Smile

…His name was Katsuki…

He was her older sister's future fiancé, and her soon-to-be piano teacher. Katsuki was the only son of her father's close friend. Long ago, when their parents were young, it was agreed that their children would marry to tie both families together. The raven-haired man was everything a woman could ask for; intelligent, kind, and good looking. The moment they were introduced, she hated him. She also hated herself for hating him, someone she barely knew, for such a silly reason. Though it was an arranged marriage, Katsuki was allowed to choose between her and her older sister. This was the silly reason. She and everyone else knew he would never choose her.

There was no competition to begin with, but her older sister Misao seemed to think otherwise. Not wanting to be in their presence for too long, she left after the short introduction. She had never expected him to choose her when Misao was obviously the prettier one. Though, she did feel his gaze linger on her longer than necessary. She wouldn't wonder why. The scar on her left temple did make people pay more attention to her, but their interests never lasted long. Mother still tried to convince her to cover the scar, but she refused. As the younger daughter of Hongo, people rarely paid attention to her, so why bother?

It was only her father who always defended her desire to keep the scar as it was. If not for her father, she would have left the house a long time ago. Her mother never stopped comparing her with Misao, albeit subtly. Honestly, she was getting tired of it. Somewhere in the deepest part of her heart, she asked herself: would she meet the one who could love her for who she was? No matter how hard she tried to push away the answer, her heart would always told her that she would, that she would find the one for her.

…Her name was Mio…

The first time he saw her, curiosity flared to life within him. It was not because of her scar even though he did look at it for a short while. What drew him in were her golden eyes. Being a teacher for years did give him the ability to read people, and his conclusions were rarely wrong. Mio was lonely. Outwardly, she covered it quite well with her hate-filled eyes and emotionless face. Everyone who caught only a glimpse of her eyes would stay away from her out of fear. If only they knew. No, he would selfishly keep this, so no one else would know.

That day, there were barely any students left in the school, and he was the last teacher to leave. Before returning home, he wanted to retrieve the music book he had unintentionally left behind. However, upon nearing his destination, he heard it for the first time: her heartfelt music through her violin. He had heard from his father that Mio had talent in music. The sound of her music was beautiful, but sad. It was then he began wondering if she had ever smiled a true smile.

And she had, but only when no one was around. He found out this fact coincidentally. The dark aura she was emitting might scare everybody else, but not him. As crazy as it may seem, he was happy for this fact because he would be the only one who could approach her. It made him feel special. Upon finding her, the soft wind played with her short tresses gently. As she raised her hand, a small bird perched upon her finger, and slowly, her cold façade dissolved, leaving only her true expression with a gentle smile on her lips. That day, she left him breathless.

…Katsuki chose her…

She didn't know how it happened, but the way he wooed her made her feel wanted, loved even. Though, he did say that he loved her. Smiling at her reflection, she suddenly felt giddy and couldn't wait for their wedding day in a week. For him, she had agreed to remove the ugly scar. It was most likely that she did it for herself as she was more than ready to leave her past behind, to forgive her family.

"You should smile more often, Mio-san."

The bird flew away as she jumped in surprise. Even without looking, she knew the owner of that voice. Honestly, she didn't expect him to approach her at school! Reverting back to her expressionless façade, she turned to glare at him. Much to her surprise, he smiled.

"You look even more beautiful when you smile."

Everything in her screaming mind halted. She didn't know why, but as his words registered into her brain, she flushed red like any normal high school girl when an unexpected, handsome boy confessed their love to them. How could he say something like that to her when he chose Misao? Wait, Katsuki hadn't chosen anyone yet. After all, they hadn't announced their engagement. From the beginning, she had left them alone so that he wouldn't have to choose between herself and Misao. Apparently, her attempt was in vain. Glancing at his smiling face, she convinced herself that he might want to get to know her future sister-in-law. She had nothing to do, so she might as well humour him.

However, before she could say a word, he continued, "On second thought, I would rather keep your smile for myself…"

Her heart skipped a beat before beating furiously in her chest as he moved closer and took her hand. Her mind was screaming for her to push him away, but her body seemed to have its own mind as she let him touch her. Heat rushed to her face as he kissed her palm while looking into her eyes.

"If you keep blushing like that, I might kiss you for real, Mio…"

The way he uttered her name only heightened her blush, and she didn't know that she could blush any redder!

Of course, he was only teasing her at that time. He was a gentleman, and he respected her privacy. When he announced his choice, Misao refused to talk to her for weeks. That came without a surprise. But months after her engagement with Katsuki, her attitude towards her had improved as she had finally accepted the fact that Katsuki chose her without being pressured. She snorted mentally. As if anyone could pressure him. Things were looking up for her, too, as Mother had stopped comparing her to Misao.

"My little girl is getting married! Katsuki should be happy that he has my daughter."

She only let out a small smile in response. If only her mother knew that she was the one who should be happy.

…Mio chose him…

Beautiful was not enough to describe her. The moment he saw her in wedding dress, he fell in love with her again. And today, two years after that day, he found himself falling in love with her again. Looking at her resting so comfortably under the shade of the Sakura tree made him smile. Even after they got married, she kept her black hair short. Slowly, as not to disturb her rest, he quietly walked towards her. His attempt to remain quiet was futile when she opened her beautiful golden eyes. He smiled before sitting down by her side.

"How are you feeling?" he asked while holding her hand.

"Why don't you ask them? They are quite happy for using my bladder as their punching bag," she replied wryly.

He chuckled before bending down to kiss her protruding belly. They were having twins soon: a son and a daughter. Six months after she got her Bachelor's Degree, both agreed to start a family. He never forced her to do anything, but she seemed to know of his desire for a family. It couldn't be helped. They were seven years apart, and he was more than ready to become a father. Thankfully, the years had been good to him, so he didn't look so old beside her. Though people's opinions didn't matter to him, he still didn't want to be viewed as an old man taking advantage of young woman.

A smile stretched on his face as he felt a gentle kick. When he looked up, she had the same smile on her lips. Looking into her eyes, he murmured, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

He had always wondered if she had ever loved him when she agreed to be his fiancée. Knowing her difficult childhood, he never asked her to love him back. He just wanted her to be happy. She gave him the chance to prove his love, and he did so more than once by telling her and everyone else that he loved her.

"Why?" she whispered quietly.

"Why what?" he countered even though he knew perfectly well what she was asking. After making a small note in his music sheets, he looked up at her. After three months of hiding the fact that she was his fiancée, the school finally knew about their engagement today. The reaction he received from his colleagues and students was varied, but mostly pity. They had tried to comfort him, thinking he was being forced by her family. If he was allowed to lash out, he would. They had no right to judge her. But then, he let them think whatever they wished. It didn't matter to him.

Instead of answering, she inquired again, "Is it possible to love someone so fast?"

"It has nothing to do with possibility. It just happens."

She looked away from him before muttering, "I think so, too."

As she took out her violin from the case, he asked, "Play with me?"

Surprise was written all over her face.

Mio had stopped playing violin for anyone but him ever since Misao hurt her. It took a lot of coaxing from him to make her tell him what had actually happened that day, the day she received the scar. After hearing her story, it took everything in him not to threaten Misao for hurting her. It was Mio's surprise and disbelief that held him still. When he asked her why she was so surprised, she told him no one but her father would believe her story. The day she told him this was the day he finally realised how deep her wound was. Everyone around her was rejecting her. After a lot of begging on his part, she finally relented to his request that she would play again, but only for him. Of course, he was more than happy to accept her condition as he, too, didn't want anyone to hear her music. Mio was healing. He knew that much from her music as it was not as sad as the first time he heard it.

When she said nothing, he pleaded, "Please…"

A small smile was on her lips as she murmured, "Why can't I say 'no' to you?"

He grinned boyishly. "You never try before, so why try now?"

She only shook her head in reply, and both started deciding the piece for their first duet. After a while they settled for Ave Maria. Soon enough, the school was filled with their music. Even for their first try, the sound of his piano and her violin blended quite well, producing the most beautiful melody. When they were done, they smiled at each other, pleased with their little performance. He held no doubt that she loved him, too, when she pressed her lips to his for the first time.

The next day was the major turning point of Mio's life. Too immersed in their own music, both were not aware that they were being watched by a few teachers and countless students. Everyone who heard their music believed that they were very much in love with each other. Mio was baffled by her friends' attempt to be friend her. Slowly though, she accepted them, and she smiled more often. Much to his displeasure, other guys seemed to notice her kind heart. Thankfully, he was not a jealous teenager, but he did make his point through that she would keep her distance from the boys. Her soft laughter was her reply, and after he admitted that he was jealous, a kiss on the lips was his reward.

Every single day, he never stopped telling her that he loved her, and she would give him the same answer and a happy smile, which was his treasure. Ever since he saw her smile, he vowed to make her smile every day, and he would never stop trying for the rest of his life. After all, if she was happy, then he, too, would be happy.

The End

Thanks for reading.