The love I want. The lies I've told.

"Jumo! Over here! What are you waiting for? Come!"

The girl in front of me had an infectious smile. She was sitting on her pink scooter and waving me over.

"Oh, wait! Let me come to you! Let me come help you!"

She slowly got off her bike and began limping towards me.

She was beautiful.

Her black hair, her green eyes, and her simple yet elegant plain white kimono.

Wait...

She was limping.

I let go of my luggage and rushed towards her.

"Are you okay?" I asked, holding her around the shoulders for support. Her body was soft, and her eyes were locked onto mine. She was a few inches shorter than me.

For a moment, neither of us said anything. I just kept looking at her. And she kept looking at me too.

The girl of my dreams. The same girl I had spoken to almost every night for the past six months. The girl whose voice I fell asleep to. The one who listened to me ramble non-stop about my day while she told me about her goals, her aspirations, her dynamic with her family—especially her sisters.

That girl was right in front of me, and I had my arm around her.

I HAD MY ARM AROUND HER.

I quickly let go and put a little distance between us. She was definitely going to think I was a creep now. What the hell was I thinking? I mean, my intention was to help her, which was for the most part obvious because of her leg. But I am not going to lie—holding onto her did in fact, feel good.

Incredibly so.

Shut up, creep.

"Dare ga yamete ii nante itta no yo? Who said you could stop?"

I was suddenly taken aback by Sakuya's words. Not because I didn't understand them, but because she knew that I knew what she had said, and she wanted me to hear it. So she wanted me to not have stopped holding onto her. Was that it?

She now had a scowl on her face as she narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. She was angry as she stared back at me.

Yep. That was it.

Shit.

***

Sakuya was helping me carry my luggage to the back of her scooter. I offered to assist her, but...

"Ki ni shinaide," she said. "Don't worry about it."

She refused to let me touch it.

After she dropped the luggage down in the trunk of her motorcycle, she, still limping, rounded the corner and came to stand in front of me. With her hands by her side, she took in a deep breath and bowed.

"I want to formally apologize to you, Jumo, on behalf of my people," she said. "In case anyone has treated you wrongly or strangely since you got here, then I'm very sorry on their behalf. I know you might try to hide it if something happened, so I won't force you to tell me. But please, accept this utmost sincere apology from me."

As soon as she was done, she lifted her head back up to stare at me. She was waiting for a reply.

Setting my hands by my side, I proceeded to give a bow of my own too.

"Thank you, Sakuya-san," I said to her, still bowing my head. "Your people have been lovely so far, and I can't wait to visit more places with you."

By the time I lifted my head back up, someone was trying to fight back a blush. Her cheeks were red.

...

"So, what happened to your leg again?"

I was seated on the back seat of Sakuya's scooter as we drove out of the city, positioned between my luggage in the trunk, and the driver herself. Sakuya had told me to hold onto something, and I may or may not have deliberately chosen the soft curves of her waist. She did imply she was cool with it. Right?

***

Sakuya felt like she couldn't breathe. Jumo was holding onto the sides of her waist.

Holy spirits, spirits, spirits. She was going to...

Nope!

She needed to stay focused on driving.

***

"I told you, didn't I?!" Sakuya's voice was suddenly high-pitched as she answered my question. "It was just the temple steps! I fell off them!"

We were both shouting over the sound of the rushing wind, but I could clearly hear the sudden nervousness in her voice that wasn't there before.

Was this because of where I chose to rest my hands.

Thirty minutes later, we arrived in the small town where Sakuya had rented a house for me. My scholarship funding covered the cost.

It wasn’t exactly what I had hoped for— as I wanted to live closer to the temple where she worked. But the town bordered Yamazawa Village, and her place was only a twenty-minute ride away.

We pulled up to one of the houses, and I carried my luggage as we went inside. The interior was modern, simple, but most of all, clean. I went up to the rooms to unpack some of my stuff. Sakuya was in the kitchen. When I finally came back down, I couldn't believe my eyes.

Akamu.

Akara.

Pumpuka.

Ampesi.

They were all laid out on the dining table, each dish fresh and steaming. Had she gotten all of this? Or had she somehow made it herself?

I was situated at the dining table, with Sakuya sitting on the chair right next to me. God, her bold, up-close personality was so hot.

I grabbed a bean cake—the Akara—and took a bite. I took a slurp of the Akamu.

It tasted like home.

"How did you...? Did you make this?"

I turned to face Sakuya while she smiled at me. She nodded.

"Mhm. Mama helped me out a lot over the phone. Do you like it?"

"Like it?" I took another slurp and bit a mouthful. "I love it!"

In that moment, I felt like the luckiest guy in the world. An extremely beautiful young woman was going out of her way to make me feel at home in a different country. What did I do to deserve it? What did I do to deserve someone like her?

I continued eating, and Sakuya eventually joined me too. She took small bites of her Akara while she slurped her Akamu in a similar fashion as I.

It was peaceful. Just the two of us. Having breakfast.

Back when we lived in different countries, we could never do something like this. Time zones never aligned. Sometimes, slow internet connection disrupted our video calls.

But there she was. Right beside me. Smiling as she ate, with her eyes giving off an almost subtle glow. It was weird, but I was sure it was just a trick of the light. A reflection maybe.

I suddenly stopped eating.

When Sakuya noticed, she also stopped eating.

"Dōshita no? Tabemono no sei? What's wrong? Is it because of the food?" Sakuya asked, her voice laced with concern.

I quickly shook my head in response.

"No. The food is perfect. Outstanding even," I said.

"Then why did you stop eating?" she asked, this time in English.

I took in a deep breath before speaking.

"You said Mama helped you prepare the food, right? She taught you how to do it."

Sakuya nodded, the look of concern intensifying on her face.

"No. Don't worry. It's just..."

I paused a little before continuing.

"You know Mama. I introduced you to her. You have her number. But Sakuya... I still don't know any of your family members. The same way you've spoken to Mama. The way you've gotten to know her. You still haven't introduced me to anyone."

***

A shiver suddenly went down Sakuya's spine at Jumo's words. She knew this day would come.

Jumo had asked her about meeting her family before. But because it was online, it was easy to come up with excuses.

...

"My sisters are actually in school right now. Maybe later."

"That's Aunt Kanna for you—always working. But maybe some other time."

"Ah, they are actually sleeping right now, and I'm trying my best to stay quiet. Maybe whenever they are awake, I will call you."

...

Those messages hurt Sakuya every time she sent them. She was lying. She was lying to the boy she liked. It wasn't a good feeling.

She looked up at Jumo. His curly hair, his bright eyes, his smooth brown skin.

How was she supposed to tell him?

...

The truth is, I am secretly not completely human. Also, I fight spirits almost every day of my life—evil spirits who want to kill or eat normal people like you. Additionally, I've been lying to you for the past six months. Could you possibly forgive me? I really, really like you and don't want to lose you."

...

Yeah, there was no way she was saying that. At least not now anyway.

She just needed a little more time to prepare herself.

So, that's what she was going to ask for.

"Okay, what about this weekend?" she asked him.

"Sore de ii kana? Is that okay?"

He took in a deep breath and exhaled before answering.

"Alright," he said. "Yatte miyou! Let's do it."

Spirits above, he got the phrasing right. His Japanese was getting good.

Her heart.

Could she kiss him now?