Broken Fragments

Chapter 26: Strange Feelings and Repeated Mistakes

"I'm sorry, Chairman," Hiroto regretfully replied as he walked back to where they were standing.

The Chairman turned his attention back to the platform to listen to the questions being answered. Hiroto, on the other hand, kept his head down to hide his face as he thought about what he just did.

"What am I doing?" he thought, looking at the sweat that dropped on his shoe from his forehead out of nervousness.

"Why do I feel this way?"

Hiroto didn't pay attention to the conference because he felt ashamed of what he was thinking and what he wanted to do. His fists were still clenched, but the reason was completely different from earlier. This time, his fists were clenched out of anger for himself. He kept thinking with a frown on his face, hoping to get an answer.

"Tsubasa-san, what is your relationship with Cloudy-san?" a reporter asked.

Suddenly, Hiroto looked up with horror hinted in his eyes. In his head, he didn't want to hear the answer, but his heart was looking forward to Yuuhi's reply.

"This is actually my first time meeting Cloudy-san in person, but I've admired him for a very long time now," Yuuhi revealed as the camera flashes made her eyes twinkle.

Hiroto quietly gasped, his eyes wide in shock and his eyebrows frowning.

"What about you, Cloudy-san? What is your opinion on working with Tsubasa-san?" another reporter asked.

"To be honest, I'm really happy that I got picked to play Makoto's role because I'll get to work together with Tsubasa-san, which is something I've always wanted to do ever since she caught my eyes. I'm really excited to see the outcome of the movie and what it will do to our newly-formed friendship," Cloudy answered, glancing at Yuuhi and the audience for a couple times.

The audience clapped for Yuuhi and Cloudy's excellent answers. Everyone was glad that all the cast members got along well with each other, especially Yuuhi and Cloudy, of course. However, one person in the crowded conference hall was upset of how things were going between the two idols. Hiroto, who couldn't contain his anger any longer, quietly walked out of the conference hall with his head down. His bangs covered his face, so the paparazzi couldn't tell who he was.

"What am I doing?" Hiroto angrily asked himself as he headed to his car.

After a few more hours, the conference finally ended, and the whole cast and crew bid each other goodbyes. Of course, Cloudy and Yuuhi also exchanged cellphone numbers to keep in contact with each other.

"Filming starts in two days, everyone! We'll all see you there," Takada Pinau reminded before everyone else dispersed.

"You did great today, Yuuhi-san. I'll be there to help you out if you need anything, okay?" Seiji greeted as they both got off the platform.

"I didn't know you were going to be in this movie, Seiji-kun. I'm looking forward to working with you," Yuuhi smiled as she bowed to her mentor.

"Oh, Yuuhi-chan. If you're looking for Hiroto-kun, he's already in the car, waiting for you," Chairman Muranishi said before he escorted Kumoi-san and Seiji to his car.

Yuuhi bowed to him as a simple sign of her thanks for his help. As soon as Chairman Muranishi turned around and left with Kumoi-san and Seiji, Yuuhi also made her way to where Hiroto parked his car. When she arrived, she found Hiroto's head, resting on the steering wheel. Yuuhi got in the car and closed the door immediately, putting her seatbelt on right after.

Without saying anything, Hiroto started driving to take Yuuhi back to her apartment. Yuuhi noticed Hiroto's strangeness, but she didn't really care. Her eyes, which were looking out the car window, were still the same cold eyes she had always had. When Yuuhi noticed Hiroto's tightening his grip on the steering wheel as he pulled over in front of the empty parking lot in front of her apartment, she rolled her eyes and turned to Hiroto. She closed her eyes before she started speaking, and as soon as she opened them again, a concerned look masked over her cold demeanor.

"A-are you alright, Hiroto-san? Do you feel sick? W-what's wrong?" Yuuhi asked, hesitating to comfortingly place her hand on Hiroto's shoulder, which was a part of her act.

When she finally decided to place her hand on his shoulder, Hiroto loosened his grip on the steering wheel.

"What was that all about?" Hiroto asked, his voice soft and deep.

"W-what?" Yuuhi requested to repeat his question even though she heard it the first time.

"I know you heard me."

"Huh?"

"What the hell was that all about?!" Hiroto roared, grabbing Yuuhi's hand all of a sudden.

He held onto her hand tightly, actually surprising her.

"This is so irritating," Yuuhi thought before beginning her act once again.

"H-Hiroto-san, y-you're hurting me," she whined.

"What the hell was that all about, huh?! You've always admired Cloudy?! Since when?! Huh?!" Hiroto continued thundering over Yuuhi, still tightly holding her wrist with a furious look on his face

"I've always admired him, Hiroto-san! So can you please—"

"What exactly is he to you?! Have you been close to him for a really long time?! Is that it, huh?! What is your relat—"

"We're just friends, Hiroto-san!" Yuuhi cried from the top of her lungs.

Hiroto came to his senses as he silently gasped, taken aback of what he was doing. He still held onto Yuuhi's wrist, but he loosened his grip a bit.

"I told you, we're just friends! Why are you so concerned about Cloudy-san and my relationship?" she cried, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"So can you please let go of me?" Yuuhi requested, still crying.

Hiroto let go of Yuuhi's hand with a shocked expression left on his face. Yuuhi quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed her purse from the glove compartment. Before she got out, Yuuhi paused as she placed her hand on the doorknob.

"Don't worry, Hiroto-san. Cloudy-san is just a friend," Yuuhi said, her bangs covering her icy eyes.

"Just like you're my friend."

Yuuhi got off the car and walked to her apartment without turning around or saying anything anymore. Hiroto was left speechless, still a dazed. He felt something painful in his heart, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Hoping to find the answer, he placed his fist on his chest to feel his rapid heartbeat. Disappointed of what he had done, Hiroto tilted his head down to reflect on what happened just then.

"Yeah, that's right," Hiroto muttered with an aching smile on his face.

"I'm just a friend."

Yuuhi got in her bathtub to take a relaxing bath after a long day before bed. She closed her eyes and breathed in the steam that rose from the warm water she was soaked in. After a couple of minutes, Yuuhi started scooping the water with her right hand and pouring them on her left arm while rubbing her soft and smooth skin. When she looked at her wrist, she found red marks from Hiroto's grip earlier. Gently stroking the mark with her right index finger, she sinisterly smiled and let out a short and soft chuckle after remembering what happened in the car.

"I'm such a good actress, aren't I?" Yuuhi said with a malevolent smirk.

The day of the filming began and the cast and crew drove to a city that wasn't too busy for the setting of their movie. Yuuhi kindly talked to Hiroto and told him that she had forgotten the things that happened so that they could remain friends. Deceived of Yuuhi's 'friendly' act, Hiroto also decided to forget everything and returned to their normal relationship.

Since they were going to stay in the film setting for at least a month, Takada Pinau rented a whole hotel for the cast and crew. To give the main characters some time to tour around the area, Pinau filmed sceneries on the first day. The next few days, however, started becoming more hectic for all of them, especially to Yuuhi and Cloudy. It didn't take a long time before Yuuhi and Cloudy bonded more, causing the cast and crew to start guessing how their relationship was going.

"Tsubasa-san and Cloudy-san are a good couple, aren't they?" a female extra gossiped as she sat down with her lunch at the hotel's bar.

"What? They're already a couple?" the other extra exclaimed.

"No, but they will be soon. I mean, come on. Who wouldn't fall for the person they have to romantically act with? I, though, would definitely fall for Cloudy-san any day," the first extra daydreamed.

"What are you talking about? You've already fallen for Cloudy-san."

The two extras laughed hysterically at their own conversation. Hiroto, who heard everything they said, tried to remain calm as he drank his tea.

"That can't be true," he thought.

"She said they're just friends, after all," he whispered to himself as he got up to leave and head to the set.

When he arrived at the set, Hiroto couldn't find Yuuhi anywhere. The staff informed him, however, that she was getting ready to film the parts of Ayuna and Makoto's junior high school days together. Cloudy was already done with his makeup, hair and wardrobe because Hiroto could tell that Cloudy was supposed to look different.

"Yuuhi-chan's done!" the makeup designer announced as Yuuhi got out of the tent they had set up.

When Hiroto turned around, his calm face quickly changed to a shocked one as soon as he laid his eyes on Yuuhi. He felt the same way he did when he first saw her walking out on the streets on the day he returned, and their first meeting in the Chairman's office.

Since Yuuhi's character, Ayuna, had to look different than how she would look like after her changing for Makoto, Yuuhi had to wear a wig to cover her short, auburn hair. Yuuhi didn't want to wear a wig for a long time, so Pinau allowed her to use her auburn hair for Ayuna's appearance change.

"Wow, Tsubasa-san looks just like her," some of the staff exclaimed as Yuuhi walked towards the set.

Yuuhi wore a wavy, mid-back length, black wig with fringes to cover her caramel-colored hair. She also wore a common sailor uniform that made her look younger and cuter.

"This brings me back to the old days when I was still in junior high school," Yuuhi laughed, adoring her delightful uniform and charming the crew, especially Cloudy and Hiroto.

"Even though they were all just a pain," she quietly muttered as she tilted her head down to hide her evil-looking eyes.

"How do I look?" Yuuhi asked Cloudy.

"You look gorg—"

"Kirari!" Hiroto called out, interrupting Cloudy.

Everyone fell silent when they heard Hiroto's shameful mistake. When Yuuhi heard Hiroto's calling her the wrong name, she tilted her head down to hide the anger that her face was clearly showing. The cast and crew that were present in the set noticed Yuuhi's change of mood, feeling sorry for her. Takada Pinau reminded all of the cast and crew, except for Yuuhi, Cloudy and Seiji, not to make a mistake of calling Yuuhi the wrong name. They were all doing great and had even forgotten the wrong name they could call Yuuhi until Hiroto's mistake. The cast and crew started whispering to each other, their feelings of irritation pointed towards Hiroto, who was still waiting for Yuuhi to answer him.

"Oh my goodness, why would he say that?"

"Wow, such a great manager he is."

"Why would he do that? To his own idol, to make it worse."

Hiroto realized that he had done something wrong when he heard his names in the whispers. Waking up from his delusion, Hiroto looked around in fear. Then, suddenly, he started running out of the set. Hiroto felt ashamed of yet another mistake.

"What am I doing? Why do I keep messing up?" he asked himself as he ran away.