Chapter Text
Water drips off the soft skin of her face as she closes the tap and looks directly into the mirror in front. A woman with reddish eyes and a tired face looks back, wavy brunette hair a little unkempt from the previous flight from Tokyo to Abu Dhabi. Her back is already sore from sitting for so long and she could use a bath, too. That little wash in the aircraft’s restroom just wasn’t enough. And to think that there was another seven hours until she got to her new apartment in Paris!
An-chan tears her gaze away from her own image to rummage through her handbag for a brush.
“Where is it,” she mumbles to herself as people come and go around her. A frustrated tear rolls down her reddish cheek as the brush seems to be hiding from her. “Not even a comb! Good job, An, you packed just fine!”
She’s not one to speak to herself often, especially not in a public bathroom, but she hasn’t slept very well on the flight, she’s in for a long journey, and if that wasn’t enough, her heart is broken. The conversation she had with Ricchan and that neighbour of his a few days ago tore her apart.
She knew she had to let Ricchan go for a while now, but to actually do it… The pain is almost unbearable considering the time she’s spent being in love with him. Those emerald green eyes, the silky hair, the friendly, soft smile.
She bursts into tears right there at the sink, shoulders shaking violently. Just as she opens her eyes to look for some tissues, a finely crafted silver comb appears in front of her in a pale skinned hand. She follows the hand to see a young woman standing next to her, face stern, hair black like a vast midnight sky.
“Thank you,” An-chan says in English. The woman gives her a quick smile, and to her surprise, addresses her in Japanese.
“What got you crying like that? Missed your connection or what?”
“How did you–?”
“I saw you at Narita airport saying goodbye to your parents,” the young woman explains. She leans closer to the mirror to inspect her own features, turning her head from left to right.
Her lips look soft and a bright shade of pink, face just as pale as the skin on her hand that gave An-chan the comb. The comb that she is still holding dumbfoundedly. She slowly lifts it to her hair to sort it out at last.
“I did not miss my connection,” An-chan answers the question. The young woman blinks at her from the mirror, applying lip gloss. “I’m taking the flight to Paris in an hour. It’s just… personal.”
“Paris, too, huh?” she mumbles as she puts the lip gloss back in her bag. An-chan hands her the comb with a thankful smile. The young woman rummages through her bag and pulls out what seems to be a hair accessory. A clip-on with pink and white flowers. “This is for you, I don’t really use it anymore.”
An-chan stares at the accessory for a second before she takes it hesitantly.
“Why?”
“I know the face of a heartbroken girl when I see it,” the young woman says with a sympathetic smile. She then zips up her bag and slowly walks out of the bathroom. Nothing further, she just leaves An-chan in there.
An-chan blinks a couple of times before she collects herself and puts the clip into the hair. With a satisfied smile, she finally leaves the bathroom to walk around the duty free shops. She settles on another coffee and some chocolate to eat before boarding begins. She sees the young woman on the front of the crowd, but she can’t push her way to her now. She would be scrutinized to cut lines. But she wonders what her name might be. She has a very strict look, and she wears a pink, flowery kimono, her jet-black hair falls on her back and shoulders perfectly, decorated with a similar clip-on she gave to An-chan. That comb of hers seemed very expensive, though. An-chan wonders what kind of family she belongs to.
She can’t wonder too long as she’s next in line to show her documents and walk through the gates to the next aircraft.
A long, white plane with a golden tint awaits outside, and An-chan can only think of the end of this flight when she finally touches down in France. She’s greeted by a politely smiling staff member. She smiles back, then looks at the numbers above the seats to find hers. It doesn’t take long before she stops in front of her seat and as she looks down, it just so happens that the young woman from the bathroom is sitting in the seat next to the window. Her hands are folded in her lap, back straight against the back of the seat.
“Oh, hello again!” An-chan greets her happily. She honestly doesn’t mind travelling with a somewhat familiar face.
The young woman looks up at her with an almost bored glance. She only nods, then pulls out a book from her bag and completely ignores An-chan. She also ignores the instructions the staff members give before the flight takes off. An-chan herself likes to pay attention to it every time, even though she flies quite regularly. One can never know when you need to act quickly and help your fellow passengers in danger.
She pulls out her own book to read since it doesn’t look like she can hope for company from the young woman. She gave her a fine hair accessory, but she won’t have a conversation. An-chan notes that and does not attempt to bother her. She takes a glance at the book she reads and… it’s a manga?
“Oh, is that The Kan?” she blurts out, even though she just decided not to bother her. But she doesn’t look like the type to read stuff like this. An-chan herself has only heard things about this particular series.
“Yes,” the woman nods, not taking her eyes off the book.
An-chan doesn’t ask any more questions. She reads her own book, orders food at one point during the flight, falls asleep for a couple of hours, then she has another coffee. By the end of the flight she feels jittery and impatient, and all she wishes to do is curl up in her apartment and cry herself to sleep. She doesn’t even care that she’s going to have a roommate! She just wants a hot bath, some nice pastry to eat, and most importantly, sleep.
Ah, she hasn’t felt this grumpy since she was a young child. She’s always well composed, but flights like these can ruin that composure. And the heartbreak doesn’t help.
As the flight touches down, she tries to keep close to the young woman, but she quickly loses sight of her. With a defeated sigh, she walks through all the necessary checks. When she’s finally in a taxi, she takes in the sight of Paris on her way to the address she was given a few weeks before her journey. The taxi driver makes some small talk with her, tells her that her French is really beautiful and that he would like to visit Japan one day. An-chan recommends some nice places before she pays for the ride.
The place is a tall apartment complex, and her flat is on the fifth floor. The photos she saw of it were gorgeous. Three spacious rooms, fully furnished, a nice balcony with cushioned chairs, and the bathrooms are marble tiled with a white bathtub and a separate shower.
An-chan makes her way from the elevator to the apartment door, clutching the paper with the address in her hand just to make sure she doesn’t try to get into someone else’s place in her tired, jetlagged state.
She jiggles the keys in her hand, and just as she’s about to push one into the keyhole, the door swings open, and a commanding voice says to someone:
“I said those boxes go in the bedroom on the right!” Then her head turns as she mumbles, “Useless…”
An-chan meets her eyes. It’s her from the airport! The young woman seems startled for a moment before she regains her composure.
“Oh, you’re my roommate?”
“It does seem to be the case,” An-chan smiles. She does not get a smile back. The woman stands to the side so she can come in.
There are cardboard boxes in the huge living room stacked upon each other, and as An-chan peeks through the slightly open bedroom door on the right, she sees more boxes in there. And all she has are two suitcases, a backpack and a handbag!
The place looks like it’s for the richest of the rich, too. Thanks to An-chan’s job as a designer, and her parents’ help, she can afford it, but considering all of this, her roommate must be insanely rich, too. It’s not like An-chan is insanely rich, but she’s very well off financially.
She quickly disappears into the room on the left. Door closed behind her, she stands in silence for a second before she drops herself onto the bed with clothes on that she hasn’t changed for almost an entire day. She feels sweaty and sticky and dirty, her body heavy as she sinks into the fresh linen.
“How am I gonna unpack…” she mumbles into the blanket.
She brings herself to unpack, though, mainly because she needs fresh pyjamas to sleep in. And since the weather is quite warm at this time of the year, she chooses cotton shorts and a tank top. She packed a few towels, too, just in case the ones in the apartment are not to her liking. She grabs one and walks into the bathroom. As she stands under the warm water in the shower, she can faintly hear her roommate giving out a few more orders. Ten or fifteen minutes pass and the orders finally stop.
Hair freshly washed and skin smelling like a garden of flowers, An-chan walks out of the bathroom to find her roommate putting plates and such into the kitchen cabinets.
“They didn’t top the cabinets with those?” she asks.
“They did, but they looked dull in the pictures so I brought my own. Please use these,” she says in the same commanding voice she used with the men that brought her boxes up to the flat. “I am not willing to set eyes on those pieces.”
An-chan doesn’t comment on that. The cutlery in the drawers, the plates and bowls and mugs all look like they’re part of a big set. A big, very expensive set. Is she an aristocrat or what? Judging by her mannerisms, she’s higher class than An-chan. She just hopes to god this woman isn’t a stuck up, self-centered brat living on mummy and daddy’s money.
“So what brings you to Paris?” An-chan tries to make conversation as she takes a finely crafted, red cup with cherry blossoms painted on it. She boils water for some tea. While she’s busy with that, she opens the fridge to find it filled with cooked food.
“I had the maids cook us food,” the woman explains. Maids?! “I was not going to eat convenience store food until we got to go shopping tomorrow. Also don’t worry too much about chores and such, I have a butler coming. Unless, of course, you don’t want him to touch your room. I value privacy.”
An-chan only blinks as a wave of shock washes over her. The kettle is done boiling water so she pours tea, leaving the food for now.
“How come you have so many staff working for you?”
“Do you not?” the woman shoots back with a confused look. “I will be opening my own bakery in a couple of days, I can not waste time doing idle things like chores and cooking. I plan on spending most of my time in the shop, too.”
An-chan takes a seat at the table and so does her roommate.
“A bakery sounds nice!” she comments, sipping her tea. “I can do chores when you can’t, so don’t worry about paying for maids and butlers.”
“Oh, I’m not the one paying,” she waves dismissively. An-chan blinks. Of course, she isn’t the one paying… “My parents will take care of that so I can focus on my career.”
An-chan sighs with a small smile. To think that in only a few days, she went from telling Ricchan’s neighbour to take good care of him, to having a proper aristocrat for a roommate in Paris… Her days surely won’t be boring with this woman.
“Oh, how rude of me!” An-chan gasps as she realises she never even introduced herself. “My name is Kohinata An. What about you?”
The woman stands up to pour tea. When she sits back down, she doesn’t look up as she sips her beverage.
“Usami Kaoruko.”
An-chan notes the name with a smile. Until it hits her. Usami… Usami?!
Life has a good sense of humour. Yes, she gathered that this woman is rich . No wonder she is. She’s straight from the Usami family! No way, no way, no way!
An-chan tries her hardest to look composed while she panics inside, heart racing against her chest and chills running down her spine. Usami Kaoruko sips her tea idly before putting the cup down.
“I’ll head into the shower. There are two bathrooms, by the way. I’d like us to not share them.”
An-chan doesn’t even have a chance to respond before Usami Kaoruko disappears behind the bathroom door. With shock still sitting on her shoulders like a heavy burden, An-chan finishes her tea and goes into her own room. She drops herself onto the bed like she did when she arrived, staring at the ceiling.
How should she even address a person like Usami Kaoruko? Is ‘Usami-san’ even enough? She seems to act high and mighty and important, her mannerism resembles sternness with a hint of rudeness. She knows her place exactly in this world, and it looks like she might want An-chan to stick to her place, too. And An-chan has no intentions of crossing this woman.
She falls into a deep, refreshing slumber, and when her eyes flutter open, gentle sunshine flows through the velvet curtains. She rolls on the bed stretching, her stomach grumbling as she realises she hasn’t had any dinner last night.
She changes out of her pyjamas and fixes her hair into a high bun. Excitement shoots through her as she thinks of what she’s going to do today before she would be back at work tomorrow.
An-chan has always been fond of Paris. The pastry shops, River Seine, Louvre Museum! Maybe she will take a walk and have breakfast outside. As she takes a step out of the room, the smell of fresh coffee and food hits her. She finds a maid in the kitchen.
“Oh,” she exclaims in surprise.
“Good morning, Kohinata-sama!”
Sama?!
“Ah, uh, good morning!”
An-chan has no idea how to act. Her eyes settle on the freshly cooked breakfast on the table.
“Please, sit! If you have any requests, please don’t hesitate to let me know!”
She tends to chores, and An-chan, having absolutely no idea what to say, eats the food. It tastes beyond delicious, satisfying her cravings for something that wasn’t airport sandwiches and cheap coffees. When she’s done, she looks at the maid.
“Where is Usami-san?”
The maid turns around with a polite smile.
“Usami-sama has gone out for the day to set up her new cake shop. She won’t be back until the evening.”
An-chan nods. She seems to have serious plans with that shop. And An-chan has her own plan with her career here in Paris.
After breakfast, she leaves to walk the streets of the city. The air is filled with chatter and the sidewalks are somewhat crowded. People are either shopping, walking idly or rushing to work, cafés and little restaurants are packed even this time in the morning.
She decides to take a walk next to the river first, the warm sunlight glistening on its surface. As she walks, she happens to come by a shop that seems to be newly built and not yet open, but from the wide open door, she can hear a very familiar, commanding voice.
“Yes, I need all of that fresh early in the morning tomorrow, ready for the open,” Usami Kaoruko says to a middle aged man dressed in chef attire. “I will be here from six o’clock in the morning. I need it to be the highest quality. Everything clear?”
The chef and several others next to him nod with serious expressions. An-chan contemplates whether or not she should take a step forward and say hi to her roommate. But looking at her face, she looks focused, and An-chan doesn’t want to bother her. So she walks on, but Usami’s voice follows.
“Kohinata, good morning!”
An-chan stops.
“Oh, good morning, Usami-san!”
“What are your plans for today?”
An-chan can tell by her voice that she might get stuck here if she doesn’t come up with a convincing plan for the day. All she wanted was to enjoy Paris. But no, she ‘s not good at lying, and Usami would catch her on that in a second.
“Not much. Why?”
“Can you, please, help me with the last of the decorations?”
An-chan takes a step into the shop. It is still a bit unruly, but most things seem to have a place. A long, glass counter with three shelves stands in front of her, probably where the cakes will go when they’re all baked tomorrow morning. Behind the counter is a door that seems to be leading to the kitchen, and in front of the counter is a small space. It’s not a big shop and it doesn’t seem to be intended for dining in. An-chan spots a new, shiny gray coffee machine, paper cups and lids stacked next to it in neat rows, small bags of coffee beans under the shelf with carton boxes.
Usami hands her a potted plant.
“Put it on that shelf by the door please. I need this place to look as warm and welcoming as possible. You have seen a cake shop before, right? I have other potted plants, so please make sure they look neat and orderly!”
That’s all she says before she disappears to the back, and An-chan, with a defeated sigh, gets to work. Her plans for the morning are gone, so she might as well look around her roommate’s shop while she organises plants onto shelves. The walls are peach coloured and the place is well lit with huge windows, the shelf units are all pushed against the two walls on either side of the long counter. Small lamps are hanging from the ceiling above the counter.
An-chan makes sure that all the plants are sitting on their designated spots neatly. Some of them are small succulents, some of them are bright green ferns, and a jade plant seems to be sitting just next to the door.
Once she’s done with the plants, she stands at the counter awkwardly, not knowing what to do until Usami comes back.
“Oh, you’re done, Kohinata. Good, good.”
“What goes on those shelves?” An-chan points at the other shelf units across from the ones she just put the plants on.
“I’m glad you mentioned it!” Usami’s eyes light up instantly as she rushes around and comes back with some small boxes. “Candles. Boxes of them, numbered candles, and other birthday and celebratory decorations. I need them on those shelves. Please make sure you organise them by themes.”
She disappears again to the back area, and An-chan, with another defeated sigh, gets to work. It’s almost lunch time when she finishes. Usami comes back with her handbag, keys jingling in her hand.
“You finished? Good. Come with me, please.”
An-chan swallows a snarky comment about her not even thanking her for the help. She follows Usami down the street and soon they stop in front of a fancy, expensive looking restaurant. An-chan feels a little flustered as they take a step in, a smartly dressed young man takes them to a table. I’m not even dressed for a place like this! , she rubs her arms anxiously, looking herself up and down. She has a pair of shorts on with a sleeveless shirt. Not exactly fancy restaurant attire.
“I know this is quite short notice, but I hope you don’t mind,” Usami says, holding a menu in her hands. “Please order whatever you like, the meal is on me as a thank you for your help.”
When An-chan wanted a thank you, this is not what she had in mind! She will not complain, however. It’s not that she doesn’t know etiquette in a restaurant like this, but the invitation was indeed short notice. She tries to regain her composure, though, and when a waiter comes, she orders some champagne. Usami follows her lead.
“So, uh, how old are you anyway?” An-chan asks. Usami looks awfully young, but she can’t be that young if she’s opening her own cake shop outside of the country.
“Twenty-three,” she answers matter-of-factly. “What about you, Kohinata?”
“Ah, uh, almost twenty-seven.”
Usami raises her eyebrows, looking a little surprised.
“I thought you would have been the same age as I am.”
An-chan chuckles. She has no idea how to respond. Their drink comes and they order food, too. While they wait, she tries to make small talk.
“So, you like manga?”
“Not particularly.”
“Oh,” An-chan sips her champagne. “I thought you did as you were reading The Kan on the plane.”
“Someone who is dear to me likes that series very much,” she answers somewhat vaguely. “And I invited the author to Paris to do his research for his work.”
Another wave of shock, one like yesterday, washes over An-chan.
“You know famous people?!”
“I know him through the person that is dear to me.” Usami takes a sip of her champagne, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear gracefully. “I want to make sure…”
She cuts herself off abruptly, and An-chan understands clearly that this isn’t something Usami wishes to talk about. She smiles sympathetically.
“I have met a couple authors myself,” she tells her, mostly to show that she can relate. “I also met them…”
Through Ricchan…
“...through the person that is dear to me.”
She clutches onto her own lap, eyes turned downward as Ricchan’s smiley face flashes in front of her eyes.
“Look at us, being sad in an expensive restaurant over some boys,” Usami sighs. “Although he isn’t just… some boy. Anyway.”
An-chan looks up and she suddenly remembers Usami’s words from yesterday. She repeats it out loud.
“‘I know the face of a heartbroken girl when I see it’. That’s what you said to me yesterday. You knew it because…”
“Because I know what it’s like.” Usami sighs, taking another sip of her drink. An-chan does the same, her chest aching. She can barely stop the tears. “He likes someone else, huh?”
An-chan turns her gaze away, looking at the people dining around them. She then looks back at her roommate who seems to be playing with the neatly folded napkin on the table.
“Yes. He does.”
A smile appears on Usami Kaoruko’s face, and that stern, pale face of hers becomes less doll-like, and more human, her beautiful features suddenly warming up. Although her smile is sad, she raises her glass towards An-chan for a toast.
“Well, here’s to us. To two fine young women letting go of their beloved and trying anew in Paris!”