One
"Eh?" Tooru looked up quickly from her plate, her sea-green eyes staring into her aunt's as though she had never seen her before.
"You're of age," her aunt said quietly, trying to conceal her eagerness. "Your mother would have approved."
Tooru said nothing as she saw the older woman smile ackwardly at her, yet never wavering her hard stare. Tooru shifted uneasily in her seat, dropping her eyes from the woman's penetrating gaze and began to pick at her food. She gave a small nervous laugh and continued to nibble on the meal that she had prepared for them only moments ago. But, she was no longer hungry. She only felt a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she didn't like it.
"He's a bit older than you," her aunt continued. "But, you two will make a perfect pair."
"Um..."
"Oh, don't worry. I have already spoken with the go-betweener and apparently his parents have agreed to the match."
"But..." Tooru protested hastily.
"Oh? Do you want to question my tactics on your well being?"
Tooru shook her head slowly, biting on her lower lip rather roughly. Thousands of thoughts and questions flooded her mind at that moment, unsure if this was really happening or if it was some cruel joke. She had heard of omiai- arranged marriages- and often thought it somewhat ridiculous for what was a marriage without love? Of course, she could always tell the go-betweener that she didn't want to pursue a relationship with her picked suitor, yet her reasons had to be plentiful and good or else she would be rude to not only the matchmaker, but to his family as well. Also, her aunt would be disappointed in her and she would be left feeling guilty. Her relationship with her paternal aunt was shakey, to say the least.
"H-how?"
"How what? Be specific or your question won't be answered," her aunt said, annoyance coming back to her tone.
"How did the go-betweener find out about me?"" Tooru asked meekly, not daring to meet the older woman's gaze.
"Oh, well since you don't like to use your brain for the most obvious of things, I suppose I shall tell you of how it came to be. My son, as you know, will marry soon and I must prepare their room for them in my house. I will be using your room as a nursury for their future child which will leave you, unfortunately, with no room to sleep in. And his wife, I am sure, wouldn't want the likes of you to be near her husband- cousin or not."
Tooru's eyes widened in surprise and shock. She had known for the longest time that she had placed a large burden onto her family, yet to meet with such unkindess was unbearable. She never felt more alone at that moment.
"A friend of mine, Yaguchi san, is also friends with a very large and powerful family," she continued proudly. "She came to me, saying that they were trying to find a wife for their son and I suggested that it should be you, since my own daughter is already married. She was pleased that she didn't have to look for other candidates so she requested that I fill out a resume about you and bring along your picture. I know I should have informed you about it, but I thought it best that I should do it on my own. Anyway, Yaguchi san came to me this morning saying that his parents have agreed to the meeting."
I am only twenty-one, Tooru thought frantically to herself, I only wish to expierence life and fall in love on my own...I don't want to marry someone I don't know..
"Well?"
"Can I see his profile?"
Her aunt smiled warmly for the first time and nodded. Tooru had always yearned for her to smile in that way...but she was less than thrilled to witness it at that moment. Her throat was dry for some reason and she picked up her glass of iced down water and drank deeply. When the older woman returned with a beige folder, Tooru became suddenly nervous, her hands shaking somewhat as she took it into her hands.
What kind of man was he, that he sought a woman he barely knew? Did his parents pressure him into it like her aunt did her? Did they have anything in common? Could she gather up enough money to run away and find a place of her own? She had the free will to say no, yet how could she when everyone was going through so much trouble? She really hated being put on the spot.
Her trembling fingers managed to open the flimsy folder, exposing a photo of the young man on one side, and his resume on the other. She peered at his picture, studying him hard and long and was rather surprised to find that he was good looking. His face was narrow and seemingly smooth, hazel intelligent eyes stared out at her from the picture as he held a solemn expression. Her heart sank somewhat for she saw no smile visible in his manly features.
She shifted her attention to his resume, which was rather large. Reading it, she found out that he was born into a wealthy and powerful family, known as the Souma's. The name sounded oddly familiar to her but she quickly disregarded it as she continued to read about the man's background. He attended a very well known university and went off to Medical school and became a doctor. He likes seafood, books -mainly those based on philosophy- and staying in the comfort of his home. Biting back a sigh, she gently closed the folder and handed it back to her aunt.
"Well?"
Tooru couldn't actually tell the woman that she found the man a complete bore, so she smiled slightly and gave an indifferent shrug.
"Okay, so tomorrow we will meet the Souma's at Misato restaurant, so make sure to put on your best kimono," and with that, she left the room.
As though in a daze, Tooru slowly lifted herself from her seat and gradually picked up the unempty plates, noting that they were going to have plenty of leftovers. After everything was put away, she crept up to her room and shut the door as she sat atop her bed, unmoving. Her mind was completely blank and before she even realized it, her future was placed into someone else's hands.
"So, what is it you do, Ms Honda?"
Tooru quickly looked up from her plate, feeling her face grow warm as the older woman looked at her with questioning eyes. Although she had dreaded this day for she couldn't sleep at all the night before; she made sure that she was presentable and somewhat elegant. She even spent a good part of her day twisting her hair into a complicated knot until she was satisfied with a style that made her look older and wise. Yet, she felt incredibly uncomfortable at being at such a formal resturant with such an elaborate kimono on. And a long sleeved one at that.
"Erm, that is...I'm a teacher."
"Oh really?" The woman leaned in closer over the table, as though suddenly interested. "What do you teach?"
"I'm actually an elementary teacher, so I teach various subjects," Tooru replied meekly, glancing at the tall man who sat erectly in his chair. He hadn't said a word to her except for when they greeted each other respectfully in front of their guardians. But, her aunt seemed to be enjoying herself as she asked the mysterious gentleman hoards of questions as he replied politely and obidiently.
"Oh my, how precious," the woman exclaimed, driving Tooru's gaze back to her. "Then I am sure that you must have a patient and kind personality."
Tooru eased back in her chair and smiled shyly at the woman sitting before her. They continued to converse as her uncle talked to Mr. Souma and her aunt to her future husband. Well, make that a maybe future huband. After awhile Tooru realized that everyone's cups were almost empty, so she refilled them quickly while muttering an apology for not having done so earlier. When everyones cups were brimming with warm fresh tea, Tooru looked up to meet with a bright, smiling face.
"My, my...aren't you helpful." Mrs. Souma looked over to her son and nudged him softly with her elbow. "Don't you think you think so, Hatori?"
"Yes."
He didn't even look her way Tooru thought, much to her relief. Although she liked Mrs. Souma deeply, she was grateful that Mr. Hatori Souma found no interest in her at all. It meant that she would go home tonight and sleep peacefully in her bed without any worries and without a potential fiance. Biting back a happy sigh, she sipped her tea cheerfully and yet again glanced at Hatori, who was staring straight at her with his piercing hazel eyes. She almost choked on the warm liquid and nearly dropped her cup for he caught her completely off guard with his penetrating gaze.
"Ah, are you all right, Ms Honda?" Hatori asked casually, lifting a narrow brow.
She controlled her coughing fit and waved her hand from side to side as she gave him an apologetic smile. "Yes, I'm all right," she managed to say.
"Did I alarm you?"
"No, not at all." Her face was on fire...or so she felt. He had this coolness about him that made her feel small and inferior compared to him, yet it was as though she was nearly hypnotized by those remarkable eyes of his. They were cold, empty, but also filled with unreadble emotions-as though hiding a secret. They were absolutely captivating.
"Ummm," Tooru began, afraid to meet his eyes"what hospital do you work at?"
"I don't work at a hospital," he replied softly.
When it became painfully evident that he wasn't going to continue, she smiled ackwardly at him and asked another question. "Oh...so, what is your business, Mr. Souma?"
"I'm the family doctor."
"Ah...I see." She didn't exactly know what that meant, but she was curious and asked him another question until she was practically dishing out as many questions as her aunt did.
A mild and rather tasteless conversation sprang up from the two, mostly due to Hatori's one word responses. The on-lookers smiled sweetly as they watched the pair chatting, and looked up to the young couple in wonderous hope-all with different reasons, of course. Mrs. Souma had witnessed the gentle nature of the small brunette woman who would prove to be a worthy Souma. Although she barely knew the girl, she felt calm and at ease in her prescence. There was something about her that made the mood lift from its usual strained state into something lighter and pleasant. She looked up to her son, his expressionless face that had always torn her heart into little bits of pieces, and smiled. She placed her aging hand on top of his thigh and patted it gently, watching his eyes widen slightly but never faltering.
After their empty plates were picked up from the waiter, the two familes stood up from table and bowed to each other in farewell. Mrs. Souma was almost relunctant to leave for she actually wanted to learn more about this Tooru Honda.
You'll be hearing from me soon, Ms Honda, Mrs. Souma thought to herself as they exited from the restaurant and went their seperate ways.
How is it so far? I got this idea from my aunt, who is actually my mother's friend. She told me that she met my uncle through omiai (arranged marriage) and told me of their romance. It was very sweet :) I asked her a lot of questions about it and I eventually came up with this story. This isn't a re-telling of their story by the way, for theirs is precious in their own way. So please leave a comment on the 1st chapter and let me know what you think! Thank you!
.Hae-jang Lee.