Eternal Melody

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"Um, Yuhi?"

He needs to control himself. Even if she is his, he doesn\'t want to break her. Maybe he should start with getting her off his lap. This current position isn\'t good for either of them.

But even with these thoughts, he pushed her down.

"Sorry, just a little."

"Yuhi."

"This is difficult."

Sumire laughed again, and he sighed. "Are you laughing at my misfortune?"

"You don\'t have to hold back so much."

Yuhi was going to argue and say that was a bad idea when they hear the echo of a ring sound from the front buzzer in the room. This followed an angry voice and banging the door. He sighed deeply and grumbled.

"Atsuro."

Sumire suddenly got away from him and fixed her appearance. Yuhi knew, however, that she wasn\'t doing this to impress the redhead. Sure enough, when he said that, Atsuro strolled in the room with a baby in a stroller.

"Picking a lock is illegal," Yuhi commented.

"Quiet, you should have opened the door right away." Atsuro scanned the area and frowned. "If you wanted to fool around, do so another time."

Sumire, however, was too focused on the little boy.

"Ah, my cute Huan!"

\'Atsuro\'s timing, he did this deliberately.\' Then again, maybe he should be more considerate. Although the situation between Sumire and Atsuro has improved slightly. The girl still avoids him whenever she could.

Yuhi understood why she was dodging him, but sometimes he would catch her asking Shin if Atsuro was okay. So she cares enough to ask, but there is something stopping her from openly showing that she cares.

He shouldn\'t think about this too deeply. It is already enough for him to be wary of Nagawa and Soujiro. Lately, he hasn\'t heard much from the latter, but Yuhi couldn\'t dismiss the odd threat he felt from it.

Sumire still hasn\'t annulled the engagement, and this has invited many critics. Although if they follow traditional rules, the engagement between the two is a formality, they are not actually together. But there are many who dismiss those rules now. In normal people\'s eyes, Sumire has two men. Naturally, they would scorn her for it.

Yuhi lost count of how many times the reporters have tried to sabotage their relationship. How many of them have asked how he felt on this matter? Whenever they ask, Yuhi doesn\'t say anything.

If he acts defensive about it and stands up for Sumire, it would invite further criticism. If he says it doesn\'t matter, then they would say he isn\'t dating her seriously.

A deep sigh passed his lips. No matter what he does, the impact will be bad. So he chose to remain silent. Of course, that also invited critics but not as many.

Sumire sighed when she saw the boy was asleep. "Why is he sleeping?"

"I gave him some medication before coming here, so of course he is sleeping."

Sumire frowned. "Don\'t overdo it! He is still a child."

"A child with that frightening sonic evolved gene."

"What did you say? My little boy isn\'t scary!"

Yuhi interjected when he saw the small lightning bolts forming between them. "The sonic power is the strongest ability in the world. Naturally, for a young child, let alone a baby, it is not easy for their body to contain such power. Suppressing it with medication is the only thing that can work, but one has to be careful about the dose."

If he stood up for Sumire here, then Atsuro would cause a fuss. But if he agreed with Atsuro, then Sumire would get upset. This is the best way to appease both sides.

Indeed this was the right move since Atsuro nodded, and Sumire looked at the little boy. "I wonder how long we can keep hiding him."

"Has the media been harassing you more?"

"It\'s more like I am openly being followed now. In the past, they would have at least hidden, but now they don\'t hesitate to take pictures. Even if I beat up the reporter, with technological advancement, it is easy to send a photo from the camera directly to another source quickly."

"Then hold a conference after your showdown with Takashi Yumi."

Sumire shook her head. "Even if I do beat Yumi-senpai, it still isn\'t enough. My current status in the entertainment industry is very bad due to the accident. Sure my debut song was a hit, but even before, I was having issues, so right now, my image isn\'t very good. If I openly announce that I have a child, it could get messy."

"You said to yourself that image isn\'t important."

"That\'s right; true fans will remain no matter what. I can ignore all the critics and hate, but if it endangers this child, then what next? If my career harms my loved ones again, then I will no longer be able to sing."

Yuhi walked over and lightly hugged the girl, and Sumire laughed softly. "It\'s okay."

"There are some events that can help this image change," Yuhi spoke up. "First is the upcoming program, second the concert, third and this is the most important. For the next two months, Sumire has to compete in as many tournaments as she can and join the finals for the Queen cup in March."

Atsuro looked troubled. "You do realize her points have been reset, right? She won\'t be able to accumulate that many points for the finals."

Right every year, there is a tournament for the best female and male artists. They accumulate points throughout the year so they can earn a spot in the grand tournament. Sumire was doing very well and had already secured a spot in the grand tournament. However, right before they could announce her as an official candidate, the accident happened.

Yuhi was actually looking forward to seeing her there. He knew that she would make it. But then that happened. He got to see her anyway, and she even moved here, but he still felt it was a waste.

"Actually," Sumire trailed off. "It didn\'t take me that long to get many points the last time. All I have to do is join three or four large events and win."

Atsuro clicked his tongue, annoyed. "Do you think it is that easy with the public\'s prejudice against you? Remember, most of the points will come from the public."

"It\'s okay! At the end of the day, these tournaments will judge based on skill. I won\'t lose."

Yuhis gaze softened, watching the girl brimming with confidence. She truly is amazing. Even though it wasn\'t easy for her to reach this level, now that she has gotten to this point, she fully believes in her capabilities.

Atsuro didn\'t say anything to that and pointed to the couch. "Sit."

"Uh but-"

Yuhi squeezed her hands. "Let Atsuro check it out. You said it yourself. Nagawa only gives you vague explanations. Atsuro will be more honest."