A young man in a High School uniform was standing at the door, just as perplexed as Ken. The guy looked Ken up and down and asked, "Can I help you?"
Ken blinked a few times, his earlier nervousness turning into a mix of confusion, hurt and anger. "Is Ai here?" he asked, his tone frosty.
"Ai?" The young man tilted his head in confusion. "Ah! You mean the girl who used to live in this apartment. I think she moved to the end of this level." He stated.
Ken felt his whole body relax in that moment, causing him to let out a sigh of relief. "Sorry for the interruption." He said, bowing deeply.
With that, he stood back and left. Only on the way past did he notice that the name written below the mailbox was not Koyama, but Fuji instead.
'Damn it, my nervousness has made me stupid.' Ken cursed inwardly.
Only after arriving at the end apartment did he finally see his girlfriend's family name written below the mailbox.
Since his heart had already been toyed with enough, Ken pressed the door bell without waiting. He just wanted this thing to be over with now with no other surprises.
"Coming~"
A female voice called out, allowing Ken to heave a sigh of relief.
Upon the door opening, Ken smiled brilliantly. "Surprise." He said, holding out the bouquet of flowers.
However, as his eyes moved to the face of the woman in front of him, he saw a green mask plastered onto her face like a second skin. Her hair was tied back and she was currently wearing comfy looking pajamas.
He blinked a few times, having trouble recognizing if it was Ai or not. But even through the mask, he could see the look of horror plastered onto the woman's face.
SLAM
Before he could say another word, the door was slammed on him, causing the bouquet of flowers to rustle from the wind generated. He stood awkwardly for a few moments, not knowing what had just happened.
"Umm… What do I do now?" Ken muttered. He wasn't even sure if it was Ai who had answered the door, and if it was, why did she slam the door in his face?
BUZZ BUZZ
"You idiot! Why didn't you tell me you were coming to Japan?"
Ken read the message, his heart sinking. Out of all the scenario's he'd imagined of surprising his girlfriend, this was not in any of the simulations.
Before he could reply to the message, another one came.
"Just stay there… Pretend you never saw anything."
Ken could only listen to her instructions, feeling a little awkward. This was magnified when the occupants of the apartment next door suddenly came outside and saw him.
The two High School girls looked at him up and down and gave him a weird look. "What a weirdo… Why is he just standing there?"
Feeling himself being judged, Ken smiled wryly. 'Next time I think I'll just tell her in advance…' He thought, feeling a sense of fatigue wash over him.
After around 5 minutes, the door opened once more. This time, Ai was in a sun dress, no longer wearing the ogre mask from earlier. Before he could even say anything, she dove into his arms.
As she wrapped her own arms around his neck, a smile finally appeared on his lips.
"I'm back." He said, hugging her tightly.
"Welcome home…"
The two stood like this for some time, basking in each others presence. It might not have been the reunion that Ken had expected, but it was still special.
"Hey, can we go inside? I'm a bit tired from the long flight." Ken said after a while.
"Mmm."
"Ah, these are for you." He said, handing her the flowers.
"They're beautiful, thank you."
"Not as beautiful as you." Ken quipped, but he felt a little lame after saying so.
However, after hearing the cute giggle of his girlfriend, his spirits soared like an eagle. He was led into the apartment which seemed to be bigger than the last place.
The two moved to the lounge area and took a seat on the couch together. Ken let out a deep sigh, feeling his jet lag hit him like a truck.
"What made you decide to come back to Japan." Ai asked, nestling into his chest.
"It's summer break in the states, of course I'd want to come back to see you." He said matter-of-factly. "But I never expected to have the door slammed in my face."
Ai raised her head, only to see Ken grinning widely.
"Never speak of that again…" She said in mock anger, not accepting anything but an affirmative nod in response.
"Okay okay, it never happened." Ken said, pacifying her.
Upon receiving the response she wanted, Ai returned to her spot with a smile.
"I knocked on your old apartment door first. You should have seen my shock when a guy opened the door." Ken said, letting out a chuckle.
"Haha, I bet poor Yamato was shocked to see a man with flowers at his door." Ai replied with amusement.
"Mmm, maybe he thought I was asking him out."
"PFFT."
"Hahahaha."
Ken smiled hearing the giggles of the woman he'd missed for so long. Even though it had only been 4 months, it was still tough.
The two talked for a while on the couch, but soon Ken began to grow weary. As he started to nod off, he heard the doorbell ring.
"Ah crap!" Ai cursed, quickly jumping to her feet.
Ken raised an eyebrow, not knowing what was going on.
Ai ran to the door and opened it while Ken moved his head to try and take a look.
"I've got chocolates, Ice cream and some romance movies." The feminine voice rang out, causing Ken's ears to perk up.
'Don't tell me…'
"Rie, something came up… You can't come over tonight." Ai said, trying to block her at the door.
"What do you mean? Don't we do this every month." She retorted. However, her nose twitched in the next moment and she began sniffing the air.
"I smell a man… Where are you hiding him!?"
Without waiting for an invitation, Rie moved past Ai, her ample bosoms acting like a forcefield and almost throwing the latter against the wall. She walked into the lounge only to see Ken on the couch.
"Hey… You must be Rie." Ken said, getting to his feet. His tall frame towered above her own, causing her to shrink back slightly. Her eyes darted between Ai and Ken, as if not knowing what to do.
"Are you Ken?" She asked meekly.
Ken nodded, though it was clear he was a little tired. "Nice to meet you." He said before walking over to Ai.
"Why don't you and Rie have some girl time? I'm still wrecked from the flight."
"A—Ah, okay. How long are you staying for?" She asked, gripping his shirt as if not wanting to let him go.
"Around 3 weeks, there'll be plenty of time for us to see each other, don't worry." Ken said, wearing a soft smile. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead lightly.
Her eyes lit up, obviously happy he would be staying so long.
"Rie, wait there while I put Ken to bed." She ordered, pointing to her friend as if to tell her to behave.
With that, she led Ken into the room so he could get some rest.