Fake - Part 5
“Kazu, are you ready?”
“In a minute,” Nino shouted.
He had just finished showering. He’s going to a park with Ohno today for a barbeque with Jun, Sho and Aiba. Apparently, the gathering was also to celebrate his first monthiversary with Ohno. He thought it was ridiculous to do so but he went along with the plan because he’s happy that everyone wants to celebrate them.
Without knocking on the door, Ohno entered the room when Nino was putting on his shirt. Nino wasn’t surprised. Ohno had done that a few times since they decided to stay together. Sometimes, it led to something else. Something that he shouldn’t think about right now or else they will be late.
“Has any of our friends arrived at the park?” Nino asked. Ohno shook his head. Nino checked his reflection in the mirror. His hair was a mess.
“You look sexy with your bang down,” Ohno commented. Nino smiled sheepishly at Ohno. He had heard the same remark before but he will be shy each time Ohno said it.
Ohno lightly chuckled before he put a kiss on Nino's lips. Nino happily responded to the kiss. However, a phone call interrupted them. Nino reluctantly pushed Ohno before he went to answer the call. It's from Mr Maeda, his boss.
"Hello, Maeda san."
"Ninomiya, sorry for bothering you on Saturday." Mr Maeda apologized. "Remember the bookstore that we did maintenance for the website yesterday?"
"Yes. Is everything okay?"
"No.” His boss was distressed. “The website crashed. Can you please check it?"
"Err…" Nino glanced at Ohno. He didn't know what to answer. Their friends had been preparing for today. If he didn't show up, they must be disappointed. But, his work is also important.
As if sensing his dilemma, Ohno gave him a soft smile before mouthing 'It's okay.' Nino looked at him with guilt before giving his boss the confirmation.
"I'm sorry, Ohchan." He quickly apologized after he ended the phone call with his boss. "I'll try to finish the work asap and then go to the park."
“I’ll tell them that we’ll be late.” Ohno was about to text their friends but Nino stopped him.
“You go first.” He told his boyfriend. “I don’t know how long this will take. It might take some time. You go there first, okay.”
He could see that Ohno wanted to protest. But, he gave his boyfriend the best puppy eyes, causing Ohno to sigh in defeat.
“Okay, I’ll go first,” Ohno said, kissing his forehead. But, it didn’t stop there. He started to peck all over Nino’s face and Nino giggled in response.
“You should go now.” Nino pointed at the clock. “J will be angry if you’re late.”
Ohno pouted before leaning closer to kiss him again. “Just one more kiss.”
They kissed once again before Ohno left the house. Right after Ohno left, Nino switched on his laptop, ready to do his work. That’s when he received a text message from an unknown number.
You didn’t follow my advice.
Don’t blame me if something happens.
Hint: You will receive a present today.
Eh? He was surprised when he received the text. Who sent him this? Maybe the sender wrongly texted to his number? Hmm… he couldn’t understand the text. Advice? A present? Maybe the message wasn’t for him. Well, let’s just ignore the text, then. He had work to do and rather than thinking about the text, he should focus on his work. Or else, he might miss the barbeque and his friends will be angry at him.
As usual, when he’s working, he paid no attention to the surrounding until he settled his work. And this job seemed to take longer than he expected. As they had just performed maintenance for the website on Friday, he started by checking the code. Just like he predicted, the problem lied with the code. But… even though he had detected the problem, it took forever to fix it.
It took him almost two hours to finish the job. Once he finished, he called the client to inform them. He was just letting out a sigh of relief when his phone rang. It's from Sho.
"I'll be there in 30 minutes, Sho chan." He said as soon as he answered the call. He bet Jun must be complaining because he hadn’t arrived yet.
"Nino… Satoshi Kun…"
"What happened to Ohchan?" Nino asked Sho. There's something about Sho's voice that made him worried.
"He was involved in an accident."
What? Did he hear Sho correctly?
"It wasn’t serious but we’re going to the hospital to make sure there’s no internal injury. I'll give you the location," Sho informed him. Nino mumbled an 'okay' before he ended the call. Truthfully, he couldn't think properly right now. Even though Sho had said it wasn’t serious, he was still worried. He wanted to confirm with his own eyes that Ohno was okay.
His phone beeped, signalling he had received a text message. Assuming it was from Sho, he quickly read it, only to be surprised with the content.
Do you like my present?
He stared at the text for a while, frowning as he thought of what it meant. His eyes widened as he remembered the threatening letter he received a month ago. The letter and the message… were they from the same person? And now, Ohno was involved in an accident. Was this the present the sender was talking about? Was it because he didn't take the letter seriously? Damn! Why did he ignore the letter? Because of his ignorance, Ohno had to suffer.
“Where is Ohchan?” Nino asked when he spotted Aiba and Jun in the hallway. He didn’t realize how tired he was, not until he had stopped running. He had been running from the parking lot, trying to get to Ohno as soon as he can. Heck, he was even surprised that he could arrive in the hospital safely. He drove like a crazy person to get here.
“In the room. The doctor is examining him.” Jun informed him, pointing to a nearby room. “How’s your work?”
“I finished it before Sho called,” Nino told his friend. “How is he?”
There’s no denying he was very worried. It wasn’t only because Ohno is his boyfriend. No, he was worried because it’s his fault. If only he took the letter seriously.
“He’s fine. It wasn’t serious but the doctor wants to make sure there’s no internal bleeding.”
“What…” He wanted to ask his friends what happened to Ohno. However, he was distracted when he saw Sho’s talking to someone familiar at the end of the hallway. Eh? Isn’t that Nana? What is she doing here?
As if noticing he was looking at them, both Sho and Nana turned to look at them. Nana looked at him apologetically while Sho gesturing for him to come closer. He walked towards them with a frown.
“I’m sorry, Ninomiya san.” Nana quickly said as he got closer to them. “It’s my fault. I didn’t look properly when I reverse my car and hit him.”
Nino eyed her suspiciously. He thought of the text message he received earlier. The message was sent soon after he received the news about Ohno's accident. Was it a coincidence? No, it can't be! The sender had to know about the accident. And the sender could only know about it if he/she was responsible. So, it means… The text… was it from Nana? But, why would Nana do this? Why would she threaten him?
"Are you okay, Ninomiya san?" Nana asked softly.
Nino quickly shook his head. He didn't realize he was staring at Nana. Hmmm… what should he do? He was tempted to ask if she sent him the letter and the message. She had been a good coworker so he didn't want to think badly of her.
"Did you…"
"Kazu!"
Nino was surprised when he heard Ohno's voice. He quickly turned around, smiling widely when he saw Ohno with a bandaged hand. Just like Jun said, Ohno didn't seem to be badly injured, which was a relief for Nino. He went to Ohno, trying his best to hug Ohno without hurting him.
"I'm sorry to make you worried." Ohno apologized.
Nino only shook his head. "Are you okay? Where do you feel pain?"
"My heart…" Ohno answered. Jun snorted when he heard what Ohno had said. "I miss you so much!"
Ohno kissed his forehead, causing the other to look at them with fake disgust. At least, that's what Jun and Sho were doing. Aiba, on the other hand, cooed at them.
"Stop encouraging them to be a pervert!" Jun said, smacking Aiba's head. "Ohchan, I know you love Nino but please avoid doing this kind of stuff in public. We have Oshima san here."
Jun pointed at Nana, whose face was red. She shook her head while mumbling that she's fine. Ohno apologized to her but Nino rolled his eyes, noticing that he didn't seem to be sorry at all for his public display of affection.
"I should be the one apologizing to you," Nana said. "The accident happened because I was careless"
"It's okay, Oshima san. It wasn't that serious. I am equally guilty." Ohno said while eyeing his bandaged hand. "Ah, this means that you have to feed me, Kazu."
"Huh?" Nino frowned at Ohno. It's true Ohno had bandaged hand. But, it wasn't the hand he used for eating. "Your right hand is okay."
Ohno only pouted. Nino enjoyed teasing his boyfriend, something that he rarely got to do since they started dating. Usually, it’s Ohno who teased him. He pinched Ohno's chubby cheeks before he gave him a promise that he will feed Ohno. Ohno smiled widely while exclaiming loudly how much he loves Nino. Their friends scolded him for being too loud.
Nana excused herself from them. Nino eyed her suspiciously as she walked away while thinking if she was indeed the person who sent him the weird text. From what he saw, Nana seemed to be sincerely sorry for what happened to Ohno. However, it seemed like she's hiding something. Ah, but he didn't know if he thought of her like that because he had assumed she was responsible for threatening him.
"Kazu, why are you looking at her like that?" Ohno waved his uninjured hand in front of him. "You're making me jealous."
Nino looked at him in disbelief. His boyfriend is too dramatic sometimes. "Mission accomplished, then. I'm looking at her to make you jealous."
He couldn't tell Ohno what he thought. He couldn't let Ohno know about the text. But, he needed to investigate the matter. Maybe he could ask Aiba, Sho or Jun about the accident later. Who knows if one of them saw something suspicious.
"Ouch!" He yelped when Ohno kicked him. Ohno glared at him. A cute pout decorating his face. Ohno is so adorable when he's jealous.
"I will punish you with my kiss when we get home," Ohno said.
"Oooohhh… I can't wait to be punished."
"Okay, lovebirds. Let's get home." Sho said, stopping the two of them from flirting.
Ohno was advised to rest so all of them decided to go home. Jun had packed him with food from the barbeque. There's plenty of food he gave, enough to last until tomorrow. Good! He didn't have to think of what to eat for dinner later.
"So, how did the accident happen?" Nino asked when both of them were alone in the car.
"Hmmm..." Ohno answered. "I was with Aiba chan in the parking lot. He forgot to buy fruits so the two of us went to buy them. I stopped behind her car to tie my shoelaces. I heard Aiba screaming and then, I was lying on the ground. Oshima san's car was mere inches from me."
"You should be more careful.” He scolded his boyfriend. “I don't want to lose you, Ohchan."
Ohno looked at him with a smile before he took Nino's hand with his right hand and kissed it softly. "I will, my dear Kazu. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worried.”
It seemed like an accident but why did he have a bad feeling about it? Was it possible that Nana actually planned the accident? Why was Nana in the same park as his friends? Did she follow them or it's a coincidence? Was Nana in the car the whole time, simply waiting for the chance to hit Ohno or was it just an accident, as everyone had thought?
Ah, he should really sort out this mess as quickly as he can. He didn't want to doubt his trusted colleague. Should he give her a call later? Or he could just wait until Monday and talked to her during the break.
It turned out, he didn't have to wait until Monday to talk with Nana. She called him after dinner that night. He was watching television with Ohno when she called. It’s scary, he thought, when he saw Nana’s name on the caller id. It seemed to confirm his thought or else, why would Nana call him on a weekend?
“Sorry, I have to take this call.” He excused himself from the living room and retreated to the bedroom, letting Ohno enjoying the documentary about sharks alone.
“Hello.” He greeted her.
“Hello, Ninomiya san.” She answered. “Am I bothering you?”
“Not really. I was watching a documentary about sharks with Ohchan.” He told Nana, glancing at Ohno who was in the living room. Ohno seemed to give his fullest attention to the documentary he was watching. "Thanks for saving me from watching the boring show."
She responded with a laugh. However, the laughter didn’t sound natural. It’s weird to hear her forcing herself to laugh. Well, it’s true that he didn’t really know her. They barely interacted outside of work. But, if he had to describe her… hmmm… he will say that she is an honest person, which is why he found it hard to think badly of her. However, now that he thought properly, it seemed like she wasn’t like her usual self recently. She seemed to be distracted.
“How is Ohno san?” She asked. “Is he okay?”
“Yes, don’t worry. He’s okay.” He answered. As if he knew Nino was talking about him, Ohno turned to look at him. Nino gestured for him to continue watching the show. Ohno mouthed at him to be quick. Nino only responded with a nod. Ohno then gave his attention to the show once again.
“Ah, it’s good to know, then.” She said. “I’m really sorry about what happened.”
“It’s an accident” Nino responded. He wanted to test her, trying to see how she will react. “It didn’t happen because you want to hurt him, right?”
There was silence. She didn’t respond immediately. He wished that she’s in front of him right now because he wants to see her expression.
“I want to tell…” She finally said something after a few minutes of silence. However, she stopped abruptly, causing Nino to wonder if something happened at her end.
“Nana, is everything okay?” He asked.
“Yes…” Her voice quivered. “I have to go now. Tell Ohno san I’m sorry.”
She ended the call before Nino could say anything, leaving Nino confused. What made Nino even more confused, Nana sent him a text after that.
Pls, Ninomiya san. Pls, leave him. I don’t want you to get hurt. And, I don’t want to hurt him again.
Why did Nana send him this text? What did she mean? She didn’t want to hurt him again? Did she somehow admit that what happened earlier wasn’t just an accident?
He tried to call Nana, wanting her to give him an answer. However, the call failed, making him even more frustrated.
Instead, he received a few messages from the unknown number again. The sender sent him a few pictures. He looked at the images sent, only to be surprised to see they were private pictures of him and Ohno. In every picture, the sender put a big cross on Ohno's face.
Okay, this is creepy. The sender was clearly a stalker. How long had he/she followed the two of them? The person obviously wanted him to leave Ohno. If not, Ohno will be hurt. What a coward stalker! He/she even used Nana to hurt Ohno. Why did the stalker have to include Nana to separate the two of them? Did he/she try to make Nino feel guilty for dragging an innocent person into this mess? But, it didn't make sense. Why would Nana obey the stalker? What did he/she have against Nana that made her comply?
Not long after that, another text came from the same number. To be honest, he didn’t want to check but he couldn’t stop his stupid hand from viewing the message. This time, the sender wrote ‘Leave him’ repeatedly.
“AHHHHH” He threw his phone on the bed. The words on the phone made him dizzy. Did the stalker harass Nana in the same way? That would explain why Nana agreed to do what she wants. Nana must have been trying to resist her for a long time and that’s why she didn’t seem like her usual self recently. But, she finally gave up and hurt Ohno as instructed by the stalker because she couldn’t take it anymore. Thinking of all this, it made Nino feel guilty for troubling Nana. The stalker is too much!
"Nino," Ohno called him gently. He was walking towards Nino with a frown. "Are you okay?"
Nino only nodded his head without saying anything. He didn’t trust himself to talk. His head is a mess right now.
“Are you sure?” Ohno asked. He tried to touch Nino but Nino pushed him away. He didn’t want to talk to anyone right now. He wanted to be alone and thought of what he should do to sort this mess. “Who called you?”
He shrugged his shoulder, refusing to answer Ohno. Then, without thinking properly, he muttered, “Let’s break up.”
Yes, that would be the best solution. If he continued to be with Ohno, someone will hurt his boyfriend. If he broke up with Ohno, the stalker will stop bothering Nana. Yes, this is indeed the best solution. No one will be hurt if he ended his relationship with Ohno. Maybe Ohno will not be happy but it won’t be for long.
How about him? Well, of course, he will be unhappy too. A month living together with Ohno had been the best time of his life. He didn’t want to let him go. But, he had no choice. He will rather be unhappy than letting someone else harmed Ohno. He will protect him. If separating with Ohno will keep him safe, then Nino will be happy to do so. Furthermore, he didn’t want the stalker to bother Nana anymore. She’s an innocent person but the stupid stalker dragged her into this mess. This is the only way to make things right. He will do just like what the stalker wanted. He had ignored the threat once which caused Ohno to be involved in an accident today. If he ignored it again, who knows what the stalker will do next.
“Okay,” Ohno said calmly. He didn’t seem to be shocked at all with Nino’s sudden request. Instead, it was Nino who was surprised to see how composed he was. “I don’t want to break up with you. But, I will leave you alone for a while. I don’t know what happened but I’ll wait until you calm down. Then, we will talk about this, okay.”
Nino was too baffled by Ohno’s response. He stood still as he watched Ohno walked away from him. His boyfriend opened the door and he was brought back to reality when he heard the door closing.
No, Ohno cannot go out alone. The stalker was watching them. If he goes out, the stalker will definitely hurt him. He should stop him from leaving the house.
He quickly ran towards the door, hoping he could get to Ohno before he left the building. However, when he closed the door behind him, he heard a familiar chuckle. Ohno was standing next to the door, giving him his usual sleepy smile. Relieved to see Ohno was safe, Nino quickly hugged him.
“What actually happened, Kazu?”
Next
A/N: I hope this part is okay. Thank God, Ohno wasn't badly injured. Poor Nana. It seems like the stalker is using Nino's guilt to make him leaving Ohno. Is it weird? Let me know what you think, okay?
Thank you so much for the warm response for the previous parts. I'm really happy to read those comments.