12/16/2013 20:24
__________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
It was an accident.
12/16/2013 21:24
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
Of course, it was. Have you ever hit yourself with a door on purpose?
12/16/2013 20:25
__________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
Only once. But I was curious if it would break. It's kind of a long story.
12/16/2013 21:27
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
Call your mother.
12/16/2013 20:28
__________
From: Koizumi Ryo <81-3-7984-5823>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
Here is a picture of Gakino’s suitcase.
12/20/2013 07:32
__________
He’d attached a photo of the inside of a leather tote. She saw a bright blue pair of swimming trunks, a bottle of 30 SPF sunscreen, and candy bars. A small mountain of them.
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Koizumi Ryo <81-3-7984-5823>
Where are you? Why are you texting me so early in the morning? And how did you get my number?
12/20/2013 06:32
__________
From: Koizumi Ryo <81-3-7984-5823>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
A 3-day commercial shoot on Jeju Island.
12/20/2013 07:34
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Koizumi Ryo <81-3-7984-5823>
Why is it full of candy bars?
12/20/2013 08:51
__________
From: Koizumi Ryo <81-3-7984-5823>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
He thought they wouldn’t have any. I don’t know if he’s planning on eating them or giving them out as gifts.
12/20/2013 09:55
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Koizumi Ryo <81-3-7984-5823>
Where are his clothes?
12/20/2013 8:56
__________
From: Koizumi Ryo <81-3-7984-5823>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
He didn’t bring any except what he wore down. He only brought underwear, candy bars, and sunscreen.
12/20/2013 09:58
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Koizumi Ryo <81-3-7984-5823>
He brought sunscreen? In winter?
12/20/2013 8:58
__________
As she waited for a reply, she fumed. Gakino was trying to get himself killed. Jumping off stages. Running into doors. Climbing trees. Locking himself out of his house. Now he flies off to Korea with sunscreen. What about a coat? Was he always like this when she wasn't around? She had admired this side of Gakino when he was just Yoh from Tenshi, hadn't she? She shouldn't be so bothered about it now.
__________
From: Koizumi Ryo <81-3-7984-5823>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
He told me the crew would provide his wardrobe, but that they wouldn't remember sunscreen, not in December. Turns out he was right. And it sunny here. Sunny, but cold.
12/20/2013 09:58
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Koizumi Ryo <81-3-7984-5823>
Is Gakino ok with your sending me stuff like this?
12/20/2013 08:59
__________
From: Koizumi Ryo <81-3-7984-5823>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
No. Definitely not.
12/20/2013 10:00
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Koizumi Ryo <81-3-7984-5823>
Shouldn’t you stop then?
12/20/2013 09:00
__________
From: Koizumi Ryo <81-3-7984-5823>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
He’ll thank me later.
12/20/2013 10:01
__________
Over the next few days, she got email after email detailing Gakino’s misadventures. Apparently, as part of JAL’s advertising plan, they were shooting tourism promos for the company’s various international destinations. This one had them all packed off to Jeju-do, a popular and ritzy destination in Korea. So far, Gakino had been attacked by a spider as big as his hand in one of their cabana rooms, and Hiro had been kind enough to send video. His text had read: Screams like woman. Very manly, ne? Then, in a message from Ryo, she learned that at the entrance of a lava tunnel at the Manjanggul Cave, Gakino had been bitten—actually bitten—by a roe deer that was used to being fed by tourists and wasn’t too bashful to insist on a treat. Then there were sunburn and nicks and cuts because he leaped into wade pools without looking and forgot his sunscreen in his room. And finally, Gakino’s lack of concern near the open door of a helicopter that lead to nothing because they were all buckled in but that still terrified both her and Sano.
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
I’m worried about you.
12/22/2013 20:01
__________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
Yeah? That doesn’t sound too bad? Worry’s a good thing.
12/22/2013 21:02
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
The guys have been emailing me about your trip. You sound either terribly unlucky or cursed. You have any enemies that might want to do you harm? ;)
12/22/2013 20:04
__________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
Besides disgruntled managers? Nope.
12/22/2013 21:05
__________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
Which guys?
12/22/2013 21:05
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
All of them.
12/22/2013 20:06
__________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
Sorry about that. I hope they aren’t bothering you.
12/22/2013 21:07
__________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
Are they bothering you?
12/22/2013 21:07
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
Not really. But be more careful, ok? I’m starting to get nervous when I hear a text arrive.
12/22/2013 20:08
__________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
Well that’s defeating the purpose.
12/22/2013 21:10
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
The purpose?
12/22/2013 20:10
__________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
I don’t know what you’ll think if I tell you.
12/22/2013 21:14
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
Someone I know tells me I think too much.
12/22/2013 20:14
__________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
Sounds like a smart guy.
12/22/2013 21:15
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
He is. A clumsy one, too, apparently. So… the purpose?
12/22/2013 20:15
___________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
You said you wanted a normal life. A normal boyfriend. I’m trying to show you that I’m normal. It’s not going too well though, is it?
12/22/2013 21:17
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
Not really.
12/22/2013 20:17
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
You don’t have to stop though. It’s good to hear from you. And it’s better to know that you’re being mauled by roe deer than to wonder if you’re unhappy or worse.
12/22/2013 20:18
__________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
Who told you about the deer? It was Ryo, right? I can’t wait until that guy falls in love. I’m going to make his life hell.
12/22/2013 21:20
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
So you’re still in love, huh? No thoughts about how I’m a demanding, hateful witch of a woman.
12/22/2013 20:21
__________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
Oh, sure. There's that. But someone I know tells me that a good man doesn’t pick and choose. Not when he’s in love.
12/22/2013 21:22
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
Sir Deer-bait is wise.
12/22/2013 20:23
__________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
Beyond his years.
12/22/2013 21:23
__________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
What about you Eloise? Are you still in love? Any thoughts about how deer bait isn’t good husband material.
12/22/2013 21:27
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
That’s classified information! And not something I think I could talk about. Not like this anyway. I hate those couples that type luv u into their phones. I actually kind of hate texting. (Sorry.)
12/22/2013 20:31
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
But… No. I’m not thinking that. Mostly I’m thinking about what makes good wife material.
12/22/2013 20:33
__________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
And you don’t think you do?
12/22/2013 21:34
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
Good night, Gakino. Keep an eye out for other deer. And disgruntled ex-managers.
12/22/2013 20:40
__________
Walking down the beach, he couldn’t relax. Hyeopjae Beach at night was beautiful, but he couldn’t appreciate it. He’d stayed long after the photo shoot was over, hoping to calm his frayed nerves, but it wasn't working. Nothing was. He loved the ocean. And he was privileged to come here. He knew that.
Most of his friends and all the crew had thought he was back to his normal careless self. He was distracted, silly. He laughed loudly, and no one noticed anything different. But everything he saw was something he couldn’t share with Eloise, and he was loosing hope that he’d ever get the chance. Jeju-do was too exotic by half, everything a reminder that the woman he loved might not want a place in his life. So he tried to put her out of his mind, but Eloise was everywhere he looked. Each couple. Each girl reading. Each girl wearing a hat or a jacket to cover pale, sensitive skin. Each girl who laughed loudly and played. They all reminded him of Eloise. They’d gone to Jeongbang Falls today. As soon as their guide had told them that it was the only water fall in Asia that fell directly into the ocean, he’d snapped a picture. Eloise loved trivia like that. He typed a message about how he’d like to bring her back here in the summer, one night when the national park was closed and the tourist were gone, how he imagined her in the pool at night, naked, beautiful, shy. And then he’d remembered.
He’d been in the middle of adding that he probably had the clout to make it possible; that being an idol had its perks. And he remembered that she didn’t see it that way. That she might never see it that way.
It was only two days until Christmas. For Eloise, the day was about family, but in Japan Christmas was a time for lovers. He wanted so badly for them to start the new year together, but she wasn’t reaching out anymore than she had been—except to warn him to be careful. Plopping down in the white sand, he ran it through his fingers. He wanted to blame this on Ryo and Shun, claim that they’d made him seem juvenile and careless—not normal, but that wasn’t the problem. He wished that it was. But the texts they’d all sent—including his own—weren’t having any affect. There wasn’t anything he could do. Whatever problems Eloise had with loving him, they weren’t something he could change. Holding on to Eloise. It wasn’t his choice to make. Ten years ago, he and the men in Tenshi had sworn to work as hard as they could to make a miracle come true. They’d push day and night to be the biggest group in Japan. It had seemed nearly impossible all those years ago, but it was something they knew they could control, something they could manage. If they worked hard, if they never let up, if they followed the advice of their managers, they’d make it. All they had to do was try—try harder than anyone else. But this was all up to Eloise. Picking up a palm full of soft white sand, he held it up and watched the wind carry it away, hoping for a miracle that would let him love Eloise the way he wanted to in this lifetime and not the next.
__________
From: Bethany Danae < [email protected] >
To: Eloise Bromleigh < [email protected] >
Subject: Your Life
Hey. Do you remember this?
__________
Bethany had attached a photo Eloise had long forgotten. At a party hosted for seventeenth birthday, which turned out to be a campaign fundraiser in disguise, she’d taken a photo with the Senator, Anne, and number of influential politicians, including 5 governors, countless mayors and city officials, and the President of the United States. It had been nothing to her years ago, noting except a burden and a reminder that her role as daughter served a political purpose, not a familial one.
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh < [email protected] >
To: Bethany Danae < [email protected] >
RE: Your Life
Where did you find that?
__________
From: Bethany Danae < [email protected] >
To: Eloise Bromleigh < [email protected] >
RE: Your Life
It was easy. They ke
ep it on file at the library.
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh < [email protected] >
To: Bethany Danae < [email protected] >
RE: Your Life
Why did you send this to me?
__________
From: Bethany Danae < [email protected] >
To: Eloise Bromleigh < [email protected] >
RE: Your Life
I was just thinking you should add it.
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh < [email protected] >
To: Bethany Danae < [email protected] >
RE: Your Life
Add it? To what?
__________
From: Bethany Danae < [email protected] >
To: Eloise Bromleigh < [email protected] >
RE: Your Life
The story of the special girl.
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh < [email protected] >
To: Bethany Danae < [email protected] >
RE: Your Life
What?
__________
From: Bethany Danae < [email protected] >
To: Eloise Bromleigh < [email protected] >
RE: Your Life
Well, they’ve been sending you stories right? It’s like the story of the normal boy. And you think you’re normal, but there is tons of stuff like this. You’re like the story of the special girl.
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh < [email protected] >
To: Bethany Danae < [email protected] >
RE: Your Life
That’s not funny Beth.
__________
From: Bethany Danae < [email protected] >
To: Eloise Bromleigh < [email protected] >
RE: Your Life
I didn’t think it was.
__________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
I’m lonely. It's Christmas and I'm lonely. Are idols supposed to be lonely?
12/25/2013 21: 53
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
Where are the guys?
12/25/2013 20: 54
__________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
Around. They're drinking to night
12/25/2013 21: 55
__________
From: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
To: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
Go with them?
12/25/2013 20: 57
__________
From: Gakino Yoh <81-3-5330-5250>
To: Eloise Bromleigh <886-4-2539-5011>
How to Date Japanese Idols (The Tenshi Series) Page 26