Caught

Miyuki shrunk underneath Luna’s gaze, hoping she wouldn’t be recognized. ‘Why does she of all people have to show up here of all places?!’  She cringed.

“Well, well, well… This has certainly brightened my mood today,” she said, walking toward Miyuki. Behind her was her manager, dressed as professional as ever.

She avoided eye contact with Luna and even stepped to the side to give her easy access to the waiter at the counter. Her heart dropped like a stone when Luna stopped in front of her.

“I got to say, this is the weirdest disguise I’ve ever seen. I didn’t expect to see you here, much less with a guy,” her eyes flicked over to Jin.

Her heart pounded in her chest, and she felt the heat of panic in every part of her body. “I…”

“You might be able to hide yourself from most people, but a fellow idol can see through disguises,” Luna grinned. “Is this the other business you have in Tokyo, Miyuki?”

“It’s not what it looks like–” she started.

“Really? It looks to me like you’re disguising yourself to hide from the public eye so you can go on a date with this guy.”

“We’re just friends,” Jin interrupted, gaining Luna’s attention. “We haven’t seen each other in years so we’re catching up.”

“Normal friends wouldn’t go to a restaurant like this one together. But there’s nothing wrong with an idol having romance in her life, is there, Miyuki?” Luna glanced at her through the corner of her eye.

She wasn’t certain whether she should be relieved by that statement, or if she was just being taunted. “J-Jin’s right… We’re only friends.”

“Sure you are. Well, it’s none of my business, so I’ll let you go.” She took a few steps towards the counter and paused. “This could be quite the scandal if the public ever gets light of this.”

“There’s nothing scandalous about it,” Jin huffed. He grew tired of Luna teasing Miyuki, and the defeated look his friend gave rubbed him the wrong way. “Let’s go, Miyuki.”

With a slow nod, she quietly followed him out of the restaurant. “Thanks for stepping in for me,” she said once they were a few paces away from the building. “That was super embarrassing!”

“So, she’s also an idol?” Jin asked while they walked back to his home a few blocks away.

“Her name is Luna Rihara. She was the winner of last year’s Idol Awards,” she explained.

“Seems like that went right to her head,” he said. “You can tell just by looking at her that she thinks she’s the most important person in the room.”

“As famous as she is, there are not many above her in the public eye. She must’ve gotten used to all the respect and attention she is given.”

“I should’ve picked a more concealing outfit for you. It’s my fault you got caught,” he sighed.

“Don’t blame yourself, Jin,” she rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I think it’s a good disguise. We just happened to run into the wrong person.”

“Yeah… You’re right. I hope she doesn’t try to use this against you,” he said. “You said she won last year’s Idol Awards, right? That means she’s probably competing this year, too.”

“I doubt she cares enough about me to bother,” she giggled.

“I guess we’ll see…” In a few minutes, they found themselves standing in front of his house. “What’s the plan now?”

“Hmm… What about we take another walk through that park you took me to the first time I came?” Miyuki suggested.

“If you want, that’s fine. Do you remember where it is?”

“Maybe?” She replied. “I know the general direction. It’s been a while, so the details are a little fuzzy.”

“Okay. Lead the way, then,” he crossed his arms.

“Wait, what?” Miyuki’s eyes widened. “You know how to get there better than I do! Why don’t you lead?”

“I want to see you find it,” he said. “It shouldn’t be too difficult to find if you have an idea where it could be.”

“Hmph, you’re messing with me, aren’t you?” She pouted. All she got as a response was a smile. “Fine, I’ll lead. No making fun of me if I take a wrong turn, okay?”

“No promises,” he chuckled, unfolding his arms.

“Geez, here I was thinking you grew up…” Miyuki shook her head and started moving down the street. Her thoughts went back to when they were younger, and Jin would tease her about her terrible sense of direction that frequently got her lost. Over the years, that sense had improved until she could find anywhere she had to go, given she had either been there a few times or had directions.

She racked her brain for one of her early memories of Jin since their reunion. If she could remember the exact path they had taken, he wouldn’t have anything to tease her about. Brief glimpses came to mind, but nothing especially concrete wanted to surface.

Before each turn she made, Miyuki paused to remember which direction they had taken previously.

The thought of finding directions on her phone crossed her mind, but she put the idea away into an old box. If she looked up the directions, Jin would most definitely have something to say about it.

Eventually, they came to a long flight of old stone stairs that led to a dirt path below. She recognized the overgrown fence that bordered the path and turned to Jin. “I found it.”

“You took about three wrong turns,” Jin grinned. “But you did quickly recover from those mistakes.”

“My sense of direction is better than when you left,” she bragged. “You won’t be able to tease me about it anymore.”

“Whatever do you mean?” Jin jested, taking a step to start down the stairs.

“You know exactly what I mean,” Miyuki said, following him down the uneven steps. “So, what do you want to revisit when you come up to Akita?”

“There’s a few places that I’d like to see again…”

“Like…?” Miyuki attempted to get him to elaborate.

“You’ll find out next week,” he glanced back at her.

“You’re going to make me wait? I see how it is,” she said. “I’m looking forward to showing you around."