[Fanfic] Charade- Chapter 2, Part 1
Title: Charade
Author: stormytwilight
Rating: PG
Fandom: Hey! Say! JUMP
Pairing: Arioka Daiki X OC
Genre: Romance, Fluff, Hetero
Word Count: 3, 726
Length: Series
Disclaimer: I don’t own Daiki. Or HSJ. And this is a story of pure and utter fiction.
Summary: Shimura Rika was beautiful, rich, smart and talented. She’s also a bitchy brat who gets everything she wants when she wants it. Rika proves that money can buy you everything when she asks her dad to buy her a boyfriend from Johnny Kitagawa. And the unlucky guy who the spoiled ojou-sama chooses? Poor, poor Arioka Daiki.
AN: This is a birthday fic for Daiki and Rielle/ hoshi_no_kage. I hope you like it. It’s my first multi-chap in a century (Lol, 2 years). I’m still a bit rusty but I hope you click that link below and read on. ♥ This chapter exceeded the character limit! So, there's part 2. Click on the link at the end of this page. :)
(Chapter 1)
It was late afternoon, a very good time for all the idols of Johnny’s Entertainment because that’s the time when their tiring day ends. No more interviews, no more dance rehearsals, no more work. You wouldn’t see the idols being stereotypical celebrities, partying here and there at night. They wouldn’t, especially the young ones. Instead, you would find idols sharing private booths in restaurants, away from prying eyes, and just eating to their hearts content, laughing and being thankful that another day has come and gone. They could also be alone in their houses, enjoying some quality time with themselves alone or maybe with their cat or two, just relaxing.
Everyone would be resting, regenerating energy for another big day tomorrow.
Well, unless the boss instructed to do otherwise.
“Mou,” a tall guy with bright, brown hair whined, seemingly uncomfortable in the crisp, black suit that he was wearing. “What are we even doing here? Let’s go home. I’m tired and I just want to rest.”
“Takaki-san, please be quiet,” a middle-aged man in the midst of ten young people sitting around a table said. He looked around nervously, taking in the tons of teenaged girls looking in their direction with inquisitive eyes. He reached for the crystal glass for water and gulped it all down. “All of you are attracting the girls too much already.”
“But, Takeshi-san, it’s not like it’s our fault that we are since someone made us walk right into this… mansion where people can obviously see us,” Takaki Yuya reasoned out, scratching his head in frustration as he looked around the huge room once more. “And you’re still not answering the question. Why are we all here?”
The other members of Hey! Say! JUMP looked around at their manager, Takeshi, questioningly.
Their manager looked uneasy and he glanced at the person beside Takaki, a short guy who was constantly checking the cellular phone in his hand, before answering. “You’ll find out later.”
“But you have to admit, Takaki-kun,” Yamada Ryosuke said, looking around the room with wonder written all over his face. “This place is amazing.”
Under the soft glow of the hundreds of chandeliers above, heads nodded in agreement. It was a place of utmost beauty. The room that they were in, big enough for six basketball courts to fit, was filled with at least seventy-five full tables covered with white linen tablecloths and adorned with expensive-looking plates and cutlery specially imported from Italy. Several men in waiter ensembles stood by the tables, waiting to serve the chatting guests with whatever they desired. Vases of fresh, blooming flowers dressed up the polished surfaces of precious antique furniture standing by the elegant, Victorian-styled walls. In the middle of the room, the circular tables separated into a convex formation to make way for the dance floor. Everything was facing towards the heavy and finished double-doors while the surround speakers played some soft music to set the mood for the guests as they waited for the party to start.
It really was amazing. And that was just a particular party room inside the mansion.
“The owner of this mansion must be a billionaire,” Chinen Yuri commented, touching the place card on their table with his name written with golden dust. “Is this glitter or genuine gold?”
Okamoto Keito took a look at his own place card and traced the letters of his name gingerly. His eyes turned round and he gasped. “No way! It’s gold!”
“Amazing!” Yaotome Hikaru exclaimed, grinning goofily as he snatched up the place cards of everyone around him. “If I sell these on E-Bay, I might get a fortune! It’s made of gold and it has our names on it. It would be a hit: Hey! Say! JUMP place cards, made of real gold dust, a million yen each.”
The others groaned.
“But of course, the ‘Hikaru place card’ would have to be a bit pricier. You know, because I’m worth at least a million yen more than you guys.” He laughed and began shuffling through the place cards.
“Can you see that we’re very bored now, Takeshi-san?” Yabu Kota said, gesturing towards Hikaru and his craziness. Takaki, Keito, Chinen and Yamada were all laughing with him as he begun pricing the place cards according to his preferences. “When can we go home?”
“Yeah,” Inoo Kei said, sounding bored. “It’s not like we’re doing something here.”
“And we don’t know whose party this is, too,” piped in Morimoto Ryutaro.
“Whose party is this anyway?” Nakajima Yuto asked their manager.
Takeshi didn’t reply to his question but instead looked over at his watch and said urgently and a bit tentatively, “Yabu-san, please, take care of them for a while. I need to be somewhere.” He got up from his chair and called to the person beside Takaki. “Arioka-san?”
Arioka Daiki didn’t look up from his phone but continued to text whoever he was texting. He was so engrossed with his cellular phone that he had been very quiet for the past hour that they had been there.
“Arioka-san, may I talk to you?” Takeshi called again, this time a little more loudly.
Daiki didn’t hear him. He suddenly grinned as he typed furiously on his phone.
“Arioka-san?”
“Give it up, Takeshi-san,” Takaki said, looking up from the set of place cards to address their manager. “You won’t be able to get through his deaf ears. Dai-chan is always like that when he’s texting his girlfriend.” He emphasized the last word and grinned towards Daiki.
Takaki received a punch on the arm from Daiki. “For the nth time, I don’t have a girlfriend!” Daiki protested, finally glancing up and glaring at his friend.
“Then who are you texting at this time of the night?” Takaki asked testily, a playful grin on his face. “Your mom?”
Daiki made an ‘hmph’ sound and shoved his phone on the pocket of his slacks. “There, I put it away. Are you happy?”
“Your girlfriend might get mad if you stop texting her,” Takaki said, sniggering. This time, he avoided Daiki’s fist.
“I don’t have a girlfriend, all right?” Daiki said firmly.
“Arioka-san,” Takeshi interjected before Takaki could tease him again. “We need to talk. Can you follow me?”
Daiki stood up and gave Takaki a final glare, wherein Takaki smiled in reply, before following Takeshi out through a single door by the back of the tastefully decorated room.
“Yes, Takeshi-san?” Daiki prompted curiously, wondering what his manager could want from him.
“In here,” Takeshi said as they stepped out into the mansion’s entrance hall, their shoes clacking faintly onto the marble floor. Their manager looked around, trying to spot a person or two who might have followed or who was capable of overhearing them and looked back at Daiki when he thought the coast was clear.
“What’s up, Takeshi-san?” Daiki asked, watching him sit down on the loveseat in the hall and take out a manila envelope from the briefcase he was dragging around.
“Arioka-san,” he started, the envelope hanging loosely from his hand. He looked like he was about to break some bad news to the young idol. “I apologize for dragging you all into this party. It was Johnny-sama’s orders.”
“Oh, well, we figured that it was him who made us go here without even asking if it was alright for us,” Daiki said, shrugging it off as if it was normal for their agency’s president to do that. Well, it was. “It’s typical. But we do get paid overtime for whatever we’re going to do here, right?” He added jokingly.
Takeshi didn’t smile. “This is hard to tell you,” he muttered, shaking his head.
Daiki’s brow furrowed, sensing Takeshi’s tension. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Arioka-san,” Takeshi said, looking up at him with regretful eyes. He handed him the envelope wordlessly. “Please have a look.”
Daiki reached for it tentatively, worried still at the expression on HSJ’s manager’s face. Slowly, he lifted the flap and got out a white piece of paper. Daiki knew in one glance that it was a contract, having seen many of it in his life. He looked at Takeshi before thoroughly reading the content.
The apprehensive expression on Daiki’s face suddenly changed. It turned into temporary confusion and as he read on, Daiki’s lips curved into a frown. Then he looked shocked. After a few seconds, he tore his eyes away from the contract and anger reflected in them.
“What is this?” Daiki hissed, fist curling around the piece of paper. “What the hell is this?”
What he read… it was too much. It stung his pride as guy. It violated his right as a person born with free will. The rage filled him though he tried to put a stopper on it.
“It’s Johnny-sama’s order,” Takeshi said solemnly.
“Who in their right mind would think to do this kind of thing?” Daiki asked rhetorically as he shook the paper in his hand. “Johnny Kitagawa can’t do this to me! He can’t do this to anyone! He doesn’t own us.”
Takeshi looked like he was about to correct that last statement but decided not to.
“So, what, someone bought me from him to be used as a puppet? Is that right?” Daiki’s voice was on the brink of rising yet he tried his best to control it. “I was bought? Rented to be some rich girl’s boyfriend?”
“Yes.”
Daiki muttered a string of colorful words under his breath. “I won’t allow any of this. I’ll decline.”
“There’s no choice, Arioka-san. The contract was already signed by the two parties: the consumer and the producer.”
“God, that makes it sound more like I’m really an object that can be traded in or something. I won’t cooperate!”
“Arioka-san, you know what happens if you decide to do that…” Takeshi said warily.
“Takeshi-san! Would you have agreed to this?” Daiki waved the contract agitatedly. “Be bought by money. Be used by other people. Having no choice at all? I repeat, Johnny Kitagawa doesn’t own me!”
“Your contract with the agency clearly states that-“
Daiki interrupted heatedly. “There’s nothing in that contract that says that I can be bought by certain rich people who have nothing else better to do with their money!”
“But, Arioka-san, look at the facts laid out in front of you. You were given no choice. Clearly, if you breach the contract, you can be sued. And Johnny-sama is capable of doing a lot of things. You know it’s best to obey.”
“I was bought for one million US dollars,” he said, glaring at the contract. “And I’m not flattered at all that they think I’m worth that much.”
“Think of it as acting in your newest drama. It’s a project given to you by Johnny-sama,” Takeshi said, trying to help ease the fury in Daiki.
“I don’t like to be used! That’s the problem! And I can’t have a girlfriend!” Daiki said in frustration. Then he closed his eyes, trying to breath deep, calming himself.
“It’s an order,” Takeshi said.
He opened his eyes and said, “I won’t let this happen. This is too much. I’ll talk to the girl,” Daiki said, his voice steady.
“You wouldn’t want to do that,” Takeshi said. “Her father is the head of Shimura Corporation. They’re a very powerful family. What you say won’t matter.”
“Look, I can’t just let people step on me,” Daiki retorted firmly. “Where is this girl?”
“It’s her who has this party. It’s the daughter’s sixteenth birthday.”
“I’ll go find her then.”
“She’s-“ Takeshi paused as he heard the sounds of trumpets playing inside the party room. “I think it’s time for her grand entrance.”
They opened the door to the room and sure enough, the room’s lights had dimmed and the guests had quieted down, their eyes fixed on the huge double doors. A spotlight shone on the entrance and two butlers were holding the gold door handles.
“Ladies and gentlemen, presenting, the heiress of the Shimura Corporation…”
Against the deep voice of the hidden announcer, a violin was playing to the melody of ‘Happy Birthday’.
“…give a round of applause to our birthday girl, the very beautiful, Shimura Rika.”
There was a loud burst of appreciative ovation as the whole room began joining the accompaniment and sang their deepest wishes of happiness on Rika’s birthday.
The doors opened and as soon as the young girl stepped into the spotlight, all of Daiki’s resentment suddenly vanished.
Wow.
Shimura Rika was, no doubt, the most beautiful girl his eyes had ever laid upon on.
Daiki felt like he was in the presence of an angel. He watched as she walked slowly to the center of the room, carrying the long, red dress she wore with much elegance and refinement. She was radiant, the apples of her cheeks rosy against her smooth complexion and the smile on her full lips shining like the diamond necklace she had on her slender neck. Her midnight-black hair reflected the lights in the room and it made her seem more like she was glowing.
It was a breathtaking sight.
“She’s gorgeous,” Takeshi said beside Daiki, the admiration in his voice very clear.
Daiki nodded, unable to express the awe he felt.
“Everyone,” Rika began in a gentle but carrying voice and the clapping gradually died down, “thank you so much for attending my sixteenth birthday party, for taking some time to celebrate this special day with me. Thank you very much.”
The guests clapped again, cheering for Rika. It was obvious that she had many admirers.
“This party is going to be one that is extraordinary. A live band will perform later on and the menu for tonight is prepared by the very famous chefs of the five-star restaurant, Baccanale. I hope you all enjoy tonight,” she said, giving everyone a final smile before the chandeliers went on again and the music turned into the usual club, party music.
Rika’s brown eyes then roamed around the room, trying to find someone among the many heads. She signaled to the butler behind her and whispered something. The butler looked around the room, spotted Daiki standing by the corner and nodded towards his direction. Rika followed her butler’s gaze and the smile on her face grew as the eyes of the two teens met.
“Get ready,” Takeshi warned Daiki as Rika began making her way towards them. “Remember, don’t try to argue with her and act well. She’s your girlfriend now.”
“I--I still didn’t agree to this!”
“Act well,” Takeshi repeated. “You don’t have a choice, remember?”
Daiki looked indecisively at Takeshi and when he turned around, Rika was already in front of him, smiling an angelic smile. His breath hitched up. She was more beautiful up close.
“You must be Daiki,” Rika said congenially, inclining her head towards him.
“Yes,” he replied, bothered at the fact that she addressed him with his first name.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Shimura Rika,” she said. “I’m sure that you were briefed with everything?”
Daiki nodded, feeling helpless. All his will to fight had gone upon seeing her.
“Then, let’s go,” Rika said, extending her hand towards Daiki. “I’ll go introduce you to everyone as my new boyfriend.”
“But…” He stared at her hand, not knowing if he should take it.
“Yes?” Rika blinked up at him innocently, emphasizing her long, dark lashes. “Is there anything wrong, Daiki?”
He felt like he was being drawn by a spell. “It’s nothing.”
“If you say so,” Rika said. Then she went near Daiki, stood on a tiptoe and whispered sweetly in his ear, “Let’s work hard together, ne?”
Daiki felt a shiver run down his spine as she stood back to throw another lovely smile at him.
Rika took Daiki’s arm and slipped it through her own. “Let’s go,” she said, pulling the reluctant-looking Daiki to greet each guest with her.
***
(Chapter 2, Part 2)