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“I sometimes think if Imaizumi never left, you two would end up together.”
The girl scratches her head as the topic was pretty sensitive for her to answer. She stares at her phone screen, wondering if she’d rather continue the conversation in voice call, but since there wasn’t any concrete answer to even reply with, maybe texting wouldn’t much be of a problem.
Before she could reply, however, a certain girl’s newly constructed message flashes on her phone screen. Their ages were tad close but the way they create their messages were obviously different. And it’s a big coincidence too.
“Yo, it’s been a while since we last met, but there’s a new ice cream shop down by my workplace. Do you want to go there with me today and catch up? (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑ ”
The younger girl feels a small grin appear on her lips. Of course she do wanna go, but as far as their company’s concerned, she can’t publicly disclose any of their interactions, considering the girl’s already far from back to being an idol.
“Sure, I’d love to.”
“Great! I’ll meet you after our rehearsal. Does six work for you?”
“Your place, your time.”
“Cool. See ya!”
The text was followed by a wink and a kissy face emoticon, and she suddenly felt heat rush to her cheeks. She gulps as closes her phone for a moment, nibbling her nails and thinking about what to reply. Does she send one back? But it’ll only make her look like an idiot and a maniac if she really did; let’s say she does, but the message wasn’t replied to— it’ll only make her look like more of an idiot than before.
She’s not gonna lie, she had the biggest crush on her for most of their time within the group, but ever since she left for good, their interactions gradually lessened, until the time came when neither the two of them tried to message the other. Well, it’s not that far-fetched; there were times they talked out of the blue but the conversation never lasted. Either one of them got bored or the other never cared at all.
So this’ll be the only time she’s finally gonna see her again, in almost a year, perhaps; and there were so many things left unsaid.
She grimaces. Risa and Manaka should be back by now from the convenience store, and her hungry stomach makes her want to input a lot of emojis with their tongue sticking out, and sending it to Imaizumi would be a big problem.
She opens her phone in a rush to text Risa.
“I’m still not sure if I’m over Imaizumi yet.”
She closes her phone, anxious as she sent the text, pacing back and forth the room, occasionally glancing at the windows for any signs of her friends approaching the vicinity. There wasn’t any text yet, but maybe Risa’s just busy carrying groceries to even pick her phone up.
It’s been full ten minutes since she sent the text, and Risa’s nowhere to be found. That is, until, the door swings open with the said girl enters the room, a fairly large plastic bag in one hand, while the free hand holds the doorknob. Manaka enters with a gallon of ice cream, excited.
“Where the hell have you been?” Yui asks as she crosses her arms. The duo exchanged glances, and Risa lifts the plastic bag, letting it speak the obvious.
“Uh duh? You asked us to buy lunch?”
“I mean what took you so long?”
“Well we’d actually be here earlier if someone didn’t bother removing all the ice cream containers from the chiller just to take the bottom-most gallon,” Risa glances at the blonde at the emphasis, and the girl just shrugs. “Had to help the helper scrape most of the ice at the bottom..”
“Hey! Top-most gallons are mostly underchilled and soft!”
“Yeah right, just like your—”
“Okay I get it,” Yui interrupts, not wanting to hear any more bantering. “Anyway, did you receive my text?”
The older girl tilts her head, looking upwards as she recalled.
“No.”
“Did you look on your phone?”
“Yui, I know when someone texts me. You once told me to put my ringer down but I can’t so you had to schedule a text to me every early morning just to wake me up.”
Manaka snaps her fingers, “What if you sent it to someone else?”
Yui furrows her brows as she opens her phone, “That’s absurd, I never had any wrong sends in my entire life—” she freezes in her place as her eyes landed on the name written just on top of their chat log.
Imaizumi Yui
She opens her mouth but no sound comes out. She closes her phone and throws it to her bed. “Oh my god, I sent it to her!”
Manaka shakes her head. “I guess there’s a first time for everything..”
“What should I do?” Yui asks, panicking, “Help me!”
“Okay, calm down,” Risa says as she places the plastic bag on the table, retrieving the younger girl’s phone, “You could delete it within ten minutes, if I remember correctly.”
But just as she says those, her words were of no use at all since she realizes the message was already sent twenty minutes prior.
She gives it back to her, apologetic. “Sorry, Yui, there’s no way around it. What did you say and to whom did you sent it to anyway?”
Pon replies with her head buried in her hands. “I just replied to your previous text but I sent it… to…. you know… instead……..” she says as she trails off, both embarrassed and upset.
“Wait what did you— oh.”
Manaka scrambles in her chair to get up and take the phone from Risa. “Let me see— ooooooooooh tea, sis.”
“Shut up.. if she finds that message, I’m done for. I’m not gonna meet her after this.”
Manaka hums as she scrolls through the log. “...So if you’re gonna meet her after their rehearsal, there might still be enough time to delete the message.”
“From where? Right now the only thing I could come up is to throw my phone and lie that it wasn’t me who sent that!”
“We could go to her rehearsal, guise as her former colleagues and sneak in her dressing room?”
Yui shakes her head. “No— what are you, insane? If they find out we’re from Sony I doubt they’ll let us in.”
“Well flash news, princess, we’re idols and Avex knows our faces pretty well.” Risa crosses her arms, “so if you want to save your dignity this is the only chance we have; plus Avex corp. is just a train ride away. If you have other plans, be my guest.”
She just sighs. “Alright. But if we got kicked out once, we’re not gonna go back in again.”
“Oh no, sweetheart, we’re not.” Manaka chuckles, “If we get kicked out, we’re gonna force ourselves in.”
“So much for sneaking in,” Risa sighs, “anyway, lunch could wait.”
As much as she loved spy movies and re-enacting them, this isn’t exactly what she had in mind. Taking the train isn’t much of a hassle, but if they’re gonna cover their faces with face masks and wear beanies a short inch away from their eyes, then maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
The idea turns into more of a mess when they were spotted by two of their friends scampering around like rats within the vicinity.
“Risa, what are you doing here—“
“Shhh!” Risa jumps and immediately goes behind a large pillar with the girl in tow. “What are you— Odanana? ”
Oda gasps, “It is you! What are you doing around Avex?”
The brown haired girl shushes. “Not so loud! I’m with Manaka and Yui, they’re behind the vending machine over there.” Risa points her thumb towards the direction of the other two. “We’re trying to get into Zuumin’s dressing room.”
“Wha— what are you after?”
“It’s a long story—”
Just then, they both hear a familiar voice and the sound of a banging vending machine nearby. They whip their heads to see Yui backed up against the machine and a petite blonde girl standing right in front of Manaka.
“Oh, it’s Mon.”
“You’re going out with Suzumoto?”
“I guess? She just told me we’d meet here since there aren’t any good landmarks around here.”
“Risa!” Suzumoto calls as she tried to approach the pillar.
Oh dear. At this rate, security might as well be approaching for some strange passers-by hanging around the pillar with a girl with face mask and large beanie. Risa rolls her eyes and pulls both Oda and Suzumoto towards the vending machine. There were some people looking their direction but that’s the least of her concern now. “What are you doing?!”
“We should be asking you that!” Mon yells, “If you’re trying to break in without attracting any attention, you’re doing a bad job, Risa.”
“I was just trying to see if those guys might take a number two so we could enter.”
“What are you after anyway?”
Manaka snickers, “Get a load of this: Yui accidentally sent a wrong message to Imaizumi.”
Oda covers her mouth with her hand as she points at Yui. The girl just crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. “ Thank you, Manaka. That’s just what I needed.”
“Hey, it gets funnier every time you hear it.”
“You sent a what to who?” Mon repeats, brows furrowed, “What kind of an idiot do you have to be to send a wrong message to the person you least wanted to see it?”
Manaka shrugs. “I dunno, Yui maybe.”
Yui pinces Manaka’s large ear in between her fingers, hard.
“Why can’t you just delete it on your phone?”
Pon groans. “If I had done that already then we weren’t be here!”
“Okay, let’s say you got in, what do you suppose you should do next?” Mon crosses her arms, “Avex building is just like any other ordinary office.”
“What?” Risa interjects, “I thought the actors were just inside waiting to be called?”
“Oh my god,” The smaller girl places a palm to her face, “when we’re at Sony do we just stand by and waited to be called?”
“Well… for one, we’re at a dressing room and—“
“Oh shut up it was a rhetorical question.”
Risa breathes heavily through her nose, looking away in embarrassment. “Fine, we’ll just let Yui take the fall then.”
“What?!” Yui yells, “What happened to forcing ourselves in?! ”
“Chill, Koba,” Suzumoto waves her hand as if to dismiss the growing tension between Risa and Yui, “Oh dear, thankfully I have some strings to pull..”
“What do you mean?” Oda asks. “You’re gonna bribe security?”
“ No and didn’t we just establish the fact that going inside the building isn’t gonna help them one bit? Well, look; my cousin’s a choreographer and it’s a big coincidence she’s at the same theater Imaizumi’s in. I just asked Odanana to come with me without saying anything since I’m sure Imaizumi’s name was taboo to you guys but considering the circumstances I guess I should lend you guys a hand…”
“Really?” Yui raises her brows, surprised, “you’re gonna go that far?”
“Well… it’s been almost a year since we last met, might as well take the chance?” Mon smiles as Manaka wraps an arm around her shoulder, ruffling her hair.
“Look at you, all grown up now! Though you need a little more inch for it to be obvious.”
“You could’ve just kept that last bit to yourself, thank you very much.” Suzumoto groans as she frees herself from the taller girl’s grasp.
Yui keeps her ball cap on as they entered the dark theater. They could hear the voices echoing throughout all the way to the entrance, and with every step they take, her heart beat gradually goes a little faster. Suzumoto peeks from a nearby wall before gesturing them to come over, taking slow, careful steps in case they see Imaizumi all of a sudden.
Looks like it isn’t Imaizumi’s supposed-to-be part yet, as she’s not on the stage, but for sure she’s hiding either behind a small space behind the curtain or hidden behind one of the gigantic backdrops. She couldn’t imagine how Imaizumi would’ve glowed after all these months… and it’s making her anxious.
She felt Risa tugging her coat as she was glued on the stage. She reverts herself back into reality and approached the group near the fire exit. Suzumoto was talking to a tall girl with slim body in her rehearsal clothes.
“Do you think she’s around here?” Yui whispers, “She’s not onstage.”
Oda takes a few steps away to look at the stage. “Aw, Yuipon , you should hold on to the thrill a little longer.”
Yui shots her a glare and Oda just grins. Manaka jolts as she turns to Yui almost immediately. “It’s her..!”
“Where?!” The younger girl instantly turns around, but before she could even begin searching for the girl she’s been wanting to see for so long, Manaka laughs as she slaps her knee, teary-eyed.
“Oh, god, Yui, you’re so fucking whipped for her, man.” She says in between laughs. She tried holding it in, but she ends up chortling when Oda mimics Yui’s previous reaction. “Pfff- HAHAHA—”
Manaka’s laugh didn’t last long as Risa slaps her back, turning the poor girl’s laughs into heavy choking and coughing. Yui glares at her sharply but she can’t really take it in a rather serious manner when Oda’s still behind the younger girl, quietly giggling. The slap was painful, but the giggling didn’t dissipate one bit.
Suzumoto returns all of a sudden, and Yui’s eyes return into its anxious glint. The older girl’s lips were in a straight line, serious. “I have both good news and bad news, which one would you like to hear first?”
“Uhh.. bad news?” Risa answers, uncertain. Yui just gives it a go, too anxious to even answer properly.
“We only have an hour left.. possibly even thirty minutes, I don’t know,” Mon scratches her head, “Their schedule’s pretty irregular so more or less we have to be quick.”
“And the good news?”
“Well, she allowed us inside her dressing room. It may as well be invasion of privacy but as long as no one knows aside from my cousin then I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
“Will we be fine?” Yui asks, “I mean I’m actually pretty anxious right now and I’m having second thoughts about meeting her—“
“Oh keep it in your pants, Kobayashi.” Risa says as she hauls the younger girl inside the hidden hallway and into the dressing room.
“So, any idea how we crack this code?” Kobayashi says as she takes ahold of the damned phone. The gang gathers around her as the screen flashed her lockscreen, its blinking insertion point staring back at them. “I’m not much of a hacker, so we just had to guess.”
“...Banana?” Oda goes first, “She swings that fruit around before, I dunno.”
“No, no no,” Mon shakes her head, “Aim for something bigger!”
Completely confused, Oda shrugs, “What? Big banana?”
“Please get out.” Yui interjects before the two of them could even steer the conversation into something entirely out of topic.
“Oh wait I think I know,” Risa says. Yui presses on the insertion point once again to reveal the keyboard, waiting for Risa’s guess. For a short moment, she sees a small grin appear on her lips, and Yui knows that smile all too well.
“Actually no, your smile tells me your answer’s just as useless as these two over here.” Yui says as she gestures a hand on Oda and Suzumoto’s direction. “Please take this seriously.”
“What? Hey, if she’s gonna put a password on that thing I’m pretty sure she’d be using numbers!”
“Then password, please,” Kobayashi emphasizes, her patience growing thinner.
“....”
“.........”
“..........Do you know her bust size?”
“Get out.”
“Wait I think I got it too!” Manaka suddenly snaps her fingers, and the large smile on her lips served another hint that this isn’t gonna end well.
“How many times do we have to go through this?”
“No I swear I’m serious! If she’s gonna put a password on that thing I’m pretty sure she’ll be using something or someplace with sentimental value!” Yui had this same conversation before and it didn’t end well, what are the odds this wouldn’t?
“Then what is it?”
Manaka turns serious for a moment, before slamming her fist on top of her palm. “Where does she buy her lingeries from?”
“Who the hell uses a lingerie shop for a password— da— damn it guys, god-freaking-dammit—“ exasperated, she buries her head onto her hands, “I swear one more time you tell me something that isn’t even related to what we’re doing, I’m gonna kick your asses.”
Shida double takes. “I meant what I asked!”
Yui drops her shoulders and apathetically stares at the older girl.
“Wha— hey! Don’t tell me you’re not curious! If anyone else here is interested about that it most probably would be you!”
Risa intervenes. “Aren’t you taking the ‘ keep it in your pants’ metaphor a little too seriously? And what’s sentimental about lingeries anyway?”
Manaka grins but thankfully Risa quickly rebounds. “Actually, no, don’t answer that, please.”
“But what if she really used banana as her password?” Oda says, “And you know, she’s wack.”
Suzumoto’s ‘pfffttttt’ fills the air, but Kobayashi just rolls her eyes. “Guys, please, handling one headache is enough, what makes you think I’m up for four more? For God’s sakes this feels like a daycare.”
“Well if you hadn’t sent a wrong message in the first place then you wouldn’t be forced to handle us,” Manaka retorts. “That alone is a headache.”
Pon just groans. This is impossible for her to accomplish. They ended up slumping their shoulders in defeat, but soon their shoulders immediately tense as they hear various footsteps ringing throughout the hallway.
“Shit!” Mon looks at her watch, “we took too long! Yui, you need to return the phone!”
“But I wasn’t done yet! I’m not gonna let her see my damned wrong message!”
“We’ll be in much bigger trouble if she sees you holding her phone!”
Panicking, Pon then opens her mouth to say something but no words come out; she shrugs but Manaka quickly retrieves the phone from her hand, throwing it across the room for Risa to catch and swiftly shoot it in Imaizumi’s bag. She was about to ask them what they were doing but before she could do so, however, the other four hides behind the partition while she just awkwardly stood in the middle of the room. She wasn’t sure what to do so she just pulls her face mask all the way up to the bridge of her nose and search for a place to hide but the door suddenly swings open and—
“—who are you?”
Black irises met hers, and even with her cap on, Kobayashi knew well whose voice it came from. She was left frozen on her spot, while the older girl stares at her with an eyebrow raised, possibly waiting for an answer. Something tells her the girl isn’t even close to welcoming, either.
“O-Oh uhm, Imaizumi-san—“
“How did you get inside the room? It was locked.” She crosses her arms, dead serious look in her face.
Kobayashi gulps and briefly glances towards the partition, hoping she’s particularly looking at Suzumoto who most probably felt the weight of her stare already, but of course they wouldn’t reveal themselves almost easily.
“I— uhh..”
“Securi—” As she hears the words she dreaded the most, she immediately pulls the girl inside the room and locks the door. Imaizumi tried fighting back but she gets ahold of her arm pretty firmly. “Wha— let me go!”
“Shh! Zuumin, it’s me!” She hastily removes her face mask, “See?”
“What are yo— Yuipon? ” Her personality turns a complete one-eighty, and the hostile glint in her eyes disappeared. “Oh my god..”
Yuipon removes the cap from her head, and her hair turns into a little mess. Imaizumi quickly fixes it, much to her surprise. “It really is you..”
“ Hey.” Kobayashi smiles, “Long time no see.”
“Y-You’ve gotten taller,” Zuumin jokingly places a hand above her head, to emphasize the height gap. “You’ve gotten mature too.”
“Uhh, well, thank puberty, I guess.” She says, unsure, “So uhm, how’s the rehearsal?”
“It’s fine. Stressful, but fine.”
“Oh.. okay.”
“So, how did you get here?” She asks. “Aside from moving past security, of course. That’s pretty cool by the way.”
“Oh, you know,” she nervously laughs, “I’ve had enough of some fans tailing me sometimes that I just had to learn to be discreet.”
That was a half-assed lie, but that’s a smooth one for something she has to say at the spur of the moment. Imaizumi just nods. “Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry..”
She shakes her head as she felt heat rush to her cheeks again. For some reason, hearing an endearment from Imaizumi herself felt a little warm and fuzzy, unlike with Risa and Manaka, you’d most likely feel the sarcasm in their tones.
Manaka snickers behind the partition as they intently listened on the occurring conversation nearby. “Oh I bet she’s having a gay panic..”
“The heart wants what it wants, Shida,” Suzumoto whispers, “Can’t blame her.”
“Since you’re already here anyway, I guess we’ll just head out to the ice cream shop?”
“S-Sounds good.”
“Let me change my outfit for a bit though,” Without bothering for an answer, she removes her shirt and throws it on a nearby hamper, allowing the younger girl to see most of her bare skin. Yui panics once again, turning around and placing the cap back on her head and pulling it down, but the large mirror in front of her was still enough to see Imaizumi’s….. toned abs and…. lean muscles…
Snap out of it, Yui!
Yui takes a deep breath and sandwiches her face in between her palms. She glances at the partition and she sees Risa and Oda peeking, but retracts once Yui lays her eyes on them.
“All done, you can turn back now, Yuipon.” She turns around, and Imaizumi grins, now in a sweater with shirt underneath. “What are you so red for?”
“R-Red? What red?”
Zuumin gestures to her cheeks, “You seem to be pretty flushed.”
“Oh— uh, well, I just had a little fever a while back soo—“
“Really, do you want me to—“
“Nope! No, no it’s okay,” Pon raises both of her arms, alarmed, “No need. You ready to go?”
“Uhh yeah, I’ll just grab my bag and coat.”
Kobayashi felt her heart pacing a bit faster at the thought that Imaizumi’s phone still was left locked, and her message left undeleted and if the rest of this day went well, her life left messier than before. She wonders when will the other four escape, but honestly she’d rather lock them in here than leave them the chance to follow the two of them around.
Imaizumi hooks her arm around Kobayashi’s. “Let’s go?”
“U-Uhh—“ before she could reply, Imaizumi beams and hurriedly leaves the room with the younger girl in tow.
The room turns incredibly silent as the door closed, the lights left open. Suzumoto breaks the ice first, “So, are we just gonna ignore the fact that Imaizumi might have noticed us and left the lights open as a subtle way to tell us to make ourselves at home?”
“Nah I’m sure she just forgot to turn it off,” Manaka stands, dusting her clothes, “And is that all you gotta say when she literally just stripped in front of Pon?”
“Not technically strip in front, Yui turned her back,” Risa says, “We could see her face turning red at the mirror.”
“Oh that bod… no wonder you wanted to know what lingerie store she frequents to…” Oda mumbles, nibbling her nails. That question was directed at Manaka who was thinking a little deeply, “and to think she was nonchalant and took her clothes off just like that.”
“Hey, don’t take it out of context,” Risa lightly punches Oda’s shoulder, chuckling, “That’s probably the least scene Yui wanted to see, well, in a parallel universe. ”
The four of them chortled before laughing. Manaka fishes her phone out of her pocket. “Let’s send her a message.”
Oh they’re dead. Yui thought as she stared at her screen. Manaka created a new group chat with just the four of them, still in Imaizumi’s dressing room, and the first message sent is a photo of them with Risa holding a large placard with the most annoying message ever written:
“Someone’s gonna get laid tonight!”
Initially she wasn’t sure if she’s gonna get embarrassed or mad, but right after seeing that photo, it all makes sense now.
She’s furious.
Is what she wanted to say, but she can’t really be that mad at them especially they really did made an effort to try and help her. The only thing annoying is that they seem to be speculating the fact that Imaizumi might be into her too, which clearly isn’t, and they’re most definitely not gonna be entering a relationship any sooner, if she somehow had the chance, but so far things are well but she’s not gonna go as far as to assume that just because someone asks you out for ice cream it always ends up directly into their pants.
She just closes her phone and sighs.
“Is everything alright?” Imaizumi asks, beside her, while they’re in line for the new ice cream shop. They didn’t expect it’ll be this long, but maybe the wait could also be a chance to catch up.
Kobayashi shakes her head, smiling to reassure. “Nothing, just.. work.”
Yeah right. Nice going, Yui.
“Oh, okay,” she seems to buy that lame excuse somehow. “What are you getting?”
“I’d like to try chocolate first. If it isn’t good then the more nuanced flavors are probably off my taste.”
“Really?” She asks, raising a brow, “since when did you become an ice cream connoisseur?”
Jokingly, Kobayashi places a hand on her chin. “Oh, you know, since we used to go to different ice cream shops before back when you’re in the group—”
Shit. I shouldn’t have brought that up. She thought, biting her tongue to prevent her from saying more.
“Ah, yeah, before.” Imaizumi replies, although her voice sounded a little strange. She could tell those words had an impact on her. “Well, it’s good we’d have something to reminisce.”
Yui turns silent, not sure how to steer the conversation. First meeting in months and she already looked like a jerk who rubs others’ past on their skin like it’s nothing. Imaizumi notices the silence and the unfocused trance Kobayashi was getting into, nudging her with her elbow to get her attention. “Hey, don’t be so down. It’s all good now.”
“Yeah but I looked like an ass for immediately bringing that up.”
“Why not? If anything, I’d like to talk about it.” She says with this bright smile on her face, and it’s nothing compared to what Kobayashi sees in her recent photos with Avex. Zuumin scans around, before talking again. “Though would you prefer we could talk to a little less crowded place afterwards? We might be followed.”
The cute, scrunched up face Zuumin makes naturally forces a little laugh to escape from Yui’s lips. She’s wearing a beret and a face mask to hide, but her height and her familiar stature still leaves enough familiarity for anyone to know it’s Imaizumi, if they know her perchance of course.
“Sure uh.. maybe park or something? I doubt kids play late this night.”
“Park is good, I’d actually suggest it if I had thought of it sooner.”
She says, as she slipped her hands between them, clasping them around hers. Imaizumi rubs her thumb on the surface of her hand, with a little smile present on her lips.
Yui could only look at her with surprised eyes, and she thought maybe that was Zuumin was going for. If that’s the case, well, it’s bad for her heart. Yeah sure, it’s a given she likes her that’s why it’s bad, even worse, but it only gets difficult for her over time; and it’s not gonna end sooner or later.
“So you’re saying that you’ve never actually tried flying a kite before?”
“Nope, not in a million years, no.”
“Get outta here.”
“Really!”
“Flying kites were like, the pinnacle of childhoods!”
“Well surprise surprise!” Imaizumi grins, “Well, to compensate, my brothers always take me out to fish.”
“Yeaaah, no. Not gonna believe that one.”
“Hey! I always make the baits!” She huffs, “It always works, you know! They could create their own, but my bros always prefer that I’d be the one making it.”
Kobayashi jokingly grimaces as she drinks from her coffee cup. Their ice cream didn’t survive long enough during their walk to the park, so they settled for another detour to a nearby coffee shop for something fitting for the chilly weather. It’s actually nice, especially they weren’t high school students anymore that they didn’t have to cut off precious time for curfew; at least, until, if either one of them had any urgent work to do, then most likely it’ll be time to part.
“I find that hard to believe considering you mess up at the kitchen most of the time,” She says, chuckling. “Unless some humans have a knack for baits, then it’s a different story.”
“Apparently, it could work.” Imaizumi replies. Kobayashi looks at her with furrowed brows and confused eyes, as the older girl makes a finger gun pointed just on the left side of Yui’s chest. “I bet I could bait you right now, if you want.”
“Yeah right, as if you could—.”
“I love you.”
Kobayashi stops dead in her tracks, her coffee cup almost falling out of her grasp. The sensation of the cup almost falling causes her to scramble on the swing, searching for her balance; if not for the sturdy chains of the swing, she would’ve crashed right on the ground.
She turns silent, swallowing both her words and saliva every now and then. “U-Uhh, uhm..”
Imaizumi suddenly bursts into a bundle of giggling fit. “And you still say baits don’t work on humans.”
Drat. That caught me off guard!
Now she could feel her insides tightening, and heat rushing to her face. Ah, this is bad, if Imaizumi sees her getting flushed, she might get the wrong idea.
The sudden silence from Yui caused Zuumin’s laughter to die down instantly, replaced with worry. “I’m sorry, that was a bad prank.”
Worst prank. Kobayashi thought. Cruel, even.
Pon squares her shoulders as she tried to recover. Breath for now, then cry later. She was actually hoping for an ambush bait, something like with handshake events, but Imaizumi’s words were further as far as her mind could imagine. Her heart was still rapidly beating, but she hoped that it’s just the coffee’s side effect.
“Are you alright?” Imaizumi asks.
“Just caught off guard, is all.” She honestly replies much to her surprise. Well, suppose that wouldn’t hurt to tell. “That was pretty good.”
“Thanks,” the older girl chuckles, “still have more room to work with.”
Maybe it’s time to change the topic for a bit.
“Speaking of which, how’s it going with Avex so far? Are they treating you right?”
“Well…” She trails off, unsure of what to share. “They’re cool. Had some new colleagues, and a few projects in progress. It’s nothing different when I was back in Keyakizaka.”
Yui knew what that meant, but it isn’t good. The girl was away for months but came back even more confused than before; and even though she never knew what really ran along her senior’s train of thoughts, her sad gaze says it all.
Imaizumi knew what the younger girl was thinking. “But it’s not like I’m implying something bad’s happening, it’s just.. well, it’s difficult to adapt. New schedule, new regimes that are somehow alien to me even though it doesn’t differ much from what we usually do back then, and new faces to work with.”
“...Must be tough, huh.” Yui mumbles. Zuumin quietly nods her head. “I mean, it was the same for me too, honestly.”
Imaizumi turns her head to her direction, confused. “But you handle things better, you make difficult things seem easy, and had great potential. I’m actually starting to think I just threw our dream solo album down the drain when I left..”
“Hey, neither of these were your fault. It was just hard to move forward, you know? But I just had to constantly think that we have our own lives to run. As much as I wanted to try and resist you from leaving, I know it’s just my selfishness trying to take over me.”
“Ah,” Imaizumi leans her head back. “I really am the worst. Maybe that’s why I’m not trusting my abilities that much recently.”
“Hey now, don’t say that. If I had the ability to make you look at yourself through my eyes, I reckon you’d love yourself too.”
And that wasn’t even a lie. She really did want that to happen, no matter how absurd that would be. It’s just plain cruel that doubts had to shower her when she’s literally drowning in talent, and it’s worse that she acknowledges the negativity more than the great things she always admired in her.
Imaizumi smiles bitterly. “Don’t set your bars up high, I might disappoint you again.”
Kobayashi scoffs, “ Again? Since when did you disappoint me?”
“A lot of times. I left you once and left permanently afterwards, along with both of our dreams. None of it even came true.”
“I was upset and lonely, but not disappointed; and I have no right to hold you back from doing what you want either! Tell you what: if I leave, I’m gonna go after you.”
“Hey wait—! That’s not what I’m saying!” The sudden declaration was pretty funny, as Imaizumi suddenly chuckles, “Just stay right where you belong as long as you want. Long enough that you won’t regret it when you leave.”
“That’s ironic, coming from you,” Yui retorts, “but I’ll take it. Just promise me you won’t be half-assing your works from now on, okay?”
“As long as you promise me we hang out like this again, then it’s all good.” Imaizumi winks. Kobayashi just laughs. Well, it’s pretty short-lived, since she knew it’ll take a long time before they could meet again. She didn’t really wanna leave either.
The younger girl just watched as her senior stands from the swing, stretching a little before throwing her cup on the bin beside her. Yui spent a little more time dozing off and staring at the ground, the cup in her hands a little crushed. The drink’s cold now anyway, not much of a use now especially in this type of weather.
Just as she decided to stand however, she felt her knees weaken at the sound of Imaizumi’s ringing phone, the music blaring in the middle of the empty park.
Oh fuck..! Her eyes widen and she completely stood up, not sure of what to do.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t checked my phone since this afternoon,” Imaizumi says as she began typing her password in. Kobayashi now didn’t know how to react so her body moves on its own, rushing to her in an attempt to make a grab for the phone.
Imaizumi notices so she turns herself around, the younger girl’s body against her back. “What are you doing?”
“Please don’t look at your phone,” She pleads, “Not when I’m here.”
“You telling that to me makes me just wanna see it even more,” The older girl retaliates, “What did you send anyway? A porn link?”
“No, even worse!” Kobayashi yells.
“What’s worse than a—”
Imaizumi freezes, and Yui knew she was too late.
This is what happens when you carelessly reply to private messages. Great job, Yui.
Kobayashi buries her face in her hands as she waited for the message to sink in Imaizumi’s head. The older girl just stares off into space, looking at her then back at the message; her mind was drawn into a blank, the shock strongly evident in her features. She walks a few spaces away, placing a hand on her forehead.
“Y-You’re.. You’re over me..?”
Her voice comes of soft, still in a trance. Those were her first words after a long time of silence, both of them in a state of unknown.
Slowly, Imaizumi glances at the younger girl, who was know crouching and her face buried in her knees. “Since when were you… under… me?”
“I’m sorry,” Was all Yui could think of at the moment, slowly standing up and fear present in her eyes. She just brushes off the little joke her senior might’ve pulled off. “I-It’s my fault that I— oh god.. I can’t do this.. ”
Her nose becomes hot and her eyes began to sting. Even breathing seemed so difficult to do now. She’s out of words to say and the only thing she could see was her breath forming in front of her due to the cold. Imaizumi’s still looking at her, hoping she’d talk and she badly wanted to but the words just evaporate the moment she opens her lips.
Steady, Yui. Keep calm. Just tell her how you feel.
It was easier said than done though. She couldn’t even look at her in the eye, not when the guilt was rising to her chest about the fact that she lied about getting past security and tried invading her personal privacy just to save her dignity from shattering. It was her selfishness coming over her all over again.
“Risa— She- She told me she was pining that we end up together and—” Kobayashi closes her eyes, the tears brimming at the edge of her eyes were dangerously a short movement from falling. Her voice began to crack but she didn’t care. “...I just told her that out of the blue and— and without knowing I sent it to— to you..!”
Imaizumi shakes her head, completely confused. She wasn’t even sure what to say, nor think. Her thoughts were scattered everywhere— not as bad as the girl in front of her— but the words just don’t sink in properly no matter how much she tried.
“W-What do you mean..?”
Oh lord. This just keeps getting harder and harder. Her throat was burning every time she swallows, her tears still strongly held back.
Yui looks at Imaizumi, who clearly is still in need of answers.
“I-I had this biggest crush on you when you were still with us and… when you left I just gave up— but I swear on my whole life I’ve been trying to get over it but I can’t seem to do it as easily as how Manaka nor Risa make it out to be and it’s just difficult looking at you right now and how far you’ve become— don’t!”
She unconsciously raises her voice at the last bit, as Zuumin takes a step closer, just an arm’s reach away. She wants to step back, but the shock renders her immobile.
Her vision gets a lot more blurry, but clears as soon as she felt something streaming down her cheek. She dabs her finger against her cheek to check what it is, but Zuumin suddenly closes the distance between them, wrapping her in a tight embrace.
“I’m sorry.. oh god .. I’m sorry, Yuipon,” she mumbles, her voice shaky. “ I didn’t know.. ”
“ No, no, don’t, please..” Her tears continued to stream down her cheeks. Everything was overwhelming, and the stress was dealing a large impact to her system. Her lips were shaking, just like her hands, but kept them relaxed even if it’s difficult. She couldn’t even return the embrace. “ Damnit..!”
Zuumin pulls away, wiping the tears on the younger girl’s cheeks. “Don’t worry, it’s okay..”
“No it’s not..” She shakes her head, “I’m pathetic, stupid and a—”
Imaizumi tuts before she could even continue. “If you want to calm down, just close your eyes.”
“Why would I?” She asks, confused, even maybe annoyed, “Closing my eyes won’t help.”
“You wouldn’t know until you try,” Imaizumi whispers, “Just close it.”
Exhaling, Yui closes her eyes.
“Anything?”
“There’s nothing.”
“Good.”
Was that supposed to be a good thing?
“What’s supposed to be good about—” her words were cut off by a sudden pull of her coat and a soft sensation pressing against her lips. Her eyes fly open in shock, and there Imaizumi was, no distance left between them, and her lips pressed against hers. She instantly felt the heat from her chest rush up to her cheeks, possibly even ears, as her body once again was tied up and rendered immobile.
Imaizumi slowly pulls away and her eyes open, the lonely mysterious glint disappearing a flash. She returns to her normal footing, thinking maybe it wasn’t obvious enough for Yui to realize what she meant.
“—that..” She finishes her broken statement, then stares off into space. The whole thing went by like a lightning, but it happened so slow at the same time. It was as if time slowed down for her to register what was really happening.
Imaizumi’s lips on hers… strangely felt so good.
They locked gazes, but this time, Yui didn’t hesitate to cup her hands on Zuumin’s cheeks, closing their distances once again. Dear lord it felt so warm, so soft and so good. Imaizumi wraps her arms around her neck, pulling her closer, and the younger girl obliges. They felt themselves smile in between the kiss, and it never felt so satisfying. Like ever.
They pull away as their lungs began to burn, the sensation of air lacking during the kiss was oddly fulfilling. Their breaths mixed, but none of them even bothered to care. At least, what’s important now is that both of them knew what the other felt, no matter how long it took, and even with the things they had to risk.
But no matter. They both wanted this, and nothing’s gonna stop them.
“Do you want to continue this somewhere private?” Imaizumi asks, chuckling, though she really meant what she just said. Kobayashi violently nods, smiling.
Ah, what do you know. Maybe the placard Risa was holding in that photo isn’t so wrong after all.
It didn’t even take them five seconds before Imaizumi intertwines her fingers with Yui’s and made a run, away from the park, to somewhere far as their feet would lead them.
Somewhere only the two of them knew.