Please don’t leave me, I won’t let you go
I woke up thinking what a wonderful dream I had.
I reached for my smartphone to stop the loud alarm, and at the perfect moment, it vibrated and a green pop-up appeared on the screen.
The sender of the message was the name of Akari’s favorite idol, and she almost mistakenly thought it was an official account of a celebrity.
It’s starting to become hard to distinguish between dreams and reality.
“Good morning. I’d like to see you again soon. Is it okay if I come tomorrow?”
Just that content alone makes me feel suffocated.
Remembering the fantasy that had come true yesterday, I couldn’t help but let out a dry chuckle.
I had calmed down a bit after a night of sleep, but the more I thought about it, the more I couldn’t understand why things had turned out this way.
Norihiro had told me that he had seen Akari at the handshake event and had been intrigued by her, but I can’t imagine there was anything about me that would have made him like me on that day.
I was so nervous that all I could do was breathe, and I couldn’t even respond to the kind people who tried to talk to me, let alone have a witty conversation.
He just shook my hand in silence and I felt like I had had enough and wanted to run away.
I realized afterwards that I’d been extremely rude and regretted it, but for her to like it after all…that just can’t happen.
“Well, I didn’t say that I liked it…?”
I replay in my head what was said yesterday.
I think he said he looked into me because he was curious, not because he liked me.
So they looked into it, and even found my social media accounts, and then…
After thinking about it that far, I finally felt like the tangled threads were starting to unravel.
If you think about it, that’s probably rare.
Such rude behavior in a place where only serious fans who turn up to handshake events are present is bound to stand out in a bad way.
So I got curious and looked into it, and found out that she only posts about her trivial daily life on social media, and that she’s intrigued because she’s a rare woman who doesn’t make a fuss even when her favorite idol is right in front of her…or something like that.
There’s no way Norihiro knows that I’m making a huge fuss on my private locked account, and what if he thinks of me as one of those funny women you see in manga?
If it turns out that I’m a real fan and that I really like him, will it be as if my request to go out yesterday never happened?
Ah, but maybe,
“…Maybe it’s best to just pretend it never happened.”
Dating a fan or me becoming the girlfriend of an idol named Saiga Norihiro would definitely not be a good idea.
I’ll apologize to him, saying I was just nervous that day, but I’m his fan, and I’m sorry for the misunderstanding. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear him say yesterday that we’d go out, so he shouldn’t worry.
With that in mind, I replied, “I’ll be fine tomorrow,” and used my brain power, a skill I don’t usually use, to think of a way to say it that wouldn’t be rude.
───And now,
Norihiro, who was sitting in the same unsuitable chair as the other day, slowly narrowed his eyes the moment he finished listening to Akari’s story about breaking up, which was mixed with a desperate apology.
“Why?”
“Burst…?”
“I didn’t come here specifically to hear about the breakup today.”
“Ah, that’s…”
Although he spoke gently, his tone of voice was a little lower.
All he had to do was say the same thing again, “I’m sorry for making you misunderstand and let’s stop seeing each other.”
A strange pressure weighs on me, and the words I want to say get stuck in my throat.
Even if she just looks down a little, her long eyelashes cast a shadow, making her expression appear gloomy.
There was just a slight shadow over his eyes, but that alone somehow seemed incredibly scary.
“You nodded that you’d go with me, didn’t you?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking about it a lot since then, and I think becoming Hiro-sama’s girlfriend is…”
“First of all, let’s stop calling him Hiro-sama. That’s not the way to call your boyfriend, right?”
“…S-Saigai.”
“Kihiro’s fine. Can you call him?”
What Saiga-san was about to say was interrupted by him saying, “Yes, please,” in a tone that left no room for argument, urging me to continue.
“K-Kihi… Ro-san?”
“…Yeah, you’re a good kid.”
His face, smiling gently, looked a little younger than the “Hiro-sama” I knew from magazines and videos.
I still don’t understand why I’m allowed to see that face.
Because we’re not that well matched.
“Hey, don’t think too hard about it. I’ll try my best to make sure you don’t have to worry.”
What more can you strive for?
If I want to become his girlfriend, I’m the one who has to try hard, and if I feel anxious, it’s only my own fault because I’m not at all suitable for Norihiro.
“…If you ever get tired of me or want to end the relationship, please let me know right away.”
“It’s okay, it won’t be.”
It seems rude to say that you wouldn’t know that, so I just give an ambiguous laugh and brush it off.
He stared at me with passionate eyes and slowly intertwined his fingers with mine, and I shivered a little the moment our fingertips touched.
“If you have any complaints, please tell me straight away. I’m serious, I don’t want to end up in a bad situation.”
“Ah, haha… I really like you, Norihiro, so that’s really just an unnecessary worry.”
There’s no way I’d be dissatisfied.
I guess you still don’t believe me when I say I’m a fan.
Thinking that, I took a quick look at her expression, and my eyes met with a beautiful face that was relaxed with a look of happiness.
“…Haha, sorry. I’m going to be a bit slack.”
“fart?!”
“I’ve been wanting to touch you for three months, but I’ve held back just by sending you a letter. I’m so happy to be able to touch you like this.”
“…!”
Kihiro looked genuinely happy as his long fingers intertwined with mine.
There was no kissing or hugging or anything.
Even though he was just holding my palm.
That alone made my heart ache and the backs of my eyes feel a little hot.
“I’ll proceed at your own pace. Thanks again.”
This man said this with a gentle smile, and to my surprise, it seemed that he really was my boyfriend from today.