Chapter 35

"Just a little more... There! I did it!" Misaki parked the car between pylons that Ren had set up and cheered as she turned to him. Without thinking, she reached out to give him a hug.

"See, I said you could do it." He hugged her back, smiling as he rubbed his cheek up against her.

She went to pull back, and his grip tightened for a moment before he pulled away. "I-it's thanks to you... and your apparent patience."

"Apparent?"

"I didn't know you were that patient; I thought that was Shun's realm." She giggled and turned away from him.

"Well... I... I may not be known for my patience, but I can be patient for you." He brushed her hair back over her ear.

"Oh?" Her heart rate spiked as their gazes locked.

"I can be whatever you need me to be. Teacher, protector... partner." He leaned in close, and her eyes closed.

Honk! She accidentally hit the horn, and they both jolted back.

"Oops." She laughed and turned away.

He winced and pulled back. "I guess that's it for today's lesson. We'd better head back in before Shun comes looking for us. He wanted to work on the songs again. Guess we'll have to see how much progress you've made on your own."

Misaki picked at the smooth material on the steering wheel. "Um, you're not mad about how much I'm working on them without you, right?"

"Why would I be mad about that?"

"I'm overstepping?"

"You're not overstepping; you're doing what you were hired to do. We already started all the songs together and completed a few of them. In the end, each of us will have worked on them. If you think you're doing too much, you're free to only work on them when one of us is around."

Bing. Ren checked his phone and paled. "Sorry, Misa, but I forgot we have dance practice for a music video for one of our new songs today, and Shun is telling me to get ready." Ren sighed and put his phone away. "If we don't head in soon, Shun's bound to come for me."

"It's okay. Thank you for today." Misaki nibbled on her lip as she thought. It was nice to be absorbed in something else for a while. "I had a good time, and driving now feels within reach." She gave him a peck on the cheek, and his eyes lit up. "Let's head in." She left before he could finish processing what had happened.

Geez, what did I do? Why did I do that? Come on, Misa, you know why, but you also know better!

Ren followed her in, lightly touching his cheek as he smiled.

Shun waited in the doorway to the kitchen, his arms crossed, and frowned when he saw the goofy smile on Ren's face. "Hurry up and get ready."

"On it," Ren hummed as he passed by.

Shun gently touched Misaki's shoulder and nudged his head into the kitchen.

Uh-oh, what'd I do?

He waited for Ren to be upstairs before pulling out a few music sheets with her new song on them. "I was cleaning up the mess left in the studio and organizing all the songs, and came across this one."

"T-thanks." She reached for it, and he pulled it away.

"You know, I might be presumptuous in thinking it's about Ren, but if you feel this way about him, why are you holding back? Why not tell him?"

"That's..." He's not wrong.

"Better yet, why don't you sing it to him?"

"Because that would mean I plan to let him know and pursue a relationship, but..."

"You're not? I'd rather not push, but I'm curious about what's going on, and this speaks the world of him." He wiggled the papers around.

"Of course it does; Ren is amazing, and any woman would be lucky to be with him, but..." Misaki swallowed hard. "He deserves better than me."

"Isn't that for him to determine? And I'm not even sure what you mean, since you're amazing in your own right. If you're listening to Oichi and naysayers, then you're not seeing the bigger picture. You deserve to be happy, Misa." Shun stroked her head. "Regardless of how this album does."

Her lip quivered. "Do you... think it'll be successful even with my voice on a few tracks?"

"Of course." Shun smiled softly. "We wouldn't have wanted to feature you if we didn't love your voice." He handed her the papers. "Think hard about what you want rather than pushing these deep emotions aside. And if you want to record the song, I'd be more than happy to help."

"Thanks, Shun." She hugged the papers to her chest.

"You know what?" Ren came back downstairs after getting changed. "I have a grand idea! Why don't you join us at dance practice? As a dancer yourself, you can help see where there might be mistakes or improvements to be had."

"That might be a bit much to push on her," Shun warned.

"Is it? But people already know she's involved in the music, and in case you haven't checked, I posted the photos from the other day, and people are more convinced than ever that I'm in love with her."

"What are you talking about? I haven't been checking on your posts..." Shun pulled his phone out to check Ren's social media. The pictures from the studio, including the one where he kissed her on the cheek, were posted for everyone to see. "Did Daichi approve of this?"

"He knows..."

"I have half a mind to take your phone, too," Shun huffed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Misa."

"I-it's okay." No going back once the photos are out there. Misaki glanced at his phone and blushed.

"I said I had a plan—"

"And your plan is to make everyone think you're already in a relationship?" Shun asked.

"I plan to make sure everyone sees it's from my side—not that she's seducing me or whatever, not that it'd be hard for her."

Her blush deepened as it crawled up to her ears.

"Oh, right." Shun pulled another phone out of his pocket. "I didn't know all your contacts or anything, but I got you this to use temporarily. It has our numbers, Daichi's, and Emi's."

"Thank you, Shun." Misaki accepted the phone.

"Please don't go around reading comments, though. You never know what rubbish people will say, and even the good ones won't be enough to counter one bad one. I know how it is."

"Wish I thought of that," Ren mumbled, pouting. "Anyway, what do you say? Come along to dance?" Ren danced on the spot, moving his hands and hips as he listened to the music replay in his head.

Misaki glanced at Shun.

"It's fine if you want to come. Based on what I went over, all our songs are practically done anyway," Shun said, glancing at the calendar on the fridge. "With plenty of time for official recordings and music videos. You're free to join us, if you want."

"And I can take more pictures of us all together to post. Most people love it!" Ren gave her two thumbs-up, hoping to convince her.

Emi would kill me if I turned this down. "Would that mean I can take pictures, too? To share with Emi, I mean," she said, rushing to make sure they knew why. "I'm still staying away from posting on social media."

"I wouldn't mind if you did." Ren shrugged. "But as long as they're photos, not videos of the new dances, it's fine. Wouldn't want to ruin when it's fully revealed."

"I'll get ready quickly, then." Misaki rushed upstairs, hugging her song.

"What's with you?" Shun asked, swirling his finger around as he gestured to Ren's face.

Ren leaned in close, smiling, and tapped his cheek. "I got a kiss from Misa. Only on the cheek, but it was progress." He wiggled his eyebrows and held his fist up to Shun.

"You've definitely gotten closer." Shun fist-bumped him as he thought about the song. "But that doesn't mean she'll stick around. Be careful."

Ren frowned. "What do you mean?"

"There is a heavy weight on Misa's shoulders from the past that will be hard for her to climb over."

"Doesn't that mean I just have to carry her over it?"

Shun held back a laugh. "If only it were that easy. Part of this she'll have to do herself, but that doesn't mean you can't give her a gentle nudge in your direction if she strays from your side."

"If you know something, I'd rather you just tell me what to do like normal instead of being cryptic."

Misaki came back down with her mask, hat, and sunglasses on, and a crossbody purse at her side. "Ready."

Ren frowned and tugged at her mask as soon as she was within reach. "We're supposed to lean into the three of us hanging out, not hide it."

"Leave her be." Shun smacked his hand. "She can take it off in the studio if she wants."

"Ow..." Ren rubbed his hand. "Fine, I'll take photos even if you've got your disguise on." He leaned in close to her and took a picture with the caption: 'Headed to practice with Shun and Misa.'

What have I gotten myself into?