You - Ch.4
4:11 PM, Thursday.
He chuckled and shook his head as he pushed and turned the keys, starting up the engine.
Meet Akanishi Jin, 24, a man who just voluntarily walked away from sex offered to him for the first time.
It was never like this. He never cared much about the women he got hooked up with from nightclubs and bars. It was almost a one-night stand, no strings attached. He forgot about them when morning came, and he made sure that they did too. To him, it was nothing more than a way to release himself in a pleasurable way. But with her, whom he only knew of her name and where she was from, he felt almost intimidated, with an inexplicable mix of confusion and curiosity.
It was her eyes that made him walk away. Eyes full of sadness that made him vulnerable too. They made him want to hide, perhaps because it reminded him of a certain painful memory from the past.
I don't understand. It's bothering me so much. Why did she look so sad? She didn't look like she wanted to do it at all, it's like she was doing it without even thinking. No, feeling. It's like she was forcing herself.
He shook his head again, forcefully this time, attempting to shake off that haunting image of those melancholy eyes.
This is ridiculous. Why am I even letting this bother me so much? I don't even know her.
He turned up the radio and let it blast him numb. And he drove.
-----------
5:30 PM, Thursday.
"Ow..."
Sophie got up but was forced back down as she felt like she was having a hole drilled into her temple.
"Aw shit, my head hurts like a mother..."
She struggled to sit up, as slowly as her headache allowed, and fell to the floor with a thud.
"OWW! Ugh, what the fuck..." She winced in pain, then looked around, slowly realizing that she didn't know where she was. The rock band posters on the wall, a 38-inch plasma TV, piles of clothes on the floor and the couches, unfinished ramen containers and beer cans, this looked nothing like Yuki's place. And... it smelled of men.
Gradually, she remembered. Fragments of what happened early today flashed through her mind; Akanishi suddenly showing up, the trip to the restaurant with strange foods, getting drunk and then...
She looked down and discovered that she was in her bras and her blouse was nowhere to be found.
So I guess we didn't get very far.
Meet Sophie Wong, 21, a girl armed with sarcasm and cynicism to hide a fragile interior that held on to a heartache.
She shrugged, then moved about the living room in search of her shirt, which was behind the sofa.
"He just left me here? What a jerk." She snickered as if she had anticipated this. She grabbed her bag and reached for the door knob as it opened, revealing the man she just swore at.
They looked at each other, both surprised, but each conveyed different things through their stare; She, contempt, and he, intrigue.
He was about to speak when she beat him to it.
"Thanks for leaving me hanging before."
He didn't say anything but stared at her. He couldn't explain the real reason why he had stopped.
"Wasn't that what you wanted? What happened? I'm not good enough for you?" she asked as if she was interrogating him.
"No, that's not it." he quickly clarified.
"Then what?" she said, slowly closing the distance between them while keeping her eyes fixed on his. He didn't shift a bit and kept going the staring contest. Then he finally spoke.
"I don't understand you."
Her eyes flickered in surprise as she heard his words.
"First you told me to find you when I'm not drunk, and when I showed up, you pretended like you didn't know me. Then you got drunk and wanted to fuck, but you looked so sad it's like you were forcing yourself to do it. I don't understand any of that."
She looked at him, her lips quivering. Then she looked away and sighed deeply.
"Why do you need to understand." she said, more as a statement rather than a question, her eyes on a particular spot in the distance. "What's more than sex than the act itself?"
"Yes, sex is just sex, but---"
"There, you said it, Akanishi Jin-san." she turned around, her eyes back at him with a strange smirk on her face.
He stared at her, rendered speechless that she knew his name.
"I knew who you were. I knew when you first bumped into me last night. That's why I picked the fight; I thought, when am I ever gonna get the chance to argue with a celebrity, who's drunk, in a foreign country. The whole come find me when you're not drunk thing, I didn't even mean it. I thought you were too drunk to even remember any of what happened. But you did show up, which meant that you took it seriously, which meant that you're just all about sex, which proved me right."
"I'm just all about sex? That's what you think of me?" he asked with a tinge of hurt.
"Aren't you? Akanishi-san? The popular Japanese idol who loves to party late into the night and sex things up, that's not you?" she said mockingly.
He chuckled and shook his head, sitting down on one of the couches.
"Baka jia ne eno." he said softly, looking down at his shoes.
"Huh?" Did he just call me baka??
He suddenly stood up and pushed her against the wall, holding down on her shoulders, hard.
"What the--"
"You're wrong." he said, staring into her panic-striken eyes, hard.
"I--"
"I'm more than sex." he said, and then realized that it sounded weird as he noticed her eyebrow arch. "I mean, I want more than sex."
"Well, I'm sorry, I can't give you more than that." she said coldly.
He moved in even closer until the tip of his nose was almost touching hers. He searched in her eyes for something more than the contempt and emotionlessness in her voice. And he found it.
"I don't believe that."
She hesitated before breaking his grip and moving away.
"I don't care what you believe." she reached for the door knob just as it opened, for the second time.
Kame stared at the attractive, petite woman in front of him, then looked at his friend with a who-is-this-and-what's-going-on look.
Both Akanishi and Sophie were stumped, but she reacted quickly to this interruption as an opportunity to escape.
"Shitsurei shimasu." she said quickly and jetted out the door before either man had the chance to react.
"Eh?" Kame looked after the sight of her disappearing back. "What's going on? Who was that?"
Akanishi just looked out the door, long after she was gone, and said nothing.
He chuckled and shook his head as he pushed and turned the keys, starting up the engine.
Meet Akanishi Jin, 24, a man who just voluntarily walked away from sex offered to him for the first time.
It was never like this. He never cared much about the women he got hooked up with from nightclubs and bars. It was almost a one-night stand, no strings attached. He forgot about them when morning came, and he made sure that they did too. To him, it was nothing more than a way to release himself in a pleasurable way. But with her, whom he only knew of her name and where she was from, he felt almost intimidated, with an inexplicable mix of confusion and curiosity.
It was her eyes that made him walk away. Eyes full of sadness that made him vulnerable too. They made him want to hide, perhaps because it reminded him of a certain painful memory from the past.
I don't understand. It's bothering me so much. Why did she look so sad? She didn't look like she wanted to do it at all, it's like she was doing it without even thinking. No, feeling. It's like she was forcing herself.
He shook his head again, forcefully this time, attempting to shake off that haunting image of those melancholy eyes.
This is ridiculous. Why am I even letting this bother me so much? I don't even know her.
He turned up the radio and let it blast him numb. And he drove.
-----------
5:30 PM, Thursday.
"Ow..."
Sophie got up but was forced back down as she felt like she was having a hole drilled into her temple.
"Aw shit, my head hurts like a mother..."
She struggled to sit up, as slowly as her headache allowed, and fell to the floor with a thud.
"OWW! Ugh, what the fuck..." She winced in pain, then looked around, slowly realizing that she didn't know where she was. The rock band posters on the wall, a 38-inch plasma TV, piles of clothes on the floor and the couches, unfinished ramen containers and beer cans, this looked nothing like Yuki's place. And... it smelled of men.
Gradually, she remembered. Fragments of what happened early today flashed through her mind; Akanishi suddenly showing up, the trip to the restaurant with strange foods, getting drunk and then...
She looked down and discovered that she was in her bras and her blouse was nowhere to be found.
So I guess we didn't get very far.
Meet Sophie Wong, 21, a girl armed with sarcasm and cynicism to hide a fragile interior that held on to a heartache.
She shrugged, then moved about the living room in search of her shirt, which was behind the sofa.
"He just left me here? What a jerk." She snickered as if she had anticipated this. She grabbed her bag and reached for the door knob as it opened, revealing the man she just swore at.
They looked at each other, both surprised, but each conveyed different things through their stare; She, contempt, and he, intrigue.
He was about to speak when she beat him to it.
"Thanks for leaving me hanging before."
He didn't say anything but stared at her. He couldn't explain the real reason why he had stopped.
"Wasn't that what you wanted? What happened? I'm not good enough for you?" she asked as if she was interrogating him.
"No, that's not it." he quickly clarified.
"Then what?" she said, slowly closing the distance between them while keeping her eyes fixed on his. He didn't shift a bit and kept going the staring contest. Then he finally spoke.
"I don't understand you."
Her eyes flickered in surprise as she heard his words.
"First you told me to find you when I'm not drunk, and when I showed up, you pretended like you didn't know me. Then you got drunk and wanted to fuck, but you looked so sad it's like you were forcing yourself to do it. I don't understand any of that."
She looked at him, her lips quivering. Then she looked away and sighed deeply.
"Why do you need to understand." she said, more as a statement rather than a question, her eyes on a particular spot in the distance. "What's more than sex than the act itself?"
"Yes, sex is just sex, but---"
"There, you said it, Akanishi Jin-san." she turned around, her eyes back at him with a strange smirk on her face.
He stared at her, rendered speechless that she knew his name.
"I knew who you were. I knew when you first bumped into me last night. That's why I picked the fight; I thought, when am I ever gonna get the chance to argue with a celebrity, who's drunk, in a foreign country. The whole come find me when you're not drunk thing, I didn't even mean it. I thought you were too drunk to even remember any of what happened. But you did show up, which meant that you took it seriously, which meant that you're just all about sex, which proved me right."
"I'm just all about sex? That's what you think of me?" he asked with a tinge of hurt.
"Aren't you? Akanishi-san? The popular Japanese idol who loves to party late into the night and sex things up, that's not you?" she said mockingly.
He chuckled and shook his head, sitting down on one of the couches.
"Baka jia ne eno." he said softly, looking down at his shoes.
"Huh?" Did he just call me baka??
He suddenly stood up and pushed her against the wall, holding down on her shoulders, hard.
"What the--"
"You're wrong." he said, staring into her panic-striken eyes, hard.
"I--"
"I'm more than sex." he said, and then realized that it sounded weird as he noticed her eyebrow arch. "I mean, I want more than sex."
"Well, I'm sorry, I can't give you more than that." she said coldly.
He moved in even closer until the tip of his nose was almost touching hers. He searched in her eyes for something more than the contempt and emotionlessness in her voice. And he found it.
"I don't believe that."
She hesitated before breaking his grip and moving away.
"I don't care what you believe." she reached for the door knob just as it opened, for the second time.
Kame stared at the attractive, petite woman in front of him, then looked at his friend with a who-is-this-and-what's-going-on look.
Both Akanishi and Sophie were stumped, but she reacted quickly to this interruption as an opportunity to escape.
"Shitsurei shimasu." she said quickly and jetted out the door before either man had the chance to react.
"Eh?" Kame looked after the sight of her disappearing back. "What's going on? Who was that?"
Akanishi just looked out the door, long after she was gone, and said nothing.