Song By Unreality

Chapter 17

"Does the attention of journalists annoy you? What topics don't you like to talk about?"

"I like their attention to my work, but excessive interest in private life hinders. I reserve the right not to answer questions about personal relationships and childhood."

(from Rina's interview for the magazine 'Start')

Nikolai's left kick actually turned out to be strong - Yura appreciated it. How he appreciated, despite the deafening blow, and the situation: Rina was taken away, Nikolai rushed after her, and for some reason Vika remained.

Yura sat down, touched the broken cheekbone and gently moved his jaw. It doesn't seem to be broken. But the eye has already begun to swim.

"Here, attach it!" Vika said, sitting down in front of him and handing him a cold package wrapped in a towel. It turns out that she had already managed to run into the house and find something in the freezer. Yura silently applied a compress to his cheekbone and squeezed his eyes shut, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that he was alone in the yard. Somehow getting up, he headed into the house and almost collided on the porch with Vika, one who flew out to meet him.

"Hey, be quiet! You'll tear me down!"

She stopped abruptly and looked at him unhappy.

"Are you going far?"

"Home!"

"On foot?"

Vika looked away and bit her lip, confirming Yura's suspicion that she was acting on impulse rather than deliberately.

"I brought you here, and I'll take you back," he said, blocking her passage. Vika adjusted the strap of her handbag on her shoulder with a trembling hand, and then returned to the house.

"What?" she exclaimed nervously when Yura, coming in after her, stopped in the kitchen doorway.

"Your boss punched me in the face. As promised."

Vika, contrary to expectations, didn't explode, didn't shout something like 'what do I have to do with it?', but just silently turned away. Yura sighed heavily and sat down on a chair.

"Well, why did you do it?"

"What did I do?"

"What I got for."

She looked up at him with tears boiling in her eyes.

"You shouldn't have left with him," Yura scolded. "Stirlitz has never been so close to failure. Your boss would continue to believe that he cleaned me up for the cause."

"Why didn't you say anything?!" all the same, Vika jumped up. "The jaw didn't work? So you could point a finger!"

"I'm not a sneak. You don't think well of me."

"I don't think about you at all!"

"It's a pity," Yura signed sincerely and applied a compress to his cheekbone again. "But even so, settling scores with a rival is a sneaky plan."

"What do you know about it?!" Vika shouted, but stopped herself and, wiping her tears, grinned: "A rival..."

"Isn't it?" Yura was surprised. The glances that Nikolai cast at Rina, only a blind person would not notice.

"What do you know about it," Vika repeated more quietly.

"Then tell me!"

"Why all of a sudden?! You'll make an article out of any misfortune! For the sake of a hype, you can even get into the mouth of a crocodile! You don't care about ethics and other people's feelings! Should I remind you where we met? It's a pity that I didn't hit you then! And how I wanted to!"