Move My Heart (Lev Haiba x Reader)

Chapter 33: Duty Calls

"I didn't even get to say bye to Alisa and the others," you protested as you followed Lev down the street.
"My bad," he said, walking briskly.
"Hey, wait up! You know I can't walk that fast." You jogged to catch up with him, annoyed.
"You don't have a right to be jealous," you said, and he frowned.
"I'm not."
"You definitely are."
"I'm looking out for you, y/n. I like Mitsuba, but he's not the best when it comes to dating," he said, finally slowing his pace to match yours.
"That's funny, coming from you," you sniped.
"That's not... oh, sh*t." Lev nodded towards his car, and you followed his gaze to see a group of paparazzi swarming his car. Lev slowed, putting his hand in front of you to slow you as well.
"Let's hope they don't notice us," he whispered, but it was too late. One of the paparazzi had noticed the two of you, and as soon as he saw you, he began to freak out.
"There, there they are!" he yelled, starting to run towards you with his camera up. The others began to follow, and Lev tensed. He reached over and grabbed your arm, pulling you in the opposite direction.
"Wait! Lev Haiba! Can we have a minute?" the paparazzi shouted. Lev was walking quickly, and you almost tripped trying to keep up. He held a tight grip on your arm, practically dragging you down the street.
"Ignore them," he whispered, looking over his shoulder. You looked over as well.
"Should we be running?" you asked, seeing the group chasing you down the street. You began to slowly jog, and Lev smirked at you.
"I've never run from the paparazzi before," he said, beginning to jog as well.
"First time for everything," you said, and you and Lev moved from a jog to a light run.
"Lev Haiba, isn't this the woman you are cheating on Rin with? Are you two on a date?" someone yelled, but you forced yourself to ignore them. You and Lev were picking up speed, and soon the two of you were sprinting down the street. Lev still held your arm, pulling you forward, and his unbuttoned jacket was flapping in the wind. People were moving to let you through, staring at you, and some had taken their cameras out as well. You weren't a match for Lev's long legs, and you started to breath hard.
"We're losing them!" Lev said to you, looking over his shoulder. The crowd on the street was getting bigger, and you and Lev continued to run, passing the bridal store. Adrenaline was coursing through your veins, and you began to laugh, looking back at the paparazzi attempting to keep up. Lev looked at you and smiled, chuckling as well. His eyes darted from the chasing crowd to the stores around him, and then suddenly, you felt him yank you to the right. You gasped, and he shoved you against a wall, putting a finger against his lips.
"What-"
"Shh," he said quietly, glancing towards the street. You looked to the right, noticing that Lev had pulled you into a sidealley. He was holding your shoulders, keeping you locked against the wall, and you looked at him, very much aware of your proximity. His face was flushed and he was breathing hard, focusing on the street. Soon, you heard the sound of the paparazzi grow near.
"Where'd they go? Did we lose them in the crowd?" someone asked. Lev looked back at you, begging you not to make a noise. You steadied your breathing, staring back at Lev.
"Let's go, I think I saw them go that way," someone said, and you heard the crowd noise grow quieter. Hearing that, you tried to step away, but Lev pushed you back against the wall.
"Just in case, let's wait," he said quietly.
"I'll miss my appointment," you whispered.
"It's fine," he replied, holding you still. You sighed, leaning your head against the wall. After a couple of minutes of awkward silence, you finally spoke up.
"I think they're gone now, Lev," you said. He nodded, stepping back. He exhaled, running a hand through his hair.
"That was fun," you commented, smiling at him. He chuckled, shaking his head.
"They never stop," he said, annoyed. "Sorry you've had to deal with that. Twice."
"I guess I'm getting used to it," you joked, and the two of you looked at each other for a moment, catching your breaths. Suddenly, Lev's phone rang, and he sighed as he looked at the caller.
"Yeah?... I'm kind of busy right now... are you sure?... fine, I can be there in twenty minutes."
He hung up the phone, looking fed up.
"That was Rin." Way to ruin a moment.
"Oh." You didn't know what else to say.
"She said we have to meet with our agent, something urgent," he explained, beginning to walk back out to the street.
"Something bad?" you asked, and he shrugged.
"Probably not. Me and Rin share an agent, so they like to keep a tight hold on us at all times," he explained.
"That sounds tiring," you commented.
"I like modeling, though, so I make it work," he replied, sounding like he was trying to convince himself. Once in front of his car, he opened the door for you, and you hopped in. You noticed Lev look at his phone, before sighing at putting it to his ear. He sounded angry as he got into the car.
"What!?... I said I was coming!... I know I know... just tell them I'll be there as soon as I can."
He started the car, a frown plastered on his face.
"I can never catch a break," he muttered to himself, driving off. The whole ride, he stayed on the phone, once again. You turned away from him, leaning back against the headrest and closing your eyes as you listened to him banter with someone on the other end of the phone. Maybe it was childish, but it bothered you that Lev was always prioritizing his work calls, putting stress on himself. You wanted to talk to him, talk about important things, but he kept on shifting his gaze away from you, murmuring things to the phone. Finally, the car came to a screeching halt, and he motioned to a storefront across the street.
"We're here," he said, and you grabbed your bag, slightly annoyed that he hadn't put down the phone once to say something to you. This was the second time it had happened, and you were getting a little fed up.
"Thanks for the ride," you muttered, purposefully slamming the car door. As you walked around the car, you heard someone call to you. You turned and saw Lev with his window down, motioning for you to come back. You sighed, walking back towards the car and bending your head towards the rolled down window.
"What?"
"I don't want you to be mad at me," he said, sticking out his lower lip.
"I'm not mad," you answered, visibly mad.
"I'm sorry for ignoring you, but these calls are important," he said apologetically. He looked up at you with puppy - like eyes, pouting, which made you redden.
"It's fine," you said quickly, standing back up to hide your flustered face. "I should get going."
Lev nodded, and he began to revv up the engine a little bit, creating an obnoxious sound and making you take a step back.
"Show off," you mumbled to yourself as he sped off, quickly disappearing into the Tokyo traffic.