Pushing That Smile Button - JE - PG, AU
title: Pushing That Smile Button
characters: Yamashita Tomohisa, Koyama Keiichiro, Akanishi Jin
rating: PG
word count: 2,890 words
summary: They smile for a living, but some do it much better than others.
author's notes: for je_holiday 2009 for psychoniji. Thanks to mabudachi, anamuan for the last minute betaread. ♥ And thanks to McDonald's for the inspiration. *grin*
YamaPi was sweeping the floor when he walked through the automated doors. "Welcome to McDonalds!" he greeted, quickly setting aside his broom and rushing up to the cash register. "How can I help you?"
The customer slowly approached the counter, pushing his sunglasses up and out of his eyes as to get a better look at the menu displayed high on the wall. YamaPi thought he looked tired. Well, more tired than YamaPi was himself at 2 AM on the graveyard shift at least. With his shoulders rounded and arms hanging limply at his sides, he looked not only physically exhausted, but mentally as well.
Yeah, this is what YamaPi did to keep himself entertained on these long nights-he pondered the lives of random strangers. It was a little creepy, even he had to admit, but it kept him awake.
After a long moment, the silent, tired-looking customer spoke up. "I guess I'll have an Ebi Filet-O," he ordered, digging into his shoulder bag for his wallet. Once he found it, he added, "Oh. And how about one smile?"
Instinctively, YamaPi pushed the smile button on the register, but only after he had done so, did he realize the oddness of the order. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, the order for a smile in itself. Plenty of customers ordered it daily; it was zero yen after all. YamaPi often took the order himself from groups of giggling high school girls, getting their strawberry sundaes with a side of smile. And despite being uncomfortable with smiling on command, he knew he couldn't very well refuse the order (it was a charge that showed up on the receipt) and always obliged. It confused him that his awkward, sideways smile always sent girls into a tizzy, even though he just thought it looked painful when he saw it himself in the mirror.
But this case was different. Not only was his customer a grown man-YamaPi imagined somewhere around his own age-but it was 2 AM. There were no girls on this shift. "Sir, are you SURE you want a smile? From me?" YamaPi broached the question politely, hoping not to offend.
The customer blinked, bringing out the bags under his worn eyes. "…you'll do. There's no one else after all, right?"
YamaPi swallowed and nodded. He had been a little afraid of that answer. He tore the receipt off and handed it over to the man, giving him his best smile, but it felt much more awkward and tighter than his "best" smiles for those giddy girls.
The customer blinked once more and then chuckled softly. "Is that your smile…" he leaned a little closer to catch a glimpse of YamaPi's nametag, "…Yamashita-san?"
YamaPi simply nodded, biting on the inside of his cheek, hoping to stave off the wave of mortifying embarrassment with pain.
The customer suddenly smiled widely and YamaPi found himself startled by the other's change in demeanor. The smile was bright and light and warm. He no longer appeared drained and tired, the fine wrinkles on his face had all but disappeared, and the bags under his eyes didn't seem as dark and heavy. In simply taking in his smile, YamaPi's embarrassment melted away and he felt happier and more energized.
"That's a smile," the man said after the smiling mask fell away to reveal the tired one again. "I'll teach you how to smile."
*~*~*
Every night following that week, YamaPi had the graveyard shift. And every night, YamaPi's new smile teacher showed up for a short lesson. From relaxation techniques to actual smile exercises, YamaPi was being taught everything and even just a week later, he was starting to see results.
YamaPi looked into the compact mirror and smiled. It was still lopsided and tight, but there was more confidence and feeling behind it. Even he could see it himself.
"I can't believe you have someone teaching you how to smile, Pi," Jin scoffed as YamaPi passed the compact back across the table.
"Neither can I," YamaPi agreed. "It's pretty weird, but Koyama-san's pretty cool and it's not like he's making fun of me or anything. He actually, genuinely wants to help me."
"Wait." Jin caught YamaPi's gaze over his mug of beer. "Did you say 'Koyama-san'?"
"Yeah." YamaPi shrugged. "What about it?"
"He's got kind of rusty, longish hair, piercings, and small eyes?"
YamaPi sat up straighter in his seat. "Yeah! How'd you know? I never told you what he looked like!"
Jin rolled his eyes and then went rummaging through his bag. When he slammed down the latest issue of Vivi magazine on the table, YamaPi arched an eyebrow peculiarly. "I like the girls, okay?" Jin defended himself. "But that's not what you need to see."
Flipping through the magazine, it took Jin a minute to find the page he was looking for. Once he found it, he plopped it in front of YamaPi. "Recognize him?"
YamaPi stared at the two pages open before him. It was Koyama-san, lounging on the floor in expensive, brand name clothing, head casually propped up by his arm, smiling widely back at him. "Japan's shining, smiling prince-top Johnny's idol Koyama Keiichiro gives us the inside scoop on the secret behind his youthful, boyish smile and charm as well as K to the Third's newest single," YamaPi read out loud, more for himself than Jin. "…oh shit. Are you kidding me?!"
Jin shook his head. "Only you would fail to realize that you've just made buddies with a big time celebrity, Pi."
*~*~*
YamaPi didn't have the graveyard shift for an entire week following his discovery about Koyama-san, and though he was hesitant to admit it, on his first day back at the register after midnight, he was nervous. What kind of idiot took smiling lessons from a super idol without knowing it? What kind of idiot took smiling lessons, period?
So when Koyama-san showed up somewhere around 3AM and ordered a large coffee with the usual smile, YamaPi could barely muster one-his closed lips pulled tight across his teeth.
Koyama lifted his sunglasses-the bags under his eyes seemed a little lighter since the last time YamaPi had seen him-and chuckled softly. "Have you been slacking off in the week I haven't seen you, Yamashita-san?"
YamaPi vigorously shook his head. "No! Of course not!" he insisted, ringing his hands behind the register. "It's just... You're Koyama-san."
Koyama cocked his head slightly. "Yes, and you are Yamashita-san. Unless, you are the twin brother of the Yamashita-san I met two weeks ago?"
"No, I only have a little sister," YamaPi quickly clarified, momentarily distracted. "But, you, Koyama-san. You are that Koyama-san. K to the Third's Koyama-san."
"Ahhh." Koyama nodded with a small, impish smile. "Well, I guess I am. I was wondering when you'd figure it out."
"I have to be the biggest idiot in all of Japan to not have recognized you right away," YamaPi muttered dejectedly, staring down at the buttons on the register, unable to meet Koyama-san's gaze.
"I think most of my fans would agree with you, but me, not so much; it was nice not being recognized for a change, especially when I look like shit at the end of the day." YamaPi finally lifted his eyes to find Koyama-san grinning softly. "Now, why don't we try the smile again? I need a good smile to go with my coffee; I have an early start tomorrow, er, this morning."
For the second time that night, YamaPi hit the "SMILE" button on the register-this time a little more firmly-and then smiled at Koyama-san, a fuller smile even with some teeth. There's nothing quite like a super idol telling you that you aren't a loser after all to add a kick of confidence to your smile.
*~*~*
"I wonder why he always comes in so late."
Jin looked up from the cartful of brand new magazines that he was setting up for display to see YamaPi flipping through last week's issue of An-an; an in-depth article on Koyama-san was the cover feature of course. "He's probably working all day long. I mean, he's freaking everywhere!"
Jin's emphatic voice drew YamaPi's attention away from the magazine in his hands to look over at the display Jin had began to stock, noting that more than half of the magazines featured Koyama-san or K to the Third on their covers. He naturally gravitated toward the newer magazines. "Wow, they really are popular..."
Jin let out a quiet grunt as he set down a particularly heavy stack of magazines, untying the white binding holding them all together. "That just occurred to you right now?" Jin shook his head. "He's currently the lead actor for the drama in the golden timeslot on FujiTV, K to the Third is doing both the opening and ending theme songs for the drama and releasing them as a double A-side single next week, and the group is celebrating their fifth anniversary next month. They're more popular than Arashi, and I never thought that'd happen." Jin glanced back at the entrance to the bookstore for a moment. "Hey, what time is it?"
YamaPi slipped his cell phone out of his pocket. "Almost 3:30." He showed Jin the illuminated face of his cell phone. "Why?"
"Just wait and watch."
YamaPi obeyed his best friend and stuck around as Jin continued to work on the magazine display. After about ten minutes, he considered heading back to his apartment and crashing for a few hours before he had to get ready for his graveyard shift again, but just then Jin nudged him. "Oi. Look. Here they come."
Following Jin's gaze over to the entrance, YamaPi saw a large group of high school girls flowing into the store. "There's a private all-girls' high school about two blocks away. These girls always show up here after school, on the exact days the new fashion, entertainment and idol magazines come out," Jin explained discreetly as the girls began to converge on the display the two of them were standing next to.
"Ohmigod! Look at Koyama and Kame on the cover of The Television! They are so hot!"
"Wait, why is Kame on the cover?"
"Didn't you hear about the new drama he's doing with Tegoshi and Uchi? Don't be jealous just because Kame gets to be with Koyama and you don't!"
"Hey! I like all of K to the Third! Koyama's my favorite, that's all!"
"And poor Shige and Kame get left out in the cold!!"
From where he was standing off to the side-supposedly engrossed with his issue of An-an, open to an article on the dangers of breast enlargement-YamaPi discreetly watched the girls discuss and devour the magazines on the display as Jin continued to stock. As they talked, jumping from one magazine stack to the next and filling their arms with a hefty stack of magazines, he couldn't help but be fascinated. These girls were so invested in Koyama-san, in knowing and analyzing every detail of him, and they seemed to get such amazing pleasure out of it. YamaPi couldn't think of a time when anyone was quite so enamored with him. Well, there was that one weird guy in high school who thought he was a girl and always called him Johanna, but...
"You know, there's no denying it, Koyama's smile is totally the best. I mean, you even forget his single-eyelids!"
"His smile makes me feel like I could do anything!"
"Shige's smiles have nothing on Koyama's. Shige may be the king of fake smiles, but Koyama's smiles are always so real."
"I can't imagine a time when Koyama isn't smiling; it'd be so weird if he didn't!"
As the group of girls chorused a "TOTALLY!" in unison and headed off toward the cash register with their newest treasures, Jin dropped his last pile of new magazines and scoffed. "Can you believe that?" He turned to YamaPi.
YamaPi slowly set his own magazine aside on a shelf. "Actually, I kind of can."
Jin gave him a bemused smile. "Are you serious? Don't tell me you are becoming a fanboy yourself. Should I get you a big pile of magazines too?" he teased his best friend.
"No thanks," YamaPi brushed off Jin's comment with a slight roll of his eyes. "But you've never actually seen his smile up close though, Jin. It's uplifting. I mean, there's a reason the girls love it."
"He's pretty damn good if he's got all the girls thinking it's real." Jin took a glimpse back at the group of girls, now leaving the bookstore. "I mean, which is really better? Having a perfectly fake smile, one that can deceive all of Japan, or having an honest, but kind of shitty smile? I'd be your fanboy over Koyama any day, Pi."
YamaPi snorted. "Thanks, Jin. I think."
*~*~*
Koyama-san came in late that night, somewhere around 5AM right after YamaPi finished dealing with a group of college students with the munchies after an all-night karaoke session. "You're looking worse for wear today," Koyama-san remarked lightly, stepping up to the register.
"It's been a long night," YamaPi returned with a shrug. It really had been too. After the encounter with the fangirls at the bookstore yesterday afternoon, he had gone home to get some sleep for his shift, but found himself restless, thinking about those fangirls and how much they seemed to treasure Koyama-san's smile. He wondered what would happen if they knew Koyama-san didn't smile like that all the time. What would happen if they were here right now, watching Koyama-san with a beanie pulled down on his head, nearly covering his eyes, blinking tiredly up at the McDonald's menu trying to figure out his order, his lips pulled tight and flat, on the verge of a frown? What would happen if it was revealed Koyama-san teaching someone else to smile just like him?
"You don't have the breakfast menu up yet, huh?" Koyama sighed, randomly biting on his lip.
YamaPi looked back at the menu on the wall reflexively, though he already knew that it wasn't up. "We don't start serving breakfast until 6AM actually."
"Oh, that's too bad. I have an early train to catch to Osaka today and I hoping to get some breakfast before. I guess I'll just get a large iced coffee and an apple pie." Koyama-san rummaged through his bag for his wallet. "And don't forget the smile, of course."
YamaPi put in the order, but found himself hesitating to push the "SMILE" button to complete it. "Koyama-san?"
"Hmm?"
"What if I don't want to smile?"
Koyama-san shrugged nonchalantly. "Then don't."
YamaPi's eyes widened. That wasn't the answer he had been expecting!
"Don't be so surprised, Yamashita-san," Koyama-san chuckled. "Just because I'm an idol doesn't mean I go around smiling everywhere, even when I don't feel like it. It'd be weird if I was walking down the street smiling at every random person I saw."
"But... Isn't that our job? To smile?"
Koyama-san pursed his lips thoughtfully for a moment before answering. "I don't think so. I think that our job is to make people feel good, to give them what they need to get through the day, that extra push. And if we don't have that, if we don't feel that, I don't think we should try to force it.
I know a lot of people criticize me because everywhere the media calls me 'The Smiling Prince' and all that other crap. People think I'm a fake, even more so than Shige who happily tells everyone he's the king of fake smiles. But I don't think I'm a fake because I know that every time I smile for the camera or for another person, I think about what I can give and that makes me feel good. Honestly, I'm just some random guy, who really can't act or sing, but I'm plastered all over the magazines and television because I can make people feel good. Even if just for a second. And that's important to me. That makes me happy, and that makes me smile."
YamaPi was quiet, taking in Koyama-san's words. Though he had smiled for so many people who had ordered it over the years, he had never quite thought about his smile in such a way. Not an action he did on command because the receipt said it was part of a customer's order, but something that he could offer because that was what his customer needed at the time.
It had never been about the way it looked. All this time, Koyama-san had been trying to teach him that it was about the way he felt. What was behind the smile.
YamaPi pushed down on the "SMILE" button and then smiled at Koyama-san. He didn't think about the mechanics of it, whether his lips turned up just the right way or if he was showing the exact right amount of teeth proportionate to the width of his smile. He just smiled because Koyama-san needed a smile to give him a strong start to his long day of work along with his coffee and apple pie.
In return, a slow smile stretched across Koyama-san's mouth until he was smiling widely as well.
"Best smile ever."
the end.
characters: Yamashita Tomohisa, Koyama Keiichiro, Akanishi Jin
rating: PG
word count: 2,890 words
summary: They smile for a living, but some do it much better than others.
author's notes: for je_holiday 2009 for psychoniji. Thanks to mabudachi, anamuan for the last minute betaread. ♥ And thanks to McDonald's for the inspiration. *grin*
YamaPi was sweeping the floor when he walked through the automated doors. "Welcome to McDonalds!" he greeted, quickly setting aside his broom and rushing up to the cash register. "How can I help you?"
The customer slowly approached the counter, pushing his sunglasses up and out of his eyes as to get a better look at the menu displayed high on the wall. YamaPi thought he looked tired. Well, more tired than YamaPi was himself at 2 AM on the graveyard shift at least. With his shoulders rounded and arms hanging limply at his sides, he looked not only physically exhausted, but mentally as well.
Yeah, this is what YamaPi did to keep himself entertained on these long nights-he pondered the lives of random strangers. It was a little creepy, even he had to admit, but it kept him awake.
After a long moment, the silent, tired-looking customer spoke up. "I guess I'll have an Ebi Filet-O," he ordered, digging into his shoulder bag for his wallet. Once he found it, he added, "Oh. And how about one smile?"
Instinctively, YamaPi pushed the smile button on the register, but only after he had done so, did he realize the oddness of the order. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, the order for a smile in itself. Plenty of customers ordered it daily; it was zero yen after all. YamaPi often took the order himself from groups of giggling high school girls, getting their strawberry sundaes with a side of smile. And despite being uncomfortable with smiling on command, he knew he couldn't very well refuse the order (it was a charge that showed up on the receipt) and always obliged. It confused him that his awkward, sideways smile always sent girls into a tizzy, even though he just thought it looked painful when he saw it himself in the mirror.
But this case was different. Not only was his customer a grown man-YamaPi imagined somewhere around his own age-but it was 2 AM. There were no girls on this shift. "Sir, are you SURE you want a smile? From me?" YamaPi broached the question politely, hoping not to offend.
The customer blinked, bringing out the bags under his worn eyes. "…you'll do. There's no one else after all, right?"
YamaPi swallowed and nodded. He had been a little afraid of that answer. He tore the receipt off and handed it over to the man, giving him his best smile, but it felt much more awkward and tighter than his "best" smiles for those giddy girls.
The customer blinked once more and then chuckled softly. "Is that your smile…" he leaned a little closer to catch a glimpse of YamaPi's nametag, "…Yamashita-san?"
YamaPi simply nodded, biting on the inside of his cheek, hoping to stave off the wave of mortifying embarrassment with pain.
The customer suddenly smiled widely and YamaPi found himself startled by the other's change in demeanor. The smile was bright and light and warm. He no longer appeared drained and tired, the fine wrinkles on his face had all but disappeared, and the bags under his eyes didn't seem as dark and heavy. In simply taking in his smile, YamaPi's embarrassment melted away and he felt happier and more energized.
"That's a smile," the man said after the smiling mask fell away to reveal the tired one again. "I'll teach you how to smile."
*~*~*
Every night following that week, YamaPi had the graveyard shift. And every night, YamaPi's new smile teacher showed up for a short lesson. From relaxation techniques to actual smile exercises, YamaPi was being taught everything and even just a week later, he was starting to see results.
YamaPi looked into the compact mirror and smiled. It was still lopsided and tight, but there was more confidence and feeling behind it. Even he could see it himself.
"I can't believe you have someone teaching you how to smile, Pi," Jin scoffed as YamaPi passed the compact back across the table.
"Neither can I," YamaPi agreed. "It's pretty weird, but Koyama-san's pretty cool and it's not like he's making fun of me or anything. He actually, genuinely wants to help me."
"Wait." Jin caught YamaPi's gaze over his mug of beer. "Did you say 'Koyama-san'?"
"Yeah." YamaPi shrugged. "What about it?"
"He's got kind of rusty, longish hair, piercings, and small eyes?"
YamaPi sat up straighter in his seat. "Yeah! How'd you know? I never told you what he looked like!"
Jin rolled his eyes and then went rummaging through his bag. When he slammed down the latest issue of Vivi magazine on the table, YamaPi arched an eyebrow peculiarly. "I like the girls, okay?" Jin defended himself. "But that's not what you need to see."
Flipping through the magazine, it took Jin a minute to find the page he was looking for. Once he found it, he plopped it in front of YamaPi. "Recognize him?"
YamaPi stared at the two pages open before him. It was Koyama-san, lounging on the floor in expensive, brand name clothing, head casually propped up by his arm, smiling widely back at him. "Japan's shining, smiling prince-top Johnny's idol Koyama Keiichiro gives us the inside scoop on the secret behind his youthful, boyish smile and charm as well as K to the Third's newest single," YamaPi read out loud, more for himself than Jin. "…oh shit. Are you kidding me?!"
Jin shook his head. "Only you would fail to realize that you've just made buddies with a big time celebrity, Pi."
*~*~*
YamaPi didn't have the graveyard shift for an entire week following his discovery about Koyama-san, and though he was hesitant to admit it, on his first day back at the register after midnight, he was nervous. What kind of idiot took smiling lessons from a super idol without knowing it? What kind of idiot took smiling lessons, period?
So when Koyama-san showed up somewhere around 3AM and ordered a large coffee with the usual smile, YamaPi could barely muster one-his closed lips pulled tight across his teeth.
Koyama lifted his sunglasses-the bags under his eyes seemed a little lighter since the last time YamaPi had seen him-and chuckled softly. "Have you been slacking off in the week I haven't seen you, Yamashita-san?"
YamaPi vigorously shook his head. "No! Of course not!" he insisted, ringing his hands behind the register. "It's just... You're Koyama-san."
Koyama cocked his head slightly. "Yes, and you are Yamashita-san. Unless, you are the twin brother of the Yamashita-san I met two weeks ago?"
"No, I only have a little sister," YamaPi quickly clarified, momentarily distracted. "But, you, Koyama-san. You are that Koyama-san. K to the Third's Koyama-san."
"Ahhh." Koyama nodded with a small, impish smile. "Well, I guess I am. I was wondering when you'd figure it out."
"I have to be the biggest idiot in all of Japan to not have recognized you right away," YamaPi muttered dejectedly, staring down at the buttons on the register, unable to meet Koyama-san's gaze.
"I think most of my fans would agree with you, but me, not so much; it was nice not being recognized for a change, especially when I look like shit at the end of the day." YamaPi finally lifted his eyes to find Koyama-san grinning softly. "Now, why don't we try the smile again? I need a good smile to go with my coffee; I have an early start tomorrow, er, this morning."
For the second time that night, YamaPi hit the "SMILE" button on the register-this time a little more firmly-and then smiled at Koyama-san, a fuller smile even with some teeth. There's nothing quite like a super idol telling you that you aren't a loser after all to add a kick of confidence to your smile.
*~*~*
"I wonder why he always comes in so late."
Jin looked up from the cartful of brand new magazines that he was setting up for display to see YamaPi flipping through last week's issue of An-an; an in-depth article on Koyama-san was the cover feature of course. "He's probably working all day long. I mean, he's freaking everywhere!"
Jin's emphatic voice drew YamaPi's attention away from the magazine in his hands to look over at the display Jin had began to stock, noting that more than half of the magazines featured Koyama-san or K to the Third on their covers. He naturally gravitated toward the newer magazines. "Wow, they really are popular..."
Jin let out a quiet grunt as he set down a particularly heavy stack of magazines, untying the white binding holding them all together. "That just occurred to you right now?" Jin shook his head. "He's currently the lead actor for the drama in the golden timeslot on FujiTV, K to the Third is doing both the opening and ending theme songs for the drama and releasing them as a double A-side single next week, and the group is celebrating their fifth anniversary next month. They're more popular than Arashi, and I never thought that'd happen." Jin glanced back at the entrance to the bookstore for a moment. "Hey, what time is it?"
YamaPi slipped his cell phone out of his pocket. "Almost 3:30." He showed Jin the illuminated face of his cell phone. "Why?"
"Just wait and watch."
YamaPi obeyed his best friend and stuck around as Jin continued to work on the magazine display. After about ten minutes, he considered heading back to his apartment and crashing for a few hours before he had to get ready for his graveyard shift again, but just then Jin nudged him. "Oi. Look. Here they come."
Following Jin's gaze over to the entrance, YamaPi saw a large group of high school girls flowing into the store. "There's a private all-girls' high school about two blocks away. These girls always show up here after school, on the exact days the new fashion, entertainment and idol magazines come out," Jin explained discreetly as the girls began to converge on the display the two of them were standing next to.
"Ohmigod! Look at Koyama and Kame on the cover of The Television! They are so hot!"
"Wait, why is Kame on the cover?"
"Didn't you hear about the new drama he's doing with Tegoshi and Uchi? Don't be jealous just because Kame gets to be with Koyama and you don't!"
"Hey! I like all of K to the Third! Koyama's my favorite, that's all!"
"And poor Shige and Kame get left out in the cold!!"
From where he was standing off to the side-supposedly engrossed with his issue of An-an, open to an article on the dangers of breast enlargement-YamaPi discreetly watched the girls discuss and devour the magazines on the display as Jin continued to stock. As they talked, jumping from one magazine stack to the next and filling their arms with a hefty stack of magazines, he couldn't help but be fascinated. These girls were so invested in Koyama-san, in knowing and analyzing every detail of him, and they seemed to get such amazing pleasure out of it. YamaPi couldn't think of a time when anyone was quite so enamored with him. Well, there was that one weird guy in high school who thought he was a girl and always called him Johanna, but...
"You know, there's no denying it, Koyama's smile is totally the best. I mean, you even forget his single-eyelids!"
"His smile makes me feel like I could do anything!"
"Shige's smiles have nothing on Koyama's. Shige may be the king of fake smiles, but Koyama's smiles are always so real."
"I can't imagine a time when Koyama isn't smiling; it'd be so weird if he didn't!"
As the group of girls chorused a "TOTALLY!" in unison and headed off toward the cash register with their newest treasures, Jin dropped his last pile of new magazines and scoffed. "Can you believe that?" He turned to YamaPi.
YamaPi slowly set his own magazine aside on a shelf. "Actually, I kind of can."
Jin gave him a bemused smile. "Are you serious? Don't tell me you are becoming a fanboy yourself. Should I get you a big pile of magazines too?" he teased his best friend.
"No thanks," YamaPi brushed off Jin's comment with a slight roll of his eyes. "But you've never actually seen his smile up close though, Jin. It's uplifting. I mean, there's a reason the girls love it."
"He's pretty damn good if he's got all the girls thinking it's real." Jin took a glimpse back at the group of girls, now leaving the bookstore. "I mean, which is really better? Having a perfectly fake smile, one that can deceive all of Japan, or having an honest, but kind of shitty smile? I'd be your fanboy over Koyama any day, Pi."
YamaPi snorted. "Thanks, Jin. I think."
*~*~*
Koyama-san came in late that night, somewhere around 5AM right after YamaPi finished dealing with a group of college students with the munchies after an all-night karaoke session. "You're looking worse for wear today," Koyama-san remarked lightly, stepping up to the register.
"It's been a long night," YamaPi returned with a shrug. It really had been too. After the encounter with the fangirls at the bookstore yesterday afternoon, he had gone home to get some sleep for his shift, but found himself restless, thinking about those fangirls and how much they seemed to treasure Koyama-san's smile. He wondered what would happen if they knew Koyama-san didn't smile like that all the time. What would happen if they were here right now, watching Koyama-san with a beanie pulled down on his head, nearly covering his eyes, blinking tiredly up at the McDonald's menu trying to figure out his order, his lips pulled tight and flat, on the verge of a frown? What would happen if it was revealed Koyama-san teaching someone else to smile just like him?
"You don't have the breakfast menu up yet, huh?" Koyama sighed, randomly biting on his lip.
YamaPi looked back at the menu on the wall reflexively, though he already knew that it wasn't up. "We don't start serving breakfast until 6AM actually."
"Oh, that's too bad. I have an early train to catch to Osaka today and I hoping to get some breakfast before. I guess I'll just get a large iced coffee and an apple pie." Koyama-san rummaged through his bag for his wallet. "And don't forget the smile, of course."
YamaPi put in the order, but found himself hesitating to push the "SMILE" button to complete it. "Koyama-san?"
"Hmm?"
"What if I don't want to smile?"
Koyama-san shrugged nonchalantly. "Then don't."
YamaPi's eyes widened. That wasn't the answer he had been expecting!
"Don't be so surprised, Yamashita-san," Koyama-san chuckled. "Just because I'm an idol doesn't mean I go around smiling everywhere, even when I don't feel like it. It'd be weird if I was walking down the street smiling at every random person I saw."
"But... Isn't that our job? To smile?"
Koyama-san pursed his lips thoughtfully for a moment before answering. "I don't think so. I think that our job is to make people feel good, to give them what they need to get through the day, that extra push. And if we don't have that, if we don't feel that, I don't think we should try to force it.
I know a lot of people criticize me because everywhere the media calls me 'The Smiling Prince' and all that other crap. People think I'm a fake, even more so than Shige who happily tells everyone he's the king of fake smiles. But I don't think I'm a fake because I know that every time I smile for the camera or for another person, I think about what I can give and that makes me feel good. Honestly, I'm just some random guy, who really can't act or sing, but I'm plastered all over the magazines and television because I can make people feel good. Even if just for a second. And that's important to me. That makes me happy, and that makes me smile."
YamaPi was quiet, taking in Koyama-san's words. Though he had smiled for so many people who had ordered it over the years, he had never quite thought about his smile in such a way. Not an action he did on command because the receipt said it was part of a customer's order, but something that he could offer because that was what his customer needed at the time.
It had never been about the way it looked. All this time, Koyama-san had been trying to teach him that it was about the way he felt. What was behind the smile.
YamaPi pushed down on the "SMILE" button and then smiled at Koyama-san. He didn't think about the mechanics of it, whether his lips turned up just the right way or if he was showing the exact right amount of teeth proportionate to the width of his smile. He just smiled because Koyama-san needed a smile to give him a strong start to his long day of work along with his coffee and apple pie.
In return, a slow smile stretched across Koyama-san's mouth until he was smiling widely as well.
"Best smile ever."
the end.