Work Text:
Being a model in Shibuya is… Difficult to say the least. In such a fashion-centered city, modeling was a common profession among many, which made it extremely hard to get a job. So you’re surprised when your application to be a model for Empty Candy- and extremely popular brand- is accepted. You honestly applied on a whim, not expecting much from it. You really didn’t even think you had a chance. But out of everyone you were chosen. Which was still shocking, even as you’re standing outside the door to the designer’s apartment.
You’re shaking a bit, not really knowing what to expect. Are you scared of judgment? Of maybe getting rejected the second the door opens? Of first impressions? Whatever it is, you ball your hands into fists and knock on the door with a little more force than you expected. Yeah, the nerves are really getting to you.
Not even a second after you knock, the door opens and you see someone quite a bit shorter than you standing before you. You had seen him before on magazine covers and had heard tales of his escapades with girls and guys alike. This is-
“Heyo Y/N~! I had been waiting for ya!” Your train of thought is interrupted by the pink-haired man in question. “I’m sure you already know because of the application and all, but I’m Ramuda!” He gives you a small wink. “Come on in!”
You were going to just enter of your own accord, but he grabs your wrist and drags you in, but not forcefully. He’s actually quite gentle about it, letting you make the decision to come in yourself. It’s… Nice. He leads you over to the couch and makes sure you’re seated and comfortable before moving on.
“Soooooooooo, I have to get a few more lil’ things prepared, so you just wait right there for me!” He says this with a huge smile on his face, and it just hit you- he’s been smiling this entire time. It feels a little creepy. And because of his smile, most of his words seem inauthentic. But you suppose you’re just overthinking things, you shouldn’t be making judgments of someone you just met, let alone Ramuda Amemura of all people.
He starts heading toward his office before quickly turning right back around in a twirling motion. You can’t help but think “Adorable.” as he begins to speak again. “I almost forgot! Silly me!” He lets out a small giggle that once again feels fake. “Would you like some coffee or tea? I want you to feel at home here while I’m working with you!”
You were going to object, but it would be rude to reject his hospitality. After a pause, you speak up. “A coffee would be nice.” Ramuda nods enthusiastically and runs off to where you suppose the kitchen is.
While waiting, you look around the room. It’s quite colorful, and has a retro style to it. The neon lights on the wall and the jukebox makes the room feel unique. You look over to the side where you see Ramuda’s office, sporting clothes hanging up on a rack along with some displayed on the wall. There’s also a beautiful dress lying on his desk, which you suppose he’s working on. It’s a light pink, similar to his hair, and it seems to be floor length. From the designs that you’ve seen from Empty Candy’s fashion lines, this one differs greatly. It’s as if it isn’t meant to be commercially sold for the public. Could it be that-
Your train of thought is interrupted by a knock on the door and a smooth voice coming from the other side of it. “Ramuda, we’ve arrived.”
Wait, arrived? Who could that be? You thought you were working with Ramuda one-on-one today. “COMIIIIING!” Ramuda’s voice come from the other room and you see him making a b-line for the door, swinging it open.
When the door opens, you see a rather tall man (compared to Ramuda) wearing very eccentric clothing and has an elegant demeanor. There’s also another man behind him who’s around the same height, wearing a long green jacket and raggedy clothing. The two seem very different than the other, like they’re from two different worlds. However, if they’re here together, they’re probably related in some way, right?
“Gen-chan~!” Ramuda pounces on the man directly in the doorway, giving him a hug. This doesn’t startle him, as he just returns the hug with a gentle smile.
“Oi- don’t leave me out! I want a hug too!” You hear a rougher, gruffy voice from behind the man Ramuda called ‘Gen-Chan.’ Ramuda giggles, but this one is different from before. He sounds genuinely happy to see these two, which kind of hurts considering you felt like he was completely fake a few moments ago.
Ramuda lets go of ‘Gen-chan’ and then immediately latches on to the other person, who picks him up and spins him around while hugging him. “I would never forget about you, Daisu!”
“Ya better not.” He places Ramuda back down on the ground and pats him on the head. Ramuda then proceeds to lead them inside.
The more elegant of the three immediately notices you and seems slightly surprised. “And I’m assuming this is Y/N?” Wait- how does he know your name?
“Ooooohhhh, yeah! You’ve been talking about them all week, all excited about working with them and how pre- OW!” The man in the coat gets punched on the shoulder by his counterpart, who continues speaking.
“I am Yumeno Gentaro and this idiot is Arisugawa Dice. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Gentaro bows deeply, while Dice just waves with his free hand, clutching his shoulder with the other.
Yumeno Gentaro… Where have you heard that name before? Before you can even think about it, Ramuda starts talking to the other two. “So, how was your date~?” Oh, they’re dating. That… Still doesn’t make sense but you suppose opposites attract.
“It would’ve been better with you there, since Dice was oh-so-annoying the entire time and wouldn’t stop bothering other guests at the restaurant.” Gentaro puts on a care-free tone, his voice lighter than before.
“I WAS NOT!” Dice retorts. “At least… I don’t think I was… Was I?” A myriad of expressions passed over Dice’s face as he contemplated the question. Ramuda was trying his best to not burst out in laughter.
“‘Twas but a lie.” Dice groaned. While you weren’t necessarily included in the conversation, you can’t deny that it’s entertaining. Gentaro turned back to the now laughing Ramuda and smiled softly. “However, I was not lying about you. You should come out on dates with us more often.”
“Yeah yeah! I miss hanging out with you dude! You gotta go out with us more!” Dice had a huge smile on his face as he spoke. You could feel yourself smiling as well, just looking at them being happy with each other.
As they continued talking, you turned your attention back to the dress in Ramuda’s office, still enamored by it. Now that you’re having a closer look at it, you can tell it has white lace accents on the sleeves and bottom of the dress- once again, very different from Empty Candy’s normal style. The bottom half of the dress also seems to be made from multiple layers of tulle so it appears bigger and has more depth than it actually does, kind of like a princess dress without a petticoat. That might’ve been intentional, but you still can’t get over how peculiar it is.
“Whatcha doin’~?” Apparently you had spaced out, because Ramuda sneaked behind you and whispered in your ear, causing you to let out a yelp and jump away from him. The other two in the room also have all of their attention on you, which immediately causes your cheeks to redden.
“H-How long have y-you been st-staring at me?” You stutter this out, very embarrassed from their gazes. You hide your face with your hands before they can respond to the question.
Ramuda laughs at your reaction and you can also hear Dice snickering as well. The only person who actually responds is Gentaro. “Only for a moment. You have no need to worry- Ramuda was just playing a little trick on you.”
You look up and see Ramuda with his cheeks puffed out, accompanied with a childish expression. “Meanie! I would never play tricks on anyone!”
Dice makes a scoffing noise. “Yeah right. Last time you said that y-“
“OKAY!” Ramuda quickly cuts him off and turns to you again. “Sorry about all this! I’m sure you have places to be, so we’ll get right down to business!” His eyes suddenly widen. “Your coffee! Oopsie- lemme go get that for ya~!” He jumps from the couch and runs into the kitchen very hurriedly.
And now you’re alone in the room with Dice and Gentaro. It’s silent, since no one really knows what to do. You kick your feet back and wait for Ramuda to come back.
“So, uh.” Dice suddenly walks over and sits next to you on the couch. “Sorry for bargin’ in on your whole job thing. We came back a lil’ earlier than expected, we didn’t think you’d be here since Ramuda didn’t care to tell us when you were comin’.”
That raises a question you had earlier that you had forgotten to ask- “How do you guys know who I am? I’m not famous or anything, especially since I haven’t gotten many jobs in a while.” This was true, you hadn’t been accepted for any jobs except this one, which was surprising.
Dice smiled. “Like I said, Ramuda had been talkin’ ‘bout ya all week. He was real excited to meet you.”
But that raised another question. “…But why? I’m not anything special compared to the other models who probably applied for the job. I have no idea why I was accepted.”
At this, Dice goes silent, deep in thought. The silence is prolonged for a bit until you hear Gentaro speak. “Well, dear Y/N, while I am not the one who chose you, I’ve met some other models Ramuda has worked with. What mattered not was their popularity or fame, rather, their talent and personality was the important thing.” He has now taken a seat on your other side, so you’re sitting in between the two of them. “I can assure you that you were not chosen simply by chance.” Gentaro had a warm smile on his face, and you could feel your heart skip a beat.
It is now that you finally recognize him and remember where you had read his name. “Wait- you’re Yumeno Gentaro- famous author!” You’re suddenly star-struck and at a loss for words because you’re now aware of the status of the man sitting at your side.
“Yes, that is my name, what of it?” He looks confused at your reaction, as if this were something completely normal and common.
“Oh my god- Gentaro, stop being a dick.” You hear the gruff voice of Dice from behind you, which causes you to turn to him. When he notices your attention shifting, he winks at you, which makes you feel even more embarrassed and lost than before.
You hear a high and piercing voice come from nearby, meaning that Ramuda is back. “Is Gen-chan being a meanie to Y/N-chan?” When you look up to him, he’s holding a mug in his hands, which you assume is the coffee he prepared for you.
Gentaro responds with a shrug. “I have no idea what you could be talking about. I am simply speaking calmly to your model.”
“Gentaro please, leave ‘em alone.” He says this with a groan and places a hand on your shoulder. “They’re obviously gonna be stunned meeting someone like you all of a sudden.”
Their banter is once again entertaining, which elicits a laugh from you. A smile was on Gentaro’s face once more, seemingly satisfied. “Well, ‘twas but a lie.”
Ramuda narrowed his eyes in Gentaro’s direction, more jokingly than anything. “Stop it, you’re startling Y/N-chan. Next thing we know they won’t come back.”
You tilt your head to the side at that. “Come back? What do you mean?”
“Oh, well I was hoping that I could hire you as a permanent model~! But only if it’s okay with you- you don’t have to make a decision right now!” Ramuda’s voice was a little lower this time so it was less jarring. “I wanted to keep it a surprise, whoops!” Ramuda walked over and handed you the mug.
Permanent? So this wouldn’t be just a one time thing? As you thought about it, you took a sip of the coffee and your tastebuds were overwhelmed by the sweetness of it. But it wasn’t sickening, it was the perfect balance. Just the right amount of sweet and just the right amount of bitter.
While you quietly enjoyed the coffee, you noticed Ramuda’s eyes on you. He looked expectant, waiting for your approval. You flashed a smile, feeding into his ego. “It’s good! I like it. Thank you.” Now that you think about it, even though these three were dating each other, they had all of their attention on you, for the most part. While you’re sort of used to being the center of people’s attention, this felt different. Their gaze was less focused on your looks and more focused on just you, as a person. As if they were just fascinated about your existence. It made you a little frightened, since you were afraid that if you moved even an inch the wrong way that they’d become disinterested in you.
You felt Gentaro poking your shoulder. “Y/N? Is there something wrong?” Startled by the sudden contact, you jump away from Gentaro, which causes you to get closer to Dice, sitting on the opposite side of you. If your face wasn’t red before, it certainly is now.
“Woah, calm down. We aren’t gonna hurt ‘cha.” Dice scoots over just a little bit to give you more space. “You were just starin’ with this blank look on your face, so we got worried.”
“Seriously, are you okay?” Ramuda even sounded worried, which astonished you. “We can do this another time if you want, when Gentaro and Dice aren’t here.”
“Nonononono- it’s fine! I’m fine. This is. Fine.” You didn’t realize how panicked and nervous you sounded until you had finished speaking. Gentaro raised an eyebrow at your behavior. Well now they think you’re weird. Great.
Much to your surprise, no one really questioned it. “‘S all good! I didn’t really wanna leave anyway.” Dice’s comment caused your hands to fly up to your face to hide your embarrassment. “W-well ‘cause I don’t get ta hang out with Ramuda much.” Seems Dice was also embarrassed, since he started stuttering.
“Dice, lying really isn’t your forte.” You hear Gentaro comment from beside you. “I, however, am not lying when I say that I am happy to be able to spend more time with you, Y/N.”
This is odd. Really odd. You have no idea how to feel. All three of the other people in the room are extremely pretty and charming and two of them actually enjoy your company. What is this? Fling Posse was made up of the most famous people in Shibuya, and you’re in a room with all three of them, and they’re saying they want to hang out with you? This is enough to cause a heart attack if you hadn’t already had one, died, and gone to heaven. Because this sure feels like heaven.
There’s silence. With your hands covering your face, you can’t see what’s happening, and you honestly don’t want to. The silence is telling enough. You didn’t know how to respond to their gazes, their comments, even their small movements. And your lack of responses probably made it seem like you were disinterested when that was the last thing you would’ve been in a situation like this.
You feel small hands grabbing your own and removing them from your face. When you open your eyes, Gentaro and Dice are gone from your sides, and Ramuda is there, gently holding your hands in his own. You look around, searching for the other two.
“Aww, do you not wanna hang out with me anymore~?” He put on a very dramatic but convincing pout, which caused you to feverishly shake your head. He giggled, quite amused at your reaction. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding! They’re not gone- they’re just in the other room. I asked them to go away so you could calm down.”
“Th-thank you…” You managed to stutter. He was really really close to you, which was kind of nerve-racking. Your grip on his hands tighten, afraid that he’s going to leave because he’ll realize you aren’t good enough, or that you’re not what he thought you’d be. However, he tightens his grip as well in response, his eyes looking into yours with a soft expression. The eye-contact causes you to tense up, so you look away.
He giggles. “I’m not going to ask you to leave unless you want to,” he says, as if reading your mind. He rises from his place on the floor in front of you and proceeds to sit down next to you, still keeping one of your hands in his. “Like I said before, we can do this another time, when it’s better for you.”
You once again shook your head, the fear of him leaving you behind and finding someone better coming back to you full force. If you couldn’t handle just this little bit of pressure, you’d never get anywhere in this industry. As you thought though, you couldn’t help but wonder why you were so afraid of this. This is just a normal job, just with more important people. Slight nervousness was normal, but there was more than just that. There was a tight feeling in your chest, along with butterflies in your stomach. But you didn’t feel sick- just flustered.
You felt a hand on your shoulder, and there was a look of concern on Ramuda’s face. “You’re shaking.” Wait, shaking? You hadn’t even noticed. “Am I making you unhappy? I can leave as we-”
“N-No! Please don’t.” You didn’t realize how panicked you sounded until you actually raised your voice. He smiled for a moment, his eyes still soft as he looked up at you. “I… I like you being here with me.” Your face was slightly red as you started to actually speak your thoughts, but you quickly bit your tongue before you said something stupid.
“I do too.” You were not expecting those words to come out of Ramuda’s mouth. You knew he was ten times more confident than you were, but him agreeing with you was shocking. He… He liked hanging out with you? As in this is something he chose to do, not just because he felt obligated? Your face reddened even more as these thoughts ran through your head. You heard Ramuda speak up again. “If you have anything on your mind, you can tell me. I’m here to listen. I don’t want you to feel nervous or scared around me, Gen-chan, or Daisu.” He referred to them by the nicknames he had said when he first came in.
Ah, that’s right. That’s what those feelings are. You finally realized that throughout this entire visit you had started to form crushes on all three of these men in your proximity, and them interacting the way they did with you gave you a small hope that they might like you back. But recalling earlier, they were already very clearly in a relationship with each other.
Your appearance must've fallen, because you felt the hand on your shoulder squeeze you gently. “Y/N-chan, you can talk to me, I won’t make fun of you for your feelings.”
You couldn’t just say your feelings though- it was much more complicated than Ramuda made it seem. As you tried to avert your gaze from him, you saw the forgotten coffee sitting on the table. You grabbed the cup and took a sip. It was cold from just sitting there, which made it taste bad. It kind of reminded you of how you felt. You had felt so warm and welcomed, but now the reality of the situation hit you full force, making you feel cold inside, more distant from the others. You had realized that you lived in different worlds, and any hopes that you may have had will never come to fruition.
You finally responded, letting the silence drag out long enough. “I don’t have anything on my mind, there’s nothing to worry about.” You can shelve those feelings for later- you don’t have to address those now.
“As a liar myself, I have become quite proficient at detecting the truthfulness of others.” You hear a voice coming from the hallway, which you recognize as Gentaro’s, as the man himself turns the corner and enters the room. “And you, dear model, are not telling the truth.”
Ramuda pouts, looking at Gentaro with puffed out cheeks. “I told you to come back in five minutes!”
“Well it’s been five minutes, Ramuda.” Dice appears from the hallway as well, coming in a little later than Gentaro. “Didya lose track o’ the time or somethin’?”
Thankfully, they seemed to have glazed over the face that Gentaro just called you out on your bullshit. The atmosphere felt less tense with all of them here, since you weren’t just in the room with Ramuda and Ramuda alone.
“Well stiiiill! You could see me and Y/N-chan were still talking!” Ramuda’s pout became more pronounced as he spoke to the other two. Dice took this opportunity to sit next to you once more, placing an arm around your shoulders.
“I may not be as smart as Gentaro,” Dice said, speaking to you, “But ya aren’t very convincing with that tone of voice.” Oh great. Back to this topic again. Dice’s proximity was causing your face to redden again.
“B-but I don-”
Gentaro cut you off with a heavy sigh, placing his hand on his temple. “I do not understand why you must lie so much to us. We are not going to poke fun at your feelings, nor disvalue them.”
“That’s what I said!” Ramuda pipes up.
“W-Well I… I just…” You had no idea how to respond to this. If the tense aura of the room had left before, it had come back, now covering the air around you and making it hard to speak. This was way too much pressure for you- hell, too much pressure for anyone- to handle. They were practically asking you to confess right then and there. They might not make fun of you for it, but you certainly didn’t want to be rejected when you knew it was inevitable. “I-It’s fine-”
“Look, if ya don’t wanna tell us, ya don’t gotta.” Dice looked concerned for you, worried that the others were pressuring you too much. “But we’re here for ya, and if we were the cause- or at least, if I was the cause of your problems, then I’d like to know. And I think these two would too.” He gestured to Ramuda and Gentaro, who nodded in agreement.
Why were they so insistent on this? They just wouldn’t let up on the issue, which came off to you as odd. Despite the odd feeling, you knew they were going to wheedle the answer out of you at some point- it’d be better to just say it yourself.
“Well the thing is… See I…” Words were escaping you as you tried to articulate your thoughts. You felt Dice’s hand run up and down your back in order to comfort you. You shut your eyes tight, hoping that not being able to see them would help. “I really really like you guys and you’re so nice and so pretty but I know that you guys are already dating each other so I didn’t want to cause problems or anything-” You were running your words together and your tone was panicked as you spoke as fast as you possibly could. “A-anyway I’ll leave now sorry for taking up your time-”
The second you stood up from your seat, Ramuda grabbed your hand and tugged at it, forcing you back down. Dice kept his hand place on your back, still gently rubbing it. There was silence in the room as everyone thought about your words. Your face was as red as a tomato, and you were practically vibrating due to anxiety.
Ramuda gently placed a hand on your chin to lift your face to turn him towards you. You slowly opened your eyes as you looked down at him, then was immediately met with his lips on yours, holding you close. After a second or so, he let go, then smiled brightly at you. You were just filled with confusion, stuttering as you began to talk once more. “Y-You… I… Wh-Wha-?”
Dice lets out a hearty chuckle. “Ya get kissed and the first thing ya say is ‘what?’”
“N-No I’m just confused… I don’t understand.” They’re all dating, aren’t they? Isn’t this like, cheating or something? You’re still a bit lightheaded from the kiss, as if all the air has been sucked out of your lungs. But as you’re recovering, something comes to mind. “Wait, you’re not… You’re not mad?”
“Why would we be mad? Ya didn’t do anything wrong.” Dice smiled, completely oblivious to the contradiction that just happened.
“But… But I just… He…” Your confusion is showing plainly on your face as you try to sort everything out. Dice grabs your free hand and catches you by surprise as he kisses you as well. This one is quicker, but he squeezes your hand tightly as he does so, as if he’s afraid to let you go. When he separates from you, he gives you a smile, just like Ramuda did. Now you’re even more confused than before.
You turn to the last party in the room, Gentaro, who is now approaching you as well, crouching down in front of you. Before speaking to you, he turns to his other two team members. “You must ask before engaging in intimate acts such as this, Dice, Ramuda. You would do well to learn some manners.” It seemed like he was berating them, but he had more of a joking tone as he changed the pitch of his voice to match one of a mother mad at her children. He then turned to you, a soft smile on his face as he placed a hand on one of your knees. “May I have a kiss as well, Y/N?”
Well how on earth could you refuse that? You leaned in, giving him a small and quick peck on the lips, which he leaned into as well. While it was quicker than the other two, it still held the same meaning and intimacy.
Your face was more red than you could describe in words right now. Ramuda giggled at your shocked expression. “You look like you’re gonna explode Y/N-chan! Calm down~!”
“Ya want some water? I can go get ya some.” Dice was actually quite concerned for your well-being.
“No no, I’ll be fine.” You tried to be as honest as possible as you worked everything out. Instead of just thinking though, you decide to speak. “So… You guys like me too? Like like like me?”
“I am sorry to disappoint, but I only asked for a kiss to test our compatibility. It seems we will not work as a couple.” Gentaro closed his eyes and gently shook his head, feigning sadness.
You genuinely believed it for a moment before Ramuda piped up. “Gen-chan, you’re such a meanie! This is why it took so long for us to get together in the first place!” The pink-haired man was now hugging your arm and pouting as he spoke to Gentaro.
“I deeply apologize for upsetting you. However,” His eyes turn up to you as he’s positioned in a bow, “I do believe that we would not have given you a kiss if we had no desire to.”
Your face is still extremely flushed as these men just casually talk about their love for you, holding your hands and speaking gently to you. The feelings you had were overwhelming, but you didn’t know how overwhelming until Dice reached his free hand over and wiped a tear from your cheek.
“Why are ya cryin’? This is a happy thing right? Unless… Unless you don’t like us ba-”
“I do like you guys!” Your emotions became stronger, and you started sobbing from happiness and fear and everything in between. “I-I’m so happy… That you guys like me too… I’m just…”
“We understand.” Gentaro pats your knee gently where his hand had been placed. “We’ll wait as long as you need.”
Well that just made you sob even more. Ramuda put his arms around you and hugged you, kissing your cheek as you continued to cry. Dice kept holding your hand, and Gentaro stayed where he was.
After a few minutes, Gentaro had gone to get you fresh coffee, Dice had placed his jacket over you, and Ramuda was sketching a new design with scratch paper he had grabbed from his office. Now Gentaro was on the couch as well, seated on the other side of Dice.
You took a sip of your coffee as you all stayed quiet. It wasn’t awkward, it was just… Peaceful. It felt natural. While the silence was nice, you couldn’t help but ask something.
“Why?”
While Gentaro and Dice had a look of confusion on their faces, Ramuda understood the question. After all, it’s something he’d asked himself many times. “I’m not sure about Gen-chan or Daisu, but when I first saw your application I immediately wanted to know more about you. I didn’t think someone as pretty as you existed~!” You’re blushing again. “I also just knew you were a nice person, cuz your interview questions had all nice answers!”
“But it can’t have been just that,” you reply, still quite confused, “I’ve barely hung out with you guys and you’re still completely open and fine with this.”
“Love is a very fickle thing. It can come at any time- sometimes it is fostered through long times spent together, other times it is at first sight.” The author closed his eyes as he spoke, as if he was imagining it in his head. “All that matters is that it is love, and love will always remain true.”
“I have no fuckin’ clue what Gentaro just said, but I do know that after talkin’ to ya for a while I felt a connection.” Dice grinned at you.
“If you think about it so much, you’re gonna get a headache! We don’t want that, now do we?” Ramuda looked up from his designs to give you a pat on the head. “We still have work to do!”
You giggled, feeling more comfortable now in their presence. When you came into Ramuda’s apartment, you’d have never guessed that this would’ve happened. All three of them loved you- as they showed through giving you small little displays of affection throughout the time you were there. It turns out the dress Ramuda had made was made especially for you, which you could guess, but it still made you flustered.
It also made you wonder. Did he plan this out? Did he know this would happen? He didn’t seem surprised by any of your reactions or comments, as if he had already calculated every aspect of the visit beforehand.
Whatever it was that he had done, you were happy he did it. You were happy that they reciprocated the love that budded as you talked to them. You were happy that they gave you small kisses and hugs and cared deeply for you. You were simply happy. And that was all you could ask for.