As The Wind Blows Your Scent To Me

The answer to Ryuu's unexpected appearance was; his collars got pulled by Yuina as she dragged him into the tent. Before she did that, Yuina looked around the area with eagle-like eyes, trying to see if there was anyone who saw them.

Luckily, there wasn't.

"Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be at the city now?"

With both hands on her hips, Yuina questioned her husband in a hushed tone. She kneeled on the tent floor, staring at her husband who sat with his long legs bent almost touching his chest.

The tent was zipped from the inside, not allowing anyone to enter suddenly.

Aggrieved, Ryuu asked in a sad voice, "You're not happy to see me? I came all the way here just to see you, my wife."

Even though he acted pitifully, Ryuu still didn't forget to take off his shoes. He carefully placed them on one side, afraid of staining the inside of the tent..

Yuina resisted the urge to slap her forehead.??

Eyes brimmed with faint concern, Yuina spoke again as she sat crossed-legs next to her husband.

"It's not that I'm not happy but... Ryuu, what if..."

"Let him take pictures of us if he dares," Ryuu gently cut Yuina off. He perfectly understood what she was worried about.

In the past two weeks, although Yuina resumed her daily life, Ryuu knew his wife was still being cautious inside. She just didn't want to show fear to anyone.

"My love."

Ryuu lifted up a hand. His fingers stroked her face before they tucked a strand of her hair behind the ear. A light smile graced his lips.

"Let us just enjoy this moment, en?" He whispered tenderly, "I'm sorry that I can't give you a normal married life but, I still hope to spend my days with you."

The other day, when Ryuu attended one of the talk shows that he agreed upon, the host asked him questions regarding his hidden marriage.

"Teacher Ishizaki, since you have successfully dominated the headlines with the news of your secret marriage before, have you ever thought of showing your wife to your fans?"

The host's question was already anticipated by Ryuu. Although the heat wasn't as intense as before, people were still paying attention to his marriage.

In front of the camera, Ryuu spoke firmly.

"As long as my wife agrees, I won't object to her choice. But, I hope the revelation is due to my wife's consent."

Ryuu didn't elaborate more but, his meaning was clear.

If any tabloids managed to secretly snap photos of Yuina thus they were revealed to the world, Ryuu would take it as offending him.

Because of his high status right now, Ryuu didn't have to be too cautious with how the media wanted to play with him. It would certainly be different than the times when he was just a small name.

Actos, singers, comedians and any other people who entered the entertainment industry could easily be trampled with by the media if they were insignificant. Ryuu had known it all too well.

Because of his answer, the host laughed awkwardly before he moved to other questions that were related to Ryuu's current works.

As Yuina listened to her husband, she gradually let go of her needless worries.

"Okay," Yuina pressed her forehead on his shoulder, silently taking in his familiar scent, "Sorry, I'm still thinking too much about it."

Although Yuina wanted to hide her concerns, Ryuu saw through her facade. It was different from the times when she forced a smile and suppressed her feelings before.

Ryuu smiled faintly. He wrapped both hands around his wife's frame then pulled her along as he threw his entire body on the floor of the tent.

"When your partner would return?" asked Ryuu, referring to Himari who Yuina shared the tent.

"Himari follows the group. They enter the forest. She might return in one hour," answered Yuina as she roughly made a guess.

"Then, let me accompany you for a bit," Ryuu chuckled lowly.

He played with Yuina's hair before he pulled down the scrunchie that tied her ponytail. The long and dark locks cascaded at her back, the tips were gently tickling his skin.

"I wanna take a short nap before they start cooking at six," Yuina agreed.??

She took out her phone and sent a text to Himari, saying that her husband was here. It was better to tell Himari before she got surprised.

"So sleepy..."

A wave of drowsiness hit Yuina. She felt so comfortable lying in her husband's arms.

"Okay, okay. Sleep now," Ryuu whispered sweetly, "I'm here."

Yuina answered vaguely.

In no time, she fell asleep, enveloped by the familiar warmth of the man who she loved.

Inside the forest, Himari and the group were busy picking wild vegetables or simply having fun.??

The students had so many questions for their parents and teachers. To most of them, this picking wild vegetables was a novel experience. They didn't have a chance to do so in the city.??

"Teacher, we can really eat these, right?"

A boy came to Himari, showing the wild vegetables that he had picked. The greens were placed inside a rattan basket.??

"Yes. These are spring chrysanthemums. We can bring them back and use them to add flavors for soup," Himari smiled as she peered at the greens that exuded quite a strong and pungent smell.

"I remember seeing my granny put them into the hot pot," exclaimed another boy, he grinned widely, "They taste delicious even though they are quite smelly."

"Really? We can put them into the hot pot?" The first boy was shocked.

His friend nodded seriously, "Yes, ah. My granny also eats them raw. She loves to pour some sesame dressing on them."

"En, en. Teacher also loves eating them like that," Himari reaffirmed the boy's words, "We can't overcook them. If not, it won't taste good."

Ignoring his friend, the second boy asked Himari, "Teacher Kato, we can fry these into tempura, right?"

While speaking, the boy showed Himari a plastic bag of angelica shoots.??

"Wow, there are so many~" Himari poked on one of the shoots, feeling its sturdiness, "But, these are quite bitter. We have to boil them first before making them into tempura."

"Okay! My mom makes the most delicious tempura! I'll ask Mom to cook Teacher Kato's share too!" Smiling widely, the boy's eyes twinkled with delight.

"Thank you~ I'll make sure to try some!" Himari just followed along with the boy's eagerness.??

Unaware of Himari, Kazuya was silently staring at her from a spot. He just smiled at her entertaining the students' questions. Even looking at her doing something simply felt so endeared to him, softening his heart.

"Uncle, Uncle, can we eat these? They are pretty ah, like flowers."

Chiharu's voice attracted Kazuya's attention. He looked down at the dumpling who was crouching on the forest floor, her tiny hands were quite dirty due to plucking greens.

Both of them stayed together as always. Izumi was nowhere to be found as he was keener to follow his friends. Kazuya just let the boy be.

"Those are flowering rapeseeds,"?? Kazuya recognized the flower-like buds in Chiharu's tiny palms, "We can eat the buds, leaves and stalks. They taste quite like broccoli."

"Broccoli?" Chiharu grimaced once she heard it.

The dumpling had a love and hate relationship with the vegetables.??

Kazuya smiled meaningfully, "You won't grow tall if you don't eat vegetables."

Horrified, Chiharu could only tearfully agreed, "Okay..."

She wanted to grow up quickly!

So that Uncle won't bully her anymore!

Nearing six, the group ventured out of the forest with their findings. Since it was already time to cook dinner, happy chatters of the cooking competitions echoed from the joyful students.

For the occasion, Kazuya teamed up with Izumi's friend's brother. The young man named Seiji came to accompany his little brother Daichi because both of their parents were busy.

"So, our main menu for tonight is chicken curry. We'll just boil the wild vegetables then turn some into tempura. Is there any other suggestion?"

"We'll just follow you, Mr. Hayashi," said Seiji sheepishly, "Both of us don't know how to cook."

"Hehehe~" Daichi laughed embarrassedly, "Our maid is the one who cooks for us. Mom doesn't know how to cook too."

Kazuya let out a helpless chuckle, "I'm not that skillful in cooking either. Alright, you boys, help me to cut the ingredients but first, Chiharu, you can follow your brother to wash the vegetables."

"Okay~"

"Hait!"

The three boys and a dumpling were quick to attend to their task. All of them headed to the area with pipes. Some children who were given the same task had already flocked at the washing place.

Kazuya folded up the sleeves of his T-shirt until they reached his shoulders, revealing his sturdy and muscular arms. The high summer heat made him sweat, the fabric clung to his back and chest.

Kazuya's eyes fell on the individual campfire that would use for the cooking process.

"I need more firewoods," murmured Kazuya.

All of the students and parents were getting ready to cook dinner. The children's giggles blended with the parents' nagging, inciting a smile on his face.

Growing up, Kazuya had never experienced camping with his family. Even if he did, all of them were done with his elder brother.??

Kazuya didn't want Izumi and Chiharu to feel what he had experienced before. He was glad that he was given the opportunity to introduce new experiences to the siblings.

And, later...

Eyes piercing into a direction, Kazuya's smile softened as his gaze fell on a petite figure.

Later, he hoped to give the same experience to his own small family.

His and her children.