"one more game!" yumemi slams her hands on the table and the impact echoes throughout hall. sweat drips down her forehead, her heartbeat races in her chest. it feels like the end of the world, but yumemi is used to that feeling, hoping for mercy against the odds of probability. the very art of gambling.
but not like this. not when she's losing everything. "let's play one more game!" her voice strains.
mary scoffs at her statement. "one more?" she smiles deviously at the shaken idol but pulls out a new deck of cards. she begins shuffling the cards with a huff, "my, my yumemite-san, your gambling skills have gotten rusty. i'll tell you what? let's play a simple game of find the pair... easy enough right?" mary's eyes stare daggers at yumemi like a predator ready to hunt its prey.
the cards are tossed on the table, character-side up. the girls are given two minutes to memorize the cards and their pairs. yumemi's eyes dart across the spread with trepidation. her thoughts run a wild, sweat drips down her forehead and she feels tears gather in her eyes.
"i can't lose this game." she thinks.
"sixty seconds left." announces a student. yumemi tightens her fists. she's lost a lot of money from this game with mary, and she can't afford to lose more.
"are you ready, yumemite-san?" mary smirks as the timer reaches zero.
the game begins.
yumemi grits her teeth. "be quiet."
mary goes first. she takes her sweet time analyzing the cards to provoke the idol. her hand hovers over a card on the far right and she flips it nonchalantly. four of hearts. the girl hums and reaches for another card across the spread. another four of hearts.
she continues this pattern of success until her fifth pair where she matches a seven of diamonds with an ace. mary gestures to yumemi whose heart races for the nth time, this time, in fear of really losing it all.
as she stares at the spread, a voice in her mind thinks, "should i play it safe?" she quickly disregards the thought. like everyone in the academy, yumemi had pride, she didn't play safe. not even when the last of her money was at risk.
"what's wrong yumemite-san? getting cold feet?" mary mocks. a few students laugh.
"i won't. no- i refuse to! why the hell would i lower my pride for some petty price!" she thinks with anger. "don't forget that i'm your senior! i'll risk every option to beat you to a pulp!" yumemi shouts and mary could only let out a laugh.
"that may be true but formalities don't appeal in a game of luck. now, are you going to choose a card or would you like to forfeit?"
yumemi burns red. she clenches her jaw with bared teeth. she could barely think as her head only fills with giving mary what she deserved. she charges at the cards, reaching for two at random and turning them over.
five of diamonds and a jack.
yumemi stares at the two unmatching cards. she does not move from her place as the laughs of mary echo in her ears. mary's turn passes in a blur in yumemi's eyes. cards and cards match as mary continues her constant correct guesses.
the laughs are so loud that they're defeaning now. the tears release themselves at that moment. all eyes are on her. normally these much eyes would be watching her perform or humiliating whichever unfortunate gambler decided to challenge her. but now, those eyes watch as she cries.
finally, mary pulls two different cards. yumemi analyzes the available cards left facing down. 3/4 of the deck had now been flipped, and not by her.
she timidly reaches for two stray cards with shaking hands and blurry eyes. not a pair.
mary's laugh is overexaggerated. it's loud and mocking. "are you even trying?!" she taunts. the last few cards are quickly paired by her, and just like that, the game was over. yumemi had lost all her money.
yumemi's crestfallen face was displayed for every student watching as the screens lit up with her loss. long gone was the cute striving idol. this was a mistake. challenging mary saotome was a mistake.
"...this is wrong.." she mumbles.
"hmm? what did you say, yumemite-san? would you like another rematch?"
"you cheated!" yumemite shouts. "it's impossible to guess that much pairs correctly!"
mary scoffs. "you underestimate me, yumemite-san. just like with every other game you challenged me to. do you know how much my gambling skills have improved over the years?"
insult after insult spew out of yumemi's mouth as she refused to accept her loss. she reaches over the table, lunging at mary in a fit of rage. guards rush up to the stage to pull her away.
yumemi turns her head to the crowd. she meets eyes with the president from the vip room above. yumemi looks at her with pleading eyes. she expected to be defended, for the president to announce that mary was cheating. but instead she saw a menacing gaze that could haunt her for the rest of her life. yumemi's once bright eyes dulled as her final hope vanishes and replaced with a future she didn't wanna be a part of.
the life plans that would be sent to her door the first thing in the morning, her dreams of becoming an idol trashed. tears pour down her face and completely run her makeup. it's not like she would be able to wear such bright makeup anymore, being forced to become the perfect wife for some politician.
she thrashed around as she was dragged off stage. the bright songbird who was led to her demise....
-
author's note from jiji:
we hoped you liked this first chapter! this is our first time writing as a group so it's very experimental. (btw jiji is the group lol)
author's note from vynr:
Thank you for reading. If you have any tips on how to improve our writing, please do not share it <3
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her sweet tooth (yumemi yumemite x female reader)
Fanfictionyumemi is sent to run a bakery in the province to pay back her debts and return to being an idol. she can't help but be charmed by the owner of the flower shop next door.
