Chapter 64: Hajime

Days passed as Lambert and I would work on my novel. We were busy the past few weeks and I didn't even notice that a month had already passed. We were making a significant amount of progress in my novel and we're actually proud of it. 

Today, we decided to rest our heads from work and take a day off. We were working nonstop this past month and we haven't missed a single day so this would be the first day off I'll be having since coming here in France. 

I know that today is my long awaited day off but I had nothing to do. Or should I say that I don't know anything in this place, that I can't do anything besides lie down here in my bed and read some novels. I guess that my life revolves around literature now huh? I wonder what the guys are doing right now. I hope they're having fun. Knowing them, they probably are fooling around.

It was getting a bit dull just being cooped up in my room on my first day off so I decided to go out for a walk. 

I'm still mesmerized by the streets here in Paris. It's beautiful and feels so nostalgic even though this is the first time I've been here. Maybe the books I've read in the past? 

Come to think of it, the Eiffel tower is a famous landmark located here in Paris but I haven't even visited it for once. It can be seen from my apartment veranda whenever I would go for a smoke that made me wonder how tall it is up close. 

I made my way to the eiffel tower and as I expected, it was crowded. There were lots of people taking pictures of the tower as they walked around the place. There were even people who were busking. I have to say, they are really talented. 

I walked closer to the tower to take a picture myself and sent it to the group chat which gathered their amazed reactions saying that they wish they were here to look at the view for themselves. 

Getting a bit bored, I went back to my apartment. Before I went out for a walk, I saw Adam and Sophie went out. I guess they have classes or something? That's probably the case. Every now and then I would see the two of them and greet them but I haven't seen Hajime ever since my first night here. I wonder what he's up to? I wanted to be acquainted with him, after all, we're from the same motherland. 

I played the piano for a bit, and considering how my hands haven't warmed up, I pretty much messed up playing Chopin's etude. 

"That's some terrible Etude op. 10 no. 1 right there. Better not play it if you're going to play that way." 

Standing by the stairwell in front of me was Hajime. I've been wanting to meet him for quite a while now but not in a situation where I played really badly. He's an elite after all. 

"Please excuse my sloppy playing. Did I perhaps wake you up? Sorry about that." 

"Who sleeps at 8 PM? Even kids are awake around this time you know?" 

"Oh yeah sorry about that." 

"Where's Lambert? Isn't he with you?" 

"It's actually my day off today so yeah, he's not here." 

"It's your day off and you spend it playing the piano here? Talk about a dull life." 

This guy, is he insensitive or just straight up rude? Probably both.

"Do you not have classes today Hajime?" 

"I don't. Anyway you're free right?" 

"I guess?" 

"Do you drink?" 

"Yeah, a bit?" 

"Perfect. Come with me then. Might as well get acquainted. We both have nothing to do after all." 

I followed Hajime to a nearby parking space as we were accompanied by silence, not saying a word to each other. To be honest, this is a bit awkward already. Considering how anti-social I am and how he's not good with words, this is actually the worst combo you'll see. Let's just hope that I can survive this night peacefully. 

We reached the parking space and handed me a helmet as I rode at the back of his motorcycle.

"Where are we going?" Asked I.

"A pub. I know a quiet one." 

We rode off as I felt the wind gust through my face. It's been a while since I last rode a motorcycle. This feeling gave me a reminder of what Yukino and I would usually do during our night trips. This brings me back to the perfect times where it's just us, the bike, and the night. How I miss being able to do that. I wish I could freeze time during those moments and live a life full of that. I let out a single tear after being reminded of our night trips. I really miss her. Too much so that I would always let out a tear. 

"We're here." 

We arrived at a fancy looking pub about a few minutes drive away from our apartment. We entered the pub and quickly understood what he meant by quiet. It's not like the pub was deserted like the one where Haruto and I visited a while back. There were people but old ones so the place was filled with silence and smoke coming from cigarettes. 

We sat by the bar counter as Haruto ordered two Negronis. This really brings me back huh? I bet Haruto would complain if someone ordered negroni for him again. He didn't really like it back then but I don't mind. 

"Do you always come here Hajime?" 

"Yeah. Maybe once a week?" 

"That's pretty often." 

"Yeah." 

Once again, the air was dry as we hadn't said a word to each other for a couple of minutes. I guess Hajime isn't much of a talker like Haruto. 

"So? Why are you here in France? You can't be a pianist right? Yeah, you sure are good at it but it seems to me that you don't practice consistently. You're expressive though. Can't say anything about that." 

"Oh yeah, I'm here to publish a novel." 

"I see. Give me a copy of it. I'll read it in my spare time." 

"Sure. It'll be a pleasure. So, why are you here in France?" 

"I'm in a slump. My piano teacher instructed me to take some time off here and learn from his friend to get back in time before the Chopin competition. So I'll be here for a couple of months. Maybe even a year." 

"A slump huh? I guess all people fall into slumps. We're just human after all."

"Yeah. People should stop expecting that we'll be able to always perform at our best." 

"Yeah. I totally get you. But Chopin competition huh? That's big."

"Yeah I guess it is." 

We once again fell into deep silence. Just when I thought that we had a conversation going. I don't mind it though. It's not as awkward as earlier.