Chapter 30

Since the day he woke up in the hospital, Jun had started to grow his hair out again. The hair he’d forced himself to keep short for years to make himself look more different than his old self was slowly growing, millimeter by millimeter. The longer it got, the fluffier it became, and Juudai loved running his hands through the thickness of it.

They now had gunshot wounds in almost the same place, which Juudai found funnier than Jun did. Luckily, as Juudai was able to get proper medical care, the healing process was much easier. Misawa had felt terrible for a while, but he was the fastest to recover.

Even after most of the swelling went down and he could finally breathe on his own, Jun hated the feeling of anything touching his neck. It was the one part he decided to change while growing out his hair; he gave himself an undercut to keep even the smallest curl of hair from touching the mottled skin. He did it himself as not even Juudai was allowed near his neck at the time, so it was uneven and choppy, but it lifted a weight off his shoulders.

The only one who seemed largely unaffected by the catastrophe of the day his brothers invaded the apartment was Cheeseburger. She’d been hiding while the whole thing went down, and he had hugged her close when they were reunited after he was discharged from the hospital.

The case had added another perpetrator after that; the stranger who had broken in with Shoji and Chousaku was named Hara Kaimen, and he had a long history of doing bad things. He didn’t speak a word aside from “I don’t know” or “no comment” at any interrogation or interview.

Chousaku admitted to everything. The police couldn’t figure out what had hurt him that night, as there was no trace of DNA or a weapon from the puncture wounds. He himself refused to explain that part as well.

Shouji on the other hand was vehement that he had little to no fault or involvement, despite having been there. How he had planned on getting away with killing Jun and at least two other people after all eyes were already on him was anyone’s guess, because he did nothing but deny.

The wedding between Rei and Martin was held inside a christian church. Neither bride nor groom were particularly religious, but remembering the love Rei had for the dresses and her deck, she was ecstatic. The ceremony itself had a lot of french traditions mixed in with their own Japanese ones. Neither country traditionally had bridesmaids, but Rei had insisted, and Asuka and Juudai were the ones she picked for the job. Martin had one of his DA friends as a best Hayato again had been weird for Jun, as he knew it was thanks to him that he had gotten to have such a capable lawyer. They didn’t hug, as they weren’t really that close, and honestly, Jun still couldn’t handle the feeling of people’s hair or cheek brushing against his neck. But they spent a good while talking during the party after the ceremony.

The ceremony itself was beautiful. Rei sparkled in her big white gown, looking like something right out of her own middle school fantasies. The look on Martin’s face as he put the ring on her finger was one of utter adoration, making even Jun’s heart clench despite not knowing the man that well.

Early in the morning, when the party was finally winding down, Jun sat on the balcony, looking out at the garden of the mansion Vice-chancellor Napoleon had rented for the occasion.

He’d seen Rei and Martin sneak away two hours ago despite being supposed to be there a while longer, and he’d smiled at the sight of the newlywed.

He ran his fingers along the cold grass of his champagne, the contents almost gone by now. He hadn’t been drinking that much, and was only tipsy when a voice called out to him. “Hey, there you are.” Looking over his shoulder, he locked eyes with Juudai and smiled. “Were you looking for me?”

Juudai sat down next to him on the bench, leaning his back against the stone railing of the balcony. “Don’t wanna go too long without seeing your beautiful smile.”

Jun snorted, hiding an amused smile behind the rim of his glass as he took a sip. “You’re embarrassing.”

“Worth it to make you laugh,” Juudai replied, cocking his head to the side to give him the most loving look he’d ever received. “You’ve been smiling a lot tonight. I love it. I’d like to see it forever, if you’d let me.”

“Is that a proposal?”

“Maybe. Think of it as a promise that I will propose. Even I know it’s a bit too soon to get engaged after not even having dated for two months.”

That made Jun grin, shifting a bit closer to his lover. “God knows how I fell for someone so dorky.”

With a brilliant smile, Juudai leaned closer, until their noses bumped against each other. Do you regret it?”

“Not one bit.”

Previous Next

Back to top