When I’m finished, I let out a huge breath I didn’t know I was holding. There it’s done. I did it. Maybe now Norio can shed some light on who Jae-Hyun is to him and his brother. Solving that mystery might make this excruciating situation worth it. I hope.
But Norio just squints at the drawing, his expression confused and wary.
In the background, I hear Tasha whisper to Lilli, “It looks like we’ve got another Marian on our hands.”
“Do not worry about this drawing,” Hayato says to his brother in Japanese. “It is a quirk of hers. Something I have learned to tolerate.”
“This is the woman you asked to return to Japan with you?” his brother asks with a frown. “The one Lilli says you have been looking at with such affection in your eyes?”
Hayato shifts, so obviously embarrassed. Nevertheless, he insists, “She is harmless. Please do not judge her by this moment.”
I don’t want to be judged by this moment either, but now seems like the time to tell them… “I understand Japanese, and every other human language too. If you want to judge me, that’s okay. I’m used to people doing that when they get to know the real me.”
I glance at Lilli and Tasha, and they both look away with guilty expressions.
That perfect day I had with Hayato’s family… it’s in ruins now. All I want to do is slink away and forget I ever spent a whole 24 hours in the real world trying and inevitably failing to be normal.
But this is about Jae-Hyun; I tolerate how they’re all looking at me now. For Jae-Hyun, I don’t give up. “Can you just think about it? I drew the exact same picture for both of you, so he must be important. Maybe a family member? Or friend you both had?”
“No, I’m quite sure I’ve never seen this person before,” Norio answers, his tone apologetic.
But behind him, Hayato lets out a visible sigh of relief.
I frown. Why is Hayato acting so relieved? Does he know who this is?
My blood ices over, all the previous guilt falling away as a new realization dawns. Has he known who the person in the sketch was all this time and just refused to tell me?
I open my mouth to ask him exactly that. But then, Norio speaks again.
“The eyes…” Hayato’s brother says, his voice soft and quiet. “He looks nothing like him. But the eyes… they remind me of the caretaker from our factory estate.”
Hayato’s jaw tightens again, just like it did on the roof when I told him no. And my heart once again squeezes tight and painful in my chest just like it did on the roof. But this time, not with guilt. With suspicion.
“You mean the caretaker who turned out to be your biological father?” I ask.
I’m talking to Norio but looking at Hayato.
“Yes, that same caretaker.” Norio shifts uncomfortably. Obviously, his complicated family history isn’t a subject he’s used to talking about with strange women he just met. “But that man is dead. Hayato and I watched our father execute him with our own eyes. So this cannot be him.”
I blink at Norio, then turned my gaze back to Hayato. He is looking away, refusing to meet my questioning gaze.
But he doesn’t have to look at me to answer my next question.
“What aren’t you telling us?” I demand. “Whatever it is, it’s time to tell us the truth. Right now.”
Oh, snap!
What the heck is going on???
What isn’t Hayato telling Kristal and his brother?
Find out in the next episodes of
TWELVE MONTHS OF KRISTAL!
FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH
Episode 9
38
For What It’s Worth
KRISTAL
The ninth day of Christmas.
I awake with a start to the sound of someone knocking on the door and “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield playing on a clock radio I didn’t set.
I’m in a bed, large but cold. And unlike the last few mornings I’ve woken up, there’s no sign of Hayato. My first thought is, Where is he?
My second thought makes me wish I hadn’t had the first one. I’m immediately swamped by a terrible, sinking feeling as memories from the day before hit me.
“Please, Hayato. You’ve got to be brave,” I begged him. “Like back at the in Maine. Tell us who the man in this drawing is. Please.”
His face had softened. And I took his hands in mine, believing I had finally convinced him to tell me — to tell all of us what he’d been keeping a secret.
I was so sure of our connection, I decided to forgive him for everything right then and there. After all, who was I to judge? I’d grown up in Santa’s workshop, surrounded by supportive and loving elves like myself. But Hayato had been left to deal with his power all alone. And living in the human world with supernatural powers couldn’t have been easy. Could I blame him for not wanting to share his true nature? Hayato hadn’t had anyone he could trust. Not until me.
“You can do this,” I told him, squeezing his hands. “I’m right here. Even if they think you’re crazy, I know you’re not. And I’ve got your back, no matter what.”
He opened his mouth, and I was sure it was to make the big confession. But then his face reset to stone.
He regarded me coldly, his eyes like black ice. “I’m sending you home to San Francisco.”
My heart dropped at his declaration. “What? No, Hayato, you can’t do that. We had a deal —”
“Embarrassing me in front of my family wasn’t part of our deal,” he answered, his voice flat and mean. “So I’m calling it off.”
Then he turned to Norio before I could protest again. “May I use your car service to return her to the airport? I’ll send her home on my plane, then leave for Japan tomorrow when I get it back.”
My eyes filled with tears as he said that. “Don’t do this, Hayato. Please don’t do this!”
The sound of the bedroom door banging open tears me from that bitter memory. Krista comes charging in belly first.
“Hello-hello, dearest cousin! It’s a bright, beautiful morning!” She throws open the curtains to reveal a surprisingly sunny San Francisco day. “And I’ve decided that you’ve been moping long enough.”
I sit up in bed, all but hissing at the overly bright sun. What the heck, San Francisco? Usually, the human city excels at gray days.
“What do you mean long enough?” I grumble. “I haven’t even been here a day. You moped around the workshop for three days when you and Hugh broke up. Remember?”
“Oh yes, I do remember how Hugh and I made ourselves miserable for three whole days because we insisted on being so stubborn.” Krista tuts and turns off the clock radio right before Stephen Stills can ask what that sound is a second time. “That’s what happens when you deny true love.”
Don’t think I don’t notice that annoying “I know better now” superior note that has crept into her voice. It leaves me feeling pretty defensive as I remind her, “I didn’t deny true love. He did. He called everything off, put me on a plane, and told me to take my butt home.”