The time trickled by and before they knew it, Christmas had already passed and the new year was upon them. The date of Ai’s graduation came and Ken attended.
While the speeches were happening, Ken disappeared outside the venue and saw a taxi arriving. He opened the door and two familiar figures appeared.
“I hope we’re not late.” A woman spoke in Japanese, the worry evident in her tone.
“Don’t worry Naomi, there’s still a few more speeches left until she accepts her degree.” Ken said with a smile. He leaned in and gave her a hug, “Thanks for coming.”
Tetsu was dressed in a navy blue suit, wearing a trench coat over the top. He would have looked like a mob boss if he didn’t have tears at the corner of his eyes.
Without a word he stepped forward and threw his arms around Ken, pulling him in close. “Thank you…” he muttered.
Ken was a little taken aback, but he smiled. He had decided to fly Tetsu and Naomi over to witness their daughter graduate. He knew that it would mean a lot to them all, and it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford it.
“Alright, let’s go. I’ll tell you where to stand so that she can see you after getting the degree.” Ken said, leading Ai’s parents back into the venue.
He directed them to the other side of the stage. They would be out of sight during the ceremony and only be seen as the graduates walked off.
After saying a few more words, Ken returned to his earlier position. It was just as well since Ai turned from the group and sent him a cute smile. She was looking beautiful in a red gown and cap.
He smiled back, sending her a wink. Ai had no idea that her parents were here, so he couldn’t wait to see her face upon seeing them.
The ceremony proceeded and soon it was time for the names to get called up so they could receive their degree. It took over 20 minutes, but soon it was the moment of truth.
“Ai Koyama.”
Ken felt his heart soar and he watched his fiance walk up the stairs to the stage and receive her degree. After accepting it, she shook hands with the University President for a photo and made her way down the stairs.
By now, Ken had already relocated to the other side of the stage to watch the next part.
Due to his height, he was the first person that Ai spotted. She flashed him a brilliant smile which made his heart jump. As she approached, Ken grinned, gesturing with his head towards her parents.
Ai raised her eyebrow in confusion before following his lead. She turned and saw her mother and father nearby, almost dropping her degree in shock.
“Mom, Dad!” She yelled, running forward and embracing them.
Ken could feel himself getting a little choked up, but he kept himself composed. Tetsu on the other hand had tears and snot running down his face, looking like a child who had just been scolded.
“I—I’m so proud of you… my girl.” Tetsu said between sobs.
“Honey, you’re going to get snot on her gown.” Naomi complained, pulling out a tissue and wiping away at his face. The scene made Ken chuckle.
Ai on the other hand, turned to him and puffed her cheeks. “I didn’t expect to cry today, you’ll have to deal with the consequences later, okay?” She said to him in mock anger.
Ken laughed, pulling out some tissues and handing it over. “Don’t worry, seeing you this happy is worth any consequences.” He replied.
Hearing this, Ai moved forward and pulled the back of Ken’s neck down to her level, kissing him deeply. It was much more PDA than she would usually show, but she didn’t seem to care right now.
“Thank you, Ken… I love you.” She whispered, giving him another kiss.
By now, both Tetsu and Naomi were feeling a little embarrassed, but they didn’t say anything.
The rest of the graduation ceremony seemed to drag on, but when it finally came time to an end, everyone was in the mood to celebrate.
Having planned this for a long time, Ken had reserved a nice restaurant for the four of them to attend that night. He had booked a whole month in advance.
“Whoa, this place is crazy.” Tetsu said in awe, looking at how fancy the place was.
He leaned into Naomi and whispered, “We can’t afford to eat here…”
“Don’t worry, of course I will treat my future mother and father-in-law.” Ken said. He was looming behind them and happened to catch what Tetsu said.
“Ahem… That’s very good of ya.” Tetsu replied feeling a little embarrassed.
The group were stopped at the reception area where Ken gave his name for the reservation.
“Um, please wait a moment.” The woman quickly walked off, disappearing from view.
‘Hmm?’ Ken thought it was odd, but waited patiently.
A few minutes later, a man appeared alongside the woman from earlier, he looked to be the floor manager. “I’m terribly sorry sir, it seems that your reservation has been misplaced. Unfortunately, there are no spots available tonight.”
Ken frowned. If his reservation had been misplaced like he said, then why didn’t the woman tell them there was nothing reserved under his name?
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“I think you’re lying to me.” Ken said, feeling annoyed. “Show me the reservation sheet.”
“Excuse me?” The man replied, clearly not expecting to be challenged.
“Ken, it’s okay. We’ll just find somewhere else.” Ai said, grabbing his arm.
However, Ken shook his head. “Some big shot probably came in, so they scrubbed our reservation to cater to this person, it happens all the time. So who was it? A movie star? An athlete?”
Judging from the man’s expression, he was bang on the money.
“I will have to ask you to leave now sir.” The man said, his voice growing louder.
“Just tell me who it is that stole my reservation. I’ll take it up with them personally.” Ken stepped forward, his huge height towering over the employee.
“Ken, is that you?” A voice with a New York accent caught his attention from the other side of the restaurant.
‘Huh?’