‘Puppy Dog’s Eyes’

“Don’t come near me seriously!” Arisa made a cross sign with her fingers as she saw Jin about to walk toward her.
“Arisa! Please I need to talk to you.”
“I need a peaceful lunch break, go mingle with your whacky friends or whatever.”
Jin quickly made a move he put his leg in between the door halting Arisa to close it in front of him. “It’s important.”
She sighed staring at his eyes, droopy and miserable. “How important?”
“Very important.”
“Classified, unprecedented potential warfare explosion?”
“Excuse me?” he pulled out weird faces reacting to her complicated phrase. Well, at least in his mind it took a minute to digest. He was not dumb, shame on you, but he just not the type of person who always came out with that kind of words out of the blue.
“Nevermind.” She gave up and let him into her room. He was apparently the second person that made her so dizzy since this morning. “This better be good.”

He did not made a straight start up conversation as soon as he nicely sat on the chair in front of Arisa’s desk. She did not even encourage him to say anything but just enjoying her lunch, bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, each bite and the taste of the crunchy bacon meat in between a nicely toasted whole grain brain. Jin stared at her but more like in between the sandwich and Arisa’s eyes, it suddenly gave him a weird feeling of some unrecognized flashback about something blurry. He rubbed his eyes for a while and did a self massage on his temple.
“Are you ok?” asked Arisa slurping her fresh orange juice drink.
“I think so.”
“Hmm..”
“What do you mean by hmm..”
“That means nothing.”
“Yes it does.”
“Hmm..means a neutral response or more to say I’m not really bothered to response to you but it would be rather impolite if I don’t.” She continued enjoying her bites of sandwiches.
It was useless to argue with woman especially a woman who sat in front of her. There was always any random words to retaliate and drained your brain. Five minutes had past and he had not said one word from his mouth.
“Are you just going to be a guard dog or something?”
“Sorry, I need time to put the right words.”
“Fine, you can come over tomorrow or better yet maybe you can think of someone to talk with. I’m just tired of the nonsense of you and Raita had been making. Please stop it already.”
“Like how?”
“Gosh, just go to her house and when she opened just cornered her and kissed her like there’s no tomorrow.”
“You’ve been watching too much movie.”
“I’ve been observing stupid real life drama lately.” She crumpled the recycle bag of the former sandwich wrapped and threw it on the bin.
“It’s not about Raita.” suddenly he decided to start.
“Hmm..” Arisa had known that would happen sooner or later. “So, what about her?”
“Before that, what happened after the party?”
Arisa went blank since she had no idea how to explain to Jin. “Why do you ask?”
“I feel strange with Raita. I mean she acted so strange for example this morning.”
“What about it?” Arisa’s mind intrigued to know folding her hands and resting her back on the seat with ease.
“She just stared at me and ran away.”
“Hahah..really?” she laughed.
“It made me awkwardly dumb and I kept on checking myself whether there was anything wrong with me or did I forget to wear deodorant?” Jin began to sniff his arm pit. “Am I smelly?”
“Stay away from me! I’m not going to smell you, you little brat.” Arisa squinted.
“Sorry. But seriously is there anything wrong with me?” He stood up and turned around in front of her.
“Maybe your nice butt looks asymmetrical today.”
“Nice butt? Thanks” he grinned taking that as a compliment but as soon as he got the asymmetrical part his face turned confused. “What?” he tried to check on his own behind. Perhaps his head was not focusing the intended joke pulled by Arisa he was too confused with women or women in general.

The truth behind all of those before Jin appeared in front of her, before he checked his own butt and before he got confused with everything, one day early in the morning as usual it was like a ritual for Arisa lately that she would get her front door of her house knocked by an unexpected guest. It was a good thing that she was alone while her husband went out of town for television program for couple of days and it made her a bit relieved. She opened the door and saw Michi before her.
“Sorry Arisa, I did not mean to bother you but…” Michi broke down in tears. “I have to do this seriously.”
“What? Come in, and we can talk about it more. ” Arisa let her in and quickly fetch her with warm cup of tea as soon as she saw Michi nicely sat on the couch.
“I think I’m the stupidest woman in this whole world.”
“I don’t quite get what you mean by that Michi.”
“He’s not into me.”
“Who is not into you?” Arisa pretended to be dumb of course she knew who the guy was but she preferred not to put it out in the open.
“I met Raita yesterday.”
“Eh?”
“Yes, and I had a chat with her too, but just polite chat and that’s all.”

Suddenly Arisa’s mind wandered and wished she was there yesterday to see the most unlikely view, Raita, a woman in denial met Michi, a woman too nice that you did not have any reason to bitch at.
“Is everything alright Michi?”
“Well, nothing. Sorry to bother you this early morning.” Michi held back her thoughts of pouring her heart out to Arisa.
‘Damn!’ Arisa thought to herself. She desperately wanted to know what’s going on inside Michi’s mind, that would help her get what she needed to know on Michi’s thought about everything, Raita and Jin or whatever that evolved around those stupid idiots.
“Before I go, please give this to someone you know” She handed her something small in an envelope.
“What’s this?” Arisa asked.
“You know when you open it.” She smiled and left the house.
“Take care Michi!!” Arisa waived at her wearing a perplexed face. “What the heck is this envelope?” She hurriedly opened the envelope as soon as Michi disappeared in front of her house. “Dear lord, this is serious.” She beamed in amusement seeing a sparkling little object on her palm.

Lunch was almost over and Jin had not been making anything important to break like what he said in the first place.
“Oy, what’s going on here? I thought there was something important to share?” Arisa protested.
“I guess the weird parts about those women are the things that I considered important. They just act weird to me lately.”
The conversation was not going anywhere and it made Arisa wanted to bang her head on the desk.
“Jin do you remember Shu?” Arisa just lost her patient and she decided to give him some memory flashback.
“Shu, as in Kuroi Shu?”
“Yes who else?”
“What about her?” asked Jin.
“You met her at the party right? That model party.”

He gave time to think. A second, no, thirty ok make that 60 second, plus one useless scratching head and pulling out a weird face. “Yes.”
Arisa sighed, alas, he said the word. Wanting to know Jin side’s of story, Arisa continued to do the flash back memory therapy.
“What did she do to you aside of forcing you to have a conversation?”
“Well…” Jin realized something particularly quaint. “Wait, how come you know she was forcefully asking to have a conversation with me? How come you know that I met her?”
“Obviously, Jin the woman is crazy about you, I mean ‘crazy’ literally.” Arisa made a quotation mark with her two forefingers. “About Shu met you, gosh, word spreads, someone told me who knows it from someone, etc.” Arisa lied. The truth, she found out from Raita of course, who told her in hesitantly one day.
“She asked me to dance with her and all but I politely reject her and then right after that, Raita came and barging in, snatching my drink and the next thing I know..” Jin stopped. His head felt spinning again. “I got this sudden rush blood to my head every time someone mention about the party.”
“Maybe it was because of the drink?” Arisa smiled hinting and leading him to something that he must remember.
He blinked his eyes couple of times while rapidly rubbing his hair. “Drink..drink..” gaining something there Jin? He thought to himself. A flash of memory, jumping around like an idiot and his eyes began to get wider and wider. His brain worked hard to spinning all the memory recorded in his head, it was a labyrinth journey to finally get the ‘bingo’ yes, I remembered at last. He found the memory bite that led him back to the drink and the jumping around, a beautiful woman in front of him whom he was holding so tight. He recalled he was being all giggly and giddy and so did the woman with long hair.
“A woman with long hair?”
“So, it was not Koichi right?”
“No.” He rested his forehead on his hand which was rested on the desk. Another flash of memory as soon as he reached the part where him and the woman got overboard laughing over something so blurry, dancing the night away and then he dragged her out of the party, ended up in his apartment. “By the love of GOD? What have I done?”
Finally, he recalled. Arisa wanted to cheer up so loud. “Yes, what have you done?” She pretended to be dumb again.
“Who paid the taxi fare to my house that night? Me or her?”
“What?” The need to get a hammer to whack his head and retrieve his memory back was at the tip of the mind. Maybe there was no hammer there but a thick folder would do him good, she reckoned and slumped again on her seat that was so hopeless. “I don’t care about the taxi fare!!! For God sake can you think of the woman?”
“No wonder my bed was so messy. I was not alone that night and ..yes, the big question mark, who was the woman?”
‘Ugh’. That was how Arisa felt instantly. “With who did you do that night? Hellloooo?”
Jin frowned.
“That’s it, I’m going to take my work home.” Arisa turned off her notebook, her mood, her vibe just gone because she got annoyed. “Work on that problem! I thought you’re getting smart.”
“Wait Arisa! Is it her? I cannot remember. The drink was too strong.” He was half running toward the elevator.
“Gosh, if you can write uncouth lyrics for your song that means you can think! So try to think and remember!” that was the last word from Arisa as the elevator door’s closed.

Jin stood against the wall and slowly his back slide and led him to sit on the floor. The party was three days ago and the effect lingered in a bad way. It gave so many bad vibe after that. Michi refused to see him anymore. She left him without giving him a good reason other than saying ‘you’re better without me’ last night. He did not feel heartbroken at all. He liked her but maybe she was right about saying he was not into her. The thing was it came so surprisingly unexpected. Before the party, there was the seaside venue and Michi had been acting weird the climax was after that party. Out of nowhere, Michi said she did not want to be hurt.

He began to talk to himself, creating the sequences. “After the party, Michi came to my house the next day. She went into my room but I’ve cleaned up my room so there was no trace of whatever I did last night with I have no idea who.” He tapped his forehead with his forefinger. “She went out looking normal but she was definitely hiding something. The next day she wanted out. Now, I am dateless again. Raita is having fun with those guys, and I don’t want to look like an idiot. It’s a war for God sake. I should win this war. Ok, I am a bastard. I use Michi for this war. I do like her yes, I guess I was not into her. Good thing she left. Arisa got mad at me just now,she wanted me to think of the woman…”
He closed his eyes. A picture of someone started to pop up and it cleared up his cloudy head. His jaw dropped.
“Ah there you are, I though I’ve lost you.” Kame found him sitting on the floor. Jin did not respond him. “Hello? Jin Are you alright?”
“Kame, what have I done?”
“What have you done?”

Finally Raita came home there was no one at home. Mariko went on tour with her dance company leaving her all alone. She saw an enveloped slipped on the mailbox and took it with her upstairs. Her apartment was surely hollow without her sister around, continuously blabbing and cursing at everything.
“Damn! Telephone? I’ve not even set my homey mode yet.” Raita dropped her bag and checked at the clock on the wall. It was almost 10.30 in the evening. What a hard day today. “Hello?”
“Raita?”
“Oh hi, Arisa what’s up?”
“Did you manage to find your earring?”
“Not yet.”
“Have you checked the envelope?”
“What’s inside?”
“Just check.”
Raita slowly opened it and rolled a small object out from the envelope. “My earring? Where did you find it?” she was happy to see her favorite diamond earring discovered again. “I thought I lost it on the taxi and I’m so devastated. Thank you so much Arisa.”
“Don’t think me. It’s not me who found it.”
“What?”
“I got it from Michi.”
“How on earth she knows it’s mine?”
“She’s quite observant. You wore it on that seaside party, heck you practically wear it everyday. She found it perhaps under you know who bed? Plus, she knew what happened more or less. I did not tell anything at all I swear to God but she just get the hunch. So, after that you figure that out about her and Jin. She did not tell me but I was just guessing.”
“Oh my God!”
“Don’t be sorry or feeling guilty, girl. One more thing.” said Arisa trying to make one last memorable message before she hung up the phone. “You know, a puppy dog eyes can actually meant the truest feeling of a person.”
“What?”
“Take care!” She hung up.
“You are so weird Arisa, and weirder after you got married.” Raita shook her head. “Gosh, I need something to cool me off.” Checking the time again from her wrist watch. “Damn it! Guest at this hour? Maybe Mariko, but she should’ve arrived today it’s tomorrow or she missed Kenichi…” Raita muttering to herself.
“Mariko!!” she cried. “Eh?”
“Sorry to bother you.” Jin arrived before her wearing his hooded jacket looking at her with his sincere puppy dog eyes. Suddenly a glimpse of Arisa’s message echoing her head, she shook her head slowly.
“Are you ok Raita?”
“What? Me, Yes. What are you doing here Jin?” she asked pretending not to be happy to see him.
“I am tired of all this and I want to end it.”
“End what?” Arisa slowly raised her voice.
“I hate you when you started to raise your voice like that. It’s uncalled for.”
“Excuse me.”
“Maybe a person like you don’t need explanation because no matter how much I try to explain to you with my utmost logical and comprehensible manner, you always have your way to reply and turn things upside down, as if making me the biggest jerk in this whole world.”
Raita was stunned to hear his speech. “Go on, I’m listening now.”
“I don’t think it’s worth the time. Maybe I just have to leave.”
“No I do, go on.”
“It’s useless Raita. I cannot be reasoned with you.”
“You think I don’t have the mind to be civilized?”
“Yes.”
“What do you mean by that?” Raita was getting impatient her legs were moving backward coinciding Jin’s step who slowly moved forward and closed the door behind him.
She found herself cornered. “Jin?”
“Raita, just don’t reject me this time.” He suddenly hugged her.
“Jin.” only his name could ever come up from her mouth she felt his warmest feeling all of sudden and, the feeling that she missed and failed to admit for the past two months. His hands were easing her back and slowly unzipped her dress to touch her skin.
“I miss you Raita.” he began to kiss her neck smelling her scene and reminisce her silky skin. She was about to brush him off from her but something held her back. It made her surrender and her knees were weakening, instead of completely resisting him, she let him do whatever she wanted. Jin slowly shed his jacket as soon as he noticed her dress gradually slipping off from her body gracefully.
“Can you be civilized this time?” he whispered to her ear. Raita was losing her energy to even say a word. She gasped especially when Jin’s hand started to explore her body touching her gently. He went down cupping his hands on her breast and kissing her perfectly flat tummy and went up again facing her with his sincere puppy eyes. “Can you be civilized now?” he asked again.
“No.” Raita pulled his face closer to her and started to kiss him endlessly. She wanted to be open her ravenous lust over him. Her legs clung on to his hips as Jin lifted her up, he led her to the room but the bed was not intended to be their destination as they could no longer control their urge. The door of the room was closed and they were too busy kissing each other. Raita began to be more inviting as she sensed Jin was ready to go deeper to explore her soul. She began to sigh as soon as he held her close entering her so deep. His strong hands held her body so tight, leading to a rhythmically exotic secret dance they choreographed. They fell off the bed together looking at the ceiling full of sweat.
Jin’s fingers tiptoeing to her arms and reaching her face. He rolled over and suddenly on top of her. “I’m sorry if I ever hurt you but I don’t mean this because I only want you and no one else. No matter what or where, I’m just a dumb ass and I need to learn more about lesson in love.”
“You admit that you’re a dumb ass?”
“But was I being a dumb ass just now?”
“I don’t know.”
“Raita, can you listen to me this time before you permit me to fall asleep next to you and maybe after that if you don’t want to see me forever I shall do that.”
Raita nodded once again Arisa’s message echoing her head ‘puppy dog eyes’.
“I may be a dumb ass but this dumb ass just know learn to say ‘I love you’ sincerely.”
She lost words to hear that.
“I learn that from you. I realize that and I want you to know. If you want me to leave tomorrow and never come back, I shall do that but at least I have told you my true feelings.”
Unconsciously a tear started to roll on her cheek, she lost words. She definitely loved him but had a hard time to say it that moment. She smiled at him and luring him to kiss her again. Without hesitation Jin started to gently kiss him and as he touched her lips he suddenly read her mind, a mind that described his four letter words to her. “So I can wake up this morning next to you?”
“Hmm, the couch is comfortable too you know.” said Raita jokingly.
“Nah, the bed is better especially when you’re around.” He said and locked her with kisses that seemed to have never ended from that moment on.