The couple called Kyosuke and asked him to go together with them for the first Shinto shrine visit of the New Year, but he refused at once. Kyosuke said that he was too tired and wanted to stay home.
Ever since he returned from Osaka, Kyosuke had been acting rather strangely. Sato would often find him muttering to himself as if he was having an argument with someone. On another occasion, Sato even saw his cousin punching the air like he was fighting someone invisible.
Puzzled by this odd behavior, Sato tried several times to ask what had happened. But no matter how many times he inquired, Kyosuke would simply shake his head and refuse to say anything. In the end, Sato could only give up and consider him a lost cause.
Thus, Sato and Asakura were the only ones heading for the nearby Shinto shrine.
The weather was nice that day. Above their heads the sky was colored in the crisp white-blue shade specific to winter days. A light breeze fluttered their clothes, tinging their faces with a layer of coldness. The sun was powerless as it cast its weak rays onto the earth.
It was New Year and winter time, but for the two men whose hearts held a blossoming spring, even the cold air seemed to be warm.
Sato led Asakura towards the shrine with a slight bounce in his steps. There was a feeling of excitement bubbling inside his chest, and his already bright smile seemed even more dazzling due to his enthusiasm. His entire image made him appear like a child in Asakura’s eyes.
Looking at him and witnessing the innocent feelings Sato exuded, Asakura couldn’t help from leaning over and giving that person a light kiss on the lips. It was a light, soft touch, almost like a dragonfly touching the surface of a lake. Yet, that weightless contact managed to stir the surface, causing ripples upon ripples to form. They rapidly magnified until they eventually reached Sato’s heart.
He almost didn’t care that they were outside and risked people seeing them. The moment Asakura was about to lean back, Sato raised both arms, snaking them around the other man’s neck. Then, he exercised a little force and pulled Asakura closer for another kiss.
This time, the contact was longer, transforming the gentle ripples into small waves. The friction between their lips caused both their breaths to become hot. They soon had to separate, lest they grew more excited.
“We’re here.” Sato said breathlessly, pointing with his head to the side.
Asakura looked at the entrance in silence. A tall, sturdy looking Tori painted in a bright red stood erect a few meters away from them. The color of its pillars made it look like a bloody mouth that was about to swallow them whole and transport them to a fantastic realm.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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They patiently waited in line. When they finally reached the front of the shrine more than twenty minutes had passed. Once there, Asakura let Sato go first.
The young man smiled and nodded, before raising his hand. His fingers slowly grasped a long, thick rope, which was attached to a pair of large bells.
Sato swung the rope firmly, making the bells jingle. Afterwards, he clapped his hands twice and pressed his palms together. Closing his eyes, Sato remained motionless, focusing his thoughts on the things he wanted to wish for. While he prayed silently, his lips were slightly curved, revealing a soft smile.
Asakura looked sideways at him. As his sight fell onto his lover’s face, Asakura’s eyes radiated a warm light. His chest swelled with a sense of happiness and contentment. At that moment he was at peace. There was nothing more he could wish for. As long as that person was standing next to him, he wouldn’t want for anything else in this life. After all, he was lucky enough to have been given a second chance at finding someone he could share this love with. Asking for more meant he might be pushing Heaven’s will a little too much.
Several minutes later Sato opened his eyes and clapped his hands twice. That signaled he had finished and the next person could go up to make his wish. Asakura didn’t know what Sato had prayed for, but it wasn’t difficult to imagine. Based on their earlier conversation, he was almost certain that Sato was currently giving his thanks while asking for protection during the new year.
~~~
Later that week, Sato received news of a job offer. It appeared that a medium-sized company wanted to have several promotional banners done, and they wished for a young talent to be their model. The company’s higher management contacted Kyota directly, and after discussing the terms of their offer, Kyota decided to accept the job.
During the conversation, the young manager representing the client made a sudden request.
“Kyota-san, would it be possible to ask for a certain person to be the model for our product?”
“Do you already have someone in mind?”
“As a matter of fact, we do. For this season’s promotional campaign, we wish Imamura Sato to be the image of our product.”
At first, Kyota felt rather puzzled. It wasn’t rare for clients to already have a specific actor or model they wished to hire for a commercial or promotional poster. But for some reason, the manner in which this person mentioned Sato made Kyota involuntarily frown.
Seeing how the other side remained silent, the young manager sighed, speaking in a rather dejected tone.
“Does that mean it’s not possible?”
The man’s words instantly brought Kyota back to the conversation. He smoothened his forehead, and replied with a casual tone.
“Imamura Sato is gaining more and more fame lately.”
“We want him.” The other man replied simply.
“As long as you can afford the money, and are ok with certain delays that might appear due to his busy schedule, then I see no problems.”
“Money is not an issue. As long as we can have him for this job, we are willing to pay a hefty sum. I will have the legal department contact you today regarding the contract. Hopefully, the matter will be settled quickly, so we can start as soon as possible.”
“Of course. We wouldn’t want to keep our client waiting.” Kyota said placidly. “Then, before I let Imamura-kun know about his new schedule, please make sure to send me the details of the job. I want to know what your company is looking for, what image Imamura-kun should portray for this campaign, as well as the place where the photoshoot will be held. The rest can be discussed on site with Sato’s manager.”
“Certainly. You will have everything by tomorrow.”
With that, the conversation ended.
Kyota placed the phone down and remained still for a while. He kept pondering about the nagging feeling he had at the back of his mind. But no matter how hard or for how long he thought about it, he simply couldn’t find anything wrong with the job offered by that person.
The man Kyota just spoke with was the Marketing Director of AmaiMizu, a company that produced soft drinks. Their income was stable,and from what Kyota knew, the company always approached celebrities whenever they organized a promotional campaign. Moreover, they preferred young and beautiful people, with a soft and tender image, who could appeal to both young and middle-aged people.
Appearing in Director Mayama’s movie represented a powerful business card in the industry. As a consequence, after the filming ended, more and more people began to take notice of Sato’s image. With this new achievement, it was not that strange for such a company to eye Sato at this point in time.
What came as a surprise to Kyota, though, was their willingness to pay as high a price as he would ask of them, no matter how scandalous that sum was. This was precisely the thing that rubbed Kyota’s fur the wrong way.
But no matter what his feelings were on the subject, business was business, and as long as nothing was the matter with the client or the job, he had made a vow to serve his clients with impeccable service. He wasn’t known for his professionalism for no reason.
As soon as he tidied up his thoughts, Kyota called the legal department of his agency and asked them to prepare the contract. After that, he returned to his documents, pushing the matter out of his mind.
A/N: This is it for this weekend’s update. I wonder what you all think about Sato’s new job opportunity. 
See you all again next weekend. Until then, I wish you a wonderful week ahead!
I’m a little weary about that person. Is is someone that has to do with Asakura’s past?
thanks for the chapter <3
Hmmm 🤔 Wonder if that is the case…🤔🤭
<333
Thank you for the chapter 💜
💕