Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The acting world can be tough.

And 25-year-old Ogou Mayuka is no stranger to that.

The path to get where she is now was not easy. At the start, it was hard for her to even land any roles, let alone in any popular TV show or film. The acting industry can be very competitive. It took her two years of trying to finally land her first lead role. 

She has faced many hardships throughout her now four year long career, but now it feels like all of them were worth it. She is now one of the top actresses in Japan. The revenue and opportunities are amazing, but of course, being famous has its drawbacks too. 

Mayuka is currently awaiting the results for her more recent auditon, which is scheduled to be released today. 

The role she auditioned for is the lead female role for an upcoming TV drama called Tangled Love. This TV drama is based on a popular novel, so the hype for it is already there. It would be a huge opportunity, so Mayuka really hopes that she can land the role. 

Mayuka has read the novel already to help herself prepare for the audition. The story features a love triangle, which is something she has never tried before. On top of that, one of the potential love interests of the female lead is another woman. Mayuka has not tried a romance role with a female love interest in her career yet, but she really wants to have the opportunity to.

In the original novel, Sato Kazumi, a young woman who freshly graduated college, moves to a new city for her first job. At her job, she meets the company CEO's daughter and long lost childhood best friend, Oshima Minako. As well as a handsome and charming co-worker from South Korea named Kwon Sunghyun. The three of them quickly get into a love triangle, with both Minako and Sunghyun liking Kazumi.

It is something that has not really been seen often, which makes Mayuka confident that it will be a hit.

The actress keeps her eyes glued to her phone screen. She keeps refreshing her email, impatiently hoping that the audition results email would pop up. She instinctively begins to pace around the living room of her fancy apartment. Without realizing, she is walking around in circles around the coffee table.

Then, something pops up. She feels her heart start to race faster.

Only for it to be a junk email.

Mayuka lets out a groan of disappointment and proceeds to delete that email. 

Then, after a few long minutes, it finally shows up. The subject line was in all capital letters:

TANGLED LOVE FINAL AUDITION RESULTS

Mayuka can feel her heart begin to quicken its pace once again. Although she should be used to this by now, but she feels nervous every time audition results release.

Then... she scrolls to see who got the role of Osato Kazumi.

Right beside Kazumi's name, in bold and capital letters... was her name.

Mayuka is hit with a wave of sudden relief and joy. She will be given the wonderful opportunity to play this role and she is absolutely excited!

She takes a moment to cheer by herself. The results are confidential for now, but she cannot wait to tell her family and friends about this role.

Then, she decides to take a look at the results for the rest of the cast.

A lot of the big names in the acting industry know each other well. So, usually, she is acting with people she knows already. She wants to familiarize herself with them so she's prepared to work alongside them.

When she scrolls down and sees who is playing Oshima Minako, her excitement comes to a sudden halt.

It is her.

None other than her sworn enemy, Oe Riku.

Of all people why does it have to be her?

Mayuka's previous excitement quickly turns into dread. She hates Oe Riku. She thinks back on all of the romantic scenes in the novel and she feels sick to her stomach. She has to do all of that with Oe Riku?

She'd rather die.

Mayuka and Riku have a deep history with each other.

When they were both young rookie actresses, they were friends who eventually became roommates. They lived in what is now solely Mayuka's apartment together. Rent was expensive, but with both of them living there, they could split it with the money they were earning from small acting projects.

Two years ago, Mayuka found out about a lead acting role she really wanted. It was a romance drama where a young woman from a small village moves to Tokyo. There, she meets and slowly falls in love with a charming and rich young man. The details of the story interested her, so tried very hard for the audition. It would be her first ever lead role, so she felt a lot of pressure. She took a whole week prior to the audition practicing her lines any chance she could. She worked so hard for it.

However, Riku, who knew how badly Mayuka wanted the role, auditioned for it herself without telling Mayuka. She ended up getting the role, while Mayuka fell short. What enraged Mayuka even more is that Riku even admitted only having practiced the day before the audition.

Mayuka was understandibly livid.

---

"Why did you do this?! You know how badly I wanted that role!" Mayuka had yelled at her roommate, unable to contain her rage.

Riku had just gotten home, only to be greeted by an angry Mayuka. She had been caught off guard. She didn't even know she got the role until now.

"W-What?!" Riku is confused and her voice shakes a little. "What do you mean?" She asks, trying her best to stay calm.

"You auditioned for that role I tried so hard on! And you got it!" Mayuka had snapped with frustration. How does she not know she got that role yet? Mayuka was waiting so anxiously. Did Riku even care?

"Oh..." Riku's eyes widen once she realizes what she had done. "I didn't know..."

"You never answered me!" Mayuka is getting really fed up. "Why did you audition when you knew how badly I wanted it?!"

"I mean... I thought I might as well give it a shot..." Riku tries to keep herself calm, though some anger is boiling up within her. "I wasn't even sure what the drama was..."

"Give it a shot?! Give me a break!" Mayuka groans, rolling her eyes at the older girl. "You killed that audition! How did you not know what it even was?!" She was offended.

"Mayu-chan..." Riku speaks softly, stepping closer to her in hopes she could try to calm her down.

"D-Don't call me Mayu-chan!" Mayuka steps backwards, her face now red with anger.

"What's wrong with you, Mayuka?!" Riku starts letting her own anger out too. "I thought we were friends!"

"I thought so too, until you stole that role from me!" Mayuka snaps back out of anger. "You've only proven that you care more about yourself and your own success than our friendship! You knew how badly I wanted that!"

"That's not true!" Riku defends herself, letting her emotions take over as she begins to tear up. "If we were really friends, you would be happy I got this role!"

"We're not friends anymore," Mayuka speaks coldly, tearing up as well. "Gather your stuff. You're moving out tomorrow," she says as she walks past Riku, heading over towards her bedroom.

"Fine then! So be it!" Riku yells as Mayuka walks away. "I'll go live with Ayaka! At least she's happy whenever I succeed!"

Mayuka rolls her eyes and slams the door behind her.

"Bitch..." Riku sighs, wondering what has gotten into the Mayuka she knew. 

That night, Riku packed up all of her things into boxes and was gone by the time Mayuka woke up the next morning.

---

And that was the last time Mayuka ever spoke to Riku. 

The two quickly transformed from friends to rivals. They would often see each other at auditions, but would never say a word to each other. There would be some looks, maybe a cold glare or two, but that was about it.

They would very often audition for the same roles, so they began to see each other as competition. Sometimes Riku would get the role, sometimes Mayuka would get the role. Each time the other was left frustrated and angry that they did not get the role, even moreso that they lost it to her.

Their rivalry soon transformed into full-out enemies. They began to see each other as someone that could hinder their success as actresses. They fully believe that the other had the power to end their careers if they tried hard enough. It came to a point where they both wanted the other's career to be ruined.

Needless to say, Mayuka is still bitter over what happened two years ago. 

Mayuka is feeling very stressed after seeing these audition results. She is dealing with some very strong emotions.

She can't film romantic scenes with her. Anyone but her.

Mayuka thinks once again about the scenes she is going to have to film with Riku and feels like she's going to vomit. It absolutely disgusts her. She feels revolted. She can't speak to her, let alone kiss her or anything like that.

However, Mayuka thinks about the revenue and fame she would get from this role and it keeps her going. She cannot let Riku ruin this opportunity for her.

Though, she is still not looking forward to the first day of filming. Or just filming the TV drama in general.

"What am I going to do...?" Mayuka groans, holding a hand up to her forehead. 

Chapter Text

Today is the first day of filming. 

Mayuka couldn't be more nervous.

She knows that, thankfully, she won't be filming any scenes with Riku just yet. However, she is afraid she's still going to run into her on set. 

Riku wouldn't be stupid enough to show up on set when she doesn't have to act yet, right?

She hopes not.

When Mayuka arrives on set, thankfully Riku cannot be seen. She feels a sense of relief... for now at least.

What Mayuka will be shooting today is basically an introduction to her character, Sato Kazumi. There is not a lot of actual acting in these clips, mostly just shots the village and the city with Mayuka's voice in the background. Some short clips will have her in it, but some will not.

She finds it to be pretty boring, honestly. But at least it's better than having to smack lips with Riku for the world to see.

Since Mayuka will still be seen in these scenes, she needs to be styled, which she rather enjoys. She enjoys looking nice without the effort or the cost. On top of that, she's being paid to do so.

In these scenes, which are the opening to the TV drama, Mayuka's character Kazumi narrates her own backstory. She explains how she just recently graduated from an online university and now she is moving into the big city for her first real job.

The job is one that Kazumi is really excited for, despite it being a rather typical office job.

As Mayuka records her voice lines for today, she starts to mess up. 

Her mind is distracted. She keeps thinking about how she needs to film a scene with Riku tomorrow. She's not going to handle it well, but she's desperate to not let the past ruin this opportunity for her. 

As she stumbles on her words, she notices the director giving her a glare. 

It helps her realize that she absolutely needs to get her shit together or else she might lose the role.

The next attempt, she is able to speak every word clearly and at a good pace. The director seemed to approve, so then they decided to move on to the quick background clips that Kazumi is in.

Then, since everything was finished for the day, everyone returned to the first place of shooting to gather their things together and transport them over to the place where tomorrow's scenes will be filmed.

As Mayuka is leaning over as she gathers her own belongings so she can head home, an unfamiliar face approaches her.

"Ogou-san?" A male voice speaks to her. A bit confused, Mayuka lifts her head from her purse to spot a unfamiliar man staring down at her. He seemed quite handsome and about average height.

"That's me," Mayuka responds, slinging her purse over her shoulder as she straightens back up to full height, turning to look directly at him. "And who must you be?"

"Oh.. I thought you might know," the dark-haired man responds with a chuckle. "I'm Yang Jeongin, a popular actor from South Korea. I'm going to be playing the role of Kwon Sunghyun."

"Oh... right," Mayuka gives an embarrassed chuckle. She had been too enveloped by the fact that Oe Riku is playing her female love interest without paying any attention to who is playing her male one. She should've checked the rest of the cast. 

Though, it makes sense that they'd pick a South Korean actor to play a South Korean character.

"What are you doing here today?" Mayuka then questions, her brows furrowing slightly. "You don't have to show up in any scenes until tomorrow."

"I just wanted to watch you," Jeongin responds honestly, which stuns Mayuka a bit. "I wanted to see who exactly I was dealing with," he chuckles rather awkwardly. "I'm unfamiliar with Japanese actors and actresses. This is my first role that isn't for a Korean drama."

"I see..." Mayuka responds. Though the guy seems nice, the fact that he has been watching Mayuka the whole time when he didn't have to makes her feel a little uncomfortable. "How old are you? When did you start acting?" She suddenly asks, wondering if this guy is older, the same age as her, or younger. She is also wondering if he is her senior or junior.

"I'm twenty-eight," Jeongin answers. "I started acting when I was twenty-three so... that's five years of experience."

Mayuka nods as she listens to him speak. She got her first ever role when she was twenty-one. It was as an extra in a low rated movie, but a role is a role. She finally got her first speaking role when she waa twenty-two. Then her first lead role when she was twenty-three. So, she's a bit shy of him with four years of experience.

"Ah... so you're my senpai," Mayuka responds. "Not too surprised there. You seem to be mature."

"Yeah, thanks. Well... I think I'm going to head off. I made some plans to meet up with a friend who lives in Japan while I'm here," Jeongin speaks, seeming a bit nervous as he clears his throat. "It was nice to meet you, Ogou Mayuka-san."

"Alright, Yang Jeongin sunbaenim," Mayuka smiles, bowing to him politely. "I'm looking forward to working with you. Your Japanese is great, by the way!"

Jeongin is a bit stunned as she suddenly speaks to him in Korean formalities, but it sure does make him smile.

"Thank you, I'm looking forward to it too!" Jeongin responds to her as he begins to leave the area.

As Mayuka begins to leave as well, she cannot help but think that having Jeongin near is going to make filming with Riku a bit easier. He seems like a nice guy, so Mayuka truly is looking forward to working with him. Unlike how she feels with Riku.

---

That night, Mayuka is unable to fall asleep.

She has been laying in her bed for two hours now with no avail. Her mind keeps going crazy with thoughts about tomorrow. It keeps coming up with different possibilties or scenarios of what could happen. She can't stand it. She just wants to be fully rested for tomorrow, but her mind has other plans. 

Mayuka doesn't even know what Riku has been up to the past two years besides acting. 

What if she's dating someone now? Or even married? Mayuka can't help but wonder about that. A lot can happen in two years, after all.

After what happened two years ago, Mayuka blocked her phone number as well as all of her social media accounts. Instagram? Blocked. Twitter? Blocked. She even has Riku's YouTube channel blocked so her videos never pop up in her recommended.

Now, after not saying a word to her for years, they will have to pretend to be in love with each other for some TV drama. In reality, Mayuka hates her guts and she knows for a fact that Riku hates hers too.

Mayuka thinks back to that day they split apart. She remembers the feelings of betrayal she felt ar that moment so well. She doesn't even think she has ever been that angry in her life.

She was previously very close to Riku, which made the feelings of betrayal even stronger. She had wished she had at least told her she was auditioning for the role too. Honestly, that is what pissed Mayuka off more than anything. If she had just told her she was going to audition, a lot of trouble could have been avoided. Also, she felt like it didn't seem that Riku wanted it as much as she did, which only made her anger reach a new level.

Her mind keeps switching from going back to the past to what is going to happen tomorrow.

So, she realizes that she will need some sort of distraction to be able to fall asleep.

Mayuka thinks it would be a good idea to turn on the TV in her bedroom. Might be a good idea to watch something to help her relax. Maybe a quick episode of a TV show that is on.

As soon as she turns on the TV, she is greeted by a very unpleasant surprise.

The channel that the TV was set on when she turned it off is currently playing a rerun of the TV drama that Riku stole her role in.

Why does that have to have reruns right now? At this time?

This only makes her emotions worse. She lets out a small groan and quickly changes the channel.

Though, she's taken aback as soon as she sees Riku's face on the next channel as well. The channel just so happens to be playing an advertisement for a movie that she was recently the lead role in. The movie will be released next month.

Mayuka can't take it anymore. In a rage, grinding her teeth, she decides to just turn off the TV and do something else. Turning on the TV only ended up making her even more upset.

So, instead, Mayuka decides it might be a good idea to listen to some music to relax. She quickly puts her earphones in and starts listening to music. She lays back in bed and closes her eyes, hoping that listening to some of her favorite songs would help.

It eventually does. Mayuka is able to fall into a peaceful sleep, erasing her mind from the horrors that she will inevitably face tomorrow.

Chapter Text

It is now the next day. The day Mayuka has been dreading ever since the audition results were released.

She will have to shoot the first scene with Riku.

Mayuka has been memorizing these lines ever since the script was released. Though she's not confident in reuniting with Riku, she is confident in her acting.

She can already feel the tension build up within her as soon as she steps on set.

She really wanted to call in sick. She doesn't feel prepared enough to reunite with Riku just yet. Honestly, she doesn't think she will ever be prepared enough.

But it is going to happen either way.

The thought of the money and fame she would get from this role is the only thing that keeps her going.

Mayuka also considers the possibility that she could outperform Riku so well that she loses her career. Or she could maybe even get her to quit. 

That would be nice.

Even when she has to kiss Riku and everything, she knows she needs to put her all into it to make sure Riku stays on edge.

Mayuka knows that Riku is probably feeling the same way as she is about this. She is probably dreading today too. So, she knows that she needs to stay strong and try to push Riku to her limit.

As she walks inside, the stylists greet her and decide to seat her over there next to...

Oh.

Oh no.

Mayuka wants to run. She wants to run as far as she can from here and never return. 

She wishes she could just become invisible.

There, seated in the styling chair next to hers, getting her makeup done is...

Oe Riku.

Mayuka notices that a few things have changed about the other woman. Her hair is now dyed blonde and cut into a bob. 

How hideous. Mayuka thinks in her head maliciously.

Mayuka's mind is blank, but she does nothing to resist as one of the stylists leads her to her chair. Riku seems to notice Mayuka, turning her gaze over in her direction momentarily as the stylist puts some blush on her cheeks.

"Long time no see, huh?"

Riku's words seem to cut into Mayuka like a knife.

She doesn't respond, waiting as the stylist tries to find the outfit they had picked out for her for this scene.

Mayuka finally gets her moment to escape as she needs to leave to go change into the clothes she has to wear for filming today.

Her fit is simply women's business attire. Just a black suit-like shirt with a matching black skirt that goes down to right around her knees. Oh, and she has to wear black heels. She'll admit that she's feeling the outfit, though she's worried that she might trip on the heels in the middle of a shoot. Her previous roles involved mostly rather casual clothing minus special occasions, so she thinks it's nice to dress really sophisticated for this role.

As the stylist leads her back to her chair, Mayuka finally gets the bravery to get her first full glance at Riku.

Oh fuck, they have her in a suit. Why a suit? And why does that bitch have to look so good in it?

Part of Mayuka wishes she could wear one too, just to show Riku that she could wear it better than her. She cannot allow her to look better than her at anything.

Mayuka sits back down, deciding not to take another glance at Riku, who was getting her eye makeup done.

"Please try to make this less awkward as possible," Riku  opens her mouth as soon as she hears Mayuka sit back down in the creaky chair.

"No need to worry about that," Mayuka finally speaks up, her voice laced with bitterness. "I'm just here to get it all over with so I can get that check," she assures Riku.

"That's no attitude to have about your job," Riku snaps right back, her voice turning cold real quick. "You need to at least enjoy doing it."

"I can't enjoy it when I have to work alongside you," Mayuka speaks her mind, grinding her teeth momentarily with frustration. She grips her hands onto the arms of the chair to try to contain her anger.

"Are you really still bitter about what happened? It's been two years. You're twenty-five and acting like a five-year-old," Riku grumbles, crossing her arms.

"I'm not!" Mayuka defends herself. "I'm angry with you for multiple things, not just that," she lies through her teeth, hoping it would get Riku to shut up.

The stylists and makeup artists around them seem rather awkward due to the tension, but keep working around the two bickering enemies.

"If you say so..." Riku responds, which makes Mayuka get the sense that she doesn't believe her. But... it shuts her up so in Mayuka's mind it is a win. 

The two of them sit in silence as they are styled. 

Then, the shoot begins.

Mayuka, as Kazumi, gets lost in the company's building on her first day, not sure where to go. The only directions she got in her email were to go to the fifth floor of the building. But, once she got there, she noticed just how many cubicles there were and did not know which one to go to.

Riku, as her character Minako, the CEO's daughter, was standing a few feet away and noticed how Kazumi seemed lost and confused. So, Minako approaches Kazumi to try to help her out.

"Hey, you look new here. Are you lost?" Minako asks Kazumi. Riku seems to be perfectly dignified and mature, just as Minako was in the novel. Riku must have read it too.

Oh wow, her acting has improved so much. Mayuka cannot help but think. She feels intimidated, so she decides to put extra effort into her own acting.

"Y-Yes, I am," Mayuka makes sure to let her voice crack as to show Kazumi's nervousness.

Mayuka then catches onto something. She needs to look at Riku in the eyes. She is not sure how she is going to bring herself to do that. 

Mayuka finally brings herself to back into the eyes of the person who broke her trust two years ago. The person who crushed her dreams without much effort or mercy.

"Oh, you must be Sato Kazumi, right? The new employee starting today?" Riku, as Minako, then asks as she catches onto who she is.

"That's me," Mayuka, as Kazumi, responds. Minako nods in response to this.

"Okay, I can show you where you need to go," Minako offers kindly. "My name is Oshima Minako, by the way," she remembers to mention as she begins to lead Kazumi to her assigned cubicle.

"Oshima..." Kazumi repeats in a whisper, thinking for a moment as she tries to remember where she has heard that surname from. Then, a lightbulb goes off in her head. "Oh! Are you related to the CEO of the company?" She asks curiously.

"Yes. He is my father," Minako answers with a small smile. 

Mayuka can't understand the feelings that stir within her as she sees Riku smile for the first time in years. 

It only reminds her of the good times. Back when they were friends. 

Riku was once a great friend. It was almost like she was a ray of sunshine in Mayuka's life. She usually had a positive outlook on life, which rubbed off on Mayuka as well. Whenever Mayuka was feeling down, Riku always found a way to cheer her up. And vice versa.

They would hang out together a lot, especially when practicing for the multitude of auditions they tried out for during that time. 

Mayuka remembers how they used to practice reciting their lines in front of each other. Whenever one of them messed up a line, they would burst into laughter before encouraging the one practicing to try again. Something that was supposed to be serious quickly took a turn for something unserious and fun. 

She also remembers one time Riku was practicing for a role in a romance film. Of course, she had Mayuka pretend to be the male lead because... why not?

Riku's line was "life wouldn't be worth living if I wasn't with you." 

She could have just simply recited the line as it was and left it at that. But nope, she had to go all out with it for comedic purposes.

Riku had suddenly put her hand up to Mayuka's cheek, leaning in so there were only a few centimeters between her lips and Mayuka's own.

Then, in a soft, yet dramatic voice, she said:

"Life wouldn't be worth living if I wasn't with you."

Mayuka had been caught by surprise, immediately pulling away. She covered her blush-red face with her hands.

Riku laughed loudly at Mayuka's reaction.

"I guess I'm ready for the audition!" She jokes, noticing that she had performed the line so well that it made Mayuka flustered.

Like any roommates, of course, they had moments where they would bicker, but it was never anything serious and they would both apologize to each other once the steam cooled off. 

That is why Mayuka was so pissed when Riku auditioned for a role she wanted so bad without even telling her about it beforehand.

Riku knew she had been practicing for a whole week, even letting her practice saying the lines in front of her a few times like they usually do.

Mayuka wouldn't have been so angry with her if she knew that Riku was auditioning for it and helped her practice as well.

She felt so betrayed by her.

That's how quickly friendships can be ruined, though.

"CUT!" Her daze is cut off by the sound of the director's voice.

"Hello? Earth to Ogou Mayuka?" Riku waves her hand in front of Mayuka's face to try to get her out of her daze. She had stopped walking, absorbed by her thoughts. Riku gives Mayuka a disappointed glare as soon as she comes out of her daydream.

"Ogou-san, please pay attention to the shoot. Kazumi-chan is not supposed to space out until later on," the director scolds her. Feeling a horrible sense of guilt, Mayuka nods obediently.

"Sorry sir. I'll do better this time," Mayuka tells him, feeling massively disappointed in herself. She messed up in front of Riku! She just knew Riku was happy that she messed up.

Then, the scene recontinued.

Minako leads Kazumi to where she is supposed to go. They then stop in front of an empty cubicle.

"This one should be yours," Minako informs Kazumi, who responds with a nod. "Welcome to the company," she smiles again.

"Thank you," Kazumi smiles back. Mayuka wonders if her own smile will effect Riku as hers did to her. But, Riku simply walks away.

Now, she is supposed to space out.

As the script told her to do, Mayuka spaces out as she stares at Riku as she walks off. Then, on cue, she is interrupted as the older man who plays the company CEO suddenly walks into frame and speaks up.

"Welcome!" He greets her in a friendly way, breaking her out of her daze and startles her a little. The two then shake hands. "I'm glad my daughter helped you find your way."

"Oh, I'm glad as well. I was lost. She seems really nice," Mayuka, as Kazumi, responds.

Then, after the scene with the CEO is finished, filming is over for the day.

To avoid any sort of encounter with Riku, Mayuka immediately hurries over to change. It does not help that she is embarrassed over her slipup as well. She changes back into her regular clothing, deciding that she can just remove all of the makeup when she gets back to her apartment. 

She quickly grabs her belongings. Without giving herself a chance to speak to anybody, she makes sure to leave, absolutely dreading the next day of filming.

Chapter Text

It has been a week since the reunion with Riku.

Thankfully for Mayuka, she hasn't had to film a scene with Riku since then.

She got to film the scene where Kazumi meets Jeongin's character, Sunghyun, which was nice. It was so much less tense than the scene she had to shoot with Riku. And honestly, Mayuka is taking a liking to Jeongin already. He is such a nice guy.

Though, not really her type.

Now, today is the dreaded day where she has to film another scene with Riku. She can't help but feel extremely nervous as she steps back into the office set. 

After changing, she sits down in her chair next to Riku's in complete silence.

As the stylists are getting both women ready for the scene, Riku speaks up.

"Like I said before, please do not make this awkward," Riku tells Mayuka, seeming a bit tense as she sits in her chair. "I just want to do my job then leave."

"I thought you said that is not a good attitude when it comes to your job," Mayuka quickly turns it back on Riku, rolling her eyes.

"It's different when I have to do this with you," Riku speaks bluntly, standing up out of her chair after the makeup artists puts the last bit of makeup on her eye. "Honestly don't know how I'm supposed to get that close to you without wanting to vomit."

"I'm glad the feeling is mutual," Mayuka remarks, seemingly unbothered.

Today, the two of them will have to film a scene that bothers them just to think about. Mayuka's character Kazumi will spill coffee on herself on accident. Riku's character Minako notices and quickly steps in to help. Minako will take Kazumi by the hand and take her to the ladies' room to clean herself off.

After Minako wipes down Kazumi's top with a wet paper towel, trying to get as much of the stain off as possible, Kazumi leans down to try to clean off the coffee from her heels. Minako looks down, watching her. Then, Kazumi will suddenly straighten back up and their lips will accidentally get dangerously close, only about a few centimeters away from kissing. The two of them will be a bit flustered by it for a few seconds before completely disregarding it.

Mayuka is not sure if she will even be able to go through with it.

Now that they are both ready, it is time to start filming.

Mayuka takes a deep breath, in through her nose and out through her mouth, and then the shoot begins.

Mayuka, as Kazumi, is holding a cup of "hot" coffee. Though it is supposed to be hot in the drama, it is not actually hot as to not hurt Mayuka. As she is heading over to her cubicle, she turns around a corner too fast and too sharp. The lukewarm coffee spills all over her top. 

Mayuka acts this part perfectly on the first try, reacting as if the coffee was hot perfectly. 

Riku, as Minako, quickly comes to her aid. 

"Hey, it's okay," Minako says to Kazumi, quickly picking up on the fact that she is upset. "Come with me. We'll get you cleaned off."

Mayuka's mind starts to go somewhere else as Riku suddenly takes her hand.

It was like feeling Riku's touch sent shock waves through her body. She doesn't quite understand this feeling, but it is most definitely repulsion. 

As Riku leads her by the hand to the ladies' room, she is reminded of the last time she felt Riku's touch.

Mayuka was unable to sleep the night before the audition for the drama in which Riku stole the lead role from her. This is the first time she ever wanted to get a role that bad. She couldn't fall asleep because her mind kept her distracted. Her mind kept coming up with possibilities for how the audition will go and how she could screw it up. She also kept worrying that she has not practiced enough, despite practicing whenever she could over the past week.

So, she decided to check up on Riku and see if she was still awake. She wasn't exactly sure why she wanted to, but she did. Riku's presence used to always make her feel happier.

To her luck, as she slowly opened the door to Riku's bedroom, she spotted Riku laying in bed but clearly still awake.

As soon as Mayuka peeked her head in, Riku lifted her head from her pillow as she noticed Mayuka slowly step into her bedroom. 

"What are you doing up so late, Mayu-chan?" Riku had asked, seeming a bit concerned. "Are you nervous for tomorrow?"

"Why the hell are you still awake?" Mayuka asked without answering Riku's questions. She closed the door behind her and stepped closer to Riku's bed.

"I dunno, I should ask you the same thing. I can't sleep. What time is it?" Riku asked while she rubbed one of her eyes momentarily. 

"It's 2 AM," Mayuka had answered, having checked the time before she headed over to Riku's room. 

"Oh, already?" Riku asked as she fully sat up in her bed. It was silent until Riku spoke up once again after a few seconds. "Why did you come see me? Do you want to sleep in my bed with me or something?" She questioned, teasing Mayuka a bit.

"No, I don't! I was just going to see if you were awake!" Mayuka had lied. She wouldn't deny that it was at the back of her mind. She mostly wanted to try to talk her worries out with Riku... but she wouldn't ever admit that she thinks sleeping in the same bed as Riku might be nice to try.

Riku didn't believe Mayuka.

"You're a bad liar sometimes, you know that?" Riku responded, smiling over at her. 

Mayuka did not know had had possessed her. She hadn't wanted to sleep in the same bed as someone else ever since those times where she had nightmares as a child. This was not usual of her. Why did she act like this? And how was Riku able to read her so well?

"Well, I'm giving you an offer," Riku had added, scooting over onto one half of the bed so make room for Mayuka. "You can join me or not. It is up to you, Mayu-chan," she sounded tired, but Mayuka felt her heart flutter in her chest in response to the gesture.

Mayuka let out a deep sigh before laying down in bed next to Riku, who had laid back down. She wondered if this would really help or not.

Though, Mayuka is suddenly caught by surprise as Riku turns onto her side to face her and rests an arm around her. She flinched a bit at the sudden touch, but she started to appreciate how sweet it was.

When Mayuka turned her head to look at Riku, it was almost like the world froze in place. Mayuka could feel her face grow warm as soon as the two of them made silent eye contact.

"I hope you sleep well. You're going to do great tomorrow," Riku had said softly.

Mayuka can't help but feel her blood boil as she thinks back to these words. They were not genuine. She had no idea that Riku would end up betraying her the next day.

She did not respond to Riku. She was way too flustered to say anything because she knew she would be a stuttering mess if she did.

Mayuka felt even more panicked as Riku shrunk up and began to rest her face against Mayuka's shoulder, tightening her grip around her. The feeling Mayuka got inside from this was strange, yet oddly comforting? 

Why did she have to be so affectionate?

Mayuka is suddenly broken out of her daze as Riku, as Minako, begins to wipe her shirt down with some wet paper towels, hoping to get off as much of the stain as she can. 

Why did Kazumi need to let Minako do this for her? Couldn't she just do it herself? Mayuka thinks in the moment as she starts to curse the author of the novel for adding this specific scene. She feels uncomfortable the entire time. 

Now, it's time for the part.

Mayuka, as Kazumi, grabs a paper towel and begins wiping the coffee splatter off her heels. Minako looks down and watches.

Then, she straights back up as Minako is still looking down. They get close to each other, but not close enough. The director is not pleased.

"Cut! Do it again!" The director calls out towards them. They nod and retry it.

They try it a few more times, but each time the director is not satisfied. 

"Come on, you two need to get closer!" He calls out in frustration. "At least pretend you like each other!" 

Mayuka and Riku listen to him and nod.

Now, at this point, the both of them are fed up and just want to get it over with. They both decide they should actually move closer this time.

Mayuka, as Kazumi, once again, pretends to lean down and wipe coffee off of her shoes. 

However, this time, as she lifts the upper half of her body back up, her lips meet something soft and moist.

Mayuka stops functioning as soon as she realizes. She backs away immediately.

Shit. I accidentally kissed her! Mayuka thinks. She cannot believe herself. She turns away and physically gags due to her disgust. This cannot be real.

"Of course you fuck it up, Mayuka! You fuck everything up!" Riku is enraged, pressing her hands to her temples. "Can you do something right for fucking once?!"

"It's your fault! You came too close!" Mayuka defends herself, watching as a disgusted Riku wipes her lips against her sleeve.

"No, you did! I didn't move an inch!" Riku lies. She had moved a bit closer, but she doesn't want to admit it. She cannot let Mayuka win. "You're the one who came too close!"

"You're a bad liar sometimes, you know that?!" Mayuka snaps back at her, balling her fists due to her anger.

The director's voice quickly interrupted their argument, hoping to bring it to a full stop. Or else they could go on for hours.

"This is fantastic!" He says happily, stepping into the scene. "We will keep the peck and cut out all of your useless bickering," he chuckles, standing in between the two women. "This will be the perfect addition to the scene. Thank you, what a way to keep the audience on their toes!"

The air felt awkward as the two women glance at their director nervously, not knowing how to respond to this. But they did their job well and that's what matters.

"You two can head off now. That's all for today."

As soon as Mayuka heard those words, she booked it. She avoided Riku as much as she could. She changes out of "Kazumi's clothes" and puts on her own before grabbing her belongings. She, once again, did not speak to a single person before she decided to leave.

Chapter Text

The next day is an off day, so Mayuka is grateful she gets some time to just relax.

However, her mind is not letting her.

Since her mind is not occupied with anything else, she keeps thinking about the TV drama and Oe Riku. 

She is starting to believe she truly cannot handle it.

Mayuka has decided she wants to quit.

She cannot even handle an almost kiss, let alone the real kisses along the line.

She just can't pretend to love someone she hates. Her acting is not that good.

So, she decides to call her manager, Nina Hillman, to tell her she wants to quit.

Nina, despite being younger than her, is a very reliable manager. She was quite a prodigy when going into her field. She moved to Japan from the United States when she was only 18 to get her college degree. She graduated two years early and now she is already an experienced manager, having had several internships before she started working her first full job as Mayuka's manager. She has been doing well and she has even become a supportive friend for Mayuka too. She's one of her biggest sources of support other than her family.

They even tried dating for a little bit, especially since they met right after Mayuka first discovered she liked girls, but they later realized they only like each other as friends. It only took one date for them to realize that the feelings between them are solely platonic and work-related.

Back then, two of them had gone for a very simple first date: a café date.

After the two of them got their drinks, they started chatting.

Though, as the two of them talked, Mayuka was quick to realize that there was nothing romantic between them. They both honestly felt like new friends just hanging out.

Nina is gorgeous, of course, and Mayuka likes girls who are a bit taller than her. But, Nina wasn't really someone she meshed with romantically. Platonically they did rather automatically. They got along amazingly ever since the first time they met.

Of course, she liked Nina. But she quickly learned that she did not like her in that way. 

Like... hugging Nina? Of course. Holding hands? Maybe. Kissing her? On the cheek maybe. Spending the rest of her life in a romantic relationship with her? No. She just didn't feel like she had with past relationships.

So, they agreed to just be friends.

Mayuka picks up her phone and calls Nina, holding her phone up to her ear. 

When Nina picks up, she isn't able to start speaking until Mayuka does so before her.

"I want to quit," she immediately admits. "I am done with this TV drama."

"What?!" Nina responds, in shock. "Why?! It's such a good opportunity! I never thought you were a quitter. Quitting would hurt your career!" She founds very confused, wondering why she's even thinking this. She wanted this role very badly!

"I don't know... I've just lost interest in it now," Mayuka answers the best she could. She cannot let Nina know the true, frankly stupid, reason.

"Really?" Nina asks, not quite believing her. "How can you lose interest that quickly? Plus, even if you weren't interested, this role could easily make you one of the mosf famous actresses in all of Japan!" She continues to emphasize the ridiculousness of Mayuka's reasoning. "Do I need to come over and give you a pep talk?"

"There's no need," Mayuka responds, staying adamant. "I have made my decision that I want to quit. That is final."

"Okay, I'm coming over," Nina then announces, realizing that Mayuka hadn't budged at all.

The most important job of a manager of an actress is to make sure the actress succeeds. If she lets Mayuka let go of this opportunity, then she will not succeed. Whatever is making Mayuka want to quit, they need to address it and take care of it so Mayuka can regain her old enthusiasm for the role.

In the matter of only ten minutes or so, Mayuka heard loud knocking on the door to her now fancy apartment. Realizing that she has no choice but to discuss matters with her manager, she sighs and heads over towards the door.

When she opens it, the taller woman is standing right outside.

"Hey," Mayuka greets her rather simply. She seems out of it for some reason.

"Wow, you seem really down," Nina points out rather bluntly. "Good thing I came over because you look like you need someone to talk to."

Nina then steps inside as Mayuka holds the door open for her. When she is inside, Mayuka then shuts the door.

"Let's sit down so we can talk about your feelings," Nina responds, gently taking Mayuka's hand and basically dragging her to her couch, which is quite fancy-looking. "I sound like a therapist," Nina chuckles before the two of them sit down together. 

Mayuka begins to fiddle her fingers nervously. She really does not want to tell Nina the truth. At the time of the situation with Riku, Nina was not even her manager yet, so she has no clue about their situation. She honestly feels like Nina might tease her for wanting to quit over just one person.

But this isn't just one person. It's Oe Riku. That's different. On top of that, they are playing love interests. If Riku was an extra or something, it would have been much easier. But nope, they have to kiss and be all romantic towards each other. Gross. 

"Be honest, what's bothering you about this drama?" Nina asks Mayuka. "I'm your manager and your friend. I'm here to support you."

"Like I said, I'm just not feeling it any-"

Nina cuts her off.

"No. I'm not believing that," Nina shuts her down. "It seems like something is really bothering you and it is keeping you from doing your job. Please tell me the truth."

"But that is-"

"I can tell that it is more than just that," Nina breaks her off again. "You're never the type to quit, even if you lose interest in a role. What else is going on?" She asks. She notices Mayuka's tense demeanor and places a hand on top of hers in Mayuka's lap to try to help her relax.

"You know, you can tell me anything," Nina then reminds Mayuka. "I won't tell a single soul."

"Okay," Mayuka sighs, giving in as she decides to finally tell the truth. "Oe Riku, the actress who plays Minako, and I... have a history..."

"Oh?" Nina responds, seeming a bit shocked, though truly not very surprised. She has seen the two of them bicker while on set. "What happened between you two?"

"We used to be roommates and good friends," Mayuka begins to explain, looking down at her hands. "Until she stole a role I desperately wanted from me two years ago. Then I kicked her out of the apartment and we became... basically enemies. So when I saw she was the person playing Minako... I was really distraught," she explains with a small sigh. "So, I want to quit so I don't have to do this role with her."

Nina is silent for a bit as she processes everything and tries to figure out what to say. What she says next surprises even her.

"Are you really going to let that stop you?" Nina asks Mayuka. 

"What?" Mayuka questions, a bit taken aback.

"If you quit, she wins," Nina explains to Mayuka, looking at her in the eyes. "She's probably hoping you'll quit. If you quit, she'll be happy. You don't want to give her that sort of satisfaction, do you?" She asks.

"No..." Mayuka responds. But she completely understands Nina's point.

"You're right. I can't let her win," Mayuka then adds with a faint smile. 

"That's the spirit!" Nina responds with a smile. "Instead of quitting yourself, you should push yourself to your best ability and maybe she will quit instead. Then you will win."

Nina's words motivated Mayuka more than anything. She said all of the right things to keep her in the TV drama. The two women already see each other as competition and Nina's words were a reminder of that. Instead of competing to get roles, they will now be competing to see who can hold out with their role the longest.

Mayuka now wants to kiss Riku, just so she can do it better than her. Maybe do something extra on top of it... like put her hands behind Riku's neck or hips, or even slip her tongue into her mouth as they kiss. Just to catch Riku off guard and make her panic. Oh, the director would love that.

But the idea of Riku not backing down either worries her too, especially if she gains the same mentality. Even if that happens, she still needs to hold her ground. She cannot give Riku the satisfaction of winning.

"You're so right, thank you so much," Mayuka responds. "I know I can always count on you."

"Thank you for telling me the truth, even though it is very personal," Nina speaks gratefully, pulling Mayuka into a hug.

Mayuka hugs her back, glad to have a manager who is also her friend.

"You're going to do amazing, I'm sure of it," Nina assures Mayuka as they let go of their hug.

"Thank you," Mayuka smiles at her. "I really needed this."

After a few more minutes of chatting, Nina decided to leave Mayuka be for the rest of her day off. 

After Nina left, Mayuka felt more empowered than ever to not back out of this role. She needs to show Riku she is superior. 

Chapter Text

Riku steps into the office set, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.

Thankfully, the scene she has to film with Mayuka today is rather minor, but just being that close to her after what happened the last time they did a scene together is going to be awkward and uncomfortable.

Though, she knows she needs to push through and not let Mayuka stop her from succeeding. It is what Mayuka wants her to do, right? Fail?

Honestly, it seemed like it was what Mayuka wanted all along.

Two years ago, Riku felt betrayed when Mayuka suddenly turned on her and kicked her out of their once shared apartment for good. She did not even get a chance to explain herself. She had tried, but Mayuka locked her bedroom door and refused to talk to her. 

Getting that role Mayuka wanted so bad was a complete accident. Riku's manager, Yamaguchi Mako, had told her that there was a really great opportunity that she had found. Mako had connections with the people running the TV drama and they had basically said that they would offer Riku the role themselves. Even without an audition. They had trust in Mako's management so they knew that Riku would be amazing because of that.

Riku thought it was unfair since they already had auditions open, but she couldn't turn down the opportunity.

So, without even knowing what it was yet, she accepted it. She knows she should've checked which drama it was first, but she trusted Mako and didn't, but now she pays the price. She didn't know which drama she had accepted that exact day until she got back to their shared apartment and met a furious Mayuka.

Now, Mayuka hates her and she hates Mayuka too.

Riku feels like she was wronged by Mayuka, and vice versa. It would've been easy to talk it out and come to an agreement back then, but now their rivalry has simply gone too far to do that anymore. Riku would've spoken to her in some other way, but Mayuka had blocked her on everything. She even blocked her phone number.

Riku thought they were friends... friends would not turn on friends that quickly. 

She liked Mayuka a lot. Actually, she didn't just like Mayuka either, she loved Mayuka.

Only a month after they moved in together, Riku found herself falling for Mayuka. She would catch herself admiring her, or even accidentally glancing at Mayuka's lips as they talked. She wanted to kiss them so bad.

Now, just the thought of kissing Mayuka makes her feel revolted.

The night before Mayuka turned her back on her, Riku thought about confessing. 

The reason why Riku couldn't sleep that night was because she was disturbed by her feelings for Mayuka. She worried if Mayuka liked her back or not or if she should confess. She was also worried that her feelings could get in the way of the friendship they already had, possibly ruining it completely. She has heard about that happening to people way too many times.

But, when Mayuka came over to her bedroom in the middle of the night, she took it as a sign and took the opportunity to invite Mayuka to sleep with her.

Her heart had raced as Mayuka joined her in bed. She loved having an excuse to love on her. Her excuse being she wanted to help Mayuka relax so she could sleep. So, she took a shot and cuddled with her. 

Riku rested an arm on top of Mayuka and rested her head against her shoulder. The simple placement of her arm quickly turned into a half back hug. 

Riku was feeling butterflies the whole time. Feeling Mayuka's warmth against her own made her feel like everything was right in the world. She wished she could stay like that forever.

When Mayuka finally fell asleep, Riku was somehow still awake. Mostly due to the butterflies in her stomach that kept being a nuisance, as well as her racing heart. 

So, as Mayuka was sleeping, she snuck a gentle kiss on the lips. Nothing too special, just a light peck. She did not want to wake her up, after all.

She wanted so badly to confess that night as she held Mayuka in her arms. Though, since she knew it would probably keep them both up for longer, she decided that it could wait.

Now, she's glad she never confessed. She is not sure how she could handle being in a relationship with someone like Mayuka. 

But that morning when she woke up cuddled up with Mayuka, she had to hold herself back. At that moment, she wished she could wake up next to Mayuka every morning for the rest of her life.

Riku still wishes she could embrace the old Mayuka once again.

But those times are over. Mayuka was a bitch this whole time and I was an idiot to ever think she could have liked me back.

When Riku moved out, she found shelter with their mutual friend Ayaka and her roommate Rio, who had both took Riku's side in their argument. They agreed that Mayuka should have tried to hear Riku out before reacting the way she did. After a few days, she was fully moved into Ayaka's apartment, which she was grateful had a spare room that they turned into her bedroom.

Arai Ayaka is another rather famous actress in Japan. The two of them were already friends when they met Ayaka at an audition, but as soon as they started chatting, they decided to exchange phone numbers. Through that, they ended up becoming good friends with her. 

Through Ayaka, Riku and Mayuka also met Hanabashi Rio, another famous actress.

Ayaka's career is thriving, but currently Rio is caught in a widely talked about scandal that she may be deep into a serious relationship with her own manager, Katsumura Maya.

Of course, Riku knows for a fact that they are together. Rio has told her all about their relationship. However, their names are all over news articles at the moment and Riku cannot help but feel bad for them. Their relationship was exposed without their consent. She knew Rio wanted to try to keep it a secret. 

Oh, Riku can only imagine how much the media would freak out if they found out that Rio and Maya are in fact engaged, not just dating. Though they have not been good at hiding their dates, it seems like they have been doing a good job at hiding their engagement rings.

Though, Riku is glad she has friends like Ayaka and Rio, people she can truly rely on. People who she doesn't feel like she is competing against.

Riku feels a sense of dread as she makes her way to her chair. And drat, Mayuka is already there.

The scene that they have to film today is very minor, but Riku is still nervous about it.

In this scene, Minako slips a small sheet of paper with a note on it into Kazumi's hand as she passes by. Once Kazumi gets to her desk, she takes a moment to look at it. The note has Minako's phone number followed by "text me later ;)." 

It's very small, but she really does not want to have to touch Mayuka again. But, this is her job, and she has to do it.

Plus, the next scene she is in is way worse.

It will be Kazumi and Minako's first "date," if you would call it that. Though, it is just two people with crushes on each other hanging out.

Gosh, she is not looking forward to the content of that scene.

Now that the two women are styled, it is time to film the scene.

Oddly enough, they did not have Riku write the note herself. Instead, someone else wrote it and just handed it to her for the scene. Riku found it odd, but did not question it.

When the scene began, Riku, as Minako, walked past Mayuka, as Kazumi. As she passed, she stealthily slipped the piece of paper into Kazumi's hand. 

Riku couldn't help but feel a bit revolted as her hand touches Mayuka's. It was a touch she wished she would never have to feel again, but here she is, doing it for a role.

When the two of them were friends, Riku loved to hold Mayuka's hand. Sometimes they would even just do it randomly as they walked together. She knew Mayuka just saw it as platonic, but Riku definitely saw it as something more.

When the scene was over, Riku couldn't help but feel relieved. It wasn't so bad after all. All she had to do was touch Mayuka's hand for a second... and she did it well on the first try. 

She and Mayuka looked over at each other for a moment, but did not say a word to each other. They are both still a bit traumatized from their accidental kiss... and a bit embarrassed too. 

Since that was the only scene Riku had to film today, she leaves while Mayuka stays to shoot some more scenes. 

Today wasn't so bad after all. Now she just has to mentally prepare for the next scene between Minako and Kazumi.

Chapter Text

Today is the day.

The day Mayuka will have to film the first "date" scene with Riku.

This time, instead of filming in the office set, they are filming in a park at night. It is nice to have a change in scenery, as the office set has caused Mayuka enough trauma already.

The bad part of this is that this drama is supposed to be set in the summer. Meanwhile, it is the middle of December.

So, Mayuka will have to suffer as she wears summer clothing in winter weather.

She is already cold, despite wearing a coat, as she walks towards the area they are shooting at. It is a small section of the park, just enough for the two women to walk around and chat before sitting down together beneath the stars.

For the this first scene, Kazumi and Minako walk together along the sidewalk beside a river, chatting a bit with a bit of flirting mixed in. The scene is romantic, with nice lighting and the stars bright in the clear sky. They could not have picked a better night to film this scene. It is a beautiful night, minus the cold.

When she arrives and changes into her 'Kazumi' outfit for this scene, she notices that Riku had brought a blanket, which she had wrapped around herself while they weren't shooting. Damn, if only she thought of that! She hasn't had to film many scenes in the cold before, let alone in lighter clothing.

Plus, she had been too busy keeping up with the recent news that broke that the current most famous actress in Japan, Hanabashi Rio, had been caught in a lesbian relationship with her own manager. The news is all over the place, she can't avoid it. It has sucked her in so much that she was too distracted to remember to bring a blanket.

Her manager Nina did not have one either, so Mayuka figures that she was in the same boat as well. It seems like almost everyone is talking about what happened.

Mayuka was very interested learning about it all. It had just been revealed yesterday a few hours before the last scene she had to film with Riku.

Mayuka is a bit disturbed by it all. How did they get cameras to take pictures through their own apartment? She realizes that Rio must have had stalkers which makes her worry that there's crazy stalkers following her every move too.

She doesn't know Rio personally, but she has had to film a movie with her once. Rio was the female lead, of course, and Mayuka played a supporting character. At that time, Rio was living with Ayaka and Riku. Now, as the articles and social media posts detailed, Rio is now living with her manager who she is in a serious relationship with.

But since Mayuka associated Rio with Riku, she didn't talk to her a lot. They were friendly with each other when they did talk, but she never tried to befriend her, simply due to the chance of being invited to their apartment and running into Riku.

Also, because of this, Mayuka is so grateful she and Nina decided that they only like each other as friends. She cannot help but pity what Rio and her manager are going through right now.

So, since Mayuka was distracted by actress drama, she completely forgot to prepare for the colder weather. 

As soon as Mayuka sits down in her chair, Riku speaks up.

"Are you ready for this? You know I don't give in too easily," Riku asks as the stylist fixes her hair.

That last part... why did she have to say that? Mayuka thinks of herself. If this is a challenge, bring it on.

"I'm more than ready," Mayuka responds as the stylist begins to work on her hair.

"Really now?" Riku responds, in a bit of disbelief. "I thought you hated my guts as much as I hate yours."

"I do!" Mayuka responds rather grumpily. "I'm just ready to be better than you."

"Ha! Like that would ever happen," Riku strikes back, smirking a bit.

Mayuka decides not to continue bickering with the other woman, rolling her eyes.

So, the two stay in silence until they're ready to shoot.

As soon as Mayuka takes her coat off, she starts to shiver a little. But she needs to try to shiver as little as possible, so she tries to control herself.

Thus, the shoot begins.

Riku and Mayuka walk side by side along the sidewalk as their respective characters. Minako then reaches her hand out and grabs onto Kazumi's. 

Something stirred within Mayuka when she did that. She didn't know what it was.

Though, she felt disgusted by the touch. She hates having to hold hands with someone she hates.

"So, how about you tell me more about yourself?" Minako suggested as they walked along, the starlit sky looming above them.

"So, I grew up in a small village on the other side of Japan," Kazumi started to give Minako some of her backstory. "It was very small, but close-knit. Everyone knew each other. Every day was pretty much the same. I hated it. I hated the countryside more than anything," she admits.

Riku squeezes her hand a little, which was unscripted. Fuck, why did she do that?

"So then you moved to the city?" Minako asks, looking at her in the eyes, which makes a stir within Mayuka again. She starts to grow nervous.

"Yeah, prescisely," Kazumi responds. She almost completely forgot her line.

Oh gosh, Riku looks so good in that outfit. No, Mayuka, stay focused! She thinks to herself as she momentarily looks at Riku up and down, trying her best to pay attention to the scene.

"What do you like about living in the city?" Minako questions. Riku picks up on cues that Mayuka is breaking a little and squeezes Mayuka's hand gently again. "I've lived here my whole life so I don't know anything different."

"I like how it's never boring. There's always something happening," Mayuka answers as Kazumi. "Also people aren't all up in your business and are usually just minding their own," she adds onto it, smiling at Minako a little. "Also, you're there."

Minako smiles back bashfully.

"Honestly, I don't like the city a lot," Minako admits honestly. "But I stay here because my father wants me to. He's been antsy ever since my mother passed away. He's so overprotective of me. I'm his only child too, so he doesn't really like that I like women," she chuckles anxiously. "He wants to 'continue his bloodline' or whatever," Minako rolls her eyes. "I want to escape from him and be able to live the life I want to," she claims as they walk together.

"So, you want to escape your life as well," Kazumi points out, breaking eye contact for a moment to think. "I thought the CEO is a nice guy. It seems like he's overly protective of you..."

"He is. It's a pain in the ass," Minako chuckles. "The last time I had a girlfriend, she also worked at the company... he fired her as soon as he found out we were dating and told me to never talk to her again. I was heartbroken. And then he proceed to try to set me up with Sunghyun. You've met him, right?"

Sunghyun is the character Jeongin plays, who happens to be Kazumi's other love interest.

"Yeah. He's a nice guy," Kazumi responds, looking back at Minako as they continue to hold hands. The two women then sit down on a park bench together, looking up at the stars in the clear sky. Kazumi cannot let Minako know that she has been seeing him too.

"I know, which is why my father wanted me to date him," Minako continues to speak with a heavy sigh. "He just needs to learn to accept that I'm a lesbian. He can't change who I am."

"Well, screw him then," Kazumi huffs. "He needs to learn to accept you for who you are. He would if he truly loves you like he claims to."

Mayuka feels anxious as soon as she remembers what she has to do now. As they continue to hold hands, Mayuka rests her head on Riku's shoulder. 

Riku, as Minako, is teary-eyed as she turns her head to look at Kazumi.

"Thank you... I really needed to hear that," Minako responds, her voice soft. 

As the script says, the two of them then hug. 

Mayuka's disgust is taken over by a sense of relief as she takes in Riku's body warmth, resting her chin on Riku's shoulder. She doesn't care that it is Riku, she just feels like she is about to freeze! Mayuka tells herself that the reason she liked the hug was because it was warm, not because she's warming up to Riku.

The two of them hug for longer than what was in the script, but the director doesn't seem to mind as it just adds more to the emotional effect. 

"Thank you for telling me something so personal... you seriously didn't need to."

"No, I wanted to. You're very kind and seem like someone I could trust. Doesn't help that you're pretty too," Minako smiles warmly as the two of them let go of their hug.

Then, to Mayuka's relief, the scene was over. The two women quickly move away from each other, getting up from the bench. 

Though, as Mayuka heads over to change and grab her belongings so she could leave, Riku follows her.

"Hey," Riku calls out to Mayuka.

Mayuka stops in her tracks, whipping over to look at her, shivering like crazy.

"You liked that hug, didn't you?" Riku starts to tease Mayuka as she wraps her blanket back around herself. "You didn't want to let go!" 

"I did not," Mayuka defends herself, glaring over at Riku. "It was just warm, that's all!"

"Jeez, why are you so defensive? I was just asking," Riku responds with a small smile. A smile that Mayuka just wants to rip off her face.

"Because you're making stuff up about me," Mayuka grumbles, crossing her arms tightly to try to warm herself more, despite having her coat on.

"Oh, you're being such a tsundere," Riku continues to tease lightly. She then opens her arms out wide, opening the blanket with her.

"If you liked the warmth so bad, I'm offering you another. You're shivering so much!" Riku then offers, which only makes Mayuka angry.

"Fuck off, I don't want a hug from you," Mayuka grumbles, turning back around to avoid the temptation. "I'm going home and taking a warm shower."

"Alrighty then, if you say so," Riku shrugs and goes back to holding the blanket around herself.

Mayuka feels furious as she leaves the park. How dare she tease her like that?! 

But, Riku was right. Mayuka really did like that hug.

Chapter Text

After the break, the cast returned to the park to continue the scene.

Riku isn't sure why, but she is disappointed that Mayuka denied her hug offer. She was teasing her a bit, but she was actually trying to be kind to her for once, seeing how cold she was.

But it turns out Mayuka's heart is as cold as her body was in that moment. Or so she's trying to make it seem that way.

Though, Riku is more than ready to ask again. Kind of just to mess with her a bit. She is liking the reactions she is getting out of her already.

It is now 2 am at night, so Riku is feeling a bit sleepy. Though, she keeps in mind that the sooner that she finishes, the sooner she can go home and sleep. Plus, tomorrow is an off day for Riku so she can sleep in if she needs to.

But since it is later, it has gotten even colder out. Riku wonders if it would be enough for Mayuka to give in to her.

Riku keeps thinking back to that hug. Though it was scripted, it felt somewhat real to her. She wishes she could go back in time and do more to explain herself back then when it all went down. Then maybe Mayuka wouldn't have turned on her so easily. She remembers her old feelings for Mayuka and wishes that things never changed. 

Though she didn't regret it before, she's now regretting not confessing to Mayuka that night. Maybe if she did, what happened wouldn't have turned out the way it did. And maybe they'd be in a serious relationship right now.

Speaking of serious relationships, during the 3 hour break she had between scenes, Riku was spending a lot of her time texting Rio. She has been worried about her ever since the news broke and has been talking to her to make sure she's okay and what she could do about what's happening to her.

She has met Rio's fianceé Maya a lot of times and she definitely approves of their relationship. Riku thinks that are quite sweet together and is happy that they are about to take the next step in their relationship. She knows that Maya will continue to treat Rio well. Riku is even going to be a bridesmaid for Rio, which she is excited for. Though, she is really worried about what is going to come out of this scandal.

Riku lets out a yawn as she returns to the set. She changes before sitting down in her chair, blanket wrapped around herself for warmth. As she is getting styled, Mayuka returns and sits in her chair next to hers.

"Did you take your warm shower?" Riku questions Mayuka, looking over af her.

"Yes I did," Mayuka answers as the stylists begin to work on her. 

"Good. It's a shame you didn't want to hug me. I was ready to keep you warm, you know," Riku teases with a small smirk. "It looked like you needed it."

"I can keep myself warm, thank you," Mayuka dismisses her, pointing out the blanket that she now has. She was smart enough to grab herself her own when she made her short trip back to her apartment.

"Good. No hugs for you then," Riku shrugs all while teasing her lightly.

Riku loves teasing Mayuka like this. She has noticed how she quickly becomes defensive and flustered, which brings her great satisfaction. 

Though, Riku catches herself wanting to break the hard shell that surrounds Mayuka. She thinks she might want to see if she would come around to liking her again.

No. She kicked you out and blocked you on everything! She doesn't want a thing to do with you. And you shouldn't let yourself go through that again. If you become friends with her, she probably wouldn't hesitate to cut you off a second time. Riku reminds herself, halting those intrusive thoughts she's having.

Now, it is time to continue filming.

The two women go back to where they were: sitting on one of the park benches. They then continue off where they left off.

"Did you date anyone before that woman?" Kazumi asks Minako. Minako responds with a nod.

"Before I knew I liked women, I dated a really nice guy," Minako answers with a small sigh. "But we broke it off once I realized I did not have feelings for him like I should. I tried to force myself to like men... but I just couldn't," she explains, holding her hands in her lap. "Anyway, enough about my love life. How about I hear about yours a bit?"

"Well... actually, I've been single my whole life," Kazumi admits. "I didn't like anyone my age in my village. They just weren't my type, so I was hoping I'd find someone in the city once I moved," she explains, breaking eye contact momentarily.

"Oh, I'm surprised a woman as beautiful as you has been single her whole life," Minako takes the opportunity to flirt a little, which actually makes Mayuka blush a little. "Are you looking to change that anytime soon?" Minako then asks, directly flirting with Kazumi.

Kazumi looks stunned, but then shrugs.

"I don't know," she responds. "If I find the right person then yes."

"Well, I hope you find them very soon," Minako smiles.

"I just have to figure out who it is," Kazumi smiles back, referring to Minako and Sunghyun, which Minako doesn't catch on to.

The two women are silent for a few seconds, which is on script, until Riku, as Minako, speaks up.

"You know, even though we just met not too long ago, I can feel myself getting closer to you very quickly," she admits, smiling warmly. 

In that moment, Riku can feel her heart start to beat faster. Her gaze shifts down from Mayuka's eyes down to her lips. Her intrusive thoughts take control of her. She wants just a taste of those lips. She starts feeling... are those the butterflies she used to feel all those years ago? Oh, Riku is in an internal crisis.

Though, she quickly cuts out of it and goes back to acting as soon as Mayuka, as Kazumi, responds.

"Yeah, me too," Kazumi smiles wider. "I was worried I would be lonely in the city, so I'm glad I have you. You're a great friend."

Yep, Minako just got friendzoned.

Minako just smiles through the pain.

"Aw, thank you. I'll be here for you no matter what," she responds.

And then the scene is over. 

Riku feels a sense of relief, but watches as a shivering Mayuka gets up off the bench and starts to walk off. She smirks before getting up as well, following Mayuka once again.

Mayuka seems pissed once she notices, pausing in place and turning around to look at her, crossing her arms around herself to try to stay warm until she can get to her coat and blanket.

"What is it now?!" Mayuka asks grumpily, glaring over at Riku.

"I don't have my blanket right now, but I am offering you a hug again," Riku responds rather calmly, opening her arms once again.

Mayuka rolls her eyes.

"I told you already, I can keep myself warm!" Mayuka snaps. "Now leave me alone!"

But... Riku isn't going to give in that easily.

"Come on, we both know that's a lie. You look like you're about to freeze," Riku rolls her eyes as well, not having it. "I know you want it, miss tsundere," she teases, winking at her.

Riku is once again being entertained by teasing Mayuka. The way she is making Mayuka seem so irritated so easily is bringing her so much satisfaction. Like she's winning at their little game.

"Will hugging you get you to leave me alone?" Mayuka sighs heavily, looking so done with Riku.

"No comment," Riku continues to tease. Mayuka rolls her eyes again.

Riku feels all warm and fuzzy inside as Mayuka steps closer to her.

Then, they embrace in a hug. Mayuka must have took that as a yes.

Riku enjoys feeling Mayuka's body warmth, which makes the cold a bit more bearable. She knows Mayuka must feel the same relief too.

Riku feels like her heart is about to burst out of her chest. She starts getting a nauseated feeling, which makes her wonder if she is disgusted by the touch of someone she hates or if those same butterflies from years ago truly made their return. 

To mess with Mayuka, Riku continues to hold onto her after she lets go, which makes Mayuka frustrated.

"You better let me go or I'll speak to your manager," Mayuka threatens, which makes Riku let go of her. Riku knows that Mako would be unhappy if she learned that she has been messing with her co-star instead of focusing on her job.

Mako sometimes feels like a mother to Riku, despite being only a bit older than her. She does a lot to keep Riku focused on her job as a famous actress, knowing that she can get distracted or unserious sometimes. She has a caring side too, always checking up on Riku when she is upset or feeling ill. 

Riku remembers that one time last winter when she caught the flu. Since Ayaka was always busy, she was almost never home to look after her. So, Mako showed up to her apartment with medicine and other necessities, all while scolding her for not drinking enough fluids.

She's very grateful to have a manager like her, but there's moments where she wishes Mako were more lenient, such as right now.

"Okay, okay, fine!" Riku laughs as she lets go of Mayuka. She takes a look at Mayuka and realizes that she is giving her a cold, death stare.

"Now you better leave me alone. No more hugs," Mayuka speaks seriously and furiously. Though, Riku only sees Mayuka as an angry kitten. She cannot take her seriously at the moment.

"Okay, see you next time," Riku winks once again. Mayuka lets out a groan as she turns and hurries off.

Riku feels a sense of satisfaction as she watches Mayuka flee. She got what she wanted from Mayuka and proceeded to irritate her in the process. 

She wins this time.

Chapter Text

It is now the next day of filming.

And Mayuka couldn't feel more frustrated.

All because of Riku. What part of her "leave me alone" signals and body language does she not get?

Thankfully, the day after the last, very cold, night of filming, Mayuka got the day to relax since it was an off day. But now it is back to the grind.

Mayuka walks back onto the office set, not wanting to have to deal with Riku at all today, but she knows she's going to have to. 

She knows she's letting Riku win by letting all of this bother her, but she just can't help it.

When she was stopped by Riku the last time, she felt like prey that was trapped by a predator. She could not escape Riku's rather annoying behavior unless she gave her what she wanted. 

It's not like she wanted to hug Riku at all. She just wanted to give her what she wanted so badly so she would leave her be. She knows if she kept saying no, it would just keep going and Riku would keep pestering her.

As she walks out of one of the dressing rooms... there she is. The menace herself. 

Riku is getting styled, as they have to do every time before they film a scene. 

As soon as Mayuka sat down in her chair, the tension in the air was undeniable. 

And of course, Riku decided to open her mouth.

"Aww, did you miss my hugs yesterday?" Riku immediately starts teasing.

"Definitely not," Mayuka huffs as the stylists begin working on her hair. "Did you miss getting on every last one of my nerves?"

"Yes I did, thanks for asking," Riku responds, sticking her tongue out at Mayuka teasingly, who ignored her response. "Damn, always so grumpy," Riku mutters. "But lucky for you, I like it when you're grumpy."

Mayuka can't help but blush, not even looking at Riku. Finally, she takes a moment to look at her and it is like her lungs were ripped out of her chest. She could hardly breathe.

While Minako, Riku's character, usually wears suits to work... it seems she had decided to step things up a notch to try to impress Kazumi. 

Mayuka had completely forgot it was time for that in the novel. She didn't think it happened until later. 

The outfit is still modest, of course, this is a work setting... but it is very different from what Minako usually wears. 

Mayuka can't help but think that Riku looks great in it. 

"Should I stop being grumpy? Since you like it?" Mayuka questions in response to Riku. "Want me to be so happy that I get multiple kiss scenes with YOU in this fucking TV drama?!"

"I think I would like that too," Riku continues to tease, giving Mayuka a wink. "I want you to be as excited as I am for us to kiss."

What has possessed this woman?! Mayuka thinks Riku has gone insane. She was being so rude right back at her before... but now she's like this?!

It seems like Riku has found out what irritates Mayuka more.

"Fuck off," Mayuka just mumbles, deciding to just ignore Riku from here on out.

Now it is time for them to shoot the next scene.

This scene is rather important to the story.

Minako's feelings for Kazumi got caught by her father, so he has told her to stay away from her or else she will fire Kazumi.

Of course, not wanting Kazumi to get fired because of her, Minako obeys. She then goes to break the news to Kazumi, distracting her from her work for a moment.

They both have to film this scene, which is supposed to have some strong emotions to it.

I think Kazumi and Minako should be separated for good. For my sanity's sake. Mayuka thinks as soon as the shoot begins.

Kazumi is doing some work on her computer as Minako approaches her. She looks beautiful, but very sad. 

"Kazumi-chan," Minako spoke up, which gets Kazumi's attention. She looks away from her computer and turns to look at Minako.

"Yeah, what is it?" Kazumi asks, realizing the possible severity of the situation with the look on Minako's face.

"My father told me he doesn't want me to spend time with you anymore," Minako announces, tears forming in her eyes. 

Riku has improved so much. Sometimes even I cannot cry on the spot. Mayuka cannot help but think.

"He caught us," she continues to speak, a singular tear running down her cheek. "He told me if I don't obey him, he'll fire you."

Riku conveys the emotions very well, so Mayuka feels the need to one-up her.

"W-What?!" Kazumi's eyes widen, getting up out of her chair. "What are we going to do...?"

"I'm going to listen to him," Minako confesses with a heavy sigh. "We need to stop talking to each other."

Instead of sadness or grief, Kazumi was filled with rage. How dare she back down so easily?!

"Minako, I thought you were smarter than this!" Kazumi snaps, which gets the attention of the employees in the cubicles around them. They watch the scene with interest. "Why are you listening to him?!"

"Because I don't want you to lose your job!" Minako's voice breaks.

"Screw my job!" Mayuka recites the line with sincerity, as it is something she actually felt not too long ago. "I want to be able to spend time with you, Minako-chan! That's all I want!"

"You sacrificed so much for this job. I'm not going to be the reason you become unemployed in the big city," Minako responds firmly. "You love being here!"

"I love being here because you're here! And Sunghyun is here!" 

"I guess you're going to have to spend all of your free time with Sunghyun now," Minako responds, her voice tinged with jealousy that seemed genuine. 

Mayuka can't help but think that Riku being like this is attractive. Sexy even. She wants her to act it all out again.

Not that she finds her attractive normally or anything.

A tearful Minako then leaves the scene, leaving a very distraught Kazumi. 

Kazumi, in confusion, stupidly decides to confront the CEO herself about this. She is unaware that this would get Minako in more trouble. She just has to hear it from the old man himself.

So, the cameras follow Mayuka as she heads off to where the CEO's office is. She knocks on the closed door.

"Who is it?" The CEO's voice asks from the other side.

"It's me, Kazumi. Osato Kazumi," Kazumi responds, hoping she would let him talk to her. "I would like to talk to you for a moment if it is a good time."

"Sure, come on in," the CEO gives her the go, so she steps inside the office, closing the door behind her for some privacy.

"Minako told me that you don't want her to talk to me anymore... why?" Kazumi asks him, her brows furrowing.

"Because I don't want her to. It's that simple," the CEO responds rather coldly. "Are you questioning my authority over my own daughter, miss Osato?"

"No, of course not," Kazumi quickly shakes her head in a panic. "I was just curious. I was wondering if you didn't like me or something."

"It's not that I don't like you, Osato," he admits, taking off his reading glasses for a moment. "I just need you to stay away from my daughter. Consider this a direct warning. If I catch you speaking to her, you will be fired."

"But, sir, that's so unfair!" Kazumi protests. Oh, what a mistake that was.

"I'm the CEO of this company. I make the rules," the old man snaps, glaring at Kazumi. "If you talk back to me again, I will fire you too."

Kazumi just sighs in defeat.

"Yes sir..."

"Good. Now get back to work now will you? You're wasting my time," he grumbles, waving her off with his hand. Kazumi nods and obediently leaves the office, understanding just why Minako was easy to give in to him. He's scary.

With that, Kazumi realizes that she does in fact have feelings for not just Sunghyun, but Minako too. She is in a bit of a crisis. A bisexual crisis if you will.

Filming is now over for the day. 

Mayuka feels satisfied with her performance. She did not mess up or stumble even once. She smiles a little as she starts to get ready to leave. Until that smile fades once she spots Riku.

Please don't talk to me. Please don't talk to me. Mayuka repeats in her head, hoping that Riku would leave her alone for the day. She's done enough already.

Mayuka is grateful she got to leave before Riku got the chance to say anything. 

Now she really isn't looking forward to what they have to shoot together next.

Chapter Text

Mayuka feels herself shiver as she steps out into the cold nighttime air.

Once again, she is going to have to deal with filming outside in the cold.

This upcoming scene is very important and emotional, but Mayuka is definitely not looking forward to it. Every time she has to film a scene with Riku, she feels a sense of dread. Today she is dealing with the worst so far.

As for the TV drama, in what they are filming today, it has been a week since Kazumi has even seen Minako. Even though she was threatened to not talk to Minako, she makes the bold decision to text her anyways and hope her father does not see it. It is very brave of her. Mayuka kind of wishes Kazumi just let it go and took it as a sign to just be with Sunghyun instead. But nope, she would much rather take risks because she doesn't want to lose Minako. 

Mayuka thinks that Kazumi can be quite an idiot sometimes, but at the same time she admires how bold she is. 

Minako ended up responding to Kazumi's text and they planned to meet up in secret. Minako said that she will sneak out of her house, which she shares with her father, and meet up with Kazumi in the park that is near her house.

Once Mayuka arrives on set, it is just her for now, as Riku is not supposed to show up until later, as she has to get a scene of Minako sneaking her way out of the house first.

So, she gets styled in peace (if we forget about the cold) and the shooting starts with Kazumi waiting for Minako to show up.

Kazumi waits around nervously for a few seconds on screen before suddenly, Minako shows up. They smile wide, excited to greet each other. Minako runs over and they have a tight embrace.

Mayuka's heart starts to race. She trembles a bit. Her stomach is in knots. 

What is this feeling? Is she enjoying this or hating this? She's not quite sure anymore.

But now all she is thinking about is the warmth of Riku's body against hers. 

She'll never admit it, but she's actually enjoying this hug. Just like their previous hugs.

It is just because it's cold out and the hug is warm, right? Right?

Mayuka does not know anymore.

She doesn't know what she is feeling at the moment, but all she knows that it is like nothing she has felt before.

It's safe to say that even though Mayuka felt so betrayed by Riku in the past, she is starting to warm up to her a bit.

Her teasing can be quite annoying. But sometimes Mayuka kind of likes it. She will never admit it.

They let go of their embrace a bit and look at each other in the eyes.

Mayuka feels like her world just froze. She didn't get a good look at Riku until now, but damn she looks amazing!

Mayuka continues to feel butterflies as they keep their hands on each other's waists, maintaining eye contact. She nearly forgets to say her line!

"I missed you so so much..." Mayuka speaks as Kazumi. Though, this made her feel like she was saying this to the old Riku. The Riku she thought she knew way back then.

It often seems like she has returned.

Mayuka has realized that Riku hasn't really changed since then. She's still the same Oe Riku that was her beloved roommate two years ago.

This helps her realize that maybe Riku isn't a bad person after all. Mayuka didn't even give Riku a chance to explain her side of what happened. This makes her feel a lot of guilt. Maybe she should've given Riku a chance to explain herself.

'Maybe I'm the bitch' is what Mayuka thinks.

"I missed you too... thank you for texting me," Riku, as Minako, responds rather softly, as if she's thinking the same thing.

Mayuka feels like she can't breathe as they maintain eye contact. Their faces are only millimeters apart. They are so close that Mayuka could feel Riku's warm breath against her face. 

For a moment, time froze. Mayuka really took a moment to appreciate this. 

Now, here comes the part that Mayuka has been absolutely dreading.

The both of them lean in, their bodies up against each other, as their lips meet in a passionate kiss.

Their lips seem to fit like lock and key. Though, Mayuka feels like she is about to have a panic attack. What is happening right now doesn't feel real. 

She won't ever, ever admit it... but she kind of likes it. Just like she felt with the hug.

Their lips finally separate and Mayuka feels like Riku simply took her breath away with the kiss. She takes a moment to catch her breath and then smiles just like the script told her to do.

When the two of them finally break away from each other, Mayuka feels a sense of relief. She is not sure how much longer she could've held that.

Though, one thing she notices is that... Riku is blushing a little bit. She isn't sure if the other girl is just a really good actress or what. She hopes she's just a really good actress. She hates Riku. Doesn't she? Mayuka isn't so sure anymore. How could she find someone she hates to be so... attractive? Why does her unconscious seem to want Riku?

The two characters then have to walk around the park a little, chatting a bit as they hold hands.

Riku reaches out her hand first, inviting Mayuka to join in. Mayuka hesitates in her mind, but then she remembers she has to do it for the script. So, she joins hands with Riku, intertwining their fingers.

Mayuka honestly feels like she hates the hand holding more than the hugging and maybe even the kiss too. Just because it lasts longer.

She feels sick to her stomach as they walk along the sidewalk. Or is what she is feeling actually butterflies? Everything is seeming to finally come to reality for Mayuka. She just kissed Riku. She is brushing her teeth as soon as she gets back to her apartment. Though... she thinks it was kind of nice. No! It was not! Mayuka quickly erased those thoughts from her mind.

Mayuka feels a sense of relief once filming is over, not daring to even look at Riku before beginning to leave. She wraps her arms around herself to keep herself warm as she starts to get her things together.

Though... suddenly, a voice calls her name. But it isn't Riku.

It is their director.

Mayuka turns her head and spots the director standing with, of course, Riku. She takes a moment to put her coat back on and wrap a blanket around herself before walking over towards the two of them.

"Hello, you two," the director smiles, which makes Mayuka feel relieved as she realizes she is not in trouble.

"I wanted to talk to you both about your acting performance," he begins to speak. Mayuka nods as she listens on to him. "You are both amazing actresses. The passion and feelings between the two of you seem so real and genuine. I'm very impressed by you both."

"Thank you," the two women say in unison, nodding at him. Though, Mayuka can feel herself burn up. She has to be blushing like crazy right now.

Mayuka glances over at Riku and notices that the other woman is also very red in the face. She must feel similarly.

"You two have amazing chemistry," the director smiles wider. "I will be looking forward to filming future scenes with you both. Great job today, you both are free to leave."

"Thank you," they both say once again. Once he leaves, the two actresses look at each other rather awkwardly.

Without saying a word, they both go their separate ways. After Mayuka changes and finishes gathering her things, she speaks with her manager Nina before they leave together.

"I overheard what the director said to you," Nina speaks up as they walk side by side. "He's right. You two do have great chemistry. I have no idea why you were so worried about having to act with her. You seem to be doing amazing!"

Mayuka blushes a bit, but nods.

"Yeah. It's difficult but because of what you told me, I keep going," Mayuka responds.

"You know, I was talking with her manager," Nina speaks up. "She told me she used to think that Riku-san had a crush on you in the past."

"...What?" Mayuka is stunned, blushing a hit more. "No way... it's impossible. Why would she betray me like that then?"

"No clue. I'm not sure if there's any truth behind it but it is what Mako-senpai thought," Nina shrugs, talking about her management senior.

Mayuka thought this was interesting. But it cannot be true, right?

"I don't think it's true. Though it is interesting that she thought that," Mayuka admits. 

Mayuka cannot help but think back to the night before everything went down. When she went over to Riku's bed to sleep with her.

Riku was so affectionate then.

Did she actually like her? If so, why did she proceed to betray her?

Mayuka cannot help but feel confused by this.

But she decides that she shouldn't stress too much about it and go about things like normal.

It's probably not the truth.

Chapter Text

Throughout these past few days, Mayuka has had some time to reflect on her feelings regarding Riku.

Mayuka has started to realize that although her mind hates Riku, her body has seemed to have a completely different agenda.

What she thought were feelings of disgust, were actually butterflies. What she thought was repulsion was actually attraction.

Although her conscious hates Riku, her unconscious seems to want her.

Mayuka has been catching herself having intrusive thoughts regarding Riku that she doesn't ask for at all. A few nights ago as she was sleeping alone, she caught herself wishing that Riku was there to cuddle with her. When she had a passionate kiss scene with Jeongin, she caught herself wishing he was Riku.

Her body seems to crave Riku, which she absolutely hates.

She just wishes that these thoughts and feelings would just go away. Life would be much easier that way.

But as soon as Mayuka steps onto the same park set as the last one, she spots Riku. And her heart feels like its doing backflips in her chest. Her stomach is in complete knots. She cannot quite describe this feeling.

She starts to step closer, but then she pauses once she realizes...

Oh.

Oh.

She is totally in love with the Oe Riku she swore to hate.

As she comes to this rather horrible realization, she is not sure if she can even approach the other woman.

It all makes sense now!

Mayuka felt similiar feelings for Riku prior to the incident, but she never knew what they were.

It's not like she wanted to sleep with Riku that night, her body just took her there.

It is just that Mayuka had never experienced feelings of true romantic attraction until then, so she did not recognize it at all. Though, she knew well enough that when she tried dating Nina that what they had was solely platonic.

Finally, she musters up the courage to walk over and sit down in her chair which is, once again, next to Riku's.

Riku is first to speak.

"So... apparently we have really good chemistry, huh?" Riku smiles over at Mayuka.

That smile. That damn smile. Mayuka cannot handle it.

"I guess so," Mayuka chuckles, but moreso to try to calm herself. 

"Do you want to put that chemistry to the test?" Riku asks with a sly, rather flirtatious wink. She smirks, signaling that she is about to start messing with Mayuka. "Y'know, Aya-chan will be gone tonight so if you wanna come over to my place, it would just be you and me."

Mayuka is absolutely flustered by this 'invitation.' How dare she?!

"W-What the hell...?" is all Mayuka can say.

"You know you want to," Riku continues to tease. Mayuka feels ready to get up and leave immediately. Why does she enjoy teasing her like this?!

"No I do not!" Mayuka snaps, feeling her face grow warm as she starts to turn red. "Now shut your... uh, beautiful mouth!" 

"Beautiful?" Riku responds, smiling. "Thank you. I had no idea you thought that of me. You're blushing like crazy, you know that?"

"Leave me alone," Mayuka grumbles.

"I know that's not what you really want, miss tsundere," Riku responds teasingly. "You want me. Just accept it."

"I said leave me alone!" Mayuka raises her voice a bit, which does in fact get Riku to leave her alone.

For the next scene, their two characters meet in secret once again, with Minako sneaking out at night. They go to the same park as before.

As the two walk side-by-side, Kazumi starts to feel cold since this night is a bit chilly. 

Riku, as Minako, then takes her own jacket off and puts it on Mayuka, as Kazumi, to keep her warm.

Mayuka feels something because of this gesture. Not as Kazumi, but as Mayuka. It doesn't help that it is pretty cold out tonight too. Mayuka feels like her heart is going to burst out of her chest. She doesn't know why, but she found that to be very attractive.

Then, the two have to hold hands for the script. 

Riku, as Minako, reached her open hand out, inviting Mayuka, as Kazumi, to hold it.

Kazumi does so rather calmly, but Mayuka is losing her mind. Holding hands now feels very different than it did before now that she knows that she has feelings for Riku. 

Mayuka feels herself panic. She becomes flustered as she blushes, quickly removing her hand from Riku's.

"Cut!" The director calls out and Mayuka lets out a sigh.

"Mayuka–" Riku begins, but Mayuka cuts her off.

"I know, I'm sorry. Let's try again," she looks over at the director assuringly.

"Action!"

Mayuka holds hands with Riku once again, but the feelings overwhelm her once again. She becomes flustered and nervous, removing her hand again before she could even register what is happening.

"Cut!"

"Mayuka!" Riku huffs, seeming a bit frustrated. "Why can't you do this? We've acted them holding hands before, how is this any different?" She asks, confused and stressed out.

"I-I don't know I..." Mayuka begins, letting out a sigh as she decides on an excuse. "I don't feel well. I might have a fever," she lies, though she makes it seem believeable.

Riku doesn't seem to believe her, but the director sure does.

"Mayuka-san, do we need to delay tonight's filming to a different night?" The director asks. "I don't want you working if you feel sick."

"Yeah... that would be nice," Mayuka nods at the director. 

Riku glances at Mayuka, seeming a bit concerned. Mayuka has never backed down easily, so now she's hesitant to believe that she's lying about this.

"Okay then, we'll finish up early. We'll get back to this once Mayuka-san feels better," the director then announces which makes everyone start to wrap up.

Riku keeps her gaze on Mayuka.

"Mayuka-chan... are you alright?" She asks.

Mayuka-chan... this is the first time she's used -chan with me since....

Hey, at least she didn't dare to call me Mayu-chan.

"I'm not sure," Mayuka lies, keeping a hand on her forehead.

"Take care of yourself, okay?" Riku speaks.

Riku's words really moved Mayuka. Is it true that after everything they have been through that Riku still cares about her? 

She's reminded of the times Riku would do her best to care for Mayuka whenever she was sick when they were roommates.

One time when Mayuka had a bad cough, Riku brought her cough medicine. When Mayuka had a fever, she would bring her medicine to bring her fever down. Whenever Mayuka would have a headache or a stomachache, she'd bring her medicine for that too.

Mayuka made sure to do the same whenever Riku was under the weather too.

Is this still the same Riku she once knew?

"You don't need to worry about me," Mayuka responds before Riku decides to leave. As Riku walks past her, she brushes her hand against her shoulder. Mayuka feels a bit flustered by the sudden touch.

Mayuka then decides she should hurry up and gather her belongings. She changes back into her own clothing before packing her things and starting to leave the park area. Her mind is in a complete daze.

"Hey, Mayuka-chan!"

She hears a familiar voice call for her.

It isn't Riku.

It isn't the director.

She turns her head to spot Jeongin.

Jeongin plays the role of Kazumi's other love interest, Sunghyun, a kind-hearted man who had moved to Japan from South Korea for the job.

Throughout the filming of the show, Mayuka and Jeongin have grown to become good friends. They get along nicely and Mayuka thinks that Jeongin is a really sweet guy. Sometimes he wants to show up to watch the filming of the scenes he is not in just to watch Mayuka. Tonight was one of those nights.

"Mayuka-chan..." he begins as soon as he catches her attention and walks up towards her as she stops walking. "I was watching you. I know you're not actually feeling sick... what's bothering you?"

"It's nothing, Jeongin," she lies. "I just don't feel well."

"I know you're lying, Mayuka-chan. I could tell just by watching you," Jeongin calls her out. "Now what's really bothing you? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I'm just worried about you."

Mayuka is grateful for Jeongin's considerate nature. He seems to always been looking after her.

He feels almost like an older brother figure to her.

Nothing else.

Even if Mayuka liked men in that way, she would be able to tell that she didn't have feelings for Jeongin if she compares how she feels kissing Jeongin versus kissing Riku. Very stark difference. 

He also knows that she likes women and is very supportive of her.

"You're right, but I don't think I want to tell you," Mayuka admits, letting out of a heavy sigh as she shivers slightly in the cold air. "I'm sorry. It's just very personal."

"That's okay," Jeongin responds with an understanding nod. "Just know that I'm here to support you."

Mayuka feels grateful to have a friend like him. He's been such a joy to have around.

The two of them embrace in a tight, comforting hug.

Once they let go, Mayuka hears a strange noise from behind her, like something is rustling in the bushes. Is it some sort of animal?

She turns her head to get a very small glimpse of Riku walking away.

Was she... watching her?

Chapter Text

Mayuka is considering quitting once again.

She really doesn't want to have to try this upcoming scene again, or especially the next one with Riku. Just the thought of it makes her turn burning red. She is not sure if she's going to be able to do it without getting all flustered.

Mayuka wishes she could just snap her fingers and her feelings for Riku would go away. But nope, thoughts of Riku are taking over her mind. She wants her so bad but yet she cannot handle her feelings. She still cannot accept that she is in love with her. Why her?

Though, she once again thinks about the money and opportunity that comes with this role. Plus what Nina had told her before helps. She cannot let Riku get the last laugh.

So, she shows back up to continue where they left off a few days later. She had told the crew that she had the flu, but only Jeongin knew the truth. Or maybe Riku depending on how much she heard.

Speaking of Riku... why was she watching her? 

It creeps Mayuka out a little. She was being stalked by her!

Though she wonders what Riku saw or heard from her conversation with Jeongin. She might ask her about it today if she gets the bravery to do so.

When Mayuka arrives and spots Riku, she starts to feel herself cower a bit. Maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to ask her.

As soon as she sits down in her chair, Riku speaks.

"Hey, are you feeling any better?" She asks Mayuka, which signifies that she likely didn't hear the conversation between her and Jeongin.

"Yeah. No more fever," Mayuka assures Riku.

"I almost dropped by the apartment to check up on you. Since you're living alone and all," Riku admits as the stylists are working on her hair. The apartment?

"...Really?" Mayuka asks, not quite believing it. Though, just as she thought before, this is the same Riku as years ago.

"Yeah. Did Jeongin help you out any?" 

"Yeah. I asked him to bring me some medicine, since I didn't feel like going out to get it myself, and he did," Mayuka smiles a little. "He's very kind."

"Good. I'm glad," Riku's voice was laced with jealousy. 

...Does she like Jeongin?

Mayuka is starting to think so. She likely did see them hug that night. She doesn't blame Riku if she does, Jeongin is a nice guy, but Mayuka cannot help but feel some sort of jealousy. Part of her wants to tell Riku that there's nothing going on between her and Jeongin and that she's in fact a lesbian, but she feels like it would just make her more likely to go for Jeongin. She doesn't like the idea of that.

Riku should be hers.

Wait... holy shit, did she just think that?

Mayuka's mind shocks herself sometimes.

Now, it is time to retry the scene from before.

Mayuka feels nervous again, but she reminds herself that she cannot chicken out of it this time.

As the two women walk towards each other to start filming, Riku seems to sense Mayuka's nerves. She puts a hand on Mayuka's back, which makes the younger girl jump a little at the sudden touch.

"Oh, didn't mean to spook you!" Riku chuckles, giving Mayuka a warm smile. "Relax. The scene is going to turn out alright. I don't bite, I promise!" She laughs a bit at the end.

Mayuka feels like she'll either faint or vomit. Whichever happens first.

But in a good way.

She's head over heels for Riku now and nothing can seem to change that. She is so attracted to her and she cannot deny that anymore.

Mayuka wanted to feel Riku's touch for longer, but the blonde removed her hand rather quickly. She couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"Thanks..." is all Mayuka could let out, smiling faintly at Riku.

"Aaand action!"

Back to where they left off.

Riku reaches her hand out invitingly and Mayuka quickly takes it.

The two begin to walk along the sidewalk of the park, hand-in-hand.

Mayuka cannot describe how she feels in this moment. She so wants to back out of it again due to her feelings being so overwhelming. But she knows she needs to push through no matter what. No more excuses this time.

As the two women walk together and recite their lines, Mayuka feels like there's a whole swarm of butterflies in her stomach. Feeling Riku's touch for so long is so nerve-wracking, and yet so relieving. Her feelings for her have snowballed into a huge problem very fast.

At first she was encountered with hatred and disgust regarding the other woman. But now, her problem has quickly changed course and turned into feelings of admiration and lust.

Now, it is time for another short kiss scene.

As with the script, Mayuka, as Kazumi, leans in first and Riku, as Minako, quickly follows suit. 

Their lips peck in a quick burst of genuine passion.

Mayuka even catches herself wishing the kiss lasted longer.

The two characters then says their goodbyes before the scene is finally over.

Mayuka tries to leave the park as soon as she can, putting on her coat and gathering her things, but then she spots Jeongin. He came to watch again!

Now, Mayuka knows what she needs to do. She cannot handle her feelings anymore. She needs to get them off her chest.

She needs to tell Jeongin everything she feels.

Mayuka is on the brink of tears as she heads over to him, just from her overwhelming emotions. Jeongin cannot help but wonder what's wrong.

"Hey, Mayuka-chan, what's wrong?" He asks, his eyes wide with concern for his friend as they approach each other.

"B-Before Nina and I leave... there's something I want to talk to you about," Mayuka speaks as her voice shakes a little.

Jeongin pulls her into a comforting hug, letting go after a few seconds. 

"Riku... I-I..." Mayuka begins to admit once they make eye contact once again. "I-I'm afraid I have feelings for Riku..." she fully admits, tearing up. "T-That's what bothered me so much last time... I can't stand these feelings..."

"Mayu..." Jeongin mutters, keeping his gaze on her. "Why are you so afraid of those feelings? That's a good thing!"

"Y-You don't understand," Mayuka stutters, wiping her eyes with her coat sleeve. "R-Riku... is not a good person," she shares.

"And how is that?" Jeongin asks, confused to why his friend is breaking down over this. "Everytime I've spoken to Riku-chan, she's been really nice."

Riku-chan? Mayuka thinks.

"Jeongin... she stole a role I really wanted from me. With no mercy," Mayuka shares, letting out a frustrated sigh. "We used to be roommates, but I kicked her out of the apartment. Ever since then we've hated each other... b-but now I think I'm attracted to her and I... I don't know what to do."

"...Did she really do that?"

"Yes! She knew how hard I practiced that role and yet she got it with ease!" Mayuka begins to cry. "I-I don't understand my own feelings... I want them to go away but they just... won't!"

"Mayu-chan..." Jeongin sighs, putting his hands on Mayuka's shoulders. "It sounds like you need to go talk to Riku about this."

"I-I can't, Jeongin!" Mayuka defends herself, wiping her tears with her coat sleeve once again. "I can't bring myself to do that!"

"Then... I don't know what to tell you," Jeongin frowns. "Either way it sounds like you need to sit down and talk to her. Bottling up your emotions is only make everything worse."

"How do you make feelings go away?" Mayuka suddenly asks, what Jeongin said going right over her head.

"The thing is Mayuka... you can't do that. You can't change how you feel," Jeongin sighs, keeping close eye contact with her. "You can't make your unconscious become conscious. That's not possible."

"I'm going to keep trying anyway," Mayuka sniffles.

"Do you need me to talk to Riku about this?"

"No! Please don't!" Mayuka shuts that down pretty quickly.

"Okay, what do you want me to do then?" Jeongin remains patient with Mayuka, although the average person would start to become frustrated with her.

"Tell me what I should do about how I feel. How I can make these feelings go away."

"Mayuka... the only thing you need to do regarding these feelings is to accept them," Jeongin sighs heavily, telling her the cold hard truth. "By continuing to try to rid yourself of these feelings, you're only making it harder on yourself. I think you should accept that you are attracted to Riku and have a conversation with her about it. Maybe she'll return those feelings? Maybe what happened between you two was just a misunderstanding?"

Mayuka lets out a frustrated huff as she realizes that he is probably right. But she isn't sure if she will ever get the courage to ever talk to Riku about her feelings. 

"Thank you, Jeongin... you're such a great guy."

"I'm your friend, Mayuka-chan. I'm always here for you if you need me."

The two of them embrace in yet another hug and Mayuka has finished crying. 

She knows that she needs to learn to stop fighting these feelings, but she knows she wouldn't be able to confess everything to Riku. No way.

She's just going to have to learn to deal with how she feels.

Chapter Text

Now that Riku has feelings for Mayuka once again, she has been feeling jealous.

Ever since she saw Mayuka and Jeongin hug last week, she's been on edge and tense.

Why couldn't she let her hug her that easily? What is going on between those two?

Riku can't help but fear for the worst.

Her hatred for Mayuka quickly changed into affection and some sort of... possessiveness.

Riku blames it all on the drama they are filming. All because they are playing the role of love interests, Riku's old crush on Mayuka has been reignited.

Riku honestly doesn't care that Mayuka kicked her out of their own shared apartment anymore. That was two years ago. Maybe if she could finally get the chance to explain herself, Mayuka would realize that she was wrong to turn on her like that.

Ever since she saw Mayuka and Jeongin hug, Riku has formed a distaste for Jeongin. Not that he did anything wrong, he's a good guy. But... Riku can't help but worry that the two of them have feelings for each other, and thus Jeongin is now her competition to win Mayuka's attention.

She wouldn't have thought much of just a hug if they weren't playing love interests as well and kissing too as part of the script. They could've fallen in love through acting as Riku has when it comes to Mayuka.

She cannot stand the thought of Mayuka with anyone else but her.

Today is a big day for filming. They will be filming scenes at the office set for pretty much the whole day.

Riku arrives to the set along with her manager Mako before beginning to get styled.

Though, she has a mission. Before Mayuka films her scene with Jeongin, she needs to have a talk with her.

As they are both getting styled, Riku turns her slightly head to look over at Mayuka but not mess the stylists up as they work on her hair.

She cannot help but think that Mayuka looks amazing, which only makes her even more hyped for their upcoming scene together. Riku isn't sure if she has ever seen Mayuka look this good since she's known her. Of course, Riku thinks she always looks amazing... even when she first wakes up in the morning with no makeup. But right now... Riku almost couldn't breathe.

She cannot wait to finally get the chance to makeout with Mayuka today. Although it is just for their roles.

"Mayuka... can we talk?" Riku then asks, hoping that Mayuka would hear her out. She has been super difficult lately.

"Hm? What is it?" Mayuka is receptive to Riku's question, looking over at her with only her eyes.

"So... it's about... Jeongin," Riku begins, breaking eye contact.

"What about him?"

"Are you two dating? Please be honest," Riku asks seriously, but the question makes Mayuka laugh.

"No, dumbass," Mayuka responds, rolling her eyes. "I know we didn't talk for... two years and all but... I'm a lesbian, Riku. I don't like men!"

"Oh..." Riku is taken aback, but this only makes her feel happy as it sets in. So... she still has a shot!

"I know I was in denial, but wasn't it obvious?" Mayuka is trying hard to make Riku feel stupid. "Every guy I dated, I broke up with him after a month or two because I 'lost interest.' Turns out I was never interested at all, but I tried to tell myself I was."

Mayuka is right. Riku remembers that during the time the two of them were close, Mayuka had about 4 or 5 boyfriends during those few years, but every relationship was rather short-lived. After a breakup, Mayuka never seemed really upset. Whenever Riku would ask what happened, Mayuka would tell her that they just lost interest and wanted to see new people. Riku blindly believed that it was true. 

"Oh..." is all Riku could say once again. "Do you have a girlfriend?" She suddenly asks, not knowing if she has one or not.

"No. I'm single."

Yes! 

Riku is excited to hear this.

"Okay, just wondering," she responds, secretly cheering on the inside. She absolutely has a shot!

"Why are you asking?" Mayuka asks, raising her eyebrows before winking.

Riku feels her cheeks flush warm.

"It's nothing," she lies. Is Mayuka flirting?

"If you say so," Mayuka shrugs before looking away.

Riku then watches the scene between Mayuka and Jeongin, since she will have to film a scene with Mayuka afterwards.

Riku is very excited for the upcoming scene, but she isn't liking watching Mayuka and Jeongin act together.

She feels herself burn with envy as she watches them kiss.

But her upcoming scene with Mayuka is much grander than just a kiss. She cannot wait any longer. She's itching to get it started.

When filming was over, Mayuka heads right over towards Riku, which catches her by surprise.

"What's wrong with you?" Mayuka sounds confused and angry. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" Riku is confused. She was looking at her like some sort of way that she didn't like? If so, she didn't notice.

"The whole time I was filming that scene with Jeongin, you looked so angry!" Mayuka calls her out. "Do you have a problem with Jeongin too?!"

"No... he's a great guy," Riku partially lies.

Jeongin is indeed a great guy... but a bit too great. She now knows that Mayuka only likes women romantically, but she still feels jealous that he's so close to her. 

Riku wanted to be the one to comfort Mayuka when she wasn't feeling well. She wanted to be the one to bring her medicine for her illness. She used to be the one to do that... but now it seems like she's easily been replaced by Jeongin. And so quickly too. As far as she knows, the two of them just met once they started filming for this TV drama.

Riku's possessiveness surprises herself. But, it reminds her of the old days when she had her first crush on Mayuka. She used to get jealous whenever Mayuka seemed a bit too close to a co-star. As well as when Mayuka dated her short-lived boyfriends.

Now that Riku has been interacting with Mayuka once again, all of her old feelings have returned.

"Then why are you acting like this?! First you ask if me and him are dating now... this? What's the matter with you?!" Mayuka seems angry, frustrated by her own feelings for Riku.

Should I tell her?

No. Not when she's in a bad mood.

"It's nothing," Riku lies once again, the tension between them only growing.

"Do you like me, Ku-chan?" 

Riku is stunned. Mayuka hasn't called her that in a long time. It stirs up a lot of emotions within her. She almost confesses right then and there, but she decides it would be a horrible idea. 

"I don't," Riku responds, clearing her throat as she regains her composure. "What makes you think that?"

"I don't know," Mayuka seems even more frustrated. "Maybe it's how you seem jealous of Jeongin? Or how you're staring at my lips right now?"

She is?

Riku didn't even notice until now. Instead of looking into Mayuka's eyes, she was looking directly at her lips. If she said that she didn't want to kiss her, that would be a lie.

Riku panics internally and quickly looks back up at Mayuka's eyes. 

"None of that is true," Riku lies once again. "I was just figuring out the best way for us to do our next scene together. I'm a bit nervous for it," she comes up with the best excuse as to why she was staring at Mayuka's lips. They've kissed before in previous scenes, but they've never made out before. Though, Riku is rather more excited than nervous.

The tension between the two of them became too much for either of them to stand. Their bodies crave each other, but holding themselves back has only made everything worse.

Mayuka suddenly steps closer to Riku and wraps her arms around the older girl's waist, holding her close.

Riku is stunned, but she likes this. She had no idea Mayuka had this in her.

Mayuka leans in and whispers into Riku's ear.

"Would you like to practice then?"

This is not the tsundere that Riku knows. 

A shiver runs down Riku's spine.

Riku turns bright red and suddenly backs away, which makes Mayuka let go of her.

"I-I mean..."

"Do you want to or not? Give me an answer," Mayuka lets out an angry huff, putting her hands on her own hips.

"I-If you want to, I'm all for it."

It seems like the tables have turned. Now Mayuka is the one flirting with her and making her flustered... but Riku is loving it. 

She's got to like her back, right?

"Okay then, let's go."

The two women head to one of the dressing rooms together. They check and make sure no one is looking before heading in.

"Don't get too into this, okay? It's only practice for the next scene," Mayuka suddenly says as she closes the door behind them. Now that's the Mayuka that Riku knows. "I still hate your guts."

Riku is a bit disappointed by Mayuka's words. At first, she truly thought that Mayuka could like her back.

"Of course I won't," Riku responds, knowing damn well that she's going to end up so into it. "Mind you, I still hate yours too. I just think this will settle my nerves."

"Now... let's start, shall we?"

After Mayuka spoke, they began acting as if the cameras were rolling. 

As they step closer to each other, their lips meet. The kissing is a bit sloppy as they're both quite nervous, but it works well. As the script says, the kissing quickly turns into making out. Riku places her hands on Mayuka's waist as their kissing begins to become rougher. 

Going by the script, Riku gets rougher and pins Mayuka against the wall of the dressing room. Both of their hands entertwine and Riku holds them above Mayuka's head.

Mayuka hesitates a bit with this next part due to her overwhelming emotions, but she does it anyways. As Riku has her pressed against the wall with her own body weight, Mayuka wraps her legs around the blonde's waist.

Finally, as scripted, their lips separate so they could catch their breath.

They are supposed to continue, but Mayuka suddenly puts her legs down to the floor, unable to handle the eye contact.

"I-I think that's enough practice. I'm feeling good about this, are you?" Mayuka asks, her face is redder than Riku has ever seen it. Oh, she's so flustered.

"Yeah, I-I am too," Riku nods, looking at Mayuka in the eyes for a moment before letting her go. 

"The stylists are probably wondering where I am. I need to be restyled for the next scene," Mayuka regains her composure as she heads towards the door. "I hate you and I'm definitely not looking forward to doing that again," she makes an expression of disgust as she rolls her eyes. "Goodbye."

Mayuka departs as quickly as she had approached Riku in the first place. 

Riku is left wondering what the hell she is supposed to do with this woman.

So many mixed signals... and for what?

Chapter Text

Mayuka rushes to get over to the stylists to get ready to film the next scene.

She doesn't know what took over her back there. Her body and mind kind of just did everything on its own.

Mayuka truly did want to 'practice' with Riku, but she had to stop before it went too far so she could get styled for the next scene. She knows that if she didn't stop herself, maybe they would've went farther than the script. 

It's safe to say that she's down bad for Riku and nothing can stop her anymore.

"You're late," one of the stylists points out once she gets back to her chair.

"Sorry, I... uh, had to use the bathroom," Mayuka comes up with a believable excuse. 

"Are you sure you didn't fall in?" One of the other stylists chuckles. "You're sweating! Or at least I hope that's sweat, not toilet water," she laughs.

Mayuka pauses for a moment before she takes a moment to look at herself. She is sweating a bit. 

"I'm sure," Mayuka laughs rather awkwardly. "It's just a bit warm in here. They must have the heat on really high... which makes sense since it's cold outside..."

Or she's just had a steamy exchange with Oe Riku.

It is just nerves from it all, right? 

No. Oh my... she got really into it.

"Okay, make sure to drink some water," the stylist responds.

That was awkward.

After an outfit change (thankfully Riku was out of the dressing rooms) and a few touchups on her hair and makeup, Mayuka is ready to shoot the upcoming scene.

For this scene, Kazumi and Minako agree that they shouldn't hide from Minako's father anymore or let him control her. 

So, Kazumi comes up with the idea that they go to tell him everything... in the middle of his office. 

A rather unconventional idea, but Kazumi felt better about revealing it together instead of just Minako telling him at their house. She knew Minako would feel more comfortable with her there.

So, once the shoot begins, the two walk together towards his office. 

They knock on the door... but there is no answer. 

Riku, as Minako, reaches down to the door knob and opens the door, only to reveal that her father is not there.

They enter and the door shuts behind them. 

Here they are, alone in a room for the first time.

So, without thinking to lock the door, they go at it. 

They move close to each other and their lips touch, much less sloppy that before. Riku rests her hands on Mayuka's waist as it gets rough.

As the script goes, Riku pins Mayuka against the wall, entertwining her hands with Mayuka's and holds them above her. She presses her body against Mayuka's making the younger girl sandwiched between Riku and the wall. 

Mayuka wraps her legs around Riku's waist, the only thing keeping her from sliding down being the pressure between Riku's body, her body, and the wall.

Their lips then part to catch their breath, but they make eye contact. 

The air is tense and yet thick with lust. 

Mayuka is finding herself enjoying this, melting under Riku's touch as the blonde carresses her cheek.

Their lips then meet once again. Riku finally lets go of Mayuka's hands, letting them fall. Mayuka follows the script and lets her feet touch the ground once more, but remains pinned.

Mayuka, as Kazumi, takes this opportunity to holds her hands on Riku's waist. Though, she doesn't keep them there. For the script, Mayuka trails her fingers upwards, feeling onto Riku's body a little bit before resting her arms on top of Riku's shoulders.

Mayuka is enjoying this way too much. She wants more. She wants to make Riku flustered.

So, as she had planned since she learned Riku got this role... Mayuka goes off-script, suddenly slipping her tongue past Riku's lips and into her mouth.

Riku seems shocked, but goes along with it nicely, her own tongue battling the younger's tongue for dominance.

At this point, the two women looked like they were trying to devour each other's lips. Even the director himself is shocked by what is unfolding.

Their lips separate once again, but Mayuka is hungry for more, especially after noticing how red Riku looks. 

They make eye contact for a few seconds before going at it again, with Riku making no distance between her body and Mayuka's.

Riku wants revenge for the french kiss.

So, she takes Mayuka by surprise by nibbling on Mayuka's bottom lip slightly. Not enough to hurt her, she doesn't want to do that, but enough to surprise and arouse the other woman.

Mayuka is very shocked by this, but she likes it. She finds it to both be hot and cute at the same time, the cuteness stemming from how gentle Riku was being with it. 

Suddenly, on cue, the CEO steps into the room, shocked by the sight he is seeing.

However, instead of reacting like they are supposed to, Mayuka and Riku keep going, not wanting it to end.

They feel too satisfied, finally letting out all of their supressed feelings of attraction.

Everyone is shocked. The actor who plays the CEO is stunned, the director is pleased by their chemistry, Mako and Nina exchange happy smirks, while Jeongin is silently cheering Mayuka on.

"Cut!" The director's voice rings through the set. 

But they keep going.

Mayuka wants to do even more than this, but she knows that it would have to wait for another time, when they don't have people watching them. She knows Riku wants to too, just by how the blonde has been pulling on the bottom hem of her top.

"You two, break it up!" The director steps in, having to literally pull Riku off of Mayuka. "Gosh, this needs to stay PG-12!"

For Mayuka, what happened doesn't really set in. She's in a bit of a daze... drunk on love if you will.

Meanwhile, Riku flashes the director a cold glare. How dare he break them up?!

"I love your chemistry, but you forgot to react!" The director scolds them. "Do we need to give you both time to... y'know, let off some steam?" He asks curiously. "We can continue this scene next time if you need to."

Now that it has set in, the two women now feel warm with embarrassment. Did they really do that? In front of the director, film crew, and everyone watching?

The two women exchange glances and then nod. 

"Yeah... that would be nice," Mayuka answers for them both.

"Then you're off for the day. Come back on Monday ready to film the next part of this scene."

As they left the CEO's office, Mayuka looks around at the people around them.

Thankfully, Nina and Mako seem to be chatting amongst themselves while suddenly Mayuka makes eye contact with Jeongin. She feels herself turn a little red as her friend gives her a sudden thumbs up.

As Mayuka gathers her belongings, Riku approaches her.

"M-Mayu-chan... I'm sorry I got a bit... carried away," the blonde sounds embarrassed as she speaks, not making eye contact with the other woman.

Mayuka lifts her head to look over at Riku, smiling at her a little. 

"We both got carried away," Mayuka corrects her. "I just... liked it a lot," she admits. "Not that I like you or anything... gross," she quickly adds with an eye roll. But Riku is not convinced at all.

"I liked it too," Riku smiles.

"Want to... come back over to the apartment?" Mayuka asks. "My bed will be cold tonight without you in it."

Mayuka's words shock herself. Did she really just say that?

"I thought you don't like me?" Riku lets out a huff, crossing her arms. 

"I still don't," Mayuka responds defensively. "I just want a sleepover, is that too much to ask for?"

Riku couldn't say no.

So, Riku goes back to Mayuka's apartment, which was once their shared apartment years ago.

Once Riku steps inside, she seems to take in every detail.

"Wow... Mayu-chan, you've really upgraded this old place," she chuckles as she looks around. "I can barely recognize it... but it reminds me of good times."

"Yeah... once I bought it completely I felt the need to remodel it," Mayuka explains. "It used to be ugly."

Riku laughs at Mayuka's comment. 

"It sure was! But it was our happy abode."

That night, Mayuka had a great time. She still won't admit it, but she enjoyed spending time with Riku properly once again. She even unblocked her from everything and caught up on their social media posts.

"Wait, Mayu," Riku speaks up as they sit on Mayuka's bed together, holding her phone over to the younger woman. "You look so hot here," she says, showing her a photo on Mayuka's Instagram that she really likes.

"Oh wow, Ku-chan, I had no idea you started to do modeling on the side," Mayuka is shocked as she looks through Riku's Instagram, her cheeks flushing red at some of the photos. Riku lets out a laugh.

"Yeah. It's just a way to earn more money," Riku smiles as she admires Mayuka.

That night, both actresses had a lot of fun, even continuing where they left off at the drama set. Neither of them thought the other had it in her, but the night was full of surprises.

Though, not a lot of sleeping was done, that's for sure.

Chapter Text

Mayuka is not looking forward to the next scene in the TV drama. 

It is Minako's confession.

In a scene from the last episode, Sunghyun had confessed to Kazumi. But, since she thinks she could have feelings for Minako too, she told him she will need some time to think about it and she'll get back to him.

He was fine with that and told her to let him know once she has decided.

Mayuka feels rather nervous for this scene, as she will probably be wishing that Riku would confess herself. It is clear that the both of them have strong feelings for each other, but neither of them are willing to flat out admit it. 

Even though it was a week ago, Mayuka's mind keeps going back to the night the two of them spent together.

To be honest, Mayuka thinks it was the best night of her life. She did not want it to end.

Though it is quite complicated that Mayuka was willing to spend the night with Riku and yet she is not willing to confess that she is in love with her. 

That night really helped Mayuka let her feelings out though and the same must go for Riku too.

Now that Mayuka has unblocked Riku, they've been texting often. Sometimes their messages are rather random, but sometimes they'll end up flirting via text message. 

But during the whole time, they did not dare bring up this next scene.

Now that Minako's father has learned to approve of Minako's feelings for Kazumi, she has decided to confess how she feels to her. 

Honestly, for Mayuka it is even less bearable than the heavy make out scene last time. 

Mayuka arrives on set, the cold nighttime air sending a chill down her spine. They are once again filming in the freezing cold winter weather.

Once Mayuka starts to be styled, Riku arrives as well. She turns her head slightly to greet the other woman. 

"Hey Ku-chan," Mayuka smiles faintly. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, just a little bit nervous," Riku laughs to calm her own nerves. "It's time for the big confession," she mentions. "Are you doing well?"

"Yeah, especially since I get to have you near," Mayuka's smile widens and Riku blushes a bit.

"For a woman who still claims to hate me, you sure have become a flirt," Riku smiles back, teasing her a bit. 

Once both women are styled and they are waiting for the set and camerapeople to be ready, they use each other for warmth. The two of them hug warmly, holding each other close.

Mayuka has made a lot of progress in such a short time. 

She is not even bothered by Riku's touch anymore. In fact, she craves it. After the night the two of them spent together, everything in Mayuka seemed to change. She has learned to accept her feelings completely. But is she ever going to confess that? Hell no. 

Now that it is time to start filming, Mayuka feels all warm and fuzzy inside as Riku pecks her lips before they separate.

The two characters are now back at that same park as before, but now Minako has full intentions to confess her feelings to Kazumi.

The two of them walk together hand-in-hand, chatting about little things, mostly about their jobs and Minako's father.

But then, as the script goes, when Kazumi opens her mouth to speak, Minako suddenly kisses her on the lips.

The kiss is rather short compared to what theu were doing before, and yet it was full of passion.

Once they separate, Minako rests her hands on Kazumi's waist, looking at each other in the eyes. 

Now, it is time for Riku's line. 

Nothing could have prepared Mayuka for what happens next.

Instead of what she was supposed to say, Riku says...

"I love you with all of my heart, Mayuka," she says, not even realizing her mistake at first. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

Though, Mayuka catches on immediately, her face turning completely red.

"Cut!" 

The director stops them there.

At that point, Riku seems to realize exactly what she has done. Her face turns red in embarrassment, looking over at the director. 

"I-I'm sorry!" The blonde is a blushing mess. "I didn't mean to say that!"

The director looks at them with a smirk.

"Are you sure you didn't mean that though?" The director teases. Oh no, even the director caught onto them!

"I-I'm going to go to the bathroom..." Mayuka suddenly says before quickly fleeing the scene, not even daring the look back at Riku.

Mayuka just wants to find an escape. She needs to get away right now. She cannot stand what just happened. 

So, she heads right towards the tiny building at the park that is used for restrooms and heads right into the women's restroom. 

Mayuka just takes a moment to process everything, hunched over one of the sinks as she looks at herself in the mirror. 

Suddenly, she hears the door open.

"Mayu-chan?"

A familiar voice echoes through the bathroom.

Fuck. It's Riku.

Before Riku enters, Mayuka quickly flees to stall, shutting and locking it behind her.

"Mayu-chan? Are you alright? I didn't mean it like that!"

Mayuka hears the door close, signaling that Riku is now fully inside the restroom.

She panics, deciding to try to come up with some sort of lie or excuse. Something that could explain her huge reaction to a mistake so small.

"I'm sick."

That's the best thing she can come up with?

"Mayu, you're sick again?" Riku sighs a little. "Have you been taking vitamins? Did you eat something bad?" She questions, heading closer to the stall Mayuka is in. "Did you drink alcohol before we filmed?" She asks, trying to find reasons why the love of her life could be sick.

"Oh! We had some fun that one night. Is there something you need to tell me?" Riku cracks a joke. "I'm not ready to be a mother!"

"We're both cisgender women dumbass," Mayuka isn't having it. "I'm not exactly sure why I'm sick, but can you just leave me alone?"

"You know I can't just leave you alone like this. Open the stall."

"What?"

"I said open the stall. Or I'll crawl under."

"You'll what?"

"I'm serious. I'll crawl under."

"Please don't," Mayuka responds before unlocking the stall door. She realizes she needs to put on an act, so she needs to act as miserable as possible. Good thing she is an actress. 

As Mayuka steps out, looking miserable with her arms around her abdomen, Riku pulls her into a tight, comforting hug.

"I'm sorry you don't feel well," she frowns. "I can go talk to the director and see if we can finish early."

It seems like the confession completely slipped out of both of their minds. 

"Now leave me alone," Mayuka grumbles in frustration, though she appreciates the hug. "I don't want to get you sick too."

"Okay, okay, I'll go now," Riku gives in, smiling at Mayuka. "I'll text you later, let me know if you need anything."

"I will," Mayuka watches as Riku leaves the restroom. 

She lets out a heavy sigh and looks back into the mirror above the sink.

And suddenly, she begins to cry.

She isn't sure why, but the tears just started to flow.

Mayuka is just overwhelmed with emotions... and also guilt for lying to Riku.

Did Riku really mean it? Does she want her to be her girlfriend? Why did she end up giving in to her feelings for Riku in the first place?

After Mayuka let her feelings out, she turns the water faucet on and quickly washes her face to hide the evidence of crying. Though, her eyes are still puffy.

She heads back over towards the set, where the director immediately greets her.

"Hey, Mayuka," he speaks, approaching her. "Riku told me that you're sick. We'll end filming for the night and continue once you're back to health."

"Thank you," Mayuka smiles faintly. 

As she leaves alongside her manager Nina, the younger woman speaks up.

"Are you actually sick?" Nina asks, seeing right through her. "Or were you just very flustered over Riku's mistake?"

Mayuka sighs. 

"I'm not sick at all. Just really overwhelmed."

"I knew it," Nina smiles. "In fact, everyone did except Riku. It was obvious. But Riku is stupid and truly thinks you're ill."

"If that woman shows up to my apartment tomorrow to 'take care of me'... I swear..." Mayuka sighs heavily, knowing it would definitely be something Riku would do.

"She's just being sweet," Nina shrugs, defending Riku all of a sudden. "She cares about you a lot. It seemed like her worry for you took over her own embarrassment. Now that's true love," she teases lightly. "I need to find me a partner that cares about me the way Riku cares about you."

"Nina-chan... do you think she really likes me?"

"Mayu, are you really that oblivious?!"

"What?! I don't know!"

"We all saw what went down the first time you two acted out the scene in the CEO's office," Nina reminds Mayuka. "You were all over each other and wouldn't stop! Would she really be like that if she didn't like you back? Would she really make that mistake tonight if she didn't want to say those words to you? Come on now... even Mako-senpai thinks so!"

Mayuka is silent. 

"You won't even tell me what you two did when she spent the night at your place!" Nina looks at Mayuka accusingly. "Why do you refuse to tell me unless something went down? She obviously is head over heels for you!"

Nina is right.

Mayuka needs to talk to Riku, and soon, but she still hopes she doesn't surprise her at her apartment tomorrow. She isn't sure how long she can pretend to be sick.

Chapter Text

Today is the next day. Since Mayuka is "sick," she gets the day off.

Though she is not really sick, something is eating at her mind.

Is Riku going to show up today?

Ever since she woke up, Mayuka has been anticipating the inevitable. She knew just from past interactions with Riku that she is definitely going to stop by and take care of her, but she really does not want to. She really does not want to have to put on the sick act yet again.

And of course, at around 10:30, her doorbell rings.

Mayuka lets out a small groan as she heads towards her front door, getting ready to open it to spot Riku.

As expected, when Mayuka opens the door, Riku is standing on the other side.

"Hi," Riku greets her.

"Hey, come on in," Mayuka tries her best to be welcoming, but she really did not want to have to deal with this today.

Riku enters the apartment that was once shared by the both of them once again. What once brought unpleasant memories for Riku now brings exciting ones. 

"So, how are you feeling?" Riku asks as the two of them head over to the couch together. "Have you vomited any more since yesterday?"

"No, thankfully. I am feeling a bit better," Mayuka answers, though she wasn't really feeling bad in that way in the first place.

The two women sit down next to each other.

"Good, I hated seeing you like that."

How the hell did Riku buy that act?! Mayuka is an actress and all, but Mayuka is shocked that Riku believed her while no one else did. Even the director!

"Yeah, I hated feeling like that," Mayuka continues her 'sick' act. "I tried my best to push through the shoot but I just couldn't."

"Yeah, that's fair," Riku responds. "One time, about a year ago or so, I had a fever and I still showed up to act! Though people started to catch onto that I was feeling unwell so I had to be sent home," she chuckles at the memory. "I really didn't want to let anyone down."

"Yeah, that's how I felt," Mayuka responds. "Though I feel like I let people down anyway."

"You didn't let me down," Riku tells her, reaching out to hold her hand. "Sometimes people get sick and that's just a part of life! Better to not dwell on it and just keep going," she assures her. 

"Thanks," Mayuka smiles faintly at Riku.

"Did I let you down by accidentally saying your name last night?"

Mayuka is surprised that she brought that up, especially since Riku is supposed to be here to care for her.

"Why did you say that?" Mayuka asks, her warm feelings of affection quickly turning into frustration. She lets go of Riku's hand. "You messed everything up!"

"Mayuka, it was just an accident!" Riku defends herself, glaring at the younger woman. "I thought Kazumi, but Mayuka came out!"

"Maybe if you're such a good actress, you wouldn't mess up something as little as that!" Mayuka becomes even more frustrated, her emotions from last night making their appearance once again. "Saying the name of the actress instead of the name of the character is a huge mistake, Riku! And you've been acting for as long as I have!"

"Maybe if you controlled your health, you wouldn't have gotten sick and we would be finished with the whole scene by now!" Riku snaps, completely going back on what she said before.

"I control my health just fine! I had no control over whether or not I got sick! It just happened!" Mayuka tenses up. "I couldn't have just stopped it either! Even if I tried, I probably would've vomited on you! Would you have preferred that?!" 

"No! Of course not!"

"So be glad I ran off and ended filming! Would you have made the same mistake again if we continued?!"

"No! Do you think I'm dumb?!"

Their bickering then went silent.

Mayuka leans back, crossing her arms while Riku keeps a frustrated gaze on her.

"I.. kind of liked it though," Mayuka adds quietly, but it is loud enough for Riku to hear.

Riku does not respond to this.

"I'm leaving. Have fun being sick and whatever," the blonde grumbles getting up off the couch and starting to head for the door. "I hope you feel better."

That's it. Mayuka has had enough of this act. She's frustrated and just wants Riku. She wants her to stay.

She's not physically sick. She's lovesick. 

"Riku, wait!"

Those two words are enough to get Riku to stop in her tracks, turning around to look back at Mayuka.

"Ku-chan, I'm not physically sick. I never vomited last night," Mayuka admits the truth to her, while Riku seems a bit shocked. "Riku, I'm lovesick. Lovesick for you."

Mayuka's words sound desperate. In fact, they are. She wants Riku to stay. She doesn't want her to be angry with her.

It all reminds Mayuka of that horrible day. Two years ago.

In this same room, she had told Riku to pack her stuff, leave, and never come back.

But this time, she is begging for her to stay.

"I need you to stay to cure my lovesickness," Mayuka tells her, hoping that it would calm Riku's anger and make her want to keep her company.

"Living alone the past two years has been so lonely," Mayuka admits, her eyes beginning to tear up. "I-I never should have kicked you out! I should've just let you explain. So... explain to me... why did you steal that role from me?"

Riku went silent for about a minute. She's just in a bit of shock. Though, seeing Mayuka so desperate... she gives in easily.

"I will cure your lovesickness, Mayu-chan," Riku smiles warmly, returning to the couch. "But why did you lie to me about being sick? You could have told me the truth."

"I was embarrassed."

"If you were embarrassed, imagine how I felt!" Riku laughs but keeps the whole situation lighthearted.

"Now... please tell me... your side of the story," Mayuka says rather impatiently, wrapping an arm around Riku as she snuggles up against her, resting her head against her chest.

"So," Riku begins with a heavy sigh, trying her best to remember exact details. "Mako told me that she had connections to the director and producers of an upcoming TV drama and they told her that they wanted me for the role. So, without knowing what it was, I just accepted the offer. I couldn't turn down an opportunity like that, you know?"

With Riku's words, Mayuka feels like she is truly going to be sick.

All of that... over a misunderstanding?

The feelings of regret hit her like a truck. Riku never went behind her back to steal that role from her on purpose. If she had only heard her out that day, she would have learned that.

"Then, when I made it back here, I was shocked to see how angry you were," Riku admits with a sigh, hating having to recall this memory. "I was cluelessly wondering what you were upset about and wanted to help you calm down. Until I realized that you were angry with me," she says, noticing how upset Mayuka seems, and quickly takes hold of her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "You did not give me a chance to explain... you just lashed out at me and locked me out of your bedroom. You refused to say a word to me or hear what I had to say. You blocked my phone number and all of my social media accounts. So, I did what you told me to do and moved out to live with Rio and Ayaka."

Mayuka just starts to cry.

Everything that happened was her fault. If she had heard her out, everything would have turned out very differently. Hell, maybe the two of them would have been dating by now.

"Hey, Mayu-chan," Riku jumps into action once she realizes that Mayuka is crying. "Don't cry... it's all in the past now."

Riku hugs Mayuka close, doing her best to try to comfort her.

"B-But... I was really mean! For no reason!"

"You did have a reason," Riku reminds her, stroking her hands down the other woman's back. "I just wish you gave me an opportunity to explain myself. I mean, better late than never!"

"Ku-chan... I love you. And I'm so sorry."

Riku smiles warmly as Mayuka buries her face into the crook of her neck.

"I love you too, Mayu-chan."

The two of them embrace tightly for a bit longer until Mayuka's tears slow down, feeling rather relieved after doing so. They make eye contact, with Riku cupping Mayuka's cheek in the palm of her hand, brushing a tear that was once on her cheek away.

"I'm so glad you're just lovesick," Riku begins to speak. "Because now I get to do this!"

Riku suddenly presses her lips against Mayuka's. Mayuka is caught by surprise, but she quickly melts into the kiss. She holds her hands at the back of Riku's neck, pushing her in closer.

Riku holds her hands on Mayuka's waist, glad to feel her warmth once again.

The two of them now look like they are going to devour each other's lips with how rough they are kissing each other. Mayuka ends up being pushed back so she is laying down on the couch. Now, Riku is holding her down against the couch with her own body weight all while holding Mayuka's hands in her own, holding them to the side.

After about a good minute of making out, the two of them decide to take a breather. Riku lets go of Mayuka's hands. Mayuka stays laying down as Riku sits down on the younger girl's stomach, looking down into her eyes, which are filled with love for Riku. Mayuka's hands move up to Riku's waist, wondering why she had even denied her feelings for the blonde. She is having the time of her life.

"Want to spend the night again tonight?"

"I'd love to."

Chapter Text

It is the next day of shooting after they finished up the confession scene from before. 

But now, who will Kazumi choose?

That is all decided in this shoot.

Mayuka feels the nervous atmosphere around the set once she arrives, remembering that this is the finale of the show. 

Once Mayuka spots Riku, she is in awe. She looks so beautiful. She just wishes she could kiss her all over.

Mayuka has been loving Minako's wardrobe on Riku. She wishes she could convince Riku to purchase all of the outfits for herself. 

The two women are happy to greet each other.

"How are you feeling to almost be done?" Riku asks Mayuka.

"I feel relieved, but I feel like I'm going to miss it," Mayuka speaks honestly. "Though, I'm glad it could bring me back to you."

Riku smiles at this and nods. 

"I feel the same way."

Now that everyone is ready, it is time to begin the shoot.

After Minako and Sunghyun both learn that Kazumi has been having romantic interactions with the other, they both confront her and tell her she needs to choose one or the other.

They both arranged dates at a park (during the day this time thankfully) around the same time. When Kazumi showed up for the first one, they both confronted her there.

"So who are you going to choose?" Sunghyun asks, seeming a bit hurt with his tone.

Mayuka, as Kazumi, struggles for a few seconds. She knew she would have to make a decision at some point, but she did not think that she'd be forced to today.

She looks between the both of them, wondering which one of them she likes more.

Then... without saying a word, she walks over to Minako and gently hugs her.

They are both confused as to what this gesture means until Kazumi speaks up.

"I choose you, Minako-chan," Kazumi smiles warmly before they move closer, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss.

Sunghyun seems to accept this, giving a painful nod before leaving the scene.

Then, seemingly right on its cue, it starts to rain on them. A very cold rain... nearly snow. But it isn't supposed to be that way in the drama so there is a sense of relief that it came down as liquid.

Minako rests her hands on Kazumi's waist, holding her close.

Their lips then separate, but their foreheads pressed against each other lovingly. They are laughing in the rain and then...

Finally, filming for the TV drama is over.

After the scene is over, Mayuka begins to get ready to leave. She is ready to get out of the rain! Though, someone makes sure to stop her before she gets the chance to leave.

"Mayu-chan!"

It is Riku's voice.

Mayuka turns her head to spot the blonde heading right over towards her.

However, something does not seem right.

Mayuka is quick to notice that tears are streaming down Riku's face.

"Ku-chan? What's wrong?" Mayuka asks, her gaze full of concern.

"Y-You know what's wrong!" Riku snaps at Mayuka in frustration, which catches her off guard.

"I-I don't!" Mayuka speaks honestly. Did she mess up? "Riku, you need to tell me what's going on!"

"Ogou Mayuka!" Riku gets up in her face, which makes her overwhelmed. "Y-You don't understand!"

"Don't understand what?! Oe Riku... you need to be clearer than that!"

"You are so confusing!" Riku seems very frustrated. "You seem like you want to make out with me but then you say you hate me right after! We fuck but then you angrily kick me out at dawn the next morning!" She mentions everything that has bothered her. "You say you love me and then you leave me on read when I text you! You lied to me about being sick!" She lets out a huff. "What is it with you, Ogou Mayuka?! You need to make up your damn mind and figure out what the fuck you want us to be!" She snaps. "All you do is lead me on and make me confused!" She continues to vent all of her feelings onto Mayuka. "I am ready to devote myself to you. I want to make you mine and love you for the rest of my damn life. I can never know if you feel the same way!" Mayuka is stunned as she listens to Riku go off. "You are so damn complicated. You need to make it clear to me..."

"What are we, Ogou Mayuka?"

Mayuka doesn't know what to say. Everything Riku said is true.

She did want to make out with Riku and then said she hated her afterward. She did kick Riku out as soon as she woke up the morning after they did the deed. She did say she loved Riku and left a text Riku sent last night, which was a date invite, on read. She did in fact lie to Riku that she was sick.

When Mayuka doesn't give a response, Riku continues.

"I want to go on cute little dates with you! I want to hug you! I want to kiss you! I want to make love to you! I want to do everything couples do with you! I want to wake up every morning to your beautiful face!" Riku sobs. "P-Please make me believe that you feel the same way because all you've been doing is playing with my feelings!"

Suddenly, the pouring rain surrounding them turns into heavy snow. They are both now very drenched and cold. But they do not care. The emotions they feel make them numb to this.

"M-Mayuka... please..." Riku shivers, wrapping her arms around herself to keep warm.

Mayuka still does not say a word. She cannot find the right words to say. Instead, she finds a better way to communicate. 

She steps closer to Riku and suddenly hugs her tightly. 

Riku seems to relax under Mayuka's touch, melting like the snowflakes that are hitting their bodies.

"K-Ku-chan... you have no idea how hard it is to accept that I am in love with you," Mayuka begins to cry as well. "I tried so hard to make those feelings go away. I tried to push you away because of my own shame," she explains, tightening her grip around the other woman. "But... I cannot conceal my feelings. I-I am in love with you, Oe Riku, and I am now proud to say it."

Their lips then meet in a passionate kiss. Not as Kazumi and Minako, but as Mayuka and Riku.

"Y-You do realize I slipped up that one time because I was saying how I really felt, right?" Riku asks, making something sure with Mayuka. "I am in fact in love with you... and I want you to be my girlfriend."

"Y-Yes... I know," Mayuka smiles against Riku's lips. "I've known since it happened," she admits, no longer feeling cold as she is feeling Riku's warmth. "I was once afraid to accept it, but now I'm ready. I am also in love with you... will you be my girlfriend, Oe Riku?"

Riku giggles as her nose touches Mayuka's own.

"Yes, I will," Riku answers. Then, their lips meet once again, full of passion and affection for one another.

Once they separate, Mayuka speaks up.

"Want to come over to the apartment?"

"I'd love to, Mayu-chan."

And then the two women decided to head over to Mayuka's place, ready to get out of the cold.

Chapter Text

Mayuka and Riku make it to Mayuka's apartment together, relieved to get inside in the warmth. 

"Every time I've came back here, it brought back bad memories," Riku speaks up as she takes off her coat. "But now I can only think of good memories."

"That's good," Mayuka smiles warmly, giving Riku a quick kiss on the cheek. "We're both drenched. I'm going to go get us some towels," she then mentions, leaving Riku alone for a moment.

Riku looks around for a moment, once again taking in everything Mayuka had changed about their once cheap rental apartment. Now, Mayuka had fully purchased the unit and made a lot of remodels to it. 

Though, something catches Riku's eye.

On top of a small table near the living room TV is a small box.

Once she looks at the picture frame on top and the writing on the box, her heart sinks.

Yuki, 2024-2028

Yuki was the cat that Mayuka and Riku took in only a few months after they moved into this apartment together. 

When they were walking home from an audition one rainy day, they found a small kitten abandoned on the street. It seemed to be near starvation and there was no sign of its mother or any other kittens.

Mayuka, with her strong love for cats, swiftly took action.

She picked up the kitten, who had to be no older than two weeks old, and begged to Riku that they needed to save it. Riku could not say no, so of course, she agreed.

Mayuka had flipped the hoodie she was wearing around so the hood was in the front. She then carried the kitten home in that to keep it warm.

They took the kitten to a veterinarian clinic that afternoon. They said that the kitten was indeed around two weeks old and is fully deaf. They also mentioned that the kitten was likely left to die by its mother as she saw there was no chance for it to survive long on the streets.

They also found out that the kitten was in fact female and Mayuka gave her the name Yuki for her pure white fur.

The veterinarian mentioned that taking care of her will be a huge responsibility, since she is very young and will still need to be cared for just like its mother would. The kitten will need to be kept warm, fed kitten formula, stimulated to use the litter box, and weighed regularly to keep track of her weight.

Mayuka accepted the challenge with zero hesitation.

She did all of her research and made sure she did everything to make sure Yuki gets the proper care she needs. She fed her, kept her warm, helped her use the litter box, and was even able to watch her take her first steps.

Mayuka treated Yuki like her baby and Riku also did whatever she could to help care for her too. They quickly became parents to this tiny white deaf kitten.

"You're such a good mom to Yuki," Riku had smiled as she watched Mayuka bottle feed the small kitten.

"I try to be," Mayuka had smiled as well as the kitten sucked on the little bottle of kitten formula. "I feel so attached like as if I birthed her," she joked.

Of course though, when the two of them split, Mayuka got custody of Yuki. Riku knew that was something she couldn't fight with Mayuka over. Riku was convinced that Mayuka loved that cat more than anything else in the world. Because she was her baby.

Riku had noticed that she never saw Yuki anywhere the other times she visited, but she figured the cat was just hiding or something. She never noticed this display until now.

Her heart is broken.

Mayuka then steps into the living room, pausing when she spots what Riku is looking at.

"You never told me Yuki passed away."

Mayuka's heart sinks, hating to break this to Riku.

"Yeah... she passed away two months ago," Mayuka explains with a heavy sigh, seeming still deeply hurt by the topic. 

"How?" Riku asks, looking over at Mayuka and finally seeing her pained expression. "She was still young."

"One day... she just stopped eating and drinking," Mayuka explains with a sigh. "I was very concerned and took her to the veterinarian the next day. They found a hard lump on her belly and they figured out that it was a tumor. And it was cancerous," she continues to speak, wrapping Riku up in a towel as the blonde turns back to look at the box. "I tried every single treatment they had, clinging onto hope that Yuki would get better. But she never did. She only got worse. I spent millions of yen to try to cure her cancer..."

"So you had to let her go?" Riku's voice is pained as her eyes begin to tear up.

"Yeah," Mayuka gives a painful nod. "There was nothing else I could try. I didn't want for her to suffer any longer so I chose to euthanize her. After she died, I got her cremated. Her ashes are in that box."

"Mayu... I'm so sorry..." Riku turns back to look at her, using the towel that Mayuka gave her to dry herself off a little. "And you had to go through that all alone?"

Mayuka gives a dreadful nod. 

"I cried myself to sleep every night for a good month or so," Mayuka admits with a sigh. "I was just used to her sleeping on the bed with me every night... but then she was just gone."

"Why didn't you tell me? I would've been there for you."

"Because I hated you. I thought you wouldn't care that Yuki died anyway."

"I would've cared so much, Mayu. She was my baby too."

"Enough about Yuki... let's dry off," Mayuka quickly changes the subject, beginning to dry herself off. Riku silently does the same.

"It's crazy how the rain quickly changed to snow. The shoot had perfect timing," Riku mentions after she finishes drying herself off, though her clothes and hair are going to be wet for a good while. 

Mayuka finishes doing the same, nodding in response to Riku. 

"I know. We got lucky," she responds. Now that she's as dry as she could be, she sits down on the couch. Riku sits down next to her and they immediately begin to cuddle.

Mayuka rests her head against Riku's shoulder and Riku gently wraps an arm around Mayuka's shoulders, pulling her close.

"So... we're girlfriends now, huh?" Riku smiles warmly.

"Mhm," Mayuka responds, closing her eyes as she starts to relax. "How it should be."

"Oh, by the way," Riku begins to speak. "Right after I told Rio about us getting together, she asked if you want to attend her wedding," she continues.

"Wedding?" Mayuka asks, feeling very surprised. As far as she and the general public knows at the moment, Rio and her manager are only dating. "They're getting married?!"

"Don't tell anyone, cause that's like, a huge secret right now," Riku makes sure to mention.

"When is it?"

"March 3rd, 2029," Riku answers. "Which is only like, almost 2 months from now," she mentions since the new year is approaching very soon. "I know it's a late notice, but would you want to come? I'm one of the bridesmaids for Rio."

"Of course. I'd love to," Mayuka smiles warmly. "Are they good together?"

"Very. They're so sweet," Riku smiles warmly. "They're the perfect couple, but it's a shame their relationship was revealed without their consent. It's scary, actually."

"I'm glad, but it is scary," Mayuka responds. "If someone revealed our relationship without our approval I think I'd lose my mind," she laughs.

"Me too," Riku responds with a sigh. "Turns out they're still going to try to cover it up, but I'm not sure how it's going to work. There's too much evidence."

"Really? I think it's probably gone too far now for them to do that."

"That's what Rio told me. They're going to try to make it seem like she's dating Myoui Mark."

"Oh, makes sense. Lovesick was a huge hit. The fans might just eat that up and forget all about Maya."

"Maybe," Riku shrugs. "Either way I hope everything works out for them both. It's a tough situation to be in."

The two of them gossiped for a bit longer, until Riku randomly changes the topic. She stares at Mayuka for a bit in silence before saying. 

"I love you so much, Mayu-chan. I'm lucky to have you as my girlfriend."

Riku's words make Mayuka feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The butterflies are going crazy. But she turns to Riku and suddenly presses her lips onto hers in response.

Riku is surprised but quickly melts into the kiss, leaning back as Mayuka presses forward onto her. 

Riku is surprised as before she knows it, she is laying back onto the couch as Mayuka is on top of her. She rests her hands on Mayuka's waist before their lips part. 

"I love you even more, Ku-chan."

They smile lovingly at each other before Mayuka purposely collapses, landing onto Riku with a thump, which makes Riku let out an "oof."

"Hey! Try to have a softer landing that that!" Riku speaks up, sounding angry yet still smiling wide. "Or at least give me a warning! That kind of hurt!"

"Sorry," Mayuka laughs softly, resting her head on Riku's chest. Riku hugs her close, starting to feel a bit sleepy.

The two women then napped there quite peacefully, exhausted after a day of filming and happy to finally resolve their feelings. 

Chapter Text

It is time for Riku and Mayuka's first date and Riku couldn't be more excited.

She came up with what she felt was an amazing idea for the date. But... she wants it to be a surprise.

Where do you want to go? Mayuka had asked over text.

I have something in mind. Riku responded.

What is it?

I want it to be a surprise ;)

And so, Riku meets up with Mayuka at her apartment and the two head off to go on their date.

They hold hands as they walk along the street, disguisted with masks, sunglasses, and thick clothing so no one could identify them. They are both celebrities, they need to be careful, especially dealing with something personal like a date. 

Tangled Love has not been released yet, but the both of them know it would only make them even more famous, especially since the TV drama is highly anticipated. Ever since it was announced, there was buzz all over the internet.

The best-selling novel already has an established fanbase. Riku can only imagine how popular the drama will be once it starts releasing in June.

The two of them head onto a metro train together. Since they currently live in Tokyo, a massive city in Japan where most celebrities have to live, the main modes of transportation are metro trains, buses, and taxis. Hardly anyone drives, especially when it comes to commonfolk.

Because of Riku and Mayuka's celebritity statuses, they usually ride in cars, usually driven by their managers or other company staff. They don't want to risk dealing with paparazzi or any unwanted interactions with the public. So, they cannot gamble on taking public transportation often. However, they both of them agreed that it would be easier to take it for their date to make it as normal as possible.

Once they get on the train, the two of them sit next to each other, still holding hands. At one glance at them, they just seem like a regular couple who are wearing sunglasses for the sunny day and masks to avoid getting sick. But nope, they are two of some of the most popular actresses in all of Japan.

"Oh, this is our stop," Riku suddenly says, giving Mayuka's hand a gentle squeeze. 

They then get up and get off the train and into the metro station. 

Riku leads the way, tugging onto Mayuka's hand as they start to get closer.

"Why are you so excited?" Mayuka asks, confused as to what is so special about the place Riku wants to take her to.

"You'll see. You're going to lose your mind," Riku chuckles, still seeming very excited.

As they get closer, the smell of coffee fills their senses.

"A café? What's so special about a café? Those are everywhere!"

Oh how Mayuka suddenly wishes she did not say that. 

Once they get close enough, Mayuka can read the sign in front of the store. 

It's not just any café.

It is a cat café.

Mayuka starts to completely understand why Riku was so excited to take her to this place.

"A cat café?!" Mayuka gasps as she pauses in place for a moment. Riku couldn't have picked a better place.

"Yep!" Riku smiles wide, looking over at Mayuka with admiration. "We can get drinks and hang out with some cats! Also, the cats are adoptable." Riku makes sure to add, winking at Mayuka.

Mayuka starts to get so excited, which Riku thinks is very cute to see. She can't believe that they were once enemies.

When it came to date ideas, a cat café was one of the first things to come to Riku's mind. Mayuka loves cats a lot... and she thought it might help them both cope with the loss of Yuki.

They go inside together and get in line to order their drinks, but Mayuka can hardly keep her composure as she looks around at the cats around them. She wants to go pet them so badly... but not yet.

Finally, once the two of them got their drinks, Mayuka immediately starts to go around petting all of the friendly cats in the café.

Riku pets some cats too, but she's more focused on her favorite 'cat,' Mayuka.

As she sips her iced Americano, she keeps her attention on Mayuka, who is practically glowing with happiness. She hopes she can make Mayuka this happy all the time. 

Mayuka ended up falling in love with one of the cats, an orange and white cat with bright green eyes named Koi.

Mayuka was sitting in one of the lounge chairs when the cat approached her. She started petting him and she was smitten.

"Ku, should I adopt this one?" Mayuka asks for her option, practically melting once the cat curls up on her lap.

"You don't have to ask me, Mayu," Riku laughs. "It's your choice whether you adopt him or not."

"I don't know... I'm just a little unsure..." Mayuka begins to speak, unsure if she's ready for the commitment again. But then suddenly Koi brushes his face against Mayuka's hand, demanding for more pets.

"Okay, I'm adopting him," Mayuka declares right after that, absolutely in awe of the adorable gesture from the cat.

"He really likes you," Riku smiles wide as she watches Mayuka and the cat. "I think he chose you. He made a good choice."

Mayuka smiles wide as she goes back to petting Koi. 

"He did," Mayuka responds.

Riku should be paying attention to Koi, but her attention is all on how happy Mayuka looks. She wants her to be that happy forever. Riku didn't think that Mayuka couldn't get any more beautiful, but she was very wrong. 

Mayuka's smile lights up Riku's world. She needs to see it as much as possible.

"I should tell one of the people who work here that I want to adopt him but I don't want to get up," Mayuka says as Koi is still relaxed on her lap.

"I can do that," Riku gets up out of her own chair, still carrying iced Americano as she heads over towards the first cat café worker she could find.

"Hey, my girlfriend would love to adopt Koi," Riku mentions to the employee, who responds with a smile. 

"Finally, someone wants to adopt him!" The employee seems excited. "He's been here for six months now! No one has wanted to adopt him since he's not very affectionate and he is quite skittish."

Not very affectionate? Are you for real?

"My girlfriend must be special then because he's all over her," Riku smiles wide, glancing back over at Mayuka, who still has Koi on her lap. "But I already knew that."

"You sound like you're in love," the employee laughs.

"Yes. Very much so."

"Cute," the employee laughs, before changing the topic. "So for the adoption process, she'll just need to fill out some paperwork and pay the adoption fee. We'll go ahead and start getting a carrier ready," she smiles before heading off.

Riku then heads back over to Mayuka.

"I told one of the employees. You just need to fill out some paperwork and take care of the adoption fee."

"Wait, are you Oe Riku?!"

Oh no they've been caught!

They had taken off their masks to be able to drink. But, that and her voice was enough to give her away.

Riku watches Mayuka quickly take her mask back out of her coat pocket and put it back on in the corner of her eye.

"No?" Riku lies, doing her best to cover herself as she responds to the employee she had just talked to.

"Oh, everyone else I work with was swearing you were her! I don't watch a lot of dramas or movies, so I didn't really catch on until they started to mention it," the employee admits. "I guess you can take it as a compliment!" She laughs. "Anyway, here's the paperwork. Give it to your girlfriend and have her hand it back along with her method of payment."

Narrowly escaped!

"Thank you," Riku takes the paperwork and immediately heads over towards Mayuka.

"Mayu, we need to leave," Riku suddenly mentions, putting her mask back on. "People have caught onto us. I was able to divert her, but it sounds like some people noticed who I am, so they may recognize you too," she continues, sounding a bit worried. She cannot be caught on her date with Mayuka! "Please fill out the paperwork. I'll pay the fee. Then we can take Koi and get out of here."

"You'll pay?" Mayuka questions, seeming a bit shocked. "No. I'm not going to let you do that. I can pay for him just fine," she refuses, gently stroking the top of Koi's head. "Besides, you already paid for our drinks..."

"I insist. This is my treat to you," Riku smiles warmly. Now Mayuka couldn't say no anymore.

Mayuka fills out the paperwork, Riku pays, then they leave the cat café as soon as they could.

"Even though you got recognized, I really enjoyed this date," Mayuka smiles, holding Riku's hand with one hand and carrying Koi's carrier in the other. "This was the best day I've had in a long time. And it's all because of you. Thank you so much. You know me so well."

"I've known you for over 4 years now. Why wouldn't I?" Riku smiles back, squeezing Mayuka's hand gently. "You're the love of my life. I'm glad I made you happy today."

Mayuka felt all warm and fuzzy despite the cold air. She's the love of her life?

"Let's go get stuff for Koi," Mayuka suggests that they go to the nearest pet supply store. 

"Sounds like a plan," Riku responds.

And so they went off, excited to get to Mayuka's apartment to help Koi get settled in his new home.

Chapter Text

It is now Mayuka and Riku's four year dating anniversary.

And a lot of things have changed in the past four years.

It seems like Riku and Mayuka's friends have really progressed in their lives. 

Mayuka's manager Nina recently started to date Riku's former roommate Ayaka. As soon as Riku and Mayuka introduced them both to each other, they were both smitten, Nina especially though. Mayuka still tries to hold back her laugh when she thinks about what Nina told her after she first met Ayaka in person.

"I didn't think someone that beautiful could walk on this Earth," Nina had told Mayuka, which resulted in laughter from the older woman. "Seriously. What does she eat to look like that?"

Mayuka knew that Nina experienced love at first sight.

Riku and Mayuka began to act as wingwomen for them both, doing whatever they could to set them up to talk to each other. When they finally started to date about a year ago, Riku and Mayuka felt so accomplished. They are very cute together.

Meanwhile, Riku and Mayuka have also been preparing for aunthood. 

Rio and Maya are soon to have their first child, which should be born any day now. They are both excited for their friends and are ready to step in to help them if they ever need it.

On that note, Rio has recently announced her retirement from acting. 

Rio succeeded in becoming the most popular actress in all of Japan, and now that she and her wife will be starting a family, she decided to retire. 

It is honestly very bittersweet.

Though, understandably, a large amount of her fans are upset that she is retiring, wanting her to continue despite becoming a mother. But, most people seem to understand that she needs to prioritize her family.

However, Riku and Mayuka have not changed at all in the past four years.

They are the same now as they were four years ago. Other than the fact that Riku moved into Mayuka's apartment a year ago, they are still just a happily dating couple.

Oh, and they also made their relationship public.

Of course, there were some mixed reactions. Both of them did lose some fans, but they agreed that they wouldn't want those people to be their fans anyway.

Though, especially due to the success of Tangled Love and the love for their chemistry together, most reactions were supportive.

Discussions have been happening online wondering if they're going to get married soon. They have been dating for years now, after all.

Most people seem to think they will soon.

Riku and Mayuka have not been ignoring this. They do in fact think that it's going to be the right time soon.

The both of them have been a bit anxious about it, hoping the other will have the bravery to be the one to propose instead of having to do it herself. But this has only set them back.

They haven't strayed from discussing marriage though.

A month ago, they sat down and discussed it together.

"Mayu, do you want to get married soon?" Riku brought up the topic as they laid in bed together.

Mayuka was shocked by the sudden question, but nodded.

"Yeah. I think it would be a good time soon," Mayuka answered honestly. 

"How soon?" Riku asked. "Like... next year? Or two years from now? Or three?"

"I don't know, Ku," Mayuka shrugged, slipping underneath the sheets. "You're thirty now and I'm about to turn twenty-nine... don't you think we should sooner rather than later? How soon I'm not sure of, but I think we definitely should before you turn like... thirty-five?"

As Mayuka speaks, Koi jumps into the king sized bed. She smiles and pets him a bit.

"Do you think we should wait until Megumi is old enough to be our flower girl?" Riku laughs at the thought of Rio and Maya's awaited daughter. "That would be cute."

"It would be cute, but we shouldn't plan our marriage around that!" Mayuka laughs, giving Riku a gentle shove. "Poor child isn't even born yet and we're already disscussing her being the flower girl in our wedding..."

"How does... within the next two years sound then?" Riku suggests.

"Sounds perfect."

So now, Mayuka has been on high alert for signs that Riku might propose. She has thought about doing it herself, but she has felt a bit nervous about doing that. She wants to give it a bit of time to see if Riku does it first.

"Mayu-chan, do you want to watch Tangled Love?" Riku suddenly asked after a day of filming for the both of them. Separate dramas this time. 

The both of them have avoided watching the TV drama for... obvious reasons. It just brings up tough memories for them both. It is a reminder of when they both hated each other. Plus, some of the scenes would definitely make them embarrassed to watch back.

"What? Why?" Mayuka questioned, whipping her head over to her girlfriend. "I thought we agreed to never watch it."

"I don't know, I just think it might be fun to look back on it. We cannot hide from it forever, you know. Who knows? It might bring back some good memories too," Riku responded, though Mayuka thinks its a bit suspicious.

She's going to propose to me, isn't she?

Though, Mayuka agreed and they decided to start watching an episode or two a night.

Now, they are a few episodes away from the finale. Right on their anniversary night. 

The two of them are sitting on their couch together, watching the scene where Minako confesses her love to Kazumi, in which Riku had accidentally said Mayuka in the first blooper of the scene.

They are in the dark, surrounded by well-lit candles, making the living room feel romantic. They had gotten takeout from a nearby restaurant and now they are watching the episode intently. They cannot do much out in public as celebrities, sadly, so they usually have to resort to celebrating milestones in their apartment.

Mayuka chuckles once the specific scene pops up. It brings both good and bad memories for her.

But, she suddenly realizes Riku is no longer sitting next to her. Is she embarrassed? She starts to look around for her beloved girlfriend.

She turns her attention away from the TV screen to notice Riku getting down onto one knee with a ring box in hand.

Mayuka is filled with mild shock. She definitely suspected Riku might do this, but she does not mind at all. In fact, she thinks it is very cute.

Right as Minako begins her confession, Riku speaks with perfect timing.

"I love you with all of my heart, Mayuka," she says, perfectly mimicking the mistake from before. "Will you be my wife?"

She replaced girlfriend with wife.

Mayuka is absolutely moved by this, as she wasn't even sure if Riku had it in her. 

She begins to tear up and suddenly hugs Riku tightly, holding her head to her chest.

"Yes! Of course!" Mayuka can't contain her happiness. "I love you so much, of course!" She repeats. 

Once Mayuka lets go, Riku stands back up and their lips meet in a passionate kiss. They hold each other close, absolutely bursting with passion and emotion.

As soon as they separate, Riku speaks.

"I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Me neither... I love you so so much," Mayuka responds, taking a moment to get a better look at the engagement ring. 

"Babe, it's beautiful," she says as she takes in the details.

"Beautiful just like you," Riku responds before planting a kiss on Mayuka's cheek. "Happy anniversary, my love. Here's to many more years to come."

"You're even more beautiful than this ring, you know that?" Mayuka strikes back with a flirtatious laugh as she puts the ring on her ring finger. "Happy anniversary. I cannot wait to spend all of those years with you by my side."

Their lips meet once again.

Although they both dreaded it, they are forever grateful for Tangled Love for bringing them back together.

Chapter Text

Christmas had always been a fun holiday for Riku and Mayuka. Though, they never wanted to go all out for it until now, mostly due to being so busy in their lives. However, it was a pretty special Christmas for them both.

They spent all Christmas doing activities around their apartment to celebrate. Those included adding finishing touches to their Christmas tree, which had been unfinished for two weeks due to their busy schedules. They also decided to bake some holiday treats and add more decorations, including lights, tinsel, and a mistletoe from them to kiss beneath.

They even decided to wear matching outfits: Christmas sweaters and mom jeans. It was Riku's idea. Mayuka thought the idea was corny at first, but she ended up warming up to it.

"Can you believe this is our first Christmas as a married couple?" 

Mayuka had spoke as she took another step up the step-ladder to place the star on the top of their Christmas tree. 

"I can't," Riku chuckled as she watched her wife reach to put the star on top of the tree, praying that Mayuka didn't lose her balance. "And a few years ago, we wouldn't have even dared to spend Christmas together," she reminded her. Oh, how she was glad they're now on good terms.

"It's our first Christmas with Hime too," Mayuka pointed out with a smile, successfully placing the star on the top of the tree. 

To celebrate their marriage, Riku and Mayuka decided to adopt another cat. Koi needed a friend, after all! So, the two of them went out and adopted a little brown tabby kitten, naming her Hime. The name was fitting, since Riku and Mayuka have both been spoiling her like a princess since they got her.

"Yeah, hopefully she doesn't knock the tree over," Riku laughed. She watched Mayuka go down the step-latter cautiously. Once she noticed her wife lose her balance, she quickly caught her by the waist, keeping her from falling down the ladder. 

Mayuka laughed, moreso from relief, thankful that her wife was there to catch her. 

"Phew, that was scary," Mayuka admitted, fully going down the step-ladder as Riku continued to hold onto her waist to make sure she did not stumble again. "Thanks for catching me, love."

Once Mayuka's feet were back on the floor, she turned around and gently pecked Riku on the lips.

"I wasn't going to let you fall," Riku laughed and gave her a small wink, keeping her hands on Mayuka's waist.

"If you let me fall from where you were standing, I was going to start signing the divorce papers," Mayuka joked, smiling at Riku teasingly before she let go.

"Come on, we just got married three months ago!" Riku laughed. "You'd give me another chance, right?"

"No second chances," Mayuka laughed. "But good thing we don't have to worry about that, right?" She grinned and kissed Riku on the cheek.

"That's right," Riku responded, feeling warm and fuzzy inside as she received another kiss from her wife. 

It was then when the timer on the oven sounded, signaling that the cookies that they were baking were ready.

Baking or cooking was never common for this couple. Since they were very busy, they have never had time to cook or bake anything. Usually, for meals, they would order takeout from a nearby restaurant and call it a day. 

Honestly, they're both surprised they didn't burn the apartment down.

"Sounds like the cookies are ready," Mayuka smiled and began to make her way to the kitchen. Riku followed her, noticing as Mayuka walked beneath the mistletoe hanging in the doorway.

"Mayu, you walked under the mistletoe!" Riku smiled wide. "Now we have to kiss!"

"After I take the cookies out!" Mayuka responded. She wanted to kiss Riku and she knew Riku wanted to as well. But, she did not want to risk burning the cookies.

As Mayuka did so, Riku checked her phone, looking through social media.

"Aww, Mayu, come look when you have the chance!" Something quickly caught Riku's attention.

As soon as Mayuka took the cookies out and turned the oven off, she was quickly by Riku's side. 

"What is it?" She asked curiously, looking to take a peek at Riku's phone screen.

On Maya's personal Instagram account, she had posted a photo of her and Rio's infant daughter, Megumi. It was Megumi's first Christmas, so it seemed the two mothers went all out for their daughter. Megumi was only nine months old but she had already won the hearts of many, especially her mothers'. Even though she was still so young, she's the spitting image of Maya, which would only become more apparent as she got older.

"Aw, how sweet," Mayuka responded with a smile on her face. "She's grown so much already. I can't believe she'll be a year old in a couple months," she pointed out. "She's so photogenic too," she laughed. "Looks like we might have a future model or actress on our hands."

"I know. She's adorable," Riku smiled. "She always seems calm and well-behaved too. Even Hime behaves worse than her," she laughed. 

As if on cue, Riku quickly glanced over in the direction of the cookies. There, she spotted Hime up on the counter, about to start eating the cookies. 

"Hey!" Riku laughed as she put her phone down on the counter, hurrying over towards the young cat. "Those aren't for you!" 

Mayuka let out a sigh. It was not unusual for Hime to misbehave like this. But, neither of them really had the heart to yell at or punish her. 

"Why don't you behave like your brother?" Riku picked Hime up in her arms, holding her like a baby as Mayuka watched her with a smile. "He's just napping on the couch with his Christmas sweater on!"

Yes, they got Christmas sweaters for the cats. Koi wore his just fine, but Hime hated hers so much that they had to take it off.

"Mayu," Riku brought up as she walked back over to her wife, still cradling Hime. "Would you ever want one? A baby, I mean? Megumi might need a friend, you know?"

"Hm..." Mayuka did think about it for a moment. But then she shook her head. "We already have Koi and Hime. I think that's enough for now. Taking care of Hime is already pretty much like taking care of a toddler," she smiled, petting the top of Hime's head as Riku held her. "We'll have time to figure it out, but I'm satisfied with how our little family is now."

"Yeah, I agree with you there," Riku nodded. Hime started to get tired of being held, wiggling in Riku's arms before she put her down. "We've only just entered our thirties. We have time."

"Ku-chan, my love," Mayuka began to speak seductively holding onto her wife'e hand. "Shall we go kiss underneath the mistletoe?"

"You don't even have to ask," Riku winked at her as the two began to walk back into the doorway together. 

Then, as soon as they were in position, they tilted their heads and pressed their lips together. Every time they've kissed, they've enjoyed every second.

They had their hands rested on each other's waists, but as they shifted to making out, they have started to explore a bit. 

Riku's hands slid beneath Mayuka's sweater, sliding upwards to her bra. Mayuka moved her hands to Riku's behind, giving it a gentle squeeze which made Riku let out a quiet moan. Mayuka took this opportunity to gently nibble her wife's bottom lip, which Riku thoroughly enjoyed.

That was when Riku separated, her eyes having darkened with desire for much more. Her hands were at the hook of Mayuka's bra, threatening to unhook it. Mayuka shifted her hands to the front of Riku, holding them to the button of her jeans.

"Let's take this to the bedroom," Riku suddenly said before it got any further. 

"You lead the way," Mayuka's tone was breathy and full of desire. What better way is there to celebrate Christmas than to have some fun in bed?

However, after they left the bedroom, they found that they had left the cookies unattended. And of course, the cats had gotten to them.

Despite that, they found themselves having a good time during their first Christmas as a married couple.

Here's to many more Christmases together in the future.