Exposed

~Reina’s Perspective~

Monday morning, the sunlight was barely peeking through the curtains when the persistent ping of my phone shattered the silence.

I groaned, reaching out from under the duvet to silence whatever alarm I set... I couldn’t sleep last night; every time I closed my eyes, my mind took me back to the exact moment in the library where Kaito pinned my hands above my head...

Blinking my eyes into focus, adjusting to the stinging blue light of the screen. My lock screen was a wall of notifications. All direct messages across every single one of my social media accounts, dozens of missed calls, and most terrifyingly, a text from my mother from a few minutes ago that just said the following:

     "We need to talk.”

I sat bolt upright, my heart doing a panicked flutter. I tapped the first link, and there it was.

The "Sweetheart Snap".

What started as an anonymous post on the academy’s student forums turned into something overblown overnight. The picture of me and Kaito was being spread throughout various student group chats. It was the most trending post on the "Academy Scandals" page.

The caption read: “Sweetheart Snap: Best Couple of the week #CoupleGoals #BobaDate".

I stared at the image in horror. The lighting was even more revealing than I remembered. Mine looked like a ripening tomato. And Kaito… Kaito was looking at me with that lopsided, effortless grin that made the whole thing looked devastatingly authentic.

"No..." I whispered to the empty room. "This has to be a mistake. There were dozens of other couples' pictures on that board... Who–how did anyone even find this?"

I scrolled down. There were hundreds of comments already; there was no time to ask the academy to take it down; the damage was done.

     “Is that really Reina Kujo? She looks so human here, lol.”

     “Who even is that guy? ”

     “They look so cute together! ”

I threw the phone onto the mattress as if it had burned me. My reputation was being dismantled in real-time by a fifty-per-cent-off boba promotion.

     “Reina, darling~ I need to have a little chat with you! "

My mother’s singing voice echoed through the hallway. No, no, no. This is not what I need right now, this is the absolute worst scenario. 

If she sees me like this, it would be as good as handing her a signed confession letter. I scrambled out of bed and burried the bear underneath my blanket.

Creak.

The door opened. I didn't even have time to shove the bear under the covers before my mother drifted in, her phone already held up like a trophy.

"So," she started, holding her phone up. The photo of me and Kaito was front and centre on her screen. "Care to explain why my daughter is currently the most famous 'lovebird' on campus? Reina. I didn’t know you already had a boyfriend~"

I felt my heart skip a beat. "N-No, he’s just a classmate... an acquaintance.”

She stepped closer, obviously not buying the ‘acquaintance’ excuse. “An acquaintance wouldn't make you blush like a sunset, Reina.”

“It-it was the shop’s gimmick, Mother!" I argued, trying to avoid stuttering, "They offered 50% off if we took the picture. It was a purely logical decision to save money.”

“Didn’t you spend a fortune on dresses the other day?" My mother countered, her eyes drifting towards the empty luxury bags of designer clothes near my desk. “Why start budgeting over tea?”

“It... was Kaito’s idea. He paid for the drinks...”

"Mhm," Mum hummed, wandering deeper into my room. "He’s quite cute. What’s he like? Is he smart? Does he treat you well, or do I need to have your father's private investigators look into his background?"

"He's... stubborn," I muttered, looking away. "He's loud, he ignores half of my instructions, and he sacrifices his own well-being too much. But he's... capable enough to keep up with me.”

"He sounds perfect for you," She laughed, turning towards my bed, and her eyes suddenly locked onto something. "Oh? And who is this?" She said, pulling off the blankets andpicking up the small teddy bear Kaito had given me. 

"It was a... gift," I said quickly, my voice going up an octave.

Mum squeezed the bear, a knowing smirk spreading across her face. “From this Kaito boy, I assume?”

“Y-yes... mother.”

“Reina, he bought you a teddy bear, went to the mall with you and treated you to bubble tea; this Kaito boy doesn't seem like an acquaintance. It sounds more like a crush."

"It is not a—"

"I’ve already decided," she interrupted, setting the bear back down on my duvet with a pat. "I was planning on inviting him to dinner at the estate, but honestly, I simply can’t wait for that long."  she said, placing the bear ontop of my dissaranged pillows, "I’m coming to the Academy today to meet him properly. I’ll organise a private room so we aren't bothered by all these 'fans' of yours."

"Mother, wait! You can't just—"

"I already am! Now, come downstairs and have breakfast with me. You don't want to keep your boyfriend waiting, do you?"

She winked and slipped out of the room before I could protest. I looked at the bear, then at my reflection. My face was a disaster of bright, burning red. I fixed the stray hairs on my face before heading to the door, knowing that today was going to be the longest day of my life.

~Kaito’s Perspective~

Walking into school felt like walking onto a stage. Usually, I’m just a guy trying to blend in, but today, everyone was staring. Every time I passed a group in the hallway, the talking stopped, and the whispering started.

I reached my locker, trying to act normal, when a classmate leant against the locker next to mine. He had his phone out and a look on his face that meant trouble.

"Yo, lover boy," he said, while nudging my shoulder. "Is it true? Are you actually dating the Reina Kujo?"

I felt a wave of heat rush to my neck. "What? No. Reina and I are just acquaintances. That’s it."

"Then how do you explain this?” he said, flipping his phone screen towards me. “It’s all over social media and the student gossip pages. Everyone’s losing their minds."

There it was. The "Sweetheart" photo from the bubble tea shop. Even on the small screen, the blush on Reina’s face and the way I was grinning like an idiot were impossible to miss. The comments were a mess of people shocked that anyone actually got close to her.

"Wait, how did this—"

"You’ve really done it now, man," he laughed, patting me on the back. "Good luck. You’re either the luckiest guy here or you’re in serious trouble."

I quickly shoved my shoes into the locker and booked it past the small crowd of people. Who knows what kind of fury I would face from Reina. But that’s the least of my problems right now.

I burst through the classroom door, out of breath. The whole room went silent as I walked towards Reina. She was already sitting at her desk, just staring at her tablet, but her hands were slightly shaking.

She didn't even look up. "Don't say a word, Kaito," she whispered, her voice shaking.

"Reina, I’m so sorry,” I murmured back, leaning in close so the surrounding classmates couldn't overhear. “I didn’t think anyone from the academy would see the photo..."

"Everyone has seen the photo," she hissed, finally looking at me. Her eyes were wide, and she looked genuinely panicked. "The whole school thinks we’re secretly dating. My reputation is ruined."

"I-It's just a photo... right?" I tried to say. "People will forget about it soon enough..."

"Forget? Kaito, my mother has already seen it," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "She's  on campus right now making arrangements to set up a private room for lunch. She thinks this is some big romantic moment for her daughter..."

I swallowed hard. "Your mum? Here? Like... right now?"

"Right now," Reina groaned, burying her face in her hands. "She wants to meet the guy from the photo. Kaito... we are in so much trouble."

For the next hour, I sat at my desk, staring blankly at my notebook as the professor's voice droned on like white noise. Usually, I’d be taking notes, but right now, my own brain was short-circuiting.

I am dead. I am actually, physically dead, I thought, resting my forehead against the cool surface of the desk.

I could feel the burning stares of half the class burning into the back of my head. Every time someone whispered or giggled behind me, I knew they were looking at that damn "Sweetheart" photo.

How was I even supposed to explain that to her mother? "Oh, sorry, we just really wanted cheap boba, so we pretended to be in love for thirty seconds”? Yeah, right. Looking at the photo again, even I had to admit we didn't look like we were pretending.

But the photo wasn't the real problem. The real problem was the boss was currently in the academy...

Reina was terrifying enough on a day-to-day basis. She could wither a man’s soul with a single, silent glare and pull apart a flawed argument like she was deconstructing a cheap toy. 

If the daughter was that cold and intimidating, what on earth was the mother going to be like?

She's going to see right through me, I panicked, spinning my pen so fast it flew out of my hand and clattered across the floor. She’ll realise I’m just some guy who lives in an apartment complex and works a part-time job, and then she’ll probably have me exiled from the country for 'corrupting' the Kujo legacy.

I glanced over at Reina. Her posture was still straight as a ruler, looking like she was focused on the lecture. But I noticed that she kept clicking her pen repeatedly. She was just as freaked out as I was.

When the bell rang, it sounded less like the end of class and more like a funeral toll. I stood up, my legs feeling like jelly.

"Kaito..."

I looked up. Reina was standing next to my table, she gripped her ba so tightly her knuckles were turning white.

"She’s here. In the North Lounge," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "The 'private room' is ready."

I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to give her a reassuring smile, though I’m sure it looked more like a grimace. "Well... at least the lunch is probably free?"

Reina didn't laugh. She just turned and started walking.

 "Follow me."