Toru walked leisurely to Sakiko's side.
He held a black umbrella, wore a black suit and leather shoes, and walked forward step by step. He shifted the umbrella slightly to the side, blocking the fine drizzle from the sky for Sakiko.
Although it was summer, the rain brought a chill. Sakiko was dressed very thinly. Feeling Toru approach, she instinctively leaned closer to his side.
It was not until she was almost pressed against Toru, feeling the warmth transmitted through their clothes, that Sakiko slightly closed her eyes, hesitated for a moment, and leaned her head against his shoulder.
Toru did not move, neither holding Sakiko nor avoiding her reliance. Instead, he said softly, "Sakiko, please accept my condolences."
Sakiko closed her eyes tightly, breathing heavily one breath at a time, trying to make herself forget her sadness.
However, this was the death of the mother she loved. Sakiko was not a cold-hearted woman. How could this sadness be so easy to forget?
Sakiko's body trembled as she whispered, "Toru-kun."
"Hmm?"
"Can you make me forget all this?"
Toru was speechless.
Why are you the same as Soyo?
Oh, right, speaking of Soyo, although the two of them had a relationship, Soyo did not contact him afterward, and that was her first time.
At that time, Soyo had been completely broken by Sakiko's actions and was brought to the hotel by Toru in a daze.
Now, you, Sakiko, also want to forget everything. Do you want me to take you to a hotel?
Toru hesitated for a moment and still refused this tempting suggestion.
It was because Sakiko and Soyo had different personalities.
Soyo had spent very little time with her mother since she was young, and her heart was extremely lacking in love, both maternal love and paternal love.
Therefore, Soyo's personality was very clingy. Even if you had a relationship with her, what she thought about was how to rely on you and depend on you, not to stay away from you.
But Sakiko was different. Sakiko's personality was too strong. She had not collapsed even when she went from being the young lady of a wealthy family to a struggling customer service girl. The firmness of her heart was not something ordinary women could compare to.
If he were to have a relationship with her now while she was at her weakest, then with Sakiko's personality, she would likely distance herself from him afterward and only maintain work-related contact.
If he truly wanted to gain Sakiko's body and heart, Toru knew very well that what he needed to do was support her from behind, encourage her from behind, support her dreams, and give her confidence, rather than taking advantage of her vulnerability like this.
Therefore, Toru made the most correct choice.
He just turned his head to look at the stairs not far away and said, "Sakiko, the friend who can make you forget everything is here."
Sakiko was stunned. Because Toru's tall figure blocked her view, Sakiko did not see who had arrived.
Sakiko leaned forward slightly and looked in the direction of Toru's gaze, only to see an extremely beautiful girl standing at the top of the stairs not far away, wearing a long black dress.
"Misumi?"
Sakiko was startled. She did not expect her friend Misumi to be here.
Sakiko had not told Misumi about attending the funeral, not because she did not consider her a friend, but because Sakiko did not want her friend to worry about her.
Especially since Misumi was very busy with work. If her work went wrong because she was worried about her, it would make Sakiko feel guilty.
Misumi, standing at the top of the stairs, saw that both Sakiko and Toru had noticed her.
A section of her fair calves was exposed beneath her long dress, and her bare feet stepped into black high heels as she walked down the steps one by one.
As she got closer, Misumi's almost perfect face came into Toru's view.
She wore beautiful earrings and a delicate necklace around her neck, with elegant and gentle makeup.
Her features were exquisite, even flawless, and her amethyst-like eyes were heavy yet held a hint of curiosity as she looked at Toru standing beside Sakiko.
How to describe this face? In Toru's opinion, it was truly a great face.
If appearance had a numerical value, Toru would have to admit that Misumi's face could definitely score a perfect hundred.
Perhaps some people had completely different temperaments, but solely in terms of facial features, it was unlikely anyone could be more beautiful than her.
"Misumi, why are you here?"
Sakiko suddenly spoke, interrupting Misumi, who had been deep in thought while looking at Toru with curiosity.
She snapped back to attention and apologized, "I'm sorry, Sakiko. After hearing about your mother's passing, I was a little worried about you, so I came here on my own. I hope you don't blame me."
Sakiko shook her head and sighed softly. "Misumi, don't say that. I should be grateful that you care about me. How could I possibly blame you?"
"The one who should apologize is me. As a good friend, I should have told you about such a big matter, but I was afraid I would affect your work, so I didn't tell you for the time being."
Toru interrupted the two of them. "Alright, you two don't need to keep apologizing to each other here. How long would that take?"
Sakiko and Misumi exchanged smiles, and their moods immediately calmed down. They were true childhood friends, having known each other since they were very young.
Over the years, they had long since become familiar with and trusted each other. Those overly polite words were actually not suitable for them.
"Sakiko, I'd like to offer a flower to your mother."
Saying that, Misumi walked forward, letting the fine rain fall on her golden hair, which was as radiant as the evening glow. She knelt on one knee, placed the flower in her hand in front of the tombstone, then stood up and bowed to the tombstone.
After Misumi finished all this, Toru also stepped forward and offered the flower he held in his hand.
After doing these things, Sakiko took the initiative and said, "Toru-kun, Misumi, let's leave here first."
"Before, I wanted to introduce Toru-kun and Misumi to each other, but my mother was seriously ill, so it never happened."
"Now we have a good opportunity to talk about the band together."
Immediately after her mother was buried, Sakiko placed her full focus on work.
This was not because she was heartless, nor was Sakiko a workaholic.
It was because music was Sakiko's dream, and also her mother's dream when she was young.
Standing in front of the tombstone, she secretly swore in her heart to her mother's soul in heaven. Mother, I will definitely achieve my dream, and I will carry the dream you could not complete with me as I walk onto the greatest stage in music!
Please watch over me from heaven!
The three left the cemetery and sat down at a restaurant not far away.
(To be continued.)