Irrelevant, and Insignificantly Mundane

The scene is set.

Pink cherry blossoms flow across the soft wind current, caressing the face of a bright young woman.

Her skin was glowing in the morning sun, her luscious and long black hair swaying in rhythm.

“I wanted to have this day, just for me to tell you…” the girl passionately says, clenching her fists in anticipation.

She swallows nervously, clearing her mouth to say what needs to be said, without fail.

Takumi leans in, setting his hand on her ear, and showing a soft smile.

“I’ll always be here to listen” Takumi softly whispers back, his soft smile lingering.

The girl looks up, directly into the eyes of Takumi.

“I…I’ve always liked you!” the girl screams out, her words reaching the right place.

“...and I’ll never let you go.” Takumi replies, leaning in for a kiss.

“Aaaaaaaand… cut!”

Managers, stagehands and crew members head into the scene powdering up Takumi and the Female actress.

She must’ve done something wrong. They’ve never stopped rolling for me.

“That’s all for today, thanks everyone!” the director shouts out, everyone thanking the director back.

Takumi heads to his dressing room, changing his clothes into his normal (still expensive) attire.

A loose fitting black and white plaid coat over a black shirt. Gray jogging pants and designer black and white shoes end his idea of a normal outfit.

He sits back down at a desk in his dressing room.

The lights shine onto him, but he doesn’t look forward. He turns on his phone, and starts scrolling through social media.

“He’s sooooo hawt!~”
“I can’t get enough!”
“Isn’t he the cutest! Not to mention his style!”

They’re saying what they need to say, and that’s what matters. Nothing less. Nothing more.

Takumi’s brain then reminds him of someone. Someone whose words didn’t need to be said. Someone whose words didn’t matter.

...why would I want some guy in my classes’ signature?

Takumi swallows his anger, and exits his dressing room.

You know who I am. You always will. I’m everywhere, and you’re nowhere.

Takumi waves to a few stagehands before exiting the shooting area, a high school not much different from his own.

At least he would’ve noticed that if he went.

He begins walking down the street, a bit of a disgusted look in his eyes.

I know it’s close, but she could’ve got me a car to drive home. I don’t deserve to walk after my hard work.

As he walks down the street, more and more people start recognizing him and taking pictures. He doesn’t hate this attention, so he goes along with every request.

After taking a few photos, he begins walking once more, until yet another girl stops him for a photo.

She pulls him close, and they both smile. Takumi gives a reserved and humble smile, just enough to convince himself.

“Say cheese!”

As she takes the photo, Takumi’s focus is directed somewhere else.

The girl taking the photo happily walks away, thanking Takumi.

He doesn’t reciprocate, his focus is being pulled to a nearby corner store.

Is that…?

Through the window, he can see her.

He has short black hair, tied up in a bun with the store’s uniform on.

Her brown eyes reflected the white fluorescence of the lights in the store.

He walks toward the store almost on instinct, like he wanted to see more.

What’s she doing, working on a weekend? Isn’t she the star student of the class?

Takumi laughs to himself, amazed at his own perceptiveness.

Ironic, isn’t it? Criticizing me about my views, but being so academically neglectful? I pity your lack of self-awareness.

Takumi enters the store, Yuna doesn’t pay him any mind. He’s just another customer here, nothing more.

He shops around for a moment, haphazardly grabbing random things off the shelf.

You can’t pretend forever

He places the assortment of items on the counter, leaning on it to close the gap between them.

“What a lovely place to work, It’s got that retro-modern fe-”

“¥1,390” Yuna cuts his hollow flattery off, to his shock.

His eyes wince in frustration.

“Your customer service is…lacking. You should really consider lessons”

“¥1,390” Yuna repeats, not giving in to his antics.

I’m helping you. Without me, you’d be left with an insignificant life.

Takumi pays, and gets change. He reaches for it, but as he does a camera flash catches both him and Yuna.

The photographer runs away, Yuna angry at the prospect of being framed as his “secret love affair”.

“You set me up!” Yuna raises her voice, getting a bit irritated.

“That wasn’t my doing at all…but it would’ve been a good idea”

Framing the narrative wasn’t in my head, but using this as leverage at quit tutoring can work. They won’t go out of their way to question a nobody like her.

Takumi puts his hand over his mouth, almost extending his smile with it.

“Thanks for the service, I’ll be seeing you soon” Takumi half-heartedly thanks her, and Yuna averts her gaze.

“See you never, poster boy” Yuna spits back.

Takumi walks out of the store, thinking he won.

Poster boy…She’s finally learning my significance in this world.

At home, he kicked off his shoes. The apartment felt hollow, shadows consuming every corner, and even when he flicked on the lights, the brightness did little to pierce the gloom.

He set the groceries on the counter without unpacking them, already lost in thought.

Why are you the exception in my world?

He reaches for some bottled water in the fridge, cracking it open and taking a sip, doing little to stop the fire in his thoughts.

Without a bang, without a shout, without even a whisper. Your presence resonates in my brain more loudly than anyone’s. Why?

He stands in the kitchen, and notices a burnt out light, above where he put the groceries.

For some reason, or without any reason at all, the grocery's indifference reminded him of her.

Instead of changing the light, he drags the groceries into a spot with light, but it falls off the counter in the process.

Takumi barely flinched. The ground could crumble beneath him right now, and his thoughts would still be occupied with a single focus.

Yuna.

…

The next day abruptly starts, Takumi barely reacts.

He’s at his desk, on his phone during a break scrolling social media again.

This time, he’s not looking for himself.

The search bar reads Yuna Yamaguchi, and he’s obsessively scrolling through profiles, seeing if any of them belonged to her.

Nothing.

Then he looks toward her in class, sitting at her desk and eating her lunch. Like any regular person would do.

She has to be somewhere. Even a nobody like her isn’t immune to social pressure.

He exhales deeply, then heads over to her desk.

I guess brute force is truly the only method.

“Want to exchange Line-ID’s?” Takumi smiles and asks, a fake warm aura radiating towards Yuna.

“No.” Yuna coldly shuts him down.

Just as expected. But that’s not what I was going for…

“Too bad, I wanted to get to know you better, Yamaguchi-san” Takumi says back, just loud enough for the people of the class to hear.

Takumi walks away, and that’s when the flood starts; a swarm of girls and guys in the class begin prodding her about her relationship with Takumi.

I’m not like you, I can move the masses. You just flock like the rest of them.

Yuna is getting overwhelmed, but the bell rings just in time.

That must’ve put a dent in that resistance…

Yuna glares at Takumi, and he just smiles back, aware that his ploy was a targeted attack to break her guard.

She calms herself, and begins class as usual.

…

The day ends, and Takumi walks home afterwards.

She’s not special, she’s just slower at recognizing greatness…yeah that’s it! She’s not used to someone so important, she just needs time to recognize it.

On his way home, he spots Yuna also heading back.

She just needs to see me, for who I am.

She turns, walks more, turns, and walks even more until making it to an apartment building. Not lower-end, but nothing like Takumi’s palace.

It was significantly ordinary.

Unconsciously, Takumi followed her here, the complete opposite direction of his house. His steps followed hers almost without thought, each turn pulling him further from his own path and towards hers.

I hadn’t noticed how far I’d walked. Something about her pulled me along

He leaves the area, but Yuna notices him leaving.

It wasn’t stalking, not intentionally at least.

Takumi turns the corner, heading back for his house. Yuna doesn’t chase Takumi, and heads toward her apartment.

…

Later that night, he lays in his bed once more.

His phone is charging on his nightstand.

The lights are off.

The light from the moon coats the room in an ethereal blue light, shining brightly on an old picture frame sitting on Takumi’s desk.

The picture is of a younger Takumi, smiling without a care in the world in a sandbox.

I wonder if she would’ve seen him. If she would’ve treated him like anyone else, another face in the crowd.

He imagines a younger version of Yuna, smiling alongside him in the sandbox, but he quickly erases that thought.

Even if she did, she wouldn’t have made a difference. One person can't make a difference…right?

Takumi’s thoughts are starting to drift, doubting this ideal he held so close.

An image of a white star comes into his mind, and slightly cracks.

You’ll see me. No matter what, you’ll see the bright light I am, Yuna Yamaguchi. I promise this.

Takumi drifts to sleep, the mental image of a cracked star lingering in his head, fading away with his mind as he fully falls asleep.