im sorry for not updating in a while. felt burnt out and got pretty busy. laptop broke too (again)!!
chapter is barely edited at all so point out any mistakes pls 😭😭 im too tired to do this
Kimiko waited until Shigeru had left the apartment, before finally reaching for her phone on the coffee table.
It's not that I don't want to be in the entertainment industry. It's not that I don't want to take advantage of your help... But if I really let you build my entire career's foundation, then the rumors on the internet would be true. The rumors that say I'm climbing your bed to leech off your fame and success would become true. And I don't want that.
Nobody would want that, and especially not me.
Kimiko quickly sent a text message,
Sato Kimiko | Send me a picture of where Seiji is, right now.
??? | [Image Attachment]
It was a picture of Seiji leaning against the wall of some unknown place, an unlit cigarette in between his fingers as he stared off to the side. Kimiko's hand unknowingly grasped her phone tighter when she saw the image.
If only he knew the lengths I would go for him. Why can't I have anything in life? Why am I just a slave to the people I don't even want to be associated with? The warmth that she felt when she thought about Seiji completely disappeared at the thought of her new fiancé and his family. It wasn't like her future in-laws didn't know about the rumors going around about her— how could they not know? Whenever she visited they would cast disapproving gazes at her, complicated emotions swirling in their eyes; But the most prominent one was disdain and absolute disgust. Their condescending gazes sickened her.
Kimiko nearly snapped her phone in half. She took a deep breath, setting her phone back down onto the table.
"Hayashi Shigeru. Nothing could describe the amount of hate I hold for you. You have ruined my life."
*
After Haru left Ayame's place, he couldn't help but feel a lot of complicated emotions crashing down on him all at once. He left Ayame's place with more questions than he had started with. Shimamoto Ayame had offered him a ride back home, but Haru refused because he didn't want him to know where he lived. Now, Haru was waiting at a bus stop for a bus to arrive. He hadn't taken public transportation for a long time, relying mostly on his own car and his roommate, Yamasaki Masuyo's car instead.
The rain pouring overhead had his hoodie drenched with water, but he couldn't do anything about it. If he came down with a cold later, Haru didn't really mind. He really didn't want to see Ryu Masato at work the next day. However, that didn't change the fact that he was basically shivering while waiting for the bus. Haru had forgotten to check the weather, so not only did he not have an umbrella, he also didn't dress in proper clothes. The strangely cold weather combined with the rain made him extremely uncomfortable— not to mention his wet shirt sticking onto his skin as well. At the very least, the bus stop had a roof covering it.
Haru leaned his back onto the bench, his eyes closing from how exhausted he was. He could hear the loud rain pouring overhead, the sound of it hitting the roof of the bustop was almost never-ending. Thunder roared in the distance every once in a while, which made it harder for Haru to rest. His nose crinkled slightly, very annoyed that it was raining. The rain clouds were always a disgustingly bland gray color that blocked all of the sunlight and made his world seem cold and empty. It reminded him of the endless void he had spent an infinite amount of time in after he died in his first life.
His fingers curled into a fist when he thought of that never ending void. His nails dug so harshly into his palm that he felt like the skin would break at any moment. In the void after death, everything became nothing. Nothing existed— not him, not the ground, not the air. It was just an endless plain of absolute nothing. The feeling of loneliness almost broke him, but he had been reborn before that happened.
I don't want to be alone again.
He was on his way to dozing off when he felt a warm fabric wrap around his shoulders, a deep, melancholic voice speaking into his ear, "What a hassle it is to take care of you all the time. You always get into trouble, don't you?"
Haru struggled to open his eyes, his vision blurred from tiredness and the rain droplets dripping from his hair falling onto his eyelashes. "No..." He looked up and lightly spoke, only seeing a blurry figure in front of him. The man was tall and his grown out black hair formed a curtain around his face. Haru could feel the man secure the coat around Haru's shoulders before helping him stand up with a small sigh.
"I'll get you back home. There's no use waiting for the bus, its last stop was a couple minutes ago," the man said. Haru frowned. "...I can... get home by myself."
"No, you can't." Seiji decided to just pick up Haru instead.
"Yoshimoto Seiji, you damned grandpa..." Haru grumbled, but he still let Seiji carry him. Seiji shook his head with disapproval. "I'm only 5 or so years older than you."
Haru really didn't care enough to argue back, lazily closing his eyes and laying his head on Seiji's chest. The man's natural body heat warmed him up from the cold rain and made him slightly more comfortable. He could feel the other man's gaze on him for a couple seconds before it quickly retreated.
After they had walked for a while, the rain being shielded from their bodies due to the umbrella Seiji was carrying, Haru was set down in the passenger seat of a car, Seiji buckling the seatbelt for him before getting into the drivers seat. "Masuyo might not let you into the house," Haru informed Seiji without opening his eyes after he had gotten into the car.
"Get some sleep, Kamei Haru," Seiji responded, completely ignoring Haru's comment. Haru grumbled but complied, because he truly was tired. Before he drifted off to sleep, he vaguely heard a voice say—
"Rest well, my sweet little villain."
*
Haru woke up the next day in his bedroom with freshly changed clothes and a very worried Masuyo sitting on a chair next to his bed. "You've been asleep for an entire day, I almost thought you had died and that bastard Yoshimoto Seiji had drugged you or something else along those lines," she said the moment she saw him wake up. Her naturally softer toned voice made her sound aggrieved more than angry, but Haru could hear the worry in her voice.
"Sorry, Masuyo," he responded guiltily.
Masuyo shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I changed your clothes for you because it was too wet for you to continue wearing. I didn't look, I promise."
Haru smiled. "Thank you, I know you wouldn't, Masuyo. Where'd Seiji go after he dropped me off?" Masuyo stood up from her chair and pushed it under the desk in Haru's room. "He stayed for a bit to tell me what happened and left right after. He's probably still in his house," Masuyo said. She took a quick glance at the door. "I'll be downstairs, Haru."
"Okay." Haru nodded in reply. He quietly stared at the door after Masuyo left, closing the door behind her. In his mind, thousands of thoughts were going rampant.
I've never been anywhere near kind towards Seiji since he arrived in our neighborhood. His relationship with Sato Kimiko had made me initially very suspicious and on guard around him, especially because I wanted nothing to do with her in this life. But as each day passes, he further proves that he truly means no harm. Because, even after I treated him so coldly, he still went out of his way to help me— twice, now.
Haru hadn't been particularly the most kind hearted person in his last life. The scandals, illegal acts, and hatred-inducing words he had spouted could probably be enough to get someone like Seiji to absolutely despise him. But now, that was all in the past. He had already decided to turn a new leaf in this life.
Ultimately, Haru decided that he would go next-door to Seiji's house and sincerely thank him for helping him. He slowly got up from his bed and went to search for some new clothes to wear. While doing so, he spotted an unfamiliar black coat on his chair.
This must be Seiji's. I'll return it to him when I go over in a bit.
He grabbed the coat after he finished changing and headed downstairs, where he saw Masuyo fiddling with something in the kitchen.
"Masuyo ah, I'm going to go to Seiji's house. I'll be back," he shouted.
Masuyo ran over to him the moment she heard this. "You haven't eaten yet and you're already running away from me?" She shoved a nicely packaged salted caramel tart into his hands. "Eat this first and then I'll let you go."
Isn't this the salted caramel tart that my workplace sells? "Sure, okay. You act like my mom, Masuyo," Haru said, smiling.
"But it's true that you haven't eaten anything yet," Masuyo said. "Besides, I personally think that Seiji doesn't even know how to cook, so quickly eat before going to his house unless you want to starve for the next couple hours."
Haru was surprised. "I probably wont even be there for an hour."
Masuyo's expression went blank. "With the way he looks at you, I doubt he'd let you go before an hour is up."
"Huh?"
"What?"
Masuyo patted Haru on the shoulder, a soft smile gracing her lips. "Don't worry about it. Just go."
Haru was confused, but he complied anyway. "See you, Masuyo!" He smiled.
She shook her head helplessly.