| Boyfriend for hire

“I was right. I can't believe it. I was actually right.” with bated breath, he gave chase. His target far beyond his reach but none of that mattered.

haa haa

“It's really you. I'm your number one fan. Hey. It's me, Arisu.”

haa haa

“From the meet and greet?”

haa haa

“Don't run. I still want to talk.” exhaustion crept in but that still didn't stop him. In his eyes, she was the only person visible.

“No!!”

“You can fool the entire world but not me. Aika!!!”

haa haa

In this street packed with people with varying destinations, she trod past with no urgency to spare. Her legs nearly gave out. Her ears were bombarded with noises from all corners. Muddled laughter, pointless chatter. Even the ceaseless beeping of her phone. Attentive bystanders gave way and some gasped as they were tossed to the side. All her neurons prioritised this one action. Nothing mattered at that point. She just needed to leave there without drawing any attention. Without much difficulty, she spotted a few taxis lined up in a corner and jumped in.

"Hey, miss."

"Get me out of here."

"Where to?"

"Anywhere."

"What does that even mean?"

"You're useless." she clicked her tongue. The lump in her throat served as a painful reminder of the situation at hand.

"Cx plaza. Hit it." as soon as he drove past the street, she rummaged through her purse and dropped some money on the seat before vanishing.

“Huh?”

Her room was so dark, she didn't know where in it she landed. Her wobbly feet crashed to the ground with the rest of her body in line. She didn't bother searching for the switch, her rapid breaths intensified with each passing second.Unlike the intense fear mostly propagated through physical means in the presence of apparitions, this seeped into her bones without much resistance. Like a virus. ‘Time heals all wounds’. But Re-traumatization was a bold exception. No cure, no escape mechanism. It was a ceaseless storm that chipped away at your well-being till nothing was left.

“I could take him on.” She punched the wooden floor repeatedly. Her tears flowed along the same paths they had dried from. “I could beat him. I don’t care if it’s a man. If I was just a bit more ruthless like him, he wouldn't even have functional legs to chase after me.” haa “People like that don’t deserve to…” under her quivery voice, she paused to swallow the saliva.

“AHHHHHHH” despite being weak in the knees, she made her way to the wardrobe, scouring through numerous clothes and accessories while undressing.

Sniff

“If I don’t go back, I will never recover from this.” without giving much attention to her messy face, she changed clothes and wore her face mask.

"Never!!!"

"Big Sis, are you there?" There was a soft knock on the door.

“Birthmark by the side of his head. Glasses. No facial hair. Tropical shirt with loose,cream shorts."

"Sis?"

"I'm set."

"What are you doing? I'm coming in." she kicked the door open.

"If you were coming back you should have told...Huh? She's left already?" The only thing she saw when she turned on the lights were dozens upon dozens of clothes piled up. Shoes, hats, even ear rings were scattered around. Anything that failed in the art of disguise was discarded.

Meanwhile…

“Kurumi.”

“It's your dear Kurumi. Did you miss me?”

“Of course. it's been a while.”

The streets were lively, signifying the end of the day. She glowed like a celebrity. With a velvet mini turtleneck, rose laces sprinkled around, she effortlessly caught stares from every corner.

“Indeed.”

sigh

“You're such a liar.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Your heartbeat. It's fluctuating in a weird way. A spike here and a huge drop off there. To be fair, I don't blame you. Are you scared of me?”

“No.”

“Hehe. Why don't we go somewhere more private?”

“I'm starving. Let's go get something to eat.”

“Yayy.” she rubbed her face in once more for good measure then grabbed his hand like it was private property.

“I've got a spot. Let's go.”

“Wait.” his phone rang.

“Yeah. Hmm? Like I said, I don’t know where she is. She went straight over to HQ. Have you tried ringing her? Here?? Right. I'll keep an eye out.” for a moment, his eyes glowed but he swiftly covered them with his hands.

“Where were we?”

"I know that look. No, we're not going to a cafe."

"I didn't say anything."

Without any hesitation, she dragged him to a sushi restaurant.

“To be honest, I was looking at the crab place. I don’t know whether you like seafood so consider this me settling.”

"I appreciate the consideration. You look different."

“In what way?”

“More mature?”

"So sexy. Thank you. I put in some effort, I'll tell you that." she absorbed praise like a sponge, much like a certain midget.

"What caused the change?"

"You."

“I'm flattered."

"You look lost."

"It's nothing."

"Are you thinking of cafes again?"

"Please stop. And you can't even speak. You typically dragged me to maid cafes on our dates."

"Guilty as charged."

“You're part of the reason I'm so critical of them now."

"Really? You sure it's not one of your other women?"

"You're the sole reason I've seen way too many."

"Forget about maids. When was the last time we went on a date?" she leaned closer.

"How do you expect me to know? You blocked me."

"Guilty as charged, again. About that.I’m sorry.” she bowed her head. “I was dealing with a lot at the time.. It's all over now."

"It was a few months ago anyway. Everyone has problems that they deal with and everyone has different ways they deal with them."

"Hmph.."

"You look disappointed."

"You know why. "

sigh

“I’ll be lying if I said I didn’t want to know the reason. You’re outspoken so it’s rare for you to just disappear without a word. Perhaps that was your own way of ending things.” their eyes were glued to each other. As he leaned back, she leaned even closer, spotting something off with his words.

"Why on earth would I ghost you?"

"Nonetheless, I’m glad you’re okay.."

"That's better. I know you loved me just as much as I loved you. I know that totally wasn't made up on the fly.."

"Jeez."

"Just kidding."

"So, will you tell me what happened or not?”

"I died.." adjusting her posture, she relaxed and played with her fingers.

".…"

"Rather, I was dying at the time. My condition deteriorated before I could even come to terms with it and then...”

"Kurumi."

“I mean, I knew I wasn’t going to live long. My body composition was weak from birth and I was always sick. But it got worse as soon as I got into university.”

"So all that time.."

"Yeah. I've been living with a timer.To be fair, at least I retired from the workforce pretty early."

"Like a rich girl like you had plans for that."

"Hey, I'll hit you."

“I..I actually had a bad feeling about from the start. In the past and even now. It’s not that you didn’t think things through. You just never gave a thought for the future. You always went on and on about how sick I looked and that being your most important reason for falling for me. Will it be fair to call that a sign too?”

“That was just something I liked about you. And you’re wrong, I used the word fragile. You looked like you could break at any moment, just like me. Perhaps that’s why I felt safe in your arms.”

“That makes sense, I guess.”

“For the first time in my life, I’m thinking ‘what next?’ Any suggestions?”

“What do you want to do, Kurumi?”

“I don’t know yet. But that alone is exciting.Although I died, I’m still here.Nothing is too late.”

“You keep talking about dying but how sure are you?”

"I'm not a fool. If my memories are anything to go by, then it was last week."

"You can't rely on your memories alone."

"That's why I asked the only person in the house at the time. She confirmed I stopped breathing for a good hour. Believe it or not, I came back from the dead just to see you."

"Liar."

"Hey. I'm the only one that gets to call you that. Jeez, I can’t stop thinking about how cool it would have been with actual powers. I could have had super speed, instant teleportation. Hell, I could float like a jellyfish.”

“If what you’re saying is true, then you’re taking this far better than I would have imagined.”

“Well, what else can I do? Worrying about things even after losing my life sounds too pathetic. I want to live now.”

“Without any constraints.”

“Spot on. I’ve probably bored you to death with stories about my life. All we ever talk about is me. It’s your turn. I want to know everything about the man I love.”

“Such a pity. Didn’t you say you’re a sucker for mysterious men?”

“That barely gets you through the door.”

“Did I tell you that I’m actually boring?”

“If you want to lie at least do it properly. Anyway, how has the rent a friend business been? Found another girl to make unhappy?”

“Ouch.”

“You’re more calculating than you take credit for. You probably had a replacement lined up the moment I left.”

“Under normal circumstances, that would probably be true. Check this out.”

He briefly grabbed his phone and showed her one of the recent messages he received.

“What? Indefinite suspension? That’s you getting kicked out more or less.”

“Exactly. The only reason it’s a suspension is because they’ve not had the chance to say it to my face. They know I’ll eventually come back and that’s what they are patiently waiting for.”

“Do you still get paid?”

“Of course not. Not even general donations or revenue shares. Nothing.” he shook his head with something resembling a smile on his grim face.

“At least you still have me. If you need money, I don’t mind lending you. Don’t turn me down out of pride.”

“This isn’t about that. You see, the truth is, I could care less about the money right now.”

“You’re in a dire situation? If that’s how it is, I can always…”

“No.You’re too quick to jump to conclusions.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What would you like to order today?"

"The usual."

"Uhh. What she’s having."

"You’re lucky I don’t go for weird, unpopular dishes."

“Easier that way.”

“Aoi…”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“Where did that come from?”

“Here.” she grabbed his hand softly then placed it on her chest.

"I didn't expect you to be this honest with me."

"You make it sound like I never asked you questions in the past."

"No, just that, you weren't asking to know. You were asking because I probably wanted that."

"Just doing my job."

"Sometimes I wish you weren't."

"..."

"You know, you didn't answer my question."

"Which one?"

"My replacement."

"You don't have one. Is that so hard to believe?”

"It's you. The silver prince of cafes."

"The what?"

"Oh, that's what you were called. The silver prince of cafes. Not a single cafe in town escaped your sight. You know you actually have a fan club, right?"

"I'd like to have a word with whoever came up with that."

"The name or the club?"

"Both."

"Really though. You guys were massive. You didn't have a management team that supervised your social media?"

"Of course we did. She worked on all our accounts on social media. If anything, I'll say she allowed that for a reason. The publicity probably helped in some way."

"When I went on those forums, I was steaming. To be honest, I found a few things quite funny but still... the things they wrote..I don't think you'll still think that if you saw it."

"Your face is red."

"It's fanfic for sure. Trust me, you don't want to read the things on it. It was too...much too obscene. Did you do it with anyone?"

“Do what?”

She kicked his leg across the seat.

"According to various reports, you once went on two dates simultaneously. Different cafes too. Guilty?"

ahem

"I'd like a lawyer please."

"What about the time you initiated a ******* in the bathroom?"

"That was a personal fantasy of hers."

gasp.

"You once dressed up as a woman in order to seduce a married couple?"

"Ayase and her fucking mouth."

“It says you blackmailed a lady because she caught you with another lady while on a date.”

“Haha, now that is funny.”

“Is that all?”

“No way in hell you actually believe that.”

“I don’t.”

“You can tell whether I’m lying or not, right? Well, what do you think?”

“I don’t know what to believe. But I stuck up for you, even till now. You could at least say something. I don’t think it’s selfish to ask for that at least.”

“What’s there to say?” his shallow words slowly but surely managed to get under her skin.

“Which parts are true?”

“All I can say is that they are just a bunch of half truths.”

“How can you be this nonchalant about it?”

"Because it’s not important.”

"That's disgusting. I feel sick."

"Welcome to my life.Like what you see?" her response was met with a smile. It was as though he was grateful for the words.

Like clockwork, he was patiently waiting for those words. Renting a friend was something pure, harmless and pretty much necessary in some cases. The line slowly blurred when a seed born from filth managed to invade this innocent relationship. Whether it was love or simply lust, a rent a boyfriend service was simply unsustainable. He knew this all too well.

"Erm, excuse me. We've received a few complaints.Could you be a bit..."

Tch

“We’re bu--”

“I know. We’re sorry.”

...

"I’ll be lying If I said I understood the reasons for your indifference..How you could be that detached from it all.. Maybe I never will.”

“After everything, it just doesn’t humour me.If Ayase is that loose with her lips, she must have mentioned the glass house at least once.”

“She did.”

“So she’s spiraling. Not that surprising. Well, now you have my attention. What exactly did she say?”

“In summary, an elite club with an exclusive list, boasting the biggest names in the country. She said you were a member that mainly recruited people.”

“She didn’t say people. I know Ayase well. The goal is slander. She would never settle for such a mild term.”

“She said you recruited many of the highschoolers currently working there. And you found a way to rope them in using your massive platform.”

“Figured. Now that sounds damning, don’t you think? What a petty woman. All this because I cut her off.”

“I support you. Your fans choose to support you. Because we know you would never do such a thing.”

“You don’t know a thing about me.” he shook his glass cup.

“But still we…. I know you would never do that.”

“How can these people be my fans if they don’t know me. Doesn’t make sense, does it?”

“.…”

“The food’s gonna get cold. Better dig in.”

“Gotcha.”

As they both sunk their teeth in, no words were spoken. They were not necessary.

“I feel like I hurt you.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

"No. I'm sorry, I don't use my head. I have a stupid habit of firing on without considering the weight of my words."

"Don't be. If it makes you feel any better, words generally don’t have an effect on me.."

“I see. Haha, you're not lying either.”

“No reason to.”

“Okay.”

"Feel better now?"

"No."

"Anything I could do?"

"Uh-huh. Come over here." she softly hits the empty seat beside her."

"I see. Pardon the intrusion."

"Please." she drew him closer and then leaned on him

"You're really a fan of PDA."

"You'll have to get used to it."

"hmm."

"You've been looking outside for a while. You okay?"

"Yeah, don't bother your pretty head about me. I just saw something interesting."

"kyahhh"

"We're going to get kicked out." he covered her mouth.

"If you want me to keep quiet that bad.." she leaned closer.

The deadpan look he gave pushed any indecent thoughts she had back to the abyss.When the waitress came back to take the food, she spotted a dejected kurumi, looking at anything but the young man..

"Excuse me, here’s the bill.”

“It’s on me so I’ll pay.”

“Thank you, have a nice day.” the waiter bowed slightly

“Hey, do I look sexy?"

Without waiting for his response, he grabbed her hand and exited the restaurant.

"Honestly, that was funny. Since when were you this shameless?"

"I've always been shameless."

"Oh dear..."

“What’s wrong, Mr Nonchalant?”

“You’re such a handful.”

"Where’s our next destination?"

"It's pretty late."

"That narrows down our options to a few adult themed areas I guess." she shoves her phone in his face.

"No we are not going to a..."

"Pretty please..."

"Hey, rather than a love hotel, wanna see something cool?"

"Beggars can't be choosers. Come on. Show me."

He walked with her to an empty alley way while she stuck to him like glue. She was not the type to wear heels so he was more cautious than usual.

"You really wanna do it here? I mean I'm ready but I didn't know you were.."

"Breathe in."

"Hmm. Okay."

"Breathe out." after she exhaled, her feet hung in the air, refusing to come down.

"No way. I'm floating. Aoi, I'm floating."

"Like a jellyfish." he smiles.

"You have powers."

"Am I the one floating?"

"Get up here right now."

"If you insist." he grabbed her hand and he too began levitating. Noticing his partner drifitng, he pulled towards him, grabbing her by the waist.

"Okay, we have to get out of here right away."

“No way. I want to stay like this for a bit longer.” she shook her head nonstop.

“Such a pity. All that charm you had, gone just like that.”

“I still have loads of it.” she playfully swung her long, lavender hair at him.

“Hey, stop that.”

“You have to listen to me first.”

“Fine, fine.” she grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him closer.

“I’ll indulge you, just this once.”