Contempt

“Wow,” I breathed out between bites, “these are the best noodles I have ever had.” My hand never stopped moving; there was a constant stream of motion between the plate and my mouth. Eating food this good was almost a curse – no Udon noodles would ever be as good as these, only a letdown, like the younger sibling to a Harvard graduate. Kaoru’s noodles graduated from Harvard, top of the class. I took a small break from eating to breathe and savor the rich after-taste.

“Well, thank you. I would hope they are this good, they are my specialty.” A cheerful and cheeky smile appeared on Kaoru’s face. He looked down at his plate (which was much fuller than mine – he actually took his time) as if he was a proud father.

I peered around the table and noticed I was the only person who had finished their meal already. I rubbed my stomach, imagining it as exaggerated as those tiny Buddha statues. I’ve always been a big eater; I was never finicky at meals around anyone. I had always been a glutton and proud of it. I never ever gained a pound from over-eating. But if I could choose from my crazy life and a slower metabolism, I might not have gone for seconds.

A large slurping noise came from Charlotte’s side of the table as she finished her meal as well. She was never lady-like and poised, but that’s what gave her the “Charlotte charm”, if I don’t say so myself. Her grossness almost makes you feel more comfortable with yourself. She will burp or make gross sounds while eating or let her legs sit in unflattering positions because it is comfortable – all right in front of you without a single care in the world. It is almost like a sign to the world, which reads “you are all gross, but let’s at least stop pretending and be gross together”.

Anticipating the next noise to break the silence, I brushed my fingers alongside my cup of water, watching the bubbles in it float and dance with one another. Letting my mind wander, I smiled at the simplicity of it all. The little bubbles had nothing to do, nothing to clean or manage or put up with. A slight smile crept on my face, and I closed my eyes momentarily to take the moment in.

An elbow abruptly nudged my side, sending my mind plummeting back into reality. I jumped lightly and flicked my head to where the disturbance came from.

Kyo.

Of course.

“Is something funny there, Charlotte?” Kyo flashed a snarky smile of crooked and rather unkempt teeth. They were kind of cute, I guess. Not the first thing I’d want to see in the morning, though.

I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my water, killing my little bubble friends. “Whatever, not like you have a sense of humor anyway.” I collected my plate, Charlotte’s and whoever else handed me an empty dish on the way to the sink. There sure were a lot more dishes than usual to wash; I’m just glad May’s wasn’t one of them. Luckily she had a big appointment or something to leave for in a rush.

After all the dishes were clean, Die politely said goodbye to everyone and called a cab to take him to his meeting. Even though the first night I met Die was a bit loud and obnoxious, he was still a very kind person on the inside. He meant well, just, all of his actions and words came out amplified by one thousand.

The rest of the guys looked around, and all agreed through some silent telepathy that they should leave; because the next words to come out of Kaoru’s mouth after nodding to Shinya was “It’s getting late and we have already been around so much.” He presented me with a warm, cozy and genuine smile to let me know that he actually did enjoy my company and his time here.

I didn’t know what to say, it was almost as if he was too polite. Beginning to feel nervous and my tongue still tied in a tight knot; I leaned in for a hug.

Surprisingly, he happily accepted the embrace and gave me a very friendly one back.

Toshiya and Shinya both gave me an awkward wave goodbye, but that’s alright, Kaoru went above and beyond to be friendly to me. I gave them both a toothy smile and a cute wave back, as Charlotte exchanged her goodbyes with everyone again.

“Oh, shit” Toshiya mumbled

I light gasp left my mouth. I didn’t want anything to go wrong, not today or here. Everything was going fine, and today had been nice. After everyone left I was going to take a bubble bath and maybe draw a little bit more. It was going to be nice and relaxing, with no added stress before or after the guys left.

I raised an anxious eyebrow at Toshiya

“Where’s Kyo? He has this awful habit of disappearing.”

I let out a big breath and closed my eyes in annoyance. That cocky little man couldn’t make anything easy, could he? Since I was already up in arms about Kyo being who he was, I offered to go find him. Searching through the apartment would help me burn off this steam at least – it was his fault.

I went through every room in the house, and was about to give up and assume he climbed out the window or something else absurd. Our apartment wasn’t that big, I have no idea where he could have gone. Doing one final look-through, I made sure to check every door. I pushed open the bathroom door and felt something behind it. I peered inside and fully opened it, to find Kyo standing in front of the sink, washing off his face.

“Can I help you?” I sneered

He didn’t respond, but instead grabbed a random towel within reach and dried off his face.

I fully stepped into the bathroom and looked down at him. “The rest of the guys have been looking for you, they want to leave now. And I guess that means you will be dropped back off at your house.”

He raised his eyebrows and nodded at me. His eyes had a mischievous gleam in them – but more than the usual. I can never tell what he is up to, whether it is as bad as burning down a church or just stupid guy stuff. “Game’s on” He said with a presumptuous grin and lowered eyelids.

Before I could say anything in return, he continued with one of the most full, passionate and scary kisses I have ever had. He pulled away and walked out of the room, his only explanation being “You’re brash and sardonic. I like that. Let’s see if you can keep up.”