The letter with a star

Mio was on autopilot. The sound of the fryers, the order bells, the customers' voices... it was all a distant buzz to her. Her gaze was fixed on a non-existent point beyond the cash register, her mind trapped in an endless loop, replaying the scene in the alley over and over again. The punch, the flying cap, the illuminated face, the bat, the butler...

"Excuse me... Miss?" 

That voice snapped her out of her trance. A customer was looking at her impatiently. " Oh, yes, sorry. " she apologized, blushing. " Welcome to Happy Burger... "

During her break, she collapsed into a kitchen chair, resting her head on the cold metal table. She was exhausted.

"A difficult day for me?"

Mio looked up. A boy with black hair and thin-rimmed glasses was looking at her with a friendly smile. He was holding out a can of soda to her. " Thank you... " Mio murmured, accepting it instinctively. She opened the can and took a sip, but then her brain kicked in. She had never seen this boy before in her life. She choked, coughing and spluttering as the soda came out of her nose. " Hey! Are you okay? " the boy asked, concerned, patting her on the back. " Who... who are you? " Mio managed to say, her eyes watering and a twinge of panic setting in. " Who let you into the kitchen? "

The embarrassed boy blushed. " Oh! I'm so sorry! I'm Tomoki Minamoto. It's my first day. The boss told me to take my break here. And I saw you looking so tired that I thought you could use a soda."

Mio looked at him for a second. "Don't trust him. After last night, you can't trust anyone." But another part of his mind, a more rational one, fought back. Calm down, Mio. He's just a nice guy. Not all strangers are psychopaths with shoelaces. He decided, and for the sake of his own sanity, he chose to believe her.

As they sipped their drinks, the doorbell rang. Mio's heart leapt with fright. It was him. The guy with the shoelaces, wearing the same dark clothes and his cap pulled down over his eyebrows.

Panic seized her. She looked at Tomoki, and then a terrible but brilliant idea formed in her mind.    " Hey, Tomoki. " She said, trying to sound casual. " See that customer over there? Since it's your first day, why don't you go serve him? Consider it your first test. "

Tomoki smiled enthusiastically. " Sure! Thanks for the opportunity! " As he left, Mio felt terrible. "I'm a terrible person. I just sent a nice new guy into the lion's den." She hid by the window connecting the kitchen to the counter to spy on them.

She saw the two men have a brief conversation. The guy with the shoelaces didn't look at the menu this time. Instead, he said something and pointed directly at where she was sitting. Mio ducked suddenly, her heart pounding in her chest.

After a while, Tomoki returned, looking completely confused. " What a strange guy. " he said. " He didn't order anything, but he told me to give you this. "

He handed her a folded piece of paper. With trembling fingers, Mio unfolded it. Inside, written in surprisingly neat handwriting, was a short sentence and a small illustration.

" I'll be watching you. ☆ "

Both of them stared at the note. " I'll be watching you... with a little star!" said Tomoki, with a mixture of disbelief and horror. "...I'm going to call the police. "

" No! " said Mio, surprising him. " There's no need. Maybe... maybe we're misinterpreting the situation. "

But Mio also found it strange. His mind returned to the previous night, to that face illuminated by the streetlight. It was so familiar...

While he was thinking, Kenji and Sara turned on the small television in the kitchen. "Hurry up, the ECLIPSE interview is about to start!"

The screen lit up. There they were, the members of Japan's most famous J-pop group. And in the center, the leader, Ren Shinomiya, smiled at the camera.

Mio saw that smile. She saw those stormy gray eyes. She saw that impossible hair that seemed to change color with the light. And then it all clicked into place. The face in the alley. The clumsy customer. The boy with the note. The "young master Ren."

" No. It can't be. "

A silent scream formed in her throat. The world around her faded away. The psychopath with the shoelaces, the weirdo with the note, the boy she had tied up in a dark alley... it was Ren Shinomiya. The Ren Shinomiya everyone knew!

Was he... harassing her? Or was she the one who had gotten him into trouble? Her brain was a mess of short circuits.

" Mio? Are you okay? " Tomoki's concerned voice snapped her out of his  trance. She was shaking from head to toe. " You look pale. "

But Mio could barely hear him. She could only think of one thing, a truth so absurd it was almost comical: she had met Japan's biggest celebrity, and all he had done was terrify her. Without even knowing it.