"It's alright; your way of thinking was correct. It is better to get rid of those unsettling feelings in my heart before my big performance."

"Do you have any other unsettled feelings?"

"I have a lot." Sumire sighed deeply. "But well, it won't be as easy to get rid of them. There is one thing that stands out, though, Yuhi; you wanted to meet with Raizo to ask about what happened when he saved me, correct?"

Although she told Atushi that she respected Yuhi's decision, it still bugged her that he acted sneaky about it.

"Yeah, that's right."

"If you answer me right away, how do I scold you?"

"You know I am only going through the trouble of asking him because I don't want you to recall any more painful memories. Sumire, you are the most important person in the world to me. I don't want you to suffer even if it is only for a few minutes."

This person has given her so much love; she wonders if Ru understood this too. Then why did he ask her out and said he would help her forget? There are still so many questions she wants to ask him, but he has not appeared before her since that day.

There is no doubt they will meet again. But she does not want to meet him as an enemy. It would be difficult for her to fight him. Yet, the current Ru is very different.

If she told Yuhi about what she saw in the facility, he would surely say they will find a solution together. But Sumire recalled Ru's pained expression. 'Don't tell anybody.' Ru does not want his dear friends to see him suffer. She only stumbled upon him in pain like that as a coincidence. Otherwise, she knew she would be the last person he would want to see him like that.

"Do you like me that much?"

Sumire recalled asking Sano this question too.

Does Yuhi truly like somebody like her? It does not make any sense. Yuhi responded by cupping her cheeks.

"You know you truly have no idea how I feel."

"Uh no, I do. I know you love me." Sumire recalled his confession and the past few months. "You tell me like every day; if I don't get the hint from that, I would be quite slow."

Sumire looked at Yuhi's expression and saw a serious gaze on his face. Oh, this is the first time she has seen him look at her with such eyes. Normally he is so silly, but occasionally he would have these serious moments.

"Do you remember when you rejected me? You said we cant date since we barely know each other?"

Uh, he still remembers that?

"Even though you turned me down, you told me that you wanted to know everything about me. When Aika asked you for the details regarding this rejection, you provided some extra information."

Sumire felt her heartbeat increase when he heard her say those words. He must have overheard their conversation, stupid. 'I shouldn't have talked about it in such a public place.'

"Even though Yuhi is already mine, and mine alone. How do I learn more about him?"

Her cheeks colored the moment he said those words she said not too long ago. Sumire coughed and averted her gaze. "Well, I did say that, but it was the case a long time ago. So does it really mat-" Her sentence fell short when Yuhi kissed behind her ear.

"It does matter; even if it was regarding the past, it made me very happy. It makes the rejection back then better."

Sumire had to look at him since she felt guilty. Even though she liked him, then she turned him down. It must have made him feel bad. She doesn't understand how guys handle rejection, but Yuhi is a very sensitive person.

The moment she looked at him, he cupped her cheeks. "You know it's the same for me."

"What is?"

"I want to know everything about you. Though in my case, it is more jealousy and wanting to possess you."

Uh, wait? She didn't get a chance to process those thoughts since he suddenly leaned forward and kissed her. The thing about kissing Terashima Yuhi is, it is something that can easily get addictive. The way he lightly nibbles on her lips, asking for permission before he sticks his tongue inside her mouth.

She used to think that kissing was disgusting in the past, 'isn't it just two people exchanging salvia?' It was such a naive thought. It was more than that.

Ru was clumsy at kissing, and Ren didn't do it as often for her to know whether she liked it. As for Sano, well, she tried hard to erase anything to do with him. It was Yuhi who taught her how nice kissing could be.

There was something about the way that he kissed that drove her crazy. She has her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer to her.

They kissed for a very long time, and by the time it finished, she was out of breath. She rested her face on his shoulders, and Yuhi caressed her back.

"Are you okay?"

"I think so," She trailed off. "Stupid."

"But you like kissing. I thought if I kissed you long enough, it would get rid of your remaining unease."

So that's why, in the end, it was for her sake again. "Next time you kiss me, it should be because you want to."

Though she is flattered that he did this to comfort her, she does not want him to feel obliged to kiss her.

"What are you talking about, wifey? I always want to kiss you."

"You're so shameless."

Yuhi chuckled. "Shall I put you down now?"

Sumire nodded, and he lets her go. The moment he did that, she heard a beeping sound from her phone. She pulled it out from her pocket, and her eyes widened when she saw the time. Wait, did they truly kiss for that long? The program is about to start!

Yuhi squeezed her hands. "I will be watching."

"Thank you."

…..

It was very awkward slipping into the backstage area late, considering how early she was. But Hino told her that they started an hour early. He didn't have to explain to her the reason why. It seems those people still want to court death. But it doesn't matter anymore; her dearest is there in the audience too. As long as Yuhi is nearby, she has nothing to fear.

Still, her gaze fell on the male groups on stage. All of them wore masks, so it was hard to tell who they were.

"Look at all of them working hard even though they do not know who the female guest is. I suppose we have a bunch of bachelors here hoping to court the pretty young lady?" It was a joke from the host, but her sweat fell.

It felt like she could feel the envious gaze of those girls.

Hino held up his phone. "The comments on the streaming sites are very interesting; do you want to see?"

"I already know they want to kill me."