Vampire and His Pleasant Companions: Volume 2 - Part 6
Before Al knew it, he was surrounded by four
people, two men and two women, and was pulled back into the dressing room. They
stripped him of the clothes, scolding him for not wearing any underwear, and
dressed him in a white shirt and a tuxedo. Al tried to protest, “I... I'm not,”
but was quickly silenced with, “Just be quiet!” The atmosphere around him was
so tense and hostile that there was no chance to explain.
“Isn’t this costume too small? The buttons
won’t close. Didn’t you do a fitting?” one of the women complained.
“He wasn’t at the initial fitting because he
was cast later. We had to prepare based on the agency’s information. If the buttons
won’t close, just sew them shut. We don’t have time,” the other woman snapped
back.
Every time someone yelled, Al trembled with
fear. He resigned himself to go along with whatever was happening and hoped he
could explain his situation once things calmed down.
“His eyes are gray? That’s not quite right.
Weren’t they supposed to be black for the vampire role?”
“There should be colored contacts. Use those.
Hurry up—Yuuka-chan is about to lose her patience.”
After they finished dressing him in the tuxedo,
they applied makeup, put on ill-fitting black shoes, and placed a black wig
over his head.
“Ready to go,” someone announced as the makeup
and wardrobe teams finally stepped back. Al tried to explain, “I’m not…” but
before he could finish, Mitani grabbed his arm.
“Come on, this way. We need to hurry,” Mitani
urged.
“But, wait—” Al started.
“Just run for now,” Mitani insisted.
Al had no choice but to run. They dashed down
the stairs and along a long hallway until they reached the first studio. Al
began to sweat nervously. He wasn’t an actor, yet he was in full costume and
makeup. This wasn’t normal. It was definitely strange. The closer they got to
the studio, the more Al felt that something terrible was about to happen. Just
before they reached the entrance, Al stopped abruptly.
“What’s wrong?” Mitani asked.
"I don't want to go."
"It’s okay. Everyone makes mistakes or
runs into trouble sometimes."
"I not actor…"
Noticing them, a staff member inside the studio
called out loudly, "Jack-san and Mitani-san, please come in!"
Al, still hesitating, was grabbed by both arms
by a young staff member and dragged into the center of the brightly lit studio.
Dozens of sharp gazes from the staff and actors bore into him, as if they were
about to skewer him. Especially intense was the glare from Yuuka, the beautiful
girl seated on the far right.
"We’re short on time, so we’ll go straight
into rehearsal. Scene 34: Mahiro, Yoshito, and Keegan the Vampire, please enter
the set."
Yuuka and Mitani entered the prep room set on
the right.
"Keegan, get on the set quickly!"
someone barked impatiently.
"I-I'm not…" Al stammered.
"Just get in the set, now!" the
person ordered.
Desperate, Al looked around for the one person
who could help him. There he was! Standing in the corner of the studio, arms
crossed, watching. Al ran over and clung to Akira's body, hugging him tightly.
"Akira, help me!"
"So it is you! I thought something
was off with how similar you looked and sounded. I told you to go home! What
are you doing here?" Akira scolded.
"But, but…"
Tears welled up in Al’s eyes as the commotion
around them grew. Sakeiri, the director, wearing a flashy shirt, noticed the
scene and approached.
"Takatsuka, you know Jack-san?"
Akira pried Al off of him and smacked him on
the head with a rolled-up script. The wig cushioned the blow, so it didn’t
hurt, but the impact still startled Al, causing him to crouch down and clutch
his head. Sakeiri, taken aback, looked down at the crumpled Al, then up at
Akira.
"Sakeiri, I told you I wouldn’t lend out
my housemate! What’s the meaning of this?" Akira demanded, his forceful
tone making Sakeiri take a step back.
"Wha—? I don’t understand. Jack-san is
your housemate?"
"This isn’t Jack! How can you call
yourself a director if you don’t even recognize your actors?"
"Well, I only saw his photo once!"
Sakeiri protested, looking helplessly at Al, who was still crouching on the
floor.
"So… you’re not Jack-san?" he asked
tentatively.
"I not…" Al confirmed, shaking his
head.
"And you! Why didn’t you explain that you
weren’t him when you realized they had mistaken you?" Akira’s scolding was
relentless. Al shrank even further, clutching his head.
"I said not! They scary…"
"Scary? You idiot! If you had explained
yourself properly, you wouldn’t have ended up in this mess!"
The surrounding staff began to murmur,
"He’s not an actor?" and "What’s going on?"
"Now that you mention it, the costume
didn’t fit at all," said the wardrobe assistant, who had been on edge
earlier.
"I was told the vampire was supposed to
have black hair and eyes, but this guy’s hair is brown, and his eyes are
gray," added the makeup artist, speaking up for the first time. Al felt a
twinge of sadness—it was only now they were noticing these things, despite him
trying to tell them all along.
"He’s someone else."
"So what do we do?"
"Where’s the real actor?"
…In the midst of the confusion, a ringtone
suddenly echoed through the studio. A young staff member, presumably one of the
crew, answered it. A few seconds later, his face turned pale, and he let out a
loud scream that reverberated throughout the room.
"D-Director, there’s been an emergency.
Um…" He held his phone, his face drained of color.
“What happened?”
“I just got word that Jack Valero was in a
motorcycle accident on his way here. His manager just contacted us…”
“Is it completely impossible for him to make
it?”
“It seems he’s broken his leg and can’t move.”
Sakeiri immediately turned to Akira and bowed
his head. “Please, lend him to us!”
“No way. I can’t do that,” Akira answered
immediately.
“Come on, don’t say that! Just for a little
while, to replace Jack. He doesn’t even need to have lines this time. Please,
I’m begging you… Think of it as helping us out.”
“I told you, I won’t let him appear on TV! How
many times do I have to say it?”
“We’re friends, aren’t we? Please, I’m asking
as a friend,” Sakeiri pleaded, twisting his body in a pathetic attempt to beg.
“I don’t remember ever being close with you,”
Akira shot back.
“Please, I’m begging you. If he steps in,
everything will go smoothly. He’s already got the makeup and costume on!”
“I’ve got my own reasons! Don’t think
everything will go your way!” Akira snapped.
“I’m asking you too, please!” The staff member
who had been on the phone earlier also bowed his head next to Sakeiri. “The
actress’s schedule is really tight. If we have to postpone, it’ll inconvenience
everyone—the actors we’ve gathered, the props team, the lighting crew, and the
wardrobe staff. Please, help us out.”
Voices from the other staff members chimed in,
all pleading with Akira. His cheek twitched as he struggled with the decision.
He was strict, but Akira had a soft heart. He was torn between his resolve not
to expose Al and the desperate pleas of those around him.
“I… will be stand-in,” Al suddenly offered.
“R-Really?” Sakeiri’s face lit up with joy.
“Wig… black… eyes black. They won’t know,” Al
reasoned.
Akira, still crossing his arms, groaned in
frustration.
“Look, even your boyfriend says he’ll do it.
Just think of it as helping everyone here out, okay?” Sakeiri continued to
plead.
“Please, we’re begging you,” the staff and
director chorused. Under their relentless pressure, the frown lines on Akira’s
forehead deepened. After a tense moment, Akira reluctantly spoke.
“...Just for today,” he finally conceded. “I’ll
let him do it for today only. But I want the makeup changed. Make the eyelids
and nose shadows darker, and emphasize the cheekbones. Make it so he’s
unrecognizable!”
“I owe you one!” Sakeiri jumped for joy, and
the staff quickly began working. The makeup artist started adjusting Al’s
makeup right there. She glanced sideways at Akira and asked, “That guy seems to
know a lot about this stuff. Who is he?”
Apparently, not many people knew that embalmers
required a high level of makeup skills, and Akira was quite knowledgeable in
that area.
After his face was thickly layered with makeup
to the point of being unrecognizable, Al re-entered the set. As a stand-in, his
lines were cut from the script. All he had to do was smirk with a villainous
expression in response to the cues from the staff. It was only then that Al
realized he was playing the bad guy.
When he first entered the studio, Yuuka had
glared daggers at him, but now, as their eyes met on the set, she covered her
mouth with a small, white hand and chuckled.
“You have such a pretty face, but you’re funny.
Didn’t it hurt when you got hit on the head like that?” she asked.
“Did hurt,” Al replied.
Yuuka laughed softly and stood up on the set.
As soon as the simple rehearsal ended, Al suddenly became nervous. Despite how
things had turned out, this was his TV debut. It was his first and likely last
time acting. When he entered the studio on Akira’s shoulder, he never imagined
it would lead to this. Unconsciously, he started looking around for Akira. But
Akira was standing beside Sakeiri, peering intently at the monitor, not sparing
a glance in his direction. Al’s hands began to tremble slightly.
“You’re an amateur,” Yuuka’s voice came from
behind him. “So it’s okay if you mess up a little.”
Her words made him relax, and he felt a bit
lighter. He wanted to thank her, but Yuuka turned her face away and looked
straight ahead.
“All right, let’s go. Get ready for the take!”
With the call of “Action!” Yuuka delivered her
lines, and Mitani responded. Suddenly, the lights dimmed, and the area
darkened. A spotlight was thrown onto Al. Glancing at the staff’s cue, Al did
his best to make the most villainous face he could and smirked.
◇:-:◆:-:◇
From the moment Sakeiri had come to ask Akira
to be the show’s supervisor, it was clear that he was persistent, shameless,
and didn’t give up easily.
The series BLOOD GIRL Mahiro was set to
air in a late-night slot, spanning ten episodes, but it hadn’t started
broadcasting yet. Al was supposed to appear only in the third episode, which
involved an embalmer. However, the enemy vampire Al played was the one who
turned the main character, Mahiro, into a vampire. Although the character had
few lines, it was a key role, continuing to interact with the protagonist even
after episode three.
The injured foreign actor had suffered a
serious injury, breaking a leg, with an expected recovery time of three months.
There was no chance of him returning. Sakeiri came to Akira, bowing his head,
saying, "Please, let your boyfriend continue the role..."
"For the viewers, it's quite stressful
when the actor for a character changes midway through. Wasn’t it Kane-san? He
had a good reputation among both the staff and actors. Especially Yuuka, who
plays Mahiro—she was so annoyed with the delays in filming, but strangely
enough, she seemed to be in a better mood afterward. It’s practically a
miracle."
Although Akira had declared, "This won't
happen a second time," Sakeiri visited him every night, pleading until Akira
reluctantly agreed to let Al continue in the role. Akira meticulously checked
the unedited footage that hadn’t aired yet, ensuring that with a wig, colored
contacts, and heavy makeup, Al was indistinguishable from the original actor.
He even called in Nukariya to review the footage. In the end, Nukariya’s casual
comment, "I couldn’t even tell it was Al," sealed the decision.
"Fine, you can play the vampire role with
full makeup. But if you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to."
In front of Sakeiri, Akira gave Al the choice.
With Sakeiri desperately pleading with his hands clasped together, looking
intently at Al, there was no way Al could refuse. "I do it," he
answered. Al had an interest in Japan’s entertainment industry, and acting was
something he had always wanted to try since his time in America. After becoming
a vampire, he had given up on that dream, but he never thought it would come
true in Japan.
"No close-ups, no unnecessary lines...
Also, his scenes should only be shot after sunset, once his part-time job is
over. These conditions are non-negotiable."
Sakeiri groaned, "Only at night? That’s a
bit..."
"Sakeiri," Akira quietly called his
name, "Repeat what I just said."
"Uh... No close-ups, not too many lines,
and shooting only at night..."
"Good to see you understand."
Realizing that Akira wasn’t going to budge on
this matter, Sakeiri reluctantly agreed, "Alright." And so, with Akira’s
approval, Al continued in the role of the vampire.
Al, now a regular at the studio as an actor,
was asked to come in a little earlier that day. Since he didn’t have his
cleaning job, he arrived at the studio a little after 7 PM. He got his costume,
changed in the locker room, and headed to the waiting room. There, the hair and
makeup artist, Machida, was working on the hair of a man dressed in a school
uniform.
"Kane-san, just a bit longer."
Even as an actor, Al used the name "Kane
Roberts."
"Sure," Al replied, taking a seat
next to the man in the school uniform, who kept glancing at him. When Al smiled
at him, the man quickly looked away, as if embarrassed. Japanese people always
reacted similarly when smiled at—they were all very shy.
Finally, it was time for his own hair and
makeup. The heavy makeup required for the vampire took a bit more time than
others. Al thought it was excessive, but since it was one of Akira’s
conditions, he had no choice.
"Kane-san, you’re so handsome even without
all this heavy makeup. It seems like a waste," Machida muttered as he
layered foundation on Al’s face. Al was happy to be called handsome and thanked
him with a smile.
"It’s a unique role, so I can understand
why the producer is so particular about it."
Machida wasn’t the one who did his makeup on
the first day of filming, so he didn’t seem to know all the details.
"Oh, by the way, I saw you coming into the
studio today, Kane-san. You were wearing an interesting T-shirt. Was that some
kind of punishment game?"
"Punishment... game? What? "
" Hmm... how do I explain... kind of like
a lighthearted joke?"
Machida’s hands glided warmly over Al’s face,
making him feel comfortable.
“Joke? No... cool.”
Machida laughed softly, "From a Japanese
perspective, that’s definitely humor. It said 'Beautiful Girl' in big letters
on the back. It’s a bit perverted."
"Beautiful girl?"
When Machida explained that “美少女” translated to “beautiful girl” in English, Al was shocked. If it had
been “beautiful boy,” maybe he could’ve handled it, but “girl”? Did everyone
think he was some guy with a desire to be a beautiful girl?
He’d found that shirt in the clothing section
of a supermarket and liked it so much that he begged Akira to buy it for him.
He’d thought the kanji looked mystical, but Akira had never explained the
meaning. No wonder Akira had refused when Al offered to let him wear it too,
saying, “It’s all yours.”
Noticing Al’s sudden gloom, Machida hurried to
comfort him, "But you know, Kane-san, when you wear that shirt, it
doesn’t really come off as perverted."
Suddenly, Machida changed the subject. “Oh, by
the way, I looked up embalmers on the internet after you mentioned it last
time.”
He had never known such a profession existed,
so he seemed impressed. “Takatsuka-san is amazing, huh?”
Ever since talking with Mitani, Machida had
been praising Akira’s looks, and it seemed he had become a fan. While doing
Al’s makeup, Machida asked all sorts of questions about Akira. At first, Al
answered as he was asked, but lately, he started sensing something in Machida
that reminded him of Muroi. Was it just his imagination?
"Takatsuka-san is really good-looking,
isn’t he? With those looks, I bet he has a girlfriend."
“You like Akira?” Al asked, his voice cutting
through the makeup room’s air.
Machida’s previously cheerful expression froze in
place. “Uh… uh, well…”
“Me okay with… men like men.”
Even though they were alone in the waiting
room, Machida glanced around nervously before whispering, "Could it be
that you’re also into men, Kane-san?"
"I like girls."
"So you’re not prejudiced? There are a lot
of gay people in this industry, but let’s keep this quiet, okay? Some older
folks are still conservative about these things."
Al nodded, "Sure."
“Takatsuka-san is exactly my type,
though,” Machida continued with enthusiasm. “That face, that presence—it’s like
my ideal partner just walking around in clothes! But he’s straight, right?”
“Akira… not gay. You can tell?”
"I do. You can just tell by the way he
looks at people. This might sound strange, but even though he has a certain
vibe, there's no sexual tension. In that regard, I think Kane-san has more of
that aura."
Just then, there was a loud knock on the door.
"Kane-san, are you ready?"
It was the third assistant's voice. Machida
hurriedly replied, "Give us five more minutes," and rushed to finish
Al’s makeup and put on the wig.
As Al walked down the hallway in his vampire
costume, wearing black shoes that fit well, he saw the drama’s lead, Yuuka Jinbou,
and her manager, Ando Ryoko, walking side by side from the other direction.
Yuuka was intently looking at her smartphone, which had a shiny pink beaded
cover.
Since there were no scenes with Al and Yuuka
today, it seemed her parts had been finished. Al didn’t know much about the
Japanese entertainment industry, but Mitani had told him that Yuuka’s photo
book released last year had been a huge hit, and she was currently one of the
most popular gravure idols.
Yuuka always had a displeased look on her face,
despite being as cute as a doll, with a slightly haughty air. However, as soon
as the cameras started rolling, she would transform into her character, Mahiro,
becoming a charming and lively girl. Although this was her first lead role and
she reportedly had no formal acting training, even Al, a novice, could tell she
was skilled.
Though Yuuka was usually in a bad mood, she
treated Al differently. When their eyes met, she would smile at him. If someone
else made a mistake, she would become irritable, but when Al messed up, she
would giggle, finding it amusing.
"Good work today," Al greeted her.
Yuuka looked up from her smartphone. "Oh,
Kane. Are you about to shoot?"
"Yes."
"Hey, look at this."
Yuuka held her smartphone in front of Al’s
eyes. On the screen, a red polka-dotted bat was fluttering around.
"This is a wallpaper from the 'Mahiro'
show’s website. Isn’t it cute? The story and costumes in 'Mahiro' are lame, but
I really like this."
Al stared at the bat.
"I like black bat."
Yuuka puffed out her cheeks.
"The fact that it’s not black is what makes it cute! Kane, you’ve got no taste!"
Her jet-black eyes sparkled with mischief. “You
wore another weird T-shirt to the studio again, didn’t you?”
Al’s heart sank. “That… mistake. It made me sad,”
he said desperately.
"The other day, you were wearing a T-shirt
with a funeral home’s logo. And today, the staff told me you had on a T-shirt
that said 'Beautiful Girl.' Kane, are you an otaku?"
"I don’t… want to be pretty girl."
"You’re not making any sense."
Yuuka put her hand over her mouth and laughed.
"Kane, you’re so funny. Next time, show me when you wear that 'Beautiful
Girl' T-shirt. See you later."
After Yuuka left, her manager, Ando, approached
Al. "I’m sorry if she said anything rude. She didn’t mean any harm."
"I’m okay."
Ando apologized again and then hurried after
Yuuka. Al thought about how tough a manager’s job must be. He had only been
coming to the studio for about two weeks, but since the first time he met Ando
in his bat form, Ando seemed to have lost a little weight.
As Al trudged gloomily to Studio One,
reflecting on how everyone seemed to think his T-shirt was strange, he was
surprised to find that despite the assistant’s earlier call and the rush with
his makeup, filming hadn’t started yet.
“They’re having issues with the camera,”
Mitani, who was sitting in a folding chair, explained when Al approached him.
“Studio Two’s almost finished, so they’re going to borrow one from there. They
said it’ll be about another ten minutes.”
Yuuji Mitani, the 22-year-old actor playing Yuuka’s
love interest, had been the one to stuff Al in a cloth bag when he was in bat
form. He was a newbie actor, just like Yuuka. When asked about his age, Al had
said he was 21—technically true although he was actually 30, as he had stopped
aging when he became a vampire at 21. That little white lie had made Mitani
feel even more friendly toward him. Apparently, Mitani had really wanted a pet bat
and had been frantically searching the studio when Al had disappeared in bat
form. But when the staff suggested the bat might have flown outside, he had
given up.
Al brought over a folding chair from the corner
of the room and sat next to Mitani, who was fanning himself with a paper fan
and drinking water from a plastic bottle.
"Kane-san, your costume looks hot just to
look at."
"I’m okay."
"Come to think of it, you hardly sweat at
all, Kane-san."
Mitani wiped his forehead with a towel. The
studio was extremely hot, with lights shining from all directions. Even with
the air conditioning on, the heat from the lights overpowered it. Standing on
the set for just a few minutes would usually make people start sweating, but of
course, as a vampire, Al didn’t sweat.
"Oh yeah, about that thing we talked about
the other day—is it still no good?"
"No good."
"Aw, c’mon, please! I’ve never seen the
real thing."
"Akira… would go mad."
"Oh, I see," Mitani replied, looking
disappointed. Friendly, kind, and cheerful, Mitani had a hobby of watching
splatter and horror films. He also knew about embalming and had heard through
the grapevine that Al was living with Akira. He had been pressing Al to let him
see an embalming in person.
Al hadn’t mentioned this request to Akira.
Knowing how serious Akira was about his work, Al couldn’t imagine he would
allow someone to watch out of mere curiosity. Thinking back, Al realized that
being allowed to witness an embalming for the first time had been nothing short
of a miracle.
Mitani, who could talk endlessly about his
favorite horror movies and even said he wanted to see a dead body, had some
unusual tastes, but aside from that, he was just a normal guy in his twenties.
"The camera’s here. Mitani-san, Kane-san,
please get on set."
Al stood in the designated spot. Since he had
lines today, he was more nervous than usual. As he kept taking small deep
breaths, he heard the cue to start.
"Guwaaaargh!"
Al roared ferociously at Mitani, who wore a
terrified expression.
"I might just turn you into a vampire
too!"
It was nearly midnight by the time Al got home
after the shoot. Akira was still awake, lounging on the sofa in a T-shirt and
knee-length shorts, reading a magazine.
"I'm back," Al said.
Akira glanced at him and tilted his head
slightly. "You're wearing your T-shirt inside out."
"It's fine like this."
"No, it’s not, which is why I’m pointing
it out. Did you ride the train home dressed like that? How embarrassing."
Remembering how the staff, Yuuka, and Machida
had laughed at him, Al felt a surge of anger.
"You didn’t tell me it’s weird that my
shirt says 'Beautiful Girl'," Al said.
Akira slapped the magazine he was reading down
on the table. "Don’t blame others. You were the one who insisted, ‘I like
it. This is the one.’ I asked you several times if you were sure."
"B-but… they called me pervert."
“Just because it’s sold in stores means it’s
okay to wear. I’m not responsible for what people think when they see it.”
"I wish you had told me to stop because
the kanji was weird."
"You were so unusually excited about it
that I couldn’t bring myself to say anything!"
Al remembered how excited he’d been when he
first saw the T-shirt. It felt like it was made just for him, like it was meant
to be. He couldn’t deny that. But when everyone called it weird, its charm
vanished in an instant.
Slumping his shoulders, Al shuffled to the
closet and pulled out a T-shirt and shorts. They were a gift from Nukariya, matching
Akira’s, intended as summer pajamas.
As Al was about to enter the bathroom, he
noticed that the kitchen looked exactly the same as when he had cleaned it the
day before. There were no signs of use. A bad feeling crept over him.
"Akira, did you eat dinner today?"
"Yeah."
"By yourself?"
"Muroi took me to a cheap but delicious
Chinese restaurant."
Again... Al pursed his lips tightly. Lately,
whenever Al was out filming and couldn’t cook dinner, Akira would go out to
eat. And not alone—always with Muroi.
Everyone at the center knew about Al’s role in
the drama. It had been a secret, but when Al was late to the studio once
because of a train delay, a worried Sakeiri contacted the center, and the
secret was out. The person who answered the phone was Matsumura at the
reception, and the talkative Sakeiri quickly spilled the beans about Al’s
involvement in the drama. Matsumura, surprised, told Koyanagi, and soon the
entire staff knew.
Pressed by Koyanagi, Akira reluctantly admitted
that Al was acting in the drama. Then, in front of everyone, he made a very
rude comment: "On the days he’s filming, at least I don’t have to eat his
awful cooking."
After hearing that, Muroi started taking Akira
out to dinner on Al’s filming days. At first, when Al heard that Akira had
eaten out with Muroi, he just wondered if Akira kept the same grumpy face when
eating with other people. But as it happened more often, Al started to worry.
Maybe Akira and Muroi were planning to start
dating? Al wasn’t sure. If they were, that would be fine, but if they did start
dating, wouldn’t he become a third wheel? Would he have to move out? His
thoughts spiraled in circles, filling him with unease.
"Why do you keep having dinner with
Muroi?"
"Because the places he takes me to are all
really good."
"Is Muroi going to be your boyfriend?"
Akira’s expression visibly darkened. “Just
because we eat together doesn’t mean we’re dating.”
"Muroi likes you."
"I’ve made it clear to him that I’m not
interested, and he’s accepted that. So what’s the harm in us eating
together?"
On the surface, that might make sense, but deep
down, it felt different to Al.
"If I were Muroi, I’d have high
hopes."
"You're so annoying. Who I eat with isn’t
any of your business."
"Feelings don’t change so easily."
"Are you absolutely sure about your
assumptions? Whether Muroi still has feelings for me or not, how could you know
without asking him directly?"
With Akira phrasing it like that, Al, who
wasn’t Muroi, had no argument left. He wondered why he was even arguing with
Akira about Muroi in the first place.
"Talking to you is infuriating,"
Akira said as he stormed off to bed.
Al took a shower and changed into his T-shirt.
Before turning off the lights, he knelt by the bedside. Akira’s face, turned to
the side, still bore the same irritated expression he had when he said talking
to Al made him angry. Even his closed lips were slightly turned upward in a
displeased pout.
"Good night," Al said, cradling
Akira’s soft, wavy black hair as he kissed him on the cheek. Whether they
argued or not, Al always gave a goodnight kiss before bed. It was a sacred
ritual that marked the end of each day for him.
The corner of Akira’s eye twitched slightly,
but he didn’t open his eyes.
Lol surely… Akira won’t start dating Muroi right…. Surely… 😭
ReplyDeleteAkira is a little cold stone who will only warm up to Al lol
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