Chapter 1: Temporary Substitute for Plus One
August 2019, Toronto, Canada
In Western culture, there's a well-established rule: Don't anger the bride-to-be. Suginohara Raku, who grew up in Finland, had heard plenty of stories about "Crazy Bride" incidents. Perhaps after spending more than a year studying in China and being immersed in Chinese culture, she'd forgotten this basic common sense.
If I had told Gabriella to delete Plus One two months ago, it wouldn't be so embarrassing.
Suginohara Raku was thinking this while sitting cautiously in the cafe.
She had flown all the way to Toronto to attend Gabriella's wedding, and the beautiful blonde bride-to-be was now sitting opposite her, holding the phone and throwing a tantrum.
"I'm repeating this one last time. If I don't see enough red roses at my wedding venue by the appointed time, I'll burn your shop down! I mean what I say!" Gabriella threatened fiercely into the phone, then slammed the phone down on the table. She took a sip of the coffee in front of her, calmed herself, and put on a kind smile, resting her elbows on the table to support her face.
"Okay, Raku, what did you say you wanted to tell me?"
"I said... I didn't bring Plus One to Toronto..." Le swallowed and guiltily repeated what he had just said when he was interrupted by the phone.
"You've seen my wedding plan. You should know that people with and without partners won't be seated at the same table, right?" Gabriella lowered her head to stir her coffee. She didn't care about Le's answer at all and continued, "Did you know I customized beautiful place cards for each guest? And the seating display boards were also custom-made by someone very expensive. I remember I emailed them two months ago to ask if there were any changes to the attendees?"
Gabriella's speech became faster and louder. Everyone in the cafe seemed to be able to hear their conversation clearly, including Yuzuru Hanyu, who was standing at the bar with his hat brim pulled down and wearing black-framed glasses.
Today, he made a bet with his fellow apprentices about guessing the color of the coach's socks. He lost, so he came over to buy donuts for everyone. As soon as he pushed the door open, his attention was immediately drawn to the place. After all, the cafe wasn't particularly noisy on a Friday afternoon, save for this blonde woman, holding her phone and yelling. Furthermore, the person sitting across from her, Suginohara Raku, was someone he hadn't expected to see in Toronto at this time of day.
But Le didn't see him. Instead, he kept his head down, holding the coffee cup in both hands, looking a little helpless like a child who had done something wrong.
"When did you break up?" Gabriella asked.
"Last December..."
"Ha, that was when I just collected the invitations a little over a month ago? Didn't you remember to tell me about it after all this time?"
"I completely forgot about the invitation..." Le said helplessly, but she had indeed completely forgotten. She remembered that she didn't have the habit of filling out the Plus One form.
"Eight months, not only did you not think of telling me to delete Plus One in advance, but you also didn't think of finding another boyfriend to fill this vacant seat? Raku, you know how much effort I put into planning this wedding. If my wedding isn't perfect... No! My wedding must be perfect! No matter what, you must find a way to ensure that there is someone in front of Kevin's place card!"
Gabriella picked up her bag and left the cafe, leaving Suginohara Raku sitting there alone with a sad face.
This is Toronto... where to go...
She suddenly thought of someone.
She hurriedly took out her cell phone, lowered her head and opened Line. Just as she was about to send a message, a pair of hands suddenly appeared in front of her and patted her.
Yuzuru Hanyu pulled the chair across from Le and sat down. Before he could even begin his usual opening remarks about why she was there, Le reached across the coffee table and grabbed his wrist.
"Yuzuru, accompany me to a wedding tomorrow!"
Yuzuru Hanyu, who had already listened to the entire conversation, lifted his free hand and rested his chin on the table, asking casually, "Why? How can someone who doesn't even know you're coming to Toronto be qualified to accompany you to your wedding?"
How could she have been so wronged in so many things during her trip to Toronto? Le scratched her head in bewilderment. Her trip had been incredibly rushed and tight, arriving this morning and leaving the next evening, having not wanted to disturb his training.
Seeing her embarrassment, Yuzuru Hanyu sighed quietly.
"I've always wanted the new Animal Crossing~"
"I'll buy it for you!" As if afraid that he would go back on his word, Le pulled his hand and forced a high-five with him.
Seeing her look as if she had found hope of life, Yuzuru Hanyu found it a little funny for a moment and reached out to ruffle Le's bangs.
On Saturday afternoon, Yumi Hanyu returned home from the supermarket. When she saw the shoes at the entrance, she was about to say that her son had finished training so early today, but the next scene made her instantly angry.
In the living room, Yuzuru's sports bag was lying open on the floor, and his wet training clothes were probably not aligned properly when they were thrown into the washing machine, and now they were hanging pitifully on the edge of the washing machine.
"Hanyu, when will you learn your lesson?"
This name clearly showed that his mother was furious, but Yuzuru Hanyu, who was struggling with his tie, didn't care. He poked his head out of the room and pitifully asked his mother for help.
"How many times have I told you not to throw your training clothes around!" Yumi-san scolded him while helping Yuzuru adjust his tie and collar. "What are you doing? Is there some event that requires you to wear formal clothes?"
"Le asked me to accompany her to a friend's wedding. Um... Mom is a little nervous..."
Hanyu Yumi seemed to have not heard her son's plea for mercy. Instead, she tightened his collar again, as if punishing him for throwing clothes around the house. "Wedding? A mutual friend?"
"No. I don't know her. She's her friend."
"Then why did she invite you along?" Yumi's mother tilted her head slightly, feeling strange, and muttered to herself, without stopping to adjust his tie. She also pulled the shoulders of his shirt to make it look smoother. The slight wrinkles on the collar were smoothed out, and Yumi's mother seemed to have thought of an answer.
"Ah! Could it be you!"
The gossipy look in his mother's eyes made Yuzuru Hanyu's ears redden. He waved his hands and yelled at her to stop imagining things, then turned and ran to the bathroom, slipping on his slippers. He grabbed the hairspray and sprayed it on his head, then began to style his hair expertly, replying as he did so, "That's what she said, that if you go to a wedding alone, you might get killed..."
"What are you talking about?" Yumi Hanyu couldn't understand. She just thought her son was imagining things again and didn't bother to argue with him anymore. "Since she's in Toronto, remember to invite her to dinner at home."
"Okay~"
It didn't take long to finish the hair. I didn't comb it completely back, but left a few bangs on my forehead and smoothed the hair on both sides. It looked more capable than a straight hair but also gentler than a slicked back hair.
I nodded in satisfaction at the mirror, then I noticed my mother standing at the bathroom door looking at me. I muttered a little embarrassedly, "Is there something wrong?" While muttering to myself, I made some minor adjustments to my hairstyle in the mirror.
"I just feel that my son has grown up, which is good enough. If I don't set off now, aren't I afraid it will be too late?" Yumi Hanyu kindly reminded.
The reminder was very effective. Yuzuru Hanyu quickly put the things on the washbasin back in place and hurriedly went to look for his coat.
Although he and Le had agreed to meet directly at the wedding venue, he still arrived at the apartment building where Le was staying in advance and called Le.
"Why are you here?" Le leaned out of the window with the phone in hand and waved to Yuzuru Hanyu downstairs. "Wait a moment, I'll be there in five minutes!"
Kate also looked in the direction Le was greeting, and saw a thin Asian boy downstairs. She turned around and whistled at Le, "Wow, you're quite charming. Did you find a new boyfriend so soon?"
"What new boyfriend? This is..." Le was fixing his hair, and suddenly couldn't think of the right words to describe his relationship with Yuzuru Hanyu.
Childhood sweethearts? If we first met at 18, does that count?
Do they count as family friends? Do the mothers count as best friends?
"It's a friend." This is definitely not wrong. After all, the scope of friends is so broad.
"Friends? Do you need to spend so much time considering friendship? There's something fishy going on..."
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