Dear Friends,
Thanks for the warm comments
@TotyTRC: Glad you like it. I didn't really intend to stick with reality (I also like lots of AU fics
), but it does seem more entertaining if it feels real, right?
@Yuki88: I did try to write a
Tomodachi de Irareru Nara inspired fic over the long weekend. But, it turned out to be quite long (longer than the previous ones) and, somehow, I'm not satisfied with the way it ended. Yet, I don't have the time to revise it now. I may not be able to get online for this until next week or so either. So, I decided to break it (inequally) into two-parts and save the second part for later when I have time to re-read and revise it.
Here is the first part. Like before, I guess it can be read as a stand-alone OS, yet it can also be considered as the continuation of previous ones. The time setting is this year, 2016, after Nagao Mariya's graduation and
Koi Kojo drama announcement. I'm still torn between letting Yuihan and Paruru kiss in the end (which will also mean that I will move on with a completely new, AU, YuiParu fics afterwards) or not (then continue with related fic afterward). So, if you don't mind, Friends, please read this first part and let me know how you think it should end. Thank you.
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I DON’T WANT TO BE YOUR FRIEND (1)
How long had it been since the last time all of us went out and had a meal together? It hadn’t been that long, had it? After all, we ate together quite frequently. There is a reason why people said that we, 9th generation members, are really close with each other. But, why did I feel like I hadn’t seen you forever?
“Oi, Yokoyama,” Haruu’s call brought me back to reality, “Are you okay?”
“Mm? Yes. Why are you asking?”
“You’ve been spacing out for a while. It’s not something you usually do when we eat together,” she said.
“Yes. You’re usually eating so fast, especially when we’re having grilled meat. We literally need to race with you to get a piece. But, that doesn’t happen today. What’s wrong?” Mariko chimed in.
“Hahaha… Guess I’m just a bit tired,” I tried to reason.
“Have you been working too hard again?” Mariyagi gave me a concerned look, “I know that you’re the
soukantoku. But, please don’t overwork yourself. Now that I’ve graduated, I’ll be more worried if something happens since I can’t be there for you. It goes to all of you.”
I tried to explain that that was not the case. Everyone had been really nice and helpful all this long. So, she didn’t need to be worried. But, even after that long explanation, I could still see you giving me a concerned look from the other end of the long table. Ah, how I wanted to sit across or next to you like we usually did. Too bad, you arrived late today. Mariyagi and Haruu had taken all the places I usually reserved for you.
It’s actually you who had been working hard lately, wasn’t it? You’re so busy with that drama shooting and still had to show up for all the practice sessions, stage performances, and media appearances. Yes. Maybe that was why I felt like I hadn’t seen you forever. I missed you.
“Aah…that was really delicious wasn’t it?” Haruu said while smiling widely.
“It really was,” Minarun agreed.
“I was a bit worried that Yuihan ate so little. But, now I am also worried since you two ate too much. Didn’t you say that you both are on diet?” Mariko asked.
“Now, now, Mariko, don’t ruin their happiness,” Miyu laughed.
I smiled at the playful banter. As much as I like hanging out with other members, I always enjoy spending time with 9th gen the most. I looked at your way, expecting you to laugh along or add some salty comments to the conversation. But, there you were, checking your phone, squinting.
“Everyone,” you said, “I’m really sorry, but I have to go now.”
“What?” Minarun reacted.
“Paruru, why…?” Ranran pouted.
“So soon…,” Mariyagi whined.
I really wanted to say something along that lines as well. But, I knew that you couldn’t help it. It’s not your fault if you’re so busy.
“Sorry, Everyone. I really don’t want to go, but I just got a text from Manager-san, reminding me that I have an interview and need to be there in 30 minutes.”
You started to go around the table, giving hugs to the ones you couldn’t easily see anymore and a wave to the others. With Ranran and Minarun in SKE, then Mariyagi’s graduation, it’s even harder for us to arrange some time to get everyone together. I wondered when we would be able to get together like that again.
“You’re awfully quiet today.”
Right when I thought that you’re ready to leave, you threw your arms around my neck and gave me a hug from behind my chair. It caught me off guard. Even if we were crazily busy, we could still see each other easily, right? We’re in the same team after all…
“Make sure to get enough rest, okay?” you whispered next to my ear.
I really didn’t want the hug to end. But, I knew that you had to go. So, I held myself back, trying to be satisfied with what little I could get.
“You, too,” was my reply while touching your arms, giving them a light squeeze.
You left right after that, leaving the rest of us thinking about what to do next. We planned to go to a karaoke place or go shopping. But, everyone were so full and it didn’t seem that fun anymore since you’re not there—or perhaps it was just me who felt that way.
In the end, we decided to take a bit of a walk around the shopping district and take a picture at the
purikura booth. We took turns so we could get the picture taken properly. We laughed at the results, seeing how the special effects made our eyes appeared bigger. Then, for the last picture, we decided to squeeze ourselves in the booth so we could take at least one picture together. Too bad, you weren’t there. I really wanted to take another picture with you.
We said our goodbyes afterwards. I walked with Mariyagi and Miyu for a while until we went our separate ways. It was one of those rare days where I had the whole day and night off. I thought about going home and just spending the rest of my free time with Bisu. The cat was probably sleeping on my bed at that moment. However, when I waited for the train, I decided to take an impromptu detour.
I put my mask and earphone on. Then, I set my playlist on shuffle and wandered around in Shibuya absent-mindedly. Not long after that, the song we recorded more than a year ago was on.
Tomodachi de Irareru Nara. I smiled to myself and put the song on repeat. It was suddenly like that day again. The day when I wandered around in Shibuya with low battery because I played the demo version of the song over and over again.
Someone said that people tend to like something that she or he can relate to. Perhaps, that’s why I like the song so much. Fans acceptance to our YuiParu combi had been great since a couple years ago. So, I thought, Sensei might write the song as a fan service or because the market was promising. However, sometimes, I couldn’t help but wonder whether he could see right through me, see through my feelings for you, and wrote the song accordingly.
“Yui?”
I didn’t know how long I had been wandering around when I heard your voice. At first, I thought that it was just my imagination—something that occurred because I missed you too much. But, then, I turned to where I thought the voice was coming from, and there you were.
“Ah, Paru,” I took my mask and one of my earphone off.
“Thinking about buying a new dress?” you smiled and walked closer.
I realized that I had been standing in front of the same shop for a while. It might seem like I had been looking at the dresses on display for quite some time. But, I was actually just standing there absent-mindedly, listening to the song, drowning myself in my random thoughts.
“No,” I managed to reply, “I was just looking. You’re done with the interview?”
You stood right next to me, looking at the same display.
“Yes. It was an interview for the drama I am starring,” you answered.
“Ah,…
Yutori?”
“Yes. The whole Sakama family was there,” you smiled, “It was fun. But, since there were many people, I needed to wait patiently for my turn. So, it’s a bit tiring.”
I nodded.
“Did the gathering end just now?”
“No. It’s actually…,” I took a quick glance at my watch, “…ended about three hours ago.”
I didn’t realize that it’s been that long. Looking around, I just realized that it was quite late at night.
“And you’ve been wandering around alone for three hours?” you gave me that concerned look again.
“It seems so,” I chuckled, but you didn’t seem to be amused, “So, what are you doing here?”
“The place where we had the interview was nearby. I was about to go home, but then I thought about going sightseeing for a bit.”
“I see.”
There was a few seconds of silence after that. We were just standing there, in front of the display, without really looking at it. The song was still playing on my right ear.
“Ne, Yui,” you said after a while.
“Un?”
“We haven’t really had a chance to spend some time together lately, have we?”
I smiled, “Other than work? I guess not…”
“Want to hang out with me?” you asked without looking my way.
“Sure, what do you have in mind?”
“Let’s go for a karaoke?”
I was dumbstruck. As if on cue, that particular verse was playing on my right ear. I took the earphone off. I didn’t want the song to make me read too much into your words. Yes. I wanted to be with you for a little more. Yes. You may want to spend some more time with me. But, the reason behind it may be different than mine. Did I say maybe? No. It must be.
“As much as I like that idea,” I took a look at my watch again, “It may be too late for that. We’ll miss the last train if we go for a karaoke now.”
“Ah… You’re right,” you looked at your phone and seemed disappointed.
That face. I would never be able to let you down if you show me that face, would I?
“Why don’t we…,” I started to say.
You raised your head and turned it to me, looking hopeful.
“Why don’t we spend some time at my place?” I offered, “Want to spend a night?”
You gave me an immediate, “Yes.” I chuckled at your happy face. Out of habit, I put my left arm around your back and guided you towards the train station while we talked about random things.
I didn’t realize what I was doing until we got on the train. As I grabbed the hand rail with my right hand, I decided to remove my left arm from your back. But, right at that moment, you decided to hold onto it to steady yourself. There wasn’t any vacant seat, but the train was not that crowded. Yet, you decided to hold onto me until we reached our stop, ignoring the available hand rails. Was it wrong for me to feel happy because of that? I knew that you might not mean anything by that. But, still, it made my heart fluttered.
“
Ojamashimasu,” you said as you entered my apartment.
I locked the door behind you while you took your shoes off and proceed to go further in.
“Onee-san is not here?” you asked, referring to my sister.
“No. She had something to do so she went back to Kyoto yesterday. She’d probably stay there until next week.”
You just nodded at my reply while putting your bag on the table. You were about to sit on the couch when Bisu walked out of my room and strolled to the living room. Your face lighted up instantly.
“Bisu! Long time no see!!”
I smiled as you went to pet Bisu, trying to get him to play with you. It really did feel like a long time since the last time I saw you with him. When was that last time, I wonder?
“What are you doing just standing there?” you asked while lifting Bisu up and took him to sit on the couch with you.
“Nothing,” I smiled and shook my head.
We spent some more time to chat randomly. Then we took turns to take a shower and changed into our pijamas. After Bisu was well fed and rested on his bed, we moved to my room.
There were some movies that I had bought but hadn’t got any chance to watch. So, I let you pick one and put it on, then turned the lights off. We watched the movie while sitting on the futon, leaning on the side of my bed.
“Ne, Yui,” you said, a few minutes into the movie.
“Un?”
“When will you start shooting your
Koi Kojo episode?”
“Mm… Soon? I haven’t been informed about the exact date yet. Why?”
“Will you…,” you hesitated, “Will there be… any kissing scene in yours?”
I looked at your face, trying to see why you were asking me that question. You seemed a bit troubled, but you didn’t look at me. The possibility of a kissing scene was actually something I dreaded the most about the new drama series. So, I tried not to think about it. But, now that you had asked, I couldn’t help but doing so.
“I don’t know yet,” I answered honestly, “Reading the script, it doesn’t seem like there would be any. But, who knows. They may revise the script or asked for some improvised act during the filming.”
You just nodded. Your silence made me couldn’t help but wonder.
“Will there be one in yours?” I decided to voice my curiosity.
“I don’t know yet…,” you answered.
“Are you worried that there may be one in yours?”
You thought about it for a second before you nodded.
“It’s okay,” I pat your hand, “Since you said that you wouldn’t mind if the guy is an
ikemen, I’m certain that they would make sure to pair you up with an
ikemen if there’s any kissing scene in yours.”
You shot me a death glare when I laughed. The truth was, I didn’t feel comfortable talking about it. Thinking about you kissing someone, even though I knew it was just for a drama, made me feel uncomfortable. So, I tried to joke about it to hide my discomfort. But, it was clear that you were also feeling uncomfortable thinking about it. It’s probably something you had been thinking about since the project was announced. So, I put my arm around your shoulders and gave you a little hug.
“Don’t worry, Paru. You have a lot of male fans that may feel troubled seeing your kissing scene. So, I’m sure the management will think about it carefully. Even if you have to do one, you don’t have to worry. Lately, they made the actor kissed above the actress’ upper lips while the actress kissed the actor’s chin. More like what Yagami-san and Kimoto-san did in that one SKE’s MV. It may look like a real kiss, but if you watch it closely, it’s not.”
“Still…,” you mumbled.
Yes. It would still be awkward, especially if the director asked for a re-take. There would also be chances that your lips would brush the other person’s lips or something like that. But, at least, thinking that it would not be a real kiss helped calming me down a bit.
“Ne, Yui…,” you said.
“Un?”
“Have you… Have you ever kissed someone?”
I was taken aback by your question, but I tried not to let it showed. I took a few seconds to think about it. Had I ever kissed or been kissed?
“Mm… not on the lips, I guess.”
You didn’t say anything in response. If it’s any other member, I might return the question back. But, it’s you and I didn’t want to hear your answer. I didn’t want to give myself a shock if you answer it with a yes. However, I guess, your next words did give me a shock after all.
“Ne, Yui.”
“Un?”
“Let’s kiss.”
I almost spat out the water I was drinking when I heard that.
To be continued....-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Topic: DeNight's YuiParu Delusions [Chapter Update: ML Final Chapter-Nov 22, 2022] (Read 58810 times)