7 Days Romance

"Hi! I'm Edward and I'll be your private tour guide for the entire week! Nice to meet you, Mr. Christian, and welcome to Sapporo!"

The man sitting on the couch with a cat on his lap, stroking it softly, stared at the television with an expression as cold as the snow piling up outside of his four-bedroom apartment. It is snowy wintertime in Sapporo and covering the entire living room is the blinding light coming from the screen, hitting his face with it as he watched quietly the news broadcasting live about a certain man named Edward and his said to be fiancé. With all the blabbering on the television, he can still hear him say it at the back of his mind, "Welcome to Sapporo!" with a cheerful voice. He put down the cat beside him and got up, walked sluggishly towards the kitchen, and yanked the refrigerator door, creating a slight shake inside. The uninterested man snatched a beer from the door bin and swallowed greedily the bitter juice making him scowl in an instant then returned to his seat and gulps another as he listened to the clapping and cheering when the pair announced a wedding to take place three months from now.

As gloomy as the weather is, his resentment overflowed, and just rolled his eyes at it.

"This kid, who would've thought. I was his first you know." He mumbled with an irritated hiss as he glances at the smiling pair again looking at each other as if true love exists, at least not for him.

He was basking in his bitter world when his phone which was on the side drawer rang. The surprised man with a raised brow drank down another sip before putting it on the table in front of him and reached for his shouting mobile, answering in an inactive tone.

"Christian speaking."

"Mr. Christian, it's me, Levi.."

"Oh. Yes?"

"Mr. John wants to talk to you about a client and urges you to call him as soon as possible."

The man puckered about the sudden news, rubbing his nose with his finger out of irritation.

"In this late hour? You guys couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

"I apologize, Mr. Christian, but, my boss's orders."

"And who does he think I am? I'll call him tomorrow. Gosh, these people!"

Just like that, the irritated man ended the call and switched off the television not wanting to hear another joyous statement about his used to be "friend", then waddled to his bedroom. Still grumbling to himself, he laid down on his comfy bed in pitch-black surroundings, remembering what happened four years ago on that radiant summer day when he, a broken-hearted guy went on a vacation and met the innocent and lively Edward, who back then was the complete opposite of what he is now. As he closes his eyes, the man's impressive profile hits him as well as the things they did together, from Edward being just a tour guide to them becoming friends, but with benefits. A quick getaway for a troubled man who only wanted to forget a painful separation.

"Chris, I think I have fallen for you."

Same words, the same phrases that keep reciting in his drowsy mind as if the man is whispering it in his ears. He can hear him repeating it in his deep and alluring voice like a roller coaster going around slowly that gives tickles inside his body.

Christian finally managed to fall senseless, completely hidden in his downy comforter while wiggling beside him is his short-legged cat, Jian Gou.

Every night, his dream sails him back to four years ago. Like in a love film, the setting is always flawless, the characters portray perfection and the story flows according to what his mind craves. Almost every night, he lives in that illusion his psyche rolls for him but then, of course, movies always have an ending and mostly happy ones but for him, it's not always like that because the moment he opens his eyes, his nightmares come to be.

Before everything fell to what they are now, he was in a complicated but happy relationship with his long-time boyfriend, Darren. An unrestricted, successful fashion designer and wedding planner from Singapore, Christian felt like his life was perfect even though they both kept their romance personal because of his lover's affluent background as a son of a CEO, people are quick to judge and he wants nothing to do with it. Until one day, news broke out of them being homosexuals and supposedly in a relationship which made most of the people in the county furious, dragging his name to every nasty controversy they can think of. Worse, his lover denied him and left without saying anything to him but what destroyed him to the core was that, after that time when all of the chaos was happening, he found that Darren was already in a relationship with a woman, an actress named Lulu.

His happiness came crashing down including his career which he worked hard to earn. Luckily, there were still a few people who stayed behind him and never left his side which gave him a slight ray of hope and courage to continue. After that agonizing breakup, that's when he decided to go away for a while, booked a flight to Japan, and visited Sapporo which one of his friends suggested.

And there, he met him. The man who for him, was just someone to cover that hole inside him at that time but then, never left his mind ever since. He was in despair and needed something or rather, someone to make him forget even for just a week.

He returned to Singapore without saying goodbye to him after another issue came about between them and that's when he realized that maybe being with a person like him, is no good after all and decided to stay away from serious relationships for good.

He tried to repair what was left of his career and thankfully got back on his knees slowly but surely and never mentioned again the names he once knew. And a year ago, he returned to Japan to open up another branch in Sapporo for his clothing collections which are wedding gowns and tuxedos. The man is quite popular with celebrities and those with wealth as his name began to spread all over the country, not only for his spectacular work but for his seriously beautiful face and captivating aura.

Thin beams of daylight pass in between the goblet drapery covering the wooden sliding door leading to the terrace of the man's master bedroom who was sleeping comfortably like a baby, still lost in his dream. It finally ended when a soft paw patted his cold cheeks which instantly woke up his senses, forcing his saggy eyes to open fully. He smiled upon catching a glimpse of his cat's broad yellow eyes as if telling him to stand already, pulling the furry creature closer to him and giving it a gentle tickle on the neck. The soft purr of his adorable pet made his morning start a little bit better and proceeded to stretch his stiff body while letting out a big yawn. His teary eyes shifted to look at the tiny glow enacting through the drapes, indicating a new day that he doesn't look forward to for he is not a morning person.

He looked away and sat up still very sleepy then clutched his fingers together, pushing them outward quite rough, finally breaking away from somnolence.

The still weary man reached for his cat walked around the bed and stood up, pulled his jacket which was on the chair next to his bed, and sauntered to the living room to feed the expressionless creature hanging from his arms. The first thing he does after waking up is put on music to loosen up a bit, not a lively song though, but a melodramatic one that he thinks suits his life best.

He hummed to the song as he puts down the cat then walked to the kitchen to look for the cat food on the lower cabinet. After giving plentiful grub to his pet, the not-so-spirited man heated some water and grabbed some lemon from the fridge, squeezing the juice out into his mug then putting honey on it. He can still lick the bitter taste from the beer he consumed the night before and so went on to the bathroom to wash up first and brush his teeth thoroughly.

No one is living with him except his cat so he doesn't bother looking raw and all in mornings like this one which for him is perfect.

He put on his winter jacket and returned to his bedroom unhurriedly with his cup in his hand, drinking up little by little his early morning beverage. He then pulled aside the thick drapes on both sides and peered outside the tempered glass which was a bit fogged up because of the frigid atmosphere, only to sigh and frown at the thing he couldn't detect properly so he turned his back instead to get his phone then walked to the living room to finish his drink.

Once seated, he crossed his legs and dialed the number of his business partner and good friend, John. He waited for him to answer with a grim face but to his annoyance, no one answered. The man hissed at his friend and tried to dial again but, a different voice answered him.

"John?"

"Hi. This isn't him, he is still asleep."

"Then who are you?"

"Justin, who is this?"

"Justin? That author, Justin?"

"Yes, may I know who I am speaking to please?"

Christian creased for a second, rolled his eyes, and shook his head at his irritation because knowing his colleague for almost ten years now, bringing home a random guy and sometimes associating with big names, is not unusual news for him anymore.

"He knows who I am. Please tell him to call me when he wakes up. Thank you, Mr. Author."

Before the man on the other line can speak, he finished off the call and continued to sip in his drink while listening to the songs playing through the whole place. One at a time, the songs bring back hurtful memories he knows he can't erase even he tries but just to sing along with it as he had lived his life for years now, just go with the flow. He was about to get up and got to the kitchen but then his phone rang in his hand, raising his brow to the name on the screen.

"You little-!"

Christian yelled but the other just laughed at his outrage making him curse under his breath, slouching again on the back pillow.

"Seriously, you get on my nerves sometimes. When will you stop playing around?"

"Now now calm down, Chris, and look who's talking! I didn't fuck the guy, alright? You sound like my twin it's annoying."

"You know, sometimes I wish you are Jarred. Anyway, what did your secretary call me about last night?"

"Harsh! We're twins but I'm not my twin so just try and live with that."

"You wanna fight? Now spit it! what?"

"Gosh, Chris! Why are you always so grumpy? It's still early in the morning! Okay! But, will you relax first?"

Truth hurts but his friend was right. Ever since that day, he became a different person, constantly cranky and sour making people fear him, especially his laborers, and as solace, he drowns himself in alcohol whenever his mind goes into distress mode.

"I'm waiting."

"Well, I'm sure you heard the news already. It's like a tornado swirling around the entire world."

"Go on."

"The upcoming wedding of the socialite and painter Maggie, and Edward, Darren's half, hot, sexy, and gorgeous younger brother. You know, Darren, your ex-"

Christian halted for a moment and sighed a silent one and tried to hide the discomfort behind his authoritarian voice.

"Hm. So?"

"Well, they just landed from London, and they want to meet up. The couple wants you to design their outfit for their upcoming wedding."

"I see. Okay. No problem."

"You sure? I mean, you might see Darren again one of these days, are you not-"

"No. Arrange for the couple to meet me tomorrow. Bye."

"Alright, but, Chris-"

He abruptly ended the conversation and shut his eyes, finally letting out the air that had built up inside his lungs throughout the whole phone call. He was not worried about seeing his dick of an ex for he doesn't care anymore rather, he was worried about seeing the boy he once knew and now the man he had grown to be. He is certain that the guy has a reason as to why they chose him as their designer and doesn't even want to think what but, with all these, he also had his reasons why he chose to leave that day and for him, it was valid.

TO BE CONTINUED..