Chapter Text
“You don’t know how to smoke, do you?”
Hearing a male voice out of nowhere made you jump with alarm, causing you to throw the lighter from your hand to the ground and almost do the same with the cigarette you had between your lips.
Your heartbeat was racing, it couldn’t be good that someone was talking to you out of the blue while you were sitting alone on a sidewalk at ten o’clock at night in a neighborhood you were unfamiliar with.
You did a quick scan of your surroundings, a little relieved to notice that it wasn’t a completely lonely area, the convenience store where you just bought these cigarettes was a few meters ahead, illuminating the place along with the streetlamps, also, there were people walking their dogs and others in suits that maybe were returning home from their jobs.
Okay. You’re kind of safe, and if not, at least someone will hear you if you scream.
A little more relaxed (though still wary), you took the cigarette out of your mouth before turning back to see the owner of that voice.
It was a guy. Maybe your age, maybe a few years older, who knows. He was blond, and thanks to the streetlights you noticed that he had blue locks, he also wore glasses and was dressed completely in black.
Well, he’s cute… BUT, you didn’t like the teasing way he was looking at you. As if you were a joke. That’s why you responded with a sharp, “I do know.”
Just to prove your point, you put the cigarette back in your mouth, and just as you were about to reach down to pick up the lighter that had fallen beside your feet, the guy beat you to it, taking it in his hand with a chuckle.
“I see…” He said, fiddling with the lighter in his hand before giving it a final glance and handing it to you. “So you smoke cigarettes backwards? First time I’ve seen that.”
The blush was quick to appear on your cheeks as you pulled the stick out of your mouth to look at it, realizing that was the stupid reason why you couldn’t light it. Shit. Will the earth be able to suck you in right now?
But, even when that would be a great favor, you were a girl with pride, so you wouldn’t let this guy notice how embarrassed you were. Without looking at him, you rolled your eyes and brought the cigarette back to your mouth (now the right way), and tried to light it again.
Key word, tried . Because you failed in the attempt, again .
“You want me to turn that on for you too?” You heard him say it, which made your blood start to boil.
“I know what I’m doing.” You replied dryly, determined to light the cigarette, but now your enemy seemed to be the lighter that simply did not want to work. Did the universe have something against you at this moment? Or what the fuck is going on? You haven’t stopped embarrassing yourself in the presence of this guy.
“I can clearly see that you don’t.”
“Can you just go away?” You blurted, angrily tossing the cigarette along with the lighter to the ground before bringing your hands to your head in frustration.
“And let a lady alone in the middle of the night in a neighborhood where someone can hurt her? Nah.”
You rolled your eyes again. “I’m fine. I can take care of myself.”
“I know.” He said as he sat down next to you and you turned your knees to the other side so you didn’t have to make physical contact with him, he just snorted and spread his legs anyway.
“You’re not from around. Can I ask why are you here?” He asked, leaning his arms on his legs.
“I am from around.” You said, somewhat mimicking his posture.
“You’re not. I think I’d remember a face like yours.” What was that supposed to mean? But before you could ask, he was quick to speak again. “You ran away from home, don’t you?”
For some reason, the question made you feel sick to your stomach. Why was this boy so nosy, in fact, why hadn’t you gotten up and left already? Is it because, even though his meddling irritates you, you didn’t sense any bad intentions from him?
“You just love to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong, don’t you?” You said, looking at him with narrowed eyes.
“You’re starting to know me.” The boy said with a smirk, winking, an action you would never admit out loud that you found attractive. “So, did I get it right? Did you run away from home?”
“No!” You exclaimed, perhaps more loudly than you had planned. “What makes you think that?”
The boy let out an incredulous chuckle, looking straight ahead before looking back at you and starting to count with his fingers, “Let me list. One, you’re in a neighborhood you’re not from. Two, you’re trying to smoke and you don’t even know how. Three, I saw you reject your mother’s call like three times in a row.”
As if it was another joke of fate, at that moment your phone started ringing, the name Mom appearing on the screen, without thinking twice, you rejected it.
“Four now.” He said as he stretched his legs out on the pavement, leaning his arms at his sides. “Wanna vent about it? I’m a good listener.”
Even when his offer sounded tempting and somehow you thought it was nice of him, you couldn’t help but snort and say, “I don’t even know you.”
Despite the bitterness in your voice, he didn’t shy away, on the contrary, he smiled sideways before saying, “That’s better. I won’t judge if you’re worried about that.” He shrugged, “Sometimes venting to a stranger it’s better than with someone you know. You can tell me all the embarrassing shit you want and probably never see me again, take it as a way to protect yourself.”
That sounded just as stupid as it made sense. Somehow, this handsome, annoying stranger was right. All you wanted right now was to vent, and unfortunately you didn’t have friends close enough to listen and understand you; and while the latter wasn’t completely warranted with this guy, the former certainly was.
“Whenever you’re ready, I’ll listen.”
You wanted to laugh at yourself. Were you really considering taking it out on a stranger?
The answer was yes.
“I had a fight with my mom.”
He was silent for a few seconds, perhaps waiting for you to continue on your own, but when he noticed that you wouldn't, he asked, “Why?”
You took a deep breath, searching internally for the right words to express yourself.
“She’s so… controlling.” You started, and before you knew it, you were taking everything out. “She’s just crazy. She wants me to be perfect, like, unbelievable perfect. On the outside and on the inside. Obviously under her standards of what it means to be perfect. Which means, perfect hair, perfect skin, perfect nails, impeccable clothes, extraordinary grades, being the best in any extracurricular activity you can think of to get me into. And it’s too tiring, because no matter how hard I try, it never seems to be enough. She’s never happy with anything I do, none of my accomplishments please her.”
Tears of frustration began to gather in your eyes before you knew it, but at that moment you didn’t care.
“Today I had a bad day. I didn’t sleep at all last night because I stayed up studying for my exam, I got in a fight with my friend for some stupid reason I don’t remember, I didn’t eat because I had to stay for an extra credit activity, my ballet teacher scolded me because my pirouette was not perfect and made me repeat it a thousand times. I was too tired, so I decided to skip piano class, but I knew I couldn’t get home before 8 because I knew my mom would find out I skipped class, so I went to the library to take a nap. But when I got home, my piano instructor had already called my mom telling her that I didn’t attend the lesson.” You wiped with your hand the tears that ran down your cheeks uncontrollably. “My mom was angry, she started questioning me if I was doing bad things, like smoking or drinking and things like that. She didn’t believe me when I told her I had gone to sleep in the library.”
You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm down at this point in the story. The stranger was too quiet, he had not even moved from his position. Was he still listening? But whether he was listening or lost in thought didn’t matter to you at all, all you wanted was to get your frustrations out.
“I don’t know how, but I started to tell her to leave me alone. She clearly didn’t like that and told me I was an ungrateful brat. And I was at my limit… So I ran away from home, took a random train just thinking that I wanted to be far away from her, and ended up here in Roppongi talking to a stranger about my family life because I have no one else to talk to.” You said sarcastically, gesturing with your hands around you. Your eyes went to the cigarette and lighter lying on the floor, and an unfunny laugh escaped from your mouth. “I was walking around, thinking how my mom would hate that I was in this area of town alone, then I started to remember more things she hates, besides how tired of being perfect I am— I got angrier and thought, what would make my mom totally lose her mind? That’s when I decided to enter the convenience store to buy the cigarettes.”
At this point, you felt you talked too much. How much time had passed? Wasn't the stranger annoyed at having to listen to you?
From overthinking, you didn’t realize that you had been silent for who knows how long until the boy spoke, “I believe she hates smoking?”
“Like hell. She thinks it’s one of the most repulsive acts in the world, besides biting your nails.”
“I think you could have gone for nail biting instead of smoking, if you wanted to piss her off.”
You chuckled, “Yeah, I know.”
Finally after a few minutes, you had the courage to look at the stranger with whom you were surprisingly more comfortable than with people you had known for years; he was already looking at you when you looked back, so the eye contact was immediate, you noticed he had lilac eyes. Pretty.
He held your gaze for a few more seconds before sighing and looking straight ahead again, scratching the back of his neck.
“Damn, I guess it’s too late to say that I’m a good listener, but not good with words.”
For some reason, his comment made you laugh. Like, a really genuine laugh in which he joined in the middle.
“Okay, okay, let me try.” He said with a chuckle as your laughter began to cease. You watched him attentively as he settled back into place, now sitting with his body toward you, ignoring how your knees made slight contact.
“Look, I don’t know you, or your mom, and while it seems like she only wants the best for you, maybe the way she expresses it and executes it is not the best. And I understand that having that kind of pressure always on you to be perfect can be very tiring. I just want to ask, don’t you have friends or someone that you can genuinely be you and not the perfect daughter?”
“No.” You mumbled, biting your lip. “My circle of friends all see each other as competition. I have no siblings, or close cousins, and of course no boyfriend, no boy is good enough for me, according to mom. And I... I just feel lonely all the time.” Your last words came out almost in a whisper.
You both remained silent for who knows how long, it wasn’t uncomfortable, for some reason it felt comforting. Just your breaths with the sounds of the night in the background, some birds, some cars, some voices. All together made the moment feel almost intimate.
He took a deep breath, his gaze softening as he watched you. “But you know—” He began after a moment, his voice gentle, “Being lonely doesn’t have to mean being alone. Sometimes it’s about finding someone, anyone, who will just... listen.” He hesitated, choosing his words carefully. “Look, I know I don’t know you, and this may sound weird as fuck, but maybe I can be that person for now. I mean, I might not know you, or everything you’re going through, but I can listen if that helps. Even if it’s just talking about little things that make you laugh or what makes you sad. You don’t have to carry it all by yourself, you know?"
The warmth in his eyes reflected an understanding that was rare, a feeling that wasn’t just sympathy but a real offer of connection. And in that moment, you felt something shift inside you—a small glimmer of hope that, maybe, there were people out there who genuinely wanted to be there for you, without the need for perfection.
Finding no better words to say, from your lips simply came a, “It’s okay.”
The boy smiled sideways, and you noticed that his muscles relaxed, maybe he was nervous that his words would scare you, but it was the opposite.
“Do you like ramen?” He asked, all of a sudden.
“Who doesn’t?”
“I guess you haven’t had dinner, and I know a good ramen place around here, if you want, we can go.”
You smiled sideways at the invitation, inevitably feeling happy that this strange encounter would not end soon.
“Well, I think my mom will kill me anyway no matter what time I get back, so let’s go.” You said, standing up. The boy let out a chuckle and imitated your action, standing in front of you.
“I just got that we didn’t introduce ourselves.” You said with a smile, stretching out your hand to him. “I’m Y/n.”
The stranger took it in his, slowly, his hands were cold but still, it was the warmest handshake you’ve ever had.
“I’m Rindou.”