Revelation

Splat. Strawberry ice cream splattered onto the table. Miyuki stared at the screen with wide eyes filled with dread.

“Ooh, drama…” the newswoman chuckled. “What’s this ‘unbecoming’ behavior you speak of?”

Luna looked downcast in silence for a moment before answering. “I’ve seen her in Tokyo several times in the past month. The first time she was leaving a high-end restaurant with a guy–”

“So she’s got a lover?” The man next to Luna guessed.

“There’s nothing wrong with that, but when I asked about it, she fervently denied it.”

“A secret relationship, huh? I wouldn’t expect that from Miyuki of all idols,” the other man said.

“That’s not the worst of it,” Luna continued. “I’ve seen her visit a man’s house in disguise, alone for several hours on end,” she wiped a forced tear from her eye. “I thought she was an innocent girl…”

‘How… how did she know I’ve been visiting Jin…? I’ve never seen her around his place…’ Miyuki’s heart was an overworked drum within her and her body was filled with the hot sensation of shame–not for visiting Jin, but for having her secret revealed in the most terrible way.

“I’m back,” Jin returned with an extra spoon in his hand. “Sorry it took so long, I was–” he saw the growing pool of ice cream on the table and the horror in her eyes. His gaze followed hers to the television.

“There you have it, folks. An idol scandal, just before the finale of the Idol Awards,” the newsman next to Luna wrapped up the broadcast.

“Miyuki, was that–”

She slumped back on the stool. Tears threatened to escape from her still wide eyes. “How could this happen… Why now…?”

“Miyuki…” Jin ran to her side and wrapped his comforting arms around her, holding her close.

Feeling his touch sent her over the edge, causing the waterworks to burst forth. She turned and buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing her devastation away.

“It’s okay,” he patted her back in reassurance that everything would work out.

As they sat there, Miyuki’s crying the only sound, their ice cream melted into sugary puddles. By the time the tears stopped rolling, they had penetrated through Jin’s clothing to soak his shoulder.

“I-I’m sorry you had to see that,” Miyuki wiped the remnants of her tears from her face when Jin released her from his comforting hug.

“Don’t be. I’m glad I was here when you needed me. Are you… doing okay now?” He asked with concern.

“Not really,” she sniffled. “But I feel better than I did. Thank you for that…”

“No problem. I’ll always be willing to lend you a shoulder to cry on. No way would I leave you to suffer alone.”

“I don’t know what I’d do without you…” Miyuki’s phone buzzed twice and she checked the notifications. Both Komi and Nanami texted her.

Permission to kill that stuck up idol? Nanami’s text read.

Did you hear what Luna Rihara said on the news? Komi texted.

Despite her anguish, the texts made her chuckle. “My friends truly are irreplaceable.”

“Who knows, maybe the ‘scandal’ thing won’t be taken seriously?” Jin said to provide relief to her.

Miyuki remained on her phone to check the number of followers she had on social media. She held her breath, fearing the worst as her profile loaded. “F-fifty two thousand followers?!”

“Looks like it didn’t have much effect after a–”

“I had fifty seven thousand earlier today! It hasn’t even been an hour…” She hung her head in despair. “I’m ruined…”

“Hey, you’re the best singer around. Plus, you’re honest and sincere. This will all blow over soon,” he assured her.

Fighting back more tears, she looked into his eyes. “Can I… stay with you tonight?”

“Eh?!” Red filled the skin of his face. “W-why would you do that?”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep tonight, and I want you to be there in case I break down again… Is that not okay…?” She stared at him with wide, pleading eyes.

Jin sighed. He didn’t feel comfortable having a girl stay overnight at his place, but he didn’t want to leave Miyuki in her vulnerable state. “Alright, fine. As long as you promise not to come into my room.”

Miyuki smiled and nodded. “I promise.”

“I’ll get us some more ice cream,” he said, noting the crime scene of liquid dessert on the table.

“It’s alright,” Miyuki shook her head. “I don’t think I’m in the mood anymore…”

“Then… Should we head back?”

She gave an affirmative nod and silently followed Jin out of the ice cream shop and back to his house after he cleaned up the mess of ice cream the best he could.

Nao lended some of her pajamas from years back to Miyuki so she could have something to change into.

Miyuki laid on her side on the couch, hidden under the grey fleece blanket Jin had given to her. In the darkness, her dejected face was lit by the light of her phone screen. “Another five hundred followers are gone…”

She tapped on the search bar and looked up her name. Several posts came up, some sharing her music, others sharing the recent news. One post in particular caught her attention. Above the post was the name Luna Rihara.

Some of you have been accusing me of making false accusations against Miyuki Haruno. I would never do that. As I said in the interview today, I care about her. Hopefully this photo serves as proof that I’m not just trying to slander her.

Beneath the text was the picture Luna had taken of Miyuki and Jin at the pool that she had threatened her with revealing. The comment section was a battlefield of people agreeing with Luna and others defending Miyuki. It made the pain a little more bearable, knowing that some of her fans still believed in her.

‘I need to not think about this,’ she told herself. ‘The Idol Awards’ finale is almost here. I can’t perform well for Jin if I’m distracted by this...” Miyuki rolled onto her back and relaxed her head on the soft pillow. “If I can’t win, I can still try to impress Jin, at least…”