Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Usually, Eira disliked being around children, as they couldn’t really control their instinct to look at her burns, but all these children were too excited to learn from Ryu to pay much attention to her. Thankfully, it stayed like that through the whole class, and it took Eira some effort not to laugh too much through the session when a child did something funny or adorable, like the one who took a tumble, falling to the ground when they tried to kick Ryu’s hand as he held it out for a target. Each child had a different personality, and they all were beyond entertaining for the hour the session went on.
Both her and Ryu shared glances and small smiles throughout, and Eira couldn’t have had a better time. She knew Ryu had been trying his best to convince her to stay on Kasumi Island … and she had to admit it was kind of working.
At the end of their training, each child bowed to their sensei. Some kids left expeditiously, ready for their next activity, while some stayed to talk to Ryu. But there was one a beautiful little girl who went up to Eira, affectionately plopping right into her lap. Choppy, blunt bangs sat in the girl’s eyes so much so that Eira had actually noticed her constantly trying her best to push them back during class.
“I’m Jun!” the girl exclaimed, unable to help herself from taking a piece of Eira’s fiery-red hair and twirling it in her little chubby fingers.
Kids never seemed to care about personal space or the fact that Eira didn’t like to be touched, but Eira didn’t seem to mind at all. “Hi, Ju—”
“I love your hair.” She couldn’t even finish properly saying hi to the small child when the girl carried on talking.
Eira laughed. “Aw, thank you.”
Jun kept twirling the strand, simply fascinated. “I’ve never seen red hair before.”
“My mother, who used to live very far from here, is the one who passed it down to me.”
“I bet your mommy is pretty like you.”
“That’s very sweet, Jun, thank you.” Her heart warmed. Pulling the little girl closer into her, she touched the tip of her cute tiny nose. “You’re very pretty, too.”
Jun smiled widely that a girl as pretty as Eira would say that about her, but like all kids, she easily got distracted. When she noticed the flower in her hair, the envy in her eyes was obvious. “I love your flower.”
“You do?” She asked, smiling, having forgotten about it and the fact her hair had been pulled back this whole time, revealing all her scars.
She hadn’t even noticed Ryu had been watching her.
The girl bounced her head in a nod with her bangs bopping on her forehead.
Eira did what Ryu had earlier, pushing back Jun’s hair and taking the flower from own her hair to place it above the little girl’s ear. “It looks much better on you.”
“Wow!” The girl’s face lit up. “Thank you!”
“Come on, Jun,” a woman who looked like an older Jun politely interrupted.
“Mom! Bye, Eira!”
With the girl flying off her lap in excitement, all Eira could do was yell back to her, “Bye, Jun!”
“Look at my pretty flower …”
Eira chuckled at hearing Jun happily tell her mom about her day as they disappeared out the building.
She was alone now with Ryu, and the smirk on his face couldn’t be missed.
“Told you,” he gloated, grabbing his chest and pretending to be heartbroken. “And I’m appalled you didn’t believe me.”
Getting up from her spot, she walked over to him, playing into his dramatics with her own performance. “I’m big enough to admit I was wrong, and I apologize. Hopefully, this makes it all better.” Leaning up on her tippytoes, she tenderly brushed her lips against his.
Appreciating her deep and fully meant sorrow for misjudging him, Ryu deepened the action by lifting her chin higher to let his tongue sweep hers up passionately.
In a fervent haze, she thought she could get used to days like this with Ryu when their kiss came to a sudden halt as they heard …
The screams that only a mother could make in sheer terror.
24
Did I Kill Jun?
“What happened?” Ryu asked the screaming mother holding Jun. The beautiful, sweet girl lay limp in her arms, as if she had turned into a ragdoll.
“I-I don’t know!” she cried out, trying to think under duress. “She was showing me her flower, and then … and then … she just dropped!”
Eira’s heart sank at her words then fell to the pits of hell when her eyes caught the fallen bloodred flower she had given her. What does she mean?! Did I kill Jun?
But the old man, Ryu, and herself had all touched the flower, and they were fine.
When she went to pick it up to prove that couldn’t possibly be it, Ryu stopped her.