Author's Note: Hi! I'm back once again! I'll try my best to finish everything by the end of November because I'm only updating because I've got a super free schedule (which means I can update anytime) as of now until the end of the month. So, thanks for your support, reads and reviews! It means so much to me, really!
This is Chapter 7. Forgive me if it had a bit or too much Jenruki in this chapter because I got carried away so much. But no worries because this is still a Rylice fiction story. :))))
Chapter 7: First Day Blues
It was Monday already and Ryo was already awake. He was scheduled to have a photoshoot for the Vanity Shinjuku magazine.
"I wonder if Alice is awake already," Ryo replied.
Meanwhile, Alice was on her way to Ryo's room so she could wake him up for the photoshoot. She was still irritated with the fact that the model had appeared again in her dreams.
Damn him! Alice thought. Ugh!
Eventually, she had reached his room and sensed if he was still sleeping. She decided to knock reluctantly because she did not know if she was disturbing or not.
Inside his room, Ryo was busy fixing himself. Then he heard a knock on his door. "Sir?"
It was Alice and it confirmed Ryo's hypothesis that the blonde was already awake. Ryo went towards his door and opened it.
"Hey, pretty!" Ryo greeted the blonde even if she had messy hair. "Good morning!"
At this point, Alice heart pounded so fast yet she did not know why. But she decided to ignore it and curled her eyebrows. "What do you want?" she asked.
Ryo chuckled with the young woman's remark. "I'm just greeting you, you know? Are you having PMS?"
Alice's eyes widened. "NO!" she exclaimed indignantly.
"If no, then why are you grumpy today?" Ryo chuckled. "A beautiful woman like you should always smile!"
Alice fought the oncoming blush which was going to start in her cheeks but she won.
"None of your business, Ryo," she replied with a snort. "Look, I came here to wake you up so we could start your photoshoot with Vanity Shinjuku, okay?"
She's so amusing! Ryo thought to himself. And dedicated somehow.
"Okay, Madame!" Ryo teased which only made the blonde glare at him even more.
"I'll leave you alone so you could prepare," Alice replied and walked away towards the door.
When the door had totally closed, Ryo smiled to himself and decided to grab his clothes and a towel so he could take a bath.
Outside Ryo's room, Alice felt her legs shaking. She was not sure if she could do this for real.
"Okay… You can do this!" Alice said. "There's no way you're falling into his charms… again!"
With that remark to herself, she suddenly felt herself blush. Charms? No way!
What the hell did my mind just get into? The blonde asked her mind.
She was beginning to walk around the hallway when she saw Genji coming out from his room.
"Good morning, Alice! It's a wonderful day to start your new job!" he smirked.
"Wonderful!" Alice echoed. "But whatever… Is he really like this when he's awake every morning?"
Genji laughed light-heartedly. "Unfortunately, yes. So you have to get used to it!"
"If I find out that you're mocking me then you're going to have it, Otara!" Alice threatened playfully.
However, both of them were shut up when they heard the wireless phone beep.
"Hi! This is Ryo! Please leave a message!" the phone droned.
Then the next thing they heard was a click.
"Uh… Hey Ryo! This is Tamiko! So, are we going to your place or my place? I'll be waiting!" the female voice spoke up.
Genji only rolled his eyes to the side while Alice only shook her head.
He's so gross, Alice thought. Now I knew the reason why Rika didn't like him in the first place!
"Uhm… Alice… That woman was a model… Her name's Tamiko Uzara and she's pretending to have a relationship with Ryo," Genji explained.
"Ha-ha! I'm not surprised!" Alice quipped as she opened her phone. "Seeing the way Ryo does with ladies anyway! Alright, I'm gonna go and change."
Eventually, Ryo akiyama had just barged outside of his room and saw Genji standing there. Unfortunately, he was only wearing nothing but a towel.
"Uh… Genji?" Ryo asked.
"Yes, Ryo?" Genji asked.
"Were you talking to someone or my phone just beeped?" Ryo inquired.
"Both, Ryo!" Genji replied. "Anyway, your concubine just called. She was asking if you'll meet her here or in her house."
"Who?" Ryo's face was puzzled.
"Tamiko," Genji answered.
"Ohh…" Ryo replied and thought of an idea. "Were you alone when she called?"
"Nope," Genji replied. "She only left a message and Alice also heard it."
Dang! Ryo thought because he did not want to upset the blonde even more with his womanizing.
"What?" Genji asked as he saw his employer wore a look of distress.
"Nothing… Never mind," Ryo replied.
"You seemed to be distressed about something!" Genji replied, noticing the young man had a wrinkled look in his face.
"It's just nothing… Really…" Ryo said. "I'd better go and get changed."
"Yeah! You should!" Genji said and laughed.
Meanwhile, Alice was finished taking a bath when she heard a knock on her door. Her hair was draped by a yellow towel and she was wearing a white blouse and black skirt. She felt that it was fit for a personal assistant like her who had no tolerance with dressing like a model. She was wearing a pair of black pumps since she still wanted to show her fashionable side. She removed the towel from her hair as she opened the door.
But when she opened the door, she saw what she did not expect.
"RYO?" Alice asked.
And the aforementioned was standing in front of her. His hair was spiky and he still had tons of gel all over his hair. Yet she could not deny he looked handsome especially with his sapphire blue eyes and his smile. He was also wearing a blue long sleeved shirt and a pair of black slacks.
Oh no… Alice thought as she saw him from head to toe. I hate to admit it… He's handsome for today.
With this, the blonde became agape at her employer's appearance. Ryo smiled at Alice's reaction for his plan to get back at her was finally materializing.
"Am I a stunner for you, Alice?" Ryo asked playfully.
Eventually, Alice shook her head and returned to reality. Her once poker face was now changed by an irritated one and it was only somehow a cross between irritated and amused actually.
"Stunner? In magazines, yes," Alice pointed out. Yeah right.
"But for me, you are a stunner," Ryo replied with sincerity. And this is true!
Alice wondered if Ryo was joking. She could not even find a reason to doubt him because first of all, she did not want to trust him in the first place. But she could feel her face reddening because of his statement about her.
"Gee… Thanks," Alice said with sarcasm because of her intent to remove the oncoming blush on her face.
"Anytime!" Ryo replied with a smile and extended his hand towards her. "So, shall we go now? After all, we don't want to keep everyone here waiting, you know?"
Alice became surprised at his behavior. What did he eat to become so polite at her?
"Ryo, you know perfectly well that I'm just your personal assistant and not a girlfriend," Alice replied casually while trying to remove the awkwardness caused by Ryo's hand in front of her. "What is that part of the deal that you don't understand?"
"It would be ungentlemanly of me to let a woman go out of her room alone," Ryo replied with a smirk. "Come on, my dear assistant! We've got so many things to do!"
Alice only rolled her eyes. This is so not how I imagine my life right now…
Eventually, Alice stepped out of her room and saw Ryo who was waiting outside as well. Then the two made way along the hallway. Alice still felt awkward but she needed to get used to it. After all, this was just temporary.
Meanwhile, Ryo had been looking at Alice every time he had a chance. He was still mesmerized by her beauty that he could not resist looking at her. If only there was something that could drive her irritated state as of now, he would do it. Right now, he was trying to be friends with her once again and probably start the thing he wanted the most.
They made their way downstairs and saw Genji who was dressed in the same outfit as Ryo only differing him with the color of his buttoned long-sleeved shirt. He was wearing white and a pair of black slacks as well. Apparently, the manager looked more like an office manager more than a talent manager.
"Hey! Are we having a conference here?" Genji joked because he noticed how formal the outfits Alice and Ryo were wearing.
"Maybe!" Alice replied humorously. "Looking sharp, Genji!"
"Thanks, Alice!" Genji winked. "You two both look good together."
Alice only looked at Ryo and shrugged. Ryo only maintained his smug grin because of Genji's comment.
"So let's go! We don't want Vanity Shinjuku to be waiting for us!" Genji declared as he took the car keys which were hanging on the wall.
Alice moved towards the couch to get Ryo's things. Genji assisted her while Ryo took a part of his things so it would not be embarrassing for his new personal assistant to boss her around. They moved out of the house and went to the car that was parked in front already.
Meanwhile, in some other part of Shinjuku, Rika was busy planning something in her office when her assistant came inside.
"Good morning, Ma'am!" her assistant, also known as Mimi Tachikawa, greeted her.
Rika looked up and saw her subordinate. "Hello, Mimi! Is everything ready for the photoshoot?"
"Yes, Ma'am! I'm bringing Chiako and some other friends with me. Who am I going to talk to, Ma'am?" Mimi asked with uncertainty. Even if the opportunity to see Ryo face to face was daunting, she was nervous on how would she act around him.
"Alice McCoy or Genji Otara," Rika instructed. Oh yeah… Alice is the new P.A… I almost forgot!
"You mean Alice McCoy? Your best friend?" Mimi asked with wide eyes.
Rika chuckled since she only told a few about Alice's new job. "Yeah… I can't believe that Alice ended up being Ryo's P.A.! I have a nagging feeling that Ryo must have been intimidating for an employer anyway!"
"For a hot model I'm sure!" Mimi said with dreamy eyes and her voice became more flirtatious. "How about you, Ma'am? Did you ever have a crush on Ryo before?"
Rika only laughed raucously. "Me? A crush on that Rooster-Head? Na-uh!"
"Why? He's handsome alright!" Mimi insisted.
"No way! He's only handsome because of his girls!" Rika snorted. "Besides, he almost asked me out before if it wasn't for Henry."
"Aww!" Mimi said in awe.
Seeing that she had been blurting too much information regarding her personal life, Rika cleared her throat.
"Okay! Enough about me! You're going to see your idol in few minutes!" Rika said and gave all the papers that were needed for the job. "All of your interviews and credits shall go directly to me for proofreading, okay?"
"Yes, Ma'am!" Mimi said obediently.
"And, please be at ease with Alice and Genji. They're the ones you're going to get in touch with since they handle Ryo's schedules. For today, you're lucky that I bargained a 10 A.M. appointment because Ryo is the in-demand models for today," Rika informed her assistant. "If anything worse turns up, you know what to do, Mimi!"
Mimi gave a salute to her superior and smiled. "Thank you, Ma'am! When I get this job done, I'll treat all of my department comrades for lunch! Including you!"
Rika shook her head humorously. "I'll be looking forward to it then!" she exclaimed.
Eventually, her assistant marched out of the room and Rika began to write something on a piece of blank paper. Before she could even continue, she heard her phone ring. She picked it up and the caller was shown to be Henry.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Rika!"
"What made you call?" she asked. She wanted to know why Henry called her at nine in the morning.
"Well… You remember that I gave you the latest advertisement for Vanity Shinjuku?"
"Yes…" Rika recalled and tapped the pencil near her temples. "Oh yes! It's already out actually."
"Thank goodness!" Henry laughed at the other line. "I thought it's not yet out! I still had to explain to my boss about its publicity!"
"You're stupid!" Rika teased. "Well, it's already out. Actually three days ago."
"Thanks, Ri! You're a lifesaver! I don't know what I'm gonna do without you!"
"Sure! Anytime!" Rika said, trying her best not to give in to her love's appreciation. She had been always doing everything for him ever since they were still in high school.
"So how's your big project going?" Henry inquired curiously.
"Hmm… They asked me to cover Ryo but I'm too busy so I passed it to my subordinates who were dying to meet that Rooster-Head! Can you believe that Ryo's now a famous model?"
"Yeah! It's just a shame that Alice didn't want to know about him or the fact that he's now a model."
"Hmm… Speaking of Alice… She's the newest personal assistant of Ryo!" Rika informed Henry since along with her, the blue-haired young man was also one of Alice's closest friends.
"Amazing! I wonder how did that thing even happened!"
"I agree! It's such a shame that I'm only in charge of the publication material, not the entire context of the interview and how the interview would look like. I would've loved to see the reunion of the two!"
"Me either… Oh well! There are things that always have the elements of surprises…"
"I agree!"
"Well, anyway… Are you available tonight?"
"Why?" Rika asked suspiciously yet her voice was still in her nice state. "What's going on?"
"Can't I say surprise?" Henry asked.
"I don't know!" Rika laughed. "Anyway, my answer is yes and I hope that's something good you're cooking behind my back!"
"Of course! Well… I'm gonna see you later, 'kay? Love you!"
Since Rika was still feeling awkward to blurt out 'I love you' in public, she decided to make it into a whisper. "I love you too," Rika said with an effort to make her voice as soft as possible to avoid several hullabaloos.
"Ryo Akiyama," Rika said as she hung up the phone and smirked victoriously. "You're going to get what you really wanted!"
Meanwhile, inside the studio, the three were currently waiting for the photographer and the interviewer. Genji and Alice were seated at the long couch while Ryo sat on a smaller one. At that time, Alice combed her hair in which she tied it also in a ponytail to make it more organized. Genji looked at the blonde and noticed that his employer was looking at the latest personal assistant.
I could hardly admit that these two are digging into each other yet Ryo was only at Alice's throat, Genji thought as he noticed the brunet looking at the blonde intently. How could I make them get closer to each other's hearts?
His thoughts were ruined when he heard a door knocking. He stood up so he could figure out who the guest was, or probably were. When he got to the doorway, he opened the door and saw Mimi Tachikawa and the photographer named Cody Hida.
"Excuse me, Sir? We're from Vanity Shinjuku and we're looking for Mister Genji Otara," Mimi introduced herself politely and the photographer she was with. Both of them were carrying some props so they could use it for Ryo's photoshoot.
"I am Genji Otara," Genji replied with a smile. "Are you Rika Nonaka?"
"In our dreams, Mister Genji! I'm Mimi Tachikawa and this is Cody Hida. Miss Rika sent us to cover Ryo for our next month's magazine!" Mimi replied facetiously and turned to her companion. "Come on, Cody!"
Genji allowed the two to enter and hollered. "Ryo! let's take five!" he said.
"Coming right up!" was the voice Genji heard from the doorway.
Ryo urged his blonde assistant to follow him.
"This is what you're gonna do now that you're my newest P.A.," Ryo replied with a chuckle and curved his hands so she could follow him.
He's so full of himself! God! Why! Alice thought in disdain as she followed Ryo. You have to keep calm, Alice! This is only temporary! Only temporary!
When the model and the assistant reached the manager, they could see two guests coming inside his house.
"Ryo! Vanity's here! Let's wait for them to set up and we'll start the shoot," Genji replied, seeing his employer and the personal assistant.
It took a few minutes for the photographer and the interviewer to set the props up. With this, Ryo eventually sat comfortably while Alice and Genji watched him from afar.
"Alright, Cody! Let the cameras roll!" Mimi instructed.
"Okay, Mims! Start!" Cody hollered as he fidgeted his camera with the use of his fingers.
"So, good morning, Mr. Ryo Akiyama, my name is Mimi Tachikawa from Vanity Shinjuku and I'm here to interview something that would inspire other young men regarding their looks and their basic needs," Mimi started and looked at Ryo intently as she spoke up.
Ryo cleared his throat before answering. "Let me first greet you a pleasant morning, Mimi. As you can see, I'm happy to be your resource person who could advice regarding my fellow gentlemen and their looks as well as their basic needs."
"Actually, in modeling, looks do matter. But in real life, if you know what your face looks like or has, it still doesn't matter. What matters most is the heart."
At this point, Alice looked up and her heart beat in anticipation. She felt something odd inside her and she concluded that Ryo's words somehow were true even if she felt that they were scripted.
Well, at some point, he does speak very well, Alice thought and returned to watching him as he was interviewed by Mimi.
"But if you want to catch everyone's attention, why not try something that would make them do so? Like dressing up in the most fashionable clothes, making your hair spiky… Just kidding!" Ryo replied again and followed it with a laugh, causing the two people from Vanity Shinjuku to laugh.
Alice was still quiet at that point but her mind began wandering off to somewhere. Genji laughed at the unfailing humor of his boss.
"But kidding aside, there are lots of things that you can do to make you look attractive to others… You can start it by doing good things to other people as well! It doesn't matter what you look like or what you have. Because all of the things cannot be seen easily in the eye," Ryo finished.
Mimi seemed touched by Ryo's answers. She decided to ask him more so she could have much information to have.
"Oh alright… What about the basic needs of your fellow gentlemen?" Mimi asked again as Cody flashed his camera towards Ryo and the latter posed nicely.
"Oh that?! Well… Everybody has needs, including men. But sometimes, like in the hierarych of needs, they need to be addressed because sometimes, men would have their unusual problem when their needs were not met… just like their need for love," Ryo replied and turned his gaze towards Alice.
In a few moments, Alice realized that Ryo had been looking at her already and blushed. Now it was definitely obvious that she got struck by his words.
Crap! He only said love! Not loving me! Alice thought and covered her face in embarrassment. What's wrong with me?
"And love is what men need most. Right, guys? Because of all things that men would think of, it would be love. And nothing else!" Ryo replied and smiled with confidence.
Genji noticed that Ryo had been smiling most of the time during his interview. Was he pleased to see Alice or was he even enjoying more to the fact that his crush or possibly love was watching him speak for a fashion magazine.
I could not ask for more, Genji thought. But he never smiled like this during the times of his former assistants… Something's definitely up!
"Hmm… Okay! Do you have any messages for all the guys out there, Mister Ryo Akiyama?" Mimi asked courteously.
"Hmm… Okay! So, hi guys! This is Ryo Akiyama speaking! Your idol and also a fellow guy… So I would like to give this piece of advice to you guys! First, doing what you want to do is alright… Like making yourself handsome for others but don't forget that even if change is necessary you may never know that you will change eventually. Not just your face but also your personality. It's bad to live with a damaged personality because you might also hurt the ones surrounding you."
Alice realized that Ryo had been implying something ever since the start of his interview. Somehow they had a connection with his and her past. She felt struck because the last sentence was true for him. He definitely changed ever since he got famous in high school and that was true. Because he got famous, he attracted girls. And because he attracted girls, he only viewed her as a friend, which hurt her more. But now, she could care less for his efforts because that was what she wanted to do actually: to treat him as a friend for good.
Seeing that she gathered a lot of information regarding Ryo, Mimi noticed that she had done a lengthy interview with the model. She decided to do what her main goal was: to have a picture with Ryo.
"Thank you very much, Sir, for your time!" Mimi replied. "But can we ask you a favor?"
"What is it?" Ryo asked accommodatingly.
"Can we have a picture of you?" Mimi asked, implying the photoshoot itself.
Ryo smiled. "Sure! No problem at all!" he answered very welcomingly.
Mimi eventually gave instructions to Cody so he could start taking photos of Ryo and his variable poses. After all, aside from the interview, they were scheduled to have the photoshoot as early as possible. With this, Mimi directed Ryo's pose so he could execute it and make it easy for Cody to take shots.
While the photoshoot was going on, Alice sat on a nearby seat so she could rest. Despite the things that Ryo had said, she still felt crushed. Her past was still haunting her and this was already disturbing for her. Ryo was already haunting her in her dreams and now, she was working alongside him and seeing each other face-to-face.
Be professional, Alice! Don't let your feelings crush you! You have to be stronger! Alice motivated herself so she could avoid any necessary pain in the future. And don't let foolish love kill you, okay? There's no room for more mistakes.
But her thoughts were destroyed when she heard the interviewer remark.
"Okay! Change outfit! No wait! Why don't we take shots of him topless?" Mimi said.
Alice's eyes widened. You've got to be kidding me!
"Genji?" she spoke up.
"There are clothes in the other side of the table… Pick the white long-sleeved one," the manager instructed, knowing that the blonde was awkward to remove the model's long-sleeved button shirt.
"Okay!" Alice said. Wooh! Saved by the bell!
With that, the blonde went off and took some of Ryo's clothes. Genji instructed Ryo that he should take his clothes on his own. In a few moments, Ryo took his shirt off and he became topless already. He gave his outfit to Genji who was still standing there.
"Now that's the epitome of a model!" Mimi exclaimed as she signaled Ryo to pose and Ryo did a pose with his arms crossed and placed near his chest. "Very good, Mister Akiyama!"
"Thanks!" Ryo said obligingly.
The blonde had reached the table and saw a white long-sleeved buttoned shirt lying on top of it. Fortunately, she did not have to rummage through the packed things for her to get a shirt.
Okay? Alice thought as she held the white top.
Eventually, she returned to the living room where the shooting was held. When she saw Ryo topless, she could only scream mentally in her mind.
Oh my god… she thought and became agape. She also blushed at this point.
Unfortunately from his sitting, Genji saw her blush and Alice stopped herself so that the man would not get any more impression about herself. So in order to stop herself, she only smiled shyly and went towards Genji so she could find a decent safe place to stifle herself.
"Hey, Genji!" Alice said and gave it to Genji.
"I saw that, Alice!" Genji whispered with a smirk and stood up.
Sorry… Alice thought. But I treat him just like a brother so it's only fine.
But Genji could not give Ryo's top since the model was still posing for the camera. One pose made Ryo pose standing on one leg and another was him in front of a wall.
"Okay!" Mimi smiled. "Mister Ryo, we're gonna have to change outfits!"
Then this was Genji's cue to give Ryo his plain white buttoned shirt. Alice was only seeing the two from afar shyly because Genji saw her blush because of her sight of Ryo being topless.
"Thanks for this, Genj!" Ryo replied.
"Don't thank me. Thank Alice," Genji replied with a smile.
Then the young man turned his gaze to the blonde who was now busy answering a phone call. He then realized what her worth to him was and he decided to win her back before it could be too late. However, he still could not decipher what caused her to get mad at him.
I wish I didn't reject her before, Ryo thought as he saw her slowly. Because now I understand why unrequited love hurts. She only said she liked me…
Eventually, after a few more poses, the members of Vanity Shinjuku were quite satisfied with what they got. They smiled contentedly.
"Okay!" Mimi stated in conclusion.
"Are we finished already?" Ryo asked, hoping that the photoshoot would end soon. Well actually, he had a reason why he wanted it to end. It was because he wanted to spend the day with his newest assistant and figure things about her.
"Yes, Mister Ryo!" Mimi smiled. "Thank you so much for your time, cooperation and space!"
"You're welcome!" Ryo said and turned to his manager and assistant who were waiting for his instructions. "Genji, Alice! Let's pack up and we're going to the other studio!"
Alice smacked her head in disgust. "Oh no…"
