My Not-so-Forged Wedding

Episode 4

An Idol on Hiatus and the Urge to Ask

          The doorbell to Takamasa’s apartment rang ten minutes after Takamasa had made sure everything was all right for Airi’s arrival. He strolled towards the door in a fashionable manner and opened it with a pleasant grin to welcome his high school girlfriend. When he did open it, there was a girl with light purple waist-length hair and bright green eyes standing in front of him. She smiled at him and bowed to greet him.

            “Hajimemashite,” she said. “My name is Airi Hirabayashi, and I have come here today to live with you from now on, Takamasa Saeki-san.”

            With a smile, Takamasa replied with a, “Come on in and make yourself at home. I’ll show you to the bedroom, so you can put your things away in there. After that, I’ll make some breakfast for you.”

            “Thank you,” the light purple-haired girl answered. She stepped inside, taking her shoes off at the entrance. “Pardon the intrusion.” She glanced around. “Hmm… This is a really nice apartment from what I expected. I had imagined your place to have a lot of bookshelves, Taka-kun.” She lifted up her bags and held them out to Takamasa. “Since you insisted, here. You can take my things to the bedroom while you show me around the area.”

            Takamasa let out a chuckle. He then took Airi’s belongings and smiled at her gesture. “Alright, my love. Whatever you say.”

            Airi frowned almost like she was pouting. “Mou… Taka-kun… You never used to do that when we were in high school. Why are you being like this now?”

            “Isn’t it obvious?” the scriptwriter inquired. “The two of us have changed since we last saw each other, but we’re still in love, aren’t we? This is partially your fault that I’ve become this way, Airi, so you have to make up for it.”

            “You mean the time we spent apart because of my career?” Airi’s expression didn’t budge in the slightest. She sighed with slumped shoulders. “I can’t believe you’ve become like this right after I left in pursuit of my dream.” Her eyes lowered to her left. “Well, not that I care much about it anymore, but still.” She shifted her gaze at Takamasa with an unpleased look. “You can’t just turn yourself into someone who decides to be an uncomfortable teasing husband. Although we aren’t married, you should try to act natural and be yourself at times like these.”

            Takamasa laughed. “What, you don’t like it? I thought it’d be a fresh start to have a bit of enjoyment. Looks like I was wrong. But what’s even more surprising than seeing your reaction is the fact that you’ve decided to go on hiatus for the time being. I don’t know what happened, but it looks like you’ve gotten worn out to the core.”

            Airi nodded. “Bull’s-eye. You’re right about that. I got tired of it after a while.” She sighed again, looking down. “Maybe I should’ve just called it quits, after all. I’m so fed up with working as an idol that it’s no longer become a part of my own dream. Lia’s also focusing on an acting career, and she’s also gotten some solos in. Because of that, there have also been rumors of our duo breaking up. I know I’m the one who’s being selfish in this, but I really don’t want to be a celebrity anymore.”

            “Then,” Takamasa began, “how about living in this city without going back to the entertainment industry? You don’t have to ever think about being an idol and actress anymore. You can be free to do whatever you want if you stay here for the rest of your life, Airi.”

            Seeing her high school sweetheart’s care for her, Airi hesitated. “But… I’d only cause trouble for you, Taka-kun. If you work all the time in order to provide for us, I’d feel like a burden to you, and I don’t want that.”