Dream Star

Three days later - Rouge hotel -

She just wanted somebody to love her, somebody to notice her existence. Somebody to tell her that she isn't just a tool. Somebody to tell her that she is beautiful. The one time she got close to real happiness to having somebody grant her needs, she ended up pushing them away.

Rikka threw up the contents of bile from her throat in the sink in the bathroom. Why did she decide to use the public one despite having a proper bathroom in the hotel room? She didn't want that guy to see her weakness.

The guy she chose to sleep with and to vent her stress was a well-known player in the entertainment industry. But despite this personality, he was one of the country's A-lister actors. She met him by chance on the streets, and before she knew it, they were here in the hotel.

A deep sigh crossed her lips as she exited the bathroom. 

What am I doing, venting my emotions out like this like a child would? 

Her thoughts broke off when she spotted somebody familiar leaning against the door to the bar area. "Ah."

"Rikka." He trailed off. "Uh, so the ones making a loud sound next door were you and your partner?"

Rikka blinked and then realized that the room key dangled around her neck. What a sharp vision as always.

She clenched her fists. 'Why did Haruka have to be here?'

"Yes."

"Don't you have a fiance now? You shouldn't do stuff like this."

"Are you lecturing me?"

Haruka sighed. "I know I wasn't any better than you in the past. But once you've settled down, you ought to stop doing these things."

'Settle down... that's right, I have a fiance, and they have to get married eventually.' 

"...."

She doesn't want that to happen. If she were to get married, she would have no choice but to hide her feelings for Haruka. 

Rikka wrapped her arms around his neck and proceeded to kiss him. But to her surprise, he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away.

"Haruka?"

Haruka looked away, but she saw the uncomfortable expression on his face. "Did you have too much to drink?"

"I haven't drunken anything yet..."

"Let's grab a bite to eat." He pointed to the small bar. "Do you mind?"

Rikka shook her head and followed him inside. 

For some reason, Haruka asked for a private room. When the doors closed behind them, Haruka slumped on the couch.

"Are you tired?" 

"A little." Haruka sighed.

A little? Rikka looked at Haruka again and shook her head. "Why are you so tired?"

"Mm...I try to finish my work quickly so I can spend more time with my wife." Haruka trailed off. "Since she is pregnant now, she needs a lot more love and attention."

Rikka clenched her fist. "I don't think you need to overwork yourself that much."

"Heh, well, you probably won't understand."

She held those words back and sat down opposite him. There were already some bottles in the room. "Did you order ahead of time?"

"Mm."

So that's why the workers led them to a private room. For a split moment, Rikka thought that he wanted to be left alone with her, but it turns out that isn't the case here. She heard from Sophia that whenever Haruka goes to bars, he books private rooms and doesn't call for anyone. He just sits alone inside and drinks. 

The reason why he is taking such drastic action is for his wife, isn't it? Haruka is sacrificing everything just to make her happy. Rikka remembered a time when he did the same thing for her; she remembered a time when things were not awkward.

Would she be happy if she didn't enter a relationship with him and chose to stay by his side as one of his disposable toys? Rikka sighed, and she shook her head. What kind of crazy thought is that?

Even if she could go back in time, she would have still gone out with him. The only thing she would change was her behavior that day. No matter how good Haruka treats her now, Rikka understood that she already hurt him with her words that day. Whenever they talk, Rikka noticed that Haruka avoids mentioning personal details. 

Aaah forget this. Rikka picked up one of the bottles and chugged it one go.

Haruka raised his eyebrows. "Your that thirsty?"

"You drink too, let's race."

…

The two of them normally held their liquor quite well. But Rikka failed to notice the warning on those bottles. After ten bottles, she was wasted, and she knew it was the same for Haruka. Her vision felt very blurry, and her entire body felt hot.

But she still managed to talk. "In the first place, this is all your fault. You should have tried harder to reach out to me, didn't you give up too quickly?"

Whenever she is drunk, all the feelings she bottled up this entire time come spilling out. Today was no different. 

Haruka is the same type as her.

"I tried, you know, but you completely blocked me off."

"Try harder."

"It is a bit too late." Haruka drank another gulp. 

"When we met again, you were completely cold and even pushed away my kiss."

"Of course, I would."

Of course, huh? Right, no normal person in a relationship would accept a kiss from another person. "When I tried to explain it to you, you were like I don't want to hear it."

Whenever Rikka thought back to it, she felt very disappointed. The kissing stuff aside, he would not give her a chance to explain. He tried to dodge the topic as much as he could. 

"Oh yeah, that." Haruka looked at her. "I was afraid that I would end up believing everything you said and end up miserable."

Rikkas eyes widened when she heard those words. Her heart beat rapidly. It was a good thing that her cheeks were already flushed due to drinking so much, otherwise, he would notice. 

"Does that mean you liked me?" It was a question she would not have had the courage to ask before, but everything is different now. Or maybe she is just fed up with everything.

"Yeah, I did, a lot." Haruka trailed off. "You know when I went to Star Town to see Lila, I only intended to give her the competition details and stay there for a while to observe if she was qualified. I didn't go there intending to hook up with her. Why would I when I had a perfectly good woman already?"

She made a mistake.

Why did she choose to believe in Sophia of all people? What was she thinking? 

"You know, after what happened between us. I had a difficult time going out with anybody. Even when I ended up in a relationship, it would end quickly. If they didn't cheat or leave me first, I would do it to them so they would leave me. Even when I dated guys from my social class, most of them only stayed with me because of my money and power. Most breakups were settled with money."

"I see."

Rikka stood up. "All of those guys disgusted me, but today I want to see if anything has changed." She cupped Haruka's cheeks and bent down to kiss him. 

It was most likely due to the alcohol, but Haruka did not push her away.