Series: Days (4)
Title: Days
Episode: 4
Genre: Romance, angst
Rating: PG
Pairing: Junma
Beta:
laurachan2
Disclaimer: Arashi and Toma belong to JE. Inoue Mao's (the actress) artistic talents belong to Seventh Avenue. I'm only using them as characters for my fic and am not making any profit out of this. This is written for entertainment purposes only. Absolutely no redistribution!
Notes: 1. Sakuraiba will make their appearances in later chapters.
2. Also, this chapter was just sitting on my HD, and thus it came just a day after posting the 3rd episode. So, please don't expect the 5th episode to come out so quickly even if I leave this chapter at another cliff hanger -_-
3. If you're following the links to other episodes from here, please take time to read any warnings the episode comes with and then proceed. Thanks!
( Episode 1 : NC-17)
( Episode 2 : NC-17)
( Episode 3 : R)
‘What am I doing here?’ Jun thought frantically. He was seated in a traditional family style restaurant. His mother and father, seated on either side of him were smiling at the middle aged couple seated in front of them. A pretty Japanese girl was sitting between the middle aged couple. A small smile curved on her lips, her eyes cast down respectfully and she was taking delicate bites of her food. His parents were happily chatting away, not noticing their son’s discomfort.
It had only been a couple of weeks since Toma had confessed to him. He sighed into his tea; his mother poked his back gently reminding him not to slouch. He unconsciously sighed again and picked at his food, glancing at the girl in front of him and back at his food, his mind reluctantly poking at Toma’s confession.
It had started raining heavily soon after Toma had uttered those fateful words. They were both drenched to the bone within seconds. Jun had frozen on the spot staring at Toma’s face, his heart beating, unable to wrap his mind around the fact that Toma loved him. He wasn’t sure whether he was more elated or more shocked at Toma’s words. However, before Jun could make up his mind, his phone rang. He ignored it the first time, his mind trying to come up with an appropriate response, but his phone rang incessantly a second time. Frowning he answered it.
“Hello”
“Jun. This is your manager! Where are you? It’s not like you at all!”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m at your apartment waiting for you.”
“Why are you waiting for me?”
“I usually pick you up, and drive you to the set. Jun, are you feeling fine?”
“I’m fine. I’m not at the apartment. I’m at the park,” Jun proceeded to give directions to his manager.
“Thanks. I should be there in a minute. I hope you’re not wet. I don’t want you getting sick!” With those words, the manager hung up.
Jun looked up at Toma again, clearing his throat he spoke, “Toma… I, I’ve to go. The manager will be here in a minute and I’m late for work.” With that Jun turned his back on Toma and ran out of the park, his heart still beating loudly in his ears, his mind in a shocked yet happy state.
He had been swamped with work and then he had to go out of the country for his 24hr TV charity work. He had been so rushed by his manager that he hadn’t had a chance to speak with Toma properly and explain to him that he will be unavailable for a week or two. His manager had dumped more work on him when they returned and so, Jun had been unable to contact Toma again.
Sighing softly, he looked at the girl in front of him. She was saying something, but Jun wasn’t paying much attention to her. All he saw was that her lips were moving. His ears were buzzing loudly, blocking out everyone’s voices. Jun frowned slightly sipping more tea and nodded his head in thanks as the girl filled his cup, his mind wandering again.
Jun’s parents had called him a week after he returned back to the country. It was rare for his parents to ask him to meet. They knew how busy he was, and so he thought it must be something important and agreed to meet them for lunch. They had asked him to meet at a family restaurant. He had dressed nicely, considering the restaurant had a strict dress code, and had been wondering why his parents had called him.
When he entered the establishment, he was immediately shown to a private room already occupied by his parents. He wondered why his mother was dressed in a traditional kimono, but decided to hold off asking his questions for later. He bowed to his parents respectfully and went to take a seat opposite them. His parents had interrupted him and asked him to sit between them.
“Mom, I’m not a 5 year old anymore. I don’t have to sit next to you to eat.”
“I know that dear. However, we’re having guests for lunch today and they’ll be seated there.”
With a frown, he simply nodded his head and took a seat between his parents. They were served tea and soon the door opened to reveal a middle aged couple he had never seen in his life before. The lady was dressed in a blue kimono, her hair put into a bun behind her head. Everyone bowed to everyone and the couple seat opposite them.
“Jun, this is Inoue-san and his wife. Inoue-san works with me and we’ve known each other for a while. They have a daughter…” his father began.
Jun’s eyes went wide as realization struck him, “Are you… is this an omiai?”
Jun’s mother put a hand on Jun’s knee and patted him gently, “Don’t be so loud Jun. You’ll make our guests think we raised an ill-mannered child!”
Jun sighed and bowed to the strangers again, “It’s nice to meet you. My name is Matsumoto Jun. I’m sorry about my outburst, but I wasn’t informed about this meeting.”
The couple smiled and nodded their heads. “That’s fine son, we understand,” Mr. Inoue said and turned to his wife, “Call her in.”
Nodding her head, the lady raised her voice gently, “Mao-chan, please come in.”
‘Mao? Inoue Mao? It can’t be who I think it is…right?’ Jun thought with a frown as everyone turned to look at the entrance again.
The door slid open to reveal a delicate looking girl in a white kimono. She made her bows politely and stood up to walk towards her parents. She was tall, had a small face and looked extremely thin. She gave a weak smile as she sat down opposite to Jun.
‘Of all the names Inoue-san could have picked, they had to pick Mao? This is so confusing!!! I bet the members will have a good laugh at my expense now! Argh! I can’t tell them I was conned by my parents to attend an omiai… with a girl named Inoue Mao, who absolutely has no bearing to the actress whatsoever!’ Jun thought with a pout as they were served their appetizers.
His thoughts had been revolving around Toma and the unlucky girl in front of him for past two hours. Jun had barely uttered a word after the initial meeting. He had just nodded and made appropriate noises at appropriate times. When the long stressful lunch was nearing an end, the girl’s mother spoke up.
“Perhaps it would be a good idea to exchange numbers. They could meet privately and discuss their futures more openly,” Mrs. Inoue had said.
Jun looked up with panic in his eyes, “Numbers?”
Jun’s mother smiled and took her son’s phone abruptly from his hand, “That’s an excellent idea. Here is his number…”
The mothers exchanged their children’s phone numbers while the fathers were deeply in conversation about the current market.
“I’ve to warn you though Inoue-san, my son will probably not call her. He is a shy boy and doesn’t like to make the first move. So, why don’t we set up a time right now and perhaps they can take it from there?”
“Excellent. My daughter is currently staying home, mastering cooking and housekeeping. So, whenever your son has free time, she can come over.”
“Let me check his schedule in that case,” Jun’s mother said and took his PDA. He was surprised to see his mother actually knew how to use one. After looking through his schedule carefully she spoke up again, “Uh, looks like he has some free time for dinner on Wednesday.”
“Mother! I…”
“Jun, this is for your own good,” Jun’s mother whispered as she penciled in ‘Date with Inoue Mao’
“That should be fine Matsumoto-san. Where should they meet?”
“Oh, perhaps that hip new restaurant that opened up in Ginza. I heard it has excellent food and the service is exceptional. My son gets irritated if the service isn’t proper,” Jun’s mother confided.
“That’s fine. My daughter can’t tolerate second rate service either. The restaurant should be a fine place to get to know each other.”
Before either of the involved people could speak up, their mothers had set up a date and had even made reservations under Jun’s name. And before Jun could protest further or cancel the plans, everyone decided it was time to take their leave.
“Jun, I hope you’ll be nice to the young lady. Her father is a very important business client of mine,” Jun’s father said as they got into their car.
“But dad, this is a total surprise. You guys didn’t even warn me! What if I have a girlfriend or someone I love?” Jun demanded.
His mother frowned, “Do you have a girlfriend?”
“Well, no! But I lo…”
Jun’s mother interrupted her son sighing in relief, “Then there is no problem. Just meet her at the restaurant and have a good time. Get to know her and then tell me if you don’t like. We can gently let the girl’s parents know that you don’t suit each other.”
With that his parents drove off, leaving a stunned Jun standing at the entrance of the restaurant, a valet cowering behind him holding the keys to his car. He was soon driving down the highway to reach his apartment. Once inside the apartment, he let out a frustrated scream and started throwing down things from the wall and the tables. In his frustration, he had forgotten to close the door behind him.
Toma had decided to face Jun again. He had things to tell him, about some changes that might affect Jun. He had gathered all his courage and had been waiting, for Jun to return, in the lobby for two hours now. He saw Jun walk up the stairs to his apartment and had followed him. He rushed to the door when he heard a scream and stood at the door, fearful eyes focused on Jun. He hadn’t moved from the door, afraid that that anger might be turned on him if he provoked Jun further. It was then he heard Jun pant and yell to the walls loudly.
“LOVE CAN’T BE FORCED!”
The words made Toma cringe inside and take a step out again. Jun’s words were ringing in his ears as he ran down the stairs, with tears streaming down his face.
[To Be Continued]
[End of chapter 4]
Comments are appreciated and very welcome.
Episode: 4
Genre: Romance, angst
Rating: PG
Pairing: Junma
Beta:
laurachan2
Disclaimer: Arashi and Toma belong to JE. Inoue Mao's (the actress) artistic talents belong to Seventh Avenue. I'm only using them as characters for my fic and am not making any profit out of this. This is written for entertainment purposes only. Absolutely no redistribution!
Notes: 1. Sakuraiba will make their appearances in later chapters.
2. Also, this chapter was just sitting on my HD, and thus it came just a day after posting the 3rd episode. So, please don't expect the 5th episode to come out so quickly even if I leave this chapter at another cliff hanger -_-
3. If you're following the links to other episodes from here, please take time to read any warnings the episode comes with and then proceed. Thanks!
( Episode 1 : NC-17)
( Episode 2 : NC-17)
( Episode 3 : R)
‘What am I doing here?’ Jun thought frantically. He was seated in a traditional family style restaurant. His mother and father, seated on either side of him were smiling at the middle aged couple seated in front of them. A pretty Japanese girl was sitting between the middle aged couple. A small smile curved on her lips, her eyes cast down respectfully and she was taking delicate bites of her food. His parents were happily chatting away, not noticing their son’s discomfort.
It had only been a couple of weeks since Toma had confessed to him. He sighed into his tea; his mother poked his back gently reminding him not to slouch. He unconsciously sighed again and picked at his food, glancing at the girl in front of him and back at his food, his mind reluctantly poking at Toma’s confession.
It had started raining heavily soon after Toma had uttered those fateful words. They were both drenched to the bone within seconds. Jun had frozen on the spot staring at Toma’s face, his heart beating, unable to wrap his mind around the fact that Toma loved him. He wasn’t sure whether he was more elated or more shocked at Toma’s words. However, before Jun could make up his mind, his phone rang. He ignored it the first time, his mind trying to come up with an appropriate response, but his phone rang incessantly a second time. Frowning he answered it.
“Hello”
“Jun. This is your manager! Where are you? It’s not like you at all!”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m at your apartment waiting for you.”
“Why are you waiting for me?”
“I usually pick you up, and drive you to the set. Jun, are you feeling fine?”
“I’m fine. I’m not at the apartment. I’m at the park,” Jun proceeded to give directions to his manager.
“Thanks. I should be there in a minute. I hope you’re not wet. I don’t want you getting sick!” With those words, the manager hung up.
Jun looked up at Toma again, clearing his throat he spoke, “Toma… I, I’ve to go. The manager will be here in a minute and I’m late for work.” With that Jun turned his back on Toma and ran out of the park, his heart still beating loudly in his ears, his mind in a shocked yet happy state.
He had been swamped with work and then he had to go out of the country for his 24hr TV charity work. He had been so rushed by his manager that he hadn’t had a chance to speak with Toma properly and explain to him that he will be unavailable for a week or two. His manager had dumped more work on him when they returned and so, Jun had been unable to contact Toma again.
Sighing softly, he looked at the girl in front of him. She was saying something, but Jun wasn’t paying much attention to her. All he saw was that her lips were moving. His ears were buzzing loudly, blocking out everyone’s voices. Jun frowned slightly sipping more tea and nodded his head in thanks as the girl filled his cup, his mind wandering again.
Jun’s parents had called him a week after he returned back to the country. It was rare for his parents to ask him to meet. They knew how busy he was, and so he thought it must be something important and agreed to meet them for lunch. They had asked him to meet at a family restaurant. He had dressed nicely, considering the restaurant had a strict dress code, and had been wondering why his parents had called him.
When he entered the establishment, he was immediately shown to a private room already occupied by his parents. He wondered why his mother was dressed in a traditional kimono, but decided to hold off asking his questions for later. He bowed to his parents respectfully and went to take a seat opposite them. His parents had interrupted him and asked him to sit between them.
“Mom, I’m not a 5 year old anymore. I don’t have to sit next to you to eat.”
“I know that dear. However, we’re having guests for lunch today and they’ll be seated there.”
With a frown, he simply nodded his head and took a seat between his parents. They were served tea and soon the door opened to reveal a middle aged couple he had never seen in his life before. The lady was dressed in a blue kimono, her hair put into a bun behind her head. Everyone bowed to everyone and the couple seat opposite them.
“Jun, this is Inoue-san and his wife. Inoue-san works with me and we’ve known each other for a while. They have a daughter…” his father began.
Jun’s eyes went wide as realization struck him, “Are you… is this an omiai?”
Jun’s mother put a hand on Jun’s knee and patted him gently, “Don’t be so loud Jun. You’ll make our guests think we raised an ill-mannered child!”
Jun sighed and bowed to the strangers again, “It’s nice to meet you. My name is Matsumoto Jun. I’m sorry about my outburst, but I wasn’t informed about this meeting.”
The couple smiled and nodded their heads. “That’s fine son, we understand,” Mr. Inoue said and turned to his wife, “Call her in.”
Nodding her head, the lady raised her voice gently, “Mao-chan, please come in.”
‘Mao? Inoue Mao? It can’t be who I think it is…right?’ Jun thought with a frown as everyone turned to look at the entrance again.
The door slid open to reveal a delicate looking girl in a white kimono. She made her bows politely and stood up to walk towards her parents. She was tall, had a small face and looked extremely thin. She gave a weak smile as she sat down opposite to Jun.
‘Of all the names Inoue-san could have picked, they had to pick Mao? This is so confusing!!! I bet the members will have a good laugh at my expense now! Argh! I can’t tell them I was conned by my parents to attend an omiai… with a girl named Inoue Mao, who absolutely has no bearing to the actress whatsoever!’ Jun thought with a pout as they were served their appetizers.
His thoughts had been revolving around Toma and the unlucky girl in front of him for past two hours. Jun had barely uttered a word after the initial meeting. He had just nodded and made appropriate noises at appropriate times. When the long stressful lunch was nearing an end, the girl’s mother spoke up.
“Perhaps it would be a good idea to exchange numbers. They could meet privately and discuss their futures more openly,” Mrs. Inoue had said.
Jun looked up with panic in his eyes, “Numbers?”
Jun’s mother smiled and took her son’s phone abruptly from his hand, “That’s an excellent idea. Here is his number…”
The mothers exchanged their children’s phone numbers while the fathers were deeply in conversation about the current market.
“I’ve to warn you though Inoue-san, my son will probably not call her. He is a shy boy and doesn’t like to make the first move. So, why don’t we set up a time right now and perhaps they can take it from there?”
“Excellent. My daughter is currently staying home, mastering cooking and housekeeping. So, whenever your son has free time, she can come over.”
“Let me check his schedule in that case,” Jun’s mother said and took his PDA. He was surprised to see his mother actually knew how to use one. After looking through his schedule carefully she spoke up again, “Uh, looks like he has some free time for dinner on Wednesday.”
“Mother! I…”
“Jun, this is for your own good,” Jun’s mother whispered as she penciled in ‘Date with Inoue Mao’
“That should be fine Matsumoto-san. Where should they meet?”
“Oh, perhaps that hip new restaurant that opened up in Ginza. I heard it has excellent food and the service is exceptional. My son gets irritated if the service isn’t proper,” Jun’s mother confided.
“That’s fine. My daughter can’t tolerate second rate service either. The restaurant should be a fine place to get to know each other.”
Before either of the involved people could speak up, their mothers had set up a date and had even made reservations under Jun’s name. And before Jun could protest further or cancel the plans, everyone decided it was time to take their leave.
“Jun, I hope you’ll be nice to the young lady. Her father is a very important business client of mine,” Jun’s father said as they got into their car.
“But dad, this is a total surprise. You guys didn’t even warn me! What if I have a girlfriend or someone I love?” Jun demanded.
His mother frowned, “Do you have a girlfriend?”
“Well, no! But I lo…”
Jun’s mother interrupted her son sighing in relief, “Then there is no problem. Just meet her at the restaurant and have a good time. Get to know her and then tell me if you don’t like. We can gently let the girl’s parents know that you don’t suit each other.”
With that his parents drove off, leaving a stunned Jun standing at the entrance of the restaurant, a valet cowering behind him holding the keys to his car. He was soon driving down the highway to reach his apartment. Once inside the apartment, he let out a frustrated scream and started throwing down things from the wall and the tables. In his frustration, he had forgotten to close the door behind him.
Toma had decided to face Jun again. He had things to tell him, about some changes that might affect Jun. He had gathered all his courage and had been waiting, for Jun to return, in the lobby for two hours now. He saw Jun walk up the stairs to his apartment and had followed him. He rushed to the door when he heard a scream and stood at the door, fearful eyes focused on Jun. He hadn’t moved from the door, afraid that that anger might be turned on him if he provoked Jun further. It was then he heard Jun pant and yell to the walls loudly.
“LOVE CAN’T BE FORCED!”
The words made Toma cringe inside and take a step out again. Jun’s words were ringing in his ears as he ran down the stairs, with tears streaming down his face.
[To Be Continued]
[End of chapter 4]
Comments are appreciated and very welcome.