I Do... Not! *Chapter 8*
Chapter 8
“Akanishi-kun, filming will start in five minutes.” The drama staff called Jin from his dressing room.
“Okay.” Jin said, getting up from his seat and exiting the room. Since he got up this morning, he’s been feeling anxious and restless by the thought of seeing Takako today. Her reaction yesterday worries him, he knows that she was disappointed with what she has saw and Jin’s afraid that they will go back to not talking with each other.
He reaches the filming studio and Takako is there already, he tilted his head downward to greet her and she gave him a faint smile. Jin notices how Takako is unenergetic and unexpectedly, she frequently makes mistakes which made the director scold her a few times. Jin tried to catch up a conversation with her but she just gives him one-liner answers, just like before.
The filming ended earlier than usual as they are called for a meeting to discuss about the press conference they are holding the next day. The start of their act will officially begin in twenty-four hours, Jin is screwed for he hasn’t told Suki about it yet and with Takako finding out about his real girlfriend, that added another problem in his very complicated life.
“Takako!” Jin called her after the meeting ended.
“What?” She turned around to see him. By the tone of her voice, it looks like she’s not in the mood to talk to him. She knows that she doesn’t have the right to be disappointed and hurt about Jin having a girlfriend but after seeing them together yesterday, something inside her made her feel like she wanted to run away, she question herself on why does she agree on playing this game with him.
“About yesterday...” Jin sighed.
“Oh right!” she raised her voice a bit. “About your girlfriend whom I have no idea that she exist! Thank you for making me feels dumb in front of her!”
“It’s not like I kept it from you since the start!” Jin defended himself. “Suki just got here three days ago and we got back together then.”
“Right! How genius of you to get back together with her after what happened!” Takako screamed.
“I know it’s a stupid decision to have a girlfriend when ‘legally’, I’m married.” Jin maintained his calmness. “But to tell you the truth, Suki is the only person who keeps me sane. It’s like she my escape from all the craziness I’m into lately, she’s the only real person in my life right now and I don’t want to let her go.”
Takako turned silent upon hearing Jin’s words, all along she’s unreal for him and it hurts her. She turned her on back on him before he can notice the tears that have been piling up on her eyes.
“Look at me.” Jin told her, “Hey...” he gently grabbed her arm to make her face him, she quickly brushed away the tears forming in her eyes. “I’m sorry if I made you look dumb in front of her, I didn’t mean it.”
“It’s fine...” she said to make him stop this already. “I’m going now...” she said, getting away from his grip.
She’s about to walk away but she remembered that she wanted to ask him something since yesterday. “One more thing...” she said, turning to face him.“She doesn’t know about our... marriage, right?” she asked him and he nodded. “What are you planning to do, Jin? Tomorrow we’ll be announcing about our relationship, you don’t want her to know from the media...”
“I’ll tell her tonight.” Jin answered.
“Do you think she’ll... understand?” Takako is scared by the thought of Suki knowing about what happened in Vegas. She’s very nice and easy to get along with, Takako somehow feels guilty.
“Honestly, I don’t know.” Jin answered sadly. “I might lose her if I told her the truth...” he looked down on the ground. Takako couldn’t say anything in return. “But that’s fine!” Jin said, meeting her eyes, she smiled. “I’ll win her back if that happens.” he smiled too but that smile is a sad one.
^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^
“What’s wrong?” Hiroko asked Takako as soon as she opened her apartment door.
“I don’t really know...” Takako said as she sat on the couch.
“Is it Jin?” her friend asked joining her on the couch. “And his girlfriend?”
“Why am I so affected with him having a girlfriend?” Takako asked helplessly. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me...”
“Maybe because you’re jealous...”Hiroko smiled cheekily.
“Hiro-chan!” Takako shakes her head. “No!”
“Come on, Takako.” Hiroko disagrees with her. “After he talks to you about becoming civil, you finally decided that you’ll be nice to him and since then, these whole pretending thing seems okay for you already. You’re not moody anymore and it seems like you’re happier. Maybe because...”Hiroko stopped.
“Because what?” Takako asked.
“Maybe because... you’re in love.”Hiroko smiled.
“That’s stupid! I’m not in love with him.” She laughed. Hiroko looked at her, she’s not convinced. “You think so?” Takako asked after seeing that Hiroko is not pleased with what she said.
“Yes.” Hiroko nodded. “Didn’t you say that you’re hurt when you found out about his girlfriend? That’s because you’re jealous, Taka-chan!”
“Earlier he said that she’s the only real person in his life and those words stabbed my heart and it broke into pieces. I wanted to cry but he’s there in front me so controlled it.” Takako confesses. “What’s the use of loving him anyway? He’s so much in love with her and I’m just a person from his past who ruined everything in his present.” she rested her head on the couch and sighed.
“Ohhhh, Taka-chan...” Hiroko pulled her in and Takako finally lets herself to cry.
“Maybe I should stop this before I completely let myself fall for him...” Takako said in between sobs.
“Are you sure this is what you wanted?” Hiroko asked her.
“Yes. I’m just a part of a contract in which he have to fulfil. His being nice and gentle is just part of it, after the contract ended, I’ll be gone just like that paper.”
^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^
“Thanks for the dinner.” Jin told Suki after they ended eating. “I missed this.”
“I’m glad you liked it. I missed cooking for you.” she smiled. “How’s your day? Tired?”
“Do I look liked it?” he chuckled. “Drama filmings are really tiring and it worn me out all the time. I’m glad that you’re here to relieve me from stress.” he squeezed her hand.
“Aww, that’s good to hear, babe!” she said happily. “Your drama is doing well with ratings and your acting is great of course and so is Takako-kun’s.” The mention of Takako made Jin uneasy. “She’s really nice. Do you guys get along well?” Suki asked.
“Uhhh, yeah. Everyone in the set gets along really well.” Jin smile. “Which reminds me, I have something to tell you.” he can feel his heart beating faster than normal.
“Go ahead, what is it?” Suki said.
“Tomorrow... we’ll held a press conference.” Jin said.
“About what?” Suki asked. Jin’s thinking hard to find the right words.
“Promise me first that you’ll stay calm about this.” Jin said, making Suki worried.
“You’re making me scared. What is it?” Suki is getting anxious to know.
Jin can see to worry and concerned look on Suki’s face, “We’re announcing our fake relationship...” Jin finally said, he closed his eyes to not see her reaction.
“What? Why?” Suki said, she was shocked. “Your drama is doing good you don’t need to pretend that you’re dating to raised the ratings.” she reasoned out, she saw Jin’s face and she laughed. “Why are you closing your eyes?” she ruffled his hair. “I’m not mad it’s not your fault.” Jin slowly opened his eyes to see her smiling, he can’t disappoint this beautiful girl. He can’t tell her that he’s married to Takako, it will just make her down and she’ll leave him, he doesn’t want that to happen.
“The pairing was a hit and they wanted more money from CFs and endorsements so they decided to do it. It’s stupid but it’s what they want, I can’t say no...” Jin said his white lie.
“Really? Johnny-san agrees?” Suki couldn’t believe that a man like Johnny Kitagawa will agree to let his boys date in public.
“Surprisingly, yes.” Jin shows a weak smile. “It can benefit him financially, you know... are you sure you’re not mad?” he asked her, brushing her hair beside her ears.
“No, I understand. As long I get to be the real girlfriend.” she winked.
“Of course! My heart only belongs to you.” he leaned forward to kiss her.
^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^
The press conference the next morning was a success, the media feast on the juicy piece of news. Along with the announcement of their supposed relationship, the management also announced the upcoming movie that will star Jin and Takako.
“Otsukaresama Desu!” Jin greeted Takako as soon as the press con ended.
“Otsukaresama Desu!” she greeted back. All this time, she’s been controlling her growing feeling for this guy and she’s finding it hard to resist. “I hope your girlfriend will not kill me for marrying you.” she joked to overcome the awkwardness between them.
Jin smiled. “You’re lucky she doesn’t know about it yet.” his face became sad.
“What? I thought you’ll tell her?” Takako was shocked.
“I told her that we’ll announce a fake relationship but nothing about the marriage. I got scared when I saw her smiley and happy face, I don’t wanna disappoint that face.” Jin said.
“You do know that in November we’ll announce a fake engagement and a fake wedding after that!” Takako raised her voice.
“I still have three months before I can tell her everything.”
“I can’t believe you! You’re just prolonging the pain and guilt in you, Jin!”
“I don’t care how long I will take the pain as long as I protect her from getting hurt!” Jin raised his voice too.
“Keeping it from her for three months will just hurt her even more...” Takako said and left Jin by himself in the dressing room.
^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^
“Is Jin going to be okay?” Keiko asked Yamapi as they walk along the road in Shibuya.
“Yeah, I think, why do you ask?” Yamapi replied.
“He’s been stuck in the middle between his ex-girlfriend and his current girlfriend. I wonder how he feels about that...” Keiko said as she eats a spoonful of her ice cream. “I haven’t seen him with Uehara-san but I know Jin’s quite in love with Suki, right?”
Yamapi smiled, “He might be in love with Suki but he never loved anyone the way he had loved Takako-kun.”
Keiko stopped in her tracks. “You mean Uehara-san has the edge here?”
“I didn’t say that.” Yamapi grabbed her hands and started walking again. “I think Jin will never loved anyone like that again because he’s been hurt a lot by her. He had given one-hundred percent effort in her and left nothing for himself. He’s wiser now, he weighs things evenly and I think it’s healthier.”
“Do you think he’ll never regain those feelings for her again?” Keiko wondered.
“It’s totally up to him.” Yamapi answered. “They are not friends with each other anyways. I think Suki has nothing to worry about.”
“Suki only knows about the fake relationship...” Keiko said, making Yamapi stopped. “Jin hasn’t told her about Las Vegas.”
“How do you know?” Yamapi asked.
“She called me this morning to say that Jin will announce a fake relationship with Uehara-san and told me that it’s quite surprising that a Johnnys will publicly announce that he’s dating someone and our talk continues like that. She never mentions anything about Las Vegas. She’s quite energetic so I figured that Jin hasn’t told her yet.”
“That Bakanishi!” Yamapi shakes his head.
“My thoughts, exactly!” Keiko said and they both laugh.
^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^
The next morning, Suki wakes up in her massive apartment with a text from Jin.
Good morning, beautiful!
I’m off to work. See you tonight.
I love you.
She felt those butterflies in her stomach after reading it. Finally, after ten months of being apart they are together again. She’s happy that Jin still accepts her back, she’s worried that he has found someone else and she’s just a mere part of his past but all her worries fades away when he welcomed her with opened arms.
She went out of her room and saw their helper preparing her breakfast.
“Did mom send you again here?” she narrowed her eyes.
“She said that it’ll be a disaster if she lets you stay in this big apartment by yourself. What do you know about living alone?” their helper grinned.
“Don’t underestimate me, I have lived in New York alone for ten months.” she defended herself.
“Oh yeah! And when your mom came to visit you, your house looks like it’s been ran over by a big truck!” They both laugh with that comment. “Just sit down and let me serve you just like I do since you were a kid.” she pushed Suki to a chair and passed her the newspaper. “Read first, I’ll prepare your breakfast.”
“Thank you. You’re the best!” Suki told her and both smiled at each other. Suki started reading the newspaper, she flipped it to the entertainment page and her eyes were caught with the headline.
‘Akanishi Jin and Uehara Takako, dating! Can love be sweeter the second time around?’
“The second time around?!” she told herself. She read the rest of the article and finds out that they have dated before. Jin does shared stories about his past relationship but not the one about Takako, Suki wonders what so different with Takako to prevent Jin from tell her about them.
Suki picked up her phone and called Keiko.
“Moshi-moshi?” Keiko answered.
“Keiko-chan...” Suki said. “Have you read the news?”
“It’s nothing new. It’s all fake anyway.” Keiko laughed.
“Including that bit where it says that they dated before?” Suki asked, hoping that Keiko will say yes and she’ll stop worrying again.
“Ahhh, annnooo...” Keiko couldn’t find her words.
“Keiko-chan, please tell me the truth.” Suki begged her.
“Suki-chan... you didn’t know about it?” Keiko asked.
“No. He didn’t tell me anything about her.” Suki’s voice is slowly breaking.
“Have you not heard it before? They frequent the tabloids back then...” Keiko doesn’t know if what she’s doing is right.
“I studied abroad, right? I didn’t come back until 2007 so I don’t know.”
“Right...” Keiko slapped her forehead for forgetting that Suki studied abroad. “I’m sorry that you have to hear it from me... But Jin loves you, Suki-chan. He had forgotten her already and things right now are just purely acting. It’s all fake, for the sake of the company’s financial gain. Trust me, Jin will never hurt you.” Keiko tried to cheer up her friend.
“I don’t know about that Keiko-chan. Why would he lie to me about her? What’s with her that scares Jin from telling me about their past relationship? My mind is filled with questions that only Jin can answer but I don’t know if he will tell me the truth.” Suki finally let the tears fall from her eyes.
to be continued...
“Akanishi-kun, filming will start in five minutes.” The drama staff called Jin from his dressing room.
“Okay.” Jin said, getting up from his seat and exiting the room. Since he got up this morning, he’s been feeling anxious and restless by the thought of seeing Takako today. Her reaction yesterday worries him, he knows that she was disappointed with what she has saw and Jin’s afraid that they will go back to not talking with each other.
He reaches the filming studio and Takako is there already, he tilted his head downward to greet her and she gave him a faint smile. Jin notices how Takako is unenergetic and unexpectedly, she frequently makes mistakes which made the director scold her a few times. Jin tried to catch up a conversation with her but she just gives him one-liner answers, just like before.
The filming ended earlier than usual as they are called for a meeting to discuss about the press conference they are holding the next day. The start of their act will officially begin in twenty-four hours, Jin is screwed for he hasn’t told Suki about it yet and with Takako finding out about his real girlfriend, that added another problem in his very complicated life.
“Takako!” Jin called her after the meeting ended.
“What?” She turned around to see him. By the tone of her voice, it looks like she’s not in the mood to talk to him. She knows that she doesn’t have the right to be disappointed and hurt about Jin having a girlfriend but after seeing them together yesterday, something inside her made her feel like she wanted to run away, she question herself on why does she agree on playing this game with him.
“About yesterday...” Jin sighed.
“Oh right!” she raised her voice a bit. “About your girlfriend whom I have no idea that she exist! Thank you for making me feels dumb in front of her!”
“It’s not like I kept it from you since the start!” Jin defended himself. “Suki just got here three days ago and we got back together then.”
“Right! How genius of you to get back together with her after what happened!” Takako screamed.
“I know it’s a stupid decision to have a girlfriend when ‘legally’, I’m married.” Jin maintained his calmness. “But to tell you the truth, Suki is the only person who keeps me sane. It’s like she my escape from all the craziness I’m into lately, she’s the only real person in my life right now and I don’t want to let her go.”
Takako turned silent upon hearing Jin’s words, all along she’s unreal for him and it hurts her. She turned her on back on him before he can notice the tears that have been piling up on her eyes.
“Look at me.” Jin told her, “Hey...” he gently grabbed her arm to make her face him, she quickly brushed away the tears forming in her eyes. “I’m sorry if I made you look dumb in front of her, I didn’t mean it.”
“It’s fine...” she said to make him stop this already. “I’m going now...” she said, getting away from his grip.
She’s about to walk away but she remembered that she wanted to ask him something since yesterday. “One more thing...” she said, turning to face him.“She doesn’t know about our... marriage, right?” she asked him and he nodded. “What are you planning to do, Jin? Tomorrow we’ll be announcing about our relationship, you don’t want her to know from the media...”
“I’ll tell her tonight.” Jin answered.
“Do you think she’ll... understand?” Takako is scared by the thought of Suki knowing about what happened in Vegas. She’s very nice and easy to get along with, Takako somehow feels guilty.
“Honestly, I don’t know.” Jin answered sadly. “I might lose her if I told her the truth...” he looked down on the ground. Takako couldn’t say anything in return. “But that’s fine!” Jin said, meeting her eyes, she smiled. “I’ll win her back if that happens.” he smiled too but that smile is a sad one.
^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^
“What’s wrong?” Hiroko asked Takako as soon as she opened her apartment door.
“I don’t really know...” Takako said as she sat on the couch.
“Is it Jin?” her friend asked joining her on the couch. “And his girlfriend?”
“Why am I so affected with him having a girlfriend?” Takako asked helplessly. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me...”
“Maybe because you’re jealous...”Hiroko smiled cheekily.
“Hiro-chan!” Takako shakes her head. “No!”
“Come on, Takako.” Hiroko disagrees with her. “After he talks to you about becoming civil, you finally decided that you’ll be nice to him and since then, these whole pretending thing seems okay for you already. You’re not moody anymore and it seems like you’re happier. Maybe because...”Hiroko stopped.
“Because what?” Takako asked.
“Maybe because... you’re in love.”Hiroko smiled.
“That’s stupid! I’m not in love with him.” She laughed. Hiroko looked at her, she’s not convinced. “You think so?” Takako asked after seeing that Hiroko is not pleased with what she said.
“Yes.” Hiroko nodded. “Didn’t you say that you’re hurt when you found out about his girlfriend? That’s because you’re jealous, Taka-chan!”
“Earlier he said that she’s the only real person in his life and those words stabbed my heart and it broke into pieces. I wanted to cry but he’s there in front me so controlled it.” Takako confesses. “What’s the use of loving him anyway? He’s so much in love with her and I’m just a person from his past who ruined everything in his present.” she rested her head on the couch and sighed.
“Ohhhh, Taka-chan...” Hiroko pulled her in and Takako finally lets herself to cry.
“Maybe I should stop this before I completely let myself fall for him...” Takako said in between sobs.
“Are you sure this is what you wanted?” Hiroko asked her.
“Yes. I’m just a part of a contract in which he have to fulfil. His being nice and gentle is just part of it, after the contract ended, I’ll be gone just like that paper.”
^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^
“Thanks for the dinner.” Jin told Suki after they ended eating. “I missed this.”
“I’m glad you liked it. I missed cooking for you.” she smiled. “How’s your day? Tired?”
“Do I look liked it?” he chuckled. “Drama filmings are really tiring and it worn me out all the time. I’m glad that you’re here to relieve me from stress.” he squeezed her hand.
“Aww, that’s good to hear, babe!” she said happily. “Your drama is doing well with ratings and your acting is great of course and so is Takako-kun’s.” The mention of Takako made Jin uneasy. “She’s really nice. Do you guys get along well?” Suki asked.
“Uhhh, yeah. Everyone in the set gets along really well.” Jin smile. “Which reminds me, I have something to tell you.” he can feel his heart beating faster than normal.
“Go ahead, what is it?” Suki said.
“Tomorrow... we’ll held a press conference.” Jin said.
“About what?” Suki asked. Jin’s thinking hard to find the right words.
“Promise me first that you’ll stay calm about this.” Jin said, making Suki worried.
“You’re making me scared. What is it?” Suki is getting anxious to know.
Jin can see to worry and concerned look on Suki’s face, “We’re announcing our fake relationship...” Jin finally said, he closed his eyes to not see her reaction.
“What? Why?” Suki said, she was shocked. “Your drama is doing good you don’t need to pretend that you’re dating to raised the ratings.” she reasoned out, she saw Jin’s face and she laughed. “Why are you closing your eyes?” she ruffled his hair. “I’m not mad it’s not your fault.” Jin slowly opened his eyes to see her smiling, he can’t disappoint this beautiful girl. He can’t tell her that he’s married to Takako, it will just make her down and she’ll leave him, he doesn’t want that to happen.
“The pairing was a hit and they wanted more money from CFs and endorsements so they decided to do it. It’s stupid but it’s what they want, I can’t say no...” Jin said his white lie.
“Really? Johnny-san agrees?” Suki couldn’t believe that a man like Johnny Kitagawa will agree to let his boys date in public.
“Surprisingly, yes.” Jin shows a weak smile. “It can benefit him financially, you know... are you sure you’re not mad?” he asked her, brushing her hair beside her ears.
“No, I understand. As long I get to be the real girlfriend.” she winked.
“Of course! My heart only belongs to you.” he leaned forward to kiss her.
^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^
The press conference the next morning was a success, the media feast on the juicy piece of news. Along with the announcement of their supposed relationship, the management also announced the upcoming movie that will star Jin and Takako.
“Otsukaresama Desu!” Jin greeted Takako as soon as the press con ended.
“Otsukaresama Desu!” she greeted back. All this time, she’s been controlling her growing feeling for this guy and she’s finding it hard to resist. “I hope your girlfriend will not kill me for marrying you.” she joked to overcome the awkwardness between them.
Jin smiled. “You’re lucky she doesn’t know about it yet.” his face became sad.
“What? I thought you’ll tell her?” Takako was shocked.
“I told her that we’ll announce a fake relationship but nothing about the marriage. I got scared when I saw her smiley and happy face, I don’t wanna disappoint that face.” Jin said.
“You do know that in November we’ll announce a fake engagement and a fake wedding after that!” Takako raised her voice.
“I still have three months before I can tell her everything.”
“I can’t believe you! You’re just prolonging the pain and guilt in you, Jin!”
“I don’t care how long I will take the pain as long as I protect her from getting hurt!” Jin raised his voice too.
“Keeping it from her for three months will just hurt her even more...” Takako said and left Jin by himself in the dressing room.
^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^
“Is Jin going to be okay?” Keiko asked Yamapi as they walk along the road in Shibuya.
“Yeah, I think, why do you ask?” Yamapi replied.
“He’s been stuck in the middle between his ex-girlfriend and his current girlfriend. I wonder how he feels about that...” Keiko said as she eats a spoonful of her ice cream. “I haven’t seen him with Uehara-san but I know Jin’s quite in love with Suki, right?”
Yamapi smiled, “He might be in love with Suki but he never loved anyone the way he had loved Takako-kun.”
Keiko stopped in her tracks. “You mean Uehara-san has the edge here?”
“I didn’t say that.” Yamapi grabbed her hands and started walking again. “I think Jin will never loved anyone like that again because he’s been hurt a lot by her. He had given one-hundred percent effort in her and left nothing for himself. He’s wiser now, he weighs things evenly and I think it’s healthier.”
“Do you think he’ll never regain those feelings for her again?” Keiko wondered.
“It’s totally up to him.” Yamapi answered. “They are not friends with each other anyways. I think Suki has nothing to worry about.”
“Suki only knows about the fake relationship...” Keiko said, making Yamapi stopped. “Jin hasn’t told her about Las Vegas.”
“How do you know?” Yamapi asked.
“She called me this morning to say that Jin will announce a fake relationship with Uehara-san and told me that it’s quite surprising that a Johnnys will publicly announce that he’s dating someone and our talk continues like that. She never mentions anything about Las Vegas. She’s quite energetic so I figured that Jin hasn’t told her yet.”
“That Bakanishi!” Yamapi shakes his head.
“My thoughts, exactly!” Keiko said and they both laugh.
^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^
The next morning, Suki wakes up in her massive apartment with a text from Jin.
Good morning, beautiful!
I’m off to work. See you tonight.
I love you.
She felt those butterflies in her stomach after reading it. Finally, after ten months of being apart they are together again. She’s happy that Jin still accepts her back, she’s worried that he has found someone else and she’s just a mere part of his past but all her worries fades away when he welcomed her with opened arms.
She went out of her room and saw their helper preparing her breakfast.
“Did mom send you again here?” she narrowed her eyes.
“She said that it’ll be a disaster if she lets you stay in this big apartment by yourself. What do you know about living alone?” their helper grinned.
“Don’t underestimate me, I have lived in New York alone for ten months.” she defended herself.
“Oh yeah! And when your mom came to visit you, your house looks like it’s been ran over by a big truck!” They both laugh with that comment. “Just sit down and let me serve you just like I do since you were a kid.” she pushed Suki to a chair and passed her the newspaper. “Read first, I’ll prepare your breakfast.”
“Thank you. You’re the best!” Suki told her and both smiled at each other. Suki started reading the newspaper, she flipped it to the entertainment page and her eyes were caught with the headline.
‘Akanishi Jin and Uehara Takako, dating! Can love be sweeter the second time around?’
“The second time around?!” she told herself. She read the rest of the article and finds out that they have dated before. Jin does shared stories about his past relationship but not the one about Takako, Suki wonders what so different with Takako to prevent Jin from tell her about them.
Suki picked up her phone and called Keiko.
“Moshi-moshi?” Keiko answered.
“Keiko-chan...” Suki said. “Have you read the news?”
“It’s nothing new. It’s all fake anyway.” Keiko laughed.
“Including that bit where it says that they dated before?” Suki asked, hoping that Keiko will say yes and she’ll stop worrying again.
“Ahhh, annnooo...” Keiko couldn’t find her words.
“Keiko-chan, please tell me the truth.” Suki begged her.
“Suki-chan... you didn’t know about it?” Keiko asked.
“No. He didn’t tell me anything about her.” Suki’s voice is slowly breaking.
“Have you not heard it before? They frequent the tabloids back then...” Keiko doesn’t know if what she’s doing is right.
“I studied abroad, right? I didn’t come back until 2007 so I don’t know.”
“Right...” Keiko slapped her forehead for forgetting that Suki studied abroad. “I’m sorry that you have to hear it from me... But Jin loves you, Suki-chan. He had forgotten her already and things right now are just purely acting. It’s all fake, for the sake of the company’s financial gain. Trust me, Jin will never hurt you.” Keiko tried to cheer up her friend.
“I don’t know about that Keiko-chan. Why would he lie to me about her? What’s with her that scares Jin from telling me about their past relationship? My mind is filled with questions that only Jin can answer but I don’t know if he will tell me the truth.” Suki finally let the tears fall from her eyes.
to be continued...