Romantic Flight: The Sound of Love Beginning

At that time, I had just been diagnosed with a rare eye disease called macular dystrophy.

Lately, my vision has been getting a little worse.

"I might go blind like this."

That's what the doctor told me, and I was filled with anxiety.

I told Kazuki about it.

We weren't dating yet.

This was only our fourth time meeting.

That day started just like any other.

He treated me to delicious eel and took me shopping.

But for some reason, Kazuki didn't seem to want to go home.

Before I knew it, we were at the rooftop parking lot of an Aeon mall.

"Let's sleep for a bit."

With that, we fell asleep in the car, bathed in the sunset, holding hands.

I thought to myself,

"What a strange person."

When I woke up, Kazuki checked his watch and said,

"Alright, let's go."

He took me to a place by the river that looked like a factory.

"What is this place?"

When I asked, Kazuki calmly replied,

"We're going to ride that."

Pointing ahead, there was a helicopter—.

I didn't understand what was happening and my eyes went wide.

Guided by an attendant, I was handed a piece of paper that read,

[Boarding Certificate] Kotori Hinata

"Kyoto Romantic Flight Night Cruise"

And then,
"Perfect for a proposal 💐"

caught my eye.

At that moment, my heart rate skyrocketed.

I had fallen in love with Kazuki's singing voice.

I had been harboring a one-sided crush for three years on 'Kazuki-sama,' a popular user on a karaoke app.

Even so, at that time, I thought Kazuki's heart wasn't turned toward me yet.


Come to think of it, I remembered him asking me a few months ago,

"Kotori-chan, where is the most beautiful night view you've ever seen?"
"Wait, so that's why you asked?"


I asked, and Kazuki laughed and said,


"That's right."

I heard that on that day, Kazuki had a junior colleague cover his shift so he could book the night cruise.

The time we spent in the parking lot—

it was all for this.

Then Kazuki said,

"It looks like they'll take a photo for us. We don't have a single picture together yet, right?"

I, who had never been allowed to take photos with him before, was incredibly happy to have a dream photo taken with Kazuki.

He acted as if he were hearing it for the first time, saying,

"It looks like they'll take a photo for us,"

but I later learned he had specifically booked the plan that included photos.

It seems he wanted to keep the surprise going until the very end.

With the attendant watching over us with a smile,

I forgot all about being shy and made request after request to Kazuki: "Give me a back hug!" "Put your arm around my shoulder!"

A commemorative photo taken next to the helicopter with the beautiful sunset in the background.

My excitement was at an all-time high.

And finally, we both put on our headphones and boarded the helicopter.

"Welcome to your romantic flight! From here on, please enjoy your wonderful time together."
With the pilot's words, our special time began.

I felt like I was in a movie, and my heart wouldn't stop racing.

The headphones had microphones, so I could hear Kazuki's voice clearly.

"Whoa!"

"Wow!"

"Oh my!"

"Kazuki! This is my first time doing something like this! I can't stop crying. Thank you so much."

"Look, look, Kotori-chan! It's Kyoto Tower! The lights of the cars on the highway are beautiful."
When I glanced at Kazuki reflected in the window, he was quietly wiping away tears.
Perfect weather.
The perfect time of day.

And the most beautiful night view of my life.
Of course, there could be no night view better than this.

The helicopter landed quietly on the ground.

But my heart,

was still flying in the night sky.

When the moving journey ended, Kazuki quietly drove the car and took me home.

When I asked,

"Why would you do all this for me?"

Kazuki answered quietly.

"I'm worried about your eyes, Kotori-chan. I wanted you to burn this night view we saw together into your memory. I want you to do your best, believing that we'll be able to see it together again."

"What? That's the reason?"

The moment I said that, I burst into tears.

The tears flowed like a waterfall, and I couldn't stop them.

Then, for the first time, Kazuki patted my head.

After walking me to my front door, Kazuki gently cupped my tear-stained cheeks in his hands and stared at me intently.

Then we kissed, confirming each other's feelings.

For the first time, I was able to feel Kazuki's warm—

"Love."

On this day, love truly began.

I still cannot forget the night view of Kyoto I saw from that helicopter.

The moment love begins,

there is no sound.

But looking back now,

the sunset of that day,


the night view of Kyoto,

and Kazuki's words,

"I want you to do your best"—

perhaps they were all,

"the sound of love beginning."

[Please check out my other works as well 🥰🌸]
(I've compiled my emotional series here 💞)