Chapter 6

For months, the teachers had been preparing for the school trip to Kyoto, and now the day had come. Rin had been meticulous in making the ‘Yuto-Rin Document’. It was a three-page guide, timed to the minute, designed so she could spend as much free time with Yuto as possible.

But Rin and the teachers weren’t the only ones planning.

Yuto had dedicated an unhealthy amount of time to preparing his own perfect trip. He had a plan. He was going to deliberately hop on the wrong train.

If he were miles away, he wouldn’t be able to do any of Rin's plans. She would be so devastated that she’d want to break up with him. He would get on the Hayabusa Shinkansen. He couldn’t get any further away from Kyoto. He already had his ticket to Shin-Hakodate Hokuto Station.

It was perfect.

The train arrived on schedule, and he boarded, taking his seat. He pulled out a sleep mask and placed it over his eyes. He had spent so long planning this that he’d sacrificed countless hours of sleep. It was about time he paid off that sleep debt.

He closed his eyes as the train shunted off from the station. His dreams were filled with rabbits made of fairy floss frolicking through meadows made of fluffy white clouds.

“Express?!”

Yuto’s eyes shot open. He felt as if he had just fallen. He was so alert that it took him a moment to calm his nerves. Surely, he must have just imagined Rin’s voice.

“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to wait until we reach Shin-Hakodate Hokuto Station before you can change.”

“But I need to go in the other direction!”

Yuto knew that voice anywhere. He stood up and turned to face the back of the carriage.

“Rin?!”

“Yuto?!”

“What are you doing here?!” They both shouted in unison.

The train attendant looked between Yuto and Rin.

“Do you two know each other?” he asked.

“Yes, he’s my boyfr… We are both meant to be going to Kyoto,” Rin explained on their behalf. Yuto was still trying to process the fact that Rin was somehow standing in front of him.

“Well then, go and take a seat. You can make arrangements once we arrive at the station,” the attendant instructed, clearly frustrated by the extra work and wanting to palm Rin off as quickly as possible.

Yuto sighed, realising it would be a much bigger issue if Rin didn’t calm down now that she had implicated him as an acquaintance.

“Rin, come sit next to me,” he commented, patting the empty seat next to him. Each pat felt as if something was dying within him.

Rin quickly thanked the attendant. She turned towards Yuto, avoiding his gaze as she hastily made her way over and sat down. She buried her head in her hands.

There was an awkward silence. Yuto considered lowering his sleeping mask.

“I can’t believe I made such a stupid mistake,” Rin muttered through her hands. Tears were visibly falling from her eyes. “How could I get on the wrong train?”

Fuck, Yuto thought, kissing his sleep goodbye.

He placed his hand on Rin’s head.

“It’s not a major mistake, I’m sure everything will work out.”

She lifted her head. Her eyes were still watery, but it seemed she had stopped crying at least. She leaned over and hugged Yuto.

“Thanks, dear. You’re right, I’m sure it will be fine. I’m just frustrated. I was really looking forward to the trip. I made a plan and everything.” She slapped herself on the cheeks as a way of pepping herself up. “Alright, I can’t be mopey all day. So, how did you end up on this train?”

Yuto felt his heart sink. He was hoping she wouldn’t ask him because he knew he couldn’t tell her the truth. He toiled for a moment before opting to play it safe and reveal only a half-truth. That way, he wasn’t lying.

“I was just so excited for this trip, I stayed up all night. I guess I just made a mistake.” Most of that statement was true. The only bit that was a lie was the part about it being a mistake.

She laughed, covering her mouth with her hand.

“What about you?” Yuto asked.

Her smile dipped, and she shifted her gaze to the floor.

“Promise not to laugh?”

“I promise.”

“Well… I have never been outside of Tokyo before, so I didn’t realise there was more than one shinkansen.”

Yuto stared blankly at her. The perfect Rin was far more of an airhead than he initially thought.

“Really?”

“You said you wouldn’t judge me!” she complained, loud enough that some of the other travellers shot them a dirty look. Yuto didn’t want to be dragged into any more drama, so he quickly hushed her.

“I’m sorry Rin, I was just surprised.”

She sighed.

“That’s why I was so excited for this trip. I thought I could finally see new things.”

Yuto was beginning to feel bad for trying to deliberately ruin her plans. If he knew that it was such an important trip for her, he would have played the fake boyfriend for the trip. Just to give her some happy memories.

“Well, think about it this way, this is an adventure.”

She scratched her chin as if she were contemplating his comments.

“I guess you are right,” she replied with a smile. “I’m sorry, you had to listen to my complaining. I’m sure your trip is ruined as well.”

Yup! He thought to himself. But rather than making her day any worse, he put his arm around her.

“That’s alright, this is also a special experience. Enjoy the journey, things will be alright.”

“You're right, I will enjoy the adventure.” She leaned in and whispered into his ear. “Still, I’m glad it’s you that I’m with on this journey.”

If Yuto wanted to return a loving, sappy response, he could’ve said, ‘and I am glad I am with you.’ But Yuto couldn’t bring himself to do such a thing. Nor could he reply with his true feelings after hearing how happy she finally was. So he simply responded with a nod. Which didn’t seem to dampen Rin’s mood in the slightest.

“I guess it’s destiny for us to go to Hokkaido together.”

“Destiny is certainly a fickle thing,” Yuto replied, mentally checked out by this point.

She brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “Thank you. I love you so much, Yuto.”

Yuto ignored Rin’s very cliché flirting and responded with a deadpan, “No worries.”

But whilst Yuto’s reaction was minimal, he was mentally ripping his own hair out.

God damn it!

❤︎ --- ୨୧ --- ❤︎

End of Chapter 6