☆Side Ren☆
Standing in front of a vending machine in the rest area, I pressed the button for the coffee of my choice; sweet coffee.
I was feeling a little tired, so I thought some sugar would do me good.
“Areee~, did you press the wrong button?”
Glancing at the coffee can in my hand, Aki-san asked.
“Uun. I wanted to drink this today.”
“Fu~un.”
We sat down next to each other on the sofa, and Aki-san stretched his body before resting his head on my shoulder.
“Aah, I’m so tired. I wanna sleep.”
“Un, I’m also feeling a little tired.”
In response, I leaned my head on top of Aki-san’s, snuggling with our eyes closed. It’s finally break time between shots.
“Ouwaah. Is that Akito?”
“Seems so, I don’t think our eyes are tricking us.”
Akito, hearing their words, we looked over. Two men approached us.
“Akitooooo. We can finally see your face, you on break~?”
“Is this the rumored Ren-kun? Nice to meet you.”
“Ah, nice to meet you too.”
Who’re they, I wonder? With that thought in my head, I got up to greet them. Aki-san moved with me, sleepily asking them, “Wassup, you two?”
I finally connected the dots; these two are members of Aki-san’s group.
“We’d just wrapped up a variety show shooting, so we came over to sneak a peek at your studio. Sadly you’re on your break right now, what bad timing… Ah, nice to meet you, Ren-kun. I’m Ryuuji.”
“Pleased to meet you, I’m Jinguuji Ren.”
“I’m Kyou. Nice to meet you.”
“Ah, pleased to meet you too.”
I shook hands with the two, nodding at them. Aki-san’s group had eight people in it. I should’ve known whom Ryuuji-san and Kyou-san were, and I felt apologetic for not realizing their identities sooner.
“Ah, then, I’ll return to the dressing room. Please, take your time.”
I got up and nodded at them, but Aki-san grabbed on to my hand.
“Why? You can stay.”
“Ah, but…”
“Ren-kun, sit, sit! We also have no business to be here, instead, we’re sorry for disturbing you two.”
“No, that’s…”
Just like that, they pulled me back, and I once again sat down.
“Oh, right, Akito, about the new song’s choreography—”
While the three talked about their next MV’s recording, I, feeling bored, opened a coffee can and took a sip. It was a mistake. It’s too sweet.
As I thought so to myself, Aki-san broke into laughter.
“You’re not gonna drink it anymore?”
He said as he chuckled, eyes trained on me.
“I mean, don’t you usually drink black coffee? You actually got yourself a sweet one, I just knew you’d make that kind of face.”
“… I thought I needed some sugar in me.”
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.
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“Eh, oi, Akito. You don’t usually drink something someone else drank from. What’s up with that?”
Ryuuji-san exclaimed in surprise, while Kyou-san had his mouth open in astonishment.
Ryuuji-san’s words reflected what I was also wondering.
“Hm, really?”
“Hah? Of course!”
“Hmm, I guess? Huh, I wonder why? I don’t really mind it…”
“Seriously….?”
Aki-san is kind, so I guess he said that to be considerate… Thinking so, I felt apologetic.
I must’ve looked so pathetic, huh? Aki-san took one look at my face, and burst into laughter once again.
“Didn’t I just say that I didn’t mind?”
He ruffled my head.
“But still, I’m sorry. Aki-san.”
“See, Ryuuji, you said something unnecessary, and now Ren’s all sad.”
“Aah, sorry, sorry. I was so surprised, it just kinda came out.”
“Nah, if Ryuuji didn’t say it, I would.”
“Hey, now you’re just hammering the final nail—”
He complained exasperatedly, all the while drinking the entire can of coffee in his hand.
“You makin’ a mountain outta a molehill or something?” Placing the empty can on the table with a kon sound, he once again placed his head on my shoulder.
“I’ve been sticking with him all day every day, so I’ve become somewhat desensitized, I guess.”
“…. Aki-san.”
“Besides.”
Aki-san’s mouth whispered right next to my ear.
“Tomorrow, we’ll be, kissing, you see?”
The moment he said that, heat flooded my face.
“Aah, so you’ll be shooting the kiss scene tomorrow?”
“Yup. Right, Ren?”
“Ren-kun’s face is so red. Will he be alright tomorrow?”
“It’s not really the time to be talking about sharing a can to drink from.”
“That said, isn’t Ren-kun’s role the seme?”
“Seriously? Isn’t he more suited for the uke role?”
“Oh, then how about I kiss him instead?”
“Now, that’d be changing the drama’s story, no?”
“Hahaha…”
The three’s conversation was like a game of catchball. With my face flushed red, I could only listen to the conversation in silence.
And for some reason, only Aki-san’s words rang clear in my ear.
I ended up overreacting when I heard Aki-san’s words, “How about I kiss him instead?”
I couldn’t bear the embarrassment anymore, so I folded. Literally. With my torso on my lap, face hidden by my knees.
“Huh, Ren-kun, what’s wrong?”
“Ooi, Ren, are ya alright?”
“Ren-kuuuuuuun?”
“Did we tease him too much?”
“He’s seriously way too pure. You’re right, he’s adorable.”
“Because Akito’s been mentioning how cute you are, I became so curious I needed to see for myself. The gap between the you now and the you in the drama is pretty big, huh?”
“He’s adorable right? My Ren.”
“Only yours?”
“Of course, if not?”
The conversation happily continued. I could only clearly hear Aki-san’s words.
My Ren, I repeated the words in my head.
What’s up with me? I’m being so weird.
My Ren, the words brought me so much happiness, I felt like I’d die. I need to calm down.
At this rate, I’m not sure if I could really get through tomorrow in one piece.
While they were teasing me, the AD-san showed his face.
“Kuon-san, Jinguuji-san. Uh, about the next scene. There’s been some trouble, and it’ll take a while for everyone to gather, so we decided to shoot the scenes we could shoot first.”
“Ah, so only I will be going back? Or should Ren go too?”
“No. Jinguuji-san’s free to go home. Please return to the studio, Kuon-san.”
“Alright. Then, Ren, take your time and rest up. You two, it’s time for you guys to go home.”
Aki-san got up, and I heard the sound of the empty can being thrown into the trash box.
Waving at me, he hurriedly followed the AD-san away from here.
The three left behind were at a loss.
Just as I was thinking of going back to the dressing room, Ryuuji-san looked at me intently.
“Ren-kun, what are you?”
“Eh…?”
“Seriously, Ren-kun, what kind of magic did you cast?”
Kyou-san also asked with a serious look.
“Uhm, what are you…. Talking about?”
“We’re talking about, how amazing Ren-kun is.”
I really don’t understand. I tilted my head, and the two leaned forward and started talking.
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen Akito being so spoiled with someone.”
“I mean, Akito’s personal space is super big, yet when it comes to Ren-kun, it seems to be nonexistent.”
I tilted my head in confusion. Personal space is the distance in which you’d feel uncomfortable when other people cross.
“You say that it’s the first time Aki-san’s acted that way…. But, isn’t his personal space basically zero?”
I asked the two, and the two’s mouth gaped in astonishment, whispering, “What the hell….”
“No, I mean, uhm…. His expression when he’s in front of Ren-kun, isn’t the expression the usual Akito would show.”
“Is that… so?”
“Aah, it’s completely different. Like, he had this super relaxed, soft look on his face. Today’s the first time we found out Akito could even make such a face.”
At Ryuuji-san’s words, Kyou-san nodded.
“The spoiled and relaxed Akito, if you told the other members of our group, none of them would believe you.”
“When we arrived and saw Akito leaning on Ren-kun like that, I myself couldn’t believe my own eyes.”
It’s clear that they both were surprised. But to me, Aki-san’s distance had always been zero from the start, and the expressions he made hadn’t changed at all.
If what they said were true, then the soft expression Aki-san had all this time would only appear in front of me.
“I guess, Akito had been on guard this whole time, huh…”
“Guess so. Akito probably didn’t intend to show that relaxed side of him to anyone else…”
“Ah, we should’ve taken pictures then—!”
Kyou-san regretfully pulled at his hair, and Ryuuji-san, with a bitter smile, agreed, “Yup.”
Then, Ryuuji-san, with his gentle eyes trained on me, said,
“Ren-kun, thank you.”
“… Eh?”
“Y’see, that guy. I’ve always thought that he’s a really good kid, who never had any mood swings, and is always, consistently stable. But it’s unnatural to be like that all the time, y’know?”
I tried to imagine the Aki-san Ryuuji-san described. To be like that all the time, when the words come from members of his group, whom had been together with him for a long time, there must be weight to it.
“We had a vague feeling that he still kept us at an arm’s length, not fully trusting us. Today, it’s crystal clear.”
Kyou-san looked so lonely as he said that.
“Don’t be so down, Kyou. That Akito, seems like he felt that he had to be the strong one in our team. There was also a time when our popularity fluctuated for a long while.”
“Akito’s got a strong sense of responsibility…”
“But when Ren-kun’s by his side, he seems to be able to be himself, and for that, I’m grateful. Because now he has a place where he could feel safe and express himself. That’s why, thank you.”
“No, that’s… It’s not like, I’m doing anything special… I think, Aki-san’s being influenced by the character he’s acting as…”
“Influenced?”
“Yes. In the drama, we’re always sticking to each other, so we’re not supposed to have any distance between us. This is probably an extension of that….”
“Un, be that as it may, it’s true that Akito’s let down his guard when it comes to you, Ren-kun. Besides…”
That, he pointed to the coffee can in my hand.
“When he drank the coffee from the can Ren-kun had drank from, we were surprised. He’s a bit of a germaphobe, you see, and he hates that kinda thing.”
“Seriously, Ren-kun, what are you?”
“I’m sure there’s something more to you, Ren-kun.”
“Th, there’s nothing more to me, really!”
I wonder if… Aki-san truly only lets his guard down when he’s around me… If the members that had been around him for so long said so, it may have been so.
To me, the Aki-san I know is the usual Aki-san everyone knew. But apparently, that’s not the case.
When I think that the current him is the side of him he’d show only to me, I feel an incredible surge of joy flowing through my body, and my chest felt all tingly.
Up to now, I’ve always thought that he’s a really friendly person, but it turned out that he’s like that only to me.
My heart fluttered.
