Echoes of the Past

Steam clouded the small bathroom mirror, blurring her reflection until it was nothing but a pale shape behind fog. Akari swiped her hand across the glass.

For a moment, she almost didn't recognize herself.

The girl that stared back wasn't Akari Ito - the perfect idol, the smiling face millions adored. The girl in the mirror looked tired. Fragile. Real. She started to wonder if she looked like this to the world.

The pink hair, the red contacts, the fake name. She began to question if it was even worth it. 

Did I do the right thing?

She stared at her pitiful reflection, doubting if it was even hers. 

"Haruka..." She whispered, testing the word like a wound that hadn't healed.

Her chest tightened. 

She turned away, throwing the clothes Jun gave her on. A plain gray T-shirt and a pair of drawstring pants. They were far too big. The shirt slipped from one shoulder and the pants nearly swallowed her legs even when she tied tightly at the waist. She caught her reflection again - dwarfed by his clothes, consumed by fabric that carried faint traces of detergent, coffee, and a life she didn't know.

For some reason, it made her chest ache.

She made her way into Jun's room, collapsing on the bed. It felt too big, too cold, too neat - like a place someone slept in but never really lived in.

Akari stared at the ceiling thinking over the last few days.

Jun had saved her twice now. He even offered to help. She should be suspicious, she should question his motives, figure out who he even is. But when she thought of the steadiness in his voice and the calm in his eyes, she felt something she hadn't in a long time.

Gratitude.

She didn't think he was a trap or someone acting. Or maybe she just chose to believe he wasn't. She felt genuineness from him, and she chose to believe in it.

Akari pulled the covers up to her chin. The sheets were cool, the smell unfamiliar but comforting. She closed her eyes to put the day behind her, but her thoughts refused to rest. They spun - through the flowers, the notes, the man who called her by a name no one should know.

Maybe it's time to stop running...

-

The day came soft and gray, the kind of light that felt hesitant to enter the room.

Akari blinked awake to the faint smell of coffee. She pushed herself up slowly, Jun's oversized shift slipping from her shoulder again. Her body protested the movement, aching from the bruises left behind from the attack, forcing her to sink back down in bed. 

She turned over to check her phone.

11:24am.

12 missed calls.

36 unread messages.

Her agency. Manager. Production team.

She was scheduled for film shooting for the whole day starting at 8:00am. Her absence was probably headlining material already. It was clear her agency was in a panic and under normal circumstances she would be too, but today she couldn't bring herself to care. 

She stared at the notifications a moment longer before shutting her phone off. 

She exhaled slowly, eyes drifting toward the faint crack of light under the bedroom door. Somewhere out there, she could hear the soft clink of a cup being set down - Jun, probably drinking coffee and reading through those old files again.

The thought of him brought an unexpected steadiness to her chest. 

Last night she was determined to tell Jun the truth, but now that morning was here, she didn't know if she could.

She took a deep breath and forced herself up again, wincing as her muscles protested. 

When she opened the bedroom door, Jun was exactly where she expected him to be - sitting on the couch, coffee cup in hand, attention on a folder half filled with papers.

Jun looked up to the sound of her footsteps, his expression unreadable.

"You should be resting." He simply said.

Akari hesitated before finally speaking. "We need to talk."

Jun's brow lifted slightly as he set the folder aside. "About?"

She met his gaze, heart pounding enough that it hurt. "About whom I really am."

Jun got up and made his way to the kitchen. "Do you take anything in your coffee?"

"No."

He returned with a hot cup of black coffee, set it on the table, and gestured for Akari to sit on the couch as he took a seat on the other end.

Akari sat but stayed silent for a long time, staring at the coffee, debating herself in her own mind if this was the right choice.

"You don't have to tell me anything." Jun said, breaking the silence.

Akari took a deep breath. "My name isn't Akari Ito..." She said, conviction finally making its way into her heart. "My real name is Haruka Oshiro. I'm twenty-six and I grew up in a small town in Okinawa."

Jun's eyes flicked up slightly at her words. Oshiro? Okinawa?

Akari wrapped her hands around the coffee cup, in hopes the warmth would offer her some comfort. "When I was fourteen, I left Okinawa. Changed my name, my look, everything. I didn't want to be found. Not by anyone. Not by them..."

"Them?"

She hesitated. "My family... Or what was left of it..."

Jun leaned back against the couch, the gears in his mind turning.

"I came to Tokyo and applied to as many talent agencies as possible and luckily a small and new agency accepted me." Akari continued. "But I didn't actually have any talents. I spent the next five years training in singing, dancing, acting, modeling, everything. I became whatever they needed me to be." 

She laughed bitterly. "The CEO thought I was pretty enough to go far, so he invested a lot in me on the pretense that whether I succeed or fail, I had to pay him back. I guess I was lucky that I succeeded."

Jun's expression didn't change, but something in his eyes shifted - a flash of quiet anger at the way she said it.

"I finally debuted when I was nineteen." Akari went on. "But the public didn't take kindly to people that debuted that late. So, my company changed my debut age to fifteen since I looked young enough to get away with it. They even changed my records - birth certificate, school history, everything. I saw no issue with it since I was in hiding anyway." 

Jun's jaw tightened slightly. "You went along with it."

"I didn't mind." She said quietly. "I needed to survive and become a success."

The silence that followed was heavy, but not uncomfortable. Jun ran a hand through his dark hair, exhaling slowly. "And your family? The ones you were hiding from?"

Akari's eyes stared blankly at the coffee. "There was an incident. I don't know where they are or if they're alive. I just knew I couldn't stay there."

Jun studied her, the faintest crease forming between his brows. Oshiro... Okinawa... Family incident... It sounded familiar to him. He dug through his memories until something suddenly surfaced. "Are you a twin by any chance?"

Akari froze. Her heart pounding in her ears, grip tightening around the cup. Her voice shook but she forced it out. "I was..."