Kaname narrowed his eyes when the cold wind swept through his face and hair. Shivering slightly, he zipped up his jacket and put on his beanie. The first snow has yet to fall but the weather was already quite cold. Branches and fallen leaves made crisp crinkling sound as Kaname stepped on them along the path in the small forest behind their bed-and-breakfast. Once or twice, Kaname bent down to pikc up branches which can be used for firewood.
Occasionally, he stopped to look at the view. There were a couple of trees which hadn't shed their leaves. Evergreens were naturally still standing tall and lush. Kaname had marked one of them, waiting for it to be ready to be taken down nearing Christmas. He checked on the tree, nodding in satisfaction as he found no damage from the wildlife or other things. He then walked uphill. From there, he could see the road leading toward the city. Looking at the rolling hill, trees, river, fields, and roads was one of his favorite thing to do ever since he was young.
He could spend hours just sitting there to look at the view. Even though he didn't do anything, only sitting and looking around, for Kaname, it was the moment where he was the happiest and at peace. That was why he chose to return to Hokkaido and chose this place to start his bed-and-breakfast because nothing could beat the view of his hometown.
Kaname was very happy with his life at the moment. Running an inn was his dream for a long time. The town where he grew up was only a small town but the view was one of the best in the country. There were a couple of famous hot springs. The trek route at the surrounding hills and forests were also famous during the mushroom hunting season and in early spring while the cherry blossom bloomed and in autumn when the leaves turned color. It was also not far from a ski site. When he was little, there was almost no inn around. Some locals then opened their houses during the holiday seasons including Kaname's uncle's family. This had been his dream since high school and he was glad that he was able to fulfill it together with Naoki.
Even though they were the same year during high school, Naoki was actually a year older than Kaname. They met during the preparation of their school's summer cultural festival. Their houses also happened to be close by, only a block away from each other. Kaname who was a foodie naturally gravitated toward Naoki who loved cooking. They spent their time together studying, going and coming back to and from school, playing; Kaname suddenly found himself a bestfriend. Kaname remembered exactly when he started to feel more affection toward Naoki. It was around the same time where his visit to the hill to enjoy the view also increased.
His phone chimed from inside his pocket, pulling Kaname back to his senses and made him chuckled. He took it out and glanced at the screen before leaving the spot. The woods he had compiled along the way were tied up tightly and he slung them on his back. He had picked up quite a lot, and he would also chop some more later. On his way back, he met a group of people coming up the hill. The one leading the group was the head of the village. Kaname stopped to chat with them and played a bit with Ponta, the village head's beloved dog.
After a while, he said his goodbye and went back to the inn. He stashed everything on the pile near the back door, then started chopping more. Once done, he brought some inside. Naoki was busy serving coffee and tea for their guests.
Kaname greeted them. "The cloud has gathered over the mountain. It seems that either tonight or tomorrow, we'll have some snow," Kaname announced as he stack the firewood near the hearth. He stoked the fire to keep it going and keep the rooms warm.
"Really?" One of the guests asked curiously. "I never knew we can predict snow in such a way."
Kaname nodded, laughing. "People around here used to predict the snow from the cloud gathering over the mountain."
"Then, I think it's better to go out now before the snow falls." Another guest suggested. "What about the festival in the evening? Tokui-san, do you know?"
"No need to worry. I think it won't fall heavily," Kaname assured them. "There's no word from the committee so I think the festival is still a go."
"That's good, then." The guests sighed in relief.
"Aren't you going, Kaname-san, Naoki-san?" asked another guest.
Kaname glanced at Naoki who was folding the napkins. Both of them actually loved going to festivals, mainly for the food. However, since starting Hummingbird, they very rarely went to festivals because those events usually happened during the high seasons. They couldn't just go and leave their inn unattended.
"Why don't we all go together?" suggested the guest, looking at the other guests for support. They nodded enthusiastically, immediately changing topic to festivals in places they've visited before.
Kaname walked over to Naoki, picking up a scone from the plate on the counter. "Do you want to go?"
Naoki shrugged, "Does Kaname-san want to go?"
"I'm asking you," Kaname grumbled while chewing. "If you want to, then go. I'll stay."
Naoki pouted. "I don't want to go if you're not going."
"Are you a five-year-old? Just consider it hosting our guests," said Kaname.
"Don't you want to go?" Naoki curiously asked.
"I'd love to, but I have to work on our tax report." Kaname flinched.
"Ah, it's that time already?" Naoki flinched too.
Kaname sighed. "Well, if only an hour or two then I think it's okay…"
"...Kaname-san?"
"You can't be outside for too long in such a weather, can you?"
Naoki's eyes widened hopefully. "You're going? Really?"
Kaname nodded. "We'll go in the evening."
"Okay!"
They talked for a while more with their guests. Kaname needed to go back but since two of their guests wanted to go out, so he walked them all the way to the gate before turning back to his living quarter at the back. Kaname shivered as he entered the room. He lit up the stove, then hung his jacket behind the door, then walked to the office next to the bedroom. He sat in front of his desk and opened his laptop. The first thing he did was taking care of the bookings. He worked for a full two hours before taking a break.
He stood up, walked toward a window, and cracked it open since he wanted to smoke. It was cold but he would never smoke inside the room for Naoki's sake. So he stood by the window and made sure that the smoke didn't get inside. Even after he was done, he still left the window open for a moment longer. Naturally, if it was too cold, he would never do this.
A notification on his phone told him he got a new message. Kaname smiled and opened it casually. However, the content of the message shocked him. His hands trembled, the cigarette dropped onto the lawn outside the window.
*****