Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 71595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
“Ummmm.” I know I should be terrified, but instead I’m excited like I’ve never been before. One of Yuki’s punishments in the past was that we had to make a video of us pleasuring ourselves, and well, let’s just say it was so, so bad it was good. The kind you couldn’t help watching over and over—-
“Senpai,” Yuki growls.
Oh, drat. I think I just fantasized again.
“We definitely need to get keep moving now,” Yuki mutters, “before you show more of that to other men.”
“I didn’t...I wasn’t...” But I’m soon unable to speak, too busy trying to catch up with Yuki’s long-legged stride.
Takeshita Dori is as vibrant as always, its lane teeming with people, but I barely have time to appreciate the kaleidoscope of colors around me. Yuki’s moving so fast that all I have time to concentrate on is catching my breath as we zigzag between the crowds. When we finally stop, I’m panting while Yuki hasn’t even broken a sweat.
Because he’s a god, I tell myself, and not because I need to work out more.
Yuki squeezes my hand as he leads me inside a low-rise office building. Framed, glass-covered blown-up posters of famous manga line the carpeted hallway, and I wonder if we’re in a new branch of Mandarake or something similar.
My curiosity finally gets the better of me, and I ask, “Can’t you give me a clue about where we are?”
“You’ll see soon enough,” is all he says.
The second floor seems to consist of several function rooms. All of it appears to be vacant except for the one at the last, which is where we’re evidently heading. I start to hear some noise coming from the function room as we get closer – mostly laughter and a steady high-pitched buzz of conversation, the kind you hear when everyone shares the same excitement for a common subject.
A woman in business suit smiles as we come forward, saying pleasantly in Japanese, “Good afternoon, Mr. Himura, Ms. Chariot.” She bows in greeting, and that’s when I see the digital board behind her. It’s showing the current lineup of events, and Room 205 offers a 3D ad for a fan meet with a shoujo mangaka named...Katerina...Chariot.
My jaw drops to the floor. Isn’t that me? I hurriedly skim the rest of the details, and it only gets worse. Not only does it promise a Q&A but also a live-sketch session of the first two pages of my upcoming shoujo oneshot.
What the hell is this?
My head snaps to Yuki’s direction, and his fingers tighten around mine almost as if telling me to calm down.
“Arigatou gozaimasu, Rin-san,” Yuki’s saying.
When Rin-san glances at my direction, good manners force me to echo Yuki’s words even as cold sweat envelopes my body, and the world starts to spin a little too fast.
“We’ll be ready in thirty,” I hear Yuki murmur, and my heart starts to gallop like it has no intentions of returning, knowing it only has destruction to look forward to.
“Wakarimasu.” Understood.
I watch Rin-san bow one more time before she leaves, and anxiety explodes into full-blown panic. As soon as the door closes behind the other woman, I ask shakily, “What’s the meaning of this, Yuki? What do you think you’re doing—-”
“Punishing you.”
Yuki’s tone is light, but his gaze is utterly serious, and my heart drops to my stomach. “I see.” Clever, clever Yuki. I totally didn’t see this coming. And to think I let myself believe in him, let myself believe that he’s truly giving us a chance—-
“Senpai?” His gaze rapidly scans my face, and whatever it is he sees makes him jerk in shock. “No, senpai, you misunderstand. It’s not that kind of punishment. This is not meant to embarrass you—-”
“Isn’t it?” I ask dully. “Because from where I’m standing, that’s exactly how it looks—-”
“It’s not,” Yuki rejects forcefully. “Believe me, it’s not. I thought about this a million times, and I always arrive at the same fucking answer. You need to be reminded of how good you are—-” Yuki stops speaking when he sees me pale.
“You know,” I whisper. “You know. Don’t you?” Humiliation consumes me at Yuki’s silence. God, why am I even surprised? Since he’s a billionaire’s son now, he probably knows everything. He probably knows that when he left, I had desperately tried to get back to work – and failed. All of my proposals had been rejected, with publishers saying ‘I’m a one-hit wonder’ or that ‘I would never make it in this business.’ He probably even knows that I had to forcibly cut ties with my agent because I could no longer bear the way the whole industry was laughing behind Shelley’s back, with the way she’s stubbornly holding on to an artist who couldn’t even get her characters’ names straight—-
The memories are too much, and before I know it I’m already running away.