One Way Ticket
Dec. 15th, 2016 11:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yun_miyakeTitle: One Way Ticket
Pairing: Juntoshi/Sakuraiba (mentioned)
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Ohno decided to go for a trip to Finland in order to take a break after his art exhibition. His secretary had arranged everything including the travel guide who would accompany him during his trip, but it turned out into unexpected events and it seemed going to Finland wasn't just a random decision.
A/N: I never been to Europe (not yet) but I really wanted to visit Helsinki one day. Murakami mentioned the place in his latest novel and it inspired me to write it.
Originally posted in![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
fishing_mj exchange this year and it was written for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kabutenji
I want to thank my beta reader for proof reading this fic, sorry for the error grammars and unlcear vocabularies :)))
ONE WAY TICKET
“Travel agent for Japanese people?” Ohno murmured to his phone.
Nino, his secretary was arranging everything for his travel to Helsinki at the following week “Is there anything special in that country?” he asked while adjusting his glasses.
“You can see aurora, if you’re lucky enough and there are many lakes,” Nino said as if going halfway around the globe and finding nothing was just a tiny problem. “You decide, I can cancel your flight and your hotel in case you change your mind.”
“Maybe it’s good to travel far enough for a while where nobody knows me, don’t you think so?” Ohno glanced at the calendar on his wall; his schedule was messed up because of the little accident on his last art exhibition at the town hall. A joint on his right wrist was misplaced and it meant he couldn’t paint anything for the whole three months. Nino jokingly said that it was a blessing since Ohno never get any holidays for himself in the past seven years. His days were all about work, exhibitions, business trips, and working dinners. No matter how beautiful the places he visited, he couldn’t relax and enjoy them.
When Nino brought the idea to travel to Europe, Ohno agreed without even really thinking about it. He had been to Berlin and Rome, but he never got a chance to visit the other places and this time was a nice timing.
“So, are you still on the plan?” Nino asked.
“Yeah, go ahead, I’ll leave it to you, thanks, Nino.”
“You’re welcome and don’t forget my souvenir- a nice and expensive one, okay?” Nino hung up.
Ohno leaned back on the chair and closed his eyes; he was tired from the exhibition and it was time to go to bed. He still needed to meet one of the owners of the gallery tomorrow morning and it wasn’t the most pleasant thing to do with a bended wrist.
***
“Safe flight,” Nino said while handing him the reservation for his Helsinki trip. He sent Ohno to the airport and promised to take care of his cat. So sweet of him, Ohno thought, even though Ohno already told him that he didn’t need to take him to the airport since it was a personal matter.
It was an enjoyable long flight where he watched many movies along the way, drank two glasses of wine and slept. The Airbus A380 finally lowered, heading to Helsinki Airport, Ohno checked his reflection on his phone screen, adjusting his hair, wearing his glasses and circling the scarf around his neck. The stewardess had warned them that the outside air was quite chilly and a little bit misty.
He shouldered his rucksack and stepped his feet towards the arrival hall. One thing he was amazed about himself was he barely had a jetlag no matter how far he travelled. His internal clock seemed to adapt to any time zone very well, or maybe he was just a light sleeper. Whichever it was, Ohno liked it since he didn’t need to be sleepy all day during his trip.
He waited for his luggage at the business class lounge while adjusting his watch to the local time. It was already 15 minutes passed 8 pm. He didn’t like cold places that much, if only Nino could have arranged him to travel to the southern islands, but he couldn’t blame the secretary after all since he was the one who agreed to travel here without a second thought.
Ohno activated his phone and searched for any Wi-Fi connection, he sent an email to Nino, saying he was already in Helsinki, safe and sound. Then he looked around. Nino said that the travel guide would pick him up in the airport and take him to the hotel. The exit gate was still far away. Ohno dragged his luggage and walked across the arrival hall. Everyone around him was tall and blond. A little worrisome thought sneaked into his heart: what if the guide couldn’t find him? What if he mistaken Ohno with somebody else? His English wasn’t that good to help him communicate with local people. He should have asked Nino the details before his departure instead of leaving everything in Nino’s hand. He didn’t even have a photograph of the person who would pick him up. How dumb.
When he reached the arrival gate, there was no one carrying his name placard. He was about to return inside and made a phone call to Japan when somebody called his name.
“Ohno Satoshi-san.”
He turned around to find a man standing tall in front of him. He was Japanese, there was no doubt about it and he looked somewhat familiar to Ohno.
“Welcome to Helsinki, I hope you had a pleasant flight,” he continued in Japanese while taking the luggage from Ohno’s hand.
Ohno didn’t move, still trying to recognize the man’s face. He had known him since a long time, but the memory was vague. The man was taller than Ohno; he had nice wide eyes and beautiful eyelashes, his hair was brown and curly. He wore a checkered shirt under his tweed jacket; his appearance didn’t suit any description of a travel guide employee.
“Matsujun?” Ohno finally found his name after searching at the back of his mind.
“I thought you forgot me,” the man winked and led his way towards the pick-up zone.
“Haaaa??” Ohno couldn’t believe it. Not here, in a completely foreign country. Not Jun. Anybody but Jun, please, he screamed in his head and swore to kill Nino as he returned to Japan.
He followed Jun’s steps in silence, still overwhelmed with surprise of seeing the man again after more than ten years. This man was not Jun, perhaps he was just someone who looked exactly like Jun, maybe Ohno was too tired from travelling that he began imagining things.
“Here we are, please get in.” Jun gestured to him to enter the car while he took care of his luggage. Ohno climbed the Fortuner and fastened his seatbelt; he still couldn’t grasp it well. Jun in Helsinki and working as a travel guide – what the hell is going on here?
“We’ll be heading to your hotel now,” Jun said while starting the engine and fastening his own seatbelt, “Do you want to have some dinner first?” he asked.
“No, I’m not hungry,” Ohno replied, locking his gaze to Jun’s back. “Are you really Matsujun?” Ohno asked without thinking.
“Yes,” Jun answered, turning his head to Ohno and smiled. “I heard that you’re now a super famous artist in Japan,” he continued.
“That’s not true,” Ohno mumbled, feeling the heat climbed to his cheeks. “I….it’s nice to see you again.”
“More to your surprise, right?” Jun said, showing Ohno his perfect front teeth. “I was surprised when I found your name on my guest list, never thought that you will visit Helsinki. Your secretary, Ninomiya explained to me that you had a little injury in your right hand and told me not to bring you to the extreme spot. Well, it seems that you won’t go for skiing or something close to that.”
“Er, yeah,” Ohno replied shortly. The Jun he knew ten years ago wasn’t as talkactive as now; he wasn’t as handsome as now, either. The Jun he knew was the bullied kid – well, Ohno was one of the bullies after all, and Jun was kind of their eternal victim. He remembered calling Jun “mantis” because he was too skinny. How could he grow up into this figure?
“You haven’t changed,” Jun commented.
Did he say that in order to make Ohno comment that he had changed a lot? A lot wouldn’t be enough; this man called Matsumoto Jun had transformed from an ugly little worm to a beautiful butterfly. Speaking of butterfly, Ohno felt them fluttering in his stomach now – for more than one reason.
“Thank you,” was all Ohno could say. He wanted to get out of this car as soon as possible and sleep. He hoped what he had saw was just a dream.
***
The phone on his side table rang loudly.
“Ohno-san, are you awake?”
Ohno slowly opened his eyes and looked at the digital clock on the table: 9 in the morning. He clutched the phone on his right hand, trying to collect his thoughts. He was in Helsinki hotel, which Jun had arranged, and today he would go for a tour around the city, to museums particularly.
“I’m awake, yeah,” Ohno murmured to the phone, his eyes were still too heavy and his head denied to fully support him. He was still half-dreaming about Jun. “I’ll be ready in ten, no, fifteen minutes.”
He washed his face, shaved quickly, brushed his teeth and changed his clothes. He checked his reflection on the mirror once again before leaving his room. Jun’s image from yesterday was still remained in his head. He was far from the image of mantis. Instead, he looked like an actor - a well-fashioned actor.
“Morning,” Jun greeted him from one of the sofas at the lobby. He wore a nice hat today with long coat and a scarf around his neck.
Ohno gulped, he looked like a damn clumsy clown compared to overdressed Jun before him. He mumbled a reply and headed to the hotel exit with Jun behind him.
“Did you get a nice sleep?” Jun asked him.
“Yeah,” Ohno answered shortly.
“Wait a minute, I’ll get our car,” he said and disappeared from Ohno’s sight. The latter rubbed his hands together, the air was far colder than last night. He remembered a scene from his school era when he bullied Jun in the middle of winter. He and his friends forced him to take a cold shower at the school bathroom and laughed at him when he shivered like crazy, not mentioning that he lent Jun his jacket afterwards.
“Ohno-san.” Jun had finally come. He opened the door for Ohno and gestured him to enter.
“Thanks. May I sit in the front seat?” Ohno asked.
“You’re my guest,” Jun said, “You can’t sit in the front.”
“It’s okay. I get kind of dizzy when I sit at the back,” Ohno lied and got in the car next to Jun.
“How long have you been here?” Ohno asked when they left the hotel lobby. He could feel the heat crawled to his cheeks again, but he wanted to talk to Jun, he wanted to know the man and maybe apologize for what he had done during their school era.
“This is my fifth year,” Jun answered, “I came here as an exchange student and decided to stay. This is a nice place to live, not too many people and I love the weather. If you like, we can visit the cottage in the mountain and fish at the lake nearby. What do you think?”
“I don’t think I have enough time,” Ohno mumbled. He was only here for a week and must return to Japan to arrange some meeting with the galleries, something he couldn’t entrust to Nino.
“Just for one night,” Jun said cheerfully, “The cottage owner is my old friend. He’s Japanese, too, but soon would change his citizenship to Finnish. He would be very happy if a well-known artist like you would pay him a visit.”
“I’m not that famous, you’re exaggerating,” Ohno said while turning his head to Jun whose face looked even more handsome in the daylight.
Jun drove his car to the first museum they wanted to visit and let Ohno take a look to all of the art items. The paintings were incredible. Ohno even spent more than half an hour in front of an abstract painting. He loved abstract, it gave him special feelings and he could spend a day analyzing it. However, today, he still had three more museums to visit and he hadn’t had his breakfast yet.
They ate pizza in the afternoon and even though Jun denied at first to eat at the same table with Ohno since it wasn’t proper for the guest and a travel guide, he finally agreed when Ohno insisted.
“You’re not an ordinary travel guide, aren’t you?” Ohno said, wiping his hand with the wet towel.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re only taking high class guests. It makes us equal, I mean, I’m not that high class and I consider you as my old friend, errr I mean…”
“High school sucked,” Jun said, but he was smiling slightly, “I thought of quitting school many times.”
“Was it because of my stupid groups?”
Jun hesitated for a moment and shook his head. “Perhaps, but there was a more proper reason to quit high school.”
“I’m sorry for causing such troubles to your life,” Ohno mumbled.
“You’re only following your friend. Maybe you weren’t that evil,” Jun said while sipping his Coke. “Meeting you here is unbelievable. I was surprised when I saw you at the airport.”
Ohno wanted to say that he was more surprised to see Jun in such pretty appearance, but he held himself from saying so.
They ate pizza in silence and continued to the next museum, Jun accompanied him this time. It felt like a date, a delayed date. Back then, Ohno had mercy for Jun and even tried to talk to him, only that Jun was too scared in doing so because his gang would have bullied him more than before. He had some kind of unsaid feelings towards Jun.
Unsaid feelings
Ohno looked at Jun who was now checking out a statue at the corner, his face glowing under the sunshine that peeked through the curtain. It sent an unpleasant prickle to Ohno’s heart. It had been a decade since they last met, but it felt as if he was transferred from his graduation day directly to this day, just to find a super good-looking Jun.
“Jun, can you take days off from your work?” Ohno asked when they returned to the hotel that evening.
“If I take days off, who will be responsible for your remaining trip?”
“We can go as friends, not a customer and a travel guide, it would be much better, what do you say?”
“The car belongs to our agency,” Jun said, “You also reserved it for a week already.”
“We can handle it. I’m interested in visiting the cottage together with you – as friends,” Ohno added.
Jun thought for a while and told Ohno to wait until the next day since he needed to find the right excuse for his sudden absence. They separated, Ohno headed towards his room meanwhile Jun returned to the parking lot. Ohno slid out his phone and looked at Jun’s picture that he took secretly from today’s trip. He smiled at himself and wanted to prolong his stay. Maybe he needed to talk about the details with Nino.
***
He woke up earlier the next day, shaved properly and had breakfast while glancing at his phone every now and then. What if Jun couldn’t make it? What if he was assigned for another guest? What if he decided to leave Ohno to the other person?
Ohno shook his head. He wasn’t supposed to tell Jun to take days off. It was ridiculous. He should have been more professional. What would Nino tell him if he knew that he misused the travel guide?
It was twenty minutes passed eight in the morning, but there was no mail from Jun. Ohno glanced at the hotel entrance, hoping to find Jun’s figure, but all he could see was an old Chinese man who tried to speak to the receptionist in English.
Maybe Jun didn’t get permission and he was too busy to make a phone call, Ohno thought. He decided to leave the restaurant and crossed the lobby when Jun appeared. Ohno barely recognized him; the man had changed his hairstyle (when did he do that?), he wore red-framed sunglasses which color matched his jacket and his boots looked too heavy.
“Hi, sorry I’m late,” he greeted Ohno with a nice broad smile.
“It’s okay,” Ohno replied, “I’ll take my jacket.”
“Can I come in? I need to use the toilet,” Jun said. “You’re no longer my customer, so I think it’s okay for me to do that.”
“Sure,” Ohno nodded, holding himself from negative thoughts that suddenly appeared in his head. He could smell Jun’s perfume when they were inside the lift, somehow drunkening him. Damn, what kind of feeling was this? He had just met Jun two days ago, but his chest always beat in an unpleasant way every time Jun was near him.
He collected his belongings while Jun used his toilet. He had just realized that he didn’t bring a proper bag for a short trip outside the town since his aim was just visiting museums and going to the spot where they could see the aurora lights.
“You left your underwear in the bathtub,” Jun commented as he closed the door behind him.
“What?” Ohno hurriedly entered the bathroom and saw his stupid underwear at the bottom of bathtub. “Shit,” he mumbled, took it and threw it to the trash bin, he could feel his cheeks reddening from embarrassment.
“Sorry about that,” he murmured to Jun who just smiled.
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” he said. “Shall we go now?”
“Sure,” Ohno nodded, grabbing his oversized suitcase and dragged it along the corridor while listening to Jun’s explanation about the cottage on the lakeside that belonged his friend.
“The owner, Sakurai Sho, is a son of Japanese government official. Maybe you’ve heard about his father from Japanese television,” Jun said.
“Maybe, I rarely watch TV,” Ohno shrugged. “But your friend decided to become a Finland citizen?”
“Yeah, he has been living here for six years with his partner who is also Japanese. Sakurai works as a university teacher while his partner is a novelist.”
They reached the parking lot where Jun had parked the rented Mazda. He opened the trunk and helped Ohno with his stuff. They departed, and Jun continued their talk about his Japanese friend, who basically left Japan because he and his father didn’t get along. It was nice to listen to Jun’s voice; it gave no room of boredom.
It took nearly three hours to Hämeenlinna where they planned to have lunch before continuing to Sakurai’s cottage located on the side of Lake Vanajavesi. Hämeenlinna was a very beautiful city with few tourists. They met a few Dutch at the restaurant who spoke with rapid speed.
“It’s my third time here,” Jun said. “My guests usually visit the Northern Part of Finland instead of the Southern part.”
“I envy you for living in such a beautiful place,” Ohno said, giving Jun a stern look to mask how Jun’s beauty was slowly affecting him.
“There’s a breadcrumb on your chin,” Jun said, reaching out to wipe Ohno’s chin. Ohno’s heart skipped a beat as Jun’s face was very close to him.
“T-thanks,” he stammered.
They continued their trip after lunch, were welcomed by pine trees on either side of the road along the way to Sakurai’s cottage. They finally spotted the lake, its calm water reflected the pine forest. Ohno couldn’t help himself smiling in amazement of the beautiful scenery beforehim and a beautiful Jun beside him-a perfect combination.
“That is Sakurai’s cottage.” Jun pointed to the wooden building located by the lakeside about 300 meters from them. There were two other buildings on its left side that belonged to a retired army according to Jun.
Jun parked his car and got down, Ohno following him. They walked across the yard and found a man sitting at the veranda, reading.
“Matsujun, you made it, welcome,” he put down his book and welcomed his guests. The man’s appearance was so pleasant, he had a wide bright smile and childish look on his face.
“Aiba-kun, long time no see. How are you?” Jun beamed and gave the man a brief hug. “I brought an artist to your cottage,” he gestured to Ohno.
“I know you,” Aiba approached Ohno and gave him a hug like what he gave Jun as if they already knew each other well. “I read your profile on an online magazine, I never imagined that you would be here in my house.”
“Er, thanks,” Ohno grinned at Jun for Aiba’s exaggerating welcome. He wondered whether living in Finland for such a long time had changed people’s point of view.
“Come in,” Aiba invited them to a large living room with many antique jars in various sizes. “Sho-kun is still out for groceries. He gestured to them to sit down. “Coffee, tea?”
“Coffee,” Ohno and Jun answered at the same time.
Ohno looked around. This was a perfect place to live if you were seeking for inner peace. He could see the lake from the living room window, a few birds flying over its surface looking for prey. Ohno wished he could stay here and not have to return to Japan. He looked at Jun whose eyes were surprisingly fixed on him. The man smiled and followed his gaze outside.
“You look calm for the first time since you arrived here,” Jun mumbled.
“Do I?” Ohno replied. “This is a perfect place to paint,” he continued.
“Did you bring your canvas?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Ohno sighed, wishing he had brought something here, a small canvas would have been enough. But his right hand was injured and he had no intention to paint here – and now he regretted his clumsiness.
“Here, your coffee.” Aiba put down a cup of hot coffee each in front of them, its smell floating inside that living room, sending a pleasant atmosphere to them.
“We have a little problem,” Aiba said, joining them at the couches. “One of the guest rooms is under repair, a leaked roof. I’m afraid that both of you need to share a room.”
“Oh,” Ohno glanced at Jun who gave Aiba a “that’s no problem” look.
“Are you okay with that?” Jun asked him.
“Er, we have no choice.” Ohno sipped his coffee, avoiding Jun’s gaze. It was out of his calculation, not that he complained, but sleeping in the same room with Jun was too much.
“Sho-kun is back,” Aiba said as they heard the car engine from the front yard. Aiba opened the door for his partner whose smile widened as he saw both of them. He was a good-looking man with nice black hair and well-trained muscles. Aiba helped him with groceries and made another cup of coffee for Sho.
“Welcome,” Sho said, shaking their hands. “It’s an honor to have you here,” he spoke to Ohno.
“You’re all are exaggerating. I’m a nobody,” Ohno said.
Sho laughed. “But, still, we’re so glad to have guests from our home country.”
They talked for a while and as dinnertime approached, Aiba started to prepare. Jun offered to help in the kitchen while Ohno and Sho were having some beers outside. They were surrounded by darkness and as a result, they could see the blinking stars of the northern sky.
“You’re lucky to come here in winter, the aurora could be seen perfectly,” Sho said while sipping his beer. “Maybe it can give you some inspiration in painting.”
“If only Finland wasn’t this far,” Ohno mumbled, imagining that he would be in Japan the following week.
“Nothing’s far enough nowadays,” Sho said, saluting him.
They ate a spectacular dinner: salad, homemade steak, pasta, and Finnish bread. They went to bed nearly midnight and Ohno couldn’t help feeling more awkward than he already did.
Jun had changed into polka-dotted pajamas that looked bigger than him, but it suited him perfectly.
“I’ll sleep on the couch,” Ohno mumbled.
“The bed is large enough for both of us,” Jun said, climbing into the bed, lying down his head on the pillow, and waiting for Ohno to join him.
Ohno slowly reached the bed and lay down beside Jun, hoping that his rapid heartbeat wouldn’t get into Jun’s ears. He reminded himself that they slept together because of a special circumstance, nothing more. Besides, neither of them had expected this.
Jun didn’t need a long time to sleep. Meanwhile, Ohno couldn’t erase the weird thoughts out of his mind. He imagined Jun, fully naked beside him, reached to his body and invited him closer. He shook his head; it wasn’t the right time to think about such stuff.
When Ohno opened his eyes the next morning, Jun was nowhere to be seen. He slowly adjusted his eyes to the light and looked at the digital clock on the side table; it was nearly 10 am.
He climbed out of bed and walked out of the bedroom. He found Aiba in the kitchen, and the man lifted his head and grinned.
“Good morning, want some coffee? You’ve missed breakfast, though,” the man smiled.
“Where is Jun?” he asked without thinking.
“He is having a walk with the dog,” Aiba answered, lifting his brow in suspicion but said nothing any further.
“Do you know where we can see the aurora lights?” Ohno asked.
“Sure. Sho-kun and I often go together just to see it,” the man beamed, “the air is totally chilly, though.”
“I’m fine with the cold,” Ohno said while sipping the coffee Aiba just brought him. He would like to draw it, even with the simplest utensils he could find. “I need to send some emails to my secretary. I probably need to prolong my stay,” he continued.
“You can use our computer, and by the way, Jun said you were sleeping soundlessly. He took your picture.”
“What?” Ohno almost choked by his coffee. He coughed and couldn’t help himself from blushing.
“Jun is an amateur photographer. He likes taking pictures and he helps us a lot to promote our cottage,” Aiba said, joining Ohno on the dining table. “He mentioned that you guys went to the same high school.”
“Oh, really?” Ohno sipped his coffee again. He hoped that Jun didn’t mention about the bullying he got from Ohno and his friends.
“We’re back,” Jun’s voice was heard from the front yard. Aiba stood up to welcome him while Ohno moved to the corner and began typing a message to Nino.
Jun entered the house, pulled up a chair and sat down beside him. “You should have joined me for fresh air,” he said.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Ohno turned to the man and glanced at the camera that hung around his neck. “Speaking of which, you took my picture, didn’t you?”
“What if I did?”
“Show me.” Ohno tried to reach for the camera from Jun’s hand, but the man shook his head.
“I’ll show you later.” He winked and turned on his camera to take Ohno’s picture. He stood up as Ohno tried to grab his camera again.
***
It was on the third night when he and Jun went together to the spot where they could see the aurora. The night was freezing cold and it didn’t take a long time before Ohno’s fingers went numb as he drew the sketch without any gloves.
“What did Ninomiya say when you told him that you wanted to prolong your stay?” Jun asked. They were sitting next to each other in the tent that they borrowed from Sho; the cold air outside was enough to make them freeze.
“Unhappy,” Ohno said, grinning at Jun. “He gave me two days.”
“Not bad,” Jun commented while resting his head on Ohno’s shoulder. “It’s weird that we met again at a far away country, don’t you think?”
Ohno could feel Jun’s warmth on his left side; it was gentle and wrapped him in such comfort feeling.
“Yes, it’s weird,” Ohno mumbled, looking at his half-finished sketch. He put down the pencil and took Jun’s hand instead. The man let him, burying his face deeper into Ohno’s neck.
“Do you think it’s just the atmosphere which draws us closer?” Jun asked, muffling.
“I don’t really know,” Ohno whispered, afraid that his answer would offend Jun. He barely knew the man and he suspected that maybe Jun had done it with so many people before him. Maybe he loved having an affair with his guests during the trip. The thoughts had sent a wave of pain into Ohno’s chest.
“You’ll forget me by the time you landed in Japan.”
“I won’t,” Ohno gripped Jun’s hand tighter. “I wish I could stay longer.”
“It’s impossible for you, right?”
“Not really, I could work from here.” Ohno thought of Nino as he said that. Nino would never let him leave the country for such reason.
“This is just a temporary feeling,” Jun said, seemed to doubt his own statement, “I mean, you never liked me when we were in high school. I was always the ugly duckling.”
“It’s not true.” Ohno shook his head gently. “That was a long time ago. We’re adults now. There is no room for bullying. Besides, you are different now.”
“On what terms?” Jun asked.
“Too many to count,” Ohno replied, his heart fluttered as Jun parted his lips in sensual way and attempted him to touch them. Ohno couldn’t think straight anymore, and he leaned forward and kissed those lips. He could feel something unleashed from his chest; he deepened his kiss and felt Jun’s breath against him. He had kissed many people before, but none of them tasted like Jun. If the snow weren’t that cold, perhaps Ohno would have stripped Jun in this very tent.
They did make love at the hotel on the night before Ohno’s departure to Japan. It was good as Ohno had imagined and he couldn’t erase Jun’s face off his head for the rest of his flight back home.
***
“Focus, would you?”
Nino reminded him for the nth times as they were heading to the hall where Ohno would be interviewed. He was still jet-lagged – so suddenly – something that never happened before and it was the third day after his arrival in Japan. His head was all cloudy and he wasn’t in the mood for a bloody interview. All he wanted was going back to Helsinki and cradling Jun in his arms again.
“Did you meet some kind of ghost in a Finland forest? Your face looks pale,” Nino commented, taking a better look at his face.
“Perhaps I did.” Ohno smiled at the thought of Jun’s face, “Nino, can you arrange a trip to Helsinki once again?”
“Are you mad, no, it’s impossible with your upcoming schedule.”
“Do something to cancel them.”
“Please tell me the urgent reason for your sudden change of mind,” Nino said, rolling eyes at him as he showed the schedule for the upcoming months. “See? We can’t just cancel them.”
“I guess not.” Ohno shrugged in disappointment and tried to focus his mind to the work he would be doing.
When he got home that evening after completing his endless interview with some magazines and television channels, Ohno checked the unfinished sketch of the aurora he saw together with Jun. His heart fluttered when he remembered the reason why he stopped drawing it. He didn’t want what he had with Jun during his short trip to Helsinki end just like that – it was too good to be end so soon. He massaged his temple as the jetlag still remained badly. He needed to sleep but the sleepy feeling wouldn’t come.
He brought the sketch to his sofa and looked at as if it was the most beautiful painting he had ever made. As far as he remembered, he never drew his paintings abroad, all of them were created in Japan. When he thought about it, maybe he could convince Nino with that reason. He lied down on the couch and put the sketch on his face, trying to recall the scene of Helsinki forest where he and Jun drove together, the lake where he and Jun walked together, and the hotel room where they made love. Maybe Nino was right, maybe Jun was one of the ghosts of the Helsinki forest.
He dozed off, drifting in a weird dream where he and Jun came back at the same place and time. They weren’t in Japan or Finland; it was a warmer place where the flowers began blooming and they were in the middle of it. Ohno’s head was on Jun’s thigh; they were listening to the birds chirping around them.
“We’ll meet again,” Jun said in his low and deep voice.
“When and where? I can’t wait to see you again,” Ohno replied desperately, caressing Jun’s face, welcoming the soft skin under his fingers.
“Soon,” Jun said, landing a kiss on his lips.
The dream felt so real to Ohno that he cursed Nino who called him all of a sudden.
“I just got a new exhibition invitation for you,” Nino said with a sleepy voice.
“You can tell me tomorrow morning when we are in a better mood.” Ohno didn’t try to hide his dislike.
“Well, I thought you wanted to hear this Helsinki project.”
“What? Say it again.”
“Helsinki, Finland’s capital. Should I say one more time?”
Ohno rose off his sofa and made sure that he was fully awake this time. He searched for his calendar, still three months away until the time, he couldn’t hide his excitement when he told Nino to make sure the exhibition last several days and he would definitely prolong his stay this time – maybe for more than a month.
He couldn’t sleep and decided to write an email to Jun, but he didn’t know where to start. There were too many things that he wanted to tell the man, as a result he could only write a sentence.
“I’ll be in Helsinki next three months, can’t wait to see you again.”
The End
Pairing: Juntoshi/Sakuraiba (mentioned)
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Ohno decided to go for a trip to Finland in order to take a break after his art exhibition. His secretary had arranged everything including the travel guide who would accompany him during his trip, but it turned out into unexpected events and it seemed going to Finland wasn't just a random decision.
A/N: I never been to Europe (not yet) but I really wanted to visit Helsinki one day. Murakami mentioned the place in his latest novel and it inspired me to write it.
Originally posted in
fishing_mj exchange this year and it was written for kabutenjiI want to thank my beta reader for proof reading this fic, sorry for the error grammars and unlcear vocabularies :)))
ONE WAY TICKET
“Travel agent for Japanese people?” Ohno murmured to his phone.
Nino, his secretary was arranging everything for his travel to Helsinki at the following week “Is there anything special in that country?” he asked while adjusting his glasses.
“You can see aurora, if you’re lucky enough and there are many lakes,” Nino said as if going halfway around the globe and finding nothing was just a tiny problem. “You decide, I can cancel your flight and your hotel in case you change your mind.”
“Maybe it’s good to travel far enough for a while where nobody knows me, don’t you think so?” Ohno glanced at the calendar on his wall; his schedule was messed up because of the little accident on his last art exhibition at the town hall. A joint on his right wrist was misplaced and it meant he couldn’t paint anything for the whole three months. Nino jokingly said that it was a blessing since Ohno never get any holidays for himself in the past seven years. His days were all about work, exhibitions, business trips, and working dinners. No matter how beautiful the places he visited, he couldn’t relax and enjoy them.
When Nino brought the idea to travel to Europe, Ohno agreed without even really thinking about it. He had been to Berlin and Rome, but he never got a chance to visit the other places and this time was a nice timing.
“So, are you still on the plan?” Nino asked.
“Yeah, go ahead, I’ll leave it to you, thanks, Nino.”
“You’re welcome and don’t forget my souvenir- a nice and expensive one, okay?” Nino hung up.
Ohno leaned back on the chair and closed his eyes; he was tired from the exhibition and it was time to go to bed. He still needed to meet one of the owners of the gallery tomorrow morning and it wasn’t the most pleasant thing to do with a bended wrist.
***
“Safe flight,” Nino said while handing him the reservation for his Helsinki trip. He sent Ohno to the airport and promised to take care of his cat. So sweet of him, Ohno thought, even though Ohno already told him that he didn’t need to take him to the airport since it was a personal matter.
It was an enjoyable long flight where he watched many movies along the way, drank two glasses of wine and slept. The Airbus A380 finally lowered, heading to Helsinki Airport, Ohno checked his reflection on his phone screen, adjusting his hair, wearing his glasses and circling the scarf around his neck. The stewardess had warned them that the outside air was quite chilly and a little bit misty.
He shouldered his rucksack and stepped his feet towards the arrival hall. One thing he was amazed about himself was he barely had a jetlag no matter how far he travelled. His internal clock seemed to adapt to any time zone very well, or maybe he was just a light sleeper. Whichever it was, Ohno liked it since he didn’t need to be sleepy all day during his trip.
He waited for his luggage at the business class lounge while adjusting his watch to the local time. It was already 15 minutes passed 8 pm. He didn’t like cold places that much, if only Nino could have arranged him to travel to the southern islands, but he couldn’t blame the secretary after all since he was the one who agreed to travel here without a second thought.
Ohno activated his phone and searched for any Wi-Fi connection, he sent an email to Nino, saying he was already in Helsinki, safe and sound. Then he looked around. Nino said that the travel guide would pick him up in the airport and take him to the hotel. The exit gate was still far away. Ohno dragged his luggage and walked across the arrival hall. Everyone around him was tall and blond. A little worrisome thought sneaked into his heart: what if the guide couldn’t find him? What if he mistaken Ohno with somebody else? His English wasn’t that good to help him communicate with local people. He should have asked Nino the details before his departure instead of leaving everything in Nino’s hand. He didn’t even have a photograph of the person who would pick him up. How dumb.
When he reached the arrival gate, there was no one carrying his name placard. He was about to return inside and made a phone call to Japan when somebody called his name.
“Ohno Satoshi-san.”
He turned around to find a man standing tall in front of him. He was Japanese, there was no doubt about it and he looked somewhat familiar to Ohno.
“Welcome to Helsinki, I hope you had a pleasant flight,” he continued in Japanese while taking the luggage from Ohno’s hand.
Ohno didn’t move, still trying to recognize the man’s face. He had known him since a long time, but the memory was vague. The man was taller than Ohno; he had nice wide eyes and beautiful eyelashes, his hair was brown and curly. He wore a checkered shirt under his tweed jacket; his appearance didn’t suit any description of a travel guide employee.
“Matsujun?” Ohno finally found his name after searching at the back of his mind.
“I thought you forgot me,” the man winked and led his way towards the pick-up zone.
“Haaaa??” Ohno couldn’t believe it. Not here, in a completely foreign country. Not Jun. Anybody but Jun, please, he screamed in his head and swore to kill Nino as he returned to Japan.
He followed Jun’s steps in silence, still overwhelmed with surprise of seeing the man again after more than ten years. This man was not Jun, perhaps he was just someone who looked exactly like Jun, maybe Ohno was too tired from travelling that he began imagining things.
“Here we are, please get in.” Jun gestured to him to enter the car while he took care of his luggage. Ohno climbed the Fortuner and fastened his seatbelt; he still couldn’t grasp it well. Jun in Helsinki and working as a travel guide – what the hell is going on here?
“We’ll be heading to your hotel now,” Jun said while starting the engine and fastening his own seatbelt, “Do you want to have some dinner first?” he asked.
“No, I’m not hungry,” Ohno replied, locking his gaze to Jun’s back. “Are you really Matsujun?” Ohno asked without thinking.
“Yes,” Jun answered, turning his head to Ohno and smiled. “I heard that you’re now a super famous artist in Japan,” he continued.
“That’s not true,” Ohno mumbled, feeling the heat climbed to his cheeks. “I….it’s nice to see you again.”
“More to your surprise, right?” Jun said, showing Ohno his perfect front teeth. “I was surprised when I found your name on my guest list, never thought that you will visit Helsinki. Your secretary, Ninomiya explained to me that you had a little injury in your right hand and told me not to bring you to the extreme spot. Well, it seems that you won’t go for skiing or something close to that.”
“Er, yeah,” Ohno replied shortly. The Jun he knew ten years ago wasn’t as talkactive as now; he wasn’t as handsome as now, either. The Jun he knew was the bullied kid – well, Ohno was one of the bullies after all, and Jun was kind of their eternal victim. He remembered calling Jun “mantis” because he was too skinny. How could he grow up into this figure?
“You haven’t changed,” Jun commented.
Did he say that in order to make Ohno comment that he had changed a lot? A lot wouldn’t be enough; this man called Matsumoto Jun had transformed from an ugly little worm to a beautiful butterfly. Speaking of butterfly, Ohno felt them fluttering in his stomach now – for more than one reason.
“Thank you,” was all Ohno could say. He wanted to get out of this car as soon as possible and sleep. He hoped what he had saw was just a dream.
***
The phone on his side table rang loudly.
“Ohno-san, are you awake?”
Ohno slowly opened his eyes and looked at the digital clock on the table: 9 in the morning. He clutched the phone on his right hand, trying to collect his thoughts. He was in Helsinki hotel, which Jun had arranged, and today he would go for a tour around the city, to museums particularly.
“I’m awake, yeah,” Ohno murmured to the phone, his eyes were still too heavy and his head denied to fully support him. He was still half-dreaming about Jun. “I’ll be ready in ten, no, fifteen minutes.”
He washed his face, shaved quickly, brushed his teeth and changed his clothes. He checked his reflection on the mirror once again before leaving his room. Jun’s image from yesterday was still remained in his head. He was far from the image of mantis. Instead, he looked like an actor - a well-fashioned actor.
“Morning,” Jun greeted him from one of the sofas at the lobby. He wore a nice hat today with long coat and a scarf around his neck.
Ohno gulped, he looked like a damn clumsy clown compared to overdressed Jun before him. He mumbled a reply and headed to the hotel exit with Jun behind him.
“Did you get a nice sleep?” Jun asked him.
“Yeah,” Ohno answered shortly.
“Wait a minute, I’ll get our car,” he said and disappeared from Ohno’s sight. The latter rubbed his hands together, the air was far colder than last night. He remembered a scene from his school era when he bullied Jun in the middle of winter. He and his friends forced him to take a cold shower at the school bathroom and laughed at him when he shivered like crazy, not mentioning that he lent Jun his jacket afterwards.
“Ohno-san.” Jun had finally come. He opened the door for Ohno and gestured him to enter.
“Thanks. May I sit in the front seat?” Ohno asked.
“You’re my guest,” Jun said, “You can’t sit in the front.”
“It’s okay. I get kind of dizzy when I sit at the back,” Ohno lied and got in the car next to Jun.
“How long have you been here?” Ohno asked when they left the hotel lobby. He could feel the heat crawled to his cheeks again, but he wanted to talk to Jun, he wanted to know the man and maybe apologize for what he had done during their school era.
“This is my fifth year,” Jun answered, “I came here as an exchange student and decided to stay. This is a nice place to live, not too many people and I love the weather. If you like, we can visit the cottage in the mountain and fish at the lake nearby. What do you think?”
“I don’t think I have enough time,” Ohno mumbled. He was only here for a week and must return to Japan to arrange some meeting with the galleries, something he couldn’t entrust to Nino.
“Just for one night,” Jun said cheerfully, “The cottage owner is my old friend. He’s Japanese, too, but soon would change his citizenship to Finnish. He would be very happy if a well-known artist like you would pay him a visit.”
“I’m not that famous, you’re exaggerating,” Ohno said while turning his head to Jun whose face looked even more handsome in the daylight.
Jun drove his car to the first museum they wanted to visit and let Ohno take a look to all of the art items. The paintings were incredible. Ohno even spent more than half an hour in front of an abstract painting. He loved abstract, it gave him special feelings and he could spend a day analyzing it. However, today, he still had three more museums to visit and he hadn’t had his breakfast yet.
They ate pizza in the afternoon and even though Jun denied at first to eat at the same table with Ohno since it wasn’t proper for the guest and a travel guide, he finally agreed when Ohno insisted.
“You’re not an ordinary travel guide, aren’t you?” Ohno said, wiping his hand with the wet towel.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re only taking high class guests. It makes us equal, I mean, I’m not that high class and I consider you as my old friend, errr I mean…”
“High school sucked,” Jun said, but he was smiling slightly, “I thought of quitting school many times.”
“Was it because of my stupid groups?”
Jun hesitated for a moment and shook his head. “Perhaps, but there was a more proper reason to quit high school.”
“I’m sorry for causing such troubles to your life,” Ohno mumbled.
“You’re only following your friend. Maybe you weren’t that evil,” Jun said while sipping his Coke. “Meeting you here is unbelievable. I was surprised when I saw you at the airport.”
Ohno wanted to say that he was more surprised to see Jun in such pretty appearance, but he held himself from saying so.
They ate pizza in silence and continued to the next museum, Jun accompanied him this time. It felt like a date, a delayed date. Back then, Ohno had mercy for Jun and even tried to talk to him, only that Jun was too scared in doing so because his gang would have bullied him more than before. He had some kind of unsaid feelings towards Jun.
Unsaid feelings
Ohno looked at Jun who was now checking out a statue at the corner, his face glowing under the sunshine that peeked through the curtain. It sent an unpleasant prickle to Ohno’s heart. It had been a decade since they last met, but it felt as if he was transferred from his graduation day directly to this day, just to find a super good-looking Jun.
“Jun, can you take days off from your work?” Ohno asked when they returned to the hotel that evening.
“If I take days off, who will be responsible for your remaining trip?”
“We can go as friends, not a customer and a travel guide, it would be much better, what do you say?”
“The car belongs to our agency,” Jun said, “You also reserved it for a week already.”
“We can handle it. I’m interested in visiting the cottage together with you – as friends,” Ohno added.
Jun thought for a while and told Ohno to wait until the next day since he needed to find the right excuse for his sudden absence. They separated, Ohno headed towards his room meanwhile Jun returned to the parking lot. Ohno slid out his phone and looked at Jun’s picture that he took secretly from today’s trip. He smiled at himself and wanted to prolong his stay. Maybe he needed to talk about the details with Nino.
***
He woke up earlier the next day, shaved properly and had breakfast while glancing at his phone every now and then. What if Jun couldn’t make it? What if he was assigned for another guest? What if he decided to leave Ohno to the other person?
Ohno shook his head. He wasn’t supposed to tell Jun to take days off. It was ridiculous. He should have been more professional. What would Nino tell him if he knew that he misused the travel guide?
It was twenty minutes passed eight in the morning, but there was no mail from Jun. Ohno glanced at the hotel entrance, hoping to find Jun’s figure, but all he could see was an old Chinese man who tried to speak to the receptionist in English.
Maybe Jun didn’t get permission and he was too busy to make a phone call, Ohno thought. He decided to leave the restaurant and crossed the lobby when Jun appeared. Ohno barely recognized him; the man had changed his hairstyle (when did he do that?), he wore red-framed sunglasses which color matched his jacket and his boots looked too heavy.
“Hi, sorry I’m late,” he greeted Ohno with a nice broad smile.
“It’s okay,” Ohno replied, “I’ll take my jacket.”
“Can I come in? I need to use the toilet,” Jun said. “You’re no longer my customer, so I think it’s okay for me to do that.”
“Sure,” Ohno nodded, holding himself from negative thoughts that suddenly appeared in his head. He could smell Jun’s perfume when they were inside the lift, somehow drunkening him. Damn, what kind of feeling was this? He had just met Jun two days ago, but his chest always beat in an unpleasant way every time Jun was near him.
He collected his belongings while Jun used his toilet. He had just realized that he didn’t bring a proper bag for a short trip outside the town since his aim was just visiting museums and going to the spot where they could see the aurora lights.
“You left your underwear in the bathtub,” Jun commented as he closed the door behind him.
“What?” Ohno hurriedly entered the bathroom and saw his stupid underwear at the bottom of bathtub. “Shit,” he mumbled, took it and threw it to the trash bin, he could feel his cheeks reddening from embarrassment.
“Sorry about that,” he murmured to Jun who just smiled.
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” he said. “Shall we go now?”
“Sure,” Ohno nodded, grabbing his oversized suitcase and dragged it along the corridor while listening to Jun’s explanation about the cottage on the lakeside that belonged his friend.
“The owner, Sakurai Sho, is a son of Japanese government official. Maybe you’ve heard about his father from Japanese television,” Jun said.
“Maybe, I rarely watch TV,” Ohno shrugged. “But your friend decided to become a Finland citizen?”
“Yeah, he has been living here for six years with his partner who is also Japanese. Sakurai works as a university teacher while his partner is a novelist.”
They reached the parking lot where Jun had parked the rented Mazda. He opened the trunk and helped Ohno with his stuff. They departed, and Jun continued their talk about his Japanese friend, who basically left Japan because he and his father didn’t get along. It was nice to listen to Jun’s voice; it gave no room of boredom.
It took nearly three hours to Hämeenlinna where they planned to have lunch before continuing to Sakurai’s cottage located on the side of Lake Vanajavesi. Hämeenlinna was a very beautiful city with few tourists. They met a few Dutch at the restaurant who spoke with rapid speed.
“It’s my third time here,” Jun said. “My guests usually visit the Northern Part of Finland instead of the Southern part.”
“I envy you for living in such a beautiful place,” Ohno said, giving Jun a stern look to mask how Jun’s beauty was slowly affecting him.
“There’s a breadcrumb on your chin,” Jun said, reaching out to wipe Ohno’s chin. Ohno’s heart skipped a beat as Jun’s face was very close to him.
“T-thanks,” he stammered.
They continued their trip after lunch, were welcomed by pine trees on either side of the road along the way to Sakurai’s cottage. They finally spotted the lake, its calm water reflected the pine forest. Ohno couldn’t help himself smiling in amazement of the beautiful scenery beforehim and a beautiful Jun beside him-a perfect combination.
“That is Sakurai’s cottage.” Jun pointed to the wooden building located by the lakeside about 300 meters from them. There were two other buildings on its left side that belonged to a retired army according to Jun.
Jun parked his car and got down, Ohno following him. They walked across the yard and found a man sitting at the veranda, reading.
“Matsujun, you made it, welcome,” he put down his book and welcomed his guests. The man’s appearance was so pleasant, he had a wide bright smile and childish look on his face.
“Aiba-kun, long time no see. How are you?” Jun beamed and gave the man a brief hug. “I brought an artist to your cottage,” he gestured to Ohno.
“I know you,” Aiba approached Ohno and gave him a hug like what he gave Jun as if they already knew each other well. “I read your profile on an online magazine, I never imagined that you would be here in my house.”
“Er, thanks,” Ohno grinned at Jun for Aiba’s exaggerating welcome. He wondered whether living in Finland for such a long time had changed people’s point of view.
“Come in,” Aiba invited them to a large living room with many antique jars in various sizes. “Sho-kun is still out for groceries. He gestured to them to sit down. “Coffee, tea?”
“Coffee,” Ohno and Jun answered at the same time.
Ohno looked around. This was a perfect place to live if you were seeking for inner peace. He could see the lake from the living room window, a few birds flying over its surface looking for prey. Ohno wished he could stay here and not have to return to Japan. He looked at Jun whose eyes were surprisingly fixed on him. The man smiled and followed his gaze outside.
“You look calm for the first time since you arrived here,” Jun mumbled.
“Do I?” Ohno replied. “This is a perfect place to paint,” he continued.
“Did you bring your canvas?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Ohno sighed, wishing he had brought something here, a small canvas would have been enough. But his right hand was injured and he had no intention to paint here – and now he regretted his clumsiness.
“Here, your coffee.” Aiba put down a cup of hot coffee each in front of them, its smell floating inside that living room, sending a pleasant atmosphere to them.
“We have a little problem,” Aiba said, joining them at the couches. “One of the guest rooms is under repair, a leaked roof. I’m afraid that both of you need to share a room.”
“Oh,” Ohno glanced at Jun who gave Aiba a “that’s no problem” look.
“Are you okay with that?” Jun asked him.
“Er, we have no choice.” Ohno sipped his coffee, avoiding Jun’s gaze. It was out of his calculation, not that he complained, but sleeping in the same room with Jun was too much.
“Sho-kun is back,” Aiba said as they heard the car engine from the front yard. Aiba opened the door for his partner whose smile widened as he saw both of them. He was a good-looking man with nice black hair and well-trained muscles. Aiba helped him with groceries and made another cup of coffee for Sho.
“Welcome,” Sho said, shaking their hands. “It’s an honor to have you here,” he spoke to Ohno.
“You’re all are exaggerating. I’m a nobody,” Ohno said.
Sho laughed. “But, still, we’re so glad to have guests from our home country.”
They talked for a while and as dinnertime approached, Aiba started to prepare. Jun offered to help in the kitchen while Ohno and Sho were having some beers outside. They were surrounded by darkness and as a result, they could see the blinking stars of the northern sky.
“You’re lucky to come here in winter, the aurora could be seen perfectly,” Sho said while sipping his beer. “Maybe it can give you some inspiration in painting.”
“If only Finland wasn’t this far,” Ohno mumbled, imagining that he would be in Japan the following week.
“Nothing’s far enough nowadays,” Sho said, saluting him.
They ate a spectacular dinner: salad, homemade steak, pasta, and Finnish bread. They went to bed nearly midnight and Ohno couldn’t help feeling more awkward than he already did.
Jun had changed into polka-dotted pajamas that looked bigger than him, but it suited him perfectly.
“I’ll sleep on the couch,” Ohno mumbled.
“The bed is large enough for both of us,” Jun said, climbing into the bed, lying down his head on the pillow, and waiting for Ohno to join him.
Ohno slowly reached the bed and lay down beside Jun, hoping that his rapid heartbeat wouldn’t get into Jun’s ears. He reminded himself that they slept together because of a special circumstance, nothing more. Besides, neither of them had expected this.
Jun didn’t need a long time to sleep. Meanwhile, Ohno couldn’t erase the weird thoughts out of his mind. He imagined Jun, fully naked beside him, reached to his body and invited him closer. He shook his head; it wasn’t the right time to think about such stuff.
When Ohno opened his eyes the next morning, Jun was nowhere to be seen. He slowly adjusted his eyes to the light and looked at the digital clock on the side table; it was nearly 10 am.
He climbed out of bed and walked out of the bedroom. He found Aiba in the kitchen, and the man lifted his head and grinned.
“Good morning, want some coffee? You’ve missed breakfast, though,” the man smiled.
“Where is Jun?” he asked without thinking.
“He is having a walk with the dog,” Aiba answered, lifting his brow in suspicion but said nothing any further.
“Do you know where we can see the aurora lights?” Ohno asked.
“Sure. Sho-kun and I often go together just to see it,” the man beamed, “the air is totally chilly, though.”
“I’m fine with the cold,” Ohno said while sipping the coffee Aiba just brought him. He would like to draw it, even with the simplest utensils he could find. “I need to send some emails to my secretary. I probably need to prolong my stay,” he continued.
“You can use our computer, and by the way, Jun said you were sleeping soundlessly. He took your picture.”
“What?” Ohno almost choked by his coffee. He coughed and couldn’t help himself from blushing.
“Jun is an amateur photographer. He likes taking pictures and he helps us a lot to promote our cottage,” Aiba said, joining Ohno on the dining table. “He mentioned that you guys went to the same high school.”
“Oh, really?” Ohno sipped his coffee again. He hoped that Jun didn’t mention about the bullying he got from Ohno and his friends.
“We’re back,” Jun’s voice was heard from the front yard. Aiba stood up to welcome him while Ohno moved to the corner and began typing a message to Nino.
Jun entered the house, pulled up a chair and sat down beside him. “You should have joined me for fresh air,” he said.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Ohno turned to the man and glanced at the camera that hung around his neck. “Speaking of which, you took my picture, didn’t you?”
“What if I did?”
“Show me.” Ohno tried to reach for the camera from Jun’s hand, but the man shook his head.
“I’ll show you later.” He winked and turned on his camera to take Ohno’s picture. He stood up as Ohno tried to grab his camera again.
***
It was on the third night when he and Jun went together to the spot where they could see the aurora. The night was freezing cold and it didn’t take a long time before Ohno’s fingers went numb as he drew the sketch without any gloves.
“What did Ninomiya say when you told him that you wanted to prolong your stay?” Jun asked. They were sitting next to each other in the tent that they borrowed from Sho; the cold air outside was enough to make them freeze.
“Unhappy,” Ohno said, grinning at Jun. “He gave me two days.”
“Not bad,” Jun commented while resting his head on Ohno’s shoulder. “It’s weird that we met again at a far away country, don’t you think?”
Ohno could feel Jun’s warmth on his left side; it was gentle and wrapped him in such comfort feeling.
“Yes, it’s weird,” Ohno mumbled, looking at his half-finished sketch. He put down the pencil and took Jun’s hand instead. The man let him, burying his face deeper into Ohno’s neck.
“Do you think it’s just the atmosphere which draws us closer?” Jun asked, muffling.
“I don’t really know,” Ohno whispered, afraid that his answer would offend Jun. He barely knew the man and he suspected that maybe Jun had done it with so many people before him. Maybe he loved having an affair with his guests during the trip. The thoughts had sent a wave of pain into Ohno’s chest.
“You’ll forget me by the time you landed in Japan.”
“I won’t,” Ohno gripped Jun’s hand tighter. “I wish I could stay longer.”
“It’s impossible for you, right?”
“Not really, I could work from here.” Ohno thought of Nino as he said that. Nino would never let him leave the country for such reason.
“This is just a temporary feeling,” Jun said, seemed to doubt his own statement, “I mean, you never liked me when we were in high school. I was always the ugly duckling.”
“It’s not true.” Ohno shook his head gently. “That was a long time ago. We’re adults now. There is no room for bullying. Besides, you are different now.”
“On what terms?” Jun asked.
“Too many to count,” Ohno replied, his heart fluttered as Jun parted his lips in sensual way and attempted him to touch them. Ohno couldn’t think straight anymore, and he leaned forward and kissed those lips. He could feel something unleashed from his chest; he deepened his kiss and felt Jun’s breath against him. He had kissed many people before, but none of them tasted like Jun. If the snow weren’t that cold, perhaps Ohno would have stripped Jun in this very tent.
They did make love at the hotel on the night before Ohno’s departure to Japan. It was good as Ohno had imagined and he couldn’t erase Jun’s face off his head for the rest of his flight back home.
***
“Focus, would you?”
Nino reminded him for the nth times as they were heading to the hall where Ohno would be interviewed. He was still jet-lagged – so suddenly – something that never happened before and it was the third day after his arrival in Japan. His head was all cloudy and he wasn’t in the mood for a bloody interview. All he wanted was going back to Helsinki and cradling Jun in his arms again.
“Did you meet some kind of ghost in a Finland forest? Your face looks pale,” Nino commented, taking a better look at his face.
“Perhaps I did.” Ohno smiled at the thought of Jun’s face, “Nino, can you arrange a trip to Helsinki once again?”
“Are you mad, no, it’s impossible with your upcoming schedule.”
“Do something to cancel them.”
“Please tell me the urgent reason for your sudden change of mind,” Nino said, rolling eyes at him as he showed the schedule for the upcoming months. “See? We can’t just cancel them.”
“I guess not.” Ohno shrugged in disappointment and tried to focus his mind to the work he would be doing.
When he got home that evening after completing his endless interview with some magazines and television channels, Ohno checked the unfinished sketch of the aurora he saw together with Jun. His heart fluttered when he remembered the reason why he stopped drawing it. He didn’t want what he had with Jun during his short trip to Helsinki end just like that – it was too good to be end so soon. He massaged his temple as the jetlag still remained badly. He needed to sleep but the sleepy feeling wouldn’t come.
He brought the sketch to his sofa and looked at as if it was the most beautiful painting he had ever made. As far as he remembered, he never drew his paintings abroad, all of them were created in Japan. When he thought about it, maybe he could convince Nino with that reason. He lied down on the couch and put the sketch on his face, trying to recall the scene of Helsinki forest where he and Jun drove together, the lake where he and Jun walked together, and the hotel room where they made love. Maybe Nino was right, maybe Jun was one of the ghosts of the Helsinki forest.
He dozed off, drifting in a weird dream where he and Jun came back at the same place and time. They weren’t in Japan or Finland; it was a warmer place where the flowers began blooming and they were in the middle of it. Ohno’s head was on Jun’s thigh; they were listening to the birds chirping around them.
“We’ll meet again,” Jun said in his low and deep voice.
“When and where? I can’t wait to see you again,” Ohno replied desperately, caressing Jun’s face, welcoming the soft skin under his fingers.
“Soon,” Jun said, landing a kiss on his lips.
The dream felt so real to Ohno that he cursed Nino who called him all of a sudden.
“I just got a new exhibition invitation for you,” Nino said with a sleepy voice.
“You can tell me tomorrow morning when we are in a better mood.” Ohno didn’t try to hide his dislike.
“Well, I thought you wanted to hear this Helsinki project.”
“What? Say it again.”
“Helsinki, Finland’s capital. Should I say one more time?”
Ohno rose off his sofa and made sure that he was fully awake this time. He searched for his calendar, still three months away until the time, he couldn’t hide his excitement when he told Nino to make sure the exhibition last several days and he would definitely prolong his stay this time – maybe for more than a month.
He couldn’t sleep and decided to write an email to Jun, but he didn’t know where to start. There were too many things that he wanted to tell the man, as a result he could only write a sentence.
“I’ll be in Helsinki next three months, can’t wait to see you again.”
The End
