Trial Marriage Husband: ShinKai ver.

06: Returning to the Position of Top Star

Of course not, the timing isn't right!

Shinichi Kudo knew what he was thinking, so he grabbed the phone and handed it to him. Kaito Kuroba did not step aside to take the phone call, instead, he confidently pressed the answer button, right in front of Shinichi Kudo.

"Kaito Kuroba, where are you right now?"

"I was afraid the reporters would find me, so I found a place to hide," Kaito Kuroba replied calmly.

"So, you're saying you aren't aware of the incident with Konosuke Jii?" Saguru Hakuba asked in a patient tone.

"What's wrong with Konosuke Jii? The place I have hidden in is quite remote, so I haven't been able to keep up with what's happening on the outside, what happened?" Kaito Kuroba tried his best to sound curious.

"Thanks to your manager, Hakuba Entertainment is now in a mess. Return to the office first, I'm going to arrange for you to hold a press conference. Kaito Kuroba, I am depending on you to clear Hakuba Entertainment's name."

Press conference? More like another opportunity for him to throw the blame on Kaito Kuroba...

Did he really think he was still that naive?

Kaito Kuroba hung up the phone in disgust, when suddenly Shinichi Kudo began to speak, "I've already saved my number in your phone. Anytime you need me, give me a call and let me know what you want to do."

"Thank you, Shinichi Kudo..."

"You shouldn't be calling me that..." Shinichi Kudo unfolded his legs and pulled Kaito Kuroba to his side, "Call me something else...or I won't let you go."

Kaito Kuroba blushed as he whispered shyly, "h...hubby..." A rare smile appeared on Shinichi Kudo's face.

"Come on, I'll drop you off at work. Remember what you promised...don't get too close to another man."

Kaito Kuroba knew exactly what Shinichi Kudo was referring to. He responded with a reassuring smile and a hopeful look in his eyes for Shinichi Kudo to trust him. Shinichi Kudo's heart skipped a beat. Between the two of them, there was nothing more to say.

...

In just 40 minutes, Shinichi Kudo had successfully driven Kaito Kuroba to a location close to Hakuba Entertainment. As the King of Entertainment, he knew all the deepest, darkest secrets of the industry. Hence, he was curious as to how Kaito Kuroba intended on turning the tables to retrieve his position as top magician.

Kaito Kuroba knew what he was getting himself into. It was clear that this was a game where he had to keep his cards hidden, whilst his enemies had already laid their cards on the table. If he couldn't change the outcome even after swapping out his entire hand, then he would have to admit defeat.

After stepping out of Shinichi Kudo's car, he accessed the building through a secret walkway. As soon as the staff spotted Kaito Kuroba, the room was filled with mixed reactions of disgust, hate and mockery; as if they were sure Konosuke Jii's revelations were all under Kaito Kuroba's directions.

Kaito Kuroba pretended not to notice. He walked over to Saguru Hakuba's room and pushed open the door as his gaze met the back of Saguru Hakuba's head.

"You're back..." Saguru Hakuba turned around holding back his anger.

"Tell me, what happened?"

"Kaito Kuroba, are you certain you don't know about the incident with Konosuke Jii?" Saguru Hakuba threw the newspaper reports in front of Kaito Kuroba. He questioned him angrily, "If he didn't receive orders from you, how would he be brave enough to do this?"

"Saguru, we are about to get married, why would I do something like this? Wouldn't that be pushing you away?" Kaito Kuroba choked on his words as he looked at him innocently.

"Then, how do you explain why you showed the Crown's Star like that at the show? You knew very well, that the biggest difference between you and Akako are your style..."

Kaito Kuroba looked at Saguru Hakuba as he interrogated him. He thought back on the multiple times that Saguru Hakuba had protected Akako Koizumi in the same way. He once thought it was all because he was trying to protect his own growing career, so he was willing to endure being wronged and allowed Saguru to stick up for another person. But from the looks of it now, the only person he wanted to protect all along had solely been Akako Koizumi.

"At the time, I had no way of showing the Crown's Star like anyhow but like that. Akako Koizumi's assistant was also present, you can ask him."

"I asked him already and he said you had made the decision yourself..." Saguru Hakuba pressed on.

"Saguru, I am your fiancee, yet you choose to believe an outsider?" Kaito Kuroba faked a look of disappointment as he continued to observe Saguru Hakuba's reactions, "Yesterday...we were supposed to be signing our wedding papers."

"It's too late to say anything now, the damage is done. hf has already notified the court of their intention to sue Hakuba Entertainment for breaching the contract and thanks to your manager, the public's negative reactions towards Hakuba Entertainment are now getting worse and worse. You need to take responsibility for this." Saguru Hakuba looked down at Kaito Kuroba condescendingly. He gave off the aura of an almighty god passing judgment.

"You will be my partner soon, I don't want my partner to hurt my career. That's why...Kaito Kuroba, for the sake of Hakuba Entertainment, you have the responsibility to step out and explain to the public the entire mess was created by your manager for hype and has nothing to do with Hakuba Entertainment..."

"Admitting that my manager was responsible is just like admitting I was responsible! Weren't you the one that called me to hastily substitute Akako Koizumi?" Kaito Kuroba cried, "Saguru, is it because I am to marry you, that I should be sacrificed?"

"I don't care. Being recognized was your fault." As soon as those words left his lips, Saguru Hakuba must have felt he had gone too far. He quickly calmed down and reached out his arms to give Kaito Kuroba a hug, however, Kaito retaliated by pushing him away. "Kaito Kuroba, I was just getting a bit impatient. Just this once...after we are married, I promise to treat you well..."

Of course, Kaito Kuroba held back his tears and nodded, "I am doing this, not because I admit to creating this mess, it is because I want to protect your career. But, there will be no next time!"

"Yes...I promise, there will be no next time!"

In actual fact, Saguru Hakuba knew Kaito Kuroba would fall for it again next time. Especially after they were married, according to Kaito Kuroba's character, he would be easily controlled by him.

"The press conference will be this afternoon at 3pm. We will have a meeting in a minute to go over your script."

"OK!"

Kaito Kuroba stopped crying and forced himself to look into Saguru Hakuba's eyes like always. But, as soon as Kaito left the room, his eyes swept over with a cold gaze.

He couldn't immediately forget the jerk, but, he was going to stick by his decisions.

There was no way he was going to take on the blame for Saguru Hakuba's wrongdoings again.

After thinking carefully, he returned to his own room and phoned his manager, "Kanasuke Jii, Saguru Hakuba is trying to use me as a shield."

"Ha ha! Kaito Kuroba, tell me what you want me to do." His manager was full of fighting spirit.

"3pm. I will announce I created the mess and apologize. Afterwards...I want you to anonymously release photos of Saguru Hakuba and Akako Koizumi being affectionate in the hospital..."

"Ha ha, sure! I've even thought up of a great headline 'Exposed! Hakuba Entertainment's boss has multiple affairs: The Biggest Cheating Scum!'"

Kaito Kuroba couldn't help but respond with a laugh, before he began to apologize, "Sorry, Konosuke Jii, for dragging you into all this."

"Kaito Kuroba, as long as you have made the decision to start afresh, I will help you return to being the top star. In fact, not only that, I will help you become...an international great magician!"