𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬

journey

IT WAS 2:15am on friday, the chilling alarm ringing in your ears as you sprung out of bed, shutting it off as you ran to your en-suite bathroom and hopped into the shower.

the water ran cold on your bare skin, sending goosebumps to encompass your arms, a chill running down your spine.

as much as you'd hate to admit, you're looking forward to wakatoshi's wedding. in some strange, masochistic way, you're ready to see the way he's grown as a man, the way he's matured since college; silently wondering if he does his 'wife' the way he did you.

you shook your head out of shame, a pathetic attempt to rid the thoughts of your short-lived time with him. the memories weren't embarrassing or bad, per se, they just reminded you so much of the reason you were with him in the first place.

the true humiliating sense of the relationship was the fact you treated wakatoshi like an option, as a rebound. so, at his wedding, you were planning to formally apologise to him for being selfish and not giving him the treatment he deserved.

you turned around to shut the shower off, wrapping yourself and your hair into a soft, warm towel.

you gazed at your reflection in the mirror as you finished your extensive skincare routine, dabbing the moisturiser into your face, to prevent wrinkles or whatever. for a woman at the age of 24, you weren't doing bad.

a quick glance at your watch told you that it was 2:45am, giving you 5 minutes to leave your apartment before setting off to the office. by now, your hair had dried enough for you to slick it back with your favourite gel into a simple low ponytail, an ideal hairstyle for long haul journeys like this.

with minimal effort, you slipped a white tee over your figure, shrugging on a gray hoodie with the words 'CALL ME IF U GET LOST!' embroidered on the front of it. you stepped into a pair of matching gray joggers, sliding into socks and shoving a pair of adidas slides on— a truly no-effort outfit.

with your entire body strength, you attempted to haul your stupidly heavy suitcase down your penthouse's stairs. living lavish really did have its downsides. your struggle caught the attention of a man who looked around your age, on their way to their own apartment, who offered to help you on your way down with a charming smile.

"thank you so much!!" you beamed, "i never caught your name, though."

"bond. james bond." he smiled above your suitcase.

he burst out laughing at your cocked brow, "i'm kidding. m'name's tanaka, ryū tanaka"

"what a nice name, ryū"

"i bet your name matches your face," he smiled, his comment sounding the furthest thing from a sexual advance.

"l/n.. y/n" you tilted your head, your heart melting at the fact he wasn't hitting on you.

"what a gorgeous name, for a gorgeous girl. but, we're at the bottom now, you think you can take it from here?" he handed the suitcase handle to you after placing it delicately on the ground.

"thank you!"

"hold on! i think my wife recognises you! wait there!" he shouted as he ran towards an expensive looking mercedes.

you really wanted to get going to the office, you couldn't risk being late with someone like shoyo, if anything, he'd be early; yet you couldn't stop yourself from waiting for ryū to come back with his wife.

"kiyoko please, i think she was a manager too, please!" he begged, even though 'kiyoko' was already walking towards you, a timid smile on her face.

"i'm sorry ryū, but we have to make this quick, i have a wedding to be at.." you said.

"no way, me too! i'm going to chugoku!"

"same.." you said, "do you need a ride?"

"yes please! my wife is driving her friend down and we have a little car.. if you don't mind, of course."

"it's my pleasure, also, your wife is shimizu? i knew her from both of us being volleyball managers in our 1st year, but i quit.."

"yeah! but let's go, we have a long journey."

"it was lovely meeting you, kiyoko." you found yourself saying, although you didn't speak to the girl once during the entire conversation. she was nice to you for the short time you were a volleyball manager though, that's all that matters i guess.

"likewise y/n" she smiled, turning away to get into her little smart car.

•

"shoyo honey!" you exclaimed, beckoning him to your car.

"l/n! i was so worried! i thought you died!" he puffed out, clouds of air shooting through his lips.

"oh, darling, you worry too much. i found us a new passenger, his name is ryū tanaka, please don't bite him." you explained, watching as shoyo and ryū eyed eachother down, both of their eyes squinted.

"ORANGE?" ryū screeched as shoyo sat down.

"OH MY GOD!" shoyo grinned, his hair perking up along with his mood.

"you know y/n?" they both said in unison.

"she's my boss." shoyo said.

"and she's my neighbour!"

"i hate to be rude, but we really have to go, like, now." you deadpanned, eyes on the road as you pulled out of your parking spot.

•

you had been driving for about half an hour, the map on your phone indicating that there were 7 hours and 45 more minutes until you reached your destination. this ETA excluding traffic, hence the reason of you leaving at such an early hour.

from being in a car with two extremely loud people, you quickly learned how to tune out the unnecessary chatter. if there was a word to describe you, it'd be meticulous. you thrived off of getting everything done the way it should be done, no messing around.  that's probably why most people described you as stuck up.

the car was now at a harsh standstill, a long line sat behind a red light. the tesla in front of you had all of the lights switched off and it seemed as though the passenger seat was reclined so low it was like a bed.

after around 12 minutes of waiting, the light turned green, you floored the gas pedal out of sheer joy at the thought of movement, and out of fear of one of the cars behind you beeping at your stationary state.

however, the tesla in front of you stopped moving before you could fully register what had happened.

and then it happened.