"Thank you so much everyone! Grazie!" I spoke through the wireless mic.
I bowed and went to where my stuff was placed. A few people came up to me and said their thanks, as I cheered them on for their upcoming show. As I was gathering my things, The staff member that took care of me came up and said someone was looking for me. Thinking it was a fellow teacher or a student, I followed them.
As I went out and turned towards the hall, I was met by the director of the company. We chatted for a few minutes before finally ending the conversation. I went back to get my stuff to finally rest after the long flight since I came straight from the airport.
I came out of the studio and called an uber to get to my hotel. Normally, I would take the train to get to where I needed to be, but after that flight was big no.
After I arrived to the hotel, I immediately settled in. I took a shower and changed into my pyjamas, then scrolled through social media to help me fall asleep.
As I was scrolling mindlessly, something caught my eye. It was a video of a volleyball team wearing all blue. Curious, I continued to watch as it reminded me of fond memories.
And bad ones.
The blue team scored against the red, making the crowd scream. As the video progressed, it zoomed in to the person who hit the ball. A familiar face popped up, making me drop my phone. After a few seconds of being shocked, I picked up my phone to check whether I was dreaming or not and I wasn't.
It really was him.
Number 12.
Ran Takahashi.
I had so many questions. Why did he suddenly pop up on my feed? Why am I seeing this? What the hell is going on? Why is he playing with different players? I thought he was in the national team? Where is this? Is this in Italy? When did I like this?
Oh shit.
"Fuck.. fuck.. fuck.." I muttered, realizing the mistake I made.
I accidentally liked the post when I dropped my phone from the shock. I checked to see the account and noticed that it was the official account.
Meaning, it was his account. Meaning, he might've seen the notification. Meaning, I'm doomed.
I screamed at my pillow, feeling the tiredness run away from my body. I picked up my phone again to unlike the video until a notification came through.
(@ran.volleyball0902) 髙橋 藍 Ran Takahashi has followed you
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I walked through the crowded streets of Milan, feeling a sense of coziness for some reason.
After the whole fiasco earlier, I immediately turned my phone off and shoved it in my purse to call it a day.
'No way am I facing that.'
To take my mind off of it, I decided to stroll around since I felt too anxious and jittery to fall asleep.
I visited a few shops to buy some souvenirs for my home and my older brother. I was pretty sure that my brother was messaging me right now but I couldn't be bothered to turn my phone on, scared that I might see something more than a follow.
The last thing that I needed to do was to buy something for Kenzo. Though he hasn't messaged since the day I left, I still wanted to get something for him. We all make mistakes but sometimes I feel like I'm just gaslighting myself.
'Whatever..' I'd always say.
After getting him a souvenir, I turned around to bump into someone.
"Mi dispiace tanto! I'm sorry.." I bowed, feeling bad.
"Va tutto bene, non preoccurparti. Are you okay?" The man in front of me asked.
I didn't understand what he said at first, but was quick enough to pick up on his last sentence.
"I'm alright, thank you.." I smiled sheepishly.
I noticed that the person in front of me was an asian-looking man. He was tall and had black fluffy hair. He was wearing a white tee with a dark blue shirt on top and a pair of black slacks.
I questioned how he was fluent in Italian but kept it to myself.
"Where are you from?" He asked tilting his head.
'That's kind of cute coming from such a tall man.'
"Oh.. I'm Japanese!" I replied back with a smile.
"Really?" He asked back in Japanese.
I widened my eyes at the sound of the familiar language.
"Are you Japanese too?" I asked, feeling quite happy to see a Japanese fellow.
He nodded his head until someone called his name.
"Yuki-san!" A familiar voice called out, making the man turn away from me.
I peaked to see who the person was and was horrified to see him. The person that stressed me out the whole day, that gave me a mini panic attack for just following me in my social media account.
The man in front of me, Yuki-san let's say, was tall enough to hide me as I quickly made a run for it, escaping the possible confrontation.
'Thank you for your height.'
I heard him call after me but I disappeared through the busy streets of Milan.
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I finally arrived back to my hotel room, plopping my shopping bags down as I removed my shoes lazily. I hopped on the bed finally opening my phone after a long day.
The first thing I saw was messages from my brother, Ryouta.
Ryouta: hey, how was the workshop.
Ryouta: are you still teaching?
Ryouta: hey
Ryouta: rika where are you?
Ryouta: rika this isnt funny anymore
Ryouta: where the fuck are you?
Ryouta: okay that's it im calling ran
I widened my eyes and quickly exited the chatroom to look for the messages. Anxiety was bubbling up while checking every social media account I own. Until I clicked the request tab to finally see the messages.
Ran: Rika, where are you?
Ran: Ryouta is worried.
Ran: I promised Ryouta I'd look after you and I'm getting worried as well.
Ran: Please reply back or I'm calling the police.
Ran: You have 10 minutes.
The last message was sent 8 minutes ago, making me panic. I replied without thinking so he wouldn't actually call the police for no reason.
Rika: Hey! I'm okay! Sorry for the trouble..
Rika: Please don't call the police T-T
After a few seconds, he replied back.
Ran: Oh, thank God.. Are you safe?
Ran: Where are you?
Rika: I'm at the hotel right now..
Rika: I was just buying some stuff earlier, sorry about that.
Ran: No, that's alright.. just message your brother.
Ran: I think he's panicking right now.
I replied with a thumbs up and went to my brother's chatroom.
After a long scolding session from my brother, he finally let go of me and said his farewell as it was already super late in Japan.
As I was about to close my phone, a notification popped up. I opened it to see a message coming from Ran.
Ran: you probably talked to your brother but just keep us updated so we don't worry.
Ran: good night
I reacted a thumbs up to the messages and finally closed my phone.
'It's going to be a long week.. I really hope I don't have to see him personally..'
I then remembered that I almost did see him earlier if it weren't for that human shield. With the quickest glance, I remembered what he looked like. His brown hair, his shoulders molded through the white tee and his deep voice that echoed to my ears. I blushed at the image and shook my head.
'Why do I still feel this way about you?'