Troubles

Miyuki’s eyes opened to a warm greeting of sunshine breaking in from the hotel room’s window. With an exhausted groan, she sat up and stretched her arms. She almost forgot that she spent the night in a hotel in Tokyo after failing to meet with Jin the previous night. “What time is it?”

On the television stand on the opposite side of the room sat an alarm clock that read 8:23am. Somehow, waking up at that time felt off to her. It was around the time she normally woke up on the weekend, but she couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling.

Spending the night wasn’t something she had originally planned on, so she didn’t have a change of clothes or makeup for the new day. At least her room had a shower, with all the necessities.

After a quick shower, she felt much more refreshed; the sleep had left her, and that strange feeling no longer bothered her. However, wearing the same clothes she had worn the previous day and slept in after cleaning herself made her slightly uncomfortable.

As she completed her outfit by putting on the hat she had placed on the desk last night, she ran through simulations in her head of what she would say when she met Jin. 'I’ve been looking for you for six years! ' She shook her head. “That sounds obsessive.” 'It’s been a while! Have you heard my music?' Again, she pushed the thought out of her mind. “Too prideful.” 'I’ve missed you so much! Did you think about me much?'

She banged her head on the wall in frustrated embarrassment, and pain spread across her forehead. “Why can’t I think of something normal to say? I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long…” Miyuki took a deep breath. “I should go see him before I miss him again.”

Young male voices could be heard from the other side of her door. “Which room is Miyuki staying in?” From the sound of it, they were walking down the hall at a slow pace.

“I don’t know, should we try knocking on each door until we find her?”

“That’s not very respectful,” the first voice responded. “We’d probably be chased out of here for disturbing the guests before we found her.”

The two gave a heavy sigh. “Let’s just wait in the foyer. If she’s still here, we should be able to meet her on her way out.”

“Great idea, Yuichi.”

Miyuki listened until the voices were too quiet to hear. “Normally I wouldn’t be opposed to meeting fans, but today’s not a good day… How did they find out I was staying here?” She racked her brain to find the answer, until she landed on her exchange with the receptionist. After all, she was the only one Miyuki knew of that was aware of her presence in Tokyo, and, more specifically, the hotel. It was for this moment that she hid underneath a hat on this trip.

Once she made sure she wasn’t leaving anything behind, she opened the door and walked down the hallway to the foyer, keeping her head down. Instead of just the couple boys waiting for her, the lobby was packed with sardines waiting for Miyuki to show.

All eyes turned to her the moment she stepped into view. She kept her head low, and slipped through the crowd. The sound of her footsteps were rivaled only by the racing of her heart. To her relief, no one seemed to recognize her.

“Excuse me,” a girl voiced behind her right before she reached the exit.

Miyuki froze and turned her head just enough to see the girl. “Y-yes?”

“Do you know where Miyuki is?” The girl looked hopeful.

“M-Miyuki? W-who’s that?” Miyuki let out a nervous laugh.

“Miyuki Haruno? She’s the best idol in the world! When I heard she was here, I rushed over as fast as I could. Meeting her in person would be a dream come true!” Seeing the admiration this girl showed while talking about her made Miyuki feel a twinge of guilt. But she was so close to reuniting with Jin that she couldn’t wait any longer.

“T-t-there's no way someone that important would be here… Sorry, I’ve got to go.” Miyuki charged toward the door, only to run head-on into a middle-aged man and crash to the floor.

“Are you okay, miss?” The man reached out his hand to help her up.

Miyuki held her hand to her stinging forehead. She had landed on her rear, which complained to her about the harsh impact. “I-I’m fine, thanks.” She reached for his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. “Sorry for running into you like that…” Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

Whispering filled the room for a brief moment, before the girl that had talked to her before gasped. “Miyuki!”

Her hat was raised just enough from the collision for her fans to see the details of her face that were hidden before and recognize her.

Someone in the room must have turned on an amplifier, because the quiet chattering ramped to deafening fanfare. Incognito mode didn’t last long enough to protect her from her fans. With her disguise busted, she breathed out in disappointment and removed her cap. A big grin dressed her face for a performance. “Ta-da! You found me.”

-

Miyuki wiped the sweat from her brow. For three hours, she was stuck entertaining her fans with conversation, autographs, and pictures. While she was glad to bring joy to her fans, it wore her out, and she wished she was able to make it to Jin’s residence uninterrupted.

They only let her go because she told them she had come to Tokyo on urgent business and could regrettably stay with them no longer. ‘Hiroshi’s going to kill me…’ She shivered at the thought of her manager scolding her for her sudden appearance in a Tokyo hotel.

After leaving her fans, she made a beeline straight for Jin’s humble abode.

Standing in front of his place made her heart flutter. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Each passing moment grew her anxiety. ‘What if he doesn’t want to see me? What if I’m just a memory to him? What if he’s upset that I asked if he had a girlfriend?’

Just as she was panicking about worst-case scenarios, she heard the door click, and it cracked open like a turtle waking up from a long nap. “M-Miyuki!?”