Prisoner of Love (fanfic)
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WARNING: One scene involves some adult theme. You've been warned!
Chapter 3
Selina was slumped over one of the tables in the university cafeteria. She had been feeling like this for a week now. Uninspired, distracted and jumpy. So it was no surprise when Chri suddenly sat beside her that she jumped in her seat. Chri barely noticed as she put down her books and bags on the table.
“Geez girl! Can’t you give your sister some notice before you scare the daylight out of me?” Selina warned.
Chri gave her a look. “Selina, since when have you become a scaredy-cat?”
“I’m not.” With that, she went ahead and resumed her slumped position on the table.
Chri frowned. She did notice her friend being out of sorts lately. Selina was the type of the girl that was almost very particular with details such as schedules or reports. Speaking of reports, that deadline for the report Selina was doing for her class was looming in the distance. But it doesn’t looked like that she had gone back at all to Bishounen Cafe.
“Hey Sel?”
“Hmm....” she answered nonchalantly.
Chri brought out a container filled with green tea cake and some forks. Pi had gone by the cafe and bought some for her. She decided to share it with her friend.
Selina perked up, interested in the contents of said container. Chri opened it. “Pi went by the cafe and they told him this was a best seller. Want to try some?” as she handed her a fork.
At the sight of the green cake, Selina shook her head and slumped over the table. Looking away from the food did not help her forget what happened that day.
“Suit yourself.” Chri spooned one piece of cake and uttered a sigh of bliss. “This is delish, Selina! You really should have some!” When she shook her head, Chri shrugged. “Your loss.” After another bite, she decided to do a small inquiry. “So what’s up with you?”
Selina turned her head slightly.
“Yes, you. I’m not talking to anyone else, right?” Selina shook her head. “So yeah. Tell.”
Selina sighed. “I don’t know what to do.” She had been thinking over and over what her next step should be. But just the thought of stepping once more into that place and meeting him was really nerve-wracking for her. Selina knew that he won’t be the type to make a scene or he would have done so a long time ago. She just cannot guess how he would act. And that was driving her nuts.
Chri looked at her silently and waited for an answer. She sighed once more and spilled the story on that particular day. When she finished, Selina waited for her friend’s reaction.
Chri hit her gently in the head.
“What was that for?” as Selina rubbed the spot where she hit her.
Chri took another bite of her cake. “Because you deserved it, idiot!”
Selina pouted. “I already know that! Even without you telling me, I already know.”
Chri pointed a fork towards her. “No. It’s not because of what you did. It is because of what you haven’t done!” Selina gave her a puzzled look. “See! That’s why you’re an idiot! You don’t have any idea what I’m referring to, don’t ya?” She shook her head. It was Chri’s turn to sigh. “How come you are still here and not there apologizing?” Selina was silent. “If you’ve already figured out that you were wrong, then how come you can’t go over there to admit it?”
“I don’t know how to. And he...he’s kinda scary. Plus! He called me a name.”
Chri put down her fork and stopped chewing. She properly faced Selina. “We’re friends. Aren’t we, Sel?” Her friend nodded. “Then I am going to be honest. I wouldn’t say you deserved to be called a name but at the same time, you were acting like one.” When she didn’t protest, Chri smiled. “I really don’t know what turned you off to Matsumoto-san but that’s no way to treat someone you don’t like. Don’t talk to him, ignore him. But don’t publicly belittle him.” Selina just nodded again. “Now stop acting like a child and go be an adult. It might be scary at first, but it’s something you need to get over with. And! This is the most important! Don’t expect him to just forgive you. He might never do but at least you’ve shown him that you’ve repented. Now go!”
Selina stood up. She hugged Chri from behind. “What can I do to ever repay you, O Master?” Chri chuckled. “Buy me another of this cake! Its so tasty!” Selina smiled, gathered her things and left.
Chri smiled and continued eating the remaining of her sliced green tea cake.
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Selina had been walking for hours. Although she was already familiar with the neighborhood, Selina hasn’t really ventured forth outside of it. The other times that she did, was with friends but she really never paid any much attention to where they were at. She always just called a cab when she needed to get home. Now, Chri did give her directions before but since she’s been so absentminded lately, she left her cellphone at her dorm. So she tried to follow what she can remember but just ended up getting lost. She didn’t want to ask for directions and didn’t want to give up either.
As she entered the dimly lit alley way, she really wished she didn’t forget her cellphone at home. All she could do now is concentrate on her efforts on finding that cafe. Then maybe the apologizing won’t be so hard.
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Chri anxiously looked at the opening of the cafe. It was hours ago since they parted. She had decided to go by the dorm first. Chri studied for just a bit and then thought of dropping by the cafe herself, curious if her friend really did go through with the apology.
That was two hours ago. Ryo had a day off. Thankfully, Matsumoto-san was working. When Chri heard from him that she did not drop by, Chri didn’t believe for one second that Selina chickened out and decided not to show up. She was the type of person that once she has decided on something, she would go through it till the end. All the patrons have already left. She called Selina’s cellphone one more time. No answer and then it goes to voicemail. Chri left another message. She was getting worried.
Jun looked at Chri’s worried face. When she told him that Selina was supposed to drop by, he was suddenly apprehensive. The last meeting didn’t end so well. He had been so unprofessional and actually feared for his job. But she knew how to pushed his buttons and the words just flew out. He didn’t want to be mean. Just be able to put her in her place.
He knew she was the type to play games. He was nervous the next day and then the next and the day after that. But the talk that he was dreading from Nishikado-san never came. There was no reprimand about how to treat a customer right. No talks of getting fired. As if the whole incident didn’t happen. Jun had started to relax. Until Chri came in and announced Selina visiting the cafe once more. He was geared up for the possible confrontation. It threw him off that she wanted to come to apologize. He didn’t want to believe it until it happened. Until she was in front of him saying the words. Jun walked towards Chri.
“Chri-san. We are closing in a bit. Are you sure she’s just not home?” he politely inquired.
She shook her head. “If she is, then something has happened to her. Selina doesn’t leave her phone unattended because she always wanted to be in contact with her dad overseas. So she must have left it somewhere or she can’t get to it.” She was really getting worried.
Jun gave her a comforting smile. “Or maybe she’s already asleep. Why don’t you drop by her dorm to make sure?”
Chri smiled a bit. “I hope that’s the case. If it is, I’ll make sure to give her a beating for making me have worry lines.” She bowed and left.
Jun hoped that that was the case. A foreigner getting lost in Japan sometimes wasn’t really a good thing. He shrugged. Why did he had to worry so much? She was just another girl. He picked his rag and started to clean up.
After the closing was done, it was time for Jun to finally go home. Usually, he’d be too awake to directly go home. So with that, he figured he should stop by at his favorite place to grab a bite. The area it was located at wasn’t really the ideal location. He only discovered it during one of his wandering days. Walking helped him think. It distracted him and cleared the mind. And when he stomach grumbled for food, he discovered that eating place. On his way, there was a small commotion. It was out of habit for him but he went to take a look.
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There was no way out. Damn her big mouth!
She was doing good outrunning them until she made the wrong turn. It will be a couple of minutes before they caught up to her. While thinking of another escape route, Selina thought of how she got there in the first place.
Being frustrated at not finding the cafe, Selina finally admitted defeat. She would have to ask Chri to accompany her to the cafe. And to pay attention to where they were going to! As she made this resolve, Selina did not even notice the three men that was coming her way. It was too late as she collided with one of them.
“Ouch!” she gasped.
She took a step back and looked up to the grinning faces of the three. They were apparently following her for awhile now while Selina was occupied in finding the cafe. They were waiting until she took notice of them.
“I’m sorry,” was all she could say.
One of them was frowning at her. “Huh? What did you say?” Selina immediately apologized in Japanese.
They started talking back in rapid in Japanese.
“Who do you think you are, bumping into Aniki like that?” the tallest of the three started.
“Do you even know who you are talking to? You have to compensate for that!” the chubby one followed.
The person in the middle which they called “Aniki” suddenly smiled. “Oi, Ishi. You just gave me an idea!” The aniki suddenly took a step towards Selina. She tried not to step back. She wasn’t going to be intimidated by some goon.
He touched her hair. Selina tried hard not to flinch in disgust. “Foreigners do well in the clubs. She looks Asian but definitely not born here,” as he addressed his minions. He turned back to her and grinned wide. “What do you say, ojou-chan? Wanna play with aniki and his friends?”
Selina barely understood their words except the word club. And she definitely was not going to any club with them. She shook her head and tried to politely decline. “No, thank you. I should be going home soon.” They just stared at her, not convinced. “Boy-fu-ren-do.” She hoped that sounded convincing. “My boyfriend is coming soon. You better go.”
They just all laughed. Aniki grabbed her arm.
With instinct fuelling her, Selina stepped into Aniki’s foot and ran. The three was surprised that she would even fight back that it took them a minute to even consider chasing after her.
Now she’s stuck at this dead end and reliving her regrets. Nobody knows where she is and nobody is going to know if she doesn’t get out of this. If only she paid more attention to her surroundings. If only she asked Chri to accompany her. If only she wasn’t such a mean person to Matsumoto-san. Regret after regret came piling one after the other. She took a breath. This wasn’t the time to panic. Time to get out of this dead end and find a better way.
She emitted a gasp as the three blocked her path to freedom. Selina looked at anything that she might use as a weapon besides her bag. There was a couple of empty boxes stacked up in a corner. As she was bending down to get them, a hand grabbed her arm. His minions pushed her back against the wall, her arms pinned on either side of her head. Aniki grabbed her chin roughly.
“Do anything and I would scream,” she warned.
He must have understood her threat somewhat which made him just laugh in response. “You liked being chased, ojou-chan? Well, I got you now and you’re not going anywhere. Now let me just have a quick inspection shall we?” Aniki grabbed her shirt. She heard the first button pop out. She bucked against him but cannot do anything with her being pinned to the wall. Every time she tried to stomp on him, he avoided her. He just laughed at her attempts. “You surely will be a great addition to the club.”
“Let my girlfriend go.”
Even before Aniki released his hold on Selina, a wooden crate crashed on his head. Aniki crumpled to the ground. The tall minion released one of her arms to tend to Aniki. With this, Selina grabbed the opportunity to put two fingers into chubby’s eyes. She didn’t know if she blinded him but it worked and he released her. When Selina thought she was going to sink to the ground, a hand reached out and grabbed hers.
“Let’s go! Run!” he shouted.
With the last spurt to freedom, Selina followed her savior’s footsteps.
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Jun looked at the girl he just saved. She was panting after all the running they did. Except for the partially open shirt, she looked like she was fine. Who would have thought it would be her? All he did was just follow the commotion. He didn’t expect her to be the one causing it! Good thing that he was familiar with the alleyways and eventually found their way to the back entrance of Ikuta Toma’s current place of employment. He met Toma during his brief employment at the Bishounen Cafe. He fell in love with Malvika and went to pursue her in India. He brought her back and they are now running their own Indian restaurant. The place where Jun now goes to unwind after a day of work.
Toma was surprised to see Matsumoto and the foreign girl banging at the back of his door. The restaurant was already closed for the night and he let them in. When the pair was seated, Jun explained on how he found Selina. Toma found out that Selina was one of the patrons that frequented the cafe.
“So...how did you end up getting mixed up with those hooligans?” Toma asked. Jun also wanted to know.
Selina smiled awkwardly. She probably looked tired and haggard. “I was actually heading towards the cafe. Silly me, I got lost.” Noticing the missing top button, she tried to put the opening of her shirt together with a hand. “I...really wanted to get there but my cellphone was at home and I didn’t want to just give up.” She didn’t want to mention in front of strangers that she actually wanted to apologize to Jun real bad. Instead, he ended up saving her.
Malvika noticed the gesture that Selina made and invited her to use one of her shirts. She lead her upstairs and handed her a shirt to change into. She turned away when Selina removed her shirt.
“Thank you for letting us in and letting me borrow this shirt,” Selina started. It must have been a great inconvenience to them to be disturbed at such a late hour.
“No worries. It must have been so frightening for you,” Malvika replied. She remembered that time that she thought she was going to be stranded in this foreign land. If she had not met Toma, things might not have turned out so great.
“I’m done.” Malvika turned around. The yellow shirt fitted her nicely. Both women rejoined the men downstairs.
Selina bowed to both Toma and Malvika. “I am indebted to both of you. Thank you for your kindness and I apologize for intruding so late.”
Toma waved his hand in front of him. “It was no trouble at all. If you would like, please come eat here one of these days. Jun can go with you.”
Selina nodded. “Definitely! And if I go with him, I probably won’t get lost and get into this mess.” She laughed and they joined her.
“Toma, thanks! I definitely owe you one.” Both of them bowed and headed out.
“Do you think they’re going out?” Malvika asked out of curiosity.
Toma just smiled. “If they met at the cafe and met again outside of it? Maybe.” They both smiled at each other and closed the doors behind them.
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“Please, come in.”
Selina opened the door to her dorm room. Jun hesitated at the door way. He was relieved that she was ok. But right now, all he wanted to do was go home. An awkward feeling hung around the air inside the cab they shared. They both did not speak. Maybe they were both relieving the close call that they had.
“Please,” she insisted.
Jun walked inside. Her dorm room wasn’t very big. She turned on the light. She had a bed on one side and a small table in the middle. There was a tv and a radio set in the corner. She had her own bath though.
Selina was looking for her cellphone and found it near her pillow. There was a hundred messages from Chri. She didn’t even check the voicemail and just called her.
Jun looked around the space that she occupied. There was photos of her and an older man. Probably her dad. There were no other pictures of family relatives. Nothing of her mom either. Surprisingly, her room was tidy. All the books were in their place. In her small kitchen, all was put away and nothing was out of order. It must have been odd for her to leave her cellphone like that if she was this meticulous of keeping everything in place.
She was just finishing her conversation. “Yes. Yes. I am sorry. Yes, I’ll explain more tomorrow. Yes. Good night. And thank you for worrying.” With that, she closed her cell phone shut. Selina faced the man inside her room. He was not the first guy she ever let into her room and yet she felt very uncomfortable.
“So...would you like some tea? I have oolong or earl grey or green tea...” She was babbling like an idiot.
Jun faced her, keeping a straight face. They were not really friends and again, he didn’t know why he was still here.
“No, I’m good. I really have to get going. I have work tomorrow.” Before he could turn away, she grabbed his hand. Which elicited a hiss out of him.
“I’m sorry. Did you get hurt when...”
“I’m fine,” he replied. He probably got a sliver in when he grabbed that crate.
“Please,” she pleaded. “Take a seat and let me get my first aid kit.”
Jun sighed. He really needed to get going but he would be nice and at least let her play nurse. He took a seat by her table. Selina returned with her first aid kit. Jun held out his hand. She pressed gently on his hand to determine the area he was hurt.
As she was doing this with her head down, Selina spoke.
“Thank you. I don’t know how you came about to where I was but...thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Jun softly replied.
She continued pressing until she heard Jun hiss once more. “Sorry. I think it is just a sliver that got underneath your skin. Plus a minor cut near it.” She pulled out tweezers and a disinfectant. Selina got to work on the sliver, trying her best not to cause him any further pain. She heard no complaints from him. Next, she disinfected his cut. Jun tried very hard not to whimper. What surprised him though was when she blew gently on his wound.
Selina chuckled softly. “I would have kissed it to make it better, like my dad, always would but I don’t think you’d like that.”
Jun almost didn’t breathe when she said that He had to remind himself that she was just probably being grateful and it wasn’t being done because she cared for him. When he thought she would let go, she just continued to hold his hand.
“I...I was such an idiot. I just wanted...” She took a breath. “I wanted to come to the cafe. I’ve been avoiding it all this time and admitting I am wrong...” Jun silently listened. “What I am trying to say is, thank you.” She paused for awhile. Nothing was heard but their breathing.
Until he felt that one tear drop on his palm.
“I was. Scared.” Another tear dropped. Jun almost reached out with his other hand when she raised her face up. Her eyes were glistening with tears. She was trying to keep herself from shaking. The impact of what could have happened was just suddenly attacking her. But she was trying to put up a brave front. Selina didn’t want him to see her crying. She sniffed, released his hand to wipe her tears.
“Sorry. Must been the fumes from the disinfectant.” Selina gathered the first aid kit and stood up. Jun stood as well. He didn’t know her. A couple of days ago, he almost hated her. So what was this feeling of wanting to comfort her? To lend his strength to her?
“I have to go.” Jun put his shoes on and stood up, his hand on the door.
He felt Selina’s hand on the back of his shirt, gently tugging. He didn’t move.
“Can you please stay? Just for tonight. Please?”
Chapter end notes: Toma and Malkiva was another couple formed in the Bishounen Cafe Challenge. Although their story didn’t end this way, I just took a liberty of creating one for them. Lili, hope you didn’t mind!
Would Jun stay? Find out in the next chapter! And as always, pls don’t forget to review and comment!
def:
Aniki : a Japanese honorable term for an older brother or a superior (frequently used in yakuza speech) as explained by Wiki
Ojou-chan: young lady