality.
Elyna swallowed, unused to exposing herself so much, but to hear such doubts felt so wrong. “Your regard gives me wings.”
She released his hand to give him time to compose himself.
As he watched her tear into the kitty pastry with a moan of delight, his eyes softened.
A flicker of steel passed through, so flitting she wondered if she’d imagined it.
One instant, he was melting over his chair, and the next his shoulders squared.
“There’s something else I need to say, and it needs to be said clearly.”