Thinking of You - Chapter Five
~君思う~
~Thinking of You~
Chapter 5: Disrespect
Through the glass doors of the Jimusho, Ryosuke witnessed it all. Chinen’s tears, Daiki’s embrace, Chinen’s near-confession. Barreling home, Ryosuke felt anger boiling within himself as he threw himself against his bed. Screaming in frustration into his pillow until his voice turned hoarse, Ryosuke felt tears stinging in his eyes, but he blinked them back immediately.
He wasn’t angry at Chinen; no, he could never be. Neither was he angry at Daiki; technically, he had done nothing wrong. Rather, Ryosuke was angry at Ryosuke. Angry for being so stupid, so selfish, so rash, so harsh, and for just being so… angry.
How could I have hurt Chinen!? What came over me?! This… This anger… where is it coming from?!! He asked himself, desperately searching for an answer.
The image of Chinen’s glare of hatred replayed itself in Ryosuke’s mind along with his slamming the door behind him, his screams, his anger, his tears…
Groaning, Ryosuke practically bashed his head against the wall.
I’m the worst friend in the world… and to think I actually have the nerve to admit to myself that I love Chinen.
***
The next morning, Kei greeted Daiki happily in the BEST dressing room.
“Hi, Kei, how are you?” Daiki smiled. From Daiki’s lips, Kota’s question provoked an entirely different response.
“Okay, I guess,” Kei laughed cheerily. “You?”
“I’ve been better,” Daiki admitted. “But I’ll still work hard today, I promise!” Daiki grinned, giving Kei a thumbs-up before going to change into suitable dancing clothes.
I’m sure you will, just as you always do, Kei smiled. Kei then went on to strip off his shirt, but just as he was about to grab his sweatshirt, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Kei jumped back in surprise when he saw who it was.
“Kota!” he gasped. “What are you doing here?!”
“Relax, Kei,” Kota laughed. “I just came to ask if I could borrow some socks; I forgot to grab some on my way out of my house this morning, even though I brought my sneakers,” he smiled sheepishly. “Besides,” he added, his grin turning to a smirk. “Don’t you remember? I’ve already seen you shirtless countless times before.”
Kei rolled his eyes. “Here, just take this and leave.” He handed Kota a pair of socks and pushed him back.
“Hey, I’m just saying,” Kota joked, leaving Kei behind to sulk in his annoyance.
***
The same morning, Chinen walked into the SEVEN dressing room across the hall and, once he saw Ryosuke, said nothing upon meeting his friends.
“I think he’s angry at you,” Ryutaro whispered to Ryosuke.
“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed,” Ryosuke answered sarcastically.
“Hey, don’t go around giving off an attitude just because Chinen’s hurting your feelings,” Ryutaro huffed.
“He didn’t-” Ryosuke began to object.
“Oh really?” Ryutaro raised an eyebrow.
Sighing, Ryosuke turned away and refused to talk to any of the other members. Just then, Yuya popped his head into the doorway.
“Hey guys, Kota’s been wondering if you’re coming down to rehearse any time soon,” he smiled.
“Coming!” Ryutaro called, getting up immediately.
“Coming!” Yuto and Keito chimed in from across the room.
“Coming.” Ryosuke nodded.
Chinen didn’t answer.
***
“Chinen~” Daiki called happily as he skipped over to his friend who had been spacing out during rehearsal. “Did you hear what I just said?” Daiki asked.
“N-No,” Chinen stumbled, both surprised and shy to see Daiki’s face suddenly leaning in so close to his.
“I wish you’d pay a little more attention to me,” Daiki smiled hopefully.
Chinen nodded. “S-Sorry,” he smiled sheepishly.
“It’s okay, Chinen.” Leaning in to whisper in his ear, Daiki asked, “Meet me in the elevator after practice again, okay?”
Chinen flushed a dark shade of pink as he nodded once more.
“Great!” Daiki exclaimed. “Now, as I was saying,” he continued. “Kota, I need you to stop dancing differently from the rest of us. Everyone else is following me, but you seem to be off in a whole other world. Oh, and Hikaru, would you mind watching your left hand? You kind of just sway it limply at your side when you start moving your right. Yuto, could you please…”
At this point, Ryosuke simply tuned Daiki out. He was busy thinking about other matters.
***
During break, Yuya wandered over to where Kota and Hikaru were once again huddled in the corner.
“Daiki’s seriously getting too bossy,” Hikaru was saying as Yuya approached.
“I know! He says everyone’s following him? Everyone’s following ME, like they always do! I’m the one holding the group together, and he knows it. He just wants me to follow him so the rest of the group will follow suit.” Kota grimaced.
“Yeah, and all of the criticisms he gave, he could tell each of us privately. He just HAD to complain about something each of us was doing wrong… and in front of our faces, too! I mean, I really don’t care whether Yuto seems to get lost during the second verse, but I’m sure Yuto was embarrassed to have his flaw pointed out to the entire group!”
“Whoa, whoa, hey guys,” Yuya slipped into the conversation. “I’m sure Daiki’s saying and doing what he is because he realizes it’s what’s best for the group. He hasn’t been in charge often before, so don’t you guys think you’re being a little rough on him?” Yuya tried defending his long-time friend.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Kota sighed, giving in to Yuya’s reason.
Hikaru scoffed. “I still think he’s being a little disrespectful, though.”
***
Daiki smiled upon seeing Chinen waiting outside the elevator for him.
“Hey,” he greeted as the pair stepped inside together.
Chinen nodded before jumping directly into his apology. “Listen, I’m really sorry, Daiki, if what I said yesterday freaked you out or anything. I don’t even know why I said it. But I really do care about you a lot…” Chinen mumbled softly.
“You broke my promise, Chinen,” Daiki answered tersely.
“Huh?” Chinen asked, wondering what he was talking about.
“You promised you wouldn’t cry about me; you said you wouldn’t change, remember?” Daiki grinned.
“Oh, right,” Chinen smiled sheepishly. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay, Chinen. But I meant what I said then. And I care about you, too, and seeing you crying, it makes my heart ache,” Daiki murmured.
As the elevator doors opened at the lobby entrance, Daiki gently pressed his lips to Chinen’s forehead. “And don’t be sorry for anything like that ever again. I’m here for you,” Daiki repeated for the second time. “Please, don’t forget that,” he whispered as he walked off, leaving Chinen’s furiously pounding heart to echo in the elevator as the doors slid shut.