CRUSH || evnne

twenty three.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE: THE CONFESSION

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keita's pov! (1st person)

i don't know if it's just me, or if something has changed. akari was a lot more distant and quiet lately, and she seemed a lot more stressed than usual. i didn't know what's up with her, but i know something is wrong since she's usually really energetic and fun to hang out with. but recently, she seems a lot less happy.

"hey. riri, are you okay?" i squeezed her hand, not knowing what else to say to her. "you've been a lot quieter lately. naoko's antics aren't affecting you, right?" naoko went overboard with the cult rumour. i don't know anything about that at all, but it's the iinuma kids. the two of them are so sweet, i doubt they could be involved in anything so dark. as for the stalking, that was a show of how poor her morals are. like, give people some privacy??

"um... actually, keita, i need to tell you something. i think you might know this already, but i'll tell you again, since you're one of the people i trust the most." akari put down her pen with a troubled expression on her face. curious, i nodded, urging her to continue.

"a while ago, after naoko released that cult rumour, i got a call from my mother. she said that our ancestors were apparently really stupid and somehow got the entire iinuma line entangled into the cult. and she said this cult operates in japan, china and korea." she said, squeezing my hand back. i could sense that she was upset, so i gently stroked her hair. "go on, riri."

"apparently... she said... only two families outside the cult know about the iinuma line's being tied to this cult... naoko's family and the terazono family." she was trembling slightly at this point, and it took a moment for me to realise what she was saying.

"wait, terazono-" i was confused as hell, because i had zero knowledge of this beforehand.

"yeah. my mom told me to avoid these two families if i could, and... she said to stay away from you and naoko." a single teardrop rolled down her cheek, which i quickly wiped off her face.

"i- i'm sorry about this, that i have to trouble you with my own family issues. my father is fucked up as hell and i don't care about him. my mum is trying her best, and this isn't her fault. but she doesn't know that she's making me choose. why must i stay away from you? you're a good person." she says quietly, and i can see the tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

i didn't know about this at all, and this was news to me. "akari, i had zero knowledge about this. my family didn't tell me anything. calm down. please, don't cry. i know this isn't your fault. you're a good person too. you don't have to avoid me. it's okay." i tried to comfort her, wrapping my arms around her, hugging her gently. she returned it, but a lot more tightly.

(i think yall were expecting another kind of confession hehe... sorry but that doesn't happen so soon :) it'll happen eventually though)

"thank you, keita... you're an amazing person, you know that?" she muttered softly. i just kissed her forehead in response.

"now don't worry about it too much. it's not good for you." i swear i could see her blushing a bit, but i decided not to say anything and smiled at her instead. 

for the next few hours, we worked side by side, doing our own work. arts school is not just about dancing or doing whatever your major is, you still need to catch up with other things too. this highschool merger has also put me under a mentoring program (stupid naoko), so now i have to come up with a plan for my first lesson. luckily, jihoo, yujin and mun junghyun are all under dance, so there's a good chance they'll be there. at least i'll be familiar with those little kids. but being the person i am, i can't teach for my life. evnne's dance projects were all taught by hanbin.