☆Side Akito☆
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him pat my head a few times, then lowered his hand, making a fist on his lap.
“Aki-san, I…”
The way he clenched his hand tighter indicated that it was something he found difficult to say, and I’m afraid of asking more.
Is he planning to tell me about what he talked about earlier? If so, I don’t want to hear it. I understand, so there’s no need to tell me about it.
“Um, I…”
“…. Un, what is it?”
“Um… I hope… that you won’t hate me after hearing what I have to say… I want to keep doing what we’ve been doing together up until now. That’s why… please.”
He’s said so many weird things, yet I don’t understand it at all.
It’s not me who’d hate you, but you to me, no? It’s difficult, that’s why you hate it, no? It’s impossible for us to keep doing the same things we’ve been doing, no? I wanted to sigh.
“… Understood.”
“Thank you, Aki-san.”
Seeing his smiling face, I couldn’t handle it anymore, and turned away from that sight.
In the silent room, only the sound of a deep inhale was heard. After a while, Ren began to speak quietly.
“Aki-san, I… When I’m in front of Aki-san, for some reason… I can’t seem to act properly…”
“…. Why?”
“That… scene where we had to look into each other’s eyes from such a close distance… For some reason, I just couldn’t act it out…”
It’s like I’m hearing the same thing twice. It’s really, bitterly, painful.
My hands slowly grew cold, as if blood had stopped flowing through them.
It’s a kind of pain I’ve never felt before.
I wanted to become partners with him, but when said partner hates me. It becomes so painful and bitter….
There’s heat in my eyes, and my nose tingled. But I absolutely can’t cry. Not in front of Ren.
“That’s why… in order to overcome this, my manager told me to tell Aki-san everything…”
I wanted him to wait a moment. Why would he tell me this? I have no idea.
“I, thought that she’s right. If I could just be transparent with you… maybe I can avoid causing you any more trouble. That’s why, I’d like you to hear me out… Aki-san, I…”
Up to that point, Ren stopped and let out a breath.
To be transparent… the heck’s with that? My heart stung.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
I don’t want… to hear any more of this…
“Cxl-rjc, P…”
“…. Fc.”
“Ftw, P…. Cxl-rjc, lr… abb…….oei….”
“… Qtja? P mjc’a tfjg sbe.”
“C… Cxl-rjc lr… abb yfjealoei! Tbe… wjxf ws tfjga qbecv!”
“…. Ljt?”
Dfjealoei, lr ktja P tfjgv.
P atbeuta P’v tjgv la kgbcu, jcv iloafv ws ojmf, ab olcv Efc’r ojmf yffa gfv.
Qtfc kf wjvf fsf mbcajma, tf kjr nlrlyis rajgaifv jcv yeglfv tlr ojmf lc tlr qjiwr.
I… didn’t hear wrong…?
“I… Aki-san, you’re too… beautiful, you make my heart pound so hard, I can’t keep my calm anymore…. I got scared, that if you found out that I feel this way, you’d be scared off by it….”
“…..”
“…. I… Don’t want… to be hated by Aki-san. That’s why…. Whenever there’s a scene where we have to get closer, I end up acting while thinking that I have to hide it… so I end up breaking character….”
Ren’s words, ended up way beyond my expectations.
Even though, I’ve already known that scenes like that are bad for your heart?
I even know how mesmerized you were by me on the day we met?
I’m surprised that he’d bring that up now of all times. But.
It seems like, Ren doesn’t hate me?
That fact brought me so much relief, that my body trembled from the overflowing joy.
My heart, which had become cold, instantly warmed up.
“Ah… That… I don’t mean it in a weird way. That… I’ve never thought of someone to be this beautiful before. To look into that person’s eyes, at such a close distance, is a first for me. That’s why, I think it’s because I’m not used to that sort of thing. Really, it’s… nothing weird… I’m sorry for thinking this way.”
Why are you apologizing? I wanted to ask, but my throat tightened, and I couldn’t get the words out.
I wanted to see his face. I want to see him now. By the time I’d thought about it, my hand had already moved by its own volition, taking Ren’s hands into my own, and pulling them away from his face.
His eyebrows were furrowed, face bright red, and his eyes were tightly shut.
I didn’t hear wrong. Neither is it an auditory hallucination.
Ren, doesn’t hate me.
Ren, with a face so red it could be dripping blood, had such thoughts running through his little head.
It really made me happy.
Hot tears welled up in my eyes, and my nose tingled and went numb.
“…….. Ren…”
The voice that cracked from the tears came out worse than I thought.
“…. Aki-san?”
Ren opened his eyes, looking at me quizzically, saw me with tears in my eyes, then became panicked and confused.
“Aki-san, what, what’s wro—”
“I’m alright. It’s nothing.”
I buried my face into Ren’s shoulder to hide my tears.
Ren’s body shook for a moment, and he seemed to be more aware of me.
“A, Aki-san. I knew it, your health is…”
“…. Hm. But it’s alright.”
“… Aki-san.”
His gentle voice made my ear happy. Ren’s hand, gently stroked my back.
Finally, it felt like I could finally breathe.
It was so painful, as if I was underwater this whole time, and how unbelievably easy it is for me to now breathe.
“Ren… your words just now…”
I started in a whisper; Ren gulped, and his body trembled.
I wanted to reassure him, so I put my arms around him. I could feel his tense, trembling body relax. His expression must’ve been so cute to see.
I ended up hugging him, but I felt so elated that I didn’t mind being unable to see it.
“I wouldn’t hate you, for such a thing.”
“R, really…?”
“There’s no way will I ever hate you.”
“…. But, it feels bad—”
“It’s not. Because, I really, really like Ren.”
“Ah… I too, really like Aki-san.”
The usual puppy-like Ren is adorable, and my heart was filled with joy.
“… You see, I. I wanted to… be partners with Ren, but….”
“Haah?!”
“… Is it no good?”
“It’s not!!!”
“Then, we’re both… partners now?”
“Yes, I’m delighted!”
“That’s keigo.”
“Eh, huh…”
I let go of his shoulder, got up, and stroked his head as if I were petting a dog.
“Ah, not this again!”
“Hahaha, how messy.”
“And whose fault is that?”
Becoming Ren’s partner made me so happy I could die. I wanted to say that to Ren. But that’s so embarrassing, so I definitely won’t.
Ren, who I thought might leave me behind, had come back to me. That alone made me feel joy.
After wiping away my tears and calming down, the time came for us to head back to the studio.
“Then, have you overcome that obstacle?”
“… Un, I think I can do it now. Anyways, that feeling I didn’t want Aki-san to know, I’ve come clean about it, so…”
“Hm, to be honest. I’ve always known about Ren’s heart, beating so loudly every day, I can’t not notice.”
“….. Uu….”
Suddenly, Ren disappeared from my side, so I turned back.
Ren had stopped in his tracks, his face flushed, muttering, “I knew it, so he heard it after all….” He looked like he was struggling with his embarrassment, so I burst out laughing.
“C’mon, let’s go quick—”
After that, Ren changed as if something that had always been there had fallen.
Ren, who perfectly acted out that heartbreaking scene, was so cool, it was truly captivating to see.
Just as I was thinking that his fan count would soar after this, as soon as the director called cut, his face instantly turned bright red.
Where on earth does he hide his switch?
Ren is truly, my cutest, most interesting, beloved partner
T/N: Have I mentioned this before? I’m directly translating the word nikoichi as partner, as in more-than-friends-less-than-lovers kind of partner. I’m thinking Akito uses that word a lot without any romantic implications, but there’s way too much romance behind the word’s meaning. Hm, but there’s also the partners-in-crime type of partner (which is another word entirely) so I’m not sure if I should use nikoichi instead? 
